Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee repeatedly voiced frustration with a lack of information coming from the Pentagon at a confirmation hearing Tuesday for several assistant secretary nominees.

Austin Dahmer, who is currently serving as the acting deputy undersecretary of Defense for policy and has been nominated to be the assistant secretary for strategy, plans and forces, took the brunt of criticism from senators, who blamed the information vacuum on the Pentagon’s policy shop.

“The department is allegedly conducting a broad review of U.S. forces stationed abroad. I say ‘allegedly’ because the department has not formally conveyed to this committee that it is actually undertaking such a review,” Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said in his opening statement.

“Members and

See Full Page