Joni Ernst
The United States needs a comprehensive strategy to defeat ISIS as it branches out from the Middle East to other regions, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), chair of the Senate Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, told The Ripon Advance.
ISIS has expanded its reach beyond the Middle East in recent years to recruit violent extremists from Southeast Asia, with its large Muslim population, and Latin America.
“It is a threat that continues to spread so I want to put special emphasis on that and make sure that we are not just addressing it in the Middle East but we are taking a look at it elsewhere around the globe as well,” said Ernst, a member of the Armed Services Committee and the first female combat veteran elected to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Ernst said the former Obama administration was not aggressive enough in addressing the growing influence of ISIS. “We saw it really pushed to the side in the past administration,” she said.
Special operators working in the Philippines and other countries in Southeast Asia have been effective in fighting Islamic extremists, and Ernst said those efforts should continue under the new administration, along with the implementation of a broader anti-terrorism strategy in regions outside of the Middle East.
“I’m hoping President Trump will take this threat seriously and address it to the level I think it needs to be addressed,” Ernst said.
Ernst also is pushing for the continued support of Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers with weapons and training in Iraq in the fight against ISIS. “They have been a great force standing alongside American men and women and we want to make sure we are supporting them and enabling them because they are such loyal friends of the United States armed forces,” she said.
The Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities has jurisdiction over policies and programs related to intelligence, counter-terrorism and homeland security, as well as counter-narcotics, technology and special operations.
Ensuring those serving in the military have access to the most up-to-date technologies and upgrading the weaponry of service members also tops the list of the subcommittee’s priorities this year.
Ernst recently sent a letter to U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General Mark Milley, asking why more durable polymer ammunition magazines were not approved for U.S. Army rifles in combat or training. After extensive testing, those types of magazines were approved by the Marine Corps.
“It may seem small to a lot of people, but when you’re an infantryman on the ground and you want to make sure that your magazine is working – we want to make sure that this is the right way to go,” she said. “If the Marines are using it and having great success, we want to make sure the Army has the same opportunity as well.”
Ernst also stressed the importance of making sure the U.S. military does not fall behind Russia and other countries in terms of access to modern equipment in the confirmation hearing of General James Mattis for Secretary of Defense.
Ernst also continues to strive to reduce the incidents of sexual assault in the military, and has called for a mandatory buddy pair system in the U.S. Air Force.
In a recent letter to Brigadier General Heather Pringle, Commander of the U.S. Air Force 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio, Ernst requested she consider a buddy system to reduce sexual assaults at the facilities for Air Force trainees. The Army is seeing fewer sexual assault cases as a result of having implemented a buddy system at Joint Base San Antonio.
“We believe that by traveling in a buddy pair it enforces the fact that you won’t see predators trying to assault a member who is in the buddy team, and in buddy teams you encourage your buddy to make better decisions,” Ernst said.
While serving as a company commander in Kuwait and Iraq, leading 150 Iowa Army National Guardsmen during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Ernst said she was required to travel in a pair to thwart sexual assault.
“If you can make an officer do it, our trainees should do it as well, and hopefully see fewer sexual assaults,” she said.