On Wednesday, some of the Pentagon's top brass met in Washington for the eighth-annual McAleese Defense Programs Conference.

Many of the speeches during that day-long forum shared a common refrain: A culture of continuing resolutions and budget caps have made military readiness a significant challenge.

The Defense Department is poised to see a significant boost in spending under the Trump administration. The White House called for a $54 billion increase to the DoD budget in 2018.

Government Matters host Francis Rose spent the day at the McAleese Conference and discussed readiness priorities with some of the DoD's top officials.

This program includes excerpts from interviews with:

-Gen. Robert B. Neller, commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps

-Gen. Daniel B. Allyn, vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army

-Adm. Williams F. Moran, vice chief of U.S. Naval Operations

-Gen. Stephen W. Wilson, vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force