APRIL 2, 2025 – The U.S. military must fight America’s wars when needed. Still, the military’s top priority is to prevent those wars by signaling to adversaries its readiness to fight and win in any scenario, said President Donald J. Trump’s nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Our adversaries are advancing, global nuclear threats are on the rise and deterrence is paramount,” said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, speaking today before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Our national defense requires urgent action and reform across the board. We must go faster. We must move with a sense of urgency. We can never forget that our No. 1 job is to create peace through overwhelming strength and, if need be, fight and win our nation’s wars.”
If confirmed, Caine, will return to military service and be promoted to general, taking on the role of the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. military.
As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Caine will serve as the chief advisor to the president on military matters.
Pentagon reform, acquisition and modernization were all top priorities for lawmakers during Caine’s hearing.
As the Trump administration calls for reforms across the government, inside the Pentagon Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been busy implementing those reforms.
Caine, who has a broad background in government and the private sector said he’s on board with those changes, particularly in how the department can get after acquisitions so tools most needed by warfighters are delivered quickly to the battlefield.
“For me, we have to stop admiring the problem, and we have to start executing,” Caine said. “We have to take an ownership and an entrepreneurial mindset to all of these reforms that are in front of us. And we can’t do this alone. We have to do it with you here in the Congress in order to actually make these changes.”
Caine comes from private sector work involving finance. Civilian leaders who have recently onboarded into the department share similar business backgrounds. Working with them to streamline the Pentagon, he said, is something he looks forward to.
“I’m encouraged by the leaders who are coming into the department who have deep, substantive business backgrounds that are not known as people who admire problems,” he said. “If confirmed, I look forward to working with the various leaders in order to actually move the ball, and, of course, working with the Congress to execute these things without continuing to admire these challenges in front of us.”
Speeding up acquisition so that the promise of new technology doesn’t fade before it’s finally delivered to the warfighter, sometimes years later, is also a priority.
“Technology is evolving so quickly that every time we field capabilities, they’re obsolete, oftentimes when they hit the force,” Caine said. “And that’s not acceptable.”
The department, he said, must have greater agility in developing requirements to take advantage of the latest technologies.
“If confirmed, I’ll work with the joint staff, the joint chiefs and, of course, [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] to pick up the speed, pace and tempo of fielding the capabilities that we need that are not obsolete,” Caine said.
New technology is in startup companies and small businesses, not just in existing prime defense contractors, Caine said. So, the department will need a mix of input from both. But when it comes to small businesses, it’s long been a challenge to get on board with the government, and the department must work to ease that burden so the best technologies from the smallest and newest companies can end up in the hands of warfighters.
“The ability to bring advanced technologies from new companies, the startups, into the joint force and make it easier for them to bring their products and services into the military is something that I’m passionate about, given my background and experience,” Caine said. “If confirmed, I think that’ll be an area where I spend some time.”
Maintaining America’s strategic deterrent, the nuclear triad, is a top priority, Caine said, and he’ll work with U.S. Strategic Command to make that happen. Additionally, continued partnerships with American allies remain important, including with NATO in Europe.
“Allies and partners are a critical component to our ability to protect and defend our values and virtues around the world. NATO is a key component to that,” he said. “For me in particular, I value our allies and partners, and if confirmed, that’ll be a significant portion of the job that I have ahead of me.”
Caine has served in the Air Force and Air National Guard as an F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighter aircraft pilot, as an advisor at the Central Intelligence Agency, with the interagency at the White House, and as an entrepreneur and investor in the private sector. Taking on the role as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will bring new challenges, with the top concern, he said, making sure the joint force is always ready to fight and win.
“[My] No. 1 concern is the passage of time and ensuring that the joint force is ready, properly armed, with the right capabilities out at the tactical edge, properly globally integrated with the services themselves, with the other elements of the interagency, with our allies and partners, and with the private sector, and ready to go tonight,” Caine said. “And that means their families are ready, they’re ready, [and] they’re properly trained and equipped. So, we have much to do.”
By C. Todd Lopez, DOD News