WEBVTT 00:00.855 --> 00:03.010 - I want to welcome everyone 00:03.010 --> 00:06.610 to the Military Personnel Subcommittee's hearing 00:06.610 --> 00:09.250 on the current and future state 00:09.250 --> 00:11.163 of the military personnel enterprise, 00:11.380 --> 00:13.050 as we continue to build 00:13.840 --> 00:18.840 the Fiscal Year 2019 NDAA, 00:18.950 --> 00:20.700 National Defense Authorization Act. 00:20.850 --> 00:23.930 Our panel of the service personnel chiefs 00:23.930 --> 00:26.410 is here to address each of the service's 00:26.640 --> 00:30.070 personnel requirements, including personnel policies 00:30.070 --> 00:32.740 for recruiting and retention, family programs, 00:32.740 --> 00:34.870 and to address other budget and legislative 00:34.870 --> 00:37.160 requests for fiscal year 2019. 00:37.160 --> 00:41.130 Today's focus is on the request for manpower increases 00:41.130 --> 00:44.040 from the Armed Services and the requirements 00:44.290 --> 00:47.223 that went into building the specific increases, 00:47.780 --> 00:51.580 as well as how the personnel policies currently in place 00:51.580 --> 00:54.583 will support and sustain these increases. 00:54.890 --> 00:57.400 With a difficult recruiting and retention environment 00:57.400 --> 01:00.793 driven by a lessened overall propensity to serve, 01:01.150 --> 01:03.263 reduced pool of qualified candidates, 01:03.280 --> 01:06.880 and a robust economy, the competition for recruits 01:07.020 --> 01:10.200 will be difficult and you will be competing 01:10.940 --> 01:12.253 for the same pool. 01:12.410 --> 01:14.983 As you reference in your written testimony, 01:15.421 --> 01:19.963 General Seamands, am I saying that right? 01:20.610 --> 01:25.610 Okay, today only one in four 17 to 24 year olds 01:25.650 --> 01:29.023 in the United States is eligible to serve in the Army. 01:29.390 --> 01:32.290 And only one in eight has a propensity to enlist 01:32.290 --> 01:35.855 in the military, making army accessions a challenging 01:35.855 --> 01:40.463 and resource intensive activity. 01:40.750 --> 01:43.830 The subcommittee also remains concerned about the ability 01:44.090 --> 01:47.860 of all the services to maintain their high-quality standards 01:48.320 --> 01:50.513 and still meet their recruiting goals. 01:50.580 --> 01:54.460 Also, I am especially interested in your plans for retention 01:54.670 --> 01:57.600 of the right service members that are central 01:57.910 --> 02:01.070 to your mission, and specifically, what additional steps 02:01.070 --> 02:05.223 the Air Force is taking to fully address their pilot crisis. 02:05.420 --> 02:07.520 Before I introduce our panel let me offer 02:07.660 --> 02:09.210 Congresswoman Speier an opportunity 02:09.210 --> 02:11.323 to make any opening remarks. 02:11.630 --> 02:12.463 - Mr. Chairman, thank you. 02:12.463 --> 02:14.813 Actually, my comments mirror yours. 02:15.180 --> 02:18.240 The national defense strategy led Congress to assume 02:18.240 --> 02:20.600 there will be growth in end strength 02:20.600 --> 02:22.083 for most of the services. 02:22.230 --> 02:26.010 The Fiscal Year 2019 request does seek increases, 02:26.010 --> 02:29.040 not just for next year, but also requests an end state 02:29.420 --> 02:34.110 for Fiscal Year 2023 of more than 10,000 02:34.320 --> 02:35.960 from the current authorization levels 02:35.960 --> 02:38.370 for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. 02:38.370 --> 02:41.060 For the past two years, Congress has written a blank check 02:41.060 --> 02:43.680 for the Army, providing end strength increases 02:43.680 --> 02:45.703 not requested as part of the budget. 02:45.950 --> 02:48.743 We cannot continue this behavior. 02:48.830 --> 02:52.410 Whether we agree the services need an increase or not, 02:52.410 --> 02:54.890 it is important for Congress to understand 02:54.890 --> 02:58.890 what the long-term plans are, so we can have informed debate 02:58.890 --> 03:02.013 and make educated decisions about our military. 03:02.230 --> 03:04.830 I'd like to understand how the services would sustain 03:04.830 --> 03:07.050 this growth pattern over the next five years 03:07.050 --> 03:09.660 in an era where finding quality applicants 03:09.660 --> 03:11.963 is becoming more and more difficult. 03:12.130 --> 03:15.220 Congress also must understand how increased end strength 03:15.220 --> 03:18.600 will apply to the force, fill current gaps, 03:18.600 --> 03:20.723 and increase units in capabilities. 03:20.810 --> 03:21.643 I yield back. 03:22.940 --> 03:25.610 - We will give each witness the opportunity to present 03:25.610 --> 03:28.060 his or her testimony, and each member an opportunity 03:28.060 --> 03:30.633 to question the witnesses for five minutes. 03:30.680 --> 03:33.240 We would also respectfully remind the witnesses 03:33.240 --> 03:35.442 to summarize to the greatest extent possible, 03:35.442 --> 03:37.520 the high points of your written testimony 03:37.520 --> 03:38.720 in five minutes or less. 03:38.810 --> 03:41.780 Your written comments and statements will be made 03:41.780 --> 03:43.130 part of the hearing record. 03:43.170 --> 03:45.053 Let me welcome our panel. 03:45.650 --> 03:48.043 Lieutenant General Thomas Seamands, 03:49.450 --> 03:53.173 Vice Deputy Chief of Staff G-1, United States Army. 03:53.770 --> 03:55.793 Vice Admiral Robert P. Burke, 03:56.130 --> 03:58.623 Chief of Naval Personnel. 03:59.170 --> 04:01.403 Lieutenant General Gina M. Grosso, 04:01.590 --> 04:04.690 Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services, 04:04.690 --> 04:06.170 United States Air Force. 04:06.170 --> 04:08.893 Lieutenant General Michael A. Rocco, 04:09.820 --> 04:12.940 Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, 04:12.940 --> 04:14.290 United States Marine Corps. 04:14.580 --> 04:17.743 General Seamands, you are now recognized for five minutes. 04:18.660 --> 04:20.760 - Chairman Coffman, Ranking Member Speier, 04:21.120 --> 04:22.810 distinguished members of the committee, 04:22.810 --> 04:25.490 I thank you for the opportunity today to appear before you 04:25.490 --> 04:28.340 on behalf of the men and woman of the United States Army. 04:28.470 --> 04:30.573 I've submitted a statement for the record. 04:30.630 --> 04:32.930 I'd now like to highlight a few of the points. 04:33.140 --> 04:35.990 Manning our army is one of the key components to readiness, 04:35.990 --> 04:38.020 and vital to the Army's ability to fight 04:38.250 --> 04:39.823 and win our nation's wars. 04:40.250 --> 04:42.150 Thank you for the Fiscal Year 2018 04:42.150 --> 04:43.983 National Defense Authorization Act, 04:44.160 --> 04:46.913 which authorized the Army to grow by 8,500. 04:47.270 --> 04:49.470 We also appreciate the two-year budget deal, 04:49.600 --> 04:52.750 which will improve readiness and ensure our formations 04:52.750 --> 04:54.363 are filled in the years to come. 04:55.050 --> 04:57.500 To build the future Army, we must recruit diverse 04:58.390 --> 05:01.113 men and women of high quality and high character, 05:01.430 --> 05:04.283 in a competitive market, as the chairman talked about, 05:04.380 --> 05:07.630 where only one of four 17 to 24 year-olds is eligible 05:07.630 --> 05:09.670 to join the Army, and one in eight has 05:09.670 --> 05:11.783 a propensity to enlist in the military. 05:12.550 --> 05:14.520 While the army projects recruiting challenges 05:14.520 --> 05:17.730 in all components, maintaining the quality will continue 05:17.730 --> 05:19.840 to be our priority and the Army will not 05:19.840 --> 05:21.863 sacrifice quality for quantity. 05:22.580 --> 05:24.100 Our recruiters across the country are doing 05:24.100 --> 05:26.173 incredible work to achieve this mission. 05:26.910 --> 05:29.870 The Army must also continue to retain the most talented 05:29.870 --> 05:32.560 Soldiers and noncommissioned officers with the experience 05:32.560 --> 05:35.233 and skills necessary to meet our future needs. 05:35.580 --> 05:37.730 We project historic retention rates again 05:37.730 --> 05:39.193 this year for our NCOs. 05:39.857 --> 05:42.160 The army leadership embraces talent management 05:42.160 --> 05:44.270 as a cornerstone for how we will retain 05:44.270 --> 05:45.870 our best officers and NCOs. 05:46.804 --> 05:49.310 The Integrated Pay and Personnel System Army, 05:49.310 --> 05:51.730 IPPS-A, will be the keystone in the archway 05:51.730 --> 05:53.043 of our talent management. 05:53.980 --> 05:56.300 IPPS-A will be a responsive system, connecting all three 05:56.300 --> 05:58.903 components and build a marketplace for talent. 05:59.600 --> 06:01.700 We are a standards based team in the Army. 06:01.760 --> 06:04.410 And the Army remains committed to giving all Soldiers 06:04.470 --> 06:06.760 who can meet the standards of a military occupational 06:06.760 --> 06:09.713 specialty, the opportunity to serve in that specialty. 06:10.180 --> 06:12.530 Last year the Army implemented gender-neutral 06:12.530 --> 06:14.860 physical standards for initial entry training 06:14.860 --> 06:16.263 for specific jobs. 06:16.560 --> 06:18.210 The initial results are positive. 06:18.890 --> 06:20.750 We have successfully assessed and transferred more than 06:20.750 --> 06:25.310 almost 700 women into previously closed occupations 06:25.400 --> 06:27.333 of infantry, armor, and artillery. 06:27.890 --> 06:29.700 The opportunities are so popular, 06:29.700 --> 06:31.850 we plan on expanding the program this year. 06:32.480 --> 06:35.210 as part of the total force, our Army civilians are vital 06:35.210 --> 06:37.993 and comprise about 22% of our total personnel. 06:38.290 --> 06:41.090 We use civilian workforce with unique critical skills 06:41.170 --> 06:43.623 to support our soldiers and support our families. 06:44.190 --> 06:46.150 As we build our force, we focus on the areas 06:46.150 --> 06:48.533 that provide the foundation for our future. 06:49.260 --> 06:51.413 We remain focused on personal resiliency, 06:51.520 --> 06:54.040 suicide prevention, with world-class programs 06:54.040 --> 06:56.053 for Soldiers, civilians, and families. 06:56.180 --> 06:58.880 And we are aggressively working to decrease the stigma 06:58.890 --> 07:01.463 associated with seeking behavioral health help. 07:02.070 --> 07:04.570 Sexual harassment, sexual assault, and retaliation 07:04.710 --> 07:06.693 are not compatible with Army values, 07:06.720 --> 07:08.410 and they diminish our readiness. 07:08.410 --> 07:11.340 Therefore, combating all forms of sexual misconduct 07:11.440 --> 07:13.273 remain a top priority for the Army. 07:13.680 --> 07:16.280 Although we're optimistic about the progress we've made 07:16.280 --> 07:18.920 in reducing sexual violence in the ranks, we understand 07:18.920 --> 07:21.670 there's a lot more work to do as we drive towards zero. 07:22.470 --> 07:25.513 You've authorized us to grow and we're thankful for that. 07:25.530 --> 07:26.913 We must ensure we're ready. 07:27.320 --> 07:29.640 The Army has improved personal readiness by increasing 07:29.640 --> 07:32.450 the number of deployable Soldiers, and we have an ongoing 07:32.450 --> 07:34.840 review to increase the number of deployable Soldiers 07:34.840 --> 07:37.393 even more in order to enhance readiness. 07:37.940 --> 07:40.040 As you're aware, the Department of Defense has issued 07:40.040 --> 07:41.750 new retention policy for non-deployable 07:41.750 --> 07:43.273 service members in February. 07:43.580 --> 07:44.930 The Army is working with OSD 07:44.930 --> 07:46.983 on the implementation of these changes. 07:47.180 --> 07:49.130 The Army will make continued reductions 07:51.018 --> 07:53.623 in our non-deployable population a priority. 07:54.440 --> 07:56.680 Because we care for our Soldiers as they prepare for life 07:56.680 --> 07:59.793 after the service, the Army Soldier for Life program, 08:00.250 --> 08:02.830 with support from commanders and command sergeant majors, 08:02.830 --> 08:06.040 has resulted increased educational employment opportunities 08:06.170 --> 08:09.150 for our soldiers, our veterans, and our family members 08:09.270 --> 08:12.273 at a significant reduction of unemployment cost. 08:12.710 --> 08:14.830 Additionally, I look forward to beginning the discussion 08:14.830 --> 08:17.420 of review DOPMA to determine what's essential 08:17.420 --> 08:18.870 and what needs to be updated. 08:19.240 --> 08:21.620 Our army is strong because of the courage, commitment, 08:21.620 --> 08:24.750 of our Soldiers, civilians, veterans, and family members 08:24.780 --> 08:25.963 who serve our nation. 