- DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2014 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM

[Senate Hearing 113-108, Part 6]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

S. Hrg. 113-108, Pt. 6

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR
2014 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM

=======================================================================

HEARINGS

before the

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

S. 1197

TO AUTHORIZE APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2014 FOR MILITARY
ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, FOR MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, AND
FOR DEFENSE ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, TO PRESCRIBE
MILITARY PERSONNEL STRENGTHS FOR SUCH FISCAL YEAR, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

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PART 6

PERSONNEL

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APRIL 17 AND 24, 2013

Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR
2014 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM--Part 6 PERSONNEL

S. Hrg. 113-108 Pt. 6

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR
2014 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM

=======================================================================

HEARINGS

before the

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

S. 1197

__________

PART 6

PERSONNEL

__________

APRIL 17 AND 24, 2013

__________

Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov/

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COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES

CARL LEVIN, Michigan, Chairman

JACK REED, Rhode Island JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma
BILL NELSON, Florida JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama
MARK UDALL, Colorado SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia
KAY R. HAGAN, North Carolina ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi
JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut DAVID VITTER, Louisiana
JOE DONNELLY, Indiana ROY BLUNT, Missouri
MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii MIKE LEE, Utah
TIM KAINE, Virginia TED CRUZ, Texas
ANGUS KING, Maine

Peter K. Levine, Staff Director

John A. Bonsell, Minority Staff Director

______

Subcommittee on Personnel

KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York, Chairman

KAY R. HAGAN, North Carolina LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia
MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire
TIM KAINE, Virginia ROY BLUNT, Missouri
ANGUS KING, Maine MIKE LEE, Utah

(ii)
?

C O N T E N T S

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CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES
Active, Guard, Reserve, and Civilian Personnel Programs
april 17, 2013

Page

Wright, Hon. Jessica L., Acting Under Secretary of Defense,
Personnel and Readiness........................................ 4
Woodson, Hon. Jonathan, M.D., Assistant Secretary of Defense,
Health Affairs, and Director of TRICARE Management Activity.... 6
Vollrath, Hon. Frederick E., Acting Assistant Secretary of
Defense, Readiness and Force Management........................ 7
Wightman, Hon. Richard O., Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense,
Reserve Affairs................................................ 8
Strobridge, Col. Steven P., USAF, Retired, Director of Government
Relations, Military Officers Association of America............ 39
Moakler, Ms. Kathleen B., Government Relations Director, National
Military Family Association.................................... 71
Barnes, Master Chief Joseph L., USN, Retired, National Executive
Director, Fleet Reserve Association............................ 73
Hanson, CAPT Marshall, USN, Retired, Director, Legislative and
Military Policy, Reserve Officers Association.................. 82

Continuation of Testimony on the Active, Guard, Reserve, and Civilian
Personnel Programs
april 24, 2013

Lamont, Hon. Thomas R., Assistant Secretary of the Army for
Manpower and Reserve Affairs................................... 120
Garcia, Hon. Juan M., III, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for
Manpower and Reserve Affairs................................... 129
Ginsberg, Hon. Daniel B., Assistant Secretary of the Air Force
for Manpower and Reserve Affairs............................... 153

(iii)

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR
2014 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Personnel,
Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC.

ACTIVE, GUARD, RESERVE, AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL PROGRAMS

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:00 p.m. in
room SR-232A, Russell Senate Office Building, Senator Kirsten
Gillibrand (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Committee members present: Senators Gillibrand, Donnelly,
Kaine, King, Ayotte, and Graham.
Majority staff members present: Jonathan D. Clark, counsel;
Gabriella E. Fahrer, counsel; and Gerald J. Leeling, general
counsel.
Minority staff members present: Steven M. Barney, minority
counsel; and Allen M. Edwards, professional staff member.
Staff assistant present: Jennifer R. Knowles.
Committee members' assistants present: Elana Broitman and
Kathryn Parker, assistants to Senator Gillibrand; Marta
McLellan Ross, assistant to Senator Donnelly; Karen Courington,
assistant to Senator Kaine; Steve Smith, assistant to Senator
King; Brad Bowman, assistant to Senator Ayotte; and Craig
Abele, assistant to Senator Graham.

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, CHAIRMAN

Senator Gillibrand. Good afternoon, everyone. The
subcommittee meets today to receive testimony from the
Department of Defense (DOD) on the Active, Guard, Reserve, and
civilian personnel programs contained in the administration's
National Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2014,
and the Future Years Defense Program.
Today we will have two panels. The first panel consists of
senior DOD leaders with whom we will discuss not only DOD
personnel policy issues, but also specific budget items
pertinent to our subcommittee's oversight responsibilities. Our
witnesses are the Honorable Jessica Wright, Acting Under
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Honorable
Jonathan Woodson, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health
Affairs and Director of the TRICARE Management Activity, Mr.
Frederick Vollrath, the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense
for Readiness and Force Management, and Mr. Richard Wightman,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.
The second panel will consist of representatives from
groups of Active and Reserve component servicemembers,
retirees, and their families. I will introduce them after the
first panel concludes.
As this is my first budget related hearing as chairman of
this subcommittee, I want to begin by recognizing the hard work
the subcommittee has done over the past decade. While we have
more work to do, the committee has significantly improved the
pay and benefits of servicemembers, enabling the Services to
recruit and retain the very best, and maintain the highest
caliber force, even during a decade of persistent armed
conflict.
This subcommittee has supported numerous enhancements to
the TRICARE benefit over the last decade as it has supported
enhancements to pay, critical family programs, transition
assistance programs, education benefits, morale and welfare
programs, mental health counseling programs, and survivor
benefits, all to ensure continued viability of the All-
Volunteer Force during a decade of war.
The military health system delivers world class care to
over 9.5 million beneficiaries, Active Duty members, Reserve
members, retirees, and dependents, and has achieved
unprecedented rates of survival from combat wounds. While we
must continue to look at ways to expand TRICARE to cover autism
treatment, on the whole TRICARE is an extraordinary program.
It is clear DOD faces significant budgetary and
programmatic pressures. For the remainder of the fiscal year,
DOD will operate under the sequestration imposed by the Budget
Control Act (BCA), and, as a result, DOD will have to take
extraordinary measures to deal with the across-the-board
programmatic cuts of nearly 8 percent. The budget submitted by
DOD for fiscal year 2014 does not account for any sequestration
of funding in the fiscal year, which, if it remains in effect,
would reduce DOD's budget by yet another $52 billion.
Because of the current budget environment, the President's
budget request reflects some difficult choices that this
subcommittee will have to carefully examine as we begin
consideration of the annual defense bill. The budget requests a
1 percent across-the-board pay raise for military and civilian
personnel. This is regrettably below the annual rise of the
employment cost index (ECI) of 1.8 percent. This hearing is our
opportunity to hear from both our military and advocacy group
panels about the impact of this pay raise level, as well as the
housing and subsistence allowance increase of about 4 percent.
The Department's budget request assumes savings of $540 million
based on holding pay raises to just the 1 percent.
The Department also proposes to establish or raise certain
fees related to health care coverage for military dependents
and retirees. Congress has not supported these proposals in the
past years, and I personally remain very skeptical about
increasing costs for military members and veterans. The
Department's budget request has assumed nearly $1 billion in
savings in fiscal year 2014 as a result of these health care
proposals.
There is no greater responsibility for Congress and
military leaders than to support our brave servicemembers,
their families, and the civilian employees who are vital
components of our military team. While the President has
protected the military personnel pay accounts from
sequestration, he could not do the same for DOD civilian
workers, which gives me great concern. The furloughs that are
planned for the rest of the fiscal year, while perhaps
necessary, breaks our commitment to our civilian workforce.
Our defense civilians include an important support network
as well as many of the experts in critical fields, such as
cyber security. Even as DOD works to comply with the
congressional mandate to reduce the size of the civilian
workforce, civilians are in the midst of yet another year of
pay freeze. DOD and Service leaders have expressed their
concern not just about the short-term negative effects these
furloughs will have on critical services for servicemembers and
their families, but of the long-term effects, including damage
to morale and the prospect of our most talented young people
may no longer view national service as a viable career option.
I share their concern.
A highlight in the last year of personnel issues, however,
is the expansion of personal benefits to same sex partners: the
opportunity to shop at commissaries, take emergency leave, and
participate in family-centered programs. I know that the
Department is waiting to implement additional benefits, such as
health care and housing, until the Supreme Court decides the
constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act.
I urge you all to be as forward leaning as possible in
ensuring that all of our military benefits are as inclusive as
possible.
Lastly, I want to say something about sexual violence in
the military, an issue which I remain deeply committed to
solving. I held my first hearing as chairman of the
subcommittee last month on this topic. As I said then, a system
where less than 1 out of 10 reported perpetrators are held
accountable for their alleged crimes is not a system that is
working. That is of just the reported crimes. The Defense
Department itself puts the real number closer to 19,000. A
system where in reality fewer than two out of 100 alleged
perpetrators are faced with any trial at all is clearly
inadequate and unacceptable.
This committee and DOD took some first steps on this issue
as part of last year's National Defense Authorization Act
(NDAA) that President Obama signed into law, including ensuring
that all convicted sex offenders in the military are processed
for discharge or dismissal from the Armed Forces, regardless of
which branch they serve in, and reserving case disposition
authority for only high ranking officers in sexual assault
cases.
Secretary Hagel has made an important announcement by
proposing changes to Article 60 of the Uniform Code of Military
Justice so that courts martial cannot be overturned by the
commanding officer. This is a good step forward, and I commend
the Secretary for honoring the commitment he made to me by
taking this issue head on. But it is not enough, and Congress
must act to address this issue. I look forward to continuing to
work with my colleagues on the legislation to hold those who
commit these violent crimes accountable.
I look forward to hearing your testimony about other
important personnel programs and the overall morale and health
of our military. As always, I encourage you to express your
views candidly and tell us what is working well and to raise
any concerns and issues you may want to bring to the
subcommittee's attention. Let us know how we can best assist
our servicemembers and their families to ensure our military
remains steadfast and strong.
It is now my privilege and honor to give the mic to Senator
Graham. Thank you.

STATEMENT OF SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM

Senator Graham. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I appreciate it.
I am very interested in TRICARE. We have had discussions in
my office and this room, all over the building for years about
what we can do in a rational, logical way to deal with the
growth in TRICARE costs to the government. In 2001, it was $19
billion. I am told in fiscal year 2014, it is $49.4 billion.
To the beneficiary community, we certainly want to listen
to your concerns about how to make the program more efficient.
But I am looking for sustainability. I am looking for a
generous benefit that is sustainable, because if it is not
sustainable, it is a false promise. We cannot get ourselves in
a situation where we are dealing with retiree health care and a
shrinking military budget, and pit it against modernization,
weapons, and Active Duty needs. There has to be some way to
make this program more sustainable, and ask of some of us, like
myself who will be retired in a couple of years, to have a
gradual premium increase. I am certainly willing to do that. I
just want to make sure that what we are asking of the retired
community is rationale, is logical, affordable. So that is a
big deal for me.
As to the pay increases, I wish it was more. I wish it was
the 1.8 percent. But once we get sequestration behind us,
replacing this $1.2 trillion cut where half of it falls on the
military over the next decade with a bigger deal, which I think
we can do--at least I hope we can do--that will free up some
money for discretionary spending.
To all the witnesses, thank you. To the organizations who
support men and women in uniform, the retired force, I look
forward to hearing from you.
I have to go to the floor at 2:20 p.m., but I shall return.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, Senator Graham.
You are each now invited to give your opening statement.
Secretary Wright.

STATEMENT OF HON. JESSICA L. WRIGHT, ACTING UNDER SECRETARY OF
DEFENSE, PERSONNEL AND READINESS

Ms. Wright. Chairman Gillibrand, Senator Graham,
distinguished members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the
opportunity to appear before you to discuss personnel and
readiness programs in support of the President's fiscal year
2014 budget request.
You have heard from Secretary Hagel that the fiscal year
2014 budget is based on the defense strategic guidance, a
comprehensive review of military missions, capabilities,
security rules around the world. It is also a proposal made in
face of extraordinary fiscal budget uncertainty caused by
sequestration and the BCA of 2011.
In fiscal year 2014, the DOD budget, $526.6 billion,
includes $137.1 billion for our military personnel, as well as
$49.4 billion for military healthcare, adding up to
approximately a third of the base budget's request. As
Secretary Hagel stated, our people are doing extraordinary work
and making great sacrifices. Their dedication and
professionalism are the foundation of our military strength.
Therefore, it is our job to make sure that we take care of
them.
We are here today to discuss how the fiscal year 2014
budget and plan will affect the Total Force, the Department's
greatest asset. The Department's Total Force, Active, Reserve,
National Guard members, government civilians, and contract
service representatives, a carefully coordinated approach
balances operational needs, and satisfies mission requirements,
and recognizes fiscal constraints. After 11 years of intensive
operations, our warriors and civilians are experienced and more
proficient than ever to execute current operational missions
and respond to emergent needs throughout the globe. We must
build on the most appropriate total force by actively
recruiting and retaining the right people for the mission with
the appropriate level of compensation and benefits. Building
and sustaining the right balance also requires constant
vigilance of readiness.
Therefore, we want to thank Congress for the legislative
authorities in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013, which provides
flexibility to affect required drawdowns. These authorities
allow the Department to avoid the loss of critical expertise
and provide military Services the tools necessary to manage
their force with the least impact on readiness.
Next, our mission to support servicemembers and their
families by providing a network of services and programs which
promote readiness and quality of life. This means the
Department must keep pace with our servicemembers by doing all
it can to protect the men and women from harm. This includes
preventing and responding to sexual assault, working to lower
the risk of suicides, and providing a reliable network of legal
and health services in the time of need.
Finally, our responsibility continues as our men and women
prepare to transition into civilian life and become a veteran.
A new generation of servicemembers are coming home, and we must
live up to our commitment to them because of their service and
sacrifice. Whether it is on the battlefield, at home, or with
their families, or after they have faithfully concluded their
military service, we are committed to preparing servicemembers
for whatever challenges they may face from warrior to veteran.
They really deserve no less.
I will turn to Dr. Woodson, Mr. Vollrath, Mr. Wightman, to
discuss their particular policy priorities under their purview.
Dr. Woodson.

STATEMENT OF HON. JONATHAN WOODSON, M.D., ASSISTANT SECRETARY
OF DEFENSE, HEALTH AFFAIRS, AND DIRECTOR OF TRICARE MANAGEMENT
ACTIVITY

Dr. Woodson. Chairman Gillibrand, Senator Graham, and
members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to
present the President's budget request for military medical
programs for fiscal year 2014, and for the distinct honor of
representing the men and women of the finest military health
care system in the world.
Over the last 11 years, men and women serving in the
military health system have performed with great skill and
courage. They continue to help advance military and American
medicine as witnessed by many comments in the tragic aftermath
of the Boston bombings. They continue to serve courageously and
to simultaneously provide a service that engages in combat and
medical operations, supports a comprehensive peace time health
care system, and respond to humanitarian crises around the
world. It is unique among all militaries on the globe.
The medical readiness of men and women in our Armed Forces
remain at the center of our mission and strategy. We are using
every tool at our disposal to assess our servicemembers' health
before, during, and following deployment from combat theaters,
and we are committed to improving the health and wellness of
all who receive care in our system.
Concurrent with our mission of maintaining a medically
ready force is our mission of maintaining a ready medical
force, a force of medical professionals who are well trained,
engaged in ongoing active clinical practice, and supported by
military hospitals and clinics that are operating at optimal
capacity. To sustain this active practice also requires
beneficiaries to choose the military medicine system as their
primary and preferred source of care.
As we maintain our readiness, we must also responsibly
manage the budget we are given. In 2013, the Department and the
Federal Government have encountered headwinds. Budget
sequestration continues to present significant challenges to
our system and would create potentially catastrophic effects if
this approach to budgeting were sustained through 2014.
Still, we must be careful stewards of the taxpayers'
dollars, and in this effort, the Department has proposed both
internal and external reforms of military medicine.
Internally, we are undergoing a comprehensive set of
reforms of how we are organized as a military health system.
The overarching goal of this effort is to create an even more
integrated system of care, better coordinating delivery of
services in Army, Navy, and Air Force medical facilities, along
with care provided by the Veterans Administration (VA) and the
private sector medical community. Improved integration combined
with more streamlined decision making will result in better
health care, better care overall, and cost deficiencies.
We are in a collaborative and effective pathway forward to
eliminate redundancies within the military health system,
improved business practices, and clinical outcomes, and
effectively managed care for servicemembers and their families.
We have a strong, committed leadership team that includes
senior civilian and military leadership of all Services and the
Joint Chiefs of Staff to ensure that we achieve these goals.
Externally, the administration is once again asking
military retirees to pay more than they do today for health
benefits that they have rightly earned and that they now
receive, but proportionately less than when the health benefit
was initiated. In an era characterized by more limited
resources, we must make decisions and determine tradeoffs among
a series of important mission requirements--military
operations, training, research, and benefits--particularly the
enormous and profound responsibility for lifelong care for our
veterans who seek services and benefits for conditions related
to their military service.
Our proposals will slow the growth in retiree health
benefit costs to the Department over time, while keeping in
place the comprehensive medical benefits that retirees receive,
and ensuring that this program is there for future generations.
The proposals will not affect most Active Duty family
members. Additionally, our proposals exempt the most vulnerable
within our retired population from fee increases to include
families of servicemembers who died on Active Duty and families
of servicemembers who are medically retired.
Many other challenges remain ahead for the military and
medical system. We are working to mitigate the harmful effects
of sequestration involving civilian personnel and limit cuts in
our vital military medical research programs. We will continue
to identify approaches that curb unnecessary utilization of
health care services, and we are increasing our emphasis on
wellness, and we are deepening our collaboration with the VA.
I want to close by thanking Congress, and particularly this
subcommittee, for its long support of our programs and its
endorsement of our establishment of the Defense Health Agency
to improve administration of the military health system.
Thank you for your time today, and I look forward to your
questions.

STATEMENT OF HON. FREDERICK E. VOLLRATH, ACTING ASSISTANT
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, READINESS AND FORCE MANAGEMENT

Mr. Vollrath. Chairman Gillibrand, members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to join you today.
As we transition from a decade of war, the Department is
challenged with managing a total force and maintaining our
readiness and capability under significantly reduced funding.
Sequester will have a great impact on the Department and will
add new challenges in meeting national security needs. But it
will also reinforce the need to take a hard look at our
programs and our priorities in order to effectively and
efficiently implement necessary reforms in order to maintain a
ready force.
A tangible aspect of readiness remains our ability to
recruit, train, and retain an All-Volunteer Force. We need to
carefully manage scarce resources while supporting military
compensation and benefits reform without breaking faith and
while sustaining the All-Volunteer Force. As our combat
operations are lessened, there remains a need for sustainment
of family programs and wellness, because the military
experience remains one of selfless service and sacrifice, of
long training exercises and family separations.
There will always be stress on the force and our families.
Therefore, we must continue to monitor these programs carefully
and strive to sustain those that remain critically important as
we experience funding reductions in the years to come. For
example, the Department's suicide prevention efforts will
continue to be a top priority as we implement the provisions of
the NDAA for Fiscal Years 2012 and 2013, as well as the
President's executive order on this matter. Additionally, as we
draw down our forces, we will continue to improve and enhance
our transition assistance and licensing and credentialing
efforts to better prepare servicemembers for transition to
their civilian lives and the civilian labor force.
Given reduced resources and a smaller total force, we
remain committed to recruit and train the most qualified
candidates. Therefore, the Department remains focused on fully
implementing the February 2013 Secretary of Defense decision to
eliminate the 1994 policy that restricted women from being
assigned to direct combat units, as well as open more military
occupations to women.
Madam Chairman, this concludes my statement. I thank you
and the members of the subcommittee for your steadfast support
and leadership. I am happy to answer your questions.
Mr. Wightman.

STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD O. WIGHTMAN, ACTING ASSISTANT
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, RESERVE AFFAIRS

Mr. Wightman. Thank you. Chairman Gillibrand, members of
the subcommittee, I thank you for your invitation to
participate in this hearing. I welcome the opportunity to give
an overview of some issues we are addressing in the Reserve
components.
I would also like to thank the committee and your staff for
all that you have done for the men and women in uniform,
especially for those who it is my responsibility to serve, the
1.1 million members of the Reserve and National Guard and their
families. Today I can report to you that we have over 55,000
mobilized members of the National Guard and Reserve supporting
operations globally.
Current utilization and a combination of factors change the
way we view future utilization of our Reserve component and
constitute a new normal. Although major force commitments to
Afghanistan are being reduced, there is a pivot of our national
defense strategy towards the Asia-Pacific region. A volatile
international security environment still persists, and a
constrained defense budget for the foreseeable future will
place additional burdens on manning, training, equipping,
recruiting, and retention of the total force in fiscal year
2014 and beyond.
Therefore, continued use of the Reserve components as a
part of the operational total force makes sound business sense.
The Reserve component as part of DOD's total force provides the
ability to preserve capability and capacity and reduce costs to
manageable risk.
Our National Guard and Reserve is undoubtedly the most
combat seasoned Reserve component force ever, and the
Department is seeking ways to leverage the Reserve component to
provide needed military capacity during current austere
economic times. These factors necessitate use of the Reserve
component across a broad spectrum in the future to include:
continued routine use as a part of the operational force as we
have over the past decade, fulfilling day-to-day operational
missions at home and abroad, albeit on a smaller scale, and the
use of a portion of the Reserve component in its traditional
role as a strategic reserve.
The new normal use of the Reserve component as part of the
operational force is enabled by a key principle of the 2012
Defense Strategy: emphasizing rotational presence versus
forward station presence. This concept, combined with
legislative changes under section 12304 Alpha and Bravo,
enacted by Congress in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2012,
authorizes further use of the Reserve components.
The first permits the use of Reserve components in response
to disasters in the United States as we recently witnessed
during Hurricane Sandy. The second permits access to the
Reserve components and opens the opportunity to participate in
peace time overseas rotational posture and deterrence missions.
However, the Department must also continue to preserve equality
of the All-Volunteer Force and not break faith with our men and
women in uniform, their families, and our civilians.
Despite these difficult economic circumstances
necessitating budget reductions across all levels of
government, the Department is committed to providing
servicemembers and military families with support programs and
resources and empower them to address the unique challenges of
military life. With close to 1,700 events projected for this
fiscal year, programs, such as the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration
Program, continue to provide relevant, reliable information and
resources to military members, their families, and designated
representatives throughout the deployment cycle, and
complements programs such as the Transition Assistance Program
(TAP), by assisting servicemembers as they transition between
their military and civilian roles.
Programs, such as the Hero to Hire, or H2H, provides a
comprehensive approach aimed at enhancing career readiness and
reducing unemployment of our Reserve component members. This
program has helped facilitate over 1,000 placements per month
since October 2012.
Today's citizen warriors have made a conscious decision to
serve since September 11 with full expectation that their
decisions might mean periodic recalls to Active Duty under
arduous and hazardous conditions. They will continue to play a
vital role as we move beyond the past decade of war, and the
Department shapes the force to implement defense strategy and
respond to the challenge of a new era.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify, and I look
forward to your questions.
[The joint prepared statement of Ms. Wright, Dr. Woodson,
Mr. Vollrath, and Mr. Wightman follows:]

Joint Prepared Statement by Hon. Jessica L. Wright, Hon. Jonathan
Woodson, Mr. Frederick E. Vollrath, and Mr. Richard O. Wightman, Jr.

INTRODUCTION

Chairman Gillibrand, Senator Graham, and distinguished members of
the subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you to
discuss Personnel and Readiness (P&R) programs in support of the
President's fiscal year 2014 budget request. The President's plan
implements and deepens the commitment to the new strategy, which meets
the Department of Defense (DOD) needs in a complex security
environment. The fiscal year 2014 DOD budget request of $526.6 billion
includes $137.1 billion for our military personnel as well as $49.4
billion for military medical care, which add up to approximately a
third of the base budget request.
As you have heard from Secretary Hale today, the fiscal year 2014
budget is based on the Defense Strategic Guidance announced on January
5, 2012, ``Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st
Century Defense,'' a comprehensive review of American military
missions, capabilities, and security roles around the world. It is also
a proposal made in the face of extraordinary fiscal and budget
uncertainty. The March 1 sequestration order called for a nearly $41
billion reduction in DOD's fiscal year 2013 budget in the middle of the
fiscal year, and we face substantial additional cuts (roughly $52
billion per year in fiscal year 2014 and beyond) that could force major
changes to the fiscal year 2014 President's budget. Sequestration in
fiscal year 2013 would also have major effects in fiscal year 2014.
Given these challenges, we are here today to describe how we can
sustain the All-Volunteer Force (AVF) for generations to come--a force
that has a proven record of unprecedented success in operations around
the world. Thank you for your continued support of our Active, Reserve
component military members, their families, and our government
civilians who serve with distinction every day.

BUILD, SUPPORT, AND TRANSITION THE TOTAL FORCE

The Department's Total Force of Active and Reserve military,
government civilians, and contracted services represents a carefully
coordinated approach that balances operational needs, satisfies mission
requirements, and recognizes fiscal constraints. After over 10 years of
intensive operations, our servicemembers and civilians are more
experienced and proficient than ever to execute current operational
missions and respond to emergent needs throughout the globe. Our people
are the Department's greatest assets and we will continue to be the
most powerful military force in the world by building and sustaining
this extraordinary Total Force.
We must build the most appropriate Total Force by actively
recruiting and retaining the best people for the mission with the
appropriate level of compensation and benefits. Building and sustaining
the right balance also requires constant vigilance of readiness--to
ensure that our servicemembers are adequately trained and equipped to
face whatever battle they face. Therefore, we want to thank Congress
for the legislative authorities in the National Defense Authorization
Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013 which provides flexibilities to affect
required drawdowns. These authorities allow the Department to avoid the
loss of critical expertise and provide the Military Services with the
necessary tools to manage their force structure with the least impact
to our readiness.
Next, it is our mission to support the servicemembers and their
families by providing a network of services and programs which promote
readiness and quality of life. This system of support extends from
military medical care to family readiness services and includes support
for National Guard and Reserve members and their families. Support also
means that the Department keeps faith with our servicemembers by doing
all it can to prevent and protect men and women from harm. This
includes preventing and responding to sexual assault, working to lower
the risks of suicides, and providing a reliable network of legal and
health care services in a time of need.
Finally, our responsibility continues as our men and women prepare
to transition to civilian life or veteran status. A new generation of
servicemembers is coming home, and we made a lifetime commitment to
them for their service and sacrifice. Thus, with Congressional support
and strong commitment by the President, we have implemented the
Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, which
provides the necessarily tools for servicemembers to make a successful
transition out of the military to the next phase of their careers and
lives.
The P&R portfolio of policies and programs is extensive and we will
attempt to highlight our recent accomplishments and future challenges
in this statement. The first section provides updates to issues of
significant congressional concern. It will be followed by overviews of
the three major policy offices under P&R. Although this lengthy
statement does not cover all our programs, it is a reflection of our
efforts to better build, support and transition our servicemembers.

Recent Military Personnel Policy Changes
Women in Service
Over the last decade of war, our military women servicemembers have
put their lives on the line to defend the country with courage,
patriotism and skill. It is in the interest of our national security to
have the best and brightest person serving in any position based upon
their abilities, qualifications and performance. This is consistent
with our values and relevant to military readiness. Service should be
based on ability not gender.
The 1994 DOD policy prohibited women from being assigned to
``direct ground combat'' units below the brigade level and permitted
the military departments to restrict assignment of women based on
privacy and berthing, physical requirements, special operations and
long-range reconnaissance, and colocation with a direct combat unit
(e.g. a medical unit with a direct combat unit). In February 2013,
former Secretary Panetta completely eliminated the 1994 policy at the
unanimous recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Service
implementation plans are due to the Secretary of Defense by May 15,
2013. The policy will be fully implemented by January 1, 2016.
Same Sex Partner Benefits
Following the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), DOD engaged
in a review of the possibility of extending eligibility for benefits,
when legally permitted, to same-sex domestic partners of military
members. The benefits review group examined benefits available to
servicemembers and their families and divided these benefits into three
categories: (1) currently available member-designated benefits; (2)
benefits not available based on current law; and (3) benefits that
could be extended, under current law, to same-sex domestic partners and
their children. The initial review extended 18 ``member-designated''
benefits. The Department later identified 24 additional benefits to
extend to same-sex domestic partners by August 31, 2013 but no later
than October 1, 2013.
The cost of extending benefits to same-sex domestic partners of
military members is negligible. Many of the benefits selected for
extension are programs designed to accommodate fluctuations in need and
population, such as commissary and exchange privileges and MWR
programs. Other benefits, such as dual military couple assignment
opportunities and Emergency Leave, are provided to the servicemember
regardless of relationship status therefore there is no additional cost
anticipated.
Distinguished Warfare Medal
Secretary Panetta established the Distinguished Warfare Medal (DWM)
on February 13, 2013, including its order of precedence directly below
the Distinguished Flying Cross, to recognize the achievements of a
small number of service men and women who have an especially direct and
immediate impact on combat operations through the use of remotely
piloted aircraft and cyber operations. Congress, veterans'
organizations, and the public have expressed strong opposition to the
DWM's precedence-level being above the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
After consulting with the Service Secretaries, the Chairman, and the
other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary Hagel directed a
review of the DWM. While the review confirmed the need to ensure such
recognition, it found that misconceptions regarding the precedence of
the award were distracting from its original purpose.
On April 15, the Secretary announced that the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, with the concurrence of the Service Secretaries, recommended the
creation of a new distinguishing device that can be affixed to existing
medals to recognize such extraordinary actions of this small number of
men and women. The Joint Chiefs also recommend further consultation
with the Service Secretaries, the service senior enlisted leaders, and
veterans' organizations regarding the nature of the device as well as
clear definition of the eligibility criteria for the award. The
Secretary directed that within 90 days final award criteria and the
other specifics of the distinguishing device be developed and presented
for final approval.

Sexual Assault Prevention and Response
Sexual assault is a crime and has no place in the U.S. military. It
is a violation of everything that we stand for and it is an affront to
the values we defend. Our DOD-wide mission is to prevent and respond to
this crime in order to enable military readiness and to reduce--with a
goal to eliminate--sexual assault from the military. The Secretary of
Defense is committed to this mission and to eradicating this crime from
our Armed Forces. Combating a crime that stays mostly hidden from view
despite the terrible toll it takes on the victims requires a
coordinated, Department-wide approach. Our strategy is to apply
simultaneous effort in five areas that we call lines of effort:
Prevention, Investigation, Accountability, Advocacy, and Assessment.
As you are aware, on April 8, 2013, the Secretary of Defense
announced that after reviewing the assessment of Article 60 of the
Uniform Code of Military Justice by military justice experts, the judge
advocates generals, the Service Secretaries and Chiefs, as well as the
recommendation from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he is directing a
legislative proposal to amend Article 60 to be submitted to Congress.
First, the proposal would eliminate the discretion of the convening
authority to change the findings of a court-martial except for certain
minor offenses that would not, in and of themselves, ordinarily warrant
trial by court martial. While convening authorities would no longer
have the ability to dismiss charges for serious offenses like sexual
assault, defendants would continue to have access to a robust system of
appeals rights. Second, the proposal would require the convening
authority to explain in writing any modification made to court-martial
sentences, as well as any changes to findings involving minor offenses.
These changes will apply to all court-martials, not solely to court-
martials for sexual assault offenses. The convening authority's post-
trial discretion with regard to sentencing will be preserved. The
Service Secretaries, the Joint Chief of Staff, and the Service Judge
Advocates General all support these changes.
The Department has also initiated and/or implemented a variety of
initiatives to fundamentally change the way the Department confronts
sexual assault. For example, we have issued policy, consistent with the
NDAA for Fiscal Year 2012 and Fiscal Year 2013, establishing an
increased document retention time of 50 years for sexual assault
reports, which includes the sexual assault forensic exam form, and the
victim's Reporting Preference Statement. The Department also issued new
policy that provides victims of sexual assault who file an Unrestricted
Report the option to request a transfer from their current assignment
or to a different location within their assigned installation. This
expedited transfer policy requires that victims receive a response from
their commander within 72 hours of the request. If denied, the victim
may appeal to the first general or flag officer in their chain, who
also has 72 hours to provide a response. From policy implementation
through December 2012, the Services approved 334 of 336 requests for
expedited transfer.
The Department has aggressively pursued several avenues of change.
In April 2012, the Secretary of Defense asked for the support of
Congress in enacting the Leadership, Education, Accountability and
Discipline (LEAD) Act to further codify into law specific reforms to
advance sexual assault prevention and response. These six provisions
were included in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013. The new law includes
the following provisions:

Establish a Special Victims Capability within each of
the Services;
Require all servicemembers to receive an explanation
of all Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) policies
within 14 days of entrance into Active service;
Require records of outcome of disciplinary and
administrative proceedings related to sexual assault be
centrally located and retained for a period of not less than 20
years;
Require commanders to conduct an Organizational
Climate assessment within 120 days of assuming command and an
annual assessment thereafter;
Allow Reserve and National Guard personnel who have
alleged to have been sexually assaulted while on Active Duty to
request to remain on Active Duty or return to Active Duty until
a Line of Duty determination is made; and
Mandate wider dissemination of SAPR resources.

Other initiatives the Department has carried out include:

Elevated the initial disposition decision for the most
serious sexual assault offenses to ensure that these cases are
addressed by a ``Special Court-Martial Convening Authority''
who is in the grade of O-6 grade (an officer at the Colonel or
Navy Captain level) or above;
Expanded the DOD Safe Helpline, an anonymous and
confidential crisis support service to help transitioning
servicemembers who have experienced sexual assault;
Implemented a DOD-wide review and assessment of all
initial military training of enlisted personnel and
commissioned officers following the incidents Joint Base San
Antonio-Lackland;
Achieved full deployment of the congressionally-
mandated Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database (DSAID),
enhancing our ability to collect data on sexual assault reports
uniformly across the Department;
Published the revised DOD-wide policy on the Sexual
Assault Program that establishes and standardizes our
prevention, health care, victim safety, training and response
efforts, and clearly conveys the role of servicemembers and
employees in sexual assault prevention and recovery.

Underpinning our effort is the need for enduring culture change--
requiring leaders at all levels to foster a command climate where
sexist behaviors, sexual harassment, and sexual assault are not
tolerated, condoned, or ignored; a climate where dignity and respect
are core values we live by and define how we treat one another; where
victims' reports are taken seriously, their privacy is protected, and
they are treated with sensitivity; where bystanders are motivated to
intervene to prevent unsafe behaviors; and a climate where offenders
know they will be held appropriately accountable.
We fully recognize we have a problem with sexual assault and will
continue to confront the brutal realities until this problem is solved.
The Department is firmly committed to this goal and that we remain
persistent in confronting this crime through prevention, investigation,
accountability, advocacy, and assessment so that we can reduce, with a
goal of eliminating sexual assault from the military and the Service
Academies.

Suicide Prevention
Suicides among servicemembers have risen from 160 in 2001 to 350 in
2012. While suicides leveled in 2010 at 299 and 2011 at 302, there were
a record number in 2012 (350). Unfortunately, this trend mirrors the
rise in national suicide rates. While the stressors associated with 10
years of war play a role, more than half of those who died by suicide
had no history of deployment and few were involved in direct combat. In
2011, the Department of Defense (DOD) created the Defense Suicide
Prevention Office (DSPO), which leads efforts to issue policies,
evaluate programs, enhance training and access to care, reduce stigma,
address lethal means, standardize death investigations and increase
data fidelity.
DOD is also working with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on
a 12-month national suicide prevention campaign that encourages
servicemembers, veterans, and their families to seek help for their
behavioral health issues through the Veteran/Military Crisis Line. This
campaign, which began September 1, 2012, is part of the implementation
of the President's August 2012 Executive order aimed at improving
access to mental health services for veterans, servicemembers, and
their families.
The Department is responding to section 533 of the NDAA for Fiscal
Year 2012, which calls for enhanced suicide prevention efforts with DOD
partners; and implementing several policy and program requirements
mandated by the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013. These requirements will be
met upon implementation of the first DOD-wide comprehensive suicide
prevention policy, currently projected to be completed by October 2013.
The policy will include: continuity to quality behavioral healthcare
during times of transition; sustainable Service-wide suicide prevention
education and training program; methods for standardized mortality data
collection; and requirement for each Service to staff, fund and
maintain a Department level Suicide Prevention Program Manager.

Tuition Assistance
The DOD off-duty, voluntary education program, Tuition Assistance
(TA), helped approximately 286,000 servicemembers take over 870,000
courses last fiscal year which resulted in over 48,000 college degrees.
This program enables the professional and personal development of our
servicemembers and also facilitates their transition to the civilian
workforce.
As you are aware, last month, several of the Services suspended new
TA agreements as a cost-saving measure due to sequestration. Given the
enactment of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2013 (P.L.
113-6), we are fully funding TA for the remainder of fiscal year 2013,
without any sequestrations-related reduction.

Transition Assistance Program
In compliance with the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, and at the
direction of the President, the Departments of Defense, Labor and
Veterans Affairs redesigned the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) to
better prepare servicemembers to successfully transition to the
civilian workforce.
The redesigned TAP curriculum, known as the Transition Goals Plans
Success (GPS), complies with the VOW to Hire Heroes Act that mandates
all eligible servicemembers being discharged or released from active
duty after serving their first 180 continuous days or more under title
10, U.S.C., (including reservists and guardsmen) participate in Pre-
separation Counseling, VA Benefits Briefings and the Department of
Labor Employment Workshop. While some servicemembers may be exempted
from attending the DOL Employment Workshop, as allowed by Congress,
every servicemember will attend Pre-separation counseling and the
revised VA Benefits Briefings--no exceptions.
These first components of the redesigned TAP are implemented at all
206 Active component installations. Additional components, including
specialized tracks for servicemembers interested in Higher Education,
Career Technical Training, or Entrepreneurship, will be phased in by
October 2013. The bedrock of the redesigned TAP is that all
servicemembers will meet Career Readiness Standards prior to
separation.

Military Overseas Voting
The Department provided extensive voting assistance for the 2012
General Election. An active, comprehensive outreach program that
included print and online ads and email ``blasts'' to all
servicemembers (more than 18 million emails sent during 2012 for
primary and general elections) informed voters of their right to vote
and the tools and resources available to them. The automated
``wizards'' at FVAP.gov, the Federal Voting Assistance Program's
information-rich website, provided an intuitive, step-by-step process
to help servicemembers, their families, and overseas citizens register
to vote, obtain an absentee ballot, and if necessary, complete the
Federal back-up ballot.
FVAP proactively continues to engage with the Services to ensure
that the Installation Voter Assistance (IVA) Offices are operational
and available to assist servicemembers. Current IVA Office contact
information is maintained and available at the FVAP.gov website. Over
200 IVA offices have been established and are just one of the many
resources that the Department and Services use to reach military voters
and their voting age family members.
In advance of the 2012 elections, the Department awarded grants on
a competitive basis to States and localities to research the
effectiveness of new electronic tools for voter registration, blank
ballot delivery, and ballot marking. It is important to note that no
grant award funds were used for the electronic return of a voted ballot
in a live election. Awardees are to submit detailed, quantitative
reports on the effectiveness of their systems over the next 5 years.
The Department is continuing the grant program this year in preparation
for the 2014 elections.

READINESS AND FORCE MANAGEMENT

As we transition from a decade of war, the Department is challenged
with managing a Total Force under significantly reduced funding, while
maintaining overall operational readiness and capability. Potential
furloughs, a current hiring freeze and reduced end strength will create
additional challenges and reinforce the need to take a hard look at our
programs and priorities and implement reforms and initiatives that
achieve the ultimate goal of maintaining operational readiness during
this period of fiscal uncertainty.
Military compensation and our military family programs, many of
which were created to support a war-time operational tempo (OPTEMPO),
will be closely examined for potential reforms. Likewise, we will
continue to ramp up our transition assistance and licensing and
credentialing efforts to prepare servicemembers for the civilian labor
market as we reduce military end strength.
Although we are coming out of a decade of war and our OPTEMPO is
lessened, there remains a need and a sustainment of family programs and
wellness because the military experience remains one of selfless
service and sacrifice, of long training exercises and family
separations. There will always be stress on the force and on our
families, therefore we must continue to monitor these programs
carefully as we experience the funding reductions in the years to come.

Readiness
Our forces are postured globally conducting counterterrorism,
stability, and deterrence operations; maintaining a stabilizing
presence; conducting bilateral and multilateral training to enhance our
security relationships; and providing the crisis response capabilities
required to protect U.S. interests. The investments made in
technologies, force protection, command and control, and Intelligence,
Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) have helped maintain our
military's standing as the most formidable force in the world.
Regrettably, the impact of sequestration will likely reduce
readiness through reductions in maintenance, operations and training,
and indirectly through effects on the accessions and training for
personnel and the production pipeline for equipment. This is especially
worrisome as it may take years to recognize the shortfall, and even
longer to mitigate or correct. Specific concerns include:

Managing stress on the force: Over 10 years of high
operations tempo have stressed our equipment and our people
across the board.
Return to full-spectrum training: While our ground
forces are now experts in counterinsurgency, other skills have
lagged. For example, the Army and Marine Corps are only just
beginning to train units for unified land and amphibious
operations. Most mid- and junior-grade members have never
conducted these missions. We must relearn these skills without
forgetting how to conduct counterinsurgency operations.
Preparing for ongoing operations: While the demand for
our ground forces will likely decline after operations in
Afghanistan conclude, the tempo for Navy and Air Force is less
certain. Navy deployments, for example, are likely to remain
longer and more frequent than pre-September 11. Likewise, the
Air Force has maintained a continuous forward presence in the
Middle East for over 20 years and may do so for years to come.
Resetting our equipment: DOD will need OCO funding for
at least 2 years post Afghanistan in order to reset our
equipment. This is a particularly serious concern for our
ground forces.
Budget austerity and uncertainty: The budget austerity
and uncertainty under sequestration is complicating our efforts
to mitigate readiness deficiencies.

