Chairman Wicker Leads SASC Hearing to Consider Four Senior Pentagon Nominations

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today led a hearing to consider the qualifications of four senior nominees to serve within the Department of Defense.

Mr. Platte Moring III, nominated to be Inspector General at the Department of Defense, Ms. Kirsten Davies, nominated to be Chief Information Officer of the Department of Defense, Mr. James Mazol, nominated to be Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and Mr. Derrick Anderson, nominated to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, all appeared before the committee.

In his opening remarks, Chairman Wicker underscored the critical nature of these positions and their respective roles in ensuring the defense of our nation.

Read Chairman Wicker's hearing opening statement as delivered.

I welcome our witnesses and their families, and I thank them for being here this morning. I'm going to say what I've said for months and months at the kickoff of the most of our hearings. The United States faces the most dangerous threat environment since World War II. It bears repeating. In these challenging times, I am grateful that the individuals here today have stepped up to serve.

Mr. Platte Moring III has been nominated to be the Inspector General of the Department of Defense. Mr. Moring is a retired Lieutenant Colonel and Bronze Star recipient. He served with distinction in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He now teaches political science at the Citadel. Under the first Trump administration, Mr. Moring was the Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Defense. He has also worked in private practice as well with the Department of Justice.

Welcome to you, Mr. Moring. We look forward to hearing about how Mr. Moring intends to ensure transparency, accountability, and clear communication with Congress in the performance of these duties.

Ms. Kirsten Davies has been nominated to be the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Defense. Ms. Davies has over fifteen years of executive cybersecurity and technology leadership, with experience at five Global and Fortune 250 companies. If confirmed, she will bring expertise in designing and leading comprehensive security reforms and digital transformation initiatives. Ms. Davies will help implement advanced technologies at the speed of the commercial industry without compromising security standards.

I look forward to hearing her views on modernizing our cyber defenses, rapidly integrating cutting-edge capabilities, and ensuring our warfighters have the technological edge they need to defend our nation.

Mr. James Mazol has been nominated to serve as the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In this role it is critical to ensure that our technology outpaces that of our adversaries.

Mr. Mazol has both House and Senate experience in national security and technology policy. He is, therefore, uniquely qualified to support the department and be a true partner with this committee, to work hand in hand with Congress.

The U.S must accelerate our efforts to develop, field, and transition operationally relevant capabilities to our warfighter, including everything from artificial intelligence to biotechnologies. We must leverage and steer our key advantages, such as private capital, toward national security objectives. And we must do so in critical technologies so we can surpass China's efforts.

I am confident Mr. Mazol is the exact person we need to help us experiment rapidly and to integrate promising technologies at scale. I will have the honor of saying a bit more about Mr. Mazol later on. I look forward to hearing his testimony about his vision for how we can act now to make progress in this area.

And then, Mr. Derrick Anderson has been nominated to be the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict.

If confirmed, he would serve as the principal civilian advisor to the Secretary of Defense on special operations, counterterrorism, and irregular warfare-related matters. This Assistant Secretary role is also responsible for overseeing the training, equipping, and readiness of our nation's special operations forces. Mr. Anderson was the first in his family to attend and graduate from college.

Following his graduation, he went on to serve the nation in uniform as an Army Infantry Officer and as a Green Beret. His experience in uniform and in the private sector gives me confidence he will do an excellent job. I look forward to hearing Mr. Anderson describe his priorities for our special operations enterprise.