Retired general tells Michigan oversight panel U.S. Air Force is "smallest, oldest, least ready" since 1947

At a meeting of the House Oversight Committee on Homeland Security and Foreign Influence, Chair Brock read a committee mission statement and Brigadier General Doug Slocum (retired) told members the U.S. Air Force is "the smallest, it is the oldest, and it is the least ready that it has ever been in its history since 1947."

The committee chair said the panel’s mission is "to enhance the awareness and to safeguard Michigan by investigating, analyzing, and exposing breaches in homeland security and hostile entities or countries of concern specifically the Chinese Communist Party's influence and impact on security." The chair described four tactical outputs the committee will produce: letters of recommendation, letters of concern, letters of awareness to citizens, and hearings intended to position Michigan as a model for state-level oversight.

Nut graf: The hearing combined the committee’s inaugural framing of its oversight role with a defense-focused briefing from a retired Air Force officer. Slocum warned members that shortages of aircraft, spare parts and munitions, plus limited production capacity, reduce U.S. force posture — an argument the committee chair said…