08:26.200 --> 08:28.070 I think all of you for your continued support 08:28.070 --> 08:29.370 to the all-volunteer Army. 08:33.990 --> 08:35.660 - Vice Admiral Burke, you're now recognized 08:35.660 --> 08:37.210 for five minutes. - Thank you. 08:37.210 --> 08:39.803 Good morning, Chairman Coffman, Ranking Member Speier, 08:39.850 --> 08:41.370 and distinguished members of subcommittee. 08:41.370 --> 08:43.480 Thank you for the opportunity to represent the men and women 08:43.480 --> 08:44.853 in the United States Navy. 08:45.270 --> 08:47.930 Your stalwart support for them and their families 08:47.930 --> 08:50.390 continues to have a profound impact upon the health 08:50.390 --> 08:51.453 of our force today. 08:51.780 --> 08:54.983 Global demands upon the Navy continue to grow. 08:55.170 --> 08:57.680 We must continue to recruit, develop, and retain 08:57.810 --> 08:59.780 the highly-skilled workforce needed to meet 08:59.780 --> 09:02.733 the growing demand signal for naval forces. 09:02.860 --> 09:04.600 Our force structure will grow 09:04.600 --> 09:07.113 as we build the Navy the nation needs, 09:07.480 --> 09:09.630 which will require increasing end strength. 09:09.830 --> 09:14.453 As we grow, our need for highly talented people increases. 09:14.660 --> 09:17.630 At the same time, propensity to serve is declining 09:17.630 --> 09:20.480 and each of the services, as well as the civilian sector, 09:20.490 --> 09:22.793 are vying for the same limited talent pool. 09:22.880 --> 09:24.863 We are clearly in a war for talent. 09:25.200 --> 09:28.290 Current forecasts based on leading economic indicators 09:28.290 --> 09:30.053 suggest difficult times ahead. 09:30.260 --> 09:33.400 Labor market factors may pull Sailors with critical skills 09:33.400 --> 09:35.483 into the growing civilian job market. 09:35.770 --> 09:39.470 We took note of these indicators and initiated pre-emptive 09:39.470 --> 09:43.270 action to retain these Sailors, using all available policy 09:43.270 --> 09:47.163 levers to posture ourselves to meet this anticipated growth. 09:47.440 --> 09:51.493 Despite this, we just made our FY '17 end strength targets. 09:51.960 --> 09:55.080 This year's trajectory is good, but we will require steady 09:55.080 --> 09:58.283 and reliable funding going forward to stay on track. 09:58.590 --> 10:01.470 The new two-year budget deal is great news for us, 10:01.470 --> 10:03.703 and is an excellent step in that direction. 10:04.290 --> 10:06.750 While recruiters had challenges last year, 10:06.750 --> 10:09.910 an increasing FY '18 recruiting mission 10:10.340 --> 10:12.493 will be even more difficult for them. 10:12.880 --> 10:14.840 Certain fields are in short supply, 10:14.840 --> 10:17.180 and our projected growth profile requires 10:17.510 --> 10:20.223 a balanced approach of accession increases, 10:20.470 --> 10:22.593 as well as retention improvement. 10:23.320 --> 10:27.490 And while our overall aggregate retention remains high, 10:27.490 --> 10:31.570 nuclear field, Special Warfare, advanced electronics, 10:31.570 --> 10:35.793 aviation, and cyber areas demand close attention. 10:36.430 --> 10:40.290 Targeted bonuses continue to be the most cost-effective 10:40.290 --> 10:43.763 monetary tool in addressing those retention challenges, 10:44.110 --> 10:46.590 but we are aggressively applying a combination 10:46.590 --> 10:50.793 of monetary and non-monetary incentives with good effect. 10:51.120 --> 10:54.140 Toward that end, we continue to implement and expand 10:54.140 --> 10:59.140 our Sailor 2025 portfolio, which is a dynamic set of over 45 10:59.810 --> 11:02.290 initiatives that work to provide our Sailors 11:02.530 --> 11:05.393 and their families the choices, the flexibility, 11:05.550 --> 11:09.333 and transparency of processes that they expect and deserve. 11:10.090 --> 11:12.530 And we've combined that with our Manpower, Personnel, 11:12.530 --> 11:16.263 Training, and Education enterprise transformation efforts. 11:17.010 --> 11:19.590 And through those efforts, we will provide these programs 11:19.590 --> 11:22.960 to our Sailors with a renewed focus on customer service 11:22.960 --> 11:25.920 through streamlined, efficient business processes 11:25.940 --> 11:27.193 and modern systems. 11:28.160 --> 11:30.650 We will also better meet the needs of our fleet commanders 11:30.650 --> 11:33.080 through agility responsiveness and the use 11:33.080 --> 11:35.060 of predictive analytics, so that we can be 11:35.060 --> 11:37.823 the pillar of stability in an uncertain world. 11:38.330 --> 11:41.490 So we are moving out now with purpose and a committed sense 11:41.490 --> 11:44.143 of urgency on all of these initiatives. 11:44.400 --> 11:47.810 We also remain actively engaged in the Department's review 11:47.810 --> 11:50.270 of officer management policies, and are grateful 11:50.270 --> 11:53.040 for the subcommittee's interest to examine DOPMA to ensure 11:53.040 --> 11:55.793 it meets the future needs of each of the services. 11:56.000 --> 11:58.577 I look forward to your questions, and thank you. 12:00.683 --> 12:02.763 - Thank you, Vice Admiral Burke. 12:03.031 --> 12:04.260 Lieutenant General Grosso, 12:04.260 --> 12:06.083 you're now recognized for five minutes. 12:06.150 --> 12:07.920 - Chairman Coffman, Ranking Member Speier, 12:07.920 --> 12:09.810 and distinguished members of the subcommittee, 12:09.810 --> 12:11.950 thank you for the opportunity to appear before you 12:11.950 --> 12:14.060 to deliver the Air Forces personnel posture 12:14.060 --> 12:15.853 for Fiscal Year 2019. 12:16.360 --> 12:18.720 The Air Force's number-one priority to accelerate 12:18.720 --> 12:20.573 readiness is increasing end strength. 12:20.820 --> 12:22.690 We appreciate the Fiscal Year '18 12:22.690 --> 12:24.840 National Defense Authorization Act's support 12:24.840 --> 12:26.583 for continued end strength growth. 12:27.040 --> 12:29.730 The growth allows the Air Force to compete, deter, and win 12:29.730 --> 12:31.410 in a more competitive and dangerous 12:31.410 --> 12:33.173 international security environment. 12:33.680 --> 12:36.500 The Air Force's FY '19 President's Budget continues 12:36.500 --> 12:40.673 that growth to 680,400 total force Airmen, 12:40.830 --> 12:43.793 a 4,700 hundred increase from FY '18. 12:44.510 --> 12:48.370 This growth is part of our deliberate strategy to improve 12:48.370 --> 12:50.513 manning in the Air Force and includes increases in pilot 12:50.513 --> 12:53.470 production, remotely piloted aircraft 12:53.470 --> 12:56.200 operations and maintenance, and continues our manpower 12:56.200 --> 12:58.213 investment for cyber and intelligence. 12:58.480 --> 13:00.720 Additionally, the growth provides the inventory 13:00.720 --> 13:03.410 the Air Force needs to right-size our training pipeline, 13:03.410 --> 13:05.980 improve squadron readiness, and gives us a competitive 13:05.980 --> 13:09.313 advantage for air, space, and cyberspace superiority. 13:09.910 --> 13:11.910 As you're aware, our most stressed operational 13:11.910 --> 13:13.363 career field is aviation. 13:13.500 --> 13:16.410 As of October 2017, our total force pilot shortage 13:16.410 --> 13:19.680 was approximately 2,000, with the largest shortage, 1,300, 13:19.680 --> 13:21.283 in our fighter pilot inventory. 13:21.690 --> 13:24.650 The FY '19 President's Budget continues to address the pilot 13:24.650 --> 13:27.723 shortage by funding increased pilot production capacity. 13:28.140 --> 13:30.950 In addition, this budget funds myriad programs and policies 13:30.950 --> 13:33.100 designed to address assignment, operational, 13:33.100 --> 13:35.083 tempo, and quality of life issues, 13:35.200 --> 13:37.333 targeted to improve pilot retention. 13:38.460 --> 13:41.030 The FY '19 President's Budget also increases support 13:41.030 --> 13:43.470 to Airmen and families through a variety of capabilities 13:43.470 --> 13:45.310 that drive mission readiness. 13:45.310 --> 13:48.570 The budget increases Child and Youth funding by $54 million 13:48.870 --> 13:50.993 to a total of 114 million. 13:51.130 --> 13:53.320 This funding expands child care for those Airmen 13:53.320 --> 13:55.493 needing care outside of normal duty hours, 13:55.560 --> 13:58.730 provides fees to support 4,000 children who only have access 13:58.730 --> 14:02.053 to off-base child care, and funds youth resiliency camps. 14:02.490 --> 14:04.400 The Exceptional Family Member program assists more than 14:04.400 --> 14:07.323 33,000 Airmen who have special needs families. 14:07.640 --> 14:10.200 This budget has 15 installation level family support 14:10.200 --> 14:12.480 coordinators across the Air Force, and also funds 14:12.480 --> 14:14.790 increasing respite care for the primary caregiver 14:14.790 --> 14:17.483 from 12 to 40 hours per child each month. 14:17.900 --> 14:20.600 Taking of care of Airmen and Airmen's children 14:20.709 --> 14:23.330 and caregivers removes worries and distractions 14:23.330 --> 14:25.943 to allow Airmen to fully focus on the mission. 14:26.850 --> 14:29.250 Interpersonal and self-directed violence are detriments 14:29.250 --> 14:31.650 to our Airmen, our culture, and our core values. 14:31.730 --> 14:34.400 These acts negatively impact victims, their units, 14:34.400 --> 14:35.603 and unit readiness. 14:35.620 --> 14:38.060 We are deeply committed to the prevention of interpersonal 14:38.060 --> 14:41.050 and self-directed violence on all fronts by implementing 14:41.050 --> 14:44.490 evidence-based programs to include bystander intervention 14:44.490 --> 14:47.853 and life skills training to prevent programs, 14:48.300 --> 14:52.393 and time-based self-directed violence prevention programs. 14:52.620 --> 14:54.700 Should we fall short on our goals to eliminate 14:54.700 --> 14:56.260 interpersonal and self-directed violence, 14:56.260 --> 14:58.980 we are committed to providing victims, families, and units 14:58.980 --> 15:02.193 the care they need across a robust response system. 15:03.290 --> 15:05.440 Today's threat environment requires agile and inclusive 15:05.440 --> 15:07.940 military and civilian personnel management systems 15:08.040 --> 15:10.160 to ensure the Air Force continues to retain 15:10.160 --> 15:12.993 the highly-skilled talent needed to defend our nation. 15:13.340 --> 15:16.460 The enlisted force, we are conducting a triennial review 15:16.460 --> 15:18.910 of the enlisted evaluation system, following 15:18.910 --> 15:21.503 a transition to a new system in 2015. 15:21.800 --> 15:24.060 within our officer corps, we are reviewing multiple 15:24.060 --> 15:26.610 initiatives to include modifying our current promotion 15:26.610 --> 15:30.083 competitive categories, and establishing technical tracks. 15:30.540 --> 15:32.910 Our civilian workforce is essential to the Air Force's 15:32.910 --> 15:34.910 mission and joint warfighting readiness. 15:35.090 --> 15:37.170 Recruiting and hiring top civilian talent 15:37.170 --> 15:38.813 is critical to our success. 15:39.070 --> 15:42.883 In FY '18, we implemented a Premier College Intern Program. 15:42.930 --> 15:45.980 This initiative enables the Air Force to recruit top talent 15:45.980 --> 15:49.423 directly from college campuses via a summer intern program, 15:49.560 --> 15:52.563 using direct hiring authorities to streamline the process. 15:52.730 --> 15:56.310 Our target for FY '19 onboarding is 500 new civilians 15:56.310 --> 15:59.253 and we currently have 415 acceptances. 15:59.570 --> 16:01.890 This approach ensures we leverage the new congressional 16:01.890 --> 16:04.204 hiring authorities and stay competitive with aggressive 16:04.204 --> 16:05.993 private sector recruiting. 16:06.550 --> 16:08.730 Finally, the Air Force is modernizing the information 16:08.730 --> 16:12.700 technology infrastructure across our human resource systems 16:12.900 --> 16:14.790 to provide exceptional personnel service 16:14.790 --> 16:16.423 to Airmen and their families. 16:16.660 --> 16:19.340 In a digitally connected world, our Airmen deserve 16:19.340 --> 16:21.963 the best human resource systems available today. 16:22.150 --> 16:25.340 We have a six-year plan to migrate a 115 technology 16:25.340 --> 16:28.743 platforms and 400 plus applications to the cloud. 16:29.040 --> 16:31.720 As we modernize our information technology platforms, 16:31.720 --> 16:34.060 we will provide more modern systems to our Airmen 16:34.060 --> 16:37.193 and enhance our ability to make data-driven decisions. 16:37.570 --> 16:40.410 In conclusion, we must ensure our Airmen have the resources, 16:40.410 --> 16:43.370 training, and tools to compete, deter, and win 16:43.610 --> 16:46.083 in an increasingly complex security environment. 