A high operational tempo over the past decade, coupled with the
recent budget cuts magnified the risk of an imposed mismatch between
the size of our military force and the funding required to maintain
readiness. Over the next year, the Department will identify the
critical readiness deficiencies and articulate risks, identify and
implement associated mitigation options, and identify the significance
of any unmitigated risk
Language and Culture Training
The President directed the Department to sustain U.S. global
leadership as we transition from a long-term engagement in two wars
toward a more global presence focused on the Asia-Pacific and the
Middle East. Currently, about 10 percent of military personnel have
tested or self-professed foreign language skills. However, Spanish
accounts for 45 percent of the Department's foreign language capability
which does not meet current strategic language requirements. Thus, new
and enhanced training, as well as program and policy developments will
expand the language, regional and cultural breadth and depth of the
Total Force.
The National Language Service Corps, a civilian corps of U.S.
citizen volunteers with certified proficiency in languages important to
U.S. security and welfare, grew from 2,407 in 2011 to over 4,000
members in 2012 speaking more than 260 languages and provided over
15,000 hours of support to Federal agencies. The NDAA for Fiscal Year
2013 authorized the Secretary of Defense to transform the National
Language Service Corps from a pilot to a permanent program and also
enhanced the ability of Federal agencies to hire National Security
Education Program awardees that possess strategic foreign language and
cultural skills.

Active Duty Personnel
Active Duty Recruiting
Recruiting is critical to ensuring each Service and component is
manned with a sufficient number of qualified people able to be trained
and carry-out the missions that are asked of them. Over the last
several years, the Services have recruited the highest quality recruits
in the history of the AVF.
Generally, a slow economy makes recruiting less challenging, and
operates to the advantage of those who are hiring, including the U.S.
military. As we see signs of economic improvement, we must remain
vigilant and continue to monitor impacts on our recruiting efforts.
Despite the positive effect of the economy on recruiting, there remain
other factors counterbalancing our ability to attract bright, young
Americans into the Armed Forces--57 percent of influencers (e.g.
parents and teachers) are not likely to recommend military service; a
large and growing proportion of youth are ineligible to serve in the
military; a higher number of youth going to college directly from high
school; and continuing concerns about the multiple deployments and the
high operations tempo.
In order to continue to sustain the AVF, the Department must rely
on a significant and consistent recruiting effort across the
Department. The consequences of sequestration increase risk for fiscal
year 2013 recruiting and may result in fiscal year 2014 recruiting
falling below levels needed. There is a possibility of a significant
reduction in our ability to screen youth for military service during
the potential civilian personnel furlough since the Military Entrance
Processing Stations are manned to a large extent (approximately 80
percent) by civilian staff. The reductions to advertising and
recruiting support will also likely be significant.
Active Duty Retention
During fiscal year 2012, the Active Force consistently exhibited
strong retention numbers with Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines
meeting their 2012 retention goals. Since the start of fiscal year
2013, through the fifth month of the fiscal year, the Army, Air Force,
and Marine Corps have continued to exhibited strong retention numbers.
The Navy has also exhibited strong retention numbers in the Mid-Career
and Career categories, however, the Navy's achievement of 86-88 percent
(during the first 5 months of fiscal year 2013) in the Initial category
results from reduced accessions 4-6 years ago. The Navy's Initial
category will continue to be monitored.
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)
The Department's largest single source of commissioned officers is
the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). In 2012, ROTC had 21,323
cadets and midshipmen on scholarship and commissioned 6,200 officers.
This was accomplished while each Service also simultaneously reduced
scholarship funding. The Services are currently working to further
streamline their ROTC programs.
In order to continue these successes and sustain the officer corps,
the Department must rely on consistent recruiting and scholarship
programs. Almost 80 percent of the Services' ROTC budget is O&M. The
consequence of sequestration is increased risk for fiscal year 2013
officer recruiting and scholarships programs. The reductions to
civilian personnel, scholarships, advertising, and recruiting support
may be significant.

Military Compensation
Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission
The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 established a Military Compensation
and Retirement Modernization Commission, which is required to undertake
a comprehensive review of all forms of military pay and benefits. The
Secretary of Defense will transmit his recommendations to the
Commission and to Congress by November 2013. Then the Commission will
make its appropriate recommendations to the President by May 2014. We
remain committed to ensuring any proposed changes to the mix of pay and
benefits keep faith with those who are serving today and with those who
have served in the past, our retirees. Changes to the military
compensation and retirement system should be considered along with
military operational requirements and supporting our servicemembers and
their families.
Military Pay Increase
In the fiscal year 2014 budget, DOD proposed increasing military
basic pay by 1.0 percent, 0.8 percent less than the authorized increase
in law. The pay raise proposal was a difficult decision reached by the
senior leaders of the Department. The adjustment will save $540 million
in fiscal year 2014 and $3.5 billion through fiscal year 2018. Military
compensation compares favorably with compensation for American workers.
Therefore, a 1.0 percent military basic pay increase should not
significantly affect recruiting and retention. The foregone portion of
the 0.8 percent increase to the member would be as follows:

Corporal with 4 years of service, $23.05 per month
($277 ann.) before taxes.
Captain (O-3) with 6 years of service, $53.60 per
month ($643 ann.) before taxes.

We ask for Congress to support the administration's request of a
1.0 percent increase to military basic pay.
Basic Housing Allowance
The purpose of the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) program is to
provide fair and equitable housing allowances to servicemembers. The
$20 billion annual program impacts more than 1 million servicemembers
and their families. The 2013 BAH rates were set for every U.S. location
based on measured housing costs in 363 military concentration areas.
The Department conducted a comprehensive review of the size and number
of areas surveyed to assess housing costs and set BAH rates. Area
boundaries have been modified to reflect current housing
concentrations. Areas which no longer have a sizeable uniformed
presence have been removed, and areas with overlapping populations have
been combined, improving efficiency of the data collection process.
Data collected in 2013 in these revised housing areas will be used to
set 2014 BAH rates.
The Department is currently conducting a study to answer a
congressionally-directed reporting requirement on the feasibility and
appropriateness of paying BAH, rather than an Overseas Housing
Allowance, in the U.S. territories. The Department is on track to
submit its report by July 1, 2013.

Military Family Support
Family Advocacy Program
Managing relationship stress within married couples, domestic
partners and between parents and children is challenging. Military
service, with deployment, redeployment, and separation often
exacerbates this stress which sometimes manifests as physical
maltreatment and neglectful behavior. To meet the needs of our
servicemembers and their families, the Family Advocacy Program (FAP)
supports a coordinated community response strategy, which includes
adequate funding, trained personnel, and an oversight framework.
Family Advocacy experts teamed with SAPRO and other DOD
professionals in the development of a Special Victim Response
capability to address the most serious domestic abuse and maltreatment
incidents. Taking advantage of the expertise and research across
government, the FAP convened a special working group in February 2013
with the Military Services and Federal partners to develop a 5-year
Prevention Strategic Plan that identifies risk factors and strategies
that will help stop domestic violence and child abuse and neglect
before it starts.
In fiscal year 2012, we established a Multi-Functional Domestic
Violence Data Working Group to develop a comprehensive management plan
to track domestic violence incidents and address deficiencies in the
Defense Incident-Based Reporting System, and other current systems, in
response to the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2011 requirements.
Child Care
On December 20, 2012, then Defense Secretary Panetta ordered a
thorough review of criminal background check and adjudication
documentation for all DOD Child and Youth Services personnel in
response to concerns raised at the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Child
Development Center. The audit indicated the background check and
adjudication process would benefit from standardizing the criminal
background check adjudication process and adding a review of the
installation's adjudication processes as a permanent part of the
inspections of Child and Youth Service programs conducted annually per
current policy. The Department is currently updating our policy
instruction, DODI 1402.5 Criminal History Background Checks on
Individuals In Child Care Services, which is currently under review. In
order to expedite the process, we are working closely with law
enforcement experts and with the Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory
Service. The update will provide consistent guidance in regards to
standardizing the procedures and adjudication of background checks for
child care workers.
The Department has focused efforts on improving the quality and
oversight of its child development and school age care programs. In
cooperation with the military Services, a standardized framework of
common standards is under development and planned for implementation in
fiscal year 2014. The delivery of research-based training for child
care staff and school-age program staff through web-based systems is in
early implementation with piloting scheduled for the summer of 2013 and
roll out in the fall of 2013.
Spouse Education and Career Opportunities
The DOD Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) program is
a comprehensive suite of services, resources and connections for
military spouses that provides assistance for their career lifecycle to
include career exploration, education and training, and employment
readiness, and career connections. Military spouses can receive
information and counseling about careers, education, license and
credentials, resume assistance and interview preparation from career
counselors through the SECO Career Center. During fiscal year 2012, the
Career Center for SECO supported more than 121,000 requests for SECO
assistance.
Additionally, through the Career Center, spouses can create a
career plan and directly connect with 162 corporate employers now
participating in the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP).
Since the launch of MSEP in June 2011, more than 40,000 military
spouses have been hired by MSEP Partners.
Military OneSource
Military OneSource provides call center and web-based information,
non-medical counseling, and educational materials. Services are
available worldwide, 24 hours a day, at no cost to the user. In fiscal
year 2012, Military OneSource responded to more than 750,000 telephone
calls, distributed more than 3.7 million educational materials and
assisted servicemembers and families with well over 200,000 Federal and
State tax filings. Other services include relocation assistance,
document translation, education resources, special needs consultation,
elder care consultation, on-line library resources, and health and
wellness coaching. Wounded warrior consultation services, accessed via
Military OneSource, provide immediate assistance to recovering wounded,
ill, and injured servicemembers, their families, and caregivers. In
2012, this service processed more than 17,000 calls and resolved more
than 2,400 cases for wounded warriors.
Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Program
Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) programs throughout the
Services provide a comprehensive network of quality support and
recreation services to enhance the readiness and resilience of our
servicemembers and their families. The following include some
noteworthy updates to these services:
MWR Internet Cafe: Military spouses indicate that communication is
the number one factor in coping with the stress of deployment. The
Department now funds over 426 free MWR Internet Cafes in Afghanistan
and the Middle East and 152 portable satellite units (known as
MoraleSat or Cheetahs) to support remote combat locations. In fiscal
year 2012, more than 82 million minutes of ``talk time'' were used to
keep families in touch with deployed loved ones.
Tutor.com: Tutor.com has been a tremendous success with children
and youth and their families, allowing students to be in touch with a
live tutor to answer questions, as well as talk through the process of
problem solving until students grasp the principle and concepts of
whatever academic challenge they request assistance with. Tutor.com
reports more than 600,000 tutoring sessions over the 3 years the
program has been in existence.
Servicemember and Spouse Credentialing and Licensing Efforts
DOD is leading a government-wide effort to help servicemembers earn
civilian credentials and licenses in order to receive appropriate
recognition for their military training and experience. Currently, more
than 3,000 servicemembers in approximately 25 military occupational
codes are participating in credentialing and licensing initiatives.
The challenge in credentialing and licensing is that most national,
State, and local credentialing and licensing agencies do not always
recognize equivalent military training, education, and experience
because they are unaccustomed to assessing these areas. They also often
lack access to information that would allow them to better understand
and evaluate military education, training and experience. The
Department is working closely with the White House, and other Federal
agencies such as: Veterans Affairs, Department of Labor, Department of
Transportation and Department of Education; State governments;
professional organizations, and affinity groups to address these
challenges.
During the last 12 months we have made significant progress. For
example, 37 States now grant waivers of the Commercial Drivers Licenses
driving skills test for veterans and servicemembers. Currently more
than 24 States are pursuing legislative changes which will further
reduce barriers to licensing at the State level. The First Lady and Dr.
Biden, through Joining Forces, have been key proponents of licensure
and credentialing for both separating servicemembers and military
spouses. They presented both the military spouses and separating
servicemember licensure issue at the National Governor's Association
(NGA) meeting in February 2013. As of March 2013, 29 States have passed
legislation expediting the professional licensing process for military
spouses. Another 13 States currently have active legislation in
expediting licenses. Professional licensing generally covers most
occupations, with the exception of teachers and attorneys. Health
related professions (physicians assistants, nurses, radiologist,
dentists and dental techs), and commercially oriented professions
(CPAs, architects, engineers) are also included. Seventeen States have
statutes allowing credit for military education (credit towards
licensing and academic degrees for substantially equivalent military
education, training and experience), training and experience towards
professional licensing for transitioning servicemembers; another 22
States have active legislation in this area.
Defense Commissary Agency
The Defense commissary system enhances the quality of life of
members of the uniformed services, retired members, and their
dependents while supporting military readiness, recruitment and
retention. The commissary continues to be one of the most valued non-
pay compensation benefits enjoyed by our military members and families,
be they Active, Guard and Reserve, or retirees. Commissary shoppers
save an average of 30 percent on their purchases compared to commercial
retailers. This equates to a potential savings of about $4,500 per year
for a family of four, or more than $1,500 annually for a single
servicemember.
Beyond grocery savings, the commissary system provides a paycheck
to many military families. Military spouses account for more than 4,000
of DeCA's 15,130 civilian employees in the United States, about 27
percent of the commissary's U.S. workforce. Military dependents, Guard
and Reserve members, retirees, and other veterans provide an additional
37 percent of the U.S. workforce.
Challenges from sequestration would reduce military families'
access to commissary savings, because commissaries may need to
accommodate potential furlough of its civilian employees. While we
believe most commissary patrons will move their shopping trips to other
available days, we estimate that military families who migrate their
shopping to commercial retailers would spend significantly more on
their food bills during the remainder of fiscal year 2013.
Dependent Education
Ensuring excellence in the education of military children is a top
priority for the Department of Defense. There are approximately 1.2
million school-aged children with a parent serving in the military.
More than 84,300 of these children attend one of the schools operated
by the Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA). To this end,
DODEA is leaning forward to provide an educational experience that
challenges each student to maximize his or her potential and prepares
them to be successful, productive and contributing citizens in today's
global economy. Highlighted below are some significant accomplishments
to transform schools.

Common Core State Educational Standards: DODEA joins
46 States and the District of Columbia in adopting the Common
Core State Educational Standards. For our military-connected
students, these standards will change the education experience
from a patchwork of various State standards as they move from
State to State to one that will be as close to academically
seamless as possible.
Digital Conversion: To prepare classrooms for the
infusion of technology into teaching and learning, DODEA
upgraded the bandwidth and wireless infrastructure in all 194
schools.
College and Career Readiness: DODEA increased the
mathematics graduation requirements, expanded course offerings
in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (STEM), foreign language and Advanced Placement.
The Virtual High School has increased course offerings by an
average of 13 courses per year.
Early Reading Success: DODEA adopted a goal to ensure
all students are reading on grade level by grade 3. This
included the implementation of a new early childhood reading
assessment which now is administered in kindergarten versus
third grade, past longstanding practice. First year reading
results showed promising gains.
School Facility Recapitalization and Repair: In 2009,
134 of DODEA's 194 schools were rated below the DOD acceptable
facility condition standard. The substandard schools were safe
but too costly to maintain with routine improvements. Of the
original 134 substandard schools, DODEA has completed 9
schools, has an additional 12 schools under construction, and
51 schools in design. DODEA is on target to meet the goal of
bringing all schools to the DOD acceptable condition standard
by the end of fiscal year 2018.
Educational Outreach: Since 2008, DODEA awarded nearly
$200 million in grants to over 150 military-connected public
school districts reaching more than 280,000 military-connected
children in 900 public schools. These grants help non-DOD
schools improve educational opportunities for military children
in public schools.

The effects of sequestration could potentially delay the
educational transformations, resulting in significant implementation
delays, in some areas by as much as 2 years, e.g., in the area of new
curriculum adoptions, digital classroom conversions, and employment
reform (e.g. new processes for recruiting, hiring, evaluating,
interviewing and on-boarding of new educator hires). However, the
Department is making every effort to ensure military-connected children
attending DOD schools are provided full academic years and that schools
maintain accreditation standards.

Total Force Management
We are committed to ensuring the Department's mix of Active and
Reserve military, government civilians, and contracted services provide
our commanders with the capabilities and readiness they require. The
Department recently issued guidance that reiterated and re-enforced key
total force management concepts. Specifically, the Department is
committed to precluding inappropriate transfer for work to the private
sector from government performance (especially work that is inherently
governmental or critical). As the Department executes civilian
workforce reductions, implements a hiring freeze, releases term/
temporary employees, and faces civilian potential furloughs our
managers and commanders must ensure that workload is not being
inappropriately absorbed by the private sector in violation of our
title 10 obligations.
The Department's implementation of NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013,
section 955, requiring reduction in funding for civilians and contract
support commensurate to reduction in funding associated with end-
strength reductions, will be done in a manner that reduces mission
impact and mitigates risk to programs and operations, while maintaining
core capabilities and support to our warfighters and their families. We
will ensure that our Total Force is sized and shaped to perform the
functions and activities necessary to enable our capabilities and
achieve our missions.
Civilian Hiring Freeze and Furloughs
One of the highest profile effects of sequestration is the
potential furlough of the majority of the Department's 800,000
civilians. Notification of the Department's intent was sent to Congress
and to the civilian workforce on February 20. The Department will apply
furlough actions in a consistent and equitable manner, with few
exceptions based on unique mission requirements.
The potential furloughs will be disruptive and damaging to our
ability to carry out the defense mission. We anticipate morale and
financial effects on our valued civilian employees, a decline in
productivity, and a potential loss of critical civilian talent in high
demand fields; e.g., cyber, intelligence, and information technology.
In order to address the severe across the board cuts, the
Department has also implemented, with limited exceptions, a civilian
hiring freeze and has started releasing temporary and term employees.
These actions put the Department further at risk of competency gaps and
critical skill shortages in key mission critical areas. In fiscal year
2012, the Department hired almost 60,000 new employees to meet mission
requirements. Of these employee hires, approximately 47 percent were
veterans, a community with unique skills sets valuable to the
Department. This hiring does not occur just in the Washington, DC,
area, therefore the ramification of these actions ripples beyond the
walls of the Pentagon and will be felt well outside the Beltway. In
fact, the vast majority of the Department's civilian workforce, almost
86 percent, works outside the Washington, DC, area. The loss of key
skill sets effect our communities throughout the country.
Strategic Human Capital Plan and Critical Skills Gaps
The fiscal year 2010-2014 DOD Strategic Workforce Plan (SWP) was
submitted to Congress in March 2012. The plan detailed progress made,
present and future challenges, and strategies in place for shaping the
demographics of a ready civilian workforce. The fiscal year 2014-2018
DOD SWP, in development, expands the SWP framework and functional
community structure to cover all 274 major occupations covering over 90
percent of the workforce.
The Strategic Workforce Plan is an integral tool for informing the
Department's policies and procedures for recruitment, retirement and
accession planning, professional training and education, and retention
in order to guard against a skill shortfall or erosion of competencies
as workforce actions are implemented.
Contractor Services Accountability and Integration
Contracted Services represent the efforts of private firm employees
performing identifiable tasks for the Department rather than producing/
manufacturing end items of supply. In 2010, Secretary Gates issued a
directive to reduce certain staff augmentation contract services,
particularly at headquarters staffs, by 10 percent a year over the next
3 years. The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2012 limited contract spending to
fiscal year 2010. While the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2012 directed
reductions in spending on those services performing closely associated
with inherently governmental work and staff augmentation, section 955
of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 further requires reductions in total
funding.
The Department is currently able to estimate, through its Inventory
of Contracts for Services, a like unit of measure of contractor effort
to compare to civilian full-time equivalents and military end strength.
The inventory for fiscal year 2011, submitted to Congress this past
summer, was the most comprehensive to date. The most recent inventory
estimates approximately 710,000 contractor full-time equivalents and
$144.5 billion. We are now further improving visibility into, and
accountability of, contract services by collecting direct labor hours
and associated cost data from contractors, which can then be compared
to our civilians and military workforce planning factors.

HEALTH AFFAIRS

We are committed to providing the quality healthcare to our
beneficiaries while ensuring fiscal responsibility. Our highest
priority is to keep our servicemembers healthy and medically ready for
deployment anywhere in the world. We must also ensure a ready medical
force that can provide contemporary healthcare wherever it is required.
We have a special obligation to our wounded warriors and their care
will continue uninterrupted regardless of any fiscal challenges.
Healthcare Costs
Rising health care costs are a serious challenge for the
Department. In 1996, when TRICARE was fully implemented, a working age
retiree's family of three contributed, on average, roughly 27 percent
of the total cost of health care. Today that percentage has dropped to
less than 11 percent. Health care costs have grown substantially since
1996, while retiree's family's out of pocket expenses, including
enrollment fees, deductibles and cost shares, has only grown by 30 to
40 percent. The Department seeks to rebalancing the cost-sharing borne
by military retirees. Even with our current proposals, cost-shares
borne by retired military families are still less than what they
experienced in 1996.
Therefore, the Department is seeking further changes to the TRICARE
program in the fiscal year 2014 budget as follows:

Increase the TRICARE Prime enrollment fee (using a fee
ceiling/floor structure), instituting an enrollment fee for
TRICARE Standard/Extra, and increasing Standard/Extra
deductibles, and adjusting the catastrophic cap to exclude
enrollment fees. These changes will affect only retirees.
Increase co-pays for pharmaceuticals (excludes Active
Duty servicemembers).
Implement an enrollment fee for new TRICARE-for-Life
(TFL) beneficiaries (grandfathers those already Medicare-
eligible at enactment).

These fee changes will be phased-in over several years, and fees/
deductibles/Rx co-pays/catastrophic cap levels will be indexed to
growth in annual retiree cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Even after
the proposed changes in TRICARE fees, the TRICARE benefit will remain
one of the best medical benefits in the United States, with lower out-
of-pocket costs than most other employers. We ask for congressional
support for our proposed cost savings initiatives in the fiscal year
2014 President's budget that require legislation in order to be
implemented
The Department is also working on other ways to ensure the
financial viability of TRICARE for far into the future. In 2008 and
2009, with the support of Congress, the Department instituted a number
of changes that have had positive effects in slowing the rise of health
care costs. We established ``Federal Ceiling Prices'' that required
pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide the Department discounts for
drugs provided to TRICARE beneficiaries through retail network
pharmacies (saving almost $800 million annually) and we changed how we
reimburse private hospitals for outpatient services provided to TRICARE
(saving over $900 million annually by 2014 when this is fully
implemented).
The Department is in the process of revising its payment rules to
reimburse inpatient care claims at sole community hospitals by using
Medicare rates (saving $100 million annually when fully implemented).
To further reduce costs, the Department is changing how it buys medical
products, by leveraging the bulk buying power of the military health
system. A series of strategic price reduction initiatives are being
implemented, saving the Department on average, $60 million annually.
The Department is reducing administrative overhead in the military
health system by streamlining its processes; reducing the number of
unnecessary reports, studies and Commissions; and initiating other
actions which will result in over $200 million in reduced personnel and
contract costs annually.
The Department has instituted an active and ongoing process
designed to prevent, detect, and control fraud and abuse. We expect
these efforts on average will avoid costs and recover overpayments of
$50 million annually over the next 5 years. In effort to control long-
term costs, the Department is pursuing a multifaceted strategy to
invest in initiatives that keep beneficiaries well, promote healthy
lifestyles, and reduce inappropriate emergency room visits and
unnecessary hospitalizations while improving patient satisfaction. In
the short term, we expect savings on average of over $25 million over
the next 5 years.
Also with Congress' support, we have made small strides in ensuring
our health benefit, while remaining one of the finest health benefits
provided by any employer in the country, is managed in a manner that
ensures the long-term strength of the Military Health System. We now
require new enrollees to the U.S. Family Health Plan to move to the
TRICARE for Life (TFL) Program upon becoming eligible for Medicare,
like all other military retirees (saving $600 million annually);
Congress has permitted small increases in the TRICARE Prime enrollment
fees for working age retirees and some adjustments to retail and mail-
order pharmacy co-pays.
Defense Health Agency
In 2013, the Department will move forward with significant changes
in how we govern the Military Health System, consistent with the
direction provided by the Deputy Secretary of Defense in 2012 and by
Congress in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013. The following three major
steps are now being formalized within the Department.
First, we are establishing a Defense Health Agency (DHA) with
responsibility for administering shared services across the
Department's military health portfolio. We will achieve Initial
Operating Capability for the DHA by October 1, 2013.
Second, we are provided enhanced authorities for military medical
leaders in our largest, multi-Service medical markets (National Capital
Region; Portsmouth, VA; Colorado Springs, CO; San Antonio, TX; Puget
Sound, WA; and Honolulu, HI) to ensure we best utilize our military
medical resources in the community, improve access to care, and lower
costs. We will also use these medical readiness platforms to identify
best practices and institute more standardized approaches to both
clinical and administrative processes.
Finally, we are also transitioning the Joint Task Force-National
Capital Regional Medical to a directorate within the Defense Health
Agency. This transition will sustain the joint organizational structure
of the two inpatient medical facilities in the NCR, clarify
accountability for comprehensive market management, and allow the MHS
to reduce intermediate headquarters overhead for managing the market.
Collectively, we believe the actions will have a substantive effect
on improving readiness, improving the health of our population,
improving the health care delivered in our medical facilities, and
reduce the rate of growth in our health care costs.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury
An estimated 13 to 20 percent of over 2.6 million servicemembers
who deployed have or may develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
symptoms. From 2000 to 2012, 125,592 servicemembers were formally
diagnosed with PTSD in military treatment facilities. PTSD is
treatable, and servicemembers can expect to recover with appropriate
medication and/or psychotherapy. Current surveillance approach to
identify servicemembers with PTSD includes annual periodic health
assessments, pre-deployment health assessments, and post-deployment
health assessments and reassessments. Treatment of PTSD is most
effective with early and accurate diagnosis. The DOD has increased
mental health staffing by 35 percent over the last 3 years, and has
moved to embed mental health providers within primary care clinics and
line units to increase access. New PTSD virtual reality tools, web-
based and mobile applications, have expanded tele-health services to
increase access to care.
Not all those with PTSD symptoms are diagnosed. Estimates suggest
that 23-40 percent of those who need services do not receive care.
While symptoms of PTSD usually present shortly following a traumatic
event, for some individuals, PTSD symptoms will present months or years
later. To address this, DOD is integrating behavioral health at the
primary care level through system-wide expansion of screening through
the Re-Engineering Systems of Primary Care Treatment in the Military
(RESPECT-Mil) program and care provision through the Behavioral Health
Optimization Program (BHOP).
The DOD is actively engaged with the VA and HHS in support of the
implementation of Executive order, ``Improving Access to Mental Health
Services for Veterans, Servicemembers, and Military Families'' (August
2012). The DOD/VA Integrated Mental Health Strategies (IMHS) continues
to serve as a mechanism to identify joint actions to address common
mental health needs.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a signature injury of the Operation
Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) conflicts. TBI
occurs on a continuum from mild TBI, or concussion, to severe and
penetrating; severe TBIs are relatively easy to detect, whereas mild
TBIs are usually less obvious. DOD mandated the new in-theater DOD
Instruction 6490.11 (DODI), ``DOD Policy Guidance for Management of
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury/Concussion in the Deployed Setting,'' in
September 2012. This new policy emphasizes the importance of the early
detection of servicemembers with concussion, while providing clear and
specific guidelines for the management of acute concussions.
Since implementation of theater-wide policies, approximately 14,226
servicemembers were screened for concussion following potentially
concussive events in theater (August 2010 to July 2012). Of those
screened, approximately 15.2 percent (2,162) were diagnosed with
concussion/mild TBI, which has been a consistent percentage over last 5
years. The Department emphasizes access to and quality of TBI care and
TBI research ($674 million invested since 2007), with focus on
development of tools, treatments, and studies that follow TBI patients
over time to understand the course of the condition.
Wounded Warrior Care
The care of our wounded warriors and the support they and their
families receive as they recover and transition back to military or
civilian life is our highest priority. Despite any fiscal constraints,
the Department faces due to sequestration, our continued focus on their
world class medical treatment, mental health, rehabilitation, and when
feasible entry to military service, will continue unabated. We will
work together with Services, advocates, and non-medical care managers
to ensure we better identify and address non-medical needs of
recovering servicemembers, their families, and caregivers. Our wounded
warriors and their families who care for them deserve the very best, no
matter what, for their sacrifice.
The Integrated Disability Evaluation System
The Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) integrated two
large, separate, and sequential systems, which had existed since the
1940s and required more than 540 days for a servicemember to navigate.
The DOD and VA completed fielding IDES at 139 Military Treatment
Facilities in September 2011. The Departments met all IDES objectives:
the new process is fairer, faster, and provides VA benefits more
quickly than before. We took several steps in 2012 to improve
performance, including increasing IDES staff by 127 percent (676
personnel), testing information technology capabilities that eliminate
mailing paper records, increasing policy flexibility and pilot testing
the use of cohort groups to accelerate simpler cases.
The Department recently concluded a preliminary study of the
feasibility of consolidating the disability evaluation system across
all Services to further ensure consistency of ratings and
determinations. Additional analysis is required to fully understand
implications to servicemembers, Service missions and resource impacts.
In addition, we recently concluded a study of Physical Evaluation Board
Liaison Officers (PEBLOs) addressing responsibilities, standard
training objectives, and workload. Further analysis will provide
insight into the necessary ratio of PEBLO to servicemember to improve
communication and servicemember satisfaction with the disability
evaluation system.
DOD is working closely with VA to better integrate processes,
tools, and share lessons learned. As an example, DOD and VA are
piloting an electronic case file transfer capability to eliminate
mailing hardcopy records between departments. With the implementation
of Health Artifact Image Management System, DOD and VA will
electronically share Service treatment records. The Army, which
represents 76 percent of the disability caseload, has committed to
issuing electronic DD 214 for all their cases by December 31, 2013.

RESERVE AFFAIRS

Today, a combination of factors change the way we view the
utilization of our Reserve component (RC) in the future and constitute
a ``new normal.'' A volatile international security environment still
persists, and a constrained Defense budget for the foreseeable future
will place additional burdens on the training, equipping, recruiting
and retention to the Total Force in fiscal year 2014 and out.
Therefore, use of the Reserve component as part of the operational
total force makes business sense.
The Reserve component, as part of the Department's Total Force,
provides the ability to preserve many capabilities and capacity at
reduced long-term cost within manageable risk. Over the last decade the
Reserve and National Guard units have clearly proven the ability to
accomplish any assigned mission overseas or at home. During that time
the Reserve component has become an integral part of the Nation's
military force participating in nearly every mission worldwide. Today's
Reserve component is a force multiplier which provides access and
flexibility at an incredible value allowing the Services to utilize
full capabilities in an operational capacity while retaining strategic
depth. Today's Citizen Warriors have made a conscious decision to serve
since September 11, with full knowledge that their decisions mean
periodic recalls to active duty under arduous and hazardous conditions.
They will continue to play a vital role as we move beyond the past
decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Department shapes the
force to implement defense strategy and to respond to the challenges of
a new era.
The Department's National Guard and Reserve servicemembers totaling
about 1.1 million contribute 43 percent of our total military end
strength at a cost of 9 percent of the total base budget and continue
to fulfill their vital national security role. The National Guard and
Reserve provide trained, ready, and cost-effective forces that can be
employed on a regular operational basis, while also ensuring strategic
depth for large-scale contingencies or other unanticipated national
crises. As of mid-March 2013, there are 53,658 servicemembers
activated. Over the past decade, over 869,877 Reserve and National
Guard servicemembers have deployed.
Recruiting
Success in recruiting is essential to maintain the strength
necessary for the Reserve components to achieve their assigned
missions. Like the Active component, the Reserve component also
continues to access high quality recruits. Each of the six Reserve
components has exceeded departmental benchmarks for recruit quality.
For the remainder of the fiscal year, these trends are expected to
continue. Five of the six Reserve components have met their fiscal
year-to-date accession missions through February 2013. However, as the
economy improves, competition for high quality Reserve recruits will
increase and recruiting missions will become more difficult to achieve.
Although as the Active component continues to reduce end strength, some
Active component members may choose to continue service in the Reserve
component.
Attrition
Retention of high quality Reserve component servicemembers
continues to remain a high priority. While the Reserve components have
seen a slight increase in attrition over fiscal year 2012, all Reserve
components are currently within the departmental targets. The aggregate
fiscal year-to-date departmental attrition rate was 5.12 percent in
fiscal year 2012 and is currently at 5.97 percent. Improved
opportunities in the civilian world affect our ability to retain some
of our best and brightest. We will continue to monitor our Reserve
component attrition posture closely.

Family and Transition Support
Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program
In the past 12 months, the Services conducted 1,855 Yellow Ribbon
Reintegration Program (YRRP) events that provided vital family
deployment, non-medical mental health, and family readiness support
resources to 233,820 servicemembers, family members or designated
representatives. The Services are projecting 1,691 events for fiscal
year 2013 in support of continued operations in Afghanistan and other
theater security and humanitarian missions around the globe.
YRRP continues to develop policies, tools, and resources necessary
for the Services to address challenges faced by Guard and Reserve
families, as well as those stemming from the evolving nature of
military operations. YRRP is developing online curriculum to assist
event planners with the unique challenges of multiple deployments,
geographically dispersed families and reintegration/unemployment
issues; refining metrics collection and analysis to continually measure
and improve the long-term effectiveness and efficiency of the program.
We are also working with partners like the Defense Suicide Prevention
Office, to include the VA and the NIH's Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration to expand suicide prevention resources
and community healing opportunities; and working with the Services to
develop flexible, long-term policies for the future of deployment cycle
support.
The YRRP compliments Transition Assistance Program (TAP) by
assisting National Guard and Reserve members as they transition between
their military and civilian roles. YRRP events provide National Guard
and Reserve members with access to local information on health care,
education/training opportunities, and financial/legal benefits. In
addition, up to 30 resource providers also participate at YRRP-
sponsored events, including the Departments of Veterans Affairs and
Labor, the Small Business Administration, Military Family Life
Consultants, Chaplains, certified financial planners, Military
OneSource consultants, Red Cross representatives, and employment
transition coordinators.
Hero2Hired (H2H.jobs)
Hero2Hired (H2H) is a comprehensive YRRP career readiness program
with both a high touch and a high tech approach designed to connect
Reserve component members with potential employers. A robust IT
platform supports Guard and Reserve members with significant features
including a Military Occupational Specialty skills translator, a case
management feature, job search capabilities (by profession, geographic
location, company), resume builder, mobile application and a career
skills assessment. Since its launch in December 2011, H2H.jobs has
signed up more than 113,383 job seekers and more than 15,517 employers.
The program engages the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
network of 4900 volunteers along with 56 contracted Employment
Transition Coordinators (ETC) within all 50 States, Territories, and
the District of Columbia to provide servicemembers with employment
assistance in their local communities.

Partnership and Outreach
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is a DOD
organization created in 1972 to foster a culture in which all employers
support and value the employment and military service of members of the
National Guard and Reserve in the United States. ESGR's mission is
particularly relevant in an era of increased reliance on the Reserve
Component to conduct worldwide combat operations and provide
humanitarian response. The ESGR Customer Service Center (CSC) provides
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
information and mediation support to servicemembers and their civilian
employers. In fiscal year 2012, ESGR answered more than 21,000 USERRA
inquiries and mediated almost 2,800 USERRA cases resolving over 77
percent of the cases in less than 9 calendar days. As a result of
sequestration, there may be a reduction in awareness of ESGR programs
and USERRA rights and responsibilities due to a reduction in outreach
efforts.
National Guard Youth Challenge Program
The Department includes funding for the National Guard Youth
Challenge Program in fiscal year 2014. The budget request will support
35 programs located in 27 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto
Rico. The 17-month program consists of two phases (residential and
post-residential) and serves 16-18-year olds who are not attending high
school and unemployed. The residential program is 22 weeks long and it
stresses academic excellence, leadership and followership, citizenship,
community service, life coping skills, job skills, physical fitness,
and health and hygiene. The post-residential mentoring period is 12
months long. It is designed to assist/support the residential graduates
as they return to secondary school, continue on to college or
vocational learning institutions, or enter the job market. Since the
program's inception in 1993, over 120,000 participants have graduated,
contributed over 8 million hours of service to communities that is
valued at over $155 million and approximately 70 percent of the program
graduates have earned academic credentials such as a GED, High School
diploma, or high school credit recovery certification. The budget
request plans to support DOD's cost share of 75 percent of the
program's operating costs in order to graduate approximately 9,000
program participants annually.

DOD-VA COLLABORATION

To fulfill the sacred responsibility of caring for those who have
fought for our country, close and effective collaboration between DOD
and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is essential. While there
is no doubt that DOD and VA are working more closely together than ever
before, it is also clear that we need to reach an even deeper level of
cooperation to better meet the needs of those who have served our
Nation in uniform, especially our wounded warriors. It is a great
priority for P&R to continue to strive to achieve our joint vision of a
seamless ``single system experience of lifetime services.''
Working together, our Departments have already made many important
changes to our system of care for wounded warriors, servicemembers,
veterans, and their families. But clearly, there is considerably more
work to be done, particularly to meet the needs of the post-September
11 generation of warriors. It is critically important that we overcome
the bureaucratic processes of the past--and therefore we are working to
implement major changes in several areas that together will
dramatically improve the quality of the services DOD and VA are able to
provide.
Integrated Electronic Health Records (iEHR)
The DOD and VA remain committed to implement full health data
interoperability. The DOD and VA together support more than 17 million
beneficiaries. Transitioning health care for servicemembers from one
large health care system to the other involves the precise exchange of
data. Therefore, in order to accelerate availability of seamless health
care information, DOD and VA will modify the strategy for developing
the iEHR. To reduce the cost and technical risk that an entirely new
system would present, DOD and VA agreed to use a ``core'' set of
applications from existing EHR technology, which could be added to
additional modules or applications as necessary. The Department is
committed to the implementation of iEHR and will work with VA fast-
track standardized technical and clinical capabilities.
We believe our current strategy will achieve our goals for the
electronic health record system: reduce costs, shorten the timeline,
reduce risk, and increase capability. We remain focused on healthcare
data interoperability between the DOD and VA to ensure that we improve
the quality of care per dollar spent for our servicemembers, veterans,
and beneficiaries as they move within the DOD, VA, and private sector
health care systems.
VA Claims Backlog
Veterans' benefits are a vital extension of a holistic benefits
package to sustain an AVF. Therefore, we are fully engaged in the issue
of Veterans Disability Benefits Claims backlog. We will provide VA with
any information we have which will assist them with processing claims
and help eliminate the backlog. We currently provide approximately 98
percent of the required personnel data for claims adjudication with VA
electronically, and we continue to seek how to close the gap on the
remainder. We have provided VA access to all personnel (including
available DD Form 214) records through a DOD web portal, and we have
agreed to provide Veterans Benefits Administration employees with
direct access to our electronic medical record system. We will continue
to look for ways to assist VA in lowering the backlog.
We have taken several steps to reduce backlog such as having a team
of DOD subject matter experts at the Veterans Benefits Administration
to analyze problematic cases in the VA backlog and conducting a uniform
Separation Health Assessment for all servicemembers at the time of
separation from the military. VA will conduct the assessment for those
who request disability benefits at the time of separation; DOD will
conduct the assessment for all others. We have already begun to
implement this at some locations, and we will complete implementation
by the end of fiscal year 2014. This will assist VA down the road as it
will establish a baseline medical condition at the time of separation
which the VA can use to determine service connection of future
disability claims.

CONCLUSION

During the past decade, the men and women who comprise the All-
Volunteer Force have shown versatility, adaptability, and commitment,
enduring the constant stress and strain of fighting two overlapping
conflicts. Throughout it all, we were able to build, support and
transition the finest military ever known. We understand that in order
for us to continue on this path, we must be vigilant in our efforts and
resources to ensure that we provide all the necessary recruiting,
training, support and transition tools for success. The Department is
committed to our servicemembers' success. Whether it is on the
battlefield, at home with their families, or after they have faithfully
concluded their military service, we are committed to preparing
servicemembers for whatever challenges they may face from warrior to
veteran. They deserve no less.

