CQ Brown visits Lockheed plant with lawmakers to press Ukraine case

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown visited U.S. weapon factories in Oklahoma and Arkansas on Thursday as the Pentagon frames the $95 billion aid package hanging in the balance on Capitol Hill as not only vital to Ukraine’s survival but also critical to the U.S. economy.

Brown visited Lockheed Martin’s Camden, Arkansas, weapon facility and the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in McAlester, Oklahoma, with the lawmakers who represent those factory workforces to address concerns over billions of dollars being sent overseas when there are so many needs at home. Some of those lawmakers have either already voted against the aid or have indicated they will oppose it.

The general traveled with Arkansas Republican Sen. John Boozman, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin and Arkansas Republican Rep. Brad Westerman and is scheduled to meet with Oklahoma Republican Rep. Josh Brecheen while at McAlester. Boozman, Mullin and Westerman expressed optimism that the Ukraine supplemental bill will find a way to passage in Congress and highlighted the impact it would have on their local workforces.

Brown said he’ll use the trip to point out how the funding is needed to replenish U.S. military stockpiles that have been sent forward to Ukraine during its fight against Russia’s invasion and how that increased production supports local economies. It’s a point the Pentagon has increasingly pushed in recent months as current Ukraine funding ran out — and Ukraine’s front lines began to ration munitions against a much more robustly supplied Russian army.

“As I have done with other members, and I’ll do with these members, I’ll talk to them about the importance of the supplemental and not only how it helps Ukraine but also how it helps all of us. What I mean by that is much of the money, about 80% of the money out of the supplemental, will go back into our defense industrial base,” Brown said in a call with reporters ahead of the trip.

Lockheed Martin’s Camden plant produces both the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which is a coveted long-range firing system Ukraine has effectively used against Russian front lines, and the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, long-range missiles that are quick and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said have proved effective against Russian forces. The McAlester plant produces Navy and Air Force bombs — but is also a major storage site for critically needed 155mm munitions . In support of Ukraine the McAlester plant has also accelerated repair of Stinger and Hawk missiles and has refurbished South Korea-provided 155mm rounds with new markings and fuses.

“I think there’s real value in coming to see this firsthand and have time with them on the airplane to talk about why this is important and why going to these two locations is important,” Brown said.

Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, a high-ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, who negotiated the failed border bill that has now become a sticking point for the Ukraine aid bill in the House, had been scheduled to travel with Brown but will no longer be on the trip.

The lawmakers have taken different approaches on their support for Ukraine as the war has dragged on.

In May 2022, the Arkansas senators split on the $40 billion Ukraine aid package, with Cotton joining Lankford in favor of the aid and Boozman opposed.

Mullin, who was a member of the House at the time before being elected to the Senate, also voted in favor of the 2022 aid package, as did Westerman.

But more recently, as the Senate last month approved the $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific allies, Cotton, Lankford and Mullin voted against it, while Boozman was in favor.

That bill is now stalled in the House, opposed by hard-line Republicans, including Brecheen, who joined Congress in 2023. He said on social media the “disastrous legislation must be stopped.”

Tara Copp is a Pentagon correspondent for the Associated Press. She was previously Pentagon bureau chief for Sightline Media Group.

周四，参谋长联席会议主席布朗将军视察了位于俄克拉荷马州和阿肯色州的美国武器工厂。与此同时，五角大楼将悬而未决、目前在国会山悬而未决的 950 亿美元援助计划描述为不仅对乌克兰的生存至关重要，而且对美国经济也至关重要。

布朗州长与代表洛克希德·马丁公司位于阿肯色州卡姆登的武器工厂和位于俄克拉荷马州麦卡莱斯特的麦卡莱斯特陆军弹药厂的议员们一同参观了这两家工厂，旨在解决国内诸多需求亟待解决，却仍有数十亿美元资金被送往海外的问题。部分议员已经投票反对这项援助，或表示将投反对票。

这位将军与阿肯色州共和党参议员约翰·布兹曼、俄克拉荷马州共和党参议员马克韦恩·穆林以及阿肯色州共和党众议员布拉德·韦斯特曼一同前往麦卡莱斯特，并计划与俄克拉荷马州共和党众议员乔什·布雷钦会面。布兹曼、穆林和韦斯特曼均表示乐观，认为乌克兰补充拨款法案将在国会获得通过，并强调了该法案将对当地劳动力市场产生的影响。

布朗表示，他将利用此次访问强调，这笔资金对于补充美国在乌克兰对抗俄罗斯入侵期间运往乌克兰的军事储备至关重要，而增加的产量也将支持当地经济。近几个月来，随着乌克兰现有资金的耗尽，五角大楼越来越重视这一点——乌克兰前线开始实行弹药配给制，而俄罗斯军队的弹药供应则远比乌克兰充足。

布朗在出访前与记者通话时表示：“就像我之前对其他成员国所做的那样，我也会和这些成员国谈谈补充拨款的重要性，不仅要谈到它如何帮助乌克兰，也要谈到它如何帮助我们所有人。我的意思是，这笔钱的大部分，大约80%，将重新投入到我们的国防工业基础建设中。”

洛克希德·马丁公司位于卡姆登的工厂生产高机动性火箭炮系统（HIMARS），这是一种乌克兰梦寐以求的远程火力系统，乌克兰曾有效地利用该系统打击俄罗斯前线；该工厂还生产陆军战术导弹系统（ATACMS），这是一种射程短、速度快的远程导弹，乌克兰总统泽连斯基曾表示，ATACMS导弹已被证明对俄军有效。麦卡莱斯特工厂生产海军和空军的炸弹，同时也是乌克兰急需的155毫米炮弹的主要储存基地。为了支持乌克兰，麦卡莱斯特工厂还加快了“毒刺”和“鹰”导弹的维修工作，并为韩国提供的155毫米炮弹重新涂装了标记和引信。

布朗说：“我认为亲身前来了解情况，并在飞机上花时间与他们交谈，讨论为什么这件事很重要，以及为什么去这两个地方很重要，这真的很有价值。”

阿肯色州共和党参议员汤姆·科顿是参议院军事委员会的高级成员，俄克拉荷马州参议员詹姆斯·兰克福德曾参与谈判一项失败的边境法案，该法案现在已成为众议院乌克兰援助法案的症结所在。他们原本计划与布朗一起出行，但现在将不再参加此次行程。

随着战争的持续，议员们对支持乌克兰采取了不同的方式。

2022 年 5 月，阿肯色州参议员们对 400 亿美元的乌克兰援助方案意见不一，科顿与兰克福德一起赞成援助，而布兹曼则反对。

穆林在当选参议员之前是众议院议员，他也投票赞成 2022 年的援助方案，韦斯特曼也是如此。

但最近，上个月参议院批准了向乌克兰、以色列和印太盟国提供的 950 亿美元援助计划，科顿、兰克福德和穆林投了反对票，而布兹曼投了赞成票。

该法案目前在众议院受阻，遭到包括布雷钦在内的强硬派共和党人的反对。布雷钦于2023年进入国会。他在社交媒体上表示，“必须阻止这项灾难性的立法”。

塔拉·科普是美联社驻五角大楼记者。她此前曾担任Sightline媒体集团驻五角大楼分社社长。