US Army, Marines at risk for first time — Pentagon

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has warned that troop readiness and retention are at risk as the Army's chief stepped down, leaving the military's two ground combat forces without Senate-confirmed leaders for the first time in history.

Speaking during a ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall on Friday, Austin said the Senate's failure to confirm the services' new leaders is disruptive to the force and could impact relationships with allies and partners around the globe.

The confirmation of the next Army chief and Marine commandant is among more than 300 military nominations stalled by Alabama Senator.

Tommy Tuberville, a Republican, over the Pentagon's policy to pay for travel when a service member has to go out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care.

"Today, for the first time in the history of the Department of Defence, two of our services will be operating without Senate-confirmed leadership," said Austin.

"Great teams need great leaders, and that’s central to maintaining the full might of the most lethal fighting force on earth."

Army General James McConville is retiring, and General Randy George, the current Vice Chief, has been nominated to become the next chief of the service.

'Uncertainty'

On Friday, George became the acting chief.

Similarly, Marine General Eric Smith has been nominated to be the next commandant, but is serving in an acting capacity now because he hasn't been confirmed.

Both can serve as "acting" chiefs but can do nothing that would presume confirmation.

As a result, they can’t move into the main residences or offices, or issue formal planning guidance, which is traditional for a new leader.

And officials have also warned that there are some authorities, including some budgeting powers, that don't shift to acting leaders.

"We need these leaders in place to ensure the readiness of our force," said Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, speaking at the ceremony.

"And we need to end all of this uncertainty for our military families."

She noted that officers and their families are in limbo, waiting to see if they will move or not to new bases, states and jobs.

Democrats’ argument

In a recent comment, Tuberville said it is up to the Democrats to schedule votes on the nominations.

"I am not stopping anyone from getting confirmed, and I am not stopping anyone from voting. Democrats could simply put these nominations up for a vote, but they clearly don’t want to," he said.

Democrats have said that doing individual votes on each of the nominations would take months, and would eat up valuable time that the Senate needs to address other issues.

Tuberville has blocked efforts to have Senate votes on all nominations for senior military jobs because he disagrees with the travel pay policy.

And congress is now out on summer vacation, which means there will be no action on the jobs for weeks.

Admiral Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, will step down on Monday.

Admiral Lisa M. Franchetti, the current vice chief, has been nominated to take over.

Further complicating things, Air Force General CQ Brown has been nominated to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when Army General Mark Milley leaves, as required by law, on September 30.

The current vice chairman, Admiral Christopher Grady, would serve as acting chairman.

Brown, whose term as Air Force chief goes for another year, will remain in that post.

General David Allvin has been nominated to be the next Air Force chief, if Brown moves to the chairman's job.