Senator Gillibrand. Thank you to each of you for your
testimony and for your service. I am extremely grateful to all
of you.
I would like to start with Dr. Woodson first. Last year,
several of us fought very hard to have TRICARE cover the
applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy. It is a behavioral
therapy for autistic children and children with development
disabilities. I am disappointed that the pilot program we
funded is delayed by 3 months by sequestration, but in any
case, I have not seen details on how it will be rolled out.
A number of the children covered in the Extended Care
Health Option (ECHO) Program for Active Duty do not receive
adequate services due to caps on funding. Will the pilot
program have caps on services?
Dr. Woodson. Thanks very much for the question and your
support of the men and women in the service and retirees and
beneficiaries.
As it relates to the ABA pilot, a couple of things need to
be brought forward. First of all, we could not start the pilot
until we have an appropriations bill, and that did not happen
until March 26. But almost virtually on that day we pushed out
information to providers so that they could start answering
questions from potential beneficiaries relative to this
service.
We have mapped out the program. We have started writing the
contracts for the program, and just the contracting issues
require time, and because we could not start the program before
March 26, 2013, there is that obvious delay.
But let me just say that since last summer, non-active duty
beneficiaries have been able to receive ABA therapy through the
TRICARE basic medical program. That is not capped, so that has
been available since last summer. Of course now we are setting
up the pilot.
So the bottom line is we have multiple ways of paying for
ABA, and, in fact, historically, we have been in front of the
pack. We have been providing this for Active Duty family
members for over 10 years. So we are moving with all due haste
to set up the program, but we did have some limitations
relative to the appropriation.
Senator Gillibrand. ECHO currently only covers certified
consultants, leaving many locations without adequate coverage.
Will the pilot program cover ABA technicians and assistant
behavioral analysts?
Dr. Woodson. The pilot certainly will cover the
technicians. These are the non-certified tutors, which is the
other name that is used, the pilot will cover those
individuals.
Senator Gillibrand. The last piece, in July 2012, we
provided a lot of the data that the military was asking for,
medical data, demonstrating the benefits of ABA coverage. When
this review of data is complete, can we then ensure that there
will be permanent ABA coverage under TRICARE?
Dr. Woodson. Well, right now it is covered under TRICARE
basic medical program. Since we always follow the law, if the
law says we have to provide it, we will provide it irrespective
of what the data says. So that is not an issue.
Senator Gillibrand. That is contrary to what we heard in
the last hearing on this topic. They said it was not a medical
treatment. They said it was an educational treatment, and so,
therefore, they were able to cap the access to the number of
therapies that could be received because it was not considered
medical.
Dr. Woodson. Good question, and we should draw the point of
clarification that if it was left to our discretion, we would
probably define it still as an educational benefit. But the law
says that we have to provide it, so we will provide it.
Senator Gillibrand. But if it is defined as educational, it
only requires a certain number of therapy sessions. So what the
families have told us is that they were literally doing second
mortgages on their homes or going through bankruptcy because to
be able to afford all the therapies their doctor prescribed for
their children. It was a financial burden that they could not
cover.
Dr. Woodson. Once again, since this summer, under the basic
program, families can receive ABA therapy. That is not capped
if a certified provider delivers it. So it is there for them
right now.
Senator Gillibrand. Okay. Turning to Secretary Wright, we
held our last hearing on sexual assault in the military. There
has been a lot of attention drawn to the issue, largely because
of the Invisible War documentary. One of the things that we
discussed in the hearing was that when reporting is made, it is
made throughout the chain of command, and the disposition
authority sits within the chain of command, and that that may,
in fact, undermine reporting, because if we have 19,000 sexual
assault cases and only 2,500 roughly are reported, and of that
2,500, only 240 going to trial, and only 190 convictions, you
are really seeing only one out of 100 convictions happening for
every 100 alleged cases.
So my question to you is, if we shift the disposition
authority away from the chain of command and actually make that
decisionmaking process be a responsibility of, let us say, the
JAG corps, the specific prosecutors who are trained on sexual
assault, what do you think the impact of that will be? Do you
think it would affect good order and discipline?
Ms. Wright. Well, ma'am, you are right. The 19,000 is an
extrapolation from the survey that we did in 2010, I believe.
We are soon to send to Congress the new sexual assault report
which will be the end of the month, which will clarify more
recent numbers. So the 19,000 and the chain of command, I would
say that the chain of command is really for good order and
discipline, and I speak from experience because I am a retired
general officer.
I do understand the issues with sexual assault, and I think
the reporting could have something to do with the chain of
command, but I also think it has something to do with the
stigma or the risk of reporting, so I think it is not just an
area related to the chain of command. I would hazard to say to
take it out of the chain of command, though I will tell you
that Secretary Hagel is taking this extremely seriously. I have
a meeting with his office tomorrow morning to talk about more
measures that we can take--remember he just did the Article
60--more measures that he could take to put more teeth into
what the Department is doing.
So I will tell you, ma'am, that everything is on the table
because I think his aperture is wide to solve this problem.
Senator Gillibrand. I have a concern that you just said
having 19,000 sexual assaults a year represents good order and
discipline.
Ms. Wright. No, ma'am. I think the chain of command is what
represents the good order and discipline.
Senator Gillibrand. But we have the chain of command, and
it is the disposition authority, and you still have 19,000
sexual assaults.
Ms. Wright. That is an extrapolation from the survey--
Senator Gillibrand. Okay. So maybe you have 15,000. Maybe
you have 12,000. Maybe you have 10,000. Maybe you have 5,000.
Maybe you have the 2,400 that are reported. I do not believe
2,400 sexual assaults and rapes every year is good order and
discipline.
Honestly, I think if you are going to stick to that line,
you will undermine your credibility enormously because you are
not getting it done. You are not assuring the safety of men and
women who are serving and giving their lives for this country
from rape from their colleagues. So you cannot say the chain of
command is assuring good order and discipline because you are
failing.
Ms. Wright. Yes, ma'am, I agree with you that 19,000, to 1,
is way too many, and that we have a problem, and that we need
to do better. I agree with you 100 percent, and that I am doing
everything in my power, and the Joint Chiefs are also working
very diligently to correct this problem.
Men and women join our ranks to serve our country, and they
join our ranks because they want to protect this country. This
is a place where they should feel safe. This is a place where
they should never, ever, ever have a problem of feeling unsafe.
They should never have a problem of wondering whether they
would be sexually assaulted, whether they were a man or a
woman. I agree with you 100 percent. Whether the number is
19,000 or one, that is way too many for any period of time in
our military.
I do believe that the chain of command is a worthwhile
organization.
Senator Gillibrand. We are not talking about the chain of
command. I am talking about them having a specific
responsibility called disposition authority. Already Secretary
Hagel feels very comfortable taking away the responsibility of
the disposition authority to be able to overturn a verdict.
That is a big change. He feels no problem making that change.
What I am asking you to consider is if we make the change
to say, you also are no longer going to have the ability to
decide whether the facts that are put before you are worthy of
going to trial because, number one, you are not trained as a
prosecutor. Number two, you may not have any background in
sexual assault and rape. Number three, you may have a
relationship with a perpetrator or the victim. Number four, you
are not in the position to be objective.
Ms. Wright. Ma'am, all of those are very good points. To my
initial comment, Secretary Hagel has everything now on the
table since he decided on Article 60, which was a very big
step, and a very important step, and a very needed step. Since
he decided on that, I have a meeting with him tomorrow morning
to give him more ideas, and that is on the table to take it
away from the chain of command.
So we are--yes, ma'am.
Senator Gillibrand. My time has expired, but I will leave
you with this. Senator Graham made very good points in our last
hearing on sexual assault. He went through the number of cases
when, in fact, Article 60 was used to overturn a case. It was
extremely rare. It was one out of many, many, many cases. It
was so uncommon.
If Secretary Hagel believes that that made a difference, I
think that is a very good first step. But if it is so rare, I
do not think that alone will change people's interest in
reporting. I do not think it will change people's assessment of
whether they will receive justice. I do not think it will
change people's assessment of whether they think it is safe to
report to their commanding officer.
I would like you to make sure when you say everything is on
the table that you really mean it.
Ms. Wright. Yes, ma'am.
Senator Gillibrand. Because so far every person in the
military that I have spoken to defends this one little
responsibility that has not--that has only recently been
elevated to someone higher up the chain of command, so it is
not as if this person has had this authority for very long. It
is really since the last NDAA we passed. So it is not something
that has been set in stone forever and a day.
I think if you say everything is on the table, you should
look at the whole structure because that is really what needs
to be looked at.
Ms. Wright. Yes, ma'am.
Senator Gillibrand. There is a reason why people are not
reporting.
Ms. Wright. Yes, ma'am. I will guarantee you that we are
looking at the whole structure.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Senator Ayotte?
Senator Ayotte. Thank you. I appreciate your passion on
this really important issue, Madam Chairman. This is an issue
that is a bipartisan issue that we are concerned about making
sure that when our men and women in uniform are victims of
sexual assault, that they understand that when they come
forward, they will receive justice. They will receive support.
It seems that they should--to make sure--my background is as a
prosecutor before this, so I appreciate your passion for this
and really the pursuit of this in open hearings and having a
very important dialogue on how we can address this problem.
I wanted to ask you, Secretary Wright, about the National
Guard Youth Challenge Program. I think the National Guard Youth
Challenge Program is very important. We--Senator Landrieu,
myself, and three other Senators--sent you a letter that cited
concerns we have about the Office of Secretary of Defense's
(OSD) role in managing the National Guard Youth Challenge
Program.
One of the concerns that we have is that I do not
understand why, when we had a good program run by the National
Guard Bureau (NGB) that OSD felt the need to enter into a
technical assistance contract from OSD rather than letting that
control remain in the NGB. So can you help me explain why you
did that?
Second, I also want to understand why we are not really
looking at sufficiently funding to maintain national training
standards as required by the cooperative agreement.
Ms. Wright. I can tell you that the Youth Challenge Program
is a phenomenal program. I agree with you totally. It takes
youth at risk and it turns them into clearly prosperous
citizens, and have been doing it for years.
The NGB was in that decision to have that technical
contract at OSD. It was a gentleman that was part of the
program named Lou Cabrera who works with the Chief of the NGB.
He was working with the OSD staff for that technical contract,
and we kept it in OSD Reserve Affairs.
We have an oversight role in OSD Reserve Affairs for the
Youth Challenge Program, and so that is why we kept it there.
But we did not do it independently at all. We did it in concert
with the NGB.
Senator Ayotte. So the NGB actually supported basically
reducing--I mean, one of the responsibilities we have is to
provide staff training. If you look at the fiscal climate that
we are in, to have OSD now have control over this instead of
having the NGB have control, that, when we look at some of the
training gaps, I see that as almost the same amount of money
that you entered into on the spectrum contract for what the
needs are on the training of the NGB level.
Can you help me understand the thinking there, because I am
actually shocked to hear that our NGB would want to give, with
all due respect to all of you, more control in Washington than
at the State level. That is not usually what I hear from them.
Can you help me understand that?
Ms. Wright. Well, ma'am, I would have to go back and
research it. May I take it for the record----
Senator Ayotte. Yes, please.
Ms. Wright.--because I will certainly talk to Mr. Cabrera,
who is our point of contact in the Guard Bureau for the Youth
Challenge Program, and I will get back to you.
[The information referred to follows:]

The amount of money ($1 million) entered into on the Spectrum
contract was provided to help us understand why a number of Youth
Challenge sites were reporting sub-optimal results. While training is
very important, we have found that sites fail to achieve their best
results due to a plethora of reasons beyond just training, e.g., such
as travel restrictions, staff turnovers, state personnel requirements,
and various other issues. Additionally, there are no certified training
standards adapted nationwide. We are continuing to work on developing
these types of standards with the National Guard Bureau to ensure
success.
We intend to continue our strong partnership of the National Guard
Youth Challenge Program and further assist the National Guard Bureau in
optimizing this very important program.

Senator Ayotte. I really appreciate that, because this is a
very important program. Obviously the study that was done
assessing this program said for--the program earned $2.66 in
benefits from every dollar spent for the students. We are
empowering the future leaders of this country with that
program, so I really appreciate it very much.
I also wanted to ask about military voting. I am very
concerned about what I have heard about concerns of our
military getting the right and access to voting, and given the
sacrifices they are making, I think we can do a lot better
within DOD.
In fact, in August 2012, the DOD Inspector General
basically attempted to contact the voting assistance offices,
and 50 percent of the time when they tried to contact the
voting assistance office, they got no answer. I cannot even
imagine what sometimes our men and women in uniform go through
in trying to exercise their right to vote.
I would ask you, there are other examples like the way that
DOD treats a servicemember group life insurance. When someone
moves from base to base or duty station to duty station, and
in-processes and out-processes, you actually reconfirm their
status in that system. Is there any system in place to
reconfirm with the servicemember when they are being in-
processed or out-processed. You are moving? This is how you
register to vote. This is your right to exercise your right to
vote. What are we doing to make sure that our men and women in
uniform, whatever--whoever they decide to vote, have that
right?
Ms. Wright. Ma'am, we know that, and I think it was August
that you said that there was a problem. We really upped the
game. We put a full court press in on the voting assistance
office because we recognized that that was an issue throughout
the military system.
We are in full compliance with the MOVE Act. We enhanced
the Federal Government with voting with automated tools. I am
reading here because I want to get this right. We provide
guidance and support to the Military Services and the
designated installation voting assistance officers. We provide
guidance and training to the State and local election officials
to ensure that they are aware of the laws and requirements, and
we execute the enhanced voter education and outreach campaign.
Yes, ma'am?
Senator Ayotte. I do not want to interrupt because I know
my time is almost up--but one thing I am trying to understand
is when someone either out-processes or in-processes, is that
part of their in-processing? Are they told along with an array
of everything whether this is what you need to do for your life
insurance, this is what you need for that, if you would like to
exercise your right to vote, here is information on that. Do we
do that?
Ms. Wright. I would have to go back and check, but I will
also tell you, ma'am, that oftentimes in the Active component
military, an individual has a home of record. So the home of
record could be Oregon because they entered and they live--they
do not live, but they have their voting rights in Oregon. They
may move all over the country, but they vote in Oregon. So that
would not change based upon their Permanent Change of Station
to another duty camp or station.
I can go and look to see if when we transition we ask them,
but most times the Active component member continues to vote in
the State of his or her home of record.
Senator Ayotte. I understand that, and I am not asking you
to inquire into whether they vote or not. Just making sure that
they have the tools at their hands to understand how to
exercise their right to vote.
For example, one of the big issues I heard a lot of
concerns about when they were stationed overseas, whether in
Afghanistan or other places overseas, a real difficulty of
getting the ballots in time, all of those issues. That is
another whole separate conversation we can have.
If you can at least get back to me on an answer of what--if
I am now in the military and I move, or if I am stationed
overseas, I am in Korea, wherever I am, what am I told, and
what information am I given?
Ms. Wright. How do you go about getting that?
Senator Ayotte. I just want to make sure it is standardized
in an appropriate way----
Ms. Wright. Yes, ma'am.
Senator Ayotte.--not to infringe, but to give people
information.
Ms. Wright. Yes, ma'am.
Senator Ayotte. I appreciate it. Thank you.
[The information referred to follows:]

In compliance with Federal law, and as guided by the Department of
Defense Instruction 1000.04 (issued September 13, 2012), the Military
Services provide information and direct assistance on voter
registration and absentee ballot procedures to uniformed servicemembers
and their family members when a servicemember undergoes a permanent
change of duty station; deploys overseas for at least 6 months, returns
from such a deployment; and/or requests such assistance.
The Department ensures that every servicemember, especially those
stationed overseas, has the information needed to exercise their right
to vote. As part of the 2012 election cycle, the Federal Voting
Assistance Program (FVAP) supported the voting process by:

Providing online tools that produced a completed
Federal Post Card Application or Federal Write-in Absentee
Ballot to be signed and submitted by the voter.
Providing training to the Services and completed
assistance visits to 25 percent of the established IVA Offices
(43 offices).
Conducting in-person and ``train-the-trainer''
workshops at 83 locations worldwide.
Sending emails to every member of the military with a
.mil email address. (More than 18 million sent.)
Enhanced FVAP.gov to provide more direct-to-the-voter
assistance, including links to local election official
information and State-specific information and forms.
Conducted comprehensive communications and outreach
campaigns.
Developing new online training modules for local
election officials and Voting Assistance Officers.
Working with State legislatures to enact reforms
benefiting military and overseas voters, including the Uniform
Military and Overseas Voters Act.

FVAP is working closely with the Services, State and election
officials and advocacy groups to ensure voting assistance in support of
the 2014 elections is even better. Although voting is an individual's
choice and personal responsibility, the Department works to ensure that
all members of the Uniformed Services, their families and overseas
citizens are aware of their most fundamental right--and have the tools
and resources to vote, if they so choose.

Senator Gillibrand. Senator Kaine.
Senator Kaine. Thank you, Madam Chairman. Good afternoon to
all of you. One of the measures of whether, I guess, a budget
or a policy is working with respect to personnel is just kind
of the big picture. How is it going with respect to recruiting,
and how is it going with respect to retention? What are
strengths and successes, and what are challenges that you face
right now on the recruiting and the retention side? Please, Mr.
Vollrath.
Mr. Vollrath. Thank you. Let me take that one. First, I
would make the point that currently recruiting is on track and
in good shape.
Senator Kaine. Quickly, you are not having to do anything
unusual or extra in order to----
Mr. Vollrath. That is correct.
Senator Kaine. Okay.
Mr. Vollrath. That is correct. But having said that, let me
project out because that is really what I believe we are all
about here, to manage the future and make sure we are prepared.
We are very cognizant of the fact that by all means we hope
that the economy in the United States continues to improve and
that the unemployment rate continues to go down. That is our
fondest wish along with every other citizen. But as that
occurs, and we believe that will occur, then we know by
experience that we have to be attuned to the fact that
recruiting is probably going to get a little more difficult as
we move.
The second point I would make, as we look to the future,
because we should learn from the past from the last drawdown in
the mid-1990s, it is sometimes hard to explain to America that
you are letting people go, but we still would like to hire
somebody. So it is counterintuitive.
Those are two things that we, as we look to the future, we
want to make sure that we do not become complacent and say,
well, we can take more money out of recruiting, take more money
out of recruiting and advertising because it might be just the
wrong thing to do at the wrong time. So we are watching it like
a hawk.
Retention is equally as good, and we do not see any clouds
out there right now.
Senator Kaine. Have you noticed any change in the morale
around recruiting and retention because of budgetary
challenges, things like sequester, or just the steady drumbeat
of we have to be about cutting, cutting, cutting?
Mr. Vollrath. Not on the military side. We have seen some
concerns on the civilian recruiting side because of a 20
percent cut in pay. We have a hiring freeze. We are cognizant
of that one, and it is not a major issue yet, but we are
watching that, because that is probably going to occur earlier
than the military issue.
Senator Kaine. Yes. On the pay side, there is an
authorization to allow for an increase in salary of 1.8
percent, and the salary increase proposed in this authorization
budget is 1 percent. I gather the difference there is about
$540 million first year and some escalator as it goes by. Was
that decision made purely as a result of trying to deal with
challenging budget realities that we would be at the 1 percent
rather than at the 1.8?
Ms. Wright. Yes, sir, it was. That was an extremely hard
decision because our men and women really do yeomen's work for
us. But with the budget the way it is, we had to strike an even
balance. So it will be a savings of about $540 million this
year, and so we wanted to make sure that we certainly got them
a pay raise, and so it was a collective decision within the
Department that 1 percent was a good balance.
Senator Kaine. Just to make sure I understand because this
is my first personnel hearing dealing with salary and benefit
issues, the 1.8 percent figure that was authorized was a
measure of sort of what comparability of what people were
getting outside the military? Is that sort of a best judgment
or best--it is like a CPI index of what salary increases are in
the broader----
Ms. Wright. Employment Cost Index, sir.
Senator Kaine. Okay.
Ms. Wright. Yes, sir.
Senator Kaine. Okay. I very much applaud in the submission
the focus on credentialing and training, and this is an area
with my first piece of legislation I am trying to deal with
this. I want to do it in a way that is coordinated with you.
My experience talking to Virginians as Governor and then as
a candidate was so many folks having a challenge getting
traction back in a civilian workforce, and there are a variety
of reasons for that. But one of the reasons seems to be this
lack of understanding among the civilian hiring officials about
what it is that somebody brings to the table if they are from
the military, especially enlisted.
We appreciate that you serve, but in a day of an all-
volunteer military, where only 1 percent of adults serve, they
do not understand what a gunnery sergeant does or what an E-5
does, and so we like you. We are glad you served. You are a
patriot. But we do not know what you bring and the work that
you are doing. I very much look forward to working with you on
credentialing along the way so that people are getting credit
for the skills they obtain at the moment they obtain them
rather than trying to recreate it in the last 30 days of an
active service. I applaud the work you are doing in that area.
The better it is, the better recruiting technique as well.
I look forward to working with you on that.
As we are wrestling with potential force drawdowns, what is
the current strategy about this scope of officer training,
especially Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs, and
how have you factored that in going forward in terms of the
numbers of people you are taking into those officer training
programs? Because I hear a little bit about people getting out
and getting commissioned, but then kind of being backed up
going in, or being put into Reserve status for a long time, or
potentially even being told, well, now we may not need you. So
how are you factoring that into your planning?
Mr. Vollrath. Senator, right now it is, we would say,
steady as she goes, okay. Navy term. I am not Navy.
Senator Kaine. Yes. Is that wise? Is it wise to be steady
as you go if it looks like the overall----
Mr. Vollrath. We do. We know the force is drawing down, so
we have turned off slightly, the ROTC program. We commission
about 6,000 a year, heavily for the Active component. We have
21,000 or so in the program, most of them on scholarship or
some type of help. We believe that we have the math about right
based on the propensity to not overproduce, particularly given
the fact that we are going to reduce the size.
We have worked with the various Services. Army, for
example, they have already reduced the input, and they have
planned on it for well over a year. They believe, Army in this
case and all the Services because we have regular meetings
about it, that they are not going to wind up with a surplus.
Your point is well taken. Again, back in the good old days
where we have the tee shirt, we had too many coming through the
pipe. That has already been factored in, and we think we have
it about right. We have not had to turn anybody down yet.
Senator Kaine. Great.
Mr. Vollrath. We think we have it.
Senator Kaine. Okay, thank you Madam Chairman.
Senator Gillibrand. Senator Donnelly.
Senator Donnelly. Thank you, Madam Chairman. This would be
for any of you. I wanted to talk to you about a specific
situation that has arisen recently, and that is over 1,000
National Guard members from Indiana--my home State--570 of them
were preparing to deploy to the Horn of Africa this month, 446
preparing to deploy to Egypt in June, others preparing to
deploy as well, were just off-ramped and notified that they
were being replaced by Active component forces.
This is the only State that this happened to. Two of these
units it has happened to less than 6 weeks from deployment
date. Now these are people who cancelled leases, quit jobs,
took extraordinary steps in their lives to prepare to get
things squared away. This off-ramp has been extraordinary
painful to them, to their families. I know that there was a
policy put in place that was, okay, we will not do this unless
somebody is at least over 120 days out. That was after this
occurred because these folks were 6 weeks away.
Over 1,000 soldiers and their families will lose TRICARE in
4 days, 4 days from today. A hundred and forty-two of the
soldiers that re-enlisted, re-enlisted and/or offered bonuses
because they were going on a deployment. So they are being
terminated. Then they are going to be asked to re-enlist, but
there will be no bonus included with them as they do.
Sixty of the soldiers left their employment. Others were
denied a job due to the short time between and the mobilization
date where they could not get a job. Some went back and their
employer had already hired and were training a replacement for
them. A number had terminated housing leases.
We have no objection in Indiana to doing our share, to
taking our share of the hit, but this is over and above what
took place. What we are asking for is just a--it is not much.
In terms of the pain and the suffering that these families are
going through, it is next to nothing. But this is the Hoosier
way. They said, look, we are willing to take a shot. We are
willing to stand up for our country and help out and reduce
costs. Can you help us with a couple of things? Number one,
continue the bonus that they were promised. That is not much.
It is a $500 a month bonus. It is the total of less than $1
million at the end of the day. Enable these soldiers to have
180 days of additional TRICARE because in 4 days, they are off
of TRICARE. These are minimal things that are really, in my
mind, keeping our promise.
I spoke to Secretary Hagel and one of the things he has
always said, people are central to everything we do. Well, it
is time for us to show that in this case. I would like a
comment from any of you.
Ms. Wright. Sir, I understand completely. My last job was
adjutant general of Pennsylvania, so I know General Umbarger
very well, and know----
Senator Donnelly. He is not in a good mood.
Ms. Wright. No. I can only imagine. I have spoken to him. I
know Marty, and rightly he should not be in a good mood. This
was done for financial reasons, but we need to take care of the
soldiers that it was done to.
I know that the Army is working through the Guard Bureau
with General Umbarger. There is a group of those soldiers that
were catastrophically harmed because of this. There are some of
those soldiers that may think this is okay. There are people in
all categories. But our job is to take a look at all of the
requests that you gave Secretary Hagel and to get back to you
about where we go from here and how we can affect these
soldiers' lives for the betterment.
Senator Donnelly. I am here to try to make sure that this
is made right because what was done is not.
Ms. Wright. Yes, sir, and I know how terribly difficult it
was not only on the soldier because it was very hard on the
soldier, but on the family members of these soldiers.
Senator Donnelly. Okay. We will stay in very close contact
with you on that.
Ms. Wright. Yes, sir. Thank you.
Senator Donnelly. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you very much, each of you, for
your service and your testimony. If any of the senators have a
second round, we will permit it now. Otherwise, we will go to
the next panel.
Senator Kaine?
Senator Kaine. Just one question, Mr. Wightman, on Guard
and Reserve issues, really a comment more than a question. I
imagine the manpower, as you are dealing with a time of tough
resources, some of the manpower issues you are having to
decide, the Guards, and we all relied on them so heavily as
governors, they were primarily a Reserve Force. Then we built
them up into essentially an operational tempo (OPTEMPO) force.
As Iraq and Afghanistan are drawing down, some of the occasion
for the OPTEMPO will drop.
Nevertheless, that training is such good training to have
in the system right now. So as you are wrestling with manpower
questions, what do you do with your Active Duty component? That
has a cost. Might it be better to maintain a big chunk of your
guard at an OPTEMPO type training? That may be a more cost
effective way to do it.
I am curious as to how you wrestle with those kinds of
manpower challenges. In particular, with respect to the Guard,
is there an intention to go back to the old days, to have the
Guard be a Reserve, primarily a Reserve Force, or is there, as
part of the DOD strategy going forward, is the sense that we
ought to keep the Guard, continue to harvest the value of that
training and keep it in a component where there is an OPTEMPO
capacity there that may obviate the need for some of the
manpower or training over on the active side?
Mr. Wightman. Thank you for that question. It is a very
difficult situation, as you said, when you have men and women
who have been out there over the last 10 to 11 years and have
acquired the skills and got to the level that they have, to be
told that they are going to be on a shelf.
As you heard from our opening comments, our position is
that the intention is not to use them simply as a strategic
reserve, that we still want to keep them as a part of the
operational force, and we still strive to push that as much as
we can.
Now, along those lines, there are three or four studies
going on within the building, and you heard Secretary Hagel the
other day talk about when somebody asked him about the Active
component, Reserve component mix, he said, hang on, that was
just one of many factors. Then he went through general purpose,
Special Operations Forces. We have to look at that mix. We have
to look at the mix of conventional and unconventional, and then
we also have to look at the capability of our allies. So all of
this weaves in, in addition to whether or not they are forward
stationed, or rotationally deployed, or home site. So all of
this is sort of underway in the building at this time.
As you probably are also aware, there are several costing
studies going on, and Chairman Arnold Punaro of the Reserve
Forces Policy Board has a cost methodology study. In fact, he
is briefing it to Representative Walls right now. So there is
that one.
There is one that we are doing as well. Arnold is looking
at the individual cost of Reserve versus Active. The Cost
Assessment and Program Evaluation folks over there are looking
at more of a unit in the course of a year, how much it costs to
maintain a unit. Then ours is sort of a mixture, and we are
looking at different alternatives to come out of that in terms
of costing.
So I guess my answer to your question is, there is a lot
going on. I think the sentiment from my superiors in the
building is that, yes, we need to maintain the Reserve
component, maybe at a lesser OPTEMPO, but certainly keep them a
part of that operational force.
Senator Kaine. Thank you.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, members of the panel. We
appreciate your testimony very much.
We will now turn to the second panel. The second panel, we
have members of The Military Coalition (TMC), a consortium of
nationally prominent uniformed service and veteran
organizations.
Master Chief, Retired, Joseph L. Barnes, is the National
Executive Director, Fleet Reserve Association (FRA). Ms.
Kathleen Moakler is the Government Relations Director, National
Military Family Association. Colonel, Retired, Steven P.
Strobridge is the Director of Government Relations, Military
Officers Association of America (MOAA). Captain, Retired,
Marshall Hanson is the Director, Legislative and Military
Policy, Reserve Officer's Association (ROA).
Before you give your opening statements, I do want to
recognize Mr. Barnes and Mr. Strobridge, both of whom will be
retiring soon. You have both appeared before this subcommittee
numerous times, and the staff informs me that this is quite
likely the last time that you will come before us. I want to
publicly thank you for your service in uniform and your service
in support of those in uniform in your second careers.
Mr. Barnes spent over 20 years in the Navy before retiring
as master chief, and then served another 20 years with the FRA.
Mr. Strobridge served 24 years in the Air Force, retiring as
colonel, and then spent another 19 years at the MOAA.
You have served the men and women of the armed services
well in your time at FRA and MOAA. I thank you for your service
and wish you well in retirement.
I now invite you to present your opening statements, but
ask that you keep your oral statement to 3 to 5 minutes. Yes,
Mr. Strobridge, please.

STATEMENT OF COL. STEVEN P. STROBRIDGE, USAF, RETIRED, DIRECTOR
OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF
AMERICA

Colonel Strobridge. Madam Chairman, distinguished members
of the subcommittee, we are grateful for the subcommittee's
longstanding efforts to ensure fair treatment for the entire
uniformed services community. We deeply appreciate this
opportunity to present our views on the personnel related
issues. My portion of the statement will cover health care.
The coalition disagrees strongly with the budget proposal
to shift billions more cost to beneficiaries. Claims of
exploding military health care costs cite growth since 2001 as
if that were a reasonable starting point, but it is not.
Congress enacted TRICARE For Life in 2001 to correct the
ejection of older retirees from military health care in the 6
years before that. There was a spike as they returned to
coverage in 2002 and 2003, but the cost growth has actually
been declining ever since. It was less than 1 percent growth in
2012, and will likely decline in 2013 because of recently
approved fee increases and benefit changes directed by this
subcommittee and also implemented by DOD.
So the exploding cost claim is actually based on a 10-year
old data point. The truth is combined personnel and health
costs are the same share of the defense budget, a little less
than one-third, that they have been for the last 30 plus years.
In fact, DOD has used the health accounts as a cash cow to fund
other needs: diverting $700 million in surplus funds last year
and $2.5 billion over the last 3 years.
I want to make it clear that the TRICARE benefit is by and
large an excellent one. We certainly recognize that. But it has
to be to help induce large numbers of top quality people to
accept the extraordinary demands and sacrifices inherent in
multi-decade military careers. That is why assertions that
military retirees pay far less for health care than civilians
do are so aggravating to the military community.
When someone gives me that argument, I ask if the military
deal is so great, are you willing to pay what they did to earn
it? Would you sign up to spend the next 20 years being deployed
to Iraq, Afghanistan, or wherever the next fight is? That is
when people realize military people already pay far steeper
premiums for health care than any civilian, and most of it is
paid in kind, not in cash.
That is why when Congress enacted TRICARE For Life in 2001,
it required no cash enrollment fee. Defense leaders say they
will keep faith with the currently serving on retirement
reform, and would apply any retirement changes only to new
entrants. But if it is breaking faith to change the rules for
someone with 10 years or even 1 year of service, it is doubly
so to impose a four-figure TRICARE fee hike on those who
already completed 20 or 30 years, whether they will retire next
year, or whether they are already retired.
After retirees kept their part of the bargain, defense
leaders, in effect, are saying their service is no longer worth
so much as they were told it would be. They should pony up
another $1,000 or $2,000 each year for the rest of their lives.
They blame the budget crunch, but balk at changes to make the
system more efficient.
Many studies document the inefficiencies of DOD's
fragmented health systems, but DOD's recent review made minimal
changes, in part because one of the key decision criteria was
how hard change would be. So the first choice was to make
retirees pay more because it was easier.
There is still no single point of responsibility for
budgeting or delivery of DOD health care. As for the plan to
means test retiree health fees, that is patent discrimination
against the military. No other Federal retiree has their health
benefits means tested, and it is rare in the civilian world.
Under that perverse system, the longer and more successful you
serve, the worse your benefits are. The coalition believes that
proposed rates are significantly too high for all grades.
We have worked with this subcommittee and its House
counterpart for years to put what we think are reasonable
standards in law for health fees and other benefits. We now
have statutory rules and guidelines, not only for the fee
levels, but for future adjustments that were put into law only
5 months ago. Now DOD wants to go change those again.
We have accepted mail-order refill requirements into high
pharmacy co-pays. We accept higher rates for TRICARE prime,
higher co-pays for pharmacy co-pays, and statutory adjustments
to future increases. This year, DOD will drop nearly 170,000
beneficiaries from TRICARE prime. All those changes will save
DOD billions of dollars. Now, we think it is time to hold DOD
leaders accountable for developing management efficiencies that
do not impact beneficiary fees or delivery of quality care.
That concludes my statement. Thank you very much for your
consideration.
[The prepared statement of The Military Coalition follows:]

Prepared Statement by the Military Coalition

Madam chair and distinguished members of the subcommittee, on
behalf of The Military Coalition (TMC), a consortium of nationally
prominent uniformed services and veterans' organizations, we are
grateful to the committee for this opportunity to express our views
concerning issues affecting the uniformed services community. This
statement for the record provides the collective views of the following
military and veterans' organizations, which represent approximately 5.5
million current and former members of the 7 uniformed services, plus
their families and survivors.

Air Force Association
Air Force Sergeants Association
Air Force Women Officers Associated
AMVETS (American Veterans)
Army Aviation Association of America
Association of Military Surgeons of the United States
Association of the U.S. Army
Association of the U.S. Navy
Chief Warrant Officer and Warrant Officer Association, U.S.
Coast Guard
Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health
Service, Inc.
Fleet Reserve Association
Gold Star Wives of America, Inc.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America
Marine Corps League
Marine Corps Reserve Association
Military Chaplains Association of the United States of America
Military Officers Association of America
Military Order of the Purple Heart
National Association for Uniformed Services
National Guard Association of the United States
National Military Family Association
Naval Enlisted Reserve Association
Noncommissioned Officers Association
Reserve Officers Association
Society of Medical Consultants to the Armed Forces
The Retired Enlisted Association
U.S. Army Warrant Officers Association
U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Vietnam Veterans of America
Wounded Warrior Project

The Military Coalition, Inc. does not receive any grants or
contracts from the Federal Government.

Executive Summary

MILITARY PERSONNEL AND HEALTHCARE COSTS IN PERSPECTIVE

For decades, critics have claimed military personnel costs are
``rising out of control'' and, if left unchecked, would consume future
defense budgets. But those charges have proved unfounded.

Defense spending as a percentage of GDP during wartime
is much lower than during past conflicts
Personnel and healthcare costs today are the same
share of the defense budget today (less than one-third) that
they've been for more than 30 years
Personnel/health costs are a lower share of the budget
for DOD than for many most-similar corporations (61 percent for
UPS, 43 percent for FedEx, and 31+ percent for Southwest
Airlines)
At 10 percent of the defense budget, DOD healthcare
costs are a bargain compared to the health cost share of the
Federal budget (23 percent), the average State budget (22
percent), household discretionary spending (16 percent) and GDP
(16 percent)
Far from ``exploding out of control,'' Pentagon
documents show military healthcare account surpluses have been
raided to fund other programs ($708 million diverted in fiscal
year 2012 and total of nearly $2.5 billion over last 3 years)
Reprogramming document acknowledged retiree health
costs went down 2.5 percent for fiscal year 2012
DOD projections of future defense health care costs
have declined steadily for the last 3 years, and will decline
further based on recent law/policy changes
Claims of ``cost growth since 2001'' overemphasize 10-
year-old data. Growth peaked in 2002-2003 with the enactment of
TRICARE For Life, and has been declining fairly steadily ever
since. It was less than 1 percent for fiscal year 2012, and
will decline further in the future based on administrative and
statutory changes taking effect in fiscal year 2013
Rather than seeking to raise beneficiary costs,
defense leaders should be held accountable for improving
efficiency and consolidating redundant, counterproductive
health systems. Options to reduce costs include:
Establish a single authority over the three separate
military systems and multiple contractors that now compete
counterproductively for budget share
Stop ignoring multiple studies urging consolidation of
healthcare budget and delivery
Revamp an archaic healthcare contracting system that
doesn't obtain the best value
Restructure accounting and record systems that cannot
be validated
Optimize use of military treatment facilities (25
percent cheaper but 27 percent underused)
Eliminate pre-authorization requirement that
incentivizes emergency room visits over far-less-costly urgent
care clinics
Establish coordinated care programs for all
beneficiaries with chronic conditions
Decades of dire predictions about ``unaffordable''
personnel costs have proved consistently wrong
The only times the All-Volunteer Force has been
jeopardized have been due to budget-driven benefit cuts failed
to offset the extraordinary demands and sacrifices of a service
career
Congress has consistently recognized the cost of
sustaining the current military career incentive package is far
more acceptable and affordable than the alternative
For all of these reasons, TMC does not support the
additional array of proposed TRICARE fee increases proposed in
the fiscal year 2014 defense budget. In view of fee increases
and statutory and policy benefit limitations already imposed in
2011 and 2012, TMC believes it is time to hold Defense
officials accountable to implement efficiencies that don't
affect fees or care.

CURRENTLY SERVING ISSUES

Force Levels
Ensure adequate personnel strengths and associated
funding in order to meet national security strategy
requirements and dwell time needs.

Compensation
Sustain fully-comparable annual military pay raises
(1.8 percent for 2014) based on the Employment Cost Index as
specified in current law.

Family Readiness and Base Support
Ensure sustainment of Family Readiness and Support
programs and base facilities
Continue support for child care needs of the highly
deployable, operational total force community
Press the Defense Department to implement flexible
spending accounts to enable military families to pay health
care and child care expenses with pre-tax dollars
Maintain much-needed supplemental funding authority
for schools impacted by large populations of military students
Encourage greater military spouse and surviving spouse
educational and career opportunities, and ensure existing
programs are accessible, effective, and meet the needs of all
military spouses
Direct a DOD report on Family Support and Readiness
programs as well as MWR category programs to include a list of
all programs, an assessment of their effectiveness, and
recommended policy changes

DOD Resale Operations
Oppose attempts to consolidate or curtail DOD resale
systems in ways that would reduce their value to patrons
Sustain necessary appropriated funds to support the
commissary system and military exchanges

Military Sexual Trauma
Sustain rigorous oversight to ensure the health,
safety, readiness, and confidentiality of military personnel
who have been victims of sexual assault.

HEALTHCARE ISSUES

Service vs. Beneficiary Needs
Hold Defense leaders accountable for their own
leadership, oversight, and efficiency failures instead of
simply seeking to shift more costs to beneficiaries
DOD to pursue any and all options to improve efficient
and cost-effective care delivery in ways that do not
disadvantage beneficiaries

Military vs. Civilian Cash Fees Is ``Apple to Orange'' Comparison
Reject simple comparisons of military-to-civilian cash
healthcare fees as grossly devaluing career servicemembers' and
families' extraordinarily steep nonmonetary contributions
through decades of service and sacrifice.

DOD-VA Oversight, Accountability and Integration
Appoint the Deputy Secretaries of DOD and VA as co-
chairs of the Joint Executive Council (JEC)
Hold joint hearings with the Veterans Affairs
Committee addressing the Joint Executive Council's (JEC)
effectiveness in daily oversight, management, collaboration,
and coordination of the Departments' wounded warrior programs
Continue to press for creation and implementation of a
joint, bi-directional electronic medical record
Provide permanent funding, staffing, and
accountability for congressionally mandated Defense Centers of
Excellence and associated mental-behavioral health, suicide
prevention, alcohol and substance abuse, caregiver, respite,
and other medical and non-medical programs
Continue aggressive oversight of the Integrated
Disability Evaluation and legacy disability evaluations systems
to ensure preservation of the 30-percent threshold for medical
retirement, consistency and uniformity of policies, ratings,
legal assistance, benefits, and transitional services Defense-
wide
Standardize terminology, definitions, eligibility
criteria, roles and responsibilities around policies, programs,
services, and administration of medical and non-medical support
(e.g., recovering warrior categories, all categories of case
managers, caregiver support and benefits, power of attorney,
and a comprehensive recovery plan)
Standardize the coordination of DOD-VA care, treatment
and benefits of all Departments' case management programs, and
medical and non-medical programs and services

Continuity of Health Care
Secure the same level of payments, support and
benefits for all uniformed services' wounded, ill, or injured
in the line of duty
Create a standardized curriculum and training programs
for all DOD-VA mental-behavioral health providers and
educational institutions in the diagnosis and treatment of PTS/
PTSD/TBI
Increase and improve the quality and timeliness of
access to initial and follow-on appointments, treatment and
services in DOD-VA systems, ensuring seamless transition of
mental-behavioral health services are maintained for wounded,
ill, and injured, their families and caregivers across the
Departments
Ensure Guard and Reserve members have adequate access
and treatment in the DOD and VA health systems for Post-
Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury following
separation from active duty service in a theatre of operations

Mental Health Care Engagement and Destigmatization
Continue efforts to promote engagement in and
destigmatization of mental health care
Continue to press for research on most effective
treatments, coordination of programs, and measures of efficacy.

