Senator Wicker Questions DoD Nominee on Unreported Title Change

Congressional Notification Dispute

• 📌 Senator Roger Wicker questioned Austin J. Dahmer, nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities, regarding a change in the position's title.
• ⚠️ The title was reportedly changed from 'Strategy, Plans, and Forces' to 'Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities' on October 8th without notifying Congress.
• 🎯 Dahmer accepted responsibility for the oversight, stating it was his job to inform Congress through the office of legislative affairs.

Nature of the Title Change

• 💡 Dahmer testified that the change was purely a wording change and not a substantive alteration of the duties and responsibilities of the position.
• 💼 Dahmer's current role is Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategy and Force Development, and he has been performing duties of the Deputy Under Secretary for Policy.

Future Role and Responsibilities

• 🎯 If confirmed, Dahmer's duties would be narrower, focusing on national security, national defense strategy, military forces, force development, and security cooperation.
• 🤝 He acknowledged that his current role involves supervising parts of the policy organization, but he has not performed the specific duties of the nominated position.

National Defense Strategy Consultations

• 🌍 The department has consulted with allies on the development of the National Defense Strategy (NDS).
• ✍️ Consultations have occurred via written classified inputs from allies and partners.
• 🇦🇺🇺🇸 Dahmer named Australia and the United Kingdom as specific allies consulted, offering to provide a complete list for the record.
• ❓ The format of these dialogues, particularly within NATO, and whether they were led by the department was unclear, with inputs being in written form.