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Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Adm. Sandy Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discuss the Defense Strategic Guidance on Jan. 5, 2012. (DOD Photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo)
Two top Pentagon officials are set to appear before House lawmakers next week to discuss the findings of the Strategic Choices and Management Review, an effort that will help determine how the US Defense Department operates amid budget cuts.
Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Adm. Sandy Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to appear before the House Armed Services Committee on Aug. 1. Pentagon officials have yet to give a detailed look inside SCMR, which defense insiders have nicknamed the “skimmer” or “scammer.”
Lawmakers have been pressing DoD for several months to give them insight into the review, which began in March. The project is supposed to tee up decisions for programs, missions and troop level changes depending on the level of spending cut levied on the Pentagon.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in July told senators that the SCMR “seeks to adhere … to the tenets” of DoD’s Pacific-focused Defense Strategic Guidance.