16:46.230 --> 16:48.300 We are committed to prioritizing and resourcing 16:48.300 --> 16:50.120 what is most important to make the Air Force 16:50.120 --> 16:51.493 more ready and lethal. 16:51.700 --> 16:53.930 We welcome the opportunity to partner with you 16:53.930 --> 16:56.683 in our endeavors to protect and defend our nation. 16:56.840 --> 16:59.250 I thank you for your continued support of your Air Force, 16:59.250 --> 17:01.543 and I look forward to your questions. 17:03.022 --> 17:04.486 - Thank you, Lieutenant General Rosso. 17:04.486 --> 17:06.569 Lieutenant General Rocco. 17:07.280 --> 17:09.380 - Chairman Coffman, Ranking Member Speier, 17:09.550 --> 17:11.440 and distinguished members of the subcommittee, 17:11.440 --> 17:14.240 thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today 17:14.280 --> 17:15.730 to discuss your Marine Corps. 17:16.350 --> 17:18.030 Marines are the foundation of the Corps 17:18.030 --> 17:19.970 and its most critical resource. 17:19.970 --> 17:22.800 Marines are recruited trained, educated, and retained 17:22.970 --> 17:24.403 to win our nation's battles. 17:24.570 --> 17:27.483 They are smart, resilient, fit, disciplined, 17:27.590 --> 17:29.483 and able to overcome adversity. 17:29.970 --> 17:31.670 All Marines are warfighters, they are lethal, 17:31.670 --> 17:32.620 and they are ready. 17:33.060 --> 17:35.690 Recruiting and retaining high-quality men and women 17:35.690 --> 17:37.163 is my number one priority. 17:37.600 --> 17:39.170 This year, once again, the Marine Corps will meet 17:39.170 --> 17:41.350 its recruiting mission, while at the same time, 17:41.350 --> 17:43.153 exceeding all quality goals. 17:43.970 --> 17:46.330 The department requires 90% of Marine recruits 17:46.520 --> 17:48.323 to be in the top education tier. 17:48.540 --> 17:50.640 We are at 99%. 17:50.640 --> 17:53.643 It requires 60% to be in the highest mental aptitude group. 17:53.850 --> 17:55.863 We are over 72%. 17:56.180 --> 17:59.403 Just as we recruit the best, so we must retain the best. 17:59.720 --> 18:01.510 These Marines must be capable of fulfilling 18:01.510 --> 18:04.280 our leadership roles and operational requirements 18:04.990 --> 18:07.720 There's a continuous challenge to keep high-quality Marines, 18:07.720 --> 18:09.290 especially in the current economy, 18:09.290 --> 18:11.713 an increasingly competitive civilian job market. 18:12.360 --> 18:14.070 This is particularly true for cyber and many 18:14.070 --> 18:16.540 of the high-tech occupations that are critical 18:16.540 --> 18:17.790 to the future of warfare. 18:19.340 --> 18:21.070 Incentive pay and bonuses remain vital 18:21.070 --> 18:22.980 to our retention effort, and we appreciate 18:22.980 --> 18:24.580 your continued support for them. 18:25.000 --> 18:28.240 We are open to new ways to recognize, reward, and retain 18:28.240 --> 18:30.403 high-quality Marines in the Corps. 18:30.500 --> 18:32.440 The commandant's top priority in this regard 18:32.440 --> 18:34.340 is to increase linealist flexibility 18:34.500 --> 18:36.043 for our officer promotions. 18:36.200 --> 18:38.370 We believe this is a simple yet effective way 18:38.370 --> 18:39.853 to recognize excellence. 18:40.510 --> 18:42.700 We look forward to working with all the services, 18:42.700 --> 18:44.780 the Department, and members of the subcommittee 18:44.780 --> 18:47.620 on other initiatives that will enhance personnel quality, 18:47.620 --> 18:49.123 readiness and lethality. 18:49.610 --> 18:51.420 We remain adaptable and open to new ways 18:51.420 --> 18:53.860 to recruit and retain the high-tech force 18:53.860 --> 18:56.930 we need for the future as we build on the foundation 18:56.930 --> 18:58.633 of quality Marines we have today. 18:58.910 --> 19:01.463 Thank you and I look forward to answering your questions. 19:03.720 --> 19:08.720 - Thank you, let me just begin that I'm very concerned. 19:09.430 --> 19:11.793 And I'd like each of you to address this. 19:12.450 --> 19:14.363 With the lowering of standards. 19:15.040 --> 19:18.657 In that I can remember, I was in the Army 19:18.657 --> 19:20.850 and the Marine Corps, and in the Army, 19:20.850 --> 19:25.180 at the end of the draft, where anybody, yeah, 19:26.430 --> 19:29.803 I guess you had to talk your way out of being in the Army. 19:30.470 --> 19:32.490 But I think that the problems, and there were a lot 19:32.490 --> 19:35.840 of disciplinary problems, morale problems, 19:35.840 --> 19:37.230 but they were actually across the board. 19:37.230 --> 19:40.803 It wasn't limited to the United States Army at that time. 19:41.240 --> 19:44.910 And when I take a look at the military today, 19:44.910 --> 19:48.490 when I meet these young men and women who serve 19:48.490 --> 19:50.800 in uniform today, they're extraordinary. 19:50.800 --> 19:54.623 I mean, we truly have talent, we have an elite force. 19:55.240 --> 19:57.990 So we have a smaller force than we've historically had, 19:58.190 --> 20:00.133 but it is an elite force. 20:00.290 --> 20:03.040 I'd rather have fewer numbers and high quality 20:03.340 --> 20:06.633 than then big numbers and low quality. 20:06.850 --> 20:11.300 And so I know that there is that great temptation 20:11.783 --> 20:15.553 to meet numbers, to lower standards. 20:15.900 --> 20:17.950 And so I want each of you to address that, 20:17.950 --> 20:19.800 starting with the United States Army. 20:21.170 --> 20:22.700 - Chairman, thanks for the question. 20:22.700 --> 20:25.040 I will tell you the Army leadership's been very clear to me 20:25.040 --> 20:27.903 and our recruiting command, it's quality over quantity. 20:28.160 --> 20:31.560 If we can't make the quantity you've allowed us 20:31.560 --> 20:33.663 to access this year for the end strength, 20:33.800 --> 20:35.640 it's my job to come back to you and tell you who, 20:35.640 --> 20:36.730 what, why we can't do it. 20:36.730 --> 20:38.430 But we will not sacrifice quality. 20:39.050 --> 20:39.883 A couple points. 20:39.883 --> 20:42.610 So your description of our soldiers is extraordinary. 20:42.610 --> 20:45.160 That's a really good word to describe who they are. 20:45.180 --> 20:47.680 They impress me and inspire me each and every day. 20:47.760 --> 20:50.653 As the Army's growing again, thanks to your work, 20:51.280 --> 20:53.380 what we did is we went back to look at the last time 20:53.380 --> 20:56.533 we grew in 2008, and we made some mistakes back in 2008. 20:56.620 --> 20:58.060 And we're not making those mistakes now. 20:58.060 --> 21:01.730 Where back in 2008, we were focused more on quantity 21:01.730 --> 21:03.683 than quality, that's not happening now. 21:03.900 --> 21:06.070 On a personal level, sir, I entered the Army in the early 21:06.070 --> 21:09.003 '80s, and we had a lot of problems back in those days. 21:09.761 --> 21:12.700 I love our army and I don't want to go back to those days. 21:12.700 --> 21:14.580 And I speak, I think, for the leadership and speak 21:14.580 --> 21:15.750 for the commanders across the force, 21:15.750 --> 21:16.830 they don't want to, either. 21:16.830 --> 21:20.030 So we will remain focused on quality and quantity . 21:20.030 --> 21:22.713 If we have to sacrifice one, it'll be the quantity. 21:23.490 --> 21:24.493 - [Mike] Thank you sir. 21:26.199 --> 21:29.207 - Yes, sir, I would echo what General Seamands 21:29.207 --> 21:30.760 said for the Army. 21:30.760 --> 21:32.610 We're not going to sacrifice quality. 21:32.660 --> 21:34.650 What we've done though, is taking a good hard look 21:34.650 --> 21:39.650 at self-imposed policies that limit the spectrum 21:39.792 --> 21:42.490 of candidates that we look at. 21:42.490 --> 21:46.420 For example, we're engaging with our medical experts 21:46.420 --> 21:50.920 to make sure that our medical standards, the Navy's side 21:50.920 --> 21:54.723 of the medical standards are up to date with societal norms. 21:54.730 --> 21:56.930 Making sure that we're not negatively 21:56.930 --> 21:58.490 impacting fleet readiness. 21:58.490 --> 22:03.090 For example, someone that may have used 22:04.610 --> 22:07.840 medication for bronchitis, does that equate 22:07.840 --> 22:11.850 to having asthma type of things, that at one point 22:11.850 --> 22:13.460 may have been medically disqualifying. 22:13.460 --> 22:14.560 Those sorts of things. 22:14.700 --> 22:19.610 We've used the full latitude of the Title 10 authority 22:19.610 --> 22:22.750 that you've given us for age limits, and opened it up 22:22.750 --> 22:25.610 for both officer programs, where there's no 22:25.610 --> 22:29.460 physical limitations such as, for example, pilots, 22:29.460 --> 22:32.750 or nuclear programs, where there's physiological concerns, 22:32.750 --> 22:34.880 but everywhere else. we've opened them up to the full 22:34.880 --> 22:38.053 latitude and in enlisted programs as well. 22:38.940 --> 22:43.630 And then we're looking at single-parent policies as well, 22:43.630 --> 22:46.410 where you have an older single parent, where they've 22:46.410 --> 22:49.250 demonstrated they can responsibly care for those children, 22:49.250 --> 22:51.880 and can translate that into military service. 22:51.880 --> 22:53.920 So we've opened up our doors to those 22:53.940 --> 22:56.543 sorts of situations as well. 22:56.750 --> 23:01.463 And then the last part is our recruiting techniques, 23:03.380 --> 23:06.410 as we're entering our transformation, we've really shifted 23:06.410 --> 23:10.573 our recruiting techniques to a more of a virtual basis. 23:11.140 --> 23:15.340 We still rely on our recruiters as the boots on ground 23:15.530 --> 23:18.720 deal closers, but we're getting into new markets, 23:18.720 --> 23:21.100 places where we haven't been able to get 23:21.100 --> 23:22.590 our message through before. 23:22.590 --> 23:25.650 So we're getting that message through and getting 23:25.650 --> 23:27.263 the talent that we couldn't. 23:27.970 --> 23:29.540 - General Rosso. - Yes, sir. 23:29.540 --> 23:34.540 We have not found any real challenges in recruiting. 23:34.932 --> 23:37.810 We are recruiting the same quality that we've been able 23:37.810 --> 23:39.260 to recruit, and we've been able to meet our 23:39.260 --> 23:41.590 recruiting goals across the total force. 23:41.590 --> 23:43.910 But what we have done, to your point, about growing 23:43.910 --> 23:46.686 end strength MAM, is we've laid in the end strength 23:46.686 --> 23:49.830 at a reasonable pace over the FYDP, so that we don't 23:49.860 --> 23:53.130 overtax both the recruiting and the training sources 23:53.130 --> 23:54.270 that make them Airmen. 23:54.270 --> 23:56.450 And so we have put a little bit of resourcing. 23:56.450 --> 23:58.400 We've increased the number of recruiters. 23:58.400 --> 24:01.080 We've stabilized the marketing budget, because what you find 24:01.080 --> 24:04.440 in the past is, as we've decreased, you see this huge 24:04.440 --> 24:06.453 sine wave in the marketing budget. 24:06.520 --> 24:07.720 And any marketer will tell you, 24:07.720 --> 24:08.960 you've always got to be in the market. 24:08.960 --> 24:10.930 So we've stabilized the marketing budget. 24:10.930 --> 24:13.380 And much like the Navy, we're just we're modernizing 24:13.380 --> 24:15.470 the way we find Airmen as well, because you find 24:15.470 --> 24:17.770 that's a process that hasn't really had much 24:18.080 --> 24:19.330 of a process improvement. 24:19.390 --> 24:21.530 And so how do we find Airmen that we don't find today 24:21.530 --> 24:25.119 using technology, and better leveraging all of our resource 24:25.119 --> 24:27.563 and capacity, making it less stove-piped. 24:27.571 --> 24:29.433 - [Mike] General Rocco. 24:31.960 --> 24:35.573 - As I stated my opening remarks, 99% are Tier 1. 24:35.940 --> 24:40.403 The number is actually 99.86%, Tier 1, of the recruits. 24:40.560 --> 24:43.920 We recruit approximately 31,000 Marines 24:43.920 --> 24:44.920 into the Marine Corps this year. 24:44.920 --> 24:48.780 Out of that, only about 70% of them will serve past 24:48.780 --> 24:51.934 their first tour, and that's based on the personnel 24:51.934 --> 24:54.570 requirements, and based on the needs of the Marine Corps. 24:54.570 --> 24:56.260 When we talk about first-term enlistments, 24:56.260 --> 24:58.500 those first-term Marines that will only serve their 24:58.500 --> 25:01.363 first term, that want to stay on and do a second tour, 25:01.500 --> 25:06.040 we're at 99, I'm sorry, 92.9% of those Marines 25:07.390 --> 25:08.531 that want to stay in the Marine Corps. 25:08.531 --> 25:10.070 That's where we're at right now 25:10.070 --> 25:11.460 for retaining those Marines. 