Stalled Pentagon nominations will harm military readiness: Austin

WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday that Pentagon nominations being stalled in the Senate over opposition to the military´s abortion policy will impact the readiness of American forces.

Senator Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, said last month that he would seek to hold up Defence Department nominees who require Senate approval due to the Pentagon´s decision to assist troops who have to travel to receive reproductive health care.

“The effects are absolutely critical in terms of... the impact on the force,” Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee of the stalled nominations. “Not approving the recommendation for promotions actually creates a ripple effect through the force that makes us far less ready than we need to be.”

Between the Ukraine conflict, an aggressive China and Iran-backed forces attacking US troops in Syria, this is “one of the most complex times that we´ve seen lately,” Austin said. He noted that upcoming vacancies requiring Senate approval include the chiefs of the US Army, Marine Corps and Navy, as well as the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

Tuberville -- a Senate Armed Services Committee member -- tweeted in mid-February that because Austin is “following through with his radical plan to facilitate thousands of abortions a year with taxpayer dollars,” he would “hold all DoD civilian & general/flag officer nominees that come before the US Senate.”