DOD-VA Integrated Disability Evaluation/Legacy Systems (IDES)
Preserve the statutory 30 percent disability threshold
for medical retirement in order to provide lifetime TRICARE
coverage for those who are injured while on active duty
Reform the DOD disability retirement system to require
inclusion of all unfitting conditions and accepting the VA's
``service-connected'' rating
Ensure any restructure of the DOD and VA disability
and compensation systems does not inadvertently reduce
compensation levels for disabled servicemembers
Eliminate distinctions between disabilities incurred
in combat vs. non-combat when determining benefits eligibility
for retirement
Tightening the Integrated Disability Evaluation System
(IDES) (as recommended by the Recovering Warrior Task Force
(RWTF)) to include:

Create a ``joint'' formal physical evaluation
board in order to standardize disability ratings by
each of the Services
Mandate in policy that all servicemembers
entering into a Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) be
contacted by the MEB outreach lawyer to help navigate
the board process upon notification that a narrative
summary will be completed

Pursue improvements in identifying and properly
boarding (medical evaluation and physical evaluation boards)
Guard and Reserve members (to include the IRR) who have been
wounded or incurred injuries or illnesses while activated but
have had their conditions manifest or worsen post deactivation
such as establishing policies that allow for the rapid issuance
of title 10 orders to affected Reserve component (as
recommended by the RWTF)
Seek legislation to eliminate legacy DES so that that
servicemembers who are placed on the Temporary Disability
Retirement List (TDRL) are afforded the opportunity to have the
VA rate their disability by the IDES upon their removal from
the TDRL
Revise the VA schedule for rating disabilities (VASRD)
to improve the care and treatment of those wounded, ill, and
injured, especially those diagnosed with PTSD and TBI
Bar the designation of disabling conditions as
``existing prior to service'' for servicemembers who have been
deployed to a combat zone

Caregiver/Family Support Services
Ensure wounded, ill, and injured families and
caregivers are an integral part of the rehabilitation and
recovery team and be included in and educated about medical
care and treatment, disability evaluation system processes,
development and implementation of the comprehensive recovery
plan, and receive DOD-VA support and guidance throughout the
process
Provide enhanced training of DOD and VA medical and
support staff on the vital importance of involving and
informing designated caregivers in treatment of and
communication with severely wounded, ill, and injured personnel
Provide health and respite care for non-dependent
caregivers (e.g., parents and siblings) who have had to
sacrifice their own employment and health coverage while the
injured member remains on active duty, commensurate with what
the VA authorizes for eligible caregivers of medically retired
or separated members
Ensure consistency of DOD and VA caregiver benefits to
ensure seamless transition from DOD to VA programs
Extend eligibility for residence in on-base housing
for up to 1 year for medically retired and severely wounded,
ill, and injured members and their families, or until the
servicemember receives a VA disability rating, whichever is
longer

Guard and Reserve Health Care
Authorize TRICARE for early Reserve retirees who are
in receipt of retired pay prior to age 60
Authorize premium-based TRICARE coverage for members
of the Individual Ready Reserve after being called to active
service for a cumulative period of at least 12 months
Permit employers to pay TRS premiums for reservist-
employees as a bottom-line incentive for hiring and retaining
them
Authorize an option for the government to subsidize
continuation of a civilian employer's family coverage during
periods of activation, similar to FEHBP coverage for activated
Guard-Reserve employees of Federal agencies
Extend corrective dental care following return from a
call-up to ensure G-R members meet dental readiness standards
Allow eligibility in Continued Health Care Benefits
Program for selected reservists who are voluntarily separating
and subject to disenrollment from TRS
Allow beneficiaries of the FEHBP who are Selected
reservists the option of participating in TRICARE Reserve
Select
Improve the pre- and post-deployment health assessment
program to address a range of mental/behavioral health issues
such as substance abuse and suicide
Allow for access to a full range of evidenced-based
care and services for Reserve component members and their
families, particularly during periods of reintegration back
into the community

Special Needs Families
Authorize ABA coverage as a permanent benefit under
the TRICARE basic program;
Include eligibility to other developmental
disabilities that may benefit from ABA;
Ensure permanent funding for this critical therapy;
and
Ensure any further adjustments to TRICARE eligibility
apply equally to all seven uniformed services.

Additional TRICARE Prime Issues
Authorize beneficiaries affected by Prime Service Area
changes to be grandfathered in their present arrangement until
they either relocate or change their current primary care
provider
Require reports from DOD and the managed care support
contractors on actions being taken to ensure those affected by
the Prime Service Area reductions will be able to maintain
continuity of care from their existing provider or receive an
adequate selection of new potential providers
Require increased DOD efforts to ensure electronic
health record consistency between MTFs and purchased care
sectors and provide beneficiaries with information to assist in
informed decisionmaking

Additional TRICARE Standard Issues
Bar any further increase in the TRICARE Standard
inpatient copay for the foreseeable future
Insist on immediate delivery of an adequacy threshold
for provider participation, below which additional action is
required to improve such participation to meet the threshold
Require a specific report on provider participation
adequacy in the localities where Prime Service Areas will be
discontinued under the new TRICARE contracts
Increase locator support to TRICARE Standard
beneficiaries seeking providers who will accept new Standard
patients, particularly for primary care and mental health
specialties

NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE ISSUES

Operational Reserve Retention and Retirement Reform
Eliminate the fiscal year limitation which effectively
denies full early retirement credit for active duty tours that
span the start of a fiscal year (October 1)
Modernize the Reserve retirement system to incentivize
continued service beyond 20 years and provide fair recognition
of increased requirements for active duty service
Authorize early retirement credit for all active duty
tours of at least 90 days, retroactive to September 11, 2001

Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program
Immediately implement the 2-year pilot for providing
TAP services `outside the gate' of active duty bases and
broader expansion as soon as possible.
Hold oversight hearings and direct additional
improvements in coordination, collaboration and consistency of
Yellow Ribbon services between States.

Reserve Compensation System
Credit all inactive duty training points earned
annually toward Reserve retirement
Authorize parity in special incentive pay for career
enlisted/officer special aviation incentive pay, diving special
duty pay, and pro-pay for Reserve component medical
professionals
Authorize recalculation of retirement points after 1
year of activation

The 2010 NDAA authorized certain flag officers
to recalculate retirement pay after 1 year of active
duty, and we recommend this authority be extended to
all ranks

Guard/Reserve GI Bill
Work with the Veterans Affairs Committee to restore
basic Reserve Montgomery GI Bill benefits for initially joining
the Selected Reserve to the historic benchmark of 47-50 percent
of the active duty MGIB
Integrate Reserve MGIB benefits currently in title 10
with active duty veteran educational benefit programs under
title 38
Enact academic protections for mobilized Guard and
Reserve students, including refund guarantees

Guard/Reserve Family Support Programs
Review the adequacy of programs to meet the special
information and support needs of families of individual Reserve
augmentees or those who are geographically dispersed
Foster programs among military and community leaders
to support servicemembers and families during all phases of
deployments
Provide preventive counseling services for
servicemembers and families
Authorize child care for family readiness group
meetings and drill time and respite care during deployments
Improve the joint family readiness program to
facilitate understanding and sharing of information between all
family members

RETIREE ISSUES

Military Retirement Reform
Oppose any initiative that would ``civilianize'' the
military retirement system, ignore the lessons of the ill-fated
REDUX initiative, and inadequately recognize the unique and
extraordinary demands and sacrifices inherent in a military
career.

Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs)
Reject the chained CPI as a basis for adjusting
military retired pay
Ensure the continued fulfillment of congressional COLA
intent, as expressed in House National Security Committee Print
of title 37, U.S.C.: ``to provide every military retired member
the same purchasing power of the retired pay to which he was
entitled at the time of retirement [and ensure it is] not, at
any time in the future . . . eroded by subsequent increases in
consumer prices''
Ensure equal treatment of all uniformed service
personnel, to include NOAA/USPHS/USCG personnel, with respect
to any retirement/COLA legislation

Concurrent Receipt
Continue seeking to expand Concurrent Retirement and
Disability Payments (CRDP) to disabled retirees not eligible
under the current statute, with first priority for vesting of
earned retirement credit for Chapter 61 retirees with less than
20 years of service.

Fair Treatment for Servicemembers Affected by Force Reductions
Enact temporary legislation that would allow members
separated during periods of significant force reductions to
deposit part or all of their involuntary separation pay or
voluntary separation pay into their TSP account.

SURVIVOR ISSUES

SBP-DIC Offset
Continue pursuing ways to repeal the SBP-DIC offset
Authorize SBP annuities to be placed into a Special
Needs Trust for permanently disabled survivors who otherwise
lose eligibility for State programs because of means testing
Reduce the age for paid-up SBP to age 67 for those who
joined the military at age 17, 18, or 19
Reinstate SBP annuities to survivors who transfer
benefits to their children when the children reach majority, or
when a subsequent remarriage ends in death or divorce

Final Retired Paycheck
Authorize survivors of retired members to retain the
final month's retired pay for the month in which the retiree
dies.

INTRODUCTION

Mr. Chairman, The Military Coalition thanks you and the entire
subcommittee for your exceptionally strong support of our Active Duty,
Guard, Reserve, retired members, and veterans of the uniformed
services, their families and survivors. Your efforts have had an
enormously positive impact in the lives of the entire uniformed
services community.
We specifically wish to thank the committee for its good actions in
adopting the 2012 NDAA provisions recognizing that healthcare is an
earned benefit for service rendered during a lengthy career and in
securing more reasonable TRICARE pharmacy co-pay adjustments.
We are truly grateful for your unwavering commitment to men and
women who defend our fine nation.
We appreciate that personnel issues have been a top priority for
Congress in the past few years. There have been difficult choices
associated with bolstering a weak economy and addressing record-
breaking budget deficits. The past few years have been exceptionally
arduous, with our military winding down operations in Afghanistan.
Despite extraordinary demands, men and women in uniform are still
answering the call--thanks in no small measure to the subcommittee's
strong and consistent support--but only at the cost of ever-greater
personal sacrifices. We have seen dramatic increases in suicide rates
which reflect the continued stress placed on servicemembers and their
families. In addition, there are reports that the military divorce
rates are at the highest level since 1999.

MILITARY PERSONNEL AND HEALTHCARE COST OVERVIEW

For decades, critics have claimed military personnel costs are
``rising out of control'' and, if left unchecked, would ``consume
future defense budgets.'' They've attacked pay, retirement, health
care, and other military benefits in hopes of diverting funds to
hardware or non-defense programs.
But hard experience proved such claims wrong in the past--and
they're still wrong today.
Check the Record, Not Misleading Projections
Over the past 50 years, the defense budget has consumed a
progressively smaller share of Federal outlays.
In 1962, defense consumed nearly 47 percent of Federal outlays;
today it's at its smallest share in 50 years and will drop further--
below 12.5 percent--by 2017.
Today's wartime share of GDP is lower than for any past conflict,
as shown in the following chart.

Some argue that's all the more reason to worry about the rising
cost of military people programs.
Last year, Defense and service leaders decried military personnel
and health costs as consuming about roughly one-third of the defense
budget--implying this represents a dramatic increase.
The truth is the same one-third of the defense budget has gone to
personnel and health care costs for the last 30 years. These programs
are no more unaffordable now than in the past.

Who Says One-Third Is Too Much?
Is it good or bad if these costs are one-third of a big
organization's annual budget? There's no civilian counterpart to the
military, but let's consider corporations with big air fleets.
Personnel costs comprise:

61 percent of United Parcel Service's budget.
43 percent of FedEx's budget.
31 percent of operating revenue (which includes
profit, so the percentage of expenditures is higher) for
Southwest Airlines--recognized as among the most cost-efficient
air carriers.
Military Health Costs Are NOT ``Eating DOD Alive''
Defense leaders complain these costs approach 10 percent of the
(non-war) defense budget.
But health costs comprise:

23 percent of the Federal budget
22 percent of the average State budget
16 percent of household discretionary spending
16 percent of U.S. Gross Domestic Product

Put in proper context, DOD's 10 percent is a bargain.
In fact, Pentagon documents show DOD has used the military
healthcare account as a ``cash cow'' to fund other programs.

Diverted $708 million surplus in fiscal year 2012
Diverted total of nearly $2.5 billion over fiscal year
2010-2012
Fiscal year 2012 reprogramming request acknowledged
retiree health costs went down 2.5 percent
Budget projections have reduced outyear cost estimates
3 years in a row
Changes included in National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2013 will reduce them even further

``Cost Growth Since 2000/2001'' Is a Red Herring
Citing such statistics implies personnel/health costs in 2001
represented a reasonable standard. Nothing could be farther from the
truth.
In fact, cutbacks in pay, healthcare, and retirement throughout the
1980s and 1990s caused retention problems in the late 1990s that
Congress has worked hard to fix over the last decade.
Charting growth from a starting point in 2000 or 2001
inappropriately inflates apparent trends by including one-time changes
made early last decade that won't be repeated in the future.
The chart below illustrates how citing health cost growth since
2001 is misleading. The reality is that cost trends have moderated
significantly in more recent years, and that is far more important for
projecting future trends than what happened more than a decade ago.

The rate of health cost change will only decline further in the
outyears, due to:

Significant pharmacy copay increases starting this
year
Significant savings from requiring mandatory mail-
order/military pharmacy refills of maintenance medications for
Medicare-eligible beneficiaries starting this year
Savings associated with shrinking TRICARE Prime
service areas.

The bottom line: the ``military health cost growth since 2001''
argument is based on 10-year old data that's irrelevant to the future.
The Real Health Cost Issue: Inefficiency, Oversight Failures
Rather than seeking to blame beneficiaries (and raise
beneficiaries' costs), defense leaders should focus on fulfilling their
responsibilities to provide efficient oversight of DOD health programs.
They should be held accountable for correcting real sources of
excess costs - fixing known problems and consolidating redundant,
counterproductive health systems.
Options to reduce excess costs include:

Establish a single authority over the three separate
military systems and multiple contractors that now compete
counterproductively for budget share
Stop ignoring the plethora of studies since 1947 which
have consistently recommended the consolidation of medical
budget oversight and execution
Revamp an archaic healthcare contracting system which
doesn't obtain the best value
Restructure accounting and record systems that cannot
be validated
Optimize the use of military treatment facilities,
which are 25 percent less costly but 27 percent underutilized
Eliminate pre-authorization requirement that
incentivizes emergency room visits over far-less-costly urgent
care clinics
Establish coordinated care programs for all
beneficiaries with chronic conditions

It's important to recognize that the military's healthcare system
is built for readiness and service convenience, not for the
beneficiary's needs.
When the Services deploy or cut medical professionals,
beneficiaries are forced into costly civilian care. Attempting to shift
the costs of readiness or inefficiencies onto the beneficiaries is just
simply wrong.
For all of these reasons, TMC does not support the additional array
of proposed TRICARE fee increases proposed in the fiscal year 2014
defense budget. In view of fee increases and statutory and policy
benefit limitations already imposed in 2011 and 2012, TMC believes it
is time to hold Defense officials accountable to implement efficiencies
that don't affect fees or delivery of quality care.
Military Retirement: Neither Unfair nor Unaffordable
Whenever military budgets get tight, analysts, task forces and
commissions come forth proposing military retirement cutbacks. Past
defense leaders asserted such efforts were detrimental to retention and
readiness. In contrast, today's senior defense leaders have voiced
support for significant changes.
Former Secretary of Defense Gates criticized the 20-year retirement
system as ``unfair'' to those who leave service before that point,
citing the vesting options provided to civilian workers. He directed
the Defense Business Board (DBB) to identify alternative options.
In his final appearance before the Senate, Gates endorsed an early
vesting program, noting, ``70 to 80 percent of the force does not stay
until retirement but leaves with nothing.''
Yet there is no support for spending more money on military
retirement during budget-cutting times. So vesting options proposed to
date, including those of the DBB and the 11th Quadrennial Review of
Military Compensation (QRMC)--would fund that new benefit by imposing
dramatic benefit cuts for the 17 percent who complete full careers in
uniform.
There are good reasons only 17 percent of service entrants are
willing to pursue a military career. The vast majority of Americans are
unwilling to accept those conditions for even one tour of duty, let
alone 20 or 30 years.
Both the DBB and QRMC proposals ignore the hard lessons of previous
experiences with retirement cuts.
Budget pressures prompted Congress in 1986 to pass changes reducing
the 20-year retired pay value by 25 percent for post-1986 entrants.
At the time, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger adamantly opposed
the so-called ``REDUX'' change, warning Congress it inevitably would
undermine retention and readiness. That prediction proved true a decade
later, and Congress repealed REDUX in 1999.
Stunningly, the cuts to career military retirement benefits
proposed by both the DBB and QRMC are vastly more severe than the
retention-killing REDUX cuts.
The powerful pull of the 20-year retirement system is the main
reason retention hasn't imploded over the past decade-plus of
unprecedented wartime strains on troops and families.
If one tried to build a plan to slash career retention, it's hard
to conceive a better way than the DBB or QRMC proposals.
Advocates for these draconian initiatives sugarcoat them by saying
they wouldn't affect anyone currently serving and would apply only to
new entrants. But that was true of the REDUX system, and we know how
that turned out.
The ``Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization
Commission'' mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2013 includes a ``grandfather'' clause to exempt currently
serving personnel from recommended reforms.
But grandfathering the current force only lets leaders evade
responsibility for their ill-conceived actions by deferring the
inevitable retention disaster for a decade and dumping the mess on
their successors.
Military retirement critics have claimed for decades the current
unique plan is unaffordable and unsustainable.
Almost 35 years ago, the 1978 report of the President's Commission
on Military Compensation included this extract from the minority report
of Commissioner Lt. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., USAF (Ret.):

``Unfortunately, the commission has embraced the myth that
retirement costs will soon rise so high--from $10 billion this
year to $30 billion in the year 2000--as to become an
unacceptable and unfair burden on the American taxpayer.
``Such assertions fail to point out that by using the same
assumptions, today's average family income of $10,000 will be
$36,000 in the year 2000. The average cost of a home will be
$171,000; a compact automobile will cost $17,000; and the
overall U.S. budget will have increased from $500 billion to
some amount in the trillions.''

Such numbers seem quaint today, but they make two telling points.
First, long-term projections that now appear dire often prove far
less so as years pass.
Second, after budget-driven retirement cuts in 1986 undermined
retention, Congress found restoring the current system more affordable
than continued retention and readiness shortfalls.
DBB leaders acknowledged they didn't consider the potential
retention effects of their plan.
During 2012 testimony before Congress, defense witnesses
acknowledged the DBB proposal would hurt retention--and went a step
further.
Dr. Jo Ann Rooney, principal deputy undersecretary for Personnel
and Readiness, testified the current military retirement system is
``neither unaffordable, nor spiraling out of control,'' noting
retirement costs as a percentage of pay have remained reasonably
constant.
Why the Military Requires Unique Incentives for Career Service
A military career entails unique and arduous service conditions few
other Americans are willing to endure for 20 to 30 years, including:

Hazardous duty
Service in foreign, often hostile environments
Frequent/extended forced family separations
Long duty hours without extra pay
Frequent forced relocations
Disruption of spousal career/earnings
Disruption of children's schooling
Inadequate expense reimbursement
``Up or out'' promotion system
Forced mid-life career change
Forfeiture of personal freedoms other Americans take
for granted

Keeping Faith with the All-Volunteer Force
No Federal obligation is more important than protecting national
security. The most important element of national security is
sustainment of a dedicated, top-quality career military force, but only
a fraction of 1 percent of our population is willing to endure a single
term of service, let alone a full career.
The past decade of unprecedented demands and sacrifices highlight
how radically different military service conditions are from civilian
life.
Yet budget critics persist in asserting military pay, retirement,
and health care benefits are unsustainable and should be slashed to
resemble civilian benefit packages.
Decades of dire predictions about ``unaffordable'' personnel costs
have proved consistently wrong.
Existing career incentives have sustained a strong national defense
through more severe and protracted wartime conditions then even the
strongest volunteer-force proponents thought it could survive.
The only times the All-Volunteer Force has been jeopardized have
been due to budget-driven cutbacks in the military compensation package
that gave insufficient weight to the extraordinary demands and
sacrifices inherent in a service career.
Congress has consistently recognized the cost of sustaining the
current military career incentive package is far more acceptable and
affordable than the alternative.
America will remain the world's greatest power only as long as it
continues to fulfill its reciprocal obligation to the only weapon
system that has never let our country down--our extraordinarily
dedicated, top-quality, all-volunteer career force.
The coalition offers the following recommendations on what must be
done to meet this essential obligation.

CURRENTLY SERVING ISSUES

Force Levels
We are thankful Congress revised the permanent active duty end
strength minimum levels in the 2013 NDAA and placed an annual
limitation on end strength reductions for both the Army and Marines.
We certainly understand why DOD is reducing force levels by 110,000
as operations wind down in Afghanistan and that the ongoing fiscal
crisis requires significant budget reductions. However, the coalition's
believes continued care must be taken to ensure force reductions do not
create additional burdens on our servicemembers and their families.
For the last decade, servicemembers and their families have endured
unprecedented sacrifices often having less than a year at home before
returning for another year in combat. Both Defense and Service leaders
have acknowledged that minimum dwell time should be at least 2 years at
home after a year deployment. Stress indicators are alarming as we see
increases in divorces, suicide rates, and other symptoms. Moreover the
minimum dwell time goal has yet to be attained for all deploying
servicemembers.
Concurrently, we believe that the Nation needs to sustain a surge
capacity for unexpected contingencies and retaining combat experience
by encouraging departing veterans to join the Guard and Reserve. On
September 10, 2001 no one in Washington anticipated the following
decade would find us engaged in two major and protracted wars.
Cutting Guard/Reserve Forces as well as Active Forces will make
achieving these goals even more difficult.
Additionally, providing a competitive compensation and benefits
package is essential for recruiting and maintaining a quality All-
Volunteer Force. Funding needed military schools and indexed housing
allowances and support services are powerful incentives for retaining
skilled and experienced personnel, a concern we all share in dealing
with an extended national crisis.
The coalition urges the subcommittee to ensure adequate personnel
strengths and associated funding in order to meet national security
strategy requirements and dwell time needs.

Compensation
The coalition was pleased that Congress approved an active duty 1.7
percent pay raise in the 2013 NDAA which reflected the growth in
private sector pay, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics'
Employment Cost Index (ECI). Congress has made great strides to restore
military pay comparability over the past 13 years, including a
statutory change that explicitly ties military pay raises to ECI
growth.
However, the coalition is very concerned that many in the
administration and some Members of Congress are unaware of the history
of compensation including changes and associated unforeseen outcomes.
Moreover we are alarmed that some view these vital compensation
programs as a source of savings without regard to the impact they may
have on long term readiness in the All-Volunteer Force.
The coalition is particularly concerned about the administration's
proposal to cap the 2014 military pay raise at 1 percent, rather than
matching the ECI-based average American's 1.8 percent raise, as
required by current law.
History provides ample evidence that capping military raises is an
exceptionally slippery slope which has never ended well.
In the 1970s, a succession of annual pay raise caps contributed to
serious retention problems which were fixed approving two large
``catch-up'' raises in 1981 and 1982. But that lesson was quickly
forgotten.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, budget problems led to regular
capping of military pay raises below private sector pay growth,
eventually accumulating a ``pay comparability gap'' which peaked at
13.5 percent in 1998-1999, and again contributed significantly to
serious retention problems.
Now that erosion of pay and associated retention-related problems
have abated, there are renewed calls to cut back on military raises,
create either a new comparability standard, or substitute more bonuses
for pay raises in the interests of deficit reduction.
The coalition believes such proposals are exceptionally short-
sighted in light of the extensive negative past experience with
military pay raise caps.
History shows that, once military pay raise caps are implemented,
the tendency has been to continue them until retention problems arise
which then have to be addressed through significant pay raise plus-ups.
The purpose of sustaining pay comparability through both good times
and bad is to prevent retention and readiness problems from occurring.
This avoids going through endless cycles of causing problems and then
repairing them.
Additionally, the Pentagon has been advocating for a new
comparability standard under which each pay and longevity cell would
represent the 70th percentile of compensation for similarly-educated
civilians.
A 2010 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report asserted that,
considering adjustments in housing allowances, many military people
actually are paid somewhat more than their civilian counterparts in
terms of Regular Military Compensation (RMC), composed of basic pay,
food and housing allowances, and the tax advantage that accrues because
the allowances are tax-free.
The coalition believes the CBO assertions are fundamentally flawed
for three distinct reasons.
First, the RMC concept was developed in the 1960s, when all
servicemembers received the same allowances, regardless of location,
and the allowances were arbitrarily established. Congress has since
transformed the allowances into reimbursements for actual food costs
and for median locality-based housing costs. Under the RMC
comparability concept, a year in which taxes increase and average
housing allowances rise (e.g., based on growth in high-cost areas)
could perversely require a cut in basic pay to restore comparability.
The coalition believes it would be difficult for Congress to
explain to troops why their pay raises should be reduced because their
taxes are rising.
Second, the coalition is not convinced that the civilian comparison
cohort or percentile comparison points as proposed by DOD are
appropriate since the military:

Recruits from the top half of the civilian aptitude
population;
Finds that only about 25 percent of America's youth
qualify for entry;
Requires career-long education and training
advancement; and
Enforces a competitive ``up-or-out'' promotion system
to ensure progressive quality enhancements among those with
longer service.

Third, it is essential to recognize that compensation is not simply
the amount one is paid. It is pay divided by what's required of the
recipient to earn that pay. If pay increases 25 percent but 100 percent
more sacrifice is required to earn it, that's not a pay raise.
In that context, today's conditions of service are far more arduous
than anything envisioned 40 years ago when the All-Volunteer Force was
created. Those creators believed a protracted war would require
reinstitution of the draft.
Moreover, a fundamental requirement for any pay comparability
standard is that it should be transparent and understandable by all.
The coalition has sought, but has never been provided by DOD, any data
on what civilian comparison cohort was selected and why, and what
rationale was used to establish a specific percentile comparison point.
The coalition agrees with the approach Congress has consistently
taken--that the best comparability measure is a comparison of the
military basic pay raise percentage with the percentage growth private
sector pay, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment
Cost Index (ECI). The government uses the ECI for every other measure
of private pay growth, and it's transparent to government leaders and
servicemembers alike.
The coalition urges the subcommittee to sustain fully-comparable
annual military pay raises (1.8 percent for 2014) based on the ECI as
specified in current law.

Family Readiness and Base Support
A fully funded, robust family readiness program continues to be
crucial to overall readiness of our military, especially with the
demands of frequent and extended deployments.
Resource shortfalls continue to plague basic installation support
programs. At a time when families are dealing with continuing
deployments, they often are being asked to do without in other
important areas.
Yet the Defense Department has acknowledged that sequestration has
placed family support programs at even greater risk
The coalition urges the subcommittee to continue to press the
Defense Department to exercise its authority to establish flexible
spending accounts (FSAs) for servicemembers so they can participate in
the same pre-tax program available to all other Federal employees for
their out-of-pocket health and dependent care expenses.
The coalition was especially pleased that the subcommittee secured
a plus-up in Impact Aid in the 2013 NDAA. Providing appropriate and
timely funding of Impact Aid is critical to ensuring quality education
for military children regardless of where they live.
The coalition urges the subcommittee to:

Ensure sustainment of Family Readiness and Support
programs and base facilities
Continue support for child care needs of the highly
deployable, operational total force community
Continue pressing the Defense Department to implement
flexible spending accounts to enable military families to pay
health care and child care expenses with pre-tax dollars
Continue much-needed supplemental funding authority to
schools impacted by large populations of military students
Encourage greater military spouse and surviving spouse
educational and career opportunities, and ensure existing
programs are accessible, effective, and meeting the needs of
all military spouses
Direct a DOD report on Family Support and Readiness
programs as well as MWR category programs to include a list of
all programs, an assessment of their effectiveness, and
recommended policy changes

DOD Resale Operations
The Military Coalition strongly believes military commissary,
exchange and Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs contribute
significantly to a strong national defense by sustaining morale and
quality of life for military beneficiaries both within the United
States and around the globe.
The coalition is very concerned about initiatives to curtail
appropriated fund support for these activities.
The resale system has proven its efficiency, as the Defense
Commissary Agency (DeCA) alone has reduced its annual operating costs
by more than $700 million per year.
Repeated studies have shown that military commissaries provide $2
in compensation value to beneficiaries for each $1 of appropriated
funding. That constitutes a very significant retention ``bang for the
buck.''
Initiatives to civilianize commissaries or consolidate commissaries
and exchanges to achieve budget savings would come only at the expense
of devaluing their compensation and retention importance value for
military patrons.
The coalition urges the subcommittee to:

Oppose attempts to consolidate or curtail DOD resale
systems in ways that would reduce their value to patrons
Sustain necessary appropriated funds to support the
Commissary and Exchange

Military Sexual Trauma
With an estimated 19,000 yearly sexual assaults within the
military, low rates of report and prosecution, and the negative impact
of delayed treatment seeking for victims of MST, this is a pressing
issue. The coaltion is grateful for the subcommittee's positive action
on these issues.
Preventing sexual assaults demands the most forceful of efforts.
DOD has attempted to institute prevention strategies and improve
response mechanisms, and has reported on its progress. However, as
Congress recognized in imposing wide-ranging new measures through the
NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013, DOD has not gone far enough. Ultimately,
resolving this issue requires a culture change and forceful leadership,
and ongoing congressional oversight to sustain that effort. Instituting
policies that encourage and support victims through the reporting
process would be a first step in combating a culture of complacency.
Revising the military justice system to hold perpetrators accountable
would be another.
Additionally, with few victims of MST reporting their assault,
screening and treatment are needed areas of improvement. A January 2013
GAO report on DOD health care for servicewomen found health care for
victims of MST can vary by service, providers often aren't aware of
health care services available or what they have a responsibility to
provide, and DOD has no established guidance for treatment of injuries
stemming from MST. At a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing,
officials from DOD stated they are working on providing that guidance.
The coalition urges Congress to sustain rigorous oversight to
ensure the health, safety, readiness and confidentiality of military
personnel who have been victims of sexual assault.

HEALTH CARE ISSUES

Service vs. Beneficiary Needs &
Unlike civilian healthcare systems, the military health system is
built mainly to meet military readiness requirements rather than to
deliver needed care efficiently to beneficiaries.
Each Service maintains its unique facilities and systems to meet
its unique needs, and its primary mission is to sustain readiness by
keeping a healthy force and sustaining capacity to treat casualties
from military actions. That model is built neither for cost efficiency
nor beneficiary welfare.
When military forces deploy, the military medical force goes with
them, and that forces families, retirees and survivors to use the more
expensive civilian health care system in the absence of so many
uniformed health care providers. This shift in the venue of care and
the associated costs are completely out of beneficiary control.
These military-unique requirements have significantly increased
readiness costs. But those added costs were incurred for the
convenience of the military, not for any beneficiary consideration, and
beneficiaries should not be expected to bear any share of military-
driven costs--particularly in wartime.
The coalition strongly rejects Defense leaders' efforts to seek
dramatic beneficiary cost increases as a first cost-containment option
rather than meeting their own responsibilities to manage military
healthcare programs in a more cost-effective manner.
Instead of imposing higher fees on beneficiaries as the first
budget option, DOD leaders should be held accountable for the REAL
source of excess costs: failing to fix/consolidate redundant,
counterproductive DOD health systems. These failures have added
billions to defense health costs. Specifically:

Decades of GAO and other reports demonstrate DOD cost
accounting systems lack transparency and are unauditable
No single authority over three separate service health
systems and multiple contractors that compete for budget share
in self-defeating ways
DOD and service leaders ignore 19 studies by GAO, IG,
and others since 1947, all showing consolidation of policies,
medical budget oversight and execution would save billions
A last-century contract system undermines capacity for
best practices
Military treatment facilities are 25 percent less
costly--but 27 percent underutilized
DOD-sponsored reviews indicate more efficient
organization could cut health costs 30 percent without
affecting care or beneficiary costs
Incentives to providers are not sufficiently based on
quality-driven clinical outcomes that reward efficiency and
value
Referral requirements that add complexity and actually
inhibit timely delivery of needed and cost-effective care
should be eliminated (e.g., referral is not required for
emergency room visits, but is required for acute care
facilities, leading many TRICARE Prime beneficiaries to
routinely visit far-more-expensive emergency rooms on weekends
and evenings)
Current inflexible appointment systems inhibit
beneficiary access to care

These are only some of the examples demonstrating that effective
leadership, oversight, and reorganization of military healthcare
delivery could dramatically reduce defense health costs without
affecting care or costs for beneficiaries.
The coalition urges the subcommittee to hold Defense leaders
accountable for their own leadership, oversight, and efficiency
failures instead of simply seeking to shift more costs to
beneficiaries. Congress should direct DOD to pursue any and all options
to improve efficient and cost-effective care delivery in ways that do
not disadvantage beneficiaries.

Military vs. Civilian Cash Fees Is ``Apple to Orange'' Comparison
The coalition continues to object strongly to simple comparisons of
military vs. civilian cash fees. Such ``apple to orange'' comparisons
ignore most of the very great price career military members and
families pay for their coverage in retirement.
The unique package of military retirement benefits--of which a key
component is a superior health care benefit--is the primary offset
provided uniformed servicemembers for enduring a career of unique and
extraordinary sacrifices that few Americans are willing to accept for 1
year, let alone 20 or 30. It is an unusual and essential compensation
package a grateful Nation provides to the small fraction of the
population who agree to subordinate their personal and family lives to
protecting our national interests for so many years.
For all practical purposes, those who wear the uniform of their
country are enrolled in a 20- to 30-year prepayment plan that must be
completed to earn lifetime health coverage. Once that prepayment is
already rendered, the government cannot simply ignore it and focus only
on post-service cash payments--as if the past service, sacrifice, and
commitments had no value.
DOD and the Nation--as good-faith employers of the trusting members
from whom they demand such extraordinary commitment and sacrifice--have
a reciprocal health care obligation to retired servicemembers and their
families and survivors that far exceeds any civilian employers.
Until a few years ago, this was not a particular matter of concern,
as no Secretary had previously proposed dramatic fee increases.
The experience of the recent past--during which several Secretaries
proposed no increases and then a new Secretary proposed doubling,
tripling, and quadrupling various fees--has convinced the coalition
that current law leaves military beneficiaries excessively vulnerable
to the varying budgetary inclinations of the incumbent Secretary of
Defense.
It's true that many private sector employers are choosing to shift
more healthcare costs to their employees and retirees, and that's
causing many still-working military retirees to fall back on their
service-earned TRICARE coverage. Fallout from the recession has
reinforced this trend.
Efforts to paint this in a negative light (i.e., implying that
working-age military retirees with access to civilian employer plans
should be expected to use those instead of military coverage) belie
both the service-earned nature of the military coverage and the
longstanding healthcare promises the government aggressively employed
to induce their career service.
The coalition urges the subcommittee to continue to reject simple
comparisons of military-to-civilian cash healthcare fees as grossly
devaluing career servicemembers' and families' extraordinarily steep
nonmonetary contributions through decades of service and sacrifice.

WOUNDED, ILL, AND INJURED SERVICEMEMBER CARE

TMC believes strongly that Active DOD and VA collaboration is not
only essential to achieving seamless transition, such cooperation is
also critical to the long-term sustainability of our defense strategy,
the health and wellness of the All-Volunteer Force and the
acknowledgement of our country's commitment and moral obligation to the
long-term care and support for those who served.
As the military begins implementing its exit strategy in
Afghanistan, the coalition worries about the stability and viability of
the policies, programs, and services over the long haul intended to
care and support our wounded, ill, and injured and their families-
caregivers.
Thanks to the subcommittee's efforts, policy, program and service
enhancements have greatly enhanced system capacities and capabilities.
Since 2007, every National Defense Authorization Act has built upon
institutionalizing a seamless, unified and synchronized health systems-
approach for caring and supporting our wounded heroes and their
families.
The coalition commends DOD and VA for the milestones they have
achieved to make these systems better over the last decade. We believe
greater progress can be made if the Departments more aggressively
pursue collaborative partnerships with other government agencies and
non-government entities to drive down costs, support seamless
transition efforts, and improve continuity of medical care. Both
agencies have stated repeatedly that `they can't meet the needs of our
recovering warriors without the help of outside organizations'--yet,
DOD and VA continue to remain isolated and closed systems, not drawing
on or leveraging the very public-private partnerships they say they
want and need.
The challenges are many, and the policy and program issues remain
extremely complex and seemingly difficult to overcome. However, TMC
believes collaborative efforts of the administration, Congress, the
Pentagon and Military Services, and VA working together with military
and veteran organizations and beneficiaries can remove these barriers
and simplify the systems.

DOD-VA Oversight, Accountability, and Integration
Since the Pentagon and VA have relegated responsibility and
authority to lower levels of the agencies, TMC has seen an expansion of
uncertainty and confusion as to what the hundreds of wounded, ill, and
injured programs are doing, what the span of control is over these
programs, or what the return on investment, efficacy, or effectiveness
of these program in meeting the needs of a growing population of
military, veterans and families that are and will be accessing these
systems of care.
The limited authority of the Joint Executive Committee (JEC) and
visibility of these important issues are making it difficult for senior
official involvement and oversight on these matters and limiting the
Department's ability to fully establish a synchronized, uniform and
seamless approach to care and services. Additionally, significant
changes in the DOD civilian and military leadership and threats of
significant budget cuts make caring for our wounded warriors more
critical than ever before.
While many well-meaning and hard-working military personnel and
civilians are doing their best to keep pushing progress forward,
leadership, organization, and mission changes have left many leaders
frustrated with the process, insufficient resources, and struggling to
effect needed changes.
The coalition urges joint hearings by the Armed Services and
Veterans Affairs Committees to assess the effectiveness of current
seamless transition oversight efforts and systems and to solicit views
and recommendations from DOD, VA, the military services, and
nongovernmental organizations concerning how joint communication,
cooperation, and oversight could be improved.
The recent announcement that DOD and VA are backtracking on
development and implementation of a joint DOD-VA electronic medical
record is particularly discouraging, given the broad consensus on how
essential this joint record is to long-term success of seamless
transition efforts.
The coalition specifically recommends Congress:

Appoint the Deputy Secretaries of DOD and VA as co-
chairs of the Joint Executive Council (JEC)
Hold joint hearings with the Veterans Affairs
Committee addressing the Joint Executive Council's (JEC)
effectiveness in daily oversight, management, collaboration,
and coordination of the Departments' wounded warrior programs
Continue to press for creation and implementation of a
joint, bidirectional electronic medical record
Provide permanent funding, staffing, and
accountability for congressionally mandated Defense Centers of
Excellence and associated mental-behavioral health, suicide
prevention, alcohol and substance abuse, caregiver, respite,
and other medical and non-medical programs
Continue aggressive oversight of the Integrated
Disability Evaluation and legacy disability evaluations systems
to ensure preservation of the 30-percent threshold for medical
retirement, consistency and uniformity of policies, ratings,
legal assistance, benefits, and transitional services Defense-
wide
Standardize terminology, definitions, eligibility
criteria, roles and responsibilities around policies, programs,
services, and administration of medical and non-medical support
(e.g., recovering warrior categories, all categories of case
managers, caregiver support and benefits, power of attorney,
and a comprehensive recovery plan)
Standardize the coordination of DOD-VA care, treatment
and benefits of all Departments' case management programs, and
medical and non-medical programs and services

Continuity of Health Care
Transitioning between DOD and VA health care systems remains a
significant and one of the most challenging aspects of the care process
for wounded warriors and their families. The medical systems continue
to be overwhelming and confusing to those trying to navigate them,
especially during times when individuals are experiencing a great deal
of trauma and uncertainty about what the future holds at the same time
coping with the realities of their wounds and disabilities. Wounded
warriors and their families continue to be less satisfied with their
transition after separation or medical retirement and into longer-term
care and support in either the military or VA medical systems.
Additionally, systemic, cultural, and bureaucratic obstacles often
prevent the servicemember or veteran from receiving the continuity of
care they need to heal and have productive and a high level of quality
of life they so desperately need and desire. We hear regularly from
members who have experienced significant disruptions of care upon
leaving service, and frustration that many of the essential
rehabilitation services that were available on active duty are no
longer available to them in the military health system and/or VA, such
as behavioral health, cognitive rehabilitation services.
The coalition urges Congress to:

Secure the same level of payments, support and
benefits for all uniformed services' wounded, ill, or injured
(WII) in the line of duty
Create a standardized curriculum and training programs
for all DOD-VA mental-behavioral health providers and
educational institutions in the diagnosis and treatment of PTS/
PTSD/TBI
Increase and improve the quality and timeliness of
access to initial and follow-on appointments, treatment, and
services in DOD-VA systems, ensuring seamless transition of
mental-behavioral health services are maintained for wounded,
ill, and injured, their families and caregivers across the
Departments
Ensure Guard and Reserve members have adequate access
and treatment in the DOD and VA health systems for Post-
Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury following
separation from active duty service in a theatre of operations

Mental Health Care Engagement and Destigmatization
The rising suicide rate within the military suggests that a
majority of servicemembers are not seeking the help they need. Stigma
and organizational barriers to care are part of the reason why only a
small proportion of soldiers with psychological problems seek
professional help. Another deterrent is servicemembers' negative
perceptions about the utility of mental health care. To reach these
warriors, greater engagement is key.
Family support, peer outreach, and community partnerships have been
explored as methods to better engage servicemembers in needed care. The
recent Army Task Force on Behavioral Health report acknowledged the
need to reach out and involve family members. Given the impact of
family support and strain on warriors' resilience and recovery, more
must be done to provide needed mental health care to veterans' family
members. Meeting warriors where they are within the community or
through peer outreach has been found to be an effective first step in
engaging warriors in mental health care. DOD should do more to enlist
these resources as an effective method to get servicemembers to seek
help.
DOD and the VA must work collaboratively, not simply to improve
access to mental health care, but to identify and further research the
reasons for--and solutions to--warriors' resistance to seeking such
care. With a high percentage of servicemembers not seeking mental
health treatment, it is important to ascertain which modalities of
treatment might be effective. There should be greater investment in
researching treatment efficacy, so more evidence based treatments can
be rolled out to provide greater flexibility in mental health care that
would engage more servicemembers.
In addition to identifying and resolving reasons warriors often
don't engage in mental health care, DOD and VA must do more to measure
what current programs are working. There are a myriad of suicide
prevention and resiliency programs within the DOD, yet it remains
unclear how effectiveness is measured or how these programs are
coordinated to provide real assistance to those in need no matter their
service, where they are stationed or deployed.
The Army report on behavioral health highlighted an expanded
program of behavioral health providers at the brigade level. While
increasing access to care is an important step in providing needed
treatment, ensuring efficacy is critical. DOD must be able to measure a
range of pertinent mental health matters, including timely access,
patient outcomes, staffing needs, numbers needing or provided
treatment, provider productivity, and treatment capacity. Greater
transparency and continued oversight into DOD's mental health care
operations are starting points for closing gaps in servicemembers'
mental health treatment.
The coalition recommends Congress:

Continue efforts to promote engagement in and
destigmatization of mental health care
Continue to press for research on most effective
treatments, coordination of programs, and measures of efficacy.