25:11.460 --> 25:13.090 And it's not a first in, first out. 25:13.090 --> 25:15.310 We actually have the ability to look at those Marines 25:15.310 --> 25:18.250 that want to stay in, have boards, and only retain 25:18.350 --> 25:20.200 the highest quality of those Marines, 25:20.300 --> 25:23.080 including second-term Marines. 25:23.080 --> 25:26.000 That we're at 99.5% of those Marines 25:26.070 --> 25:27.970 that want to stay in that we retained, 25:28.050 --> 25:29.940 So we think we're in a good place, 25:29.940 --> 25:32.720 McGuirk has done a lot to go out to the markets 25:32.720 --> 25:36.403 and expand beyond that to ensure that we hit markets, 25:37.052 --> 25:39.361 and folks that perhaps we haven't touched in the past. 25:39.361 --> 25:40.194 - [Mike] Thank you. 25:40.194 --> 25:42.027 Ranking Member Speier. 25:42.490 --> 25:43.420 - Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 25:43.420 --> 25:46.700 I'm gonna defer and allow my colleague to ask 25:46.700 --> 25:48.560 the first set of questions, Miss Tsongas. 25:48.560 --> 25:53.020 - Well, I thank the Ranking Member for deferring, 25:53.020 --> 25:54.920 and thank the Chairman and Ranking Member 25:54.920 --> 25:57.543 for holding this committee, this hearing. 25:58.130 --> 26:02.100 As you all have noted in your testimony, the volatile nature 26:02.100 --> 26:04.680 of today's security environment and the complexity 26:04.680 --> 26:08.090 of threats our country faces do require the military 26:08.090 --> 26:11.603 services to recruit from a talent pool that is as broad, 26:11.870 --> 26:14.483 as talented, and as diverse as possible. 26:14.930 --> 26:18.040 To underscore this point, a study cited by the Defense 26:18.040 --> 26:21.253 Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, DACOWITS, 26:21.480 --> 26:25.987 found that only 29% of young people ages 18 to 23 26:25.987 --> 26:29.350 are eligible to serve after adjustments are made 26:29.350 --> 26:33.010 for individuals who are disqualified based on standards 26:33.010 --> 26:36.123 for medical, physical, health, weight, mental health, 26:36.200 --> 26:40.170 drug usage, conduct, aptitude, and who have dependents. 26:40.170 --> 26:43.310 And Admiral, you referenced you're looking at some of these 26:43.310 --> 26:47.350 filters, but nevertheless, of that eligible population, 26:47.350 --> 26:48.913 more than half are women. 26:49.160 --> 26:51.580 So after you apply all these filters, what you're left with 26:51.580 --> 26:55.793 is a much smaller group, just over half are women. 26:56.040 --> 26:59.460 However, less than 20% of today's active duty force 26:59.600 --> 27:01.143 is comprised of women. 27:01.530 --> 27:04.640 So this study, in my mind, makes clear that in an era where 27:04.640 --> 27:08.160 the eligible military recruiting population remains 27:08.160 --> 27:11.530 on the decline, it is more important now than ever 27:11.530 --> 27:14.233 that we recruit from the entire population, 27:14.840 --> 27:19.320 and not overlook the opportunity that half of the eligible 27:19.320 --> 27:22.303 nation's talent pool would provide the services, 27:22.970 --> 27:25.470 in order to be the best services in the world. 27:25.470 --> 27:28.680 So with that in mind, I'd like each of you to comment 27:28.680 --> 27:31.680 on what your service is doing to recruit 27:31.840 --> 27:33.860 and retain women in the services. 27:33.860 --> 27:35.973 And we'll start with you, General. 27:36.640 --> 27:38.603 - Thank you, ma'am, I appreciate the question. 27:38.800 --> 27:39.633 A couple things. 27:39.633 --> 27:42.810 One, for our recruiting command, as well as for our source 27:42.810 --> 27:44.910 of commissionings for ROTC and West Point, 27:45.030 --> 27:47.970 we're reaching out to females to encourage them to come in. 27:47.970 --> 27:50.390 And we've seen at ROTC, as well as West Point, 27:50.390 --> 27:52.340 it has increased in female applications, 27:52.340 --> 27:55.203 and females being accepted, which will help, 27:55.430 --> 27:57.130 as they come in the Army, improve. 27:57.200 --> 27:59.970 I think part of that is as we did the gender integration, 27:59.970 --> 28:01.580 it opened up all the specialties. 28:01.580 --> 28:03.760 The Army's enjoyed such success where we have an infantry 28:03.760 --> 28:06.683 company commander female, in 82nd Airborne Division. 28:06.770 --> 28:08.040 We have lieutenants. 28:08.040 --> 28:10.890 We just had our last most recent two Ranger School 28:10.890 --> 28:14.211 graduates, last week, graduate from a very difficult 28:14.211 --> 28:16.093 course at Fort Benning. 28:16.310 --> 28:19.090 I think as we see those role models come out 28:19.090 --> 28:21.180 and successfully lead, and they're doing wonderful things 28:21.180 --> 28:24.230 in our formations, I think you'll see increased females 28:24.230 --> 28:25.403 across the formations. 28:26.070 --> 28:28.450 We're very, very excited about what the females are doing 28:28.450 --> 28:30.610 in the Army and I think there's no limit 28:30.610 --> 28:32.090 to what they can do in the future. 28:32.090 --> 28:33.347 We're very excited. - I thank you for that. 28:33.347 --> 28:35.140 And as we're moving down the line, 28:35.140 --> 28:37.740 can you also include kind of how you're addressing 28:37.740 --> 28:41.140 your messaging, so that as young women are watching 28:41.590 --> 28:43.900 what they see on TV, wherever, what they're doing, 28:43.900 --> 28:47.710 and how you're also addressing a culture that encourages 28:47.710 --> 28:50.930 retention, because I know as we've served on this 28:50.930 --> 28:53.709 subcommittee, we've seen there are issues that are unique 28:53.709 --> 28:57.360 to women who seek to serve their country, but who often find 28:57.360 --> 29:00.151 barriers to lengthening out their term of service. 29:00.151 --> 29:01.923 But we'll start with you, Admiral. 29:02.490 --> 29:07.003 - Yes, ma'am, just on in terms of where we are right now, 29:07.700 --> 29:09.923 last year's Naval Academy graduating class, 29:10.460 --> 29:14.610 27% women, six of top 10 graduates were women. 29:14.610 --> 29:17.860 Our enlisted of sessions for the last two years have been 29:18.500 --> 29:20.510 26 and 27% women. 29:20.510 --> 29:23.490 it's an operational imperative for the Navy 29:23.490 --> 29:25.823 to increase our numbers of women. 29:26.540 --> 29:30.103 So we are frankly targeting them in our recruiting efforts, 29:30.270 --> 29:33.413 in our messaging, because that's where the talent is. 29:33.580 --> 29:38.580 52% of technical graduates at America's colleges our women. 29:39.230 --> 29:41.080 That's where the talent is, so we are 29:41.210 --> 29:43.023 very aggressively going after them. 29:43.150 --> 29:47.520 Our new ad campaigns prominently feature women. 29:47.520 --> 29:51.860 Our most recent one has a female submarineer 29:52.320 --> 29:54.590 earning her dolphins at the front of it. 29:54.590 --> 29:58.040 The first one that was released at the Army Navy game 29:58.040 --> 30:00.500 in December, the first one of our new ad campaign 30:00.870 --> 30:05.360 has a female sailor saluting at the end of it. 30:05.360 --> 30:09.960 So we're really trying to highlight situations that women 30:09.960 --> 30:13.283 could see themselves as a career in the Navy. 30:14.436 --> 30:17.730 The retention efforts, things like the Career Intermission 30:17.730 --> 30:19.740 Program, Navy is the biggest user of that. 30:19.740 --> 30:20.853 We highlight that. 30:21.800 --> 30:26.483 But the other element of this, as part of Sailor 2025, 30:26.760 --> 30:29.220 one of the pillars of that is career readiness. 30:29.220 --> 30:33.250 And one of those the initiatives under there is to make 30:33.480 --> 30:38.020 the Navy a place where you can have life-work balance. 30:38.020 --> 30:41.170 We want Sailors to have a longer career and we want them 30:41.170 --> 30:45.040 to be able to achieve life-work balance to do things 30:45.040 --> 30:50.040 like occasionally put family matters in perspective, 30:51.190 --> 30:53.430 and not have to pay a penalty for your career. 30:53.430 --> 30:56.820 That applies to men and women, and Navy has a little bit 30:56.820 --> 30:59.260 of a problem with occasionally doing that 30:59.260 --> 31:00.653 for both men and women. 31:00.760 --> 31:02.380 So we're working hard to do that, 31:02.380 --> 31:04.860 if we're going to expect people to have a longer career. 31:04.860 --> 31:07.520 We need them to have a longer career, so we can bring fewer 31:07.520 --> 31:10.260 Sailors in the front door and get a higher return 31:10.260 --> 31:11.920 on investment from those Sailors. 31:11.920 --> 31:14.590 - Admiral, I'm out of time, but General Grosso 31:14.590 --> 31:16.800 and General Rocco, if you could submit an answer, 31:16.800 --> 31:18.600 a written answer, I'd appreciate it. 31:20.750 --> 31:21.583 - [Mike] Why don't you go ahead 31:21.583 --> 31:24.070 and take a another minute? - Okay, go ahead then. 31:24.070 --> 31:25.570 Let's move down the line here. 31:26.380 --> 31:27.560 - Representative Tsongas, I would say 31:27.560 --> 31:28.880 it starts with the messaging. 31:28.880 --> 31:30.920 And I'm gonna steal the words from our Secretary, 31:30.920 --> 31:34.140 but if you ask person in the population who was 31:34.140 --> 31:37.593 their first protector and defender, it was their mother. 31:37.750 --> 31:39.520 And so we have to change the messaging 31:39.520 --> 31:40.460 that there is a place for women. 31:40.460 --> 31:43.263 And I think we also have to have women out, 31:43.730 --> 31:45.483 see that women can be successful. 31:45.580 --> 31:47.720 I feel like it's my personal responsibility 31:47.720 --> 31:51.130 to go to events, so women can see that you can progress. 31:51.130 --> 31:52.580 And there is a place for you. 31:53.010 --> 31:55.110 I think our recruiting efforts as well, as we get rid 31:55.110 --> 31:57.563 of those stovepipes, as people come to talk to us, 31:57.563 --> 31:59.280 there's so many opportunities. 31:59.280 --> 32:02.493 Full-time, part-time, Guard, Reserve, civilian, even. 32:02.730 --> 32:04.610 I went to an event, and I had a woman telling me 32:04.610 --> 32:06.173 she didn't like sweating. 32:06.250 --> 32:08.593 I said 25% of our force are civilians. 32:08.620 --> 32:09.890 Would you like to come be a civilian? 32:09.890 --> 32:12.053 So I think that's the recruiting side. 32:12.230 --> 32:15.730 On the retention side, RAND just finished a study for us, 32:15.730 --> 32:17.390 and there are definitely some systemic things 32:17.390 --> 32:19.830 we need to do, childcare was a big one of them. 32:19.830 --> 32:22.750 But and I don't think that's just a women's issue, 32:22.750 --> 32:24.320 but if families can't take care of their children, 32:24.320 --> 32:25.670 we're not going to retain them. 32:25.670 --> 32:27.200 The other thing that was very clear from women 32:27.200 --> 32:30.053 is they, this was literally in the study, 32:31.060 --> 32:32.863 they want to get off the escalator. 32:32.920 --> 32:36.190 And so we have to have some way to figure out DOPMA reform, 32:36.190 --> 32:38.720 whether it's technical tracks, so that they can 32:38.720 --> 32:41.090 be more technical, and they also asked for maybe 32:41.090 --> 32:43.450 opportunities to cross-train into career fields 32:43.450 --> 32:46.170 that may be more suitable to having a family. 32:46.170 --> 32:47.770 So there's some systemic work that we are 32:47.770 --> 32:49.697 looking at as well. - Thank you. 32:51.130 --> 32:52.150 - That's an important question. 32:52.150 --> 32:54.083 And thank you representative Tsongas. 32:54.120 --> 32:56.190 So the Marine Corps, as you know, we've opened up 32:56.190 --> 32:58.233 all occupational fields now. 32:58.360 --> 33:01.680 And are represented throughout the Marine Corps, 33:01.680 --> 33:02.553 that's one issue. 33:02.710 --> 33:05.110 Second, from the Marine Corps Recruiting Command, 33:05.110 --> 33:07.010 we have gone places that we haven't gone in the past. 33:07.010 --> 33:11.023 Mail-outs now go to both male/female athletics coaches. 33:11.070 --> 33:15.080 We've opened up programs to basically have access to, 33:15.080 --> 33:17.120 both at the high school level and the collegiate level, 33:17.120 --> 33:19.923 to athletics, both on the male and female side. 33:20.390 --> 33:23.890 We run education and coach workshops, so we can have access. 33:23.890 --> 33:25.678 So the Marine Corps recruiters can have access 33:25.678 --> 33:27.870 to a population that we, in the past, 33:27.870 --> 33:29.250 have not had an access to. 33:29.250 --> 33:33.030 And of course our advertising campaign has focused on 33:33.030 --> 33:37.170 not only diversity, but females, and we've been more 33:37.170 --> 33:39.593 aggressive in displaying a diverse Marine Corps. 