ROA applauds and thanks Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for his commitment to take another look at the Army Transformation Initiative (ATI), and also thanks Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, for raising the issue of the FY 2027 budget request’s aviation cuts — including cuts that fall directly on Army Reserve MEDEVAC capability.
In a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing last week, Ranking Member DeLauro raised concerns with Secretary Hegseth about the steep aviation cuts in the FY 2027 budget request — cuts driven by the Army Transformation Initiative that include reductions to the Army Reserve’s MEDEVAC fleet. In response, Secretary Hegseth told the Subcommittee that “there are some very good things in the Army Transformation Initiative, and there are some things that we needed to get another look at,” adding, “I think you’ll see a review of some of those things, and we’ll get back to you.”
ROA has written to Secretary Hegseth thanking him for the commitment and underscoring that Army Reserve MEDEVAC must be a central element of the ATI review. At ROA’s 2025 Annual Meeting, the membership approved a resolution calling for the preservation and modernization of Army Reserve MEDEVAC. Since then, ROA national has engaged with the offices of Senator Ted Cruz and Rep. Morgan Luttrell, and with the professional staff of the Armed Services and Defense Appropriations Committees, to reverse the MEDEVAC cuts embedded in ATI. That work includes support for the Reserve Component Emergency Service for Casualty Evacuation (RESCUE) Act (S. 1951), introduced by Senator Cruz, which would preserve Army Reserve MEDEVAC capacity.
“ROA is deeply grateful to Secretary Hegseth for his commitment to take another look at the Army Transformation Initiative, and to Ranking Member DeLauro for bringing up this issue in the hearing,” said Maj. Gen. John B. Hashem, U.S. Army (Ret.), Chief Executive Officer of ROA. “Army Reserve MEDEVAC is one of the capabilities most directly affected by the ATI aviation cuts, and we are encouraged that the review the Secretary committed to will bring it the scrutiny it deserves. The crews who fly these missions save lives that no other capability can reach.”
ROA’s MEDEVAC advocacy reflects sustained engagement with congressional partners and Department leadership. The organization stands ready to support the Secretary’s ATI review and to continue working with Congress to ensure that Army Reserve MEDEVAC remains a fully resourced component of the joint force.
U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Joy Dulen