DOD-VA Integrated Disability Evaluation/Legacy Systems (IDES)
TMC still hears too many emotional stories of ``low-balling''
disabled servicemembers' disability ratings, or troops separated with
service-connected conditions not documented or reported in records,
causing members with significant disabling conditions to be separated
and turned over to the VA rather than being medically retired--a
troublesome trend today, especially for those in the Guard and
Reserves.
Congress has taken positive steps to address this situation,
including establishment of the Physical Disability Board of Review
(PDBR) to give previously separated servicemembers an opportunity to
appeal too-low disability ratings.
The DOD-VA IDES pilot has been fully implemented and expanded, and
is considered to be much more streamlined and non-adversarial, and more
mechanisms are in place to help members navigate and advocate for the
member through the process, unlike its legacy system counterpart.
Unfortunately, some services still use loopholes, such as
designating disorders as ``existing prior to service,'' even though the
VA rated the condition as ``service-connected'' and the member was
deemed fit enough to serve in a combat zone. The coalition believes
strongly that once we have sent a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine to
war, the member should be given the benefit of the doubt that any
condition subsequently found should not be considered as existing prior
to service.
The coalition also agrees with the opinion expressed by former
Secretary Gates that a member forced from service for wartime injuries
should not be separated, but should be awarded a high enough rating to
be retired for disability.
The coalition recommends Congress:

Preserve the statutory 30 percent disability threshold
for medical retirement in order to provide lifetime TRICARE
coverage for those who are injured while on active duty
Reform the DOD disability retirement system to require
inclusion of all unfitting conditions and accepting the VA's
``service-connected'' rating
Ensure any restructure of the DOD and VA disability
and compensation systems does not inadvertently reduce
compensation levels for disabled servicemembers
Eliminate distinctions between disabilities incurred
in combat vs. non-combat when determining benefits eligibility
for retirement
Tightening the Integrated Disability Evaluation System
(IDES) (as recommended by the RWTF) to include:

Caregiver/Family Support Services
The sad reality is that, for the most severely wounded, ill, or
injured servicemembers, their family members or other loved ones often
become their full-time caregiver. Many are forced to give up their
jobs, homes, and savings to care for their loved one--an incredible and
overwhelming burden for these individuals to shoulder.
The coalition believes the government has an obligation to provide
reasonable compensation and training for such caregivers, who never
dreamed that their own well-being, careers, and futures would be
devastated by military-caused injuries to their servicemembers.
The coalition appreciates the subcommittee's sustained support for
caregivers and requests additional steps be taken to ensure that
nondependent caregivers (e.g., parents and siblings) who have had to
sacrifice their own employment and health coverage are provided health
and respite care while the injured member remains on active duty,
commensurate with what the VA authorizes for caregivers of wounded,
ill, and injured veterans.
In a similar vein, many wounded or otherwise-disabled members
experience significant difficulty transitioning to medical retirement
status. To assist in this process, consideration should be given to
authorizing medically retired members and their families to remain in
on-base housing for up to 1 year after retirement, in the same way that
families are allowed to do when a member dies on active duty.
Another important care continuity issue for the severely wounded,
ill, and injured is the failure to keep caregivers of these personnel
involved in every step of the care and follow-up process, even when
they have official documentation authorizing them as a caregiver or
guardian. TMC continues to hear with great frequency, that clinicians
and administrative staff in military treatment or VA facilities exclude
caregiver participation, talking only to the injured member or
excluding them completely in the process.
Congress, DOD, and the VA have worked to get essential information
to the wounded, ill, and injured and their caregivers. Similar efforts
are urgently needed to educate medical providers and administrative
staff at all levels that the final responsibility for ensuring
execution of prescribed regimens of care for severely wounded, ill, and
injured servicemembers typically rests with the caregivers, who must be
kept involved and informed on all aspects of these members' treatment,
appointments, and medical evaluations.
The coalition recommends Congress:

Ensure wounded, ill, and injured families and
caregivers are an integral part of the rehabilitation and
recovery team and be included in and educated about medical
care and treatment, disability evaluation system processes,
development and implementation of the comprehensive recovery
plan, and receive DOD-VA support and guidance throughout the
process
Provide enhanced training of DOD and VA medical and
support staff on the vital importance of involving and
informing designated caregivers in treatment of and
communication with severely wounded, ill, and injured personnel
Provide health and respite care for non-dependent
caregivers (e.g., parents and siblings) who have had to
sacrifice their own employment and health coverage while the
injured member remains on active duty, commensurate with what
the VA authorizes for eligible caregivers of medically retired
or separated members
Ensure consistency of DOD and VA caregiver benefits to
ensure seamless transition from DOD to VA programs
Extend eligibility for residence in on-base housing
for up to 1 year for medically retired and severely wounded,
ill, and injured members and their families, or until the
servicemember receives a VA disability rating, whichever is
longer

Guard and Reserve Health Care
The coalition is very grateful for sustained progress in providing
reservists' families a continuum of government-sponsored health care
coverage options throughout their military careers into retirement, but
key gaps remain.
DOD took the first step in the 1990s by establishing a policy to
pay the Federal Health Benefits Program (FEHB) premiums for G-R
employees of the Department during periods of their active duty
service.
Thanks to this subcommittee's efforts, considerable additional
progress has been made in subsequent years to provide at least some
form of military health coverage at each stage of a Reserve component
member's life, including TRICARE Reserve Select for actively drilling
Guard/Reserve families and TRICARE Retired Reserve for ``gray area''
retirees.
But some deserving segments of the Guard and Reserve population
remain without needed coverage, including post-deployed members of the
Individual Ready Reserve and early Reserve retirees who are in receipt
of non-regular retired pay before age 60.
In other cases, the coalition believes it would serve Guard/Reserve
members' and DOD's common interests to explore additional options for
delivery of care to Guard and Reserve families. As deployment rates
decline, for example, it would be cost-effective to establish an option
under which DOD would subsidize continuation of employer coverage for
family members during (hopefully less-frequent) periods of activation
rather than funding year-round TRS coverage.
TMC continues to support closing the remaining gaps to establish a
continuum of health coverage for operational reserve families.
The coalition recommends:

Authorizing TRICARE for early Reserve retirees who are
in receipt of retired pay prior to age 60
Authorizing premium-based TRICARE coverage for members
of the Individual Ready Reserve after being called to active
service for a cumulative period of at least 12 months
Permitting employers to pay TRS premiums for
reservist-employees as a bottom-line incentive for hiring and
retaining them
Authorizing an option for the government to subsidize
continuation of a civilian employer's family coverage during
periods of activation, similar to FEHBP coverage for activated
Guard-Reserve employees of Federal agencies
Extending corrective dental care following return from
a call-up to ensure G-R members meet dental readiness standards
Allowing eligibility in Continued Health Care Benefits
Program for selected reservists who are voluntarily separating
and subject to disenrollment from TRS
Allowing beneficiaries of the FEHBP who are Selected
reservists the option of participating in TRICARE Reserve
Select
Improving the pre- and post-deployment health
assessment program to address a range of mental/behavioral
health issues such as substance abuse and suicide
Allow for access to a full range of evidenced-based
care and services for Reserve component members and their
families, particularly during periods of reintegration back
into the community

Additional TRICARE Prime Issues
The coalition strongly advocates for the transparency of healthcare
information via the patient electronic record between both the MTF
provider and network providers. Additionally, institutional and
provider healthcare quality information should be available to all
beneficiaries so that they can make better informed decisions with
their healthcare choices.
Most importantly, the coalition is highly concerned regarding the
growing dissatisfaction among TRICARE Prime enrollees in the Prime
Service Areas (PSAs). The dissatisfaction arises with the impending
impact this will have on beneficiaries and the elimination of many PSAs
under the new contract.
This will entail a substantive disruption in health care delivery
for thousands of beneficiaries who will be required to find different
providers and will change the continuity of care for beneficiaries who
have difficulty accessing care in many areas of the country. The
beneficiary will also bear more of the cost of their healthcare by
covering co-payments.
Now that the three managed care contractors are in sync, this
reduction will commence on October 1, 2013 with the beneficiaries who
live in the areas where Prime service will be terminated.
The Military Coalition urges the subcommittee to:

Authorize beneficiaries affected by Prime Service Area
changes to be grandfathered in their present arrangement until
they either relocate or change their current primary care
provider
Require reports from DOD and the managed care support
contractors on actions being taken to ensure those affected by
the Prime Service Area reductions will be able to maintain
continuity of care from their existing provider or receive an
adequate selection of providers from which to obtain care
Require increased DOD efforts to ensure electronic
health record consistency between MTFs and purchased care
sectors and provide beneficiaries with information to assist in
informed decisionmaking

Special Needs Families
The coalition is grateful that the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2013 established a year pilot program making family
members of currently serving and retired members of all Services
diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder eligible for applied
behavioral analysis therapy (ABA) under the TRICARE program.
The coalition is very pleased the original provision was amended to
include all uniformed services, but is disappointed the new authority
excludes family members with other diagnoses for which ABA therapy is
beneficial.
The coalition also is concerned that the pilot program was funded
for only 1 year.
The Military Coalition urges the subcommittee to:

Authorize ABA coverage as a permanent benefit under
the TRICARE basic program;
Include eligibility to other developmental
disabilities that may benefit from ABA
Ensure permanent funding for this critical therapy;
and
Ensure any further adjustments to TRICARE eligibility
apply equally to all seven uniformed services.

Additional TRICARE Standard Issues
The coalition appreciates the subcommittee's continuing interest in
the specific problems unique to TRICARE Standard beneficiaries. TRICARE
Standard beneficiaries need assistance in finding participating
providers within a reasonable time and distance from their home. This
is particularly important with the expansion of TRICARE Reserve Select
and the upcoming change in the Prime Service Areas, which will place
thousands more beneficiaries into TRICARE Standard.
The coalition is grateful that the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2012 extended through 2015 the requirement for DOD
to survey participation of providers in TRICARE Standard.
However, we are concerned that DOD has not yet established
benchmarks for adequacy of provider participation, as required by
section 711(a)(2) of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2008. Participation by
half of the providers in a locality may suffice if there is not a large
Standard beneficiary population, but could severely constrain access in
other areas with higher beneficiary density.
The coalition hopes to see an objective participation standard
(perhaps based on the number of beneficiaries per provider) that would
help shed more light on which locations have participation shortfalls
of primary care managers and specialists that require intervention.
Further, the coalition believes the Department should be required
to take action to increase provider participation in localities where
participation falls short of the standard.
A source of continuing concern is the TRICARE Standard inpatient
copay for retired members, which now stands at $708 per day or 25
percent of billed charges. The coalition believes this amount already
is excessive, and should continue to remain capped at that rate for the
foreseeable future.
The coalition urges the subcommittee to:

Bar any further increase in the TRICARE Standard
inpatient copay for the foreseeable future
Insist on immediate delivery of an adequacy threshold
for provider participation, below which additional action is
required to improve such participation to meet the threshold
Require a specific report on provider participation
adequacy in the localities where Prime Service Areas will be
discontinued under the new TRICARE contracts
Increase locator support to TRICARE Standard
beneficiaries seeking providers who will accept new Standard
patients, particularly for primary care and mental health
specialties

NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE FORCES

Since September 11, 2001, more than 865,500 Guard and Reserve
servicemembers have been called up, including about 285,000 who have
served multiple tours. There is no precedent in American history for
this sustained reliance on warrior-citizens and their families. To
their credit, Guard and Reserve combat veterans continue to reenlist,
but recurring activations and deployments cannot be sustained under
Operational Reserve policy without adjustments to the compensation
package.
Guard and Reserve members and families face unique challenges in
their readjustment following active duty service. Unlike active duty
personnel, many Guard and Reserve members return to employers who
question their contributions in the civilian workplace, especially as
multiple deployments have become the norm. Many Guard-Reserve troops
return with varying degrees of combat-related injuries and stress
disorders, and encounter additional difficulties after they return that
can cost them their jobs, careers, and families.
Despite the continuing efforts of the Services and Congress, most
Guard and Reserve families do not have access to the same level of
counseling and support that active duty members have. The coalition is
encouraged that last year Congress enacted measures to attack the
epidemic of suicides in the total force, expand access to behavioral
health services and create a pilot to provide transition services
outside of active duty bases. Properly implemented, these initiatives
will help, but more remains to be done.

Operational Reserve Retention and Retirement Reform
Congress took the first step in modernizing the Reserve retirement
system with enactment of early retirement eligibility for certain
reservists activated for at least 90 continuous days served since
January 28, 2008.
More recently, Congress passed an historic measure authorizing up
to 60,000 reservists to perform active duty missions for up to 1 year
without a formal emergency declaration so long as the missions are pre-
planned and budgeted.
The coalition believes this change further underscores the need to
ensure Guard and Reserve members' compensation keeps pace with the
Nation's ever-increasing reliance on them. The greater the demands
placed on them, the greater the need to enhance inducements that are
essential to sustain the operational Reserve Force over the long term.
Repeated, extended activations make it more difficult to sustain a
full civilian career and impede reservists' ability to build a full
civilian retirement, 401(k), et cetera. Regardless of statutory
protections, periodic long-term absences from the civilian workplace
can only limit Guard/Reserve members' upward mobility, employability
and financial security. Further, strengthening the Reserve retirement
system will serve as an incentive to retaining critical mid-career
officers and NCOs for continued service and thereby enhance readiness.
As a minimum, the next step in modernizing the Reserve retirement
system is to eliminate the inequity inherent in the current fiscal year
retirement calculation, which credits 90 days of active service for
early retirement purposes only if it occurs within the same fiscal
year. A 90-day tour served from January through March is credited, but
a 120-day tour served from August through November is worthless
(because the latter covers 60 days in each of 2 fiscal years).
Moreover, the law-change authorizing early retirement credit for
qualifying active duty served after 28 Jan 2008 requires early Reserve
retirees to pay exorbitant TRICARE Retired Reserve premiums if they
wish to have government health insurance before age 60.
The coalition urges the subcommittee to:

Eliminate the fiscal year limitation which effectively
denies full early retirement credit for active duty tours that
span the start of a fiscal year (1 October)
Modernize the Reserve retirement system to incentivize
continued service beyond 20 years and provide fair recognition
of increased requirements for active duty service
Authorize early retirement credit for all active duty
tours of at least 90 days retroactive to September 11, 2001

Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program
Congress has provided increased resources to support the transition
of warrior-citizens back into the community. But program execution
remains spotty from State to State and falls short for those returning
Federal Reserve warriors in widely dispersed regional commands.
Programs should meet a standard level of family support within each
State. Military and civilian leaders at all levels must improve the
coordination and delivery of services for the entire operational
Reserve Force. Many communities are eager to provide support and do it
well. But Yellow Ribbon efforts in a number of locations amount to
little more than PowerPoint slides and little or no actual
implementation.
DOD must ensure that State-level best practices--such as those in
Maryland, Minnesota, and New Hampshire--are applied for all operational
Reserve Force members and their families, and that Federal Reserve
veterans have equal access to services and support available to
National Guard veterans. Community groups, employers and service
organization efforts need to be encouraged and better coordinated to
supplement unit, component, Service and VA outreach and services.
The Military Coalition urges immediate implementation of the 2-year
pilot for providing TAP services `outside the gate' of active duty
bases and broader expansion as soon as possible. Congress should hold
oversight hearings and direct additional improvements in coordination,
collaboration and consistency of Yellow Ribbon services between States.

Reserve Compensation System
The increasing demands of qualifications, mental skills, physical
fitness, and training readiness on the Guard and Reserve to perform
national security missions at home and abroad and increased training
requirements indicate that the compensation system needs to be improved
to attract and retain individuals into the Guard/Reserve. The added
responsibility of returning to active duty multiple times over the
course of a Reserve career requires improvements to the compensation
package and to make it more equitable with the Active component.
The coalition recommends subcommittee authorize:

Credit for all inactive duty training points earned
annually toward Reserve retirement
Parity in special incentive pay for career enlisted/
officer special aviation incentive pay, diving special duty
pay, and pro-pay for Reserve component medical professionals
The recalculation of retirement points after 1 year of
activation

The 2010 NDAA authorized certain flag officers
to recalculate retirement pay after 1 year of active
duty, and we recommend this authority be extended to
all ranks

Guard/Reserve GI Bill
The coalition is most grateful to Congress for passage of the Post-
9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33, 38 U.S.C.), which includes a provision for
reservists to accrue benefits for operational active duty service.
However, Selected Reserve GI Bill benefits (Chapter 1606, 10 U.S.C.)
have not been adjusted proportionally for more than 13 years.
The coalition recommends the subcommittee:

Work with the Veterans Affairs Committee to restore
basic Reserve Montgomery GI Bill benefits for initially joining
the Selected Reserve to the historic benchmark of 47-50 percent
of the active duty MGIB
Integrate Reserve MGIB benefits currently in title 10
with active duty veteran educational benefit programs under
title 38
Enact academic protections for mobilized Guard and
Reserve students, including refund guarantees

Guard/Reserve Family Support Programs
The coalition appreciates the upgrades in outreach programs and
services for returning Guard-Reserve families. Family support programs
promote better communication with servicemembers and help underwrite
morale and overall readiness.
The coalition urges the subcommittee to:

Review the adequacy of programs to meet the special
information and support needs of families of individual Reserve
augmentees or those who are geographically dispersed
Foster programs among military and community leaders
to support servicemembers and families during all phases of
deployments
Provide preventive counseling services for
servicemembers and families
Authorize child care for family readiness group
meetings and drill time and respite care during deployments
Improve the joint family readiness program to
facilitate understanding and sharing of information between all
family members

RETIREE ISSUES

Military Retirement Reform
Whenever military budgets get tight, budget analysts, commissions
and chartered task forces propose military retirement cutbacks.
Past defense leaders resisted such efforts as being detrimental to
retention and readiness. In contrast, former Secretary of Defenses
Gates and Panetta voiced support for significant retirement changes.
The administration's recently proposed (2012) BRAC like commission to
modernize the military compensation system reflects a lack of
understanding about the radical differences between uniform service and
civil careers.
The coalition appreciates Congress' wise action last year in
modifying the composition of the Military Compensation and Retirement
Modernization Commission and eliminating restrictions under which its
recommendations may be considered by Congress.
We strongly believe that any proposed changes recommended by the
Commission must be considered in light of previous congressional reform
efforts and thoroughly vetted in the public forum.
The basic principles of the existing compensation system were
designed to foster and maintain the profession of arms as a
``dignified, respected, sought after, and honorable career'' as
outlined in the DOD's Military Compensation Background Papers.
The unique military retirement package we have today was formulated
to offset the extraordinary demands and sacrifices inherent in a
service career. These benefits provide a powerful incentive for top-
quality people to serve 20-30 years in uniform, despite the burden of
sacrifices as eloquently articulated by the Secretary of the Air Force
during his January 18, 1978 testimony before the President's Commission
on Military Compensation:

``The military services are unique callings. The demands we
place on our military men and women are unlike those of any
other country. Our worldwide interests and commitments place
heavy burdens and responsibilities on their shoulders. They
must be prepared to live anywhere, fight anywhere, and maintain
high morale and combat efficiency under frequently adverse and
uncomfortable conditions. They are asked to undergo frequent
exposure to risk, long hours, periodic relocation and family
separation. They accept abridgement of freedom of speech,
political and organizational activity, and control over living
and working conditions. They are all part of the very personal
price our military people pay.
``Yet all of this must be done in the light of--and in
comparison to--a civilian sector that is considerably
different. We ask military people to be highly disciplined when
society places a heavy premium on individual freedom, to
maintain a steady and acute sense of purpose when some in
society question the value of our institutions and debate our
national goals. In short, we ask them to surrender elements of
their freedom in order to serve and defend a society that has
the highest degree of liberty and independence in the world. I
might add, a society with the highest standard of living and an
unmatched quality of life.
``Implicit in this concept of military service must be long-
term security and a system of institutional supports for the
serviceman and his family which are beyond the level of
compensation commonly offered in the private, industrial
sector.''

There is no better illustration of that reality than the past 11
years of war. Absent the career drawing power of the current 20-year
retirement system and its promised benefits, the coalition asserts that
sustaining anything approaching the needed retention rates over such an
extended period of combat deployments would have been simply
impossible.
The crucial element to sustaining a high-quality, career military
force is establishing a strong bond of reciprocal commitment between
the servicemember and the government. If that reciprocity is not
fulfilled, if we break faith with those who serve, retention and
readiness will inevitably suffer.
The coalition believes the government has a unique responsibility
to this small segment of Americans that goes far beyond any civilian
employer's obligation to its employees. We actively induce these
citizens to subordinate their interests to that of America's for
periods of 20 to 30 years. No private employer would ever consider
making such a request.
The uniformed services retirement system has had its critics since
the 1970s and even earlier.
In the 1980s, budget pressures led to amending retirement rules
twice for new service entrants:

Basing retired pay calculations on the high-36-month
average of basic pay instead of final basic pay (1980), and
Enacting the REDUX system that cut 20-year retired pay
value by more than 25 percent (1986).

At the time the REDUX plan was being considered, then-Secretary of
Defense Caspar Weinberger strongly, but unsuccessfully, opposed it (see
attached letter), arguing the change would harm retention and degrade
readiness. ``It says in absolute terms,'' said Weinberger, ``that the
unique, dangerous, and vital sacrifices they routinely make are not
worth the taxpayer dollars they receive.''
When his prediction of adverse retention consequences proved all
too accurate in the 1990s, Congress repealed REDUX in 1999 at the
urging of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Since then innumerable studies and task forces have recommended
even more dramatic changes, usually either to save money, to make the
system more like those offered under civilian programs, or both.
Most recently, groups such as the National Commission on Fiscal
Responsibility and Reform, the Debt Reduction Task Force, the
Sustainable Defense Task Force, and the Defense Business Board's (DBB)
``Modernizing the Military Retirement'' Task Group have all recommended
radically revamping the system more on civilian lines, significantly
reducing military retirement compensation.
Secretary Gates criticized the 20-year retirement system as
``unfair'' to those who leave service before that point, pointing out
that vesting options are provided to civilian workers. Therefore he
directed the DBB to identify alternative options. In his final
appearance before the Senate, Gates endorsed an early vesting program,
noting, ``70 to 80 percent of the force does not stay until retirement
but leaves with nothing.''
However, there is no support for spending more money on military
retirement, so the vesting options proposed to date--including those of
the DBB and the DOD-sponsored 11th Quadrennial Review of Military
Compensation (QRMC)--would fund that new benefit by imposing dramatic
benefit cuts for the 17 percent who complete decades in uniform.
All too aware of the lessons learned, Congress has wisely ignored
and dismissed these ivory-tower recommendations which propose far
greater retirement cuts than REDUX entailed.
The existing retirement system is often characterized as
``inflexible'', limiting the ability of Service personnel managers to
more precisely and effectively manage the force. The coalition strongly
disagrees.
The Services already have substantial authority to adjust force
structure by revising high-year-of-tenure limits to enforce the unique
military ``up-or-out'' promotion system, to incentivize voluntary
separations and to bring about voluntary or mandatory early
retirements.
The Services routinely tighten retention and reenlistment
incentives and other restrictions when budget considerations create a
need for additional separations and retirements. When necessary,
Congress has provided additional special drawdown authorities to create
the right force structure.
However, the reality is that precisely planned force management
initiatives are regularly abandoned in the wake of real-world events
that often force dramatic reversals of planned actions. Reform measures
which envision delaying retirement until age 57 or 60 belie the reality
that the Services don't need or want the vast majority of members to
stay in uniform that long.
Service desires for unlimited flexibility to shape the force may be
appropriate for the management of hardware and other non-sentient
resources. However, the Services are dependent upon attracting and
retaining smart people who understand all too well when their leaders
place no limits on the sacrifices that may be demanded of them, but
also wish to reserve the right to change the rules on them and kick
them out at will . . . even while building a system that assumes they
will be willing to serve under these conditions until age 60.
Servicemembers from whom we demand so much deserve some stability
of career expectations in return.
The coalition believes ``civilianizing'' the military benefit
package would dramatically undermine the primary military career
retention incentive and would be disastrous for retention and
readiness, as they increase the incentives to leave and reduce the
incentives for career service.
Moreover, we believe it is irresponsible to focus on budget and
``civilian equity'' concerns while ignoring the primary purpose of the
retirement system--to ensure a strong and top-quality career force in
spite of arduous service conditions which no civilians experience and
few are willing to accept.
America will remain the world's greatest superpower only as long as
it continues to fulfill its reciprocal obligation to the All-Volunteer
Career Force.
The coalition urges the subcommittee to oppose any initiative which
would ``civilianize'' the military retirement system, ignore the
lessons of the ill-fated REDUX initiative, and inadequately recognize
the unique and extraordinary demands and sacrifices inherent in a
military career.

Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs)
In recent years, several commissions have proposed adjusting the
Consumer Price Index (CPI) methodology to the so-called ``chained CPI''
calculation as a means of holding down COLA growth for military and
Federal civilian retired pay, Social Security and all other Federal
annuities over time.
Proponents of the chained CPI say it more accurately reflects
changes in annuitants' cost of living by recognizing that their
purchasing behavior changes as prices change. If the price of beef
rises, for example, consumers may purchase more chicken and less beef.
What chained CPI doesn't capture is increasing costs where there
are no adequate substitutes, such as rent or utilities. The real issue
is whether chained CPI measuring changes in prices or changes in the
quality of life. Following the logical progression to an extreme we
could find consumers substituting hot dogs for chicken, et cetera.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated that implementation of
the chained CPI would depress COLAs by about 0.25 to 0.3 percentage
point per year.
The DOD actuary estimates that inflation will average 3 percent per
year over the long term.
Using those two estimates, applying the chained-CPI COLAs for a
servicemember retiring at age 42 would yield about 10 percent less in
his or her retired paycheck at age 85 relative to the current COLA
system. The longer you live, the worse it gets.
Additionally, some commissions have proposed delaying any COLAs on
military retired pay until age 60 or later, barring COLAs on annuity
levels above some set dollar amount, or reducing the CPI by one-half
percent or a full percentage point per year.
The coalition believes such initiatives would constitute a breach
of faith with military people and constitute a disproportional penalty.
COLAs are particularly important to military retirees, disabled
retirees, and survivors because they start drawing their annuities at
younger ages than most other COLA-eligibles and thus experience the
compounding effects over a greater number of years. To the extent that
COLAs fail to keep up with living costs, real purchasing power
continues to decline ever more dramatically as long as one lives.
The coalition urges the subcommittee to:

Reject the chained CPI as a basis for adjusting
military retired pay
Ensure the continued fulfillment of congressional COLA
intent, as expressed in House National Security Committee Print
of title 37, U.S.C.: ``to provide every military retired member
the same purchasing power of the retired pay to which he was
entitled at the time of retirement [and ensure it is] not, at
any time in the future . . . eroded by subsequent increases in
consumer prices''
Ensure equal treatment of all uniformed service
personnel, to include NOAA/USPHS/USCG personnel, with respect
to any retirement/COLA legislation

Concurrent Receipt
Congress clearly recognized the inequity of the disability offset
to earned retired pay during the past decade and has gone to great
lengths to establish a process to end or phase out the offset for many
disabled retirees. The coalition is extremely grateful for the
subcommittee's efforts to continue progress in easing the adverse
effects of the offset.
In that vein, we are very pleased Congress identified resources to
fix a longstanding inadvertent ``glitch'' in the statutory computation
formula for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC). This was
clearly a victory for our war wounded veterans.
The coalition strongly believes in the principle that career
military members earn their retired pay by service alone, and that
those unfortunate enough to suffer a service-caused disability in the
process should have any VA disability compensation from the VA added
to, not subtracted from, their service-earned military retired pay.
In 2010, we were very optimistic that another very deserving group
of disabled retirees--those forced into medical retirement short of 20-
years of service--would become eligible for concurrent receipt when the
White House included a concurrent receipt proposal in the Budget
Resolution--the first time in history any administration had ever
proposed such a fix.
The proposal would have expanded concurrent receipt eligibility
over a 5 year period to all those forced to retire early from Service
due to a disability, injury, or illness that was service-connected
(chapter 61 retirees). We were dismayed that, despite the
subcommittee's leadership efforts and White House support, the
provision has not yet been enacted--an extremely disappointing outcome
for a most deserving group of disabled retirees.
We recognize only too well the challenges associated with adding
new mandatory spending provisions in this difficult budget environment.
But making at least some progress to address this grievous inequity
(e.g., covering all 100-percent disabled retirees with less than 20
years of service) remains an important goal.
The coalition urges the subcommittee to continue seeking to expand
Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments (CRDP) to disabled
retirees not eligible under the current statute, with first priority
for vesting of earned retirement credit for Chapter 61 retirees with
less than 20 years of service.

Fair Treatment for Servicemembers Affected by Force Reductions
Throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s the services had
several drawdown tools at their disposal to incentivize members to
voluntarily leave the Service: Voluntary Separation Incentive (VSI),
Special Separation Benefit (SSB), and Temporary Early Retirement
Authority (TERA). The recently reauthorized TERA will greatly aid the
Services in anticipation of significant force drawdowns and combat
forces depart southwest Asia.
During any force reduction, servicemembers who intend to make the
Service a career are forced out. We believe the Nation should recognize
their service and provide a ``transportable'' benefit for those that
have their careers curtailed involuntarily short of 20 years.
The coalition emphasizes that this limited ``vesting'' initiative
should be applied only during periods of significant force reductions
and funding for it should not come at the expense of those who serve 20
years or more.
Authorizing separated servicemembers the ability to contribute part
or all of their involuntary or voluntary separation pay into their
Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account would appropriately recognize their
past service and provide a level of ``transportable'' career benefit
under these difficult times.
The coalition recommends enacting temporary legislation that would
allow members separated during periods of significant force reductions
to deposit part or all of their involuntary separation pay or VSP into
their TSP account.

SURVIVOR ISSUES

The coalition is grateful to the subcommittee for its significant
efforts in the past decade to improve the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP),
especially its major achievement in 2005 eliminating the Military
Widows Tax--the Social Security offset that SBP survivors encountered
upon attaining age 62. Yet, there is still more to do when looking at
the plight of our widows.

SBP-DIC Offset
The coalition believes strongly that current law is unfair in
reducing military SBP annuities by the amount of any survivor benefits
payable from the Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) program.
If the surviving spouse of a retiree who dies of a service-
connected cause is entitled to DIC from the Department of Veterans
Affairs and if the retiree was also enrolled in SBP, the surviving
spouse's SBP annuity is reduced by the amount of DIC. A pro-rata share
of the SBP premiums is refunded to the widow upon the member's death in
a lump sum, but with no interest. This offset also affects all
survivors of members who are killed on active duty.
The coalition believes SBP and DIC payments are paid for different
reasons. SBP is insurance purchased by the retiree and is intended to
provide a portion of retired pay to the survivor. DIC is a special
indemnity compensation paid to the survivor when a member's service
causes his or her premature death. In such cases, the VA indemnity
compensation should be added to the SBP annuity the retiree paid for,
not substituted for it.
In comparison, Federal civilian retirees who are disabled veterans
and die of military-service-connected causes can receive DIC without
losing any of their Federal civilian SBP benefits.
Unfortunately, in every SBP-DIC case, active duty or retired, the
true premium extracted by the service from both the member and the
survivor was the ultimate one--the very life of the member. This
reality was underscored by the August 2009 Federal Court of Appeals
ruling in Sharp v. U.S. which found, ``After all, the servicemember
paid for both benefits: SBP with premiums; DIC with his life.''
The Veterans Disability Benefits Commission (VDBC) reviewed the
SBP-DIC issue, among other DOD/VA benefit topics. The VDBC's final
report to Congress in 2007 agreed with the coalition in finding that
the offset is inappropriate and should be eliminated.
In 2005, then-Speaker Pelosi and other House leaders made repeal of
the SBP-DIC offset a centerpiece of their GI Bill of Rights for the
21st Century.
Leadership has made great progress in delivering on other elements
of that plan, but the only progress to date on the SBP-DIC offset has
been the enactment a small monthly Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance
(SSIA).
The coalition recognizes that the subcommittee's initiative in the
fiscal year 2008 defense bill to establish the SSIA was intended as a
first, admittedly very modest, step in a longer-term effort to phase
out the DIC offset to SBP.
We're very grateful for the subcommittee's subsequent efforts to
increase SSIA amounts as additional steps toward the goal of
eliminating the offset.
While fully acknowledging the subcommittee's good-faith efforts to
win more substantive progress, the coalition shares the extreme
disappointment and sense of abandonment of the SBP-DIC widows who are
forced to sacrifice up to $1,215 each month and are being asked to be
satisfied with a $90 monthly rebate.
The coalition understands the mandatory-spending constraints the
subcommittee has faced in seeking redress, but also points out that
those constraints have been waived for many, many far more expensive
initiatives, including the recent extension of civilian unemployment
benefits.
The coalition believes widows whose sponsors' deaths were caused by
military service should not be last in line for redress.
The coalition urges the subcommittee to:

Continue pursuing ways to repeal the SBP-DIC offset
Authorize SBP annuities to be placed into a Special
Needs Trust for permanently disabled survivors who otherwise
lose eligibility for state programs because of means testing
Reduce the age for paid-up SBP to age 67 for those who
joined the military at age 17, 18, or 19
Reinstate SBP annuities to survivors who transfer it
to their children when the children reach majority, or when a
subsequent remarriage ends in death or divorce

Final Retired Paycheck
Under current law, DFAS recoups from military widows'/widowers'
bank accounts all retired pay for the month in which a retiree dies.
Subsequently, DFAS pays the survivor a pro-rated amount for the number
of days of that month in which the retiree was alive. This often
creates hardships for survivors who have already spent that pay on
rent, food, et cetera, and who routinely are required to wait several
months for DFAS to start paying SBP benefits.
The coalition believes this is an extremely insensitive policy
imposed by the government at the most traumatic time for a deceased
member's next of kin. Unlike his or her active duty counterpart, a
retiree's survivor receives no death gratuity. Many older retirees do
not have adequate insurance to provide even a moderate financial
cushion for surviving spouses.
In contrast to the law governing military retired pay treatment of
survivors, the title 38 statute requires the VA to make full payment of
the final month's VA disability compensation to the survivor of a
disabled veteran.
The disparity between DOD and VA policy on this matter is
indefensible. Congress should do for retirees' widows the same thing it
did 10 years ago to protect veterans' widows.
TMC urges the subcommittee to authorize survivors of retired
members to retain the final month's retired pay for the month in which
the retiree dies.

SUMMARY

The Military Coalition again thanks the subcommittee for your
unfailing support of the entire uniformed service community and for
taking our concerns and priorities into consideration as you deliberate
on the future of the one weapon system that has never let our Nation
down--the men and women who wear and have worn the uniform and their
families.
______

Master Chief Joseph L. Barnes, USN (Retired), National Executive
Director, Fleet Reserve Association and Co-Chairman, The Military
Coalition

Joseph L. (Joe) Barnes is a retired Navy Master Chief and serves as
the Fleet Reserve Association's (FRA's) National Executive Director. He
is a member of FRA's National Board of Directors, chairs the
Association's National Committee on Legislative Service, and is
responsible for managing the organization's National Headquarters in
Alexandria, VA. In addition, he is president of the FRA Education
Foundation which oversees the Association's scholarship program that
presented awards totaling $128,000 in 2012.
Barnes joined FRA's National Headquarters team in 1993 and prior to
assuming his current position in 2002, he served as FRA's Director of
Legislative Programs. During his tenure, the Association realized
significant legislative gains, and was recognized with a certificate
award for excellence in government relations from the American Society
of Association Executives (ASAE).
In addition to his FRA duties, Barnes is Co-Chairman of the
Military Coalition (TMC) and co-chairs the Coalition's Personnel,
Compensation and Commissaries Committee. He is also a member of the
Defense Commissary Agency's Patron Council and an ex-officio member of
the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation's Board of Directors.
He received the U.S. Coast Guard's Meritorious Public Service Award
and was appointed an Honorary Member of the U.S. Coast Guard in 2003.
While on active duty, he was the public affairs director for the
U.S. Navy Band in Washington, DC, and directed marketing and
promotional efforts for national tours, network radio and television
appearances, and major special events in the Nation's capital. His
awards include the Defense Meritorious Service and Navy Commendation
Medals.
Barnes holds a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree
in public relations management from The American University,
Washington, DC. He earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE)
designation from ASAE in 2003 and is an accredited member of the
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).
______

Kathleen B. Moakler, Director, Government Relations, National Military
Family Association

Mrs. Moakler has been associated with the National Military Family
Association since 1995 as a member of the headquarters staff. She was
appointed to Government Relations Director in October 2007. In that
position, she monitors the range of issues relevant to the quality of
life of the families of the seven uniformed services and coordinates
the six members of the Government Relations staff. Mrs. Moakler
represents the interests of military families on a variety of advisory
panels and working groups, including the Military Family Readiness
Council.
Mrs. Moakler is co-chair of the Survivor Programs Committee and the
Personnel/Compensation/Commissaries Committee for the Military
Coalition (TMC), a consortium of 34 military and veteran organizations.
She is often called to comment on issues pertaining to military
families for such media outlets as the NY Times, CNN, NBC News, NPR and
the Military Times. She writes regularly for military focused
publications.
During her husband's 28 year Army career, Mrs. Moakler served in
various volunteer leadership positions in civilian and military
community organizations, as well as working with many military
community programs including hospital consumer boards, commanders'
advisory boards, family readiness groups, church councils, youth
programs, and the Army Family Action Plan at all levels. She believes
that communication is paramount in the efficient delivery of services
and the fostering of a rich community life for military families. She
holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the
State University of New York at Albany. Mrs. Moakler has been awarded
the Army Commanders Award for Public Service and the President's
Volunteer Service Award.
Mrs. Moakler is also a military mom. Her daughter, Megan, is an
Army Major and nurse who has served two tours in Iraq and son, Matthew,
is an Army major and Operation New Dawn veteran. Both are presently
stationed at Fort Belvoir, VA. Her oldest son, Marty, works for
Hulu.com and is an aspiring writer/actor in Los Angeles, CA. Mrs.
Moakler and her husband, Colonel Martin W. Moakler, Jr. USA (retired),
reside in Alexandria, VA.
______

Colonel Steve Strobridge (USAF-Ret.), Director, Government Relations,
Military Officers Association of America (MOAA); and Co-Chairman, The
Military Coalition

Steve Strobridge, a native of Vermont, is a 1969 graduate from
Syracuse University. Commissioned through ROTC, he was called to active
duty in October 1969.
After several assignments as a personnel officer and commander in
Texas, Thailand, and North Carolina, he was assigned to the Pentagon
from 1977 to 1981 as a compensation and legislation analyst at
Headquarters USAF. While in this position, he researched and developed
legislation on military pay, health care, retirement and survivor
benefits issues.
In 1981, he attended the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, VA,
en route to a January 1982 transfer to Ramstein AB, Germany. Following
assignments as Chief, Officer Assignments and assistant for Senior
Officer Management at HQ, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, he was selected to
attend the National War College at Fort McNair, DC in 1985.
Transferred to the Office of the Secretary of Defense upon
graduation in June 1986, he served as Deputy Director and then as
Director, Officer and Enlisted Personnel Management. In this position,
he was responsible for establishing DOD policy on military personnel
promotions, utilization, retention, separation and retirement.
In June 1989, he returned to Headquarters USAF as Chief of the
Entitlements Division, assuming responsibility for Air Force policy on
all matters involving pay and entitlements, including the military
retirement system and survivor benefits, and all legislative matters
affecting active and retired military members and families.
He retired from that position on January 1, 1994 to become MOAA's
Deputy Director for Government Relations.
In March 2001, he was appointed as MOAA's Director of Government
Relations and also was elected Co-Chairman of The Military Coalition,
an influential consortium of 33 military and veterans associations.
______

Captain Marshall Hanson, USNR (Ret.), Director, Legislative and
Military Policy, Reserve Officers Association

Captain Marshall Hanson became the Legislative Director of the
Reserve Officers Association on 12 September 2005, 2 years after
joining the ROA staff as the Naval Services Director. Not new to
Washington, DC, he brings to the ROA team experience and success as the
full time Director of Legislation for two other associations, Naval
Reserve Association (NRA) and the National Association for Uniformed
Services. Marshall brings to the ROA extensive expertise, working with
the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, and with Defense
Appropriations. He has gone through more than 13 legislative cycles. In
2000, Marshall participated with the Reserve Officers Association in a
Roles and Missions study that submitted a white paper to Congress and
the Pentagon.
Captain Hanson has testified before the House and Senate Armed
Services committees, the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Defense,
the House Veterans Affairs committee and Senate Finance committee, and
before the National Reserve Force's Policy Board on Guard and Reserve
issues.
He has been chairman of the Navy Marine Corps Council, co-director
of the National Military and Veteran's Alliance, and is the chairman
for the Guard and Reserve committee in The Military Coalition. In 1999,
he moved to Alexandria, VA, from Seattle, WA, to join the NRA staff.
Marshall has worked to develop a new adhoc committee, Associations for
America's Defense (A4AD), coordinating 12 other associations on
national security, force planning, and equipment issues, which were
normally not covered by either the coalition or the alliance.
Captain Hanson was born in Darby, PA, and raised in Glen Rock, NJ,
and Seattle, WA. A 1972 Graduate of the University of Washington, he
was commissioned by the U of W NROTC. He earned an MBA from the
University of Washington in 1978, and is a 1990 graduate with
distinction of the Naval War College. With a Fleet Support designator,
he is a qualified, specialist in strategic operations, analysis, and
planning.
CAPT Hanson retired from the Naval Reserve in August 2002. With
over 3 years of active duty and 27 years with the Reserves, Hanson's
had 7 commands, and has collectively commanded over 200 people.
Marshall's seagoing assignments include active duty on USS Niagara
Falls (AFS-3) as an underway Officer of the Deck (I) and Damage Control
Assistant. He has spent additional training periods aboard USS Kansas
City (AOR-3), USS Blue Ridge (LLC-19), JMDS Isoyuki (DD-127), and
various Canadian Naval Reserve Ships; and he has been the Chief of
Staff for a Convoy Commodore, and staff-watch commander at Esquimalt
Naval Base in Canada.
Upon retirement, Captain Hanson was awarded the Meritorious Service
Medal; he was also awarded the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service
Medal in 1997 for community activities in the greater Puget Sound Area.
He has twice been awarded the overseas ribbon, and has the Vietnam
Campaign Medals and National Defense Service Medal. Prior to his move
to Washington, DC, he was a Materials Manager for a Seattle
manufacturing company in his civilian career. He and his wife, Deborah,
reside in Alexandria, VA, and have two daughters, Loren Louise, age 20
and Sydney Emilia, 14 years.

Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Ms. Moakler?

STATEMENT OF MS. KATHLEEN B. MOAKLER, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
DIRECTOR, NATIONAL MILITARY FAMILY ASSOCIATION

Ms. Moakler. Madam Chairman, distinguished committee
members, thank you for letting me speak to you today about
military families.
Military families are strong, resilient, and resourceful.
They know about uncertainty after more than 11 years of war.
But there is a new uncertainty, the uncertainty of the
programs, resources, and benefits contributing to their
strength and resilience remaining available to support them now
and in the future.
Because of sequestration and the 6-month delay in passing a
defense appropriations bill, military families now doubt our
Nation's leaders' commitment to supporting their service. DOD
civilian furloughs will affect military families. Some are
military spouses, so while military pay is not affected, for
which we are grateful, the overall income of some military
families will be impacted. Furloughs and hiring freezes could
force family service centers to adjust hours. Smaller staffs
will result in longer waits for families needing counseling,
financial advice, new parent support, survivor outreach, and
victim advocates.
DOD insists they will work to provide school children with
a full year of quality education, and ensure each school
maintains its accreditation. We are pleased DOD announced late
last week there would be no school level furloughs at the end
of the current school year. But we know communities are
concerned about the beginning of the next school year.
The TRICARE benefit is a rich and appreciated benefit.
Military families can sometimes find it difficult to access
care, but rarely complain about the quality of care. Access to
care is most threatened by the $3 billion sequestration cut and
anticipated furloughs of hospital personnel.
You have heard from the Service Chiefs how sequestration is
hurting the readiness of our servicemembers. We have shared
some examples in our written statement of how sequestration is
negatively affecting military families. We ask Congress to end
sequestration now.
With the number of cuts already made, military families are
concerned about the elimination of vital resources and programs
as part of the next round of savings. What is an acceptable
level of support? What should the standard be? Our association
believes DOD Instruction 1342.22, Military Family Readiness,
must be the unequivocal baseline for military family readiness.
It provides appropriate expectations and emphasizes that
resource decisions be made based both on the evaluation of
military family needs and the effectiveness of those programs.
Programs and services can adapt as needed to respond
swiftly to the changing needs during peacetime, war, base
closures, natural disaster, and other emergency situations.
Currently, this effort at a baseline of support is stymied at
all levels by the continued call for belt tightening and
capricious budget cuts where these programs are often the first
targeted. Military families need to know what to realistically
expect about the delivery of support services.
We remain concerned about the transition of wounded,
injured, and ill servicemembers and their families. Caregivers
are an important part of the servicemember's recovery. VA and
DOD caregiver benefits do not mesh, and many caregivers lose
the support just when they need it the most.
We ask you to create a smoother transition for caregivers
between DOD and VA caregiver benefits. Now is the time to end
the dependency and indemnity compensation offset to the
survivor benefit plan. Although we know there is a significant
price tag associated with this change, ending this offset would
correct an inequity that has existed for many years for our
survivors.
We appreciate the action being taken to address the rising
number of suicides by servicemembers. We are concerned that
military and veteran families were not included when examining
suicides. We recommend Congress require a DOD report on the
number of family members who commit suicide, made a suicide
attempt, or reported suicidal thoughts.
We want to ensure family support programs are authorized,
funded, and implemented at the level needed to maintain the
readiness of servicemembers and their families, and to allow
them to meet the challenges of the military lifestyle. Military
families should be able to access support no matter where they
live.
We believe the people the servicemember identifies as
family should have the information and help they need within
the law and DOD regulations to support the readiness of the
servicemember.
Thank you, and I await any questions you may have.
Senator Gillibrand. Mr. Barnes?

STATEMENT OF MASTER CHIEF JOSEPH L. BARNES, USN, RETIRED,
NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FLEET RESERVE ASSOCIATION

Chief Barnes. Madam Chairman and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before
you today. I will be addressing priority active duty and
retiree issues.
Military service is unlike any other career or occupation,
and less than 1 percent of our population is shouldering 100
percent of the responsibility for our national security.
Ensuring adequate pay and benefits for our Active, Guard, and
Reserve personnel, their families and survivors, and fulfilling
commitments to provide health care and other benefits for
military retirees, must be top priorities.
Thanks to support from this subcommittee, there have been
major pay and benefit improvements enacted since 2000. There
has been much attention to these and the associated costs
during the ongoing sequestration related budget crisis.
However, there is usually no mention of the 13.5 percent pay
gap at that time, plus major recruiting and retention
challenges, concerns about a hollow force, and the government's
failure to honor commitments to those who served in the past.
Defense spending as a percentage of gross domestic product
(GDP) during war time is now much lower than during past
conflicts. According to the Wall Street Journal, projected
defense spending will shrink from more than 4 percent today to
2.7 percent of GDP by 2021, a level last seen before Pearl
Harbor. The coalition strongly supports a full 1.8 percent ECI
active duty pay increase for 2014. Pay comparability is
directly related to long-term readiness.
There is concern in the active duty community regarding the
so-called reform of pay and retirement benefits by the Military
Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission. The
powerful pull of the 20-year retirement system is the main
reason retention levels have not imploded as a result of
unprecedented wartime strain on troops and their families.
Despite extraordinary demands, men and women in uniform are
still answering the call, but at the cost of ever greater
personal sacrifices.
Budget driven retirement benefit cuts enacted in 1986
affected only future retirees and eventually resulted in the
repeal of the plan in 1999 due to concerns about retention and
readiness. Adequate end strengths are also essential to
military readiness.
Significant threats to national security continue despite
the winding down of operations in Afghanistan, and ensuring
sufficient dwell time between deployments remains an elusive
goal. Navy deployments, for example, have increased from 6 to
as long as 9 months, and the stress on repeatedly deployed
servicemembers and their families continues.
No Federal obligation is more important than protecting
national security, and the most important element of national
security is sustaining a dedicated, top quality, All-Volunteer
Force.
Thank you again for the opportunity to present our views on
these issues.
[The prepared statement of the Fleet Reserve Association
follows:]

Prepared Statement by the Fleet Reserve Association

THE FLEET RESERVE ASSOCIATION

The Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) is the oldest and largest
enlisted organization serving Active Duty, Reserves, retired and
veterans of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. It is
Congressionally Chartered, recognized by the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) as an accrediting Veteran Service Organization for claim
representation and entrusted to serve all veterans who seek its help.
In 2007, FRA was selected for full membership on the National Veterans'
Day Committee.
FRA was established in 1924 and its name is derived from the Navy's
program for personnel transferring to the Fleet Reserve or Fleet Marine
Corps Reserve after 20 or more years of active duty, but less than 30
years for retirement purposes. During the required period of service in
the Fleet Reserve, assigned personnel earn retainer pay and are subject
to recall by the Navy.
FRA's mission is to act as the premier ``watch dog'' organization
in maintaining and improving the quality of life for Sea Service
personnel and their families. FRA is a leading advocate on Capitol Hill
for enlisted Active Duty, Reserve, retired and veterans of the Sea
Services. The Association also sponsors a National Americanism Essay
Program and other recognition and relief programs. In addition, the FRA
Education Foundation oversees the Association's scholarship program
that presents awards totaling over $125,000 to deserving students each
year.
The Association is a founding member of The Military Coalition
(TMC), a 34-member consortium of military and veteran's organizations.
FRA hosts most TMC meetings and members of its staff serve in a number
of TMC leadership roles.
FRA celebrated 88 years of service in November 2012. For over 8
decades, dedication to its members has resulted in legislation
enhancing quality of life programs for Sea Services personnel, other
members of the uniformed services plus their families and survivors,
while protecting their rights and privileges. CHAMPUS, (now TRICARE
Standard) was an initiative of FRA, as was the Uniformed Services
Survivor Benefit Plan. More recently, FRA led the way in reforming the
REDUX Retirement Plan, obtaining targeted pay increases for mid-level
enlisted personnel, and sea pay for junior enlisted sailors. FRA also
played a leading role in advocating recently enacted predatory lending
protections and absentee voting reform for servicemembers and their
dependents.
FRA's motto is: ``Loyalty, Protection, and Service.''
certification of non-receipt of federal funds
Pursuant to the requirements of House Rule XI, the Fleet Reserve
Association has not received any Federal grant or contract during the
current fiscal year or either of the 2 previous fiscal years.

SYNOPSIS

The Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) is an active participant and
leading organization in The Military Coalition (TMC) and strongly
supports the recommendations addressed in the more extensive TMC
testimony prepared for this hearing. The intent of this statement is to
address other issues of particular importance to FRA's membership and
the Sea Services enlisted communities.
The following Letter to the Editor of The Washington Post dated
December 7, 2012 summarizes the concerns of our members and others in
the Uniformed Services community regarding proposals to drastically
increase health care fees, cut pay and retirement benefits and other
personnel programs in conjunction with the Defense Budget reductions.

Regarding the December 3rd editorial ``Time to Rein In
Tricare.''
Personnel expenditures are directly associated with defense
readiness and reneging on past commitments by imposing drastic
health care fee hikes on military retirees will negatively
impact recruiting and retention. Threats to also cut retirement
benefits and other quality-of-life programs are major concerns
within the Active and Reserve military communities and are
viewed as devaluing military service.
The debt crisis is serious, but total defense spending as a
percentage of gross domestic product is significantly below
past wartime periods and is projected to go lower. Despite
claims of rising health care costs, in recent years the Defense
Department has asked to shift unspent Defense Health Program
funds to other areas.
Military retirees who are younger than 65 and are enrolled in
TRICARE Prime experienced a 13-percent increase in their annual
enrollment fees last year, and these fees will increase
annually based on inflation. Pharmacy copays will also increase
in 2013.
Military service is unlike any other occupation. Roughly 1
percent of the population has volunteered to shoulder 100
percent of the responsibility for our national security. The
benefits associated with this service have been earned through
20 or more years of arduous military service.
Joseph L. Barnes,
National Executive Director,
Fleet Reserve Association.

INTRODUCTION

Chairman Gillibrand and Ranking Member Graham, FRA salutes you,
other members of the subcommittee, and your staff for the strong and
unwavering support of programs essential to Active Duty, Reserve
component, and retired members of the armed services, their families,
and survivors. The subcommittee's work has greatly enhanced care and
support for our wounded warriors and significantly improved military
pay, and other benefits and enhanced other personnel, retirement and
survivor programs. This support is critical in maintaining readiness
and is invaluable to military personnel engaged in operational
commitments throughout the world and in fulfilling commitments to those
who've served in the past.

SEQUESTRATION, CR, AND DOD BUDGET

There's uncertainty and growing anxiety within the Active Duty,
Reserve, and retiree communities regarding the effects of sequestration
and major concerns about delayed approval of the fiscal year 2013
spending package halfway through the current fiscal year and the
administration's fiscal year 2014 budget request. This is reflected in
responses to FRA's February 2013 online survey indicating that 90
percent of retires were ``very concerned'' about the situation--the
highest rating. FRA urges the administration and Congress to work
together to ensure sufficient funding for fiscal year 2014 and beyond.
Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stated that sequestration cuts
``would do catastrophic damage to our military, hollowing out the force
and degrading its ability to protect the country.'' It is significant
that defense spending totals 17 percent of the Federal budget, yet 50
percent of the sequestration cuts are targeted for the Department of
Defense (DOD). Operations are winding down in Afghanistan, however, the
Nation is still at war and slashing DOD's budget further will not
reduce the associated threats.
FRA supports the ``Down Payment to Protect National Security Act''
(S. 263), sponsored by Senator Kelly Ayotte (NH) and its House
companion bill (H.R. 593) sponsored by House Armed Services Committee
Chairman Representative Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, (CA) that would amend
the Budget Control Act (BCA) by excluding the DOD budget from the next
round of sequestration cuts mandated by the BCA.
FRA supports a defense budget of at least 5 percent of gross
domestic product that will adequately fund both people and weapons
programs, and is concerned that the administration's spending plan is
not enough to sufficiently support both.

COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENTS

The administration's fiscal year 2014 budget request includes a
plan to calculate future cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for
inflation adjusted benefits by using the chained Consumer Price Index
(CPI) in lieu of the current CPI. The so-called ``chained CPI'' takes
into account the effect of substitutions consumers make in response to
changes in prices. FRA believes that change over time would have a
significant cumulative impact on the annual COLAs for military retirees
and personnel receiving veterans' benefits.
In additon, under current law, military retired pay is rounded down
to the next lowest dollar. For many enlisted retirees, their retired
pay is sometimes the sole source of income for them and their
dependents. Over time, the effect of rounding down can be substantial
for these personnel and FRA supports a policy change to rounding up
retiree COLAs to the next highest dollar.

``MODERNIZATION'' COMMISSION

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013
(H.R. 4310, P.L. 112-239) establishes the Military Compensation and
Retirement Modernization Commission but limits its recommendations from
being BRAC-like in conjunction with its review and ``reform'' of the
current compensation and military retirement system. FRA believes it's
important that this distinguished Subcommittee and its House
counterpart along with the full Armed Services Committees maintain
oversight over commission recommendations. Numerous studies and
commissions (10 since the beginning of 2006) have focused on military
retirement and other benefits as an opportunity to reduce overhead
costs for the Pentagon.
In 1986, Congress passed, over the objection of then Secretary of
Defense Casper Weinberger, major retirement changes known as ``Redux''
that significantly reduced retirement benefits for those joining the
military after 1986. FRA led efforts to repeal the act in 1999 after
the military experienced retention and recruitment problems and the
Association continues to monitor the take rate for personnel choosing
between remaining on the High 3 program, or the Redux program at 15
years of service.
Maintaining a highly-motivated, well-trained, and professional all-
volunteer career military force requires an adequate pay and benefit
package. Military service is unlike any other career or occupation, and
requires adequate compensation and a unique retirement system. Career
senior noncommissioned officers are the backbone of our military and
their leadership and guidance are invaluable and a result of
specialized years of training and experience.

TRICARE BENEFITS AND FEE INCREASES

FRA's membership appreciates the following Sense of Congress
provisions in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013: (1) DOD and the Nation
have a committed health benefit obligation to retired military
personnel that exceeds the obligation of corporate employers to
civilian employees; (2) DOD has many additional options to constrain
the growth of health care spending in ways that do not disadvantage
beneficiaries; and (3) DOD should first pursue all options rather than
seeking large fee increases or marginalize the benefit for
beneficiaries.
Health care dominated priorities for military retirees responding
to FRA's 2013 online survey, with quality of health care benefits rated
as ``very important'' by over 95 percent of respondees. Access to the
benefit followed in importance as indicated by over 94 percent of those
participating in the survey.
On October 1, 2013 DOD will reduce TRICARE Prime Service Areas, a
change that will affect more than 170,000 retirees and their qualified
family members and require enrollment in TRICARE Standard. Our members
are voicing serious concerns about this change due to the higher costs
associated with TRICARE Standard.
FRA understands that under the new TRICARE contracts access to
TRICARE Prime is limited to within 40 miles of a Military Treatment
Facilities (MTF) and in areas affected by the 2005 base closure and
realignment process. FRA believes current TRICARE Prime beneficiaries
that live outside the TRICARE Prime Service Area (PSA) should be
allowed to continue to have access to TRICARE Prime coverage
(grandfathered) until they relocate or change their current primary
care provider.
Beyond the Military Health System (MHS) transitioning to a more
integrated delivery model that will leverage a shared service approach
to common functions, FRA believes that DOD must sufficiently
investigate and implement other options to make TRICARE more cost-
efficient as alternatives to shifting costs to TRICARE beneficiaries.

WOUNDED WARRIORS AND SEAMLESS TRANSITION

FRA strongly supports the administration's efforts to create an
integrated Electronic Health Record (iEHR) for every servicemember
which would be a major step towards the Association's longstanding goal
of a truly seamless transition from military to veteran status for all
servicemembers and permit DOD, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA),
and private health care providers immediate access to a veteran's
health data.
The importance of fully implemented interoperability of electronic
medical records cannot be overstated. However, former Secretary of
Defense Leon Panetta and Secretary of the VA Eric Shinseki recently
announced jointly that the departments are abandoning plans to create a
single electronic health record for active duty military and veterans.
FRA and others view this as a step backwards on this issue apparently
due to budget pressures and higher costs. There is some sharing now
between DOD, VA, and the private sector, however, wider expansion of
data sharing and exchange agreements between VA, DOD, and the private
sector is needed.
FRA strongly supports the VA/DOD joint effort to invest more than
$100 million in new research to improve diagnosis and treatment of post
traumatic stress (PTS) and mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) in
response to a August 31, 2012 Presidential Executive order calling for
DOD and VA to also establish an interagency task force to coordinate
their efforts, and VA and Health and Human Services will establish at
least 15 pilot programs involving community-based health providers to
expand mental health services in areas not well served by VA. DOD and
VA should work together to standardize training for all DOD/VA mental
health care providers.
The Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees must remain
vigilant regarding their oversight responsibilities associated with
ensuring a ``seamless transition'' for our Nation's wounded warriors.
In conjunction with this, FRA is concerned about shifting of
departmental oversight from the Senior Oversight Committee (SOC)
comprised of the DOD and VA secretaries per provisions of the NDAA for
Fiscal Year 2009, to the lower echelon Joint Executive Council which is
now responsible for supervision, and coordination of all aspects of DOD
and VA wounded warrior programs. This change is perceived by many as
diminishing the importance of addressing significant challenges faced
by servicemembers--particularly wounded warriors and their families--in
transitioning from DOD to the VA.
The Association notes the importance of the e-Benefits web site
which serves as an electronic portal for servicemembers, veterans, and
their families to research, find, access, and in the near future manage
their VA benefits and track progress on claims processing. The program
is a service of the DOD and VA and was one of the recommendations of
the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded
Warriors (Dole/Shalala). There are now more than 1.86 million e-
Benefits users.
FRA recommends support for the ``Servicemembers Mental Health
Review Act'' (S. 628), sponsored by Senator Jon Tester (MT) and its
House companion bill (H.R. 975) sponsored by Representative Tim Walz
(MN). The bills would authorize the Physical Disability Board of Review
to review and, when necessary, correct service records for veterans
diagnosed by DOD with a Personality Disorder (PD) or Adjustment
Disorder (AD) and discharged after active duty deployment. Many of
these brave veterans have seen combat and may actually be suffering
from Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS). Because PD and AD are considered pre-
existing conditions, the DOD is not obligated to award the benefits
they earned that may help them properly reintegrate into their
communities.
The Association also supports the ``Ruth Moore Act'' (S. 294/H.R.
671) sponsored by Senator Jon Tester (MT) and Representative Chellie
Pingree (ME) respectively that will improve the disability compensation
evaluation procedure at the VA for veterans with mental health
conditions related to military sexual trauma.
FRA believes post traumatic stress should not be referred to as a
``disorder.'' This terminology adds to the stigma of this condition,
and it is critical that the military do all it can to reduce the stigma
associated with PTS and TBI. The DOD disability evaluation should be
required to include all unfitting conditions and DOD physical
evaluation boards should be mandated to standardize disability ratings
between the Service branches. The Association also strongly encourages
support for the Navy's Safe Harbor Program and the Marine Corps Wounded
Warrior Regiment, programs that are providing invaluable support for
these personnel before and after they transition to veterans' status.

MILITARY SUICIDES UP IN 2012

Data from DOD on military suicides in 2012 indicates an increase of
16 percent over 2011. Total active duty suicides for 2012 were 349, up
from 301 suicides in 2011. During a March 21, 2013 hearing, Jacqueline
Garrick, acting director of the Defense Suicide Prevention Office, told
the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee that
servicemember suicide rate had increased from 10.3 suicides per 100,000
in 2001 to 18.3 suicides per 100,000 in 2010. She compared the military
data from 2001 and 2010 to the U.S. suicide rate for males, ages 17 to
60--an age demographic that she claimed best matches the armed forces
demographic. This data reveals that the 2001 comparable civilian
suicide rate was 21.8 suicides per 100,000 and 25.1 per 100,000 in
2010. Military suicides by comparison are increasing at a dramatically
higher rate (77 percent for military vice 15 percent for comparable
civilian population) or five times higher than the civilian rate.
The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 (H.R. 4310, P.L. 112-239) includes a
Senate floor amendment sponsored by Senator Patty Murray (WA) that
requires DOD to implement a standardize and comprehensive suicide
prevention program. The provision was in response to a Rand Corporation
study that indicated that there are serious gaps and a lack of
consistency in military suicide prevention programs. Further, a
Presidential Executive Order was issued in September 2012 that mandates
the VA and DOD to establish an interagency task force to coordinate
suicide prevention efforts. FRA notes that the VA/DOD crisis hot line
has assisted more than 640,000 people and stopped over 23,000 potential
suicides, and believes there must be readily available counseling
support and expanded awareness of help that's available to
servicemembers and veterans in crisis. Expanding VA counseling to
veteran's family members, strengthening oversight of the Integrated
Disability Evaluation System, and requiring VA to establish accurate
measures for mental health are also important and addressed in the NDAA
for Fiscal Year 2013. FRA believes challenges and stress associated
with marital problems and divorce should be considered in addressing
suicide prevention which is a high priority for FRA and the Association
welcomes and supports the initiatives listed above.

UNIFORMED SERVICES FORMER SPOUSES PROTECTION ACT

According to Military.com writer Amy Bushatz, ``The military
divorce rate went down slightly in 2012, settling at 3.5 percent from
the record high 3.7 percent in 2011. Military officials and divorce
experts are hopeful that the overall rate, which had crept slowly up
from 2.6 percent in 2001 to 3.7 percent in 2011, is starting to move
downward.'' Female enlisted soldiers and marines, however, continue to
experience the highest rate of divorce--9.4 percent and 9.3 percent
respectively. In the Army, the female enlisted divorce rate is more
than triple that of enlisted males.''
Related to these statistics, FRA urges Congress to review the
Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act (USFSPA) with the
intent to amend the language so that the Federal Government is required
to protect its servicemembers against State courts that ignore the act.
The USFSPA was enacted 30 years ago; the result of congressional
maneuvering that denied the opposition an opportunity to express its
position in open public hearings. The last hearing, in 1999, was
conducted by the House Veterans' Affairs Committee rather than the
House Armed Services Committee which has oversight authority for
USFSPA.
Few provisions of the USFSPA protect the rights of the
servicemember, and none are enforceable by the Department of Justice or
DOD. If a State court violates the right of the servicemember under the
provisions of USFSPA, the Solicitor General will make no move to
reverse the error. Why? Because the act fails to have the enforceable
language required for Justice or the Defense Department to react. The
only recourse is for the servicemember to appeal to the court, which in
many cases gives that court jurisdiction over the member. Another
infraction is committed by some State courts awarding a percentage of
veterans' compensation to ex-spouses, a clear violation of U.S. law;
yet, the Federal Government does nothing to stop this transgression.
There are other provisions that weigh heavily in favor of former
spouses. For example, when a divorce is granted and the former spouse
is awarded a percentage of the servicemember's retired pay, the amount
should be based on the member's pay grade at the time of the divorce
and not at a higher grade that may be held upon retirement.
FRA believes that the Pentagon's USFSPA study recommendations are a
good starting point for reform. This study includes improvements for
both former spouse and the servicemember.

ACTIVE DUTY/RESERVE PAY

FRA strongly supports a 2014 full Employment Cost Index military
pay increase of 1.8 percent. The Rand Corporation released a study last
year recommending smaller military pay increases starting in fiscal
year 2015. The study indicates that military pay increased faster than
civilian pay since 2000, but ignores the fact that military pay
increases lagged behind civilian pay during the 1990s resulting in a
1999 pay gap of 13.5 percent, which contributed to major recruitment
and retention problems. The study suggests that smaller pay increases
will not significantly impact retention and recruitment due to the
relatively high unemployment rate through out the economy. FRA
disagrees and believes the current high rate of unemployment will not
continue indefinitely, and that pay for the all-volunteer military
should accurately reflect service and the sacrifices borne by those who
serve and their families. As Alex Keenan wrote in Navy Times (03-11-
13), ``The plain truth is that if we want the best, most-highly
trained, most capable military in recorded history, we have to be
collectively willing to pay the monetary price--not only because it
benefits our own national security, but because the people wearing the
uniform are willing to pay an even higher price if called upon.''

END STRENGTH

Adequate military end strength is vital in sustaining our national
security, and FRA is concerned about budget-driven calls for reducing
end strength. After years of reducing its end strength through
involuntary separations and other initiatives, the Navy has now
admitted it has cut too much. As of December 6, 2012 Navy end strength
was 317,600 which is the lowest end strength since 1940.
The strain and inadequate dwell time of repeated deployments is
significant and related to end strength levels. This is reflected in
troubling stress-related statistics that include alarming suicide
rates, prescription drug abuse, alcohol use and military divorce rates.

CONCURRENT RECEIPT

FRA continues its advocacy for legislation authorizing the
immediate payment of concurrent receipt of full military retired pay
and veterans' disability compensation for all disabled retirees. The
Association appreciates the progress that has been made on this issue
that includes a recently enacted provision fixing the Combat Related
Special Compensation (CRSC) glitch that caused some beneficiaries to
lose compensation when their disability rating was increased. There
still remain Chapter 61 retirees receiving Concurrent Retirement and
Disability Pay (CRDP) and CRDP retirees with 20 or more years of
service with less than 50 percent disability rating that should receive
full military retired pay and VA disability compensation without any
offset.
The Association strongly supports pending legislation to authorize
additional improvements that include Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid's legislation (S.234), Representative Sanford Bishop's ``Disabled
Veterans Tax Termination Act'' (H.R. 333) and Representative Gus
Bilirakis' ``Retired Pay Restoration Act'' (H.R. 303).

RESERVE COMPONENT ISSUES

FRA stands foursquare in support of the Nation's reservists and to
improved compensation and benefits packages to attract recruits and
retain currently serving personnel. These changes should include
eliminating the fiscal year early retirement limitation which is
addressed in the ``Reserve Retirement Deployment Credit Correction
Act'' (S. 240) sponsored by Senator Jon Tester (MT) and its House
companion bill (H.R.690), sponsored by Representative Tom Latham (IA).
FRA also supports making early retirement credit retroactive to
September 11, 2001, after which the Reserve component changed from a
strategic reserve to an operational reserve that's vital in prosecuting
the war efforts and other operational commitments.
FRA supports the ``Healthcare for Early Retirement Eligible
Reservists Act'' (H.R. 738), sponsored by HASC Personnel Subcommittee
Chairman Representative Joe Wilson (SC), that would allow retirees of
the Reserve Component to receive medical and dental care at military
treatment facilities (MTF) or VA facilities prior to reaching age 60.
The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2009 granted qualifying reservists early
retirement, but did not authorize healthcare benefits. In addition
reservists in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) have no access to
health care.
The Association also supports restoring the Reserve Montgomery GI
Bill benefits to at least 47 percent of active duty MGIB benefits.
Further FRA recommends funding of a tailored Transition Assistance
Program (TAP) to meet the unique needs of reservists, including
academic protections for mobilized reservists students such as refund
guarantees, exemption from repayment of Federal student loans during
activation, and maintaining academic standing.

SBP/DIC OFFSET REPEAL

FRA supports the ``Military Surviving Equity Act'' (H.R. 32)
sponsored by Representative Joe Wilson (SC) to eliminate the Survivor
Benefit Plan (SBP)/Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) offset
for widows and widowers of servicemembers. This bill would eliminate
the offset, also known as the ``widow's tax,'' on approximately 60,000
widows and widowers of our Armed Forces.
SBP and DIC payments are paid for different reasons. SBP is
purchased by the retiree and is intended to provide a portion of
retired pay to the survivor. DIC is a special indemnity compensation
paid to the survivor when a member's service causes his or her
premature death. In such cases, the VA indemnity compensation should be
added to the SBP the retiree paid for, not substituted for it. It
should be noted as a matter of equity that surviving spouses of Federal
civilian retirees who are disabled veterans and die of military-
service-connected causes can receive DIC without losing any of their
Federal civilian SBP benefits.

RETENTION OF FINAL FULL MONTH'S RETIRED PAY

FRA urges the subcommittee to authorize the retention of the full
final month's retired pay by the surviving spouse (or other designated
survivor) of a military retiree for the month in which the member was
alive for at least 24 hours. FRA strongly supports ``The Military
Retiree Survivor Comfort Act'' (H.R. 1360), introduced by
Representative Walter Jones (NC) that achieves this goal.
Current regulations require survivors of deceased military retirees
to return any retirement payment received in the month the retiree
passes away or any subsequent month thereafter. Upon the demise of a
retired servicemember in receipt of military retired pay, the surviving
spouse is to notify DOD of the death. The Department's financial arm
then stops payment on the retirement account, recalculates the final
payment to cover only the days in the month the retiree was alive,
forwards a check for those days to the surviving spouse (beneficiary)
and, if not reported in a timely manner, recoups any payment(s) made
covering periods subsequent to the retiree's death. The recouping is
made without consideration of the survivor's financial status.
The measure is related to a similar pay policy enacted by the VA.
Congress passed a law in 1996 that allows a surviving spouse to retain
the veteran's disability and VA pension payments issued for the month
of the veteran's death. FRA believes military retired pay should be no
different.

IMPROVEMENTS FOR MILITARY PREDATORY LENDING LAW

FRA thanks this subcommittee for improvements in the Military
Lending Act (MLA) specified in the Senate version (S. 3254) of the
fiscal year 2013 Defense Authorization bill. This provision provides an
explicit private right of action and civil penalties for predatory
lenders, and expands oversight and enforcement authority to the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade
Commission. Unfortunately, other related amendments to close loopholes
in the definitions of payday and car title loans in the Senate version
of the NDAA were not included in the final bill.
The NDAA also called on DOD to conduct a study during 2013 to
identify harmful credit products and practices and recommend
protections to close loopholes. DOD is also required to promulgate a
regulation in 2013 to implement changes in the law. FRA, CFPB, and
consumer groups recently meet with DOD officials on this issue and have
asked the Department to include payday and car title loan definitions
in the regulation and also clarify that nonresident military borrowers
are protected by all State credit laws. FRA urges continued oversight
by this subcommittee to ensure that the report is timely and accurate.

PROTECT THE COMMISSARY AND EXCHANGE SYSTEMS

Military commissaries and exchanges are essential parts of the
military benefit package and FRA's online survey completed in February
2013 indicates that nearly 61 percent of retirees rated Commissary/
Exchange privileges as ``very important.'' FRA is a member of the
recently established coalition to Save Our Military Shopping Benefits.
The coalition now has 13 member organizations representing 1.5 million
servicemembers, veterans, and their families, many of which are
authorized patrons of the resale system.
A new study by the Resale and MWR Center for Research entitled
``Costs and Benefits of the DOD Resale System'' indicates that these
programs provide military members, retirees and their families with
shopping discounts worth $4.5 billion annually. These stores are the
biggest employers of military family members with 50,000 spouses,
dependent children, retirees and veterans on the payrolls, adding $884
million a year to military household incomes. The Association notes
with concern DOD's plans to soon issue furlough notices to the Defense
Commissary Agency (DeCA) employees and close commissaries on Mondays
for the remainder of the fiscal year due to sequestration related cuts
to operating accounts of 9.2 percent.
The report also indicates that approximately $545 million a year
from store operations is reinvested in base infrastructure. This is
from profits of military exchanges and from a 5-percent surcharge
collected at cash registers in commissaries. These facilities and
capital improvements become assets on the balance sheet of the Federal
Government. Exchange profits also fund important base morale, welfare,
and recreation programs (MWR) that contribute to an enhanced quality of
life for military beneficiaries.

CHILD CARE AND FAMILY HOUSING

Access to affordable, quality child care must be a high priority
for all the military services. Adequate and reliable child care helps
reduce stress on a military family--especially when one of the parents
is deployed. Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Michael Stevens'
March 19, 2013 statement to the House Military Construction and
Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee state that Navy Child
Development Centers (CDC) provide quality care that is affordable when
compared to commercial programs that charge based on age (children age
three and under the most expensive and typically most junior enlisted
have younger children); whereas Navy fees are based on total family
income. Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Micheal Barrett also
testified before the subcommittee indicating that the Marine Corps is
scheduled to increase CDC spaces in fiscal year 2013-2014. The Navy
completed its CDC multi-year expansion efforts last year that added
7,000 new child care spaces to meet the Office of Secretary of Defense
guidance to provide 80 percent of potential child care needs. This
expansion reduced waiting times to 3 months or less. The impact of
sequestration on CDCs is unclear. Some centers are staffed by non-
appropriated fund (NAF) workers who will not be affected by furloughs.
Others are staffed by civilian government employees and some by a
combination of both. Centers staffed by DOD civilians will be impacted
by furloughs.
Regarding military housing, the Marines have more than 24,000 homes
and 96 percent are privatized (PPV). The Marine Corps reports that PPVs
improve family housing, community centers, and playgrounds creating
more of a sense of community. The Navy has privatized 97 percent of its
homes in CONUS and Hawaii. The Navy will begin construction of new
housing at the Naval Base Coronado, CA, for 468 E-1 through E-4
sailors. The Navy is working to reduce inadequate housing from 37
percent currently, to 10 percent by fiscal year 2019.
FRA believes there is also a need to reform enlisted housing
standards by allowing E-7s and above to reside in separate homes, track
the Basic Allowance for Housing to ensure it is commensurate with
actual housing costs, ensure adequate housing inventory and that
housing privatization programs are beneficial to servicemembers and
their families.

CONCLUSION

FRA is grateful for the opportunity to provide these
recommendations to this distinguished subcommittee.

Master Chief Joseph L. Barnes, USN (Ret.), National Executive Director,
Fleet Reserve Association
Joseph L. (Joe) Barnes is a retired Navy Master Chief and serves as
the Fleet Reserve Association's (FRA) National Executive Director. He
is a member of FRA's National Board of Directors, chairs the
Association's National Committee on Legislative Service, and is
responsible for managing the organization's National Headquarters in
Alexandria, VA. In addition, he is president of the FRA Education
Foundation which oversees the Association's scholarship program that
presented awards totaling $128,000 in 2012.
Barnes joined FRA's National Headquarters team in 1993 and prior to
assuming his current position in 2002, he served as FRA's Director of
Legislative Programs. During his tenure, the Association realized
significant legislative gains, and was recognized with a certificate
award for excellence in government relations from the American Society
of Association Executives (ASAE).
In addition to his FRA duties, Barnes is Co-Chairman of the
Military Coalition and co-chairs the Coalition's Personnel,
Compensation and Commissaries Committee. He is also a member of the
Defense Commissary Agency's Patron Council and an ex-officio member of
the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation's Board of Directors.
He received the U.S. Coast Guard's Meritorious Public Service Award
and was appointed an Honorary Member of the U.S. Coast Guard in 2003.
While on active duty, he was the public affairs director for the
U.S. Navy Band in Washington, DC, and directed marketing and
promotional efforts for national tours, network radio and television
appearances, and major special events in the Nation's capital. His
awards include the Defense Meritorious Service and Navy Commendation
Medals.
Barnes holds a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree
in public relations management from The American University,
Washington, DC. He earned the Certified Association Executive
designation from ASAE in 2003 and is an accredited member of the
International Association of Business Communicators.

STATEMENT OF CAPT MARSHALL HANSON, USN, RETIRED, DIRECTOR,
LEGISLATIVE AND MILITARY POLICY, RESERVE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION

Captain Hanson. Madam Chairman, members of the
subcommittee, I am Marshall Hanson. In addition to my job at
the ROA, I am a co-chair for the TMC's Guard and Reserve
Committee.
Amid the news reports about Monday's bombing in Boston,
there was a video clip of two people in uniform helping clear
debris. Whether they were active or Reserve component, these
brave individuals exemplify a military that runs towards chaos.
During the last 11 years of war, almost 875,000 Reserve and
Guard members were called to active duty. Of these, 1,225 died
in the line of duty. Despite such sacrifices, there remains a
number of benefit parity issues that need to be fixed by
legislation.
While TMC thanks this committee for allowing Reserve
component members to earn early retirement, many do not receive
the full retirement credit that they deserve. A fiscal year
barrier exists, denying them a 90-day credit if their service
crosses between 2 fiscal years. TMC supports S. 240 by Senators
Tester, Chambliss, and Blumenthal to fix the problem in U.S.
Code. TMC also advocates extending the early retirement to the
warriors who served since September 11, 2001. Just yesterday, I
learned of a female colonel who was affected by both aspects of
the law. She served 16 months in theater, won a Bronze Star,
but only got 9 months' credit towards earlier retirement.
A need exists to modernize the Reserve retirement system to
incentivize service beyond 20 years. This has been declining
over the last 11 years of war. As many senior officers and
enlisted are performing duty without pay, TMC endorses
crediting all inactive duty toward Reserve retirement. Also, if
an officer or enlisted retiree is recalled, his or her
retirement should be recalculated after 1 year of mobilization
as it is allowed now for general offices.
Documenting active duty should be reexamined. Many Reserve
and Guard members do not qualify for veteran status because
their active duty periods are not long enough. Rather than
collect a pile of DD-214s at the end of one's career, it makes
sense to have a single document upon separation from the
Reserve component that accumulates that all duty performed and
lists specialty codes and awards.
The title 10 Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) allowance for
selective reservists is woefully inadequate, being only 11.5
percent of what is paid in the post-9/11 GI Bill. The new GI
Bill pays up to $2,800 per month while the Montgomery GI Bill
for selected Reserve pays only $356 per month for full time
study. As one reservist said, ``This barely pays for gas and
parking.''
TMC asks the committee to work with the Senate Veterans
Affairs to restore the selected Reserve allowance to the
historic benchmark of 47 percent of the Active Duty MGIB, and
to also integrate it into title 38 so there is no longer an
orphan GI Bill under title 10.
While the TAP is being revised and improved, the Reserve
and Guard members will not benefit. The active duty is hesitant
to allow Reserve component members to linger on active duty so
they can participate in TAP. After a long period of Active
Duty, Reserve, and Guard members are anxious to get home.
There is a need to explore an outside of the gate version
of TAP so that RC members can get the materials without being
at an active duty base. Integrating this with the Yellow Ribbon
Program is an option, but one that requires funding as we
cannot ask our returning Guard and Reserve members to be
debriefed without pay.
Reserve health care also needs some continuity tweaking.
Those who participate in TRICARE Reserve Select love the
program, but the ROA joins other groups in not supporting
suggested TRICARE fee increases because it will have a possible
impact on the cost of TRICARE Reserve Select.
Regrettably, the transitions between different military
health care programs are not seamless. Serving members need to
re-enroll at various points as they transition on and off of
active duty. It is even worse for those who have kept their
civilian employer's medical plan.
TMC thanks this committee for the added 18 months' TRICARE
Reserve Select transition when one leaves the Selected Reserve.
But the current TRICARE retired Reserve program is inadequate
because of its high premium levels.
ROA, like other associations, looks forward to working with
the committee on these and other issues that were highlighted
in written testimony. I thank you, and I await your questions.
[The prepared statement of the Reserve Officers Association
follows:]

Prepared Statement by the Reserve Officers Association of the United
States and the Reserve Enlisted Association

INTRODUCTION

On behalf of our members, the Reserve Officers Association and the
Reserve Enlisted Association thank the committee for the opportunity to
submit testimony on personnel issues affecting serving Active and
Reserve members, retirees, their families, and survivors, as well as
civilian personnel.
The Federal Reserve and the National Guard are integral
contributors to our Nation's operational ability to defend itself,
assist other countries in maintaining global peace, and fight against
overseas threats. They are an integrated part of the Total Force, yet
remain a surge capability as well. A recent study by the Reserve Forces
Policy Board has found that a Reserve component member costs the
Department of Defense (DOD) 31 percent of the cost of his or her Active
Duty counterpart over the life cycle of the warrior.
At a time when the Pentagon and Congress are examining our Nation's
security, it would be incorrect to discount the Reserve components'
abilities and cost efficiencies. Instead, these part-time warriors
provide a cost savings solution and an area to retain competencies for
missions not directly embodied in the administration's strategic
policy, Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for a 21st
Century Defense.
ROA and REA are concerned that as the Pentagon strives to achieve
the administration's goals for this new strategic policy, it is not
seriously considering the available assets and cost efficiencies of the
Reserve component, and that it instead views the Reserve and National
Guard as a bill payer. Congress, starting with the leadership of this
subcommittee, should insist on a methodical analysis of suggested
reductions in missions and bases before authorizing such changes.