33:40.144 --> 33:41.570 Thank you. - Thank you all 33:41.570 --> 33:43.700 for your testimony, and I appreciate your work. 33:43.700 --> 33:45.170 I mean, there's much much to be done, 33:45.170 --> 33:47.520 but we want to have the best services possible, 33:47.520 --> 33:49.720 so we need to recruit fully from all 33:49.720 --> 33:51.110 that this country offers. 33:51.110 --> 33:53.023 - [Mike] Dr. Abraham, you're now recognized. 33:53.180 --> 33:54.380 Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 33:54.533 --> 33:56.543 I thank the witnesses for being here. 33:56.610 --> 33:58.410 General Grosso, I'll start with you. 33:59.820 --> 34:02.920 We all understand that when a pilot gets through 34:02.920 --> 34:05.020 with the Air Force training, specifically, 34:06.142 --> 34:08.093 they have that ten-year commitment, 34:08.540 --> 34:13.540 that the civilian side is at that day dangling the check, 34:13.570 --> 34:15.660 sometimes three and four times more 34:16.150 --> 34:18.300 than what they're getting paid for the Air Force. 34:18.300 --> 34:20.890 And fortunate or unfortunate, 34:20.890 --> 34:22.883 we understand that's a reality. 34:24.390 --> 34:25.670 And I understand all the services 34:25.670 --> 34:29.933 are in shortage of aviators. 34:30.375 --> 34:33.329 It's my understanding that the Air Force is probably more 34:33.329 --> 34:35.640 in a shortage area because they employ 34:35.640 --> 34:37.993 more aviators, just logistically. 34:38.710 --> 34:43.710 So the question is, specifically, what is the Air Force 34:44.310 --> 34:49.310 doing to retain that aviator? 34:49.560 --> 34:51.287 Where he or she has invested, and the Air Force 34:51.287 --> 34:53.853 has invested so much time and treasure. 34:54.660 --> 34:56.263 And then all of a sudden, poof, 34:56.680 --> 35:00.653 the next day, they're flying for a Delta or a Southwest. 35:02.471 --> 35:06.863 - So we have several lines of effort to retain aviators. 35:07.860 --> 35:10.300 But what we find is that this is very cyclical. 35:10.300 --> 35:12.123 And if you look at the data, 35:12.470 --> 35:14.560 it is highly correlated to airline hiring. 35:14.560 --> 35:16.730 And so it is incumbent upon us to do 35:16.730 --> 35:18.090 all we can to retain Airmen. 35:18.090 --> 35:21.110 And so some of it is how do we give them 35:21.110 --> 35:22.763 a better quality of work? 35:22.780 --> 35:26.120 And it's very clear that there's duties we need 35:26.120 --> 35:27.020 to take off their plate. 35:27.020 --> 35:29.470 And we are working that, we funded that in the budget. 35:29.470 --> 35:31.350 So administrative duties that take away from 35:31.350 --> 35:32.593 their ability to fly. 35:33.140 --> 35:35.980 We have to fund weapon systems sustainment and maintainer, 35:35.980 --> 35:38.980 so that those planes are ready for them to fly, to fly more. 35:39.830 --> 35:42.810 And we need to give them more flexibility in our systems. 35:42.810 --> 35:45.360 We are working hard from an assignments perspective 35:45.440 --> 35:49.363 to get more input from the Airmen, from our aviators. 35:49.700 --> 35:53.503 And so maybe have less disruption from assignments. 35:53.930 --> 35:57.090 We are also looking at ways to incentivize long deployments 35:57.090 --> 36:00.590 away from their family, so that we lose less people 36:00.590 --> 36:02.740 because it doesn't meet their family needs. 36:03.020 --> 36:05.670 But we've also understood that we can't retain our way 36:05.670 --> 36:08.520 out of this challenge, so you have to produce more. 36:08.520 --> 36:11.450 And we have to take a hard look at the requirements as well. 36:11.450 --> 36:14.070 - So in that line, you've mentioned 36:14.070 --> 36:16.193 your college intern program. 36:16.200 --> 36:17.880 - Yes, sir. - As a pipeline for 36:17.880 --> 36:19.513 maybe more aviators coming in. 36:19.970 --> 36:22.783 I guess my question is, 36:23.410 --> 36:28.410 are you getting much resistance across the college spectrum 36:29.160 --> 36:33.583 of that type of intern program being on those campuses? 36:34.500 --> 36:35.970 - Sir, just to be clear, that intern program 36:35.970 --> 36:38.703 is for civilians, so not our military aviators. 36:39.110 --> 36:39.943 - I understand that. 36:39.943 --> 36:42.240 But you're on college campuses touting this, 36:42.240 --> 36:43.150 am I correct there? 36:43.150 --> 36:47.550 Trying to bring those students into the Armed Services. 36:47.550 --> 36:49.510 - Yes, sir, no, we've actually had great success. 36:49.510 --> 36:51.610 What we find on the civilian side is it takes us 36:51.610 --> 36:53.400 so long to hire, we don't keep them. 36:53.400 --> 36:56.240 And so the authorities Congress gave us to directly hire 36:56.240 --> 36:58.570 them and offer them jobs in their junior year 36:58.830 --> 37:00.710 is really the way we're competing for talent. 37:00.710 --> 37:02.300 In particular, STEM talent. 37:02.300 --> 37:03.770 - Because I know you've got to pick them up early 37:03.770 --> 37:05.630 in the curriculum, either the sophomore, 37:05.630 --> 37:07.590 no later than the junior, because if not, 37:07.590 --> 37:10.510 a civilian contractor or business is gonna be already 37:10.970 --> 37:14.330 tugging and and putting a check in front of them. 37:14.330 --> 37:15.640 - Exactly, exactly. 37:15.640 --> 37:17.600 And that's why the authorities you gave us are critical. 37:17.600 --> 37:20.243 And then us being able to execute those authorities. 37:20.330 --> 37:23.280 - Okay, and Admiral Burke, I know on the Navy side, 37:23.280 --> 37:25.610 but in all the services, you know, 37:25.610 --> 37:27.620 cyber shortages is an issue. 37:27.620 --> 37:30.150 And I think cyber and certainly space 37:30.150 --> 37:32.873 is our next domain of fighting. 37:33.740 --> 37:38.740 Specifically for the Navy on cyber, what are you guys doing 37:39.040 --> 37:41.113 to hold on to those people? 37:41.200 --> 37:43.900 I mean, that's somewhat of a different culture, 37:43.900 --> 37:47.980 as far as the cyber mindset, in my world, that 37:47.980 --> 37:51.120 that takes a little kind of an outside-the-box thinking. 37:51.120 --> 37:53.863 So that's sometimes of a different personality. 37:54.200 --> 37:55.983 Any comments on that? 37:57.300 --> 38:00.580 - Yes, sir, our big challenges are on 38:00.580 --> 38:04.653 the senior enlisted technical leaders. 38:04.870 --> 38:09.870 And one of the, so they'll grow to 38:11.030 --> 38:16.030 sort of the E5, E6 level, and then they'll be poached off 38:16.430 --> 38:21.430 by commercial entities, right when they're maturing 38:21.920 --> 38:24.100 to the point where they're gonna be eligible 38:24.100 --> 38:27.543 for maybe one of our Warrant Officer programs, 38:28.330 --> 38:31.320 at the E6 or E7 level, where they would be 38:31.320 --> 38:33.533 a technical manager for us. 38:34.060 --> 38:36.423 So one of the things we just employed was a, 38:38.030 --> 38:39.690 instead of a commissioned Warrant Officer, 38:39.690 --> 38:43.293 we went with a W1 program that made E5s eligible for this. 38:43.293 --> 38:46.150 That was within our existing service authorities 38:46.150 --> 38:48.713 to use that option. 38:48.900 --> 38:52.230 That made junior E5s eligible and that made them 38:55.270 --> 38:58.183 available for that program for many, many more years. 38:58.260 --> 39:03.260 So I opened the pool, too many more Sailors, 39:03.950 --> 39:07.230 we have to be a little more careful about screening those 39:07.230 --> 39:09.640 Sailors, looking harder for the potential. 39:09.640 --> 39:11.623 But we know how to do that pretty well. 39:11.830 --> 39:16.009 And then we get them in into the leadership position 39:16.009 --> 39:18.940 and then they can blossom from there. 39:18.940 --> 39:21.304 So we've just implemented that. 39:21.304 --> 39:24.210 That's getting off the ground, too early to tell 39:24.210 --> 39:27.080 if that will succeed, but we'll at least get 39:27.124 --> 39:29.173 three to four years out of them, 39:29.290 --> 39:31.850 once they get into the Warrant Officer program. 39:31.850 --> 39:34.453 So that'll buy some time out of it. 39:34.780 --> 39:38.980 The other area that we're a little bit of a challenge 39:39.340 --> 39:42.283 in we've got our, on the officer side, 39:42.530 --> 39:45.670 our operators both on the offensive and defensive side. 39:45.670 --> 39:47.673 We're doing okay on there. 39:47.780 --> 39:50.670 It's the engineers, the folks that are developing 39:50.670 --> 39:53.583 the payload packages, if you will. 39:54.650 --> 39:56.223 We grow those right now. 39:56.940 --> 39:59.580 You gave us some legislative authority to bring them in 39:59.580 --> 40:04.303 with equivalent of three years of experience, laterally. 40:04.840 --> 40:08.943 That's about a lieutenant junior grade in the Navy, 40:09.120 --> 40:11.433 or a first lieutenant in the other services, 40:11.610 --> 40:16.610 but it's about a $50,000 pay in Silicon Valley. 40:17.360 --> 40:20.450 These folks would be up over $100,000. 40:20.450 --> 40:25.407 So lateralling them, in the mission and the service appeals 40:25.630 --> 40:29.120 to these folks, but there's an equivalent 40:29.360 --> 40:34.360 accepted cyber civilian program that allows 40:34.400 --> 40:38.520 the government to pay in the closer to $100,000 range, 40:38.520 --> 40:41.790 so they seem to be preferentially going to the government 40:41.790 --> 40:44.550 service rather than the military service option. 40:44.550 --> 40:46.893 So that's an area we're having a challenge in. 40:47.600 --> 40:49.860 So we're still growing them from the ground up, 40:49.860 --> 40:51.860 rather than bringing them in at the level. 40:51.860 --> 40:56.793 But retention is where it is right now. 40:56.878 --> 40:58.928 - Thank for the extra time, Mr. Chairman. 41:01.570 --> 41:03.240 - Miss Speier. - Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 41:03.240 --> 41:05.740 Thank you all for being here and for your service. 41:06.360 --> 41:09.750 I think you've heard loud and clear that we're not 41:09.750 --> 41:14.200 interested in seeing lower quality, even though you have 41:14.200 --> 41:15.923 a great challenge ahead of you. 41:15.980 --> 41:17.610 We want to be part of making sure 41:17.610 --> 41:19.363 you can meet the challenge. 41:19.890 --> 41:22.630 So as I'm listening to you, I'm realizing, 41:22.630 --> 41:27.630 I wonder to what extent our efforts, in terms of recruiting 41:27.881 --> 41:32.881 and looking at personnel issues, are relative to our 41:34.260 --> 41:37.663 fathers' or grandfathers' military service. 41:38.240 --> 41:41.500 I think Vice Admiral Burke mentioned the looking 41:41.500 --> 41:44.240 at disqualifiers, so what I would like each of you 41:44.240 --> 41:47.650 to provide to the committee is what the disqualifiers 41:49.480 --> 41:54.223 are for all those who actually do apply, 41:54.500 --> 41:56.173 or who become recruited. 41:56.250 --> 41:58.560 You may not have those figures for us now, 41:58.560 --> 42:00.920 or the specifics, so if you would just provide that to us, 42:00.920 --> 42:03.523 that would be appreciated. 42:04.580 --> 42:09.580 Secondly, in talking to those who actually were purveyors 42:09.970 --> 42:14.820 of MREs, recently, that had a presentation for us. 42:14.820 --> 42:17.130 And they were showing us how they were beefing up 42:17.130 --> 42:19.823 the calcium in some of their products. 42:20.500 --> 42:24.770 I was told that there is about 10% 42:25.010 --> 42:27.500 of those who are recruited, 42:27.500 --> 42:29.933 during basic training, that wash out. 42:30.110 --> 42:32.840 So I'd like to know from each of you if that's the case. 42:32.840 --> 42:36.793 And they wash out because of hairline fractures. 42:36.870 --> 42:39.280 So could you each address that particular 42:39.280 --> 42:40.503 issue for me, please? 42:41.250 --> 42:42.560 - Thank you very much for the question. 42:42.560 --> 42:45.440 Ma'am, within the Army, about 10% wash out 42:45.440 --> 42:48.440 during basic training for a variety of reasons, 42:48.440 --> 42:50.250 including medical issues. 42:50.250 --> 42:51.800 And we're taking a look at that. 42:51.800 --> 42:53.980 Within the active force, across the total force, 42:53.980 --> 42:57.330 about 80% of our non-deployables are medically related. 42:57.330 --> 42:59.682 And musculoskeletal is one of the the biggest 42:59.682 --> 43:01.773 portions of that population. 43:03.430 --> 43:05.880 - So if you could provide that specifics 43:05.880 --> 43:08.057 on the non-deployables, of that 8%, 43:08.057 --> 43:10.790 and then the 10%, how many of them fall 43:10.790 --> 43:13.433 into that musculoskeletal, yes, Vice Admiral. 