Joint Chiefs of Staff chair nominee promises to be 'apolitical' and candid

Members of the Senate Armed Forces Committee subjected Caine to a 2.5-hour confirmation hearing Tuesday morning at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.

During opening comments, ranking member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said he was "deeply concerned" that the Trump administration fired former JCS chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown and several other JCS members with no reason cited.

Reed suggested the firings were politically motivated but said he is "encouraged" by Caine's qualifications as a former F-16 pilot with thousands of flight hours and multiple deployments followed by many years of experience in the Pentagon.

Honest assessments, even when unpopular

"If confirmed, you will serve as the principal military adviser to the president, the National Security Council and the secretary of Defense," Reed said. "I expect you to pledge to always provide your best military advice to the president and secretary of Defense, even if that advice is not what they want to hear."

He said the military has been dragged into political fights, public trust in the military is eroding, and military trust in civilian leadership has been shaken.

"I'd like to know how you would improve the civilian-military relationship," Reed said.

Caine said his father flew F-4 Phantom fighters in Vietnam, his mother was a pediatric critical care nurse, and he learned about service from his parents and other family members who served.

He said the nation faces a rising global threat and mentioned the then-current times in Beijing, Moscow, Pyongyang and Tehran.

"Our nation faces an unprecedented rising global risk," Caine said.

"Our adversaries are advancing, global nuclear threats are on the rise, and deterrence is paramount," he added. "Our national defense requires urgent action and reform across the board."

He said the nation's number-one job is to "create peace through overwhelming strength and if need be fight and win our nation's wars."

'Proper information' only in 'proper channels'

Reed asked if the Yemen strikes on Houthi positions should have been conducted using the unsecured Signal app.

Caine said he always has "conveyed the proper information in the proper channels" and the military always should preserve the element of surprise.

Reed also asked Caine if he ever said he "loved" Trump, would "kill" for him and wore a Make America Great Again hat.

Caine said he never said such things and never wore political merchandise.

He agreed with Reed that the military should stay "apolitical" and said he would keep the military non-partisan and "speak truth to power every day."

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., asked Caine how he would improve the military's nuclear efficiencies and maintain the nuclear threat.

He said it would be an area of "emphasis" and supports adding options to the nation's nuclear arsenal to enhance the military's deterrence capabilities.

Caine told Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., he does not consider the Women Peace and Security legislation as a "DEI program" when asked if he does and said it helps the military understand the "full spectrum of challenges ahead of us."

Shaheen asked if the United States should continue to control NATO, to which Caine said he would defer to the president on policy but said it's important for U.S. forces to be commanded by U.S. leaders.

"I value our allies and partners," Caine said, adding that consulting with them regarding NATO-related decisions is a "significant portion of the job."

'Candid and best military advice' only

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., described Caine as the kind of person who did not seek the nomination as chairman of the JCS and asked if Caine would provide his "candid and best military advice" even if it's not what the president of secretary of defense want to hear.

Caine said he attended the Virginia Military Institute and his barracks overlooked a statue of Gen. George C. Marshall.

"If I failed to provide my candid advice to the secretary [of Defense], the [National Security Council] or the president, I think Gen. Marshall would climb out of his grave and hunt me down."

The matter of the recent Signal app chat among members of the Trump administration continued to be raised, but Caine declined to comment further and noted that an inquiry into the matter is active.

Caine became a commissioned officer after completing the ROTC program at VMI in 1990 and earned a master's in Air Warfare from the American Military University, according to his U.S. Air Force biography.

He served as an F-16 pilot and logged more than 2,800 hours of flight time, including more than 150 combat hours.

Caine also was a part-time member of the National Guard, an entrepreneur and an investor from 2009 to 2016.

He has been a national security adviser and taught courses related to national security, military leadership and joint warfare.