PROVIDE AND EXECUTE AN ADEQUATE NATIONAL SECURITY

The Reserve Officers Association is chartered by Congress ``to
support and promote the development and execution of a military policy
for the United States that will provide adequate national security.''
The nation must have adequate military force structure, training, and
equipment to defeat any known or emerging military force that could be
used against us.
Requested Action
Hold congressional hearings on the budget implications
of the policy ``Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities
for the 21st Century Defense.''
Reconcile the budget in order to end the Defense
Sequestration budget cuts.
Study the impact of manpower cuts to Army and Marine
Corps on national Security.
Avoid parity cuts of both Active and Reserve
components without analyzing rebalance.
Maintain a robust and versatile All-Volunteer Armed
Forces that can accomplish its mission to defend the homeland
and U.S. national security interests overseas.

The proposed Defense budget by the administration builds upon a DOD
reform agenda that it began several years ago. In 2010, Secretary of
Defense Robert M. Gates outlined an efficiencies initiative designed to
save the Department $100 billion over the next 5 years. In 2012,
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced that DOD was on the path to
cut $487 billion from expenses over the next 10 years as mandated by
the Budget Control Act of 2011. DOD's fiscal year 2013 budget request
included an additional $60 billion in cuts between 2013 and 2017.
The original initiative by former Secretary Gates as stated in the
fiscal year 2012 defense budget was to identify $178 billion in
efficiency savings in order to reinvest $100 billion in high-priority
programs. Yet the reinvestment strategy has gone by the wayside, with
the focus simply on reducing the defense dollars.
For fiscal year 2014, a savings of approximately $34 billion have
been identified by the administration to be reprogrammed for better use
across the ``Future Years Defense Plan. Many of these efficiencies
``mimic the fiscal year 2013 requests'' which Congress rejected last
year.
ROA and REA question the current spending priorities that place
more importance on the immediate future, rather than first doing a
short- and long-term threat analysis. The result of such a budget-
centric policy could again lead to a hollow force whose readiness and
effectiveness is degraded.
In its statement about priorities and choices, the administration
talked about ``reducing overhead costs within the military service and
across the defense enterprise--by an estimated $200 billion between
fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2017--as a result of paring back
excess staff [and] headquarters.''
The administration proposes to cut defense ``civilian personnel of
about 5 percent between fiscal year 2012 and 2018,'' but warns that
``about half of these reductions depend on infrastructure
consolidation, restructuring of military treatment facilities, and
forecasted reductions in demand for depot maintenance as we come out of
Afghanistan.''

BASE CLOSURE OR DEFENSE REALIGNMENT?

The President's budget continues to ask for more rounds of base
closures. REA and ROA don't support such a BRAC recommendation. In the
2005 BRAC, Reserve and National Guard facilities were closed, reducing
the risk of closure of active duty facilities.

(1) BRAC savings are faux savings as these savings are outside the
accounting cycle; with a lot of additional dollar expenses front loaded
into the defense budget for infrastructure improvements to support
transferred personnel.
(2) Too much base reduction eliminates facilities needed to
support surge capability. Some surplus is good.

Instead, ROA and REA recommend that Congress consider an
independent Defense Realignment Commission that would examine the
aggregate national security structure. It could examine:

(1) Emerging Threats.
(2) Foreign defense treaties and alliance obligations.
(3) Overseas and forward deployment requirements.
(4) Foreign Defense Aid.
(5) Defense partnerships with the State Department and other
agencies, as well as NGO's.
(6) Requisite missions and elimination of duplicity between the
Services.
(7) Current and Future weapon procurement and development.
(8) Resetting the force for a post-war context.
(9) Critical Industrial base.
(10) Surge capability and contingency repository.
(11) Best utilization and force structure of Active and Reserve
components.
(12) Regional or centralized training, and dual purpose equipment
availability.
(13) Compensation, recruiting, and retention; trends and
solutions.

In a time of war and force rebalancing, it is wrong to make cuts to
the end strength of the Reserve components. We need to pause to permit
force planning and strategy to take precedence over budget reductions.

RESERVE STRENGTH

``The challenges DOD has to face are not going to be handled by
circling the wagons here at home,'' Dennis McCarthy, then-Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs told ROA at its national
meeting in 2011. ``We're going to continue to need a force that can
deploy worldwide . . . for the full spectrum of missions. . . . With
roughly 1.4 [million] active-duty servicemembers, 1.2 million Reserve
component members and likely future missions worldwide,'' McCarthy
added, ``the military will need to continue to rely on Reserve
strength.''
The Reserve Forces are an integral contributor to our Nation's
operational ability to defend our soil, assist other countries in
maintaining global peace, and fight in overseas contingency operations.
The utilization of America's Reserve and National Guard during all
phases of military operations is a fundamental enabler to properly
gaining and sustaining the support of our citizens. It should be noted
that this principle, known by many as the Abrams Doctrine, has become
more important since the elimination of the draft and in times of
prolonged conflict.
ROA and REA agree with the Reserve Forces Policy Board that despite
11 years of war, there is inconsistency within the Pentagon on what is
an operational reserve, which causes confusion within the DOD and leads
to improper communications about the Reserve component's role to both
Congress and the public.
This lack of understanding about the contributions of the Reserve
component can handicap strategy planning and the budget process, as
discussions occur in both Congress and the Pentagon on how to reduce
the budget and the deficit. The peril of lowering defense spending is
that the Reserve components will become a bill payer. The Air Force and
the Navy are already making drastic cuts to their Reserve components.
REA and ROA would like to thank the Senate and members of this
subcommittee who took legislative action to reduce the impact of
recommend cuts to airframes and personnel that were touted by the Air
Force.
However, the risk continues to exist where Defense planners may be
tempted to put the Federal Reserve and the National Guard back on the
shelf, by providing them ``hand me down'' outmoded equipment and by
underfunding training.
The Reserve Components Remain a Cost-Efficient and Valued Force.
Reserve component servicemembers have significantly less overhead
and infrastructure costs than their Active component counterparts.
On January 11, 2013, the Reserve Forces Policy Board (RFBP)
delivered a report on military personnel costing practices to the
Secretary of Defense. In it executive summary RFPB states that the cost
of a Reserve component servicemember, when not activated, is less than
one third of their Active Duty counterpart. According to RFPB analysis
of the fiscal year 2013 budget request, ``the Reserve component per
capita cost ranges from 22 percent to 32 percent of their AC
counterparts' per capita costs, depending on which cost elements are
included.''
The RFBP found that the Department does not know, use, or track the
fully-burdened and life-cycle costs of its most expensive resource--its
military personnel. ``Thus, major military manpower decisions are
uninformed on the real present and future costs. The RFPB concluded
that the Department suffers from a gap in its costing data, because it
lacks proper policy to require a complete and consistent costing
methodology that can identify the true fully-burdened and life-cycle
costs.''
ROA and REA support changes to U.S. Code to require DOD to use a
costing methodology based on a true fully-burdened and life-cycle
costing.
The Reserve and National Guard should also be viewed as a
repository for missions and equipment that aren't addressed in the
administration's new Strategic Policy. They can sustain special
capabilities not normally needed in peacetime.
Part of the President's budget includes planned end strength
reductions for both the Army and Marine Corps, by 80,000 and 20,000,
respectively. It should be remembered that individuals cannot be
brought quickly on to active duty on a temporary basis, as it is an
accumulation of experience and training that is acquired over years
that becomes an asset for the military. The Reserve is also a
repository for these skills.
In the Hamilton Project-National Defense in a Time of Change,
authors ADM Gary Roughhead, USN (Ret.) and Kori Schake recommend that
``we must redesign our forces and budget to our strategy, and not to
equal service share between branches. . . . Putting more of the
responsibilities for ground combat into the combat-proven Reserve
component is both consistent with the new demands of the evolving
international order and justified by the superb performance of National
Guard and Reserve units in our recent wars.''
The study authors suggest that Congress should reduce the Army ``by
200,000 soldiers from the 490,000 planned in the fiscal year 2013
budget, and the [R]eserve and National Guard units would be increased
by 100,000 and would have the principal mission of arriving in a mature
theater for sustained combat.''
Rather than be limited by historical thinking, and parochial
protections, creative approaches should be explored. The Reserve
component needs to continue in an operational capacity because of cost
efficiency and added value. Further, the cost of the Reserve and
National Guard should not be confused with their value, as their value
to national defense is incalculable. Civilian skill sets add to the
value of the individual serving member.
To maintain a strong, relevant, and responsive Reserve Force, the
Nation must commit the resources necessary to do so. Reserve strength
is predicated on assuring the necessary resources-funding for personnel
and training, equipment reconstitution, and horizontal fielding of new
technology to the Reserve component, coupled with defining roles and
missions to achieve a strategic/operational reserve balance.
National Guard and Reserve Equipment Allowance
The Reserve and National Guard are faced with ongoing challenges on
how to replace worn out equipment, equipment lost due to combat
operations and legacy equipment that is becoming irrelevant or
obsolete. The National Guard and Reserve Equipment Allowance (NGREA)
provide critical funds to the Reserve Chiefs and National Guard
Directors to improve readiness throughout procurement of new and
modernized equipment. Continued receipt of NGREA and congressionally
added funding will allow the Reserve components (RC) to continue to
close the Active/Reserve component modernization and interoperability
gap.
Merger of the Reserve and the National Guard
Since the administration has a goal to consolidate infrastructure,
there is a temptation by some to endorse merging the Reserve and the
Guard as a means to save money. ROA and REA are against any such
merger.
The various Reserve components--Reserve and Guard--are serving well
as currently organized. They both have distinguished traditions of
service that should not be trampled without a definitive rational to do
so. No case has been made that national security would be better served
by a merger.
A merger may limit the President's accessibility (ability to
mobilize and use) to the Federal Reserve. There is some history
reflecting noncooperation between Governors and the President when the
latter has wished to utilize the National Guard. Access to the Reserve
component combat commanders would be limited, with planners reducing
the utilization of an operational reserve. The U.S. Army Reserve is now
a Federal asset that can become a State asset (Guard); the U.S. Air
Force Reserve has already flown support for State and disaster
missions.
Merging of the Guard and Reserve at a minimum would involve nearly
three-quarters of a million personnel. The reorganization caused by a
merger of the Nation's Reserve components would be a mammoth
undertaking, costing more than suggested savings.
No major defense figure has called for a merger--not the President,
not the Secretary of Defense, none of the Service Secretaries, nor the
Joint Chiefs, no combatant commander, and no Reserve Chief--Guard or
Reserve. Indeed, the Reserve Chiefs of the USAR and USAFR oppose a
merger. The calls for a merger have come from retired officers and
State-level leadership with anecdotal and speculative opinion.
REA and ROA would like to thank Congress and this committee for
amending title 10, U.S.C., chapter 1209 of section 12304a that allows
title 10 reservists to provide assistance during a time of major
disaster or emergency, and for amending Section 515 of Chapter 1209
that now authorizes Service Secretaries to activate Guard and Reserve
members at times other than war or emergencies to augment the Active
component. ROA and REA hope that the administration makes use of these
new authorities by providing necessary funding.
Quadrennial Defense Review.
The QDR does not adequately utilize the Reserve and Guard in its
national security review. The Reserve Forces Policy Board found that
senior officials in the Office of the Secretary of Defense with
responsibility for preparing the 2010 QDR did not ensure that it
complied with the requirements of title 10, section 118, that specifies
that the QDR include ``the anticipated roles and missions of the
Reserve components in the national defense strategy and the strength,
capabilities, and equipment necessary to assure that the Reserve
components can capably discharge those roles and missions.'' The RFPB
also noted that Government Accountability Office found that the QDR
submitted to Congress in February 2010 did not meet this requirement.
ROA plans to publish a white paper this summer that will discuss
anticipated roles and missions for the Reserve and Guard as input to
the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review.

RESERVE LIFE

Reserve and Guard members have provided unprecedented service and
sacrifice for the past decade. Congress should make a commitment to
them to provide lifelong support for them through career growth,
civilian employment, seamless health care, family support and deferred
compensation that has been promised to them upon retirement. This will
be an incentive to continue to serve.
Continuum of Service
A continuum of service influences the way the Nation uses
individual servicemembers and the way it employs its Active and Reserve
Forces. It enables an effective use of our most important national
security asset: the men and women who are willing to serve in the Armed
Forces. It allows them and their families to continue to serve
throughout predictable life-status changes, and leverages their skills
throughout a career that is unencumbered with unnecessary barriers.
By consolidating Active and Reserve personnel procedures and
policies, and permitting seamless transition between the Active and
Reserve components, individuals can gain better control of their own
careers, while the Services maximize the efficiency of force structure.
A continuum would allow for flexibility and optimization of the Total
Force by allowing special skills and functions to be activated as
needed and returned to the Reserve component when not.
Continuum of service is a human capital strategy that views Active
(full-time) and Reserve (part-time) military service not as two
elements of valuable service but as a continuation of service where a
qualified individual can serve in different capacities and durations
during his or her career. A continuum of service strategy recognizes
the tremendous cost of accessing and training each servicemember and
seeks to avoid unnecessary replication of such costs by accessing those
skills rather than replacing them.
Taken to its full potential, a continuum of service would require a
re-examination of how service is credited and compensated, but would
also allow for a more efficient management of our forces in a resource
constrained environment.
This will require a seamless continuity of military healthcare,
supported by TRICARE; and an accumulative documentation of both Active
and Reserve active duty service, published on a single DOD form, rather
than a series of Certificate(s) of Release or Discharge from Active
Duty (DD Form 214), whenever someone leaves active duty.
Reserve Life Issues supported by the Reserve Officers and Reserve
Enlisted Associations include:

Changes to retention policies:
Permit service beyond current mandatory retirement
limitations.
Eliminate the fiscal year barrier, permitting the
accumulation of active service between 2 years.
Retain serving members for skill sets, even when
passed over for promotion.
Support incentives for affiliation, reenlistment,
retention and continuation in the Reserve component.
Advocate against cuts in Reserve component; support
Reserve commissioning programs.
Reauthorize yellow ribbon program to support
demobilized Guard and Reserve members.

Pay and Compensation:
Reject recommendations by The 11th Quadrennial Review
of Military Compensation to reduce Reserve component pay for
monthly inactive duty training in half.
Reimburse a Reserve component member for expenses
incurred in connection with round-trip travel in excess of 50
miles to an inactive training location, including mileage
traveled, lodging, and subsistence.
Eliminate the 1/30th rule for Aviation Career
Incentive Pay, Career Enlisted Flyers Incentive Pay, and Diving
Special Duty Pay.
Simplify the Reserve duty order system without
compromising drill compensation.

Education:
Exempt earned benefit from GI Bill from being
considered income in need based aid calculations.
Increase MGIB-Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) to 47 percent
of MGIB-Active.
Include 4-year reenlistment contracts to qualify for
MGIB-SR.

Spouse Support:
Expand eligibility of surviving spouses to receive
Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP)-Dependency Indemnity Clause (DIC)
payments with no offset.
Provide family leave for spouses and family care-
givers of mobilized Guard and Reserve for a period of time
prior to or following the deployment of the military member.

Deferred Benefits and Retirement:
Extend current early retirement legislation
retroactively to Sept. 11, 2001.
Change U.S. Code to eliminate the fiscal year barrier
toward full credit toward early retirement.
Promote improved legislation on reducing the Reserve
component retirement age.
Permit mobilized retirees to earn additional
retirement points with less than 2 years of activated service,
and codify retirement credit for serving members over age 60.
Modify U.S. Code that requires repayment of separation
bonuses if an individual receives a Uniformed Service
retirement annuity.
Continue to protect and sustain existing retirement
benefits for currently retired.

Voting:
Ensure that every deployed servicemember has an
opportunity to vote by:

Working with the Federal Voting Assistance
Program.
Supporting electronic voting.

Ensure that every military absentee ballot is counted.

Continuity of Health Care:
REA and ROA support improving health care continuity to all
drilling reservists and their families. While Transitional Assistance
Management Program (TAMP) TRICARE and TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) are
good first steps, TRICARE is neither universally accepted nor
accessible to everyone entitled.
The President's decision to reduce 5,235 full-time positions in the
Military Health System will force more military personnel and families
into the TRICARE network, and by reducing the Prime Service Areas, will
likely reduce the number of civilian providers who will accept TRICARE
beneficiaries.
Recent DOD policies on mobilization frequency of the Reserve and
National Guard members set a goal of 1 year out of 5. This will make
continuity of health care even more important to Reserve component (RC)
members. ROA endorses enhancements to:

Continue to improve health care continuity to all
drilling reservists and their families by:

providing individuals an option of DOD paying
a stipend toward employer's health care,
extending TRS coverage to mobilization ready
IRR members; levels of subsidy would vary for different
levels of readiness,
allowing demobilized retirees and reservists
involuntarily returning to IRR to qualify for
subsidized TRS coverage,
extending TRICARE coverage from the time of
alert prior to mobilization,
allowing demobilized Federal employees the
option of TRS coverage.

Fund restorative dental care prior to mobilization.
Request a GAO Review of TRR premiums which currently
do not support a continuity of healthcare.

Reserve and Guard members experience problems when moving from
their civilian health care to TRICARE while being deployed. They
frequently must change physicians, which is extremely stressful for
family members who require continuing care, such as a pregnant spouse
or a family member who requires special care. Members and their
families can also experience problems when returning to private
healthcare insurance from TRICARE if there is a condition which began
while in the TRICARE system.
Additionally, REA and ROA view the military health care provided to
retirees as an earned benefit. This is also a deferred incentive that
encourages both Active and Reserve members to be retained. DOD health
care inefficiencies and wartime expenses should not be a financial
burden placed on these retirees. ROA and REA are grateful to Congress
for the passage of TRICARE Standard coverage for gray-area reservists
but hope that the Armed Services Committees can request a review of
premium levels.

Joint Military Professional Education--a need to expand.
A deep bench of Joint Qualified Officers (JQO) is essential to
military planning and operations in today's national security
environment. The architects of the Goldwater-Nichols Act recognized
this and attempted to codify standards and career milestones to build a
robust cadre of Joint officers. Although this act makes no distinction
between the Services' Active and Reserve components, obtaining JQO
Level III status, which requires both joint experience and education,
has proven much more challenging for members of the Reserve components
(RC) to achieve. The primary reason is that opportunities for members
of the RC to attain JPME Phase II credit or attend Senior-Level
Education in residence are more limited than for the Active component
(AC). Members of the RC typically complete Senior-Level Service School
through their respective Services' distance education program.
However, graduates of the Distance Education Programs (DEP) do not
receive the JPME Phase II credit required to achieve the coveted JQO
Level III status. So, in addition to completing a 12 to 24 month DEP,
RC members aspiring to achieve JQO status must complete the Advanced
Joint Professional Military Education (AJPME), a 10-month blended
course, through Joint Forces Staff College. Altogether this can
potentially add up to 34 months of education to achieve what most
members of the AC do in 10 months at in-residence programs--despite the
fact that nearly the same curricula standards apply to both the DEP and
the resident education program (REP). To both provide equal access to
achieve Level III status, and to better position the RC to continue to
function as an Operational Force, barriers to educational achievement
must be creatively addressed while not lowering standards.
Solution--Amend title 10, U.S.C., and adjust policy to provide that
nonresident graduates of accredited senior-level service school
programs receive the same JPME credit as resident graduates. It is
acceptable to also require that a certain amount of the non-resident
curricula also deal with joint issues. Further, the laws should be
amended that provide that graduates of the Joint Forces Staff College
(JFSC) Advanced JPME course receive Phase II credit.
Permit flexibility in the student and faculty ratios now required
by title 10, U.S.C., to permit the nonresident programs to adjust and
validate other ratios that would still yield a proper joint education.
The waiving of the current ratios would be solely within the control of
the Secretary of Defense although his discretion should be limited to
permitting a maximum ratio of 80 percent faculty and students coming
from the host institution to ensure cross-culturalization.
ROA has suggested language to amend title 10, U.S.C., and will work
with the committee to make these improvements.

CONCLUSION

ROA and REA restate our profound gratitude for the bipartisan
success achieved by this committee by improving parity on pay,
compensation and benefits between the Active and Reserve components.
The challenges being faced with proposed budget cuts are going to make
this committee's job that much harder.
ROA and REA look forward to working with the personnel subcommittee
where we can present solutions to these challenges and other issues,
and offers our support in anyway.

Senator Gillibrand. Thank you to each of you for your
testimony and your advocacy and your service. We appreciate it
very much.
I wanted to start with Ms. Moakler just because you raised
the issue of suicide. We are obviously still seeing a very high
number of suicides by our servicemembers from those both
returning from war and those who have never been deployed. In
2012, the military hit a tragic record high of 349 suicides, or
1 every 25 hours. This statistic obviously is heartbreaking and
tragic, and should serve as a call to action for the DOD to do
more to prevent our servicemembers from taking their own lives.
Ms. Moakler, you said that you wished the families and the
servicemembers had been included in the work they are doing.
Can you amplify what you stated and give me more information?
Ms. Moakler. Yes. Because of the need of accessing
behavioral health care, because of perhaps not having access
and the tools that they need to address the stress from
deployment, we hear of many family members who have
contemplated suicide or even have committed suicide. As a
matter of fact, we have been hearing about three military
children who have committed suicide just in Fairfax County over
the past year.
So while the tools are out there, how do we determine--how
do we pinpoint what we can give to families to meet their
needs? How do we get the information out to them so that they
can realize that there is someone that they can reach out to
before they take drastic steps?
Senator Gillibrand. From other members on the panel, I
would like your thoughts on this. Obviously we have a lot of
challenges after separation. There is often a stigma associated
with seeking mental health services. There is the Yellow Ribbon
program and other programs we have often do not continue beyond
the first year. Oftentimes post-traumatic stress disorder and
other traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) manifest themselves over
time, and so suicide becomes an issue over time.
What are some of your thoughts on this issue and how we
should respond to it as a committee?
Chief Barnes. Madam Chairman, I would thank you for your
attention to this issue and for the question. I know from my
own personal experience while on active duty, I can speak to
the tremendous stigma associated with seeking counseling and
admitting the need for counseling. That continues. That a major
motivator, as you mentioned.
I believe it is a leadership issue with regard to--from the
top down within the Department to uniform leaders with trying
to communicate the importance of seeking counseling, and also
educating servicemembers about the importance of that, not just
with regard to suicide, but with regard to PTS and TBI
conditions and whatever the signature conditions associated
with service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But I think that is really, really important to emphasize
and try to address the stigma associated with that. I agree
with the importance of looking at this more broadly with regard
to family members and dependents.
Thank you.
Colonel Strobridge. Madam Chairman, I have to say there is
a certain amount of intransigence to this problem. But I think
there is at least some similarity to the sexual assault issue.
Both of these are highly traumatic kinds of situations. They
are deeply personal. People are, in many cases, very reluctant
to come forward.
But I do think that there is an institutional element to
that stigma. Just as you have talked about holding the command
responsible for the sexual assault issues, we have had many
cases, very frankly, where there was pretty atrocious behavior
by people in the chain of command telling people, ``suck it
up,'' ``you do not have a problem,'' ``get back to work,''
those kinds of things. We even had a very senior officer--it
was several years ago--actually prosecuted a lieutenant colonel
for attempting to commit suicide against the advice of the
surgeon general.
To my knowledge, I have never heard of anybody being
relieved for that kind of behavior. To me, I think that is one
of the reasons why the stigma persists, because people see no
penalty for the people who do engage in that behavior. Now, I
have no doubt about the sincerity of the leadership in pursuing
this, but I think in the chain of command, whether it is a
senior noncommissioned officer, or an O-3, or an O-5, or an O-
6, or a flag officer who tolerates the behavior or participates
in that behavior. The person suffers the consequences, but the
person who imposed that intimidating factor does not, that
sends a message.
Senator Gillibrand. We, in the last NDAA, asked for a
study, particularly about hazing. We said suicide resulted from
a couple of hazing incidents. They happened to be New Yorkers.
So we asked for an analysis by the military on incidents of
hazing and how to get rid of it and how to address the issue.
Ms. Moakler, you said that you were requesting that we ask for
a study similarly for military families on suicide rates, which
I think is a very fine suggestion.
Captain Hanson, do you have any thoughts you want to add to
this debate?
Captain Hanson. Thank you. I was noticing how everybody was
so quick going for the talk button. It just shows you how
impassioned we are all on this issue.
The challenge for the Reserve and Guard is the fact that
when they return home, they do not have the same type of ties
to military bases that the members of the Active Duty component
have access to. So there are more challenges out there for
getting them assistance, and there have been some good
programs. TriWest worked on, for example, embedding mental
health professionals right into units prior to deployment so
that when these people returned, they had rapport already
established.
Also the expansion that both DOD and the TRICARE
contractors are working on of providing civilian mental health
providers out in the field closer to the reservists and guard
members has already been very helpful.
But one program that I would encourage is basically peer
counseling. One thing you learn if you ever come in contact
with a combat veteran is they feel comfortable only talking
with someone else who has been through the same experiences. I
think this is an important program to expand.
Senator Gillibrand. Senator Ayotte.
Senator Ayotte. Thank you very much. I want to thank all of
our witnesses who are here today for their service and
particularly the important organizations that you represent for
our men and women in uniform and our veterans.
I wanted to follow up on this idea, Captain Hanson, on the
Guard and Reserve assistance. I noticed in your prepared
testimony you talked about the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration
Program. As you mentioned New Hampshire in that program,
because we have a deployment cycle support program that is
really trying to put together the public resources from the
Guard and then mirroring it with Easter Seals in terms of
private resources to be able to provide our Guard and Reserve
members support because they do not have--they do not go back
to a base, so they do not have that group of peers that are
even there or the active duty support structure.
So I wanted to get your thoughts. I know that you cite our
program in it, and I am very proud of it. But one of the
concerns that I have had is I have asked our military leaders
to come and see it so that it is one thing if New Hampshire or
Virginia or some other State has it, but every Guard and
Reserve member across this Nation and their families deserve
that type of support because we could not have fought the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan without their help. They go through the
same traumatic issues and have so many issues that their
families need support for, yet that structure is not there the
same as in the active duty.
I wanted to get your thoughts on what more we can do to
move this so that there is some consistency and national
emphasis on this.
Captain Hanson. Well, Senator, I think you hit the nail on
the head by suggesting better communications. New Hampshire,
Minnesota, Montana, Maryland have all had outstanding programs,
and one of the successes is sharing what each is doing rather
than developing things independently. I think the lessons
learned definitely have to be communicated.
I have to commend DOD that they have taken some special
action to do that, and each of the Services have also shared.
Coming from a Navy background, I know the Navy learned from the
other Services, so it included such things as bringing family
members into Yellow Ribbon and finding financing to help the
more junior people to be able to afford to attend these things.
In fact, in many cases for the Yellow Ribbon Program, they are
now soliciting private money for the States to assist in some
of the financing that's occurring.
Senator Ayotte. I can tell you in our program, the Veterans
Count is a non-profit organization, so we are raising money
privately to match the Federal dollars to have the community
involved as well. But that does not take away the
responsibility of the Federal Government, given what we have
asked our Guard and Reserve members to do, along with our
Active-Duty Forces in fighting the wars for our country and for
our Nation.
Captain Hanson. One of the things that other States have
done that they share with New Hampshire is going out into the
community because it is important to teach community leaders
about what type of stresses that returning members from
deployment are going to be facing. Not that these individuals
should not be responsible for their activities, but it has been
pointed out that there is an adrenalin withdrawal after
deployment, and a lot of substitute activities occur. The more
people know about it, the more they can understand the
situation.
Senator Ayotte. Ms. Moakler, do you have anything to add to
this because the family piece of this is incredibly important
as well in the support structure.
Ms. Moakler. Well, I think that--I am sorry. I wanted to
bring this up under the last set of questioning. Recently we
became aware of a program in the chairwoman's home State of New
York in Bay Shore, Long Island, where the VA has partnered with
a local counseling hospital, organization, corporation, and the
veterans, and, of course, our returning guardsmen and
reservists are eligible for care and counseling from the VA as
they return from deployment, as well as those who separate from
service are offering counseling for the servicemember.
It is done in cooperation with the private counseling, and
so the families are able to access that, and then, oh, my
goodness, the doctors talk to each other, so they are able to
treat the families as a whole and deal holistically with the
reintegration problems that they might be having.
Senator Ayotte. Thank you. Mr. Strobridge, thank you for
your service. I wanted to ask you about the TRICARE increases
that are proposed in the President's budget. You had testified
the concerns you have, the opposition that you have to those
increases. You identified that you believe that the Services
have not undertaken some of the hard work of looking for
efficiencies. There has been a lot of discussion in the past
about, for example, consolidation of health care commands.
I wanted to get your thoughts on what types of efficiencies
and work should our Service bureaus be doing and should we be
emphasizing with them rather than going back again to those who
have served and asking them to pay--there are some very
significant increases proposed here.
Colonel Strobridge. Yes, Senator. We believe very strongly
that the military health care system is built to meet the
requirements of the Services, to meet the requirements of
readiness. That is different from being built to meet the needs
of the beneficiaries.
The military is unique. The beneficiaries need--you need to
serve readiness. It has that unique role. However, when people
start talking about having the beneficiaries share some
percentage of DOD health costs, those kinds of things have to
be brought into the equation. When the system is built to have
three different Service surgeons general and DOD running four
different major contracts, and tons of subcontracts, and they
are all competing with each other one way or another for budget
share, that is not the way you or I would organize the system
if we are trying to be efficient.
So there is a part of that that is, if it is the right way
to do business, it is an institutional cost. When we deploy
doctors, we send more beneficiaries downtown, which costs DOD
more money. That is not the beneficiary's fault. The
beneficiary should not have to pay for that.
When we implemented the mail-order pharmacy system in 2001,
for the first 6 years there was no DOD effort whatsoever to try
to get people to use it, even though at that time, every
prescription was $100 cheaper through the mail-order system. We
actually were pushing. Just the preventive care kinds of
issues, DOD just put out a big program saying we have--we are
now paying for smoking cessation. Well, they only did that
because you had to put something in the law requiring them to
do it, and then they took 4 years to implement it, and they
still do not cover Medicare eligible beneficiaries.
Another example, on the chronic conditions. What is the
most important way to hold down long-term health care costs for
people with asthma, for people with diabetes, those kinds of
things? It is for them to take their medications. There are
studies that show that even a modest co-pay deters people from
taking their medications.
One of the things we had urged DOD to do was eliminate the
co-pay for those chronic condition medications. Instead, we
just jacked them up, and DOD is proposing to triple them. This
just is not cost efficient.
Senator Ayotte. Thank you for your testimony. I want to
thank all of you for being here.
Senator Gillibrand. Senator Kaine.
Senator Kaine. I also want to thank you, Madam Chairman,
and committee members.
I feel better having you guys on the case. I have a son in
the military, and it is good to know that there are great
advocates like you out there battling for him. To those of you
who are completing this chapter of service with more to come,
thank you for that.
I kind of feel like I am in a schizophrenic world in the
Senate because I go to Budget Committee meetings where a
primary message is we are not cutting enough spending, and I go
to Armed Services Committee meetings where a primary message is
that the cuts that are being made or being proposed are too
severe. Sometimes even the schizophrenia combines, so when
active, major military figures say that the deficit is the
number one security challenge, which we have had that testimony
before us, it is challenging to know how to negotiate these
icebergs and be pro-military, pro-armed services, and yet try
to deal responsibly with a budget.
I think we would all say if we looked at deficits right
now, they are not what we want them to be, and we want to
manage them in a significant way, but do it right, and do it
consistent with obligations.
Colonel Strobridge, you were testifying earlier about
TRICARE, and I was sort of struck. Your opposition as a
coalition, you were speaking on behalf of the coalition, your
opposition to the TRICARE proposals, but you are not opposed to
reform. It is just this particular one you do not like because
you cited in response to Senator Ayotte's question a whole
series of reforms or avenues for reform that you think should
be done.
If I am--I think I am accurate in this that the coalition
in the past has also supported a number of reforms that have
been done to health care or retirement on the military side.
So you are not an anti-reform coalition. You have supported
reform efforts to try to find savings, is that not true?
Colonel Strobridge. Yes, Senator, that is very true. When
DOD, 2 years ago, proposed far more modest fee increases, they
proposed a 13 percent increase in TRICARE prime, they proposed
$2 and $3 increases in pharmacy co-pays, we took some heat for
not objecting to those because we had really strongly objected
to previous DOD proposals for a far higher increase.
We had always said, look, if you talk about--we are about
principles. One of the big problems here is that DOD did go a
long time without exercising authority it had to do any fee
increase. What that meant, what that told beneficiaries each
year was that we do not think fees are appropriate, any
increases are appropriate.
Senator Kaine. Right.
Colonel Strobridge. When you do that for a decade at a
time, people kind of get the impression that it is not
appropriate. Then you get a new Secretary of Defense, and we
got a new budget problem. He says, let us quadruple the fees.
Senator Kaine. Right.
Colonel Strobridge. That is----
Senator Kaine. Unacceptable.
Colonel Strobridge.--unacceptable.
Senator Kaine. Yes, absolutely.
Colonel Strobridge. What we have been after is trying to
put principles in law: what are the fees, what is the reason
for the fees, what is the adjustment methodology? We have done
pretty much that over the last couple of years working with the
subcommittee.
Senator Kaine. You mentioned something I completely agree
with, raising the notion, for example, that military benefits,
health care or otherwise, be means tested would be very
discriminatory given the fact that we do not generally means
test other Federal health or retirement programs.
I am not asking you to advance an organizational position,
but clearly the idea of means testing broadly is an idea that
is being kicked around a lot here. I agree it would be very
unwise to do this on the military side without doing it more
broadly.
But has the coalition or organization talked more broadly
about what it thinks about means testing strategies if it
really was a society-wide approach to dealing with some of our
spending or deficit issues?
Colonel Strobridge. Yes, sir, we have. We draw the
distinction between programs--when you look at the programs
that are means tested, they are either--you do not like to use
the term ``welfare programs,'' but there are those kinds of
things. They are social insurance programs. Social security is
means tested. You get different benefits based on how much you
earned. Medicare is means tested. You pay different premiums
based on how much you earn. But none of those is earned by
decades of service, and that is the difference. To us, if your
benefit is earned by service as an employee, then that benefit
should not be means tested.
We have had proposals in the past to say we should means
test military retired pay or military retired pay cost-of-
living adjustments. What that boils down to is if you get a
job, you lose your retirement, or if your spouse gets a good
job, you lose your retirement.
Then what do we tell someone we are trying to induce to
serve 20 years under the conditions we have had, the war time
conditions we have had over the last decade? Do we tell them if
you serve these years, you will get these benefits, unless you
get a good job, even if we kick you out of the Service in your
40s or 50s, or unless you marry a spouse who has a job, in
which case we will cut your benefits. Is that a message that we
want to send to people? Do we think that is a good career
attractant? I do not.
Senator Kaine. Just extending the metaphor for the
discussion, what about non-military Federal employees?
Colonel Strobridge. I think that is the same thing, sir.
When people make a decision to make a career, they are looking
ahead to see what you earn for that. What you earn for your
service is different than what you get from social security or
from Medicare that is open to every American regardless of
whether they work for the military or work for the government
or not.
Senator Kaine. Just to make sure I understood your point.
When you said earlier that to means test military without
programs would be discriminatory, would be, and in my view that
would be wrong. But even if we looked at means testing, you
would draw a distinction between means testing social welfare
programs like Medicaid, for example, might be allowable or in
accord with principles. Means testing programs that are--like
social security and Medicare where you are chipping in out of
your salary might be allowable, but would not be allowable
either for programs associated with military service or public
employment.
Colonel Strobridge. It is bad policy as an employer to tell
your employees that the benefits they earn by serving you for
decades are conditional. You are not going to tell them what
the conditions are.
Senator Kaine. Yes, and I agree. If it was only a matter of
employment law we were thinking about, you would be right. If
we are dealing also with the reality of deficits and budgets
that all of us as citizens have some desire and maybe even a
citizen's obligation to try to fix, it is not just a matter of
employment law and practice.
Colonel Strobridge. Well, in the end it is, sir, because
this is my last time here. I started working military
compensation issues in 1977. That was in the middle of a
terrible erosion of benefits. We had another one in the late
1990s. We do this periodically, and we always do it because of
budget cutbacks, and we always rationalize.
You made the point, what is the ultimate? Is recruiting and
retention okay? Well, when you are drawing down the force,
recruiting and retention is always okay. We have used that in
the past to say, gee, we cannot afford it. It is unaffordable
if you project the costs out in the future, so we cut
retirement benefits in 1986. They said the same thing we have
today. Oh, gee, we cannot change the rules, so it will only
apply to new people, as if that would not affect the new
people. All that does is kick the problem 10 years downstream.
We had to repeal it because then the new people ultimately
would not stay.
We rationalized annual pay caps by saying retention is
fine, so we can cut pay again. That is like driving by looking
in the rear view mirror. You never see the problems ahead, and
you keep doing it until you cause a retention problem. Then you
have to scramble to pay even more to repair the force, and you
end up with a hole in the force because a lot of people got
out.
That is the consequence of the budget mentality, and that
is why we have worked so hard over decades literally to put
these principles in law. Congress only put the pay standard in
law in 2003 because we learned the lessons of the past and we
said, we do not want to do that anymore. The standard should be
whatever the average American gets is what the military should
get, and that is supposed to apply through good times and bad.
Now, the practical reality is it does not. We always cut
when we are having budget--and we always pay it, and we always
say when the problem comes, gee, we have to learn from that. We
will never do it again. Here we go again.
Senator Kaine. Does your organization--last question--ever
take a position on big picture issues like the right and wrong
ways to deal with deficit and spending? Do you deal with it all
with cuts? Do you deal with it with revenue increases? Do you
take positions on that?
Colonel Strobridge. I think it is safe to say that we have
some of the same problems with taking a stance on revenue
increases that you all do.
Senator Kaine. Yes. We have a divided--we have a citizenry
that is of multiple opinions about it.
Colonel Strobridge. Yes, sir.
Senator Kaine. I guess we are all in the same boat there.
Thank you a lot. Thanks, Madam Chairman.
Senator Gillibrand. Senator King.
Senator King. Thank you. I apologize for being late. I was
at a----
Senator Gillibrand. We will conclude at 4 p.m. in time for
votes, so there is enough time for you to have a full----
Senator King. I was at a full committee hearing on the
issue of Syria with Secretary Hagel and General Dempsey.
A couple of questions following up on the exchange, and
please feel free to chime in. Just to be sure I have the
numbers right, as I have been told, the TRICARE fees for
enlisted--for active duty are zero. They are covered. We are
really talking about retirees, and the rates I have been told
are $270 for an individual, $540 for a family. Are those in the
ballpark? Is that right?
Chief Barnes. A little low.
Senator King. A little low? How low? Can you give me a
number?
Colonel Strobridge. It is pretty close.
Senator King. I think it is important just to know what we
are talking about.
Colonel Strobridge. For TRICARE prime for a family, it is
now $539. I think that is about what you said.
Senator King. Yes, $540 is what I said. Okay.
Colonel Strobridge. About half that for the single people.
But we kind of rush to say that is not the full premium people
pay. That is what they pay in cash.
Senator King. Okay. What else do they pay?
Colonel Strobridge. We tell people if you want to
understand the full premium people pay, it is--would you be
willing to sign up to spend the next 20 or 30 years being
deployed to Afghanistan on a regular basis.
Senator King. I understand that. I am going to get to that
next.
Colonel Strobridge. No, that is it.
Senator King. I am going to get to that next.
Colonel Strobridge. Most people are unwilling to do that.
Senator King. But that is the number.
Colonel Strobridge. Yes, that is the cash annual enrollment
fee.
Senator King. So the next question is, and I think you make
a good point that you should not--if you are contracting with
people essentially that you should not change the terms of the
deal. When people sign up with the military, do they know $540
a month is what they are going to have to pay for their health
care in 20 years? In other words, what are they told at
enlistment about health care benefits?
Colonel Strobridge. They are not told details. They are
told words like, you will have health care for life.
Senator King. Is there an implication that it is free?
Colonel Strobridge. In many cases, as you said, while they
are on active duty, they are not paying it, and so many of them
interpret it as meaning that. Many are very surprised that they
have to pay anything once they retire. Many are surprised to
learn they cannot go to the military facility anymore. They
have to go find a civilian doctor. To a lot of people, that
does not seem like much. To a military person or anybody who
has spent their 20 or 30 years in one health care system,
changing is traumatic.
Senator King. But the question is, and perhaps, Madam
Chairman, we could see the documents. I would like to see what
somebody is given when they sign up. They must be given terms
of employment, and it would be interesting to see what they are
told about health care, and whether, in fact, it is part of
what they are contracting for when they sign up.
Colonel Strobridge. Well, I used to write some of those,
and I have seen a lot of others. I have never seen one that is
handed to someone with 4 to 10 years of service that lays out
specific premiums that will be paid in the future.
Senator King. But you understand the line of my questions.
Colonel Strobridge. Yes.
Senator King. You are essentially saying this is a contract
that we are making with somebody when they sign up that they
are going to get this health care in the future. I would like
to know is that, in fact, the case.
Colonel Strobridge. I guess that is a little firmer way
than I would say it. That is----
Senator King. Moral obligation?
Colonel Strobridge. Well, I would come to say that there
need to be some standards. I do not think you are ever going to
brief any person when they are coming up to reenlistment on all
the details of what they will earn if they stay.
Number one, if they are 15 or 20 years away from
retirement, Congress may well change it. So you cannot
guarantee what they will get, and that is one reason why they
are vague. But they say you will have health care for life. You
will earn X amount of retired pay. They do not say, well,
unless you get disabled in the line of duty, in which case you
may have to give up part of your retired pay if you also get VA
compensation. Or you may have to pay X amount of money for
health care, because I do not know what the health care fees
are going to be 15 years from now.
Senator King. I am not being argumentative. I am new to
this committee, so I am trying to understand and learn.
Colonel Strobridge. Sure, absolutely.
Senator King. But as I understand it, if you retire from
the military and you are a doctor and you set up a practice,
and you are an orthopedic surgeon and make half a million
dollars a year, your health care costs would still be $540 a
year. Do you think that is okay?
Colonel Strobridge. Yes, sir, I do because number one, that
person is probably not using TRICARE. He is probably in a
facility where he is getting care on his own. So, you have to
take those kinds of things into consideration.
But the issue is, did your Service earn the benefit or not?
Very simple yes or no question.
Senator King. That was the point of my prior questions. I
am trying to get to the bottom of that of was that an
expectation.
Colonel Strobridge. Absolutely.
Senator King. Chief Barnes.
Chief Barnes. Senator, we take an oath of office when we
join the military. We do not necessarily sign a contract. One
observation. The second point, within our association, we are
communicating with three generations, those that are currently
serving, those that are currently serving ends of careers and
moving into retirement, and those that have served in the past,
going back to the Korean and sometimes World War II conflicts
and that era.
The older retirees are adamant with regard to commitments
that were made to them in return for their service. Many
believe they are entitled to health care for life, and many
attest to being promised free health care for life. This has
been tried in the courts. This is an issue. We reference this.
This is a huge issue with them, their periods of service, them
coming forward serving our Nation, and then how they were
treated subsequent to their service.
Another point with regard to the TRICARE fees, those are
adjusted annually based on inflation. There was a point made
earlier about the many years that DOD declined to adjust fees,
the TRICARE prime fees. I asked that question when I was much
younger and doing legislative service work in meetings with the
Department over that period of time. This is a commitment.
Going back to my comments, and I think the comments of my
colleagues here that is coming through, military service is
unlike any other occupation or career field. It is essential
that the pay and benefits associated with that service are
unique and reflect that service. I believe that is----
Senator King. I completely agree with that statement. I
completely agree with that statement and understand it
entirely. I am just trying to determine--it would be
interesting to survey 21-year-olds who have enlisted and ask
them what their expectations are.
Colonel Strobridge. If I could comment on that. I think the
expectations--a 21-year-old is probably not even thinking about
it. They probably never gave two thoughts to it. It is at some
point between the 4- and 10-year point where people get
married, have children, start thinking about financial
responsibilities, start thinking about do I want to keep doing
this for a career or not. That is when they start weighing the
sacrifices expected of them versus the rewards that they are
likely to receive if they complete a career.
Very few people sit down and do the research to say exactly
how much is it. They do some basics. They may look at a pay
table and say, here is today's pay table. Here is what a
colonel with 26 years of service makes, get a rough idea of the
retirement. They probably do not do any investigation on health
care. They assume, I think, that their health care will
continue the way it is now, and they make those judgments.
Senator King. Well, I understand. Madam Chairman, I know I
am out of time. Just one more quick observation.
The sequester, which many think is a 1-year deal, is not.
It is in the law for 10 years. The cuts that are coming, unless
we can unwind that in some way, are drastic. The impact on the
military is going to be and already is drastic.
From the point of view of the people you represent, you
need to understand that you have a stake in how we collectively
resolve this problem because if we are unable to do something
realistic about it and have to absorb those cuts, these kinds
of things are going to be very difficult, very difficult,
because we are talking, in the next 6 months almost $50 billion
out of DOD, and multiply that by 10 in addition to the cuts
that were made in the bill in August 2011.
There is a lot of discussion around here about these budget
cuts. They are real. They are going below the level of--they
are real cuts. They are not just cuts in growth.
So I urge you to think broadly as we are wrestling with
this issue because there is no way to make those cuts without
impacting virtually everybody in the military system. That is
just reality.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, Senator King.
Thank each of you for your testimony. Thank you for your
service. Thank you for being advocates. We appreciate it. Your
written statements will be made part of the record.
We also received a statement, for the record, from the
National Association of Chain Drug Stores. Without objection,
it will be included in the record.
[The information referred to follows:]

Prepared Statement by The National Association of Chain Drug Stores

INTRODUCTION

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) thanks the
subcommittee for the opportunity to submit a statement for today's
hearing on the President's fiscal year 2014 budget.
NACDS represents traditional drug stores, supermarkets, and mass
merchants with pharmacies--from regional chains with four stores to
national companies. Chains operate more than 41,000 pharmacies and
employ more than 3.8 million employees, including 132,000 pharmacists.
They fill over 2.7 billion prescriptions annually, which is more than
72 percent of annual prescriptions in the United States.
community pharmacy are the most readily accessible healthcare providers
Ninety-two percent of Americans live within 5 miles of a community
pharmacy, making pharmacies among the most accessible healthcare
providers. Local pharmacists play a key role in helping patients to
take their medications as prescribed and offer a variety of pharmacist-
delivered services to improve health quality and outcomes. With
preventive immunizations and appropriate medication use, it is possible
to reduce utilization of costly medical services such as emergency room
visits and unnecessary physician visits. The proximity of community
pharmacies to each and every American and pharmacists' exceptional
knowledge and training renders pharmacies uniquely positioned to
provide care for the American public.