43:13.433 --> 43:17.040 - Yes, ma'am, we have about 12% attrition 43:17.040 --> 43:18.683 at Recruit Training Command. 43:18.840 --> 43:23.190 The overwhelming majority of that, 95% of that 43:23.190 --> 43:27.190 is non-disclosed pre-existing medical conditions. 43:27.190 --> 43:30.570 Things that weren't disclosed in the recruiting process. 43:30.570 --> 43:32.463 - So is that use of an inhaler? 43:33.250 --> 43:35.200 - Well, those are the things we're trying to change 43:35.200 --> 43:36.900 the policy on, but it's things, 43:36.900 --> 43:40.373 and when we come across those, we change it, 43:40.420 --> 43:41.370 right then and there. 43:41.370 --> 43:44.724 But it's things that are no kidding insurmountable 43:44.724 --> 43:48.303 medical things, that we can't get through. 43:48.610 --> 43:53.610 So we're actually working through some Privacy Act issues, 43:53.610 --> 43:57.690 with, for example, being able to look at the medical records 43:57.690 --> 44:01.090 of dependent children of military members. 44:01.090 --> 44:05.970 And look at public military records, 44:06.940 --> 44:09.920 so you're not completely dependent on what individual's 44:11.310 --> 44:12.893 write and tell you about. 44:13.370 --> 44:15.740 The ability to actually be able to go look in medical 44:15.740 --> 44:17.890 systems and see these things ahead of time. 44:18.100 --> 44:19.610 And we're making some progress, 44:19.610 --> 44:20.443 working with the Department of Defense on that. 44:20.443 --> 44:22.633 - All right, Lieutenant General. 44:22.860 --> 44:24.770 - Representative, I have not seen the current data, 44:24.770 --> 44:26.390 but I believe it's about 6 to 7%, 44:26.390 --> 44:28.190 but I will get you the exact number. 44:28.890 --> 44:30.930 Having been the commander there several years ago, 44:30.930 --> 44:33.030 we didn't typically separate somebody 44:33.060 --> 44:34.210 if they had a stress fracture. 44:34.210 --> 44:37.260 We tried to rehabilitate them, because depending 44:37.260 --> 44:39.680 on the severity, it usually could be two, three, 44:39.680 --> 44:41.289 or four weeks out of training, so we didn't typically 44:41.289 --> 44:43.833 send them home for stress fractures. 44:43.988 --> 44:45.863 But I will get you that exact data. 44:47.830 --> 44:50.102 In the Marine Corps our non-EAS attrition 44:50.102 --> 44:53.113 at boot camp is closer to 20%. 44:53.120 --> 44:55.360 Most of it is, as Admiral Burke had mentioned, 44:55.360 --> 44:57.380 non-disclosed issues, because a lot of the medical 44:57.380 --> 44:59.860 is self-reporting, but I can give you the specifics 44:59.860 --> 45:02.030 on the breakdown of what exactly that number is. 45:02.030 --> 45:06.080 As we get beyond boot camp, non-EAS attrition goes down 45:06.080 --> 45:08.093 to about 3%. - Okay. 45:09.540 --> 45:10.940 One of the things that was recommended 45:10.940 --> 45:14.990 is that the calcium is beefed up before they come in 45:14.990 --> 45:17.070 to basic training to avoid some of those issues. 45:17.070 --> 45:18.110 And I don't know to what extent 45:18.110 --> 45:19.910 that's attempted through recruiting. 45:20.120 --> 45:23.720 How about retention after their first term? 45:23.720 --> 45:26.430 What is the percentage that you're able to retain? 45:26.430 --> 45:28.380 Could each of you tell us that, please? 45:29.560 --> 45:31.505 - Ma'am, about the third of the people who enlist 45:31.505 --> 45:35.293 don't make it to their initial reenlistment window, 45:35.570 --> 45:37.500 for a variety of reasons, either separation 45:37.500 --> 45:39.263 or medical issues within the Army. 45:40.120 --> 45:44.123 - Well, how many actually could continue, 45:44.520 --> 45:46.163 could re-up, but don't? 45:46.455 --> 45:47.550 That's what I want to know. 45:47.550 --> 45:51.690 - Well, on the retention we have over 80% of our eligible 45:51.690 --> 45:53.710 population to reenlist are reenlisting 45:53.710 --> 45:55.460 and staying in uniform in the Army. 45:55.470 --> 45:57.003 - Okay, thank you. 45:57.743 --> 46:01.933 - We're averaging Navy-wide around 60%. 46:04.020 --> 46:08.720 - So our first-term retention is 60%, but we do, 46:08.720 --> 46:10.760 for various reasons, lose about a third. 46:10.760 --> 46:12.560 So if you looked at who started basic training, 46:12.560 --> 46:14.400 and who gets to that first term, it's about 46:14.400 --> 46:15.713 a third that aren't there. 46:17.690 --> 46:22.690 - And for the Marine Corps, we, by design, lose about 46:22.770 --> 46:27.453 70% of that cohort, or those recruits in that year. 46:27.510 --> 46:30.543 When I say lose, those are those Marines we don't need. 46:30.930 --> 46:33.870 We need about a third of them to stay into the Marine Corps, 46:33.870 --> 46:34.703 to stay in the Marine Corps, 46:34.703 --> 46:36.240 to re-up for a second enlistment. 46:36.400 --> 46:39.840 So, by design, by rank structure, most of that, 46:39.840 --> 46:42.500 70% of those recruits in that given year 46:42.660 --> 46:44.860 do the first term-enlistment and then leave, 46:45.430 --> 46:48.463 some voluntary and some we just don't have the space for. 46:48.630 --> 46:52.390 As I mentioned, in my remarks we're at retaining FTAP, 46:52.390 --> 46:56.550 we're at 92%, and we have more Marines right now, 46:56.550 --> 46:58.730 who want to stay in, then we have the boat space for. 46:58.730 --> 47:00.340 - All right, well, thank you very much. 47:00.340 --> 47:02.343 - [Mike] Dr. Wenstrup, you're now recognized. 47:02.570 --> 47:03.403 - Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 47:03.403 --> 47:04.870 It's good to see you all today. 47:05.610 --> 47:07.210 Mr. Speier, there's a part of me that would like 47:07.210 --> 47:10.340 to be sitting over there today, as an Army podiatrist, 47:10.340 --> 47:12.910 to talk about treatment and prevention of stress fractures 47:12.910 --> 47:15.540 and injuries, that we could do a whole lot more on, 47:15.540 --> 47:18.383 and I'll be glad to engage with you more on that. 47:18.770 --> 47:21.193 We might need a whole other hearing on that. 47:21.970 --> 47:23.453 And I'd be glad to do that. 47:23.822 --> 47:26.593 And it's more than just adding calcium, 47:27.200 --> 47:28.550 because it's biomechanical. 47:30.624 --> 47:34.700 And I'll just address to you, General Seamands, 47:34.700 --> 47:36.650 if you don't mind, for the sake of time, 47:36.650 --> 47:38.610 but I want to go through the recruiting process. 47:38.610 --> 47:41.550 When someone wants to join, they go through the process, 47:41.550 --> 47:44.363 they've checked all the boxes as being eligible, 47:45.010 --> 47:48.390 the recruiter then start, and I'm thinking we're enlisted, 47:48.390 --> 47:49.903 at this point, young people. 47:50.460 --> 47:51.893 What MOS do you want? 47:52.120 --> 47:54.793 What is it you want to do in the military? 47:55.360 --> 47:57.530 I was so impressed when I deployed, 47:57.530 --> 48:00.002 that 90% of our enlisted that were eligible 48:00.002 --> 48:04.093 for reenlistment, while we were in theater, took that. 48:05.070 --> 48:07.100 I don't know that's the case across the board, 48:07.100 --> 48:08.790 but it was it was pretty impressive, 48:08.790 --> 48:10.610 especially when you consider where they're making 48:10.610 --> 48:12.713 that decision, which was in theatere. 48:13.545 --> 48:16.433 And so what occurs to me, and I've asked people, 48:18.010 --> 48:20.793 when they joined, and they met with a recruiter, 48:21.070 --> 48:23.130 did the recruiter say, yeah, what do you want to do 48:23.130 --> 48:26.063 in the Army, but what do you want to do after? 48:27.160 --> 48:31.593 Whether it's 20 years, plus, or four years. 48:32.520 --> 48:36.480 Are we investing the way we should in their success? 48:36.480 --> 48:38.630 In other words, what does success look like to us? 48:38.630 --> 48:40.360 Yeah, it's successful if someone reenlists. 48:40.360 --> 48:43.190 You know, we've got some retention, that's successful. 48:43.190 --> 48:45.570 And that's one of the career paths we should be 48:45.570 --> 48:48.150 talking about, but are we talking about, 48:48.150 --> 48:49.910 what is your long-term success? 48:49.910 --> 48:52.003 Because when you talk about marketing, 48:52.100 --> 48:55.590 when you talk about recruiting, if the military 48:55.590 --> 48:58.260 is perceived as the place to go because there's going to be 48:58.260 --> 49:01.283 something good at the end, whether it's in uniform or not, 49:01.630 --> 49:05.130 I think we'll recruit and retain even better. 49:05.130 --> 49:07.440 So what I'd like to hear from all of you on that. 49:07.440 --> 49:11.033 We'll start with you, on that notion of day one, 49:11.100 --> 49:12.610 what do you want to do after this? 49:12.610 --> 49:13.602 - Thank you, sir. 49:13.602 --> 49:15.340 That's actually part of discussion recruiters have. 49:15.340 --> 49:18.193 These are the MOSs you qualify for, what's your passion? 49:18.340 --> 49:19.673 What do you aspire for? 49:19.940 --> 49:22.440 And in some cases, talk about life after the Army. 49:22.450 --> 49:24.340 We also start that discussion when they arrive 49:24.340 --> 49:27.220 at basic training, AIT, and it continues on through 49:27.220 --> 49:28.450 the time they're in uniform. 49:28.450 --> 49:30.952 Thanks to the VOW Act that you passed a few years ago, 49:30.952 --> 49:32.587 it's a conscious decision. 49:32.587 --> 49:34.880 And you can see the effect of that from commanders, 49:34.880 --> 49:37.090 command sergeant majors, and first sergeants engaging. 49:37.090 --> 49:38.430 If you go back about five years, 49:38.430 --> 49:40.070 our unemployment compensation was almost 49:40.070 --> 49:42.453 a half a billion dollars, we were paying. 49:42.520 --> 49:44.283 Last year was a 127 million. 49:44.390 --> 49:47.310 So what's happening is our Soldier for Life programs, 49:47.310 --> 49:49.400 our education, training, and credentialing 49:49.400 --> 49:50.690 that we work through the programs, 49:50.690 --> 49:53.510 tuition assistance, in order to return a better citizen 49:53.600 --> 49:55.560 back to their community, is evidenced 49:55.560 --> 49:56.850 in the lower unemployment. 49:56.850 --> 49:59.050 So that's a discussion we have throughout there, 49:59.050 --> 50:01.940 because once they come in, we want to make sure 50:01.940 --> 50:04.440 they're set up for a smooth takeoff as they leave. 50:04.610 --> 50:08.046 - Thank you. - Sir, similar, 50:08.046 --> 50:11.900 when our sailors come in, we test them for aptitude, 50:11.900 --> 50:13.040 of course, as all services do. 50:13.040 --> 50:18.010 We also have a test, that it's called JOIN, 50:18.010 --> 50:19.430 job opportunities in the Navy, 50:19.430 --> 50:21.053 that tests their interests. 50:21.230 --> 50:26.110 And we found a high correlation between sort of a sweet spot 50:26.110 --> 50:30.300 between the two is about a 75%-75% match 50:31.290 --> 50:34.863 between the two, and that gives us a much higher retention. 50:34.949 --> 50:37.300 If you're good at it and you like it, 50:37.300 --> 50:39.463 and not necessarily the peak above, 50:39.730 --> 50:42.460 you'll stay, because you're challenged in something 50:43.100 --> 50:45.003 for a lot longer period of time. 50:45.160 --> 50:47.960 But in addition to all the many educational opportunities 50:47.960 --> 50:50.960 that we offer to improve oneself, 50:50.960 --> 50:55.760 to help you later on in life, either inside the military 50:55.760 --> 50:58.803 or outside the military, the certification, 50:59.040 --> 51:01.590 Navy certification opportunities online. 51:01.590 --> 51:06.590 We have over 1,900 credentialing opportunities. 51:06.790 --> 51:09.150 There's at least one credentialing opportunity 51:09.150 --> 51:13.580 for the job skills, every single Sailor could get 51:13.580 --> 51:15.320 at least one credentialing opportunity. 51:15.320 --> 51:17.260 And that's to show that they've been 51:17.260 --> 51:18.883 tested to industry standards. 51:18.970 --> 51:22.770 And then the U.S. Military Apprenticeship Program 51:23.030 --> 51:26.483 gives them the experiential documentation as well. 51:26.980 --> 51:29.580 So we'll provide those things all to help them be 51:30.000 --> 51:33.520 better citizens, more productive employment opportunity 51:33.520 --> 51:34.850 when they get out. - Thank you. 51:34.850 --> 51:36.800 - I think ours are very similar as well. 51:36.800 --> 51:38.623 We do aptitude testing. 51:38.930 --> 51:41.380 And for the most part, most Airmen that come in 51:41.480 --> 51:43.410 have a skill that they know what they want to do 51:43.410 --> 51:44.660 and they typically get that skill. 51:44.660 --> 51:46.950 It's not that common, unless they don't qualify. 51:46.950 --> 51:50.140 And then military tuition assistance really helps 51:50.690 --> 51:51.740 set them up for the future. 51:51.740 --> 51:53.302 And typically what you'll find is that they study 51:53.302 --> 51:55.330 something they want to do when they leave. 51:55.330 --> 51:57.760 We have an interestingly large number of people 51:57.760 --> 52:01.023 that study early education, early childhood education. 52:01.220 --> 52:03.360 And we believe that must be because that's something 52:03.360 --> 52:05.890 that they choose to do beyond their service. 52:05.890 --> 52:08.992 The other thing is we have an accredited Associates program, 52:08.992 --> 52:11.920 in the Air Force, the Community College of the Air Force. 52:11.920 --> 52:14.680 So very few, if any, enlisted members leave 52:14.680 --> 52:16.780 without at least their Associate's Degree. 52:18.290 --> 52:20.500 - So knowing full well that we are going to return 52:20.500 --> 52:24.520 70% of those enlistees after the first enlistment, 52:24.520 --> 52:26.960 we spend a lot of time focusing on exactly that. 52:26.960 --> 52:29.633 We want to return good citizens back, 52:29.750 --> 52:31.090 after they serve in the Marine Corps. 52:31.090 --> 52:33.540 So we encourage tuition assistance, 52:33.540 --> 52:36.660 we encourage the use of the GI Bill while on active duty, 52:36.660 --> 52:39.690 to go ahead and pursue some further education. 52:39.690 --> 52:42.670 MECEP, ECP, those are enlisted commissioning programs 52:42.670 --> 52:44.610 that we have, we fully endorse. 52:44.610 --> 52:46.600 And in our transition courses, they're full 52:46.600 --> 52:50.420 with job fairs and credentialing organizations 52:50.420 --> 52:52.490 that will help those Marines take the skills that 52:52.490 --> 52:54.570 they've learned in the Marine Corps and transition them 52:54.570 --> 52:57.090 to a civilian job. 52:57.090 --> 52:58.400 - Yeah, I think just all too often. 52:58.400 --> 53:00.760 the general public doesn't realize. 53:00.760 --> 53:03.450 You hear about anyone who has a difficulty 53:03.450 --> 53:06.620 after their service, but we don't hear enough 53:06.620 --> 53:09.840 about the military being a pathway 53:09.940 --> 53:12.423 to a successful civilian life. 53:12.474 --> 53:14.630 And I think that's really what 53:14.630 --> 53:17.293 I'd like to see promoted more. 53:18.060 --> 53:20.823 And change the perception that some people have. 53:21.370 --> 53:25.050 Because I think we all know. the great majority of people 53:25.080 --> 53:27.683 who serve end up in a better place. 53:28.410 --> 53:29.243 I yield back. 53:32.060 --> 53:33.630 - [Mike] Mr. Russell, you are now recognized. 53:33.630 --> 53:34.570 - Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 53:34.570 --> 53:36.653 And thank you all for being here today. 53:37.670 --> 53:39.570 One of the things that we're exploring 53:41.450 --> 53:44.200 in this year's authorization 53:44.950 --> 53:48.453 is the ability to train. 53:48.980 --> 53:50.010 And this one will be a kind of 53:50.010 --> 53:51.913 an officer training related question. 53:52.840 --> 53:55.108 Do you have people maybe with a four-year scholarship 53:55.108 --> 53:57.458 program where they're at the service academies, 53:57.890 --> 54:01.270 and then for whatever reason, this is not a high population, 54:01.270 --> 54:02.683 but it is a high investment, 54:03.670 --> 54:06.520 they have some injury that will preclude a commissioning. 54:07.010 --> 54:09.683 And in talking to the Vices and others, 54:10.304 --> 54:13.451 it's like there's, and through no fault of their own, 54:13.451 --> 54:14.710 you know, they're not punished. 54:14.710 --> 54:18.330 But then they're released to the American public 54:18.330 --> 54:20.880 as a whole, yes, you know, maybe better citizens 54:20.880 --> 54:23.947 and all of that, but all the investment is gone. 54:23.947 --> 54:25.770 And so one of the things that we're looking at 54:25.770 --> 54:30.516 maybe exploring is to translate them, if they are precluded 54:30.516 --> 54:34.840 from taking a commission, to go into the Department 54:34.880 --> 54:37.700 of Defense workforce and fulfill their service 54:37.700 --> 54:40.203 obligation in that direction. 54:40.620 --> 54:43.573 And I would just be curious of your thoughts on that. 54:43.990 --> 54:45.803 - Sir, if I could comment first, 54:45.930 --> 54:47.070 we are already doing that. 54:47.070 --> 54:50.280 We've had several Academy cadets to your very example, 54:50.280 --> 54:52.223 that had a medical issue pop up, 54:52.470 --> 54:54.793 literally, weeks before graduation. 54:54.880 --> 54:56.450 And with your direct hiring authorities, 54:56.450 --> 54:58.163 we brought them into the civilian world. 54:58.163 --> 55:00.578 - But that was voluntary, is it not? 55:00.578 --> 55:02.493 Under current law? - Yes, sir. 55:02.559 --> 55:04.820 It is absolutely voluntary. 55:04.820 --> 55:07.973 - Right, because if they were healthy, 55:08.040 --> 55:09.510 they would have a service obligation, 55:09.510 --> 55:11.453 and they would be required to serve, 55:11.650 --> 55:14.393 it was still five-year commitment, I guess, 55:14.420 --> 55:17.710 for service academies, for four-year scholarship 55:17.710 --> 55:19.813 commissionings, is that correct? 55:20.840 --> 55:21.950 - Right. - Do you see, 55:21.950 --> 55:23.950 and that's great, that we're doing that. 55:25.800 --> 55:27.453 If we made that a requirement. 55:27.820 --> 55:28.980 I mean, it's not unjust. 55:28.980 --> 55:30.880 There's been a great investment there. 55:31.890 --> 55:34.240 And I would love to have your thoughts on that. 55:36.666 --> 55:37.520 - Sir, I support that. 55:37.520 --> 55:38.353 I think it's a great opportunity. 55:38.353 --> 55:40.370 They have a propensity to serve that, in many cases, 55:40.370 --> 55:42.510 they want to serve, and I think we've given them 55:42.510 --> 55:45.510 a great education, so I think that's an appropriate payback. 55:46.770 --> 55:48.960 - Yes, sir, we would support it as well. 55:48.960 --> 55:51.990 Like the Air Force, we seek volunteers to come 55:51.990 --> 55:53.630 into the government service, we do the same thing, 55:53.630 --> 55:57.030 when there's been an injury for like medical scholarships. 55:57.030 --> 56:00.610 We actively try to, you know, rather than recoup, 56:00.610 --> 56:04.033 get them to come in as a civilian doctor, for example. 56:04.250 --> 56:07.600 And there's always quite a high interest rate 56:07.600 --> 56:09.950 in taking those options, but we would support 56:09.950 --> 56:11.123 making it mandatory. 56:12.074 --> 56:13.363 - We would support it, sir. 56:13.540 --> 56:15.010 - And the Marine Corps would also support it. 56:15.010 --> 56:16.220 I think it's a wonderful. 56:16.220 --> 56:17.800 You talk about the quality of the men and women 56:17.800 --> 56:20.200 that go to the service academies, and as you say, 56:20.200 --> 56:22.983 no fault of their own, they cannot serve. 56:23.390 --> 56:25.640 Exposing them to a Department of Defense job 56:25.640 --> 56:27.950 that they perhaps wouldn't have been exposed to, 56:27.950 --> 56:32.090 I think opens up benefits to both the student 56:32.090 --> 56:33.593 and also the organization. 56:34.850 --> 56:36.810 - Well, look for it heading your way, I guess. 56:36.810 --> 56:39.837 And it's something that will continue to work, Mr. Chairman. 56:39.837 --> 56:41.830 And it's something that we're looking at 56:41.830 --> 56:44.310 for this year's NDAA, but I really appreciate 56:44.310 --> 56:47.740 your thoughts on it and it's valuable 56:47.770 --> 56:49.080 to have your comments on it. 56:49.080 --> 56:50.980 Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I yield back. 56:51.660 --> 56:55.233 - We will have a second quick round. 56:57.060 --> 56:59.953 Ranking Member Speier. - Chairman, thank you. 57:02.320 --> 57:06.280 Lieutenant General Grosso actually referenced 57:07.050 --> 57:09.540 having a high retention rate, but low retention 57:09.540 --> 57:12.730 in terms of linguistic analysts, special operation aircraft 57:12.730 --> 57:15.433 maintenance, and nuclear medicine specialties. 57:16.150 --> 57:20.790 I'd like to know if you have categorized the areas 57:20.790 --> 57:23.403 where you have problems in terms of retention? 57:23.770 --> 57:25.740 I think that's part of the key here. 57:25.740 --> 57:28.120 If we invest as much money as we do 57:28.760 --> 57:30.710 to get them through boot camp 57:31.030 --> 57:36.030 and have them serve for a period of 18 months afterwards, 57:36.380 --> 57:41.380 or two years afterwards, and then have them not continue, 57:42.210 --> 57:44.580 I mean that's a loss of what, $80,000? 57:44.580 --> 57:48.410 So could you tell me what are the areas in each 57:48.410 --> 57:51.853 of your services where you have an issues with retention? 57:53.650 --> 57:54.850 - Ma'am, thank you for the question. 57:54.850 --> 57:56.650 Within the Army, I think with all the other services, 57:56.650 --> 57:57.547 aviation is one of them. 57:57.547 --> 58:00.310 And we're attacking that with increased training throughput 58:00.310 --> 58:04.013 as well as bonuses to encourage people to continue to serve. 58:04.130 --> 58:06.053 The other area I would offer is cyber. 58:06.220 --> 58:08.340 We don't have a problem accessing them, because there are 58:08.340 --> 58:11.290 a lot of people who are interested in being cyber Soldiers. 58:11.320 --> 58:13.350 We think we're at some point in the future, 58:13.350 --> 58:14.880 because they have a six-year obligation, 58:14.880 --> 58:16.430 we'll have a problem with retention. 58:16.430 --> 58:19.680 So our strategy is to treat them, and recognize what 58:19.680 --> 58:21.590 they're doing now, in terms of bonuses and their 58:21.590 --> 58:24.890 credentialing, in order to hopefully have them 58:24.890 --> 58:26.240 continue to serve and want to continue 58:26.240 --> 58:27.390 to serve in the future. 58:27.400 --> 58:30.100 But I would say aviation and cyber are the two issues. 58:31.710 --> 58:35.138 - Yes, ma'am, for us it's a the nuclear specialties. 58:35.138 --> 58:39.933 Nuclear propulsion, that is, cyber, including linguistics, 58:40.000 --> 58:44.020 same as the Air Force, aviation, mechanical and structural 58:44.020 --> 58:47.193 rates on the enlisted side, pilots, of course. 58:47.570 --> 58:49.543 Retention on the officer side. 58:49.810 --> 58:53.423 And then the Special Warfare folks. 58:55.810 --> 58:57.580 - And ma'am you mentioned ours, but we track 58:57.580 --> 59:00.330 every single career field extensively, 59:00.330 --> 59:03.823 because we don't need to, in an up or out system, 59:04.120 --> 59:05.743 you only retain what you need. 59:05.800 --> 59:07.890 And so for the most part, if you look in the aggregate, 59:07.890 --> 59:09.050 we've got very strong retention. 59:09.050 --> 59:10.150 We've just got these pockets. 59:10.150 --> 59:12.080 But you've given us plenty of authority 59:12.080 --> 59:13.360 and especially in incentive pays. 59:13.360 --> 59:15.490 And really, the key for us is to target them 59:15.490 --> 59:17.140 where we need them. - All right. 59:18.460 --> 59:20.993 - Yes, ma'am, so cyber is always a challenge. 59:21.520 --> 59:23.100 Part of the challenge we're having with cyber 59:23.100 --> 59:26.280 is that the other MOSs, the other specialties 59:26.280 --> 59:30.760 that we're drawing upon, are usually signals intelligence, 59:30.760 --> 59:33.683 are those schools that the Marines go 59:33.683 --> 59:35.160 and spend a lot of time at. 59:35.160 --> 59:36.460 So they're in high demand. 59:37.010 --> 59:38.160 The other one, aviation, 59:38.160 --> 59:40.060 we mentioned aviation and maintenance. 59:40.570 --> 59:43.820 We've included aviation, what we call bonuses, 59:43.820 --> 59:45.333 for the enlisted side. 59:45.400 --> 59:47.890 So those Marines that work on aircraft, those specialties, 59:47.890 --> 59:52.590 and they have certain specialties inside of those CDIs, 59:52.590 --> 59:55.163 and different aviation specialties. 59:55.240 --> 59:56.660 We've given them extra bonuses 59:56.660 --> 59:58.523 which has stabilized the population. 01:00:00.273 --> 01:00:03.887 - Lieutenant General, Congresswoman Tsongas 01:00:04.040 --> 01:00:07.580 made the case that targeting women 01:00:07.580 --> 01:00:10.973 is going to be key moving forward in the military. 01:00:12.038 --> 01:00:15.040 It takes me back 40 years, when I was a staffer 01:00:15.040 --> 01:00:19.940 and went to West Point, and asked the audacious question 01:00:19.940 --> 01:00:24.940 as to why women couldn't be accepted in the academies. 01:00:25.580 --> 01:00:28.580 And we've actually moved forward a little bit since then, 01:00:28.580 --> 01:00:30.690 but at the time, it was because they couldn't 01:00:30.690 --> 01:00:32.610 serve in combat, that was the rationale. 01:00:32.610 --> 01:00:35.620 So there really is no rationale anymore, but it appears 01:00:35.620 --> 01:00:39.050 the Marines have really lagged behind all the other services 01:00:39.300 --> 01:00:44.300 in terms of incorporating women, both in terms of training, 01:00:44.830 --> 01:00:47.180 they're still being trained separately from men, 01:00:47.180 --> 01:00:49.650 and just the general sense that women 01:00:49.650 --> 01:00:51.150 don't belong in the Marines. 01:00:51.150 --> 01:00:54.840 So could you address how you're going to be more embracive 01:00:54.840 --> 01:00:57.423 of women, much like the other services have? 01:00:58.120 --> 01:01:00.300 In one minute. - Certainly. 01:01:00.300 --> 01:01:01.480 That's an important question. 01:01:01.480 --> 01:01:05.083 So we recently opened up Marine Combat Training West, 01:01:05.240 --> 01:01:07.853 which is where we sent all non-infantry Marines. 01:01:08.190 --> 01:01:10.900 So if you're an administrator or just a non-infantry, 01:01:10.900 --> 01:01:12.930 you will go to Marine Corps combat training 01:01:12.930 --> 01:01:14.910 to learn how to be a Marine, a Marine first. 01:01:14.910 --> 01:01:17.123 So we've recently opened up that to females. 01:01:18.030 --> 01:01:19.870 And as far as everything else, 01:01:19.870 --> 01:01:21.430 we've opened up all occupational fields. 01:01:21.430 --> 01:01:24.380 So again, it is voluntary to go into some of these 01:01:24.680 --> 01:01:27.603 more ground-centric load-bearing units, 01:01:28.150 --> 01:01:31.883 but we understand that we are making progress, albeit slow, 01:01:31.900 --> 01:01:33.220 but we are making progress. 01:01:33.220 --> 01:01:35.340 We've stood up the Personnel Studies Office, 01:01:35.340 --> 01:01:39.060 which is headed by Miss Melissa Cohen to go out 01:01:39.060 --> 01:01:41.860 and ensure that commanders are trained, 01:01:41.860 --> 01:01:45.170 and units are trained on unconscious bias. 01:01:45.170 --> 01:01:46.920 And some of the things that perhaps 01:01:47.320 --> 01:01:50.293 has prevented some of that in the past. 01:01:50.310 --> 01:01:53.130 So we're taking proactive steps to ensure that women 01:01:55.402 --> 01:01:59.360 are accepted in every in every MLS, and in every level 01:01:59.360 --> 01:02:00.360 of the Marine Corps. 01:02:01.220 --> 01:02:03.443 - How many generals do you have that are women? 01:02:04.360 --> 01:02:07.543 - We have two, I'm sorry. 01:02:09.540 --> 01:02:11.380 General Reynolds, General Shea, 01:02:11.380 --> 01:02:14.623 and we just recently, General Mahlock. 01:02:14.700 --> 01:02:15.533 So it would be three. 01:02:15.533 --> 01:02:18.680 - Three out of how many? - 82 active. 01:02:18.680 --> 01:02:19.830 - All right, thank you. 01:02:23.540 --> 01:02:25.350 - General Bacon, you're now recognized. 01:02:25.350 --> 01:02:27.300 - Thank you, it's hard to do two committee hearings 01:02:27.300 --> 01:02:30.743 and a speech, so I caught you on the tail end of this. 01:02:31.210 --> 01:02:32.130 Thank you for being here. 01:02:32.130 --> 01:02:34.530 It's good to be with some friends I've served with. 01:02:34.530 --> 01:02:37.973 And I appreciate your expertise and your leadership. 01:02:37.973 --> 01:02:40.010 I want to ask you, what is the impact so far 01:02:40.010 --> 01:02:41.730 that you've seen on the blended retirement? 01:02:41.730 --> 01:02:45.930 Are we seeing any kind of negative adverse retention 01:02:45.930 --> 01:02:47.663 from that or recruitment? 01:02:48.090 --> 01:02:50.560 Thank you. - Thanks for asking. 01:02:50.560 --> 01:02:52.470 We monitor that pretty closely. 01:02:52.470 --> 01:02:55.120 So far, about 9% of the active, about 3% of the Guard 01:02:55.120 --> 01:02:58.513 and Reserve have opted in to the blended retirement. 01:02:58.850 --> 01:03:00.540 I think it's gonna be a significant indicator 01:03:00.540 --> 01:03:02.063 on retention in the out years. 01:03:02.120 --> 01:03:03.810 And I think we're gonna have to fundamentally change 01:03:03.810 --> 01:03:06.293 how we address retaining talent. 01:03:06.560 --> 01:03:08.800 Today, if I keep somebody, an officer, an NCO, 01:03:08.800 --> 01:03:10.710 to 10 years, I have a pretty high probability 01:03:10.710 --> 01:03:11.910 I'll keep them until 20. 01:03:12.010 --> 01:03:14.313 I think that dynamic could potentially change, 01:03:14.580 --> 01:03:16.140 but we won't see that probably for the next 01:03:16.140 --> 01:03:17.693 seven maybe to 10 years. 01:03:17.720 --> 01:03:18.630 So we need to be prepared. 01:03:18.630 --> 01:03:19.540 And we're thinking about it now, 01:03:19.540 --> 01:03:20.920 trying to get our heads around it. 01:03:20.920 --> 01:03:21.753 - I think you're right. 01:03:21.753 --> 01:03:24.483 My hunch is people are gonna get out the 17 year point. 01:03:24.490 --> 01:03:27.603 Because the one that had the big cliff they're facing. 01:03:27.930 --> 01:03:30.230 - Absolutely so the blended retirement essentially reduces 01:03:30.230 --> 01:03:32.660 the cost of the impact of getting out, potentially. 01:03:32.660 --> 01:03:35.227 And so I think we need to be creative in how we address that 01:03:35.227 --> 01:03:36.773 and work to retain our talent. 01:03:39.890 --> 01:03:42.217 - Sir, we're not seeing any impacts yet, 01:03:42.217 --> 01:03:44.107 but we continue to watch it closely as well. 01:03:44.107 --> 01:03:46.500 We really appreciate the flexibility you gave us 01:03:46.500 --> 01:03:50.553 in last year's NDAA to move the continuation pay component. 01:03:50.950 --> 01:03:52.993 It gave us some years to move it around. 01:03:53.250 --> 01:03:56.470 So our plan is to sort of use that and complement that 01:03:56.470 --> 01:03:59.093 with other retention incentives to offset. 01:03:59.330 --> 01:04:02.010 - Thank you. - I don't think we have 01:04:02.010 --> 01:04:03.920 enough data yet, so we know the data in the aggregate, 01:04:03.920 --> 01:04:05.270 we don't know what skill sets are. 01:04:05.270 --> 01:04:06.810 So I'm very curious to see that data. 01:04:06.810 --> 01:04:09.110 But I agree that it does fundamentally change. 01:04:10.130 --> 01:04:11.860 It's a big change and how we manage that 01:04:11.860 --> 01:04:13.910 continuation pay is going to be critical. 01:04:14.330 --> 01:04:15.770 - Okay. - And I'll just pile on, 01:04:15.770 --> 01:04:17.750 the continuation pay is going to be key. 01:04:17.750 --> 01:04:21.540 Right now, we have 25% of the Marine Corps has chosen, 01:04:21.540 --> 01:04:24.543 and out of that, 70% have opted into BRS. 01:04:25.750 --> 01:04:29.280 - So I'm hearing is some positive indicators, 01:04:29.280 --> 01:04:30.860 but yet, it's still too early to really say. 01:04:30.860 --> 01:04:32.690 And yet, there's a fear that we're going to have 01:04:32.690 --> 01:04:34.240 a hard time retaining people through 20. 01:04:34.240 --> 01:04:37.763 So it's sort of I analyzed your alls inputs. 01:04:38.210 --> 01:04:41.020 So I've mentioned, Colonel Grosso, or General Grosso, 01:04:41.020 --> 01:04:43.890 I'm sorry, I knew you weren't Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel. 01:04:43.890 --> 01:04:45.303 Let's start all the way up. 01:04:45.330 --> 01:04:48.333 General Grosso, excuse me, is the pilot bonuses. 01:04:51.257 --> 01:04:53.863 I think we need to have the date at some point, 01:04:53.910 --> 01:04:56.750 if say, 55% of our pilots stay, and I'm just throwing 01:04:56.750 --> 01:04:59.070 a number out there, we say that's the success 01:04:59.070 --> 01:05:01.610 for the bonuses, but yet we don't know if there wasn't, 01:05:01.610 --> 01:05:04.660 if say 50% of that 55, but it's still signed up. 01:05:04.660 --> 01:05:07.290 And I think some point we need to have some kind of data 01:05:07.290 --> 01:05:10.150 that says that these bonuses are having this kind of impact. 01:05:10.150 --> 01:05:11.980 And something I've mentioned before, 01:05:11.980 --> 01:05:15.367 but I know we always look at the retention that we have, 01:05:15.367 --> 01:05:18.030 but we don't know if, how many we were would have retained 01:05:18.030 --> 01:05:20.943 anyway, without the bonus, so I want your thoughts. 01:05:21.110 --> 01:05:22.830 - Yes, sir, there's clearly economic rent, 01:05:22.830 --> 01:05:24.140 which is what you're discussing. 01:05:24.140 --> 01:05:25.490 And I think that's very hard to know, 01:05:25.490 --> 01:05:28.330 but the one thing that it does, is it locks the person in, 01:05:28.330 --> 01:05:31.123 so it helps us know what we do keep. 01:05:31.440 --> 01:05:32.696 But I completely agree with you. 01:05:32.696 --> 01:05:34.653 It's an imprecise tool. 01:05:34.920 --> 01:05:37.543 We actually have some other options coming your way, 01:05:38.050 --> 01:05:39.683 which is finally socializing. 01:05:39.840 --> 01:05:42.270 - I agree the commitment thing is important, 01:05:42.270 --> 01:05:45.050 so I won't disparage that part. 01:05:45.050 --> 01:05:46.453 I just think it be nice to know if we're getting 01:05:46.453 --> 01:05:49.700 a 5% payoff added, or 10, or I just think would be helpful 01:05:49.700 --> 01:05:53.330 to be able to substantiate just what the impact really is. 01:05:53.330 --> 01:05:54.163 And I don't think we know. 01:05:54.163 --> 01:05:56.970 And finally, I just want to, I know the Air Force is, 01:05:56.970 --> 01:05:58.830 I've been hearing a little bit about it, 01:05:58.830 --> 01:06:00.060 but I don't know if anybody else is doing this, too, 01:06:00.060 --> 01:06:02.040 but enlisted aviators, could you give us an update 01:06:02.040 --> 01:06:03.453 how we're doing there? 01:06:04.050 --> 01:06:05.603 - It's going very well. 01:06:06.000 --> 01:06:09.060 So that it's clear that our enlisted Airmen 01:06:09.060 --> 01:06:10.860 are just as talented and they're doing well 01:06:10.860 --> 01:06:12.050 going through the course. 01:06:12.050 --> 01:06:14.020 I think we're just starting to implement them 01:06:14.020 --> 01:06:16.693 in the operational units, so I think that piece, 01:06:16.920 --> 01:06:18.340 we're just starting the cultural piece 01:06:18.340 --> 01:06:19.340 and how do we get that right? 01:06:19.340 --> 01:06:21.110 But it's clear that they're successful. 01:06:21.110 --> 01:06:23.110 - So far only remote piloted aircraft? 01:06:23.110 --> 01:06:24.527 - Yes, sir. - Okay, so nothing else. 01:06:24.527 --> 01:06:26.053 Any of the other services? 01:06:28.000 --> 01:06:30.038 - Sir, most of our aviators are Warrant Officers. 01:06:30.038 --> 01:06:32.210 Many of them came from the enlisted force. 01:06:32.210 --> 01:06:36.053 - Okay, well, thank you very much, I yield back. 01:06:37.270 --> 01:06:38.103 - Mr. Russell. 01:06:39.540 --> 01:06:43.950 Thank you, I just want to close with one issue 01:06:43.950 --> 01:06:45.450 that I want to mention to you. 01:06:45.460 --> 01:06:49.793 And that is I've seen this for a very long time, 01:06:50.260 --> 01:06:54.860 where in the MEPS process, somebody's deemed 01:06:54.860 --> 01:06:59.800 physically qualified, we pay to send them 01:06:59.800 --> 01:07:03.963 to basic training in their respective branch of service, 01:07:04.430 --> 01:07:06.860 where they're given another physical 01:07:07.130 --> 01:07:09.303 and they're deemed unqualified. 01:07:09.740 --> 01:07:14.283 Now then that's a waste of money and time. 01:07:14.780 --> 01:07:18.191 And I don't know if it's just a false feeling of warmth 01:07:18.191 --> 01:07:22.860 to try and get the numbers up initially, or what it is, 01:07:22.860 --> 01:07:24.720 but it ought to be the same standard. 01:07:24.720 --> 01:07:26.823 There shouldn't be a disparity. 01:07:27.010 --> 01:07:32.010 And I saw it when I was in the military, 01:07:32.260 --> 01:07:36.900 but I also see it today, when a family calls me and says, 01:07:36.900 --> 01:07:38.793 you know, my son just reported, 01:07:38.940 --> 01:07:41.513 the last example was Navy recruit training, 01:07:41.710 --> 01:07:44.040 and then, of course, they're in limbo 01:07:44.040 --> 01:07:46.790 as they're trying to be administratively processed out. 01:07:46.960 --> 01:07:50.803 And so we need to get this straight, 01:07:51.010 --> 01:07:52.790 and there needs to be one standard 01:07:52.790 --> 01:07:54.290 and it needs to be consistent. 01:07:54.880 --> 01:07:58.040 And so I'd like to thank the witnesses 01:07:58.040 --> 01:08:01.263 for their enlightening testimony this afternoon. 01:08:01.700 --> 01:08:03.333 There being no further business, 01:08:03.340 --> 01:08:05.317 the subcommittee stands adjourned.