PHARMACIST-ADMINISTERED VACCINATIONS IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH

Increasingly, local pharmacies are not only a reliable, convenient
source for obtaining prescription drugs, but also a healthcare
destination. For example, retail network pharmacies now provide
vaccinations to TRICARE beneficiaries. Recognizing the cost
effectiveness of pharmacist-provided vaccinations, the Department of
Defense (DOD) authorizes TRICARE beneficiaries to obtain vaccinations
at a retail network pharmacy for a $0 co-payment. In its final rule
expanding the authority of retail pharmacies to provide vaccinations,
DOD estimated that in the first 6 months of the immunization program,
it had saved over $1.5 million by having vaccinations provided through
the pharmacy rather than the medical benefit (Federal Register, Vol.
76, No. 134, p. 41064). This cost savings did not take into
consideration the savings from medical costs that would have been
incurred in treating influenza and other illnesses, if TRICARE
beneficiaries had not been vaccinated. In addition, DOD also noted in
the final rule that ``adding immunizations to the pharmacy benefits
program is an important public health initiative for TRICARE, making
immunizations more readily available to beneficiaries. It is especially
important as part of the Nation's public health preparations for a
potential pandemic, such as was threatened last fall and winter by a
novel HlNl virus strain. Ensuring that TRICARE beneficiaries have ready
access to vaccine supplies allocated to private sector pharmacies will
facilitate making vaccines appropriately available to high risk groups
of TRICARE beneficiaries'' (Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 134, p.
41063).

MEDICATION THERAPY MANAGEMENT IMPROVES HEALTH OUTCOMES AND REDUCES
SPENDING

Medication Therapy Management (MTM) is a distinct service or group
of services that optimize therapeutic outcomes of medications for
individuals based on their unique needs. MTM services increase
medication adherence, enhance communication and collaboration among
providers and patients, optimize medication use, and reduce overall
healthcare costs. Increasingly, MTM services provided face-to-face by
retail pharmacists is proving to be the most effective intervention.
For example, a recent study published in the January 2012 edition of
Health Affairs demonstrated the key role retail pharmacies play in
providing MTM services to patients with diabetes. The study found that
a pharmacy-based intervention program increased patient adherence and
that the benefits were greater for those who received counseling in a
retail, face-to-face setting as opposed to a phone call from a mail-
order pharmacist. The study also suggested that an integrated,
pharmacy-based program, including interventions such as in-person,
face-to-face interactions between the retail pharmacist and the
patient, contributed to improved behavior with a return on investment
of 3 to l.
A recent report by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) found that Medicare Part D beneficiaries with congestive heart
failure and COPD who were newly enrolled in the Part D MTM program
experienced increased medication adherence and discontinuation of high-
risk medications. The report also found that monthly prescription drug
costs for these beneficiaries were lowered by approximately $4 to $6
per month and that they had nearly $400 to $500 lower overall
hospitalization costs than those who did not participate in the Part D
MTM program. NACDS is confident that the TRICARE program could achieve
similar results with an effective MTM program utilizing local
pharmacists.

PRESERVING PATIENT ACCESS AND CHOICE IN THE TRICARE PROGRAM

NACDS is opposed to the proposal in the President's budget to make
further changes to pharmacy co-payments and other policies that would
further drive TRICARE beneficiaries out of their local pharmacies and
to the TRICARE Mail-Order Pharmacy (TMOP). There are already strong
incentives in place to encourage beneficiaries to use mail order, as a
result of provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2013. Nevertheless, the President's budget includes
additional changes. In most cases, TRICARE beneficiaries would be
unable to obtain non-formulary medications at their local pharmacy.
Furthermore, cost sharing will increase to as much as $34 for a 30-day
supply of a formulary medication at retail, and as much as $66 for a
90-day supply of a non-formulary medication at TMOP.
In addition to unfairly penalizing TRICARE beneficiaries who prefer
to use local pharmacies, NACDS believes this proposal is pennywise and
pound foolish. Failure to take medications as prescribed, costs the
U.S. health system $290 billion annually, or 13 percent of total health
expenditures, as estimated by the New England Healthcare Institute in
2009. Threatening beneficiary access to prescription medications and
their preferred healthcare provider will only increase the use of more
costly medical interventions, such as physician and emergency room
visits and hospitalizations.
NACDS supports cost savings initiatives that preserve patient
choice. For example, the utilization of generic medications by TRICARE
beneficiaries is low in comparison with other plans. The generic
dispensing rate at retail pharmacies--78 percent in 2012--is higher
than any other practice setting. Partnering with local pharmacists,
modest increases in generic utilization by TRICARE beneficiaries would
have a dramatic impact on the DOD budget.

CONCLUSION

Thank you for the opportunity to share our views. We look forward
to working with you on policies that control costs and preserve access
to local pharmacies.

Senator Gillibrand. Thank you all for your testimony today.
Hearing adjourned.
[Questions for the record with answers supplied follow:]

Question Submitted by Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE LABORATORY HIRING

1. Senator Gillibrand. Mr. Vollrath, the strength of our military
not only resides in the outstanding capabilities of our service men and
women, but also in the technological edge that they hold on the
battlefield. Crucial to developing this technological edge are the
60,000 men and women of Department of Defense's (DOD) laboratory
enterprise spread across 22 States--half of whom are degreed scientists
and engineers. As DOD competes with industry for the best and brightest
scientists and engineers, it needs certain flexibilities to be rapid in
its hiring and aggressive in its retention of this segment of its
workforce. What flexibilities are you giving to the DOD laboratories to
recruit and retain the best and brightest scientists and engineers?
Mr. Vollrath. DOD labs are using numerous human resources
flexibilities aimed at quickly recruiting the most skilled scientists
and engineers, allowing for competitive salary offers through the use
of pay banding, and rewarding high performers through contribution-
based and pay-for-performance programs. Lab demonstration projects have
access to Federal Government hiring processes, and are experimenting
with numerous flexibilities to attract, hire, and retain high quality
candidates. These flexibilities include Expedited Hiring Authority,
Direct Hire Authority, and use of interns. Additional specifics are
below:

The Labs have robust educational programs offering
internships to students from high school through post-graduate
school. These programs provide meaningful training and career
development opportunities for individuals who are at the
beginning of their Federal service. Programs include the
Pathways Intern Programs, Recent Graduates Program, and the
Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation
scholarship program for students pursuing degrees in Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
A Voluntary Emeritus Program or Corps offering retired
or separated employees volunteer positions, thus providing
mentorship from highly seasoned professionals.
Acquisition Workforce Expedited Hiring Authority,
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2009,
section 833, as amended by NDAA for Fiscal Year 2010,
authorizes expedited hiring for positions in Acquisition
Workforce career fields for which there is a shortage of
candidates or a critical hiring need.
Of special significance to the demo enterprise is the
direct hire authority to appoint candidates with advanced
degrees (Masters and Ph.D.) to scientific and engineering
positions non-competitively. This legislative authority,
established in fiscal year 2009 and amended in fiscal year
2011, has significantly increased the laboratories' ability to
compete with private industry in quickly making firm job
offers.
______

Questions Submitted by Senator Lindsey Graham

HEALTHCARE EFFICIENCY AND COST EFFECTIVENESS

2. Senator Graham. Dr. Woodson, more work needs to be done to
deliver healthcare efficiently within military hospitals and clinics.
What are you and the Services' Surgeons General doing to make the
delivery of healthcare services more efficient and cost-effective in
those facilities?
Dr. Woodson. At this time the Military Healthcare system is
undergoing a comprehensive transformation that will streamline our
decisionmaking and management in our largest medical markets and
assessing the effectiveness of our current inventory of hospitals'
ability to maintain a ready medical force and meet beneficiary
healthcare needs. The Services are fully engaged with us in these
efforts that will consolidate our approach to provide cost-effective
and efficient delivery of health care to all our beneficiaries. We will
achieve Initial Operating Capability of the new governance structure on
October 1, 2013 and Full Operating Capability on October 1, 2015.

CIVILIAN FURLOUGHS: IMPACT ON FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAMS

3. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, we are concerned about the
potential impact of civilian furloughs on critically important family
support programs. If furloughs take place, do you expect any cutbacks
in operating hours at commissaries, exchanges and child development
centers or curtailment of morale, welfare and recreation, Department of
Defense Education Activities programs, transition assistance program,
or military spouse employment programs?
Secretary Wright. Sequestration will impact funding across the
board for family programs and services, and civilian furloughs will
impact civilian positions that provide fitness, child care and family
programs at the Installation level. The Department remains committed to
providing military families with support programs and resources that
empower them to address the unique challenges of military life, these
programs are crucial to the readiness and quality of life of military
members and their families; however impacts to programs and services
may be unavoidable.

Commissaries
Furlough will result in the closure of each commissary 1 day a
week.

Exchanges
Nonappropriated Fund (NAF) employees are not covered by the
requirements and procedures applicable to furloughs of appropriated
fund employees under fiscal year 2013 sequestration. However, if the
reduction in appropriated fund resources leads to a curtailment in MWR
or exchange business operations, NAF employees may be furloughed for
business-based reasons.

Child Development Centers
Child development programs impact approximately 200,000 children
daily. Guidance issued by the Secretary of Defense on May 14, 2013
exempting NAF employee and designated appropriated fund (APF) staff
ensures that the daily operation of the installation child development
and school-age care programs will not be negatively impacted by
furloughs.

Family Programs
Impacts of furloughing family program personnel at the installation
level include the possible closure or reduction in services of Military
and Family Support Centers. Access to relocation support, financial
counseling and education, deployment support, exceptional family member
services, non-medical counseling, employment support, and transition
assistance, could all be curtailed due to manpower shortages. Impact of
furloughing National Guard and Reserve family program personnel in
Reserve Family Assistance Centers may reduce capacity and hours based
upon the length of the furlough.

Morale, Welfare and Recreation Programs
Civilian furloughs will result in reduced hours of operation and
services. Access will be limited for fitness centers, libraries,
outdoor recreation; recreational information, tickets, tours, and
travel services; recreational swimming; recreation centers; arts and
crafts skill development; automotive crafts skill development; lodging
and Armed Forces Sports Programs (above intramural level) may be
curtailed.

Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA)
DODEA employees will be subject to furlough for up to 5 days at the
beginning of the 2013-2014 school year. Regardless of the number of
furlough days, DODEA will ensure that all students will have a robust
academic year. School staff will ensure that students receive a full
year of academic study and school accreditation will not be impacted.

Transition Assistance Program
Transition Assistance Program (TAP) provides servicemember's career
readiness training prior to discharge from the Military. We don't
currently anticipate major delays in the redesign of the TAP due to
sequestration, furloughs, and the hiring freezes. The Military
Departments are on track to comply with law, the Veterans Opportunity
to Work to Hire Heroes Act, and the Presidential Veteran Employment
Taskforce mandates.

Military Spouse Employment Programs
Military Spouse Employment programs may face a delay in services on
installations due to shortage of personnel to provide services. A
furlough may degrade the quality of the event should contributing
agencies be unable to support or assist in the planning and
implementation.

EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT UTILIZATION

4. Senator Graham. Dr. Woodson, TRICARE's average cost of an
emergency department visit is $541 in the private sector while the
average cost for an urgent care visit is only $88 per visit. Yet,
TRICARE requires beneficiaries to get a pre-authorization before they
can get urgent care. Understandably, there are no pre-authorization
requirements for emergent care. Essentially, TRICARE has created a
disincentive for beneficiaries to use the less costly urgent care
option. How much money could DOD save if TRICARE removed the urgent
care pre-authorization requirement entirely?
Dr. Woodson. DOD could save an estimated $21 million per year by
removing the urgent care pre-authorization requirement entirely. On
October 1, 2013, we will implement a demonstration intended to test
whether permitting active duty family members (ADFMs) to receive urgent
care in the private sector without a referral from their PCM will
result in decreasing emergency room (ER) visits and health care costs.
Under the demonstration, ADFMs enrolled in TRICARE Prime or TRICARE
Prime Remote will be permitted to have four urgent care private sector
visits per year without the need to first obtain a referral from their
primary care manger. The hypothesis of the demonstration is that ADFMs
often seek care in private sector ERs for conditions that are not
actually urgent because they are subject to a point-of-service charge
for obtaining care from an urgent care clinic without having a referral
to do so.

5. Senator Graham. Dr. Woodson, how soon could DOD implement
policy/program changes and begin to achieve savings in this area?
Dr. Woodson. On October 1, 2013, we will implement a demonstration
intended to test whether permitting ADFMs to receive urgent care in the
private sector without a referral from their PCM will result in
decreasing ER visits and health care costs. Under the demonstration,
ADFMs enrolled in TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Prime Remote will be
permitted to have four urgent care private sector visits per year
without the need to first obtain a referral from their primary care
manger. The hypothesis of the demonstration is that ADFMs often seek
care in private sector ERs for conditions that are not actually urgent
because they are subject to a point-of-service charge for obtaining
care from an urgent care clinic without having a referral to do so.

MILITARY HEALTH SYSTEM MODERNIZATION STUDY

6. Senator Graham. Dr. Woodson, DOD issued a Resource Management
Decision directing a comprehensive review of Military Health System
capabilities and requirements. What is the intent of this review?
Dr. Woodson. The intent of the review is to assess the DOD's
clinical delivery system and identify opportunities to increase our
ability to maintain the clinical skills of our uniformed providers to
assure availability of a ready medical force while improving
effectiveness and efficiency of care delivery.

7. Senator Graham. Dr. Woodson, what is the timeline for this
review?
Dr. Woodson. This review is ongoing and will be completed by
September 30, 2013.

8. Senator Graham. Dr. Woodson, do you expect your recommendations
will include downsizing of facilities and personnel?
Dr. Woodson. It is too early to forecast the recommendations of the
Modernization Study because the data and models are still in
development. The study will develop options to sustain the clinical
skills of our uniformed providers while assuring availability of a
medically ready force and improving effectiveness and efficiency of
care delivery. Options will be developed that maintain or enhance
access to care by evaluation of alternative delivery approaches.

IMPACT OF SEQUESTRATION ON TRICARE

9. Senator Graham. Dr. Woodson, Under Secretary Hale has told us
that DOD may stop paying private sector medical claims this summer as a
result of the budgetary impact of sequestration. If so, this would
damage DOD's managed care support contractors' relationships with
providers. What other options has DOD explored to prevent a delay in
claims reimbursements to protect the integrity of the TRICARE provider
network?
Dr. Woodson. In order to minimize the impact on the Direct Care
system and TRICARE, we intend to take risk in other areas, such as
reducing Facility Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization projects;
implementing a civilian hiring freeze; reducing equipment purchases;
strictly limiting travel; reducing or cancelling contracts; and
implementing a civilian furlough. Additionally, we have taken a
reduction in our core research and development program. All of these
actions are designed to preserve resources in order to maintain our
ability to provide care in the Direct Care system and to continue to
pay TRICARE claims and avoid harming the network.

10. Senator Graham. Dr. Woodson, what will be the impact on
individual and institutional providers in local communities if their
claims are not paid timely?
Dr. Woodson. Sequestration could have a potentially ruinous effect
on the provider network if we are forced to slow or suspend claims
payments. We have spent years building a provider network that has come
to recognize us as a reliable payer. Our goal is to maintain these good
relationships and sustain the provider network intact despite the
challenges posed by sequestration.

11. Senator Graham. Dr. Woodson, how might this damage the future
of TRICARE provider networks?
Dr. Woodson. It has taken us years to build our robust health care
network. Our strategy is to maintain that to the best of our ability
despite the devastating impact that sequestration will bring in other
areas. We intend to take substantial risk in other areas, such as
Facility Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization, in order to
continue to pay TRICARE claims and avoid harming the network.

PURCHASED CARE VALUE

12. Senator Graham. Dr. Woodson, DOD's fiscal year 2012 budget
requests almost $16 billion to purchase healthcare services in the
private sector. We understand why you need to purchase some services
from civilian providers and hospitals, but we are concerned that your
budget asks for almost twice the funding for private sector healthcare
than for healthcare provided in military hospitals and clinics. How do
you know if DOD and its beneficiaries are getting good value for
dollars spent in the private sector healthcare?
Dr. Woodson. The cost of health care services in the private sector
is a key concern of the Department. We believe we are getting a good
value for dollars spent in the private sector via provider discounts
obtained through TRICARE managed care network contracts as well the
TRICARE provider reimbursement rates being statutorily tied to the
Medicare reimbursement rates. For beneficiaries enrolled in TRICARE
Prime, our managed care option, our referral and authorization
procedures ensure only timely and necessary private sector care is
being provided to Prime enrollees, regardless of whether they are
enrolled to a military treatment facility (MTF) primary care manager
(PCM) or to a civilian PCM.
Through beneficiary surveys, we know our customers often prefer to
receive health care services at a MTF versus in the private sector. The
Department will continue to work to expand the capacity and
capabilities of the MTFs as we welcome returning medical professionals
from the war theaters and through initiatives such as the reengineering
that will occur as part of the Defense Health Agency standup.

13. Senator Graham. Dr. Woodson, do you have data to show that
beneficiaries who get care from civilian providers are actually getting
healthier?
Dr. Woodson. No. We are actively working to provide access to
preventive services and treatment, and to engage our patients in a
partnership to preserve and even improve their health. However,
measures of health outcomes (i.e. data that they are getting healthier)
are still difficult to obtain. TMA has beneficiary survey data that
looks at such issues as obesity, tobacco use and utilization of
preventive screening services. Trending data for both the purchased and
direct care sectors shows a slight decline in smoking rates over the
past 3 years and an obesity trend that is flat. While we do collect
Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set data for both the
direct and purchased care, and we do have data for both of these
sectors on such things as colorectal cancer screening, breast cancer
and cervical cancer screening, this doesn't tell us if our population
is getting healthier. It tells us only we are screening for these
diseases. To answer the question if the population is healthier as a
result of these screenings would require additional data on whether we
avoided disease as a result of these screenings, which we do not
currently have. TMA also currently does not perform a health risk
assessment either in the direct or purchased care sector, which would
give self-assessment information on the health of the individual, and
in aggregate, the population.

INTEGRATED DISABILITY EVALUATION SYSTEM

14. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, it is unconscionable that
servicemembers must wait many months to receive a disability
determination from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). While DOD
and VA have made some progress in decreasing the amount of time it
takes to get disability claims completed in the Integrated Disability
Evaluation System (IDES), more work must be done. Why are the
Departments not meeting goals?
Secretary Wright. The Department shares your concerns regarding
IDES processing time and we are aggressively taking action to reduce
the cycle time.
Specifically, over the last 6-months we've decreased the time
necessary to process servicemembers through the medical evaluation
board (MEB) portion of the IDES 39 percent (132 days to 80 days
average). We've also decreased physical evaluation board (PEB) time 25
percent (133 days to 100 days average). As a result, many of these MEB
and PEB cases are now nearing completion as they move through the IDES
Transition and VA Benefit Phases. If these trends continue and once we
work through the bow wave of cases the acceleration has created in the
later portions of the IDES, by December 2013, we expect servicemembers
to complete the entire IDES in significantly fewer days. We attribute
the improvement to the following:

Increased IDES staff levels by 127 percent (676
personnel) over the last 2 years.
Authorized the Services to use Ph.D. psychologists (in
addition to psychiatrists) to adjudicate behavioral health
cases.
Reduced Informal Physical Evaluation Board membership
from 3 to 2 to increase their capacity to process cases.
The Army improved its Medical Evaluation Board
timeliness by 74 percent (reduced from 117 to 31 days against
100-day goal) at select locations by segmenting Soldiers into
cohorts of simpler versus complex cases.
The Army placed 15 Reserve Soldiers at VA's Seattle
Disability Rating Activity Site to ensure VA has all the DOD
information it requires to complete IDES disability case
reviews and claims adjudication.

15. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, what are DOD and VA doing to
expedite claims through the system?
Secretary Wright. The Department shares your concerns regarding
IDES processing time and we are aggressively taking action to reduce
the cycle time.
Specifically, over the last 6-months we've decreased the time
necessary to process servicemembers through the MEB portion of the IDES
39 percent (132 days to 80 days average). We've also decreased PEB time
25 percent (133 days to 100 days average). As a result, many of these
MEB and PEB cases are now nearing completion as they move through the
IDES Transition and VA Benefit Phases. If these trends continue and
once we work through the bow wave of cases the acceleration has created
in the later portions of the IDES, by December 2013, we expect
servicemembers to complete the entire IDES in significantly fewer days.
We attribute the improvement to the following:

Increased IDES staff levels by 127 percent (676
personnel) over the last 2 years.
Authorized the Services to use Ph.D. psychologists (in
addition to psychiatrists) to adjudicate behavioral health
cases.
Reduced Informal Physical Evaluation Board membership
from three to two to increase their capacity to process cases.
The Army improved its Medical Evaluation Board
timeliness by 74 percent (reduced from 117 to 31 days against
100-day goal) at select locations by segmenting soldiers into
cohorts of simpler versus complex cases.
The Army placed 15 Reserve soldiers at VA's Seattle
Disability Rating Activity Site to ensure VA has all the DOD
information it requires to complete IDES disability case
reviews and claims adjudication.

16. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, do you believe the VA is
doing all that it can do to decrease the amount of time for disability
case reviews and claims adjudication?
Secretary Wright. I do believe the VA is doing all that it can do
to decrease the amount of time for disability case reviews and claims
adjudication. VA and DOD continually work to improve the quality of
service and timeliness for our servicemembers who transit the IDES.
Most recently, VA requested and DOD agreed to position 15 Reserve
servicemembers at VA's Seattle Disability Rating Activity Site to
ensure VA has all DOD information it requires to complete IDES
disability case reviews and claims adjudication.

17. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, does the VA need additional
resources to hire more claims adjudicators?
Secretary Wright. I do not have the required knowledge of the VA
resourcing, their internal business processes, and disability claims
processing rates to make that assessment. We are committed to working
closely with the VA where we can to put enablers in place and enhance
the completeness of the information which we provide which will help
eliminate the backlog.

MILITARY TRAINING INSTRUCTOR MISCONDUCT

18. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, your combined statement
indicated a DOD-wide review and assessment was conducted of all initial
military training of enlisted personnel and commissioned officers
following the incidents at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. What were
the results of that review and what actions have been taken?
Secretary Wright.
Background:
The Army, Navy and Marine Corps performed a comprehensive
assessment of their IMT using the U.S. Air Force Lackland Report as a
basis from which to review and validate their own policies, procedures,
and training. The Lackland report and subsequent follow-on reports
served as the Air Force's assessment.
Results of Review:
The assessments revealed that although the Army, Navy, and Marine
Corps conduct IMT in their own Service-specific manner, the majority of
the recommendations from the Lackland Report were established practices
throughout each of these Services. The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps
reports describe in detail their internal control mechanisms that
ensure proper instructor behavior and monitoring to include extensive
leadership presence and oversight. In addition, each Service provides
explicit guidance on behavior and expectations for leadership,
instructors and support staff. Some areas of improvement were
identified by each Service, but no misconduct or disciplinary concerns
were cited. Areas needing improvement include ensuring sufficient
manning of instructor and leadership positions, the assignment of
appropriate numbers of female instructors and enhancing SAPR training
delivery through the use of additional adult learning methods.
Actions Taken:
The Army, Navy and Marine Corps are all working towards achieving
the optimum manning levels and improving the quality of instruction
provided. The Air Force continues to make significant progress in
addressing the concerns raised in the Lackland Report, and numerous new
procedures and policies have been successfully implemented. Of the few
remaining recommendations cited in the Lackland Report that have not
been implemented to date, full implementation is expected by the end of
the fiscal year. In addition, as recommended in the Lackland report,
the multi-Service Council of Recruit Basic Training (CORBT) was
established to provide a venue by which the Services can share best
practices and identify potential areas of concern. The CORBT held its
first meeting in April 2013 and will meet on a quarterly basis with
general/flag officer representatives from each of the Services'
Training Commands in attendance.

PROTECTING PROSPECTIVE RECRUITS

19. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, a recent tragic case in
Maryland appears to have been a murder/suicide involving a prospective
recruit and her recruiter. What guidance has DOD provided to ensure
that prospective recruits and their parents or guardians are fully
aware of the limits for relationships with recruiters?
Secretary Wright. Each of the Services has policies and procedures
in place to ensure that prospective recruits are fully aware of the
limits for relationships with recruiters. During the recruitment
process applicants are given a card or document that outlines
acceptable behavior regarding applicant/recruiter relationships. As
applicants progress through the recruitment process, more detailed
information is provided. Applicants are free to share this information
with their parents or guardians.
In a recent memorandum to the Service Secretaries, the Secretary of
Defense directed each to review current practices and policies to
ensure they are effective at protecting our newest and aspiring
servicemembers. These Secretary of Defense-directed assessments will
include: (1) the selection, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response
(SAPR) training, and oversight of recruiters; (2) the dissemination of
SAPR program information to potential and actual recruits; and (3) the
prevention and education programs in ROTC environments and curricula.
The findings will be reported to Secretary of Defense through me by
September 30, 2013.

20. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, what information does DOD
require to be provided to prospective recruits to ensure that they have
immediate access to assistance and intervention, if necessary, if they
believe a recruiter is intending to take improper advantage of them?
Secretary Wright. The Services provide applicants with contact
information in the early part of the recruiting process. Applicants can
use this information if they believe a recruiter has acted improperly.
As applicants progress through the recruitment process, more detailed
information is provided regarding appropriate recruiter behavior. In a
recent memorandum to the Service Secretaries, the Secretary of Defense
directed each to review current practices and policies to ensure they
are effective at protecting our newest and aspiring servicemembers.
These Secretary of Defense-directed assessments will include: (1) the
selection, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) training, and
oversight of recruiters; (2) the dissemination of SAPR program
information to potential and actual recruits; and (3) the prevention
and education programs in ROTC environments and curricula. The findings
will be reported to Secretary of Defense through me by September 30,
2013.

DEFENSE SEXUAL ASSAULT INCIDENT DATABASE

21. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, your combined statement
indicated DOD has achieved full-deployment of the congressionally-
mandated Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database (DSAID). What
information, specifically, is DSAID providing DOD leadership concerning
sexual assault incidents?
Secretary Wright. The DSAID is a centralized system to collect and
maintain information on sexual assaults involving members of the Armed
Forces. Since achieving full-deployment, DSAID has been giving our
Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARCs) an enhanced ability to
manage victim cases and assistance. SARCs input and maintain sexual
assault case data, important documentation, and victim support history
throughout the case lifecycle. DSAID tracks referral services to assess
response efforts provided to victims in both the long and short-term.
Tracking referral of services allows SARCs to better manage cases by
accessing cases electronically, identifying cases for review and
follow-up, and facilitating case management meetings. SARCs also use
DSAID to document other information, such as the prevention and
response training sessions they provide.
Victims benefit from the improved tools in DSAID as well. Victims
receive improved care and assistance through DSAID's case management
and meeting features, referral services tracking, and storage of the
official form documenting the vicitm's unrestricted reporting option
(DD Form 2910, Victim Reporting Preference Statement). To comply with
recent legislation, we will be expanding DSAID's capability to
confidentially store the DD Form 2910 in restricted reports. DSAID's
storage capability for DD Form 2910 provides a central location from
which victims may request access to this documentation. Access to
records like this becomes very important to victims who may choose to
pursue VA benefits.
DSAID also provides military service Sexual Assault Prevention and
Response (SAPR) Program Managers with the capability for improved case
management oversight, enhanced trend analysis, and access control for
sexual assault personnel working in their Service.
On October 1, 2012 all sexual assault reports were being entered
into DSAID through interface with a Military Service data system, or by
direct data entry by authorized personnel. Prior to fiscal year 2012,
historical data is not contained in DSAID because this data was not
standardized across the Services. This year, DOD is closely monitoring
the information entered into DSAID, conducting information assurance
activities, and updating reporting modules to comply with legislation
in the NDAAs for Fiscal Year 2012 and Fiscal Year 2013. The Department
will use DSAID as its primary means to fulfill congressional reporting
requirements beginning in fiscal year 2014.

22. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, what additional tools does
DOD need in order to continue to reduce--with the goal of eliminating--
sexual assault?
Secretary Wright. At this time, we believe the Department's
strategic plan, Secretary of Defense-led initiatives, and unified data
collection activities will help us reduce sexual assault.
Our data collection efforts are supported by the DSAID, which is a
centralized system to collect and maintain information on sexual
assaults involving members of the Armed Forces. DSAID is standardizing
data collection and reporting in support of the Department and each
Service's sexual assault prevention and response program. The
availability of electronic data will also enable reports and queries to
be generated quicker than in the past. DSAID will ease the burden of
difficult and timeconsuming data collection, trend analysis, and
reporting. The Department will use DSAID to meet congressional
reporting requirements beginning this next fiscal year.
To fully leverage DSAID's functionality, the Department plans to
evaluate additional data analysis means in fiscal year 2014. Expanding
DSAID's current capabilities beyond operational reports to a complex
analysis system will allow us to better understand the factors that
influence reporting, victim assistance and accountability efforts. This
expanded capability will deliver the data needed by leadership and
stakeholders to better understand our progress in eliminating sexual
assault from the military.

COMMAND CLIMATE ASSESSMENTS

23. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, what percent of commands
conduct command climate assessments?
Secretary Wright. One hundred percent of commands are expected to
participate in command climate assessments. Commands are composed of
several organizations and units all of which participate in the command
climate assessments. If less than 50 persons are assigned to an
organization or unit, a command climate assessment will be conducted at
a higher level of the command to protect the anonymity of the
servicemembers participating in the assessment. Existing DOD guidance
requires all commanding officers to assess their organizational
climate, preferably upon assumption of command, and to schedule follow-
up assessments periodically during their command tenure.

24. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, what is DOD doing to improve
the regularity of command climate assessments?
Secretary Wright. Command climate assessments involve the use of
surveys, record reviews, and interviews to evaluate shared perceptions
on formal or informal policies, practices, and procedures within an
organization. Topics include, but are not limited to, equal
opportunity, equal employment opportunity, and how well the
organization functions as a team. We have considered commanding
officers to be accountable for command climates in their organizations
in DOD guidance since 1995.
In a memorandum to the Service Secretaries and Service Chiefs on
May 6, 2013, the Secretary strengthened current guidance by adding
mandatory questions addressing sexual harassment and sexual assault to
climate assessment surveys; requiring command climate assessments to be
conducted 120 days after assumption of command; and annually thereafter
directing command climate assessment results to be reported to the next
level-up in the chain-of-command beginning in July 2013.

25. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, what is DOD doing to evaluate
the results of the command climate assessments to ensure necessary
follow-up action?
Secretary Wright. The evaluation of climate survey results will
rest with senior level military commanders within the chain of command.
From an oversight perspective, I am particularly interested in noting
that command climate assessments address the perceptions of
servicemembers regarding equal opportunity and fair treatment related
to policies and practices within the unit; the ability of the
organization to function as a team; and the extent to which each
servicemember feels like a valued member of the team.
Additionally, as part of the 2013 Sexual Assault Prevention
Response (SAPR) Strategic Plan, the Secretary of Defense directed the
Service Chiefs, through their Service Secretaries, to develop methods
to assess the performance of military commanders in establishing
command climates of dignity and respect to include incorporating sexual
assault prevention and victim care principles, and hold commanders
accountable. The methods for accomplishing this action must be reported
to the Secretary of Defense through my office.
Reviews of the Service methods called for in the SAPR Strategic
Plan will provide my office the opportunity to exercise the required
oversight to ensure the Department's efforts are on track.

FEDERAL VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

26. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, what is your assessment of
the performance of DOD's Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) and
when will Congress receive the report on the 2012 Federal election
cycle?
Secretary Wright. The Department's preparation, voter assistance
provision and outreach during the 2012 election cycle were the best
they have ever been, due in large part to the FVAP's strong
partnerships with the Military Services, the Department of State, and
State and local election officials.
FVAP engaged Flag Officers and Senior Enlisted Advisors to increase
awareness of the right to vote and the ease of voting absentee. Voting
Assistance Officers (VAOs,) trained by FVAP, sponsored voter
registration drives at installation exchanges and commissaries, and
events to increase awareness and encourage voting participation. Mass
emails to all military members were deployed multiple times to reach
all servicemembers and military dependents on installations, and voting
notifications were printed on servicemembers' Leave and Earnings
Statements. FVAP also provided in-person and online training to
Installation Voter Assistance Offices and Unit VAOs.
In addition, FVAP teamed with State and local election officials to
share expertise and best practice recommendations on policies and
procedures affecting military and overseas citizen voters. FVAP
provided direct and online training to ensure these officials were
aware of the Federal requirements as well.
The Department conducted comprehensive communications and outreach
campaigns leading up to the November election. FVAP made online tools
available to guide voters to a completed registration or ballot request
(the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) or back-up ballot--the
Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot) to be signed and submitted by the
voter. The FVAP.gov portal was enhanced to provide more direct-to-the-
voter assistance, including links to local election official
information and State-specific information and forms. FVAP included
print advertisements in The Military Times, Stars and Stripes, and
Military Spouse magazine, complemented by online ads using behavioral,
contextual and geographic targeting to reach military and overseas
voters. FVAP also utilized the social media channels Facebook, Twitter
and LinkedIn to share timely absentee voting deadlines and procedures.
The FVAP 2012 election report will be delivered by June 30, 2013.
The data gathered and lessons learned from the 2012 election will be
used toward continued program improvements for the 2014 and 2016
election cycles.

OPERATION TEMPO OVERSIGHT

27. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, what is your assessment of
the Services' Operation Tempo (OPTEMPO) reporting and how well are we
meeting our OPTEMPO requirements to reduce stress on our servicemembers
and their families?
Secretary Wright. Keeping in mind that high OPTEMPO can cause undue
stress for servicemembers and their families, we continue to carefully
manage the dwell time of our forces across the Department and monitor
the Services' achievements in meeting the established goals. We are
encouraged that the Services are at or above the deployment to dwell
objective (1x deployment: 2 x home) for the Active component.
We monitor and report this objective by quarter through our
readiness reporting system. For fiscal year 2013, all of the Services
have met or exceeded this deployment to dwell goal. Specifically:

The Navy achieved its goal of 95 percent of sailors
meeting a 1:2 deployment to dwell ratio;
The Marine Corps goal is also 95 percent and had 97
percent of marines achieve the goal;
The Air Force goal is 95 percent and had 97 percent of
its airmen achieve the goal;
The Army goal is 85 percent and had 92 percent of its
soldiers achieve the goal.

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE TRAINING

28. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, having military members with
language and culture training are essential to a U.S. global force. The
NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 authorized the Secretary of Defense to
transform the National Language Service Corps from a pilot to a
permanent program, and also enhance the ability of our Federal agencies
to hire people with strategic foreign language skills and as National
Security Education Program awardees. What are DOD's goals with respect
to the capabilities represented by the National Language Service Corps?
Secretary Wright. As a result of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013, DOD
will formally establish the National Language Service Corps by July 31,
2014. In order to respond to increasing demands for foreign language
skills, the Department plans to increase membership in the National
Language Service Corps from the current 4,200 to at least 5,500 and
expand the number of languages/dialects represented from 283 at present
to at least 350, by fiscal year 2015.
This increase will provide greater opportunities for the Corps to
respond to requests in areas such as strategic language support
operations (interpretation, translation, and analysis), training
(instruction), logistics activities, emergency relief activities, and
administrative language support services to Federal Government domestic
and international activities.

MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

29. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, one effect of sequestration
was that DOD quickly moved to end Service advertising, marketing, and
outreach programs that have been used to aid in recruiting. What is
your assessment of the value of funding these programs, and the
projected impact to recruiting if these programs are not funded?
Secretary Wright. Advertising and marketing programs create a means
to maintain a high level of awareness of the opportunities and benefits
provided by military service. In today's world of non-stop media, it is
important that the Services have the resources to reach prospective
applicants through a multitude of marketing activities. Research shows
there has been a gradual reduction in the number of people who know
someone who has served or is currently serving in the military. Combine
this with the fact that only 25 percent of our youth are qualified to
serve, and advertising and marketing become critical to keeping
propensity to serve at a level necessary to sustain the All-Volunteer
Force. Awareness and interest in military service is only achieved over
time with repeated exposures to the opportunities available in today's
military. By reducing the funding for these programs, the Military
Services run the risk of reducing awareness and interest over the long-
term with the greatest impact being felt in future recruiting efforts.

FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS

30. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, the administration has still
not implemented flexible spending accounts to enable military families
to pay health care and child care expenses with pre-tax dollars. When
can we expect these flexible spending accounts to be established?
Secretary Wright. The Department does not support establishing
flexible spending accounts (FSA) due to the administrative cost of
these programs and the corresponding limited benefit to servicemembers.
There are two types of FSAs: Dependent Care FSA (DCFSA) and Health
Care FSA (HCFSA). Annual direct agency costs per member (2013) would be
$15 for a DCFSA and $16.20 for an HCFSA. According to a 2010 Tricare
Management Activity (TMA) survey, less than 20 percent of respondents
indicated interest in participating in an FSA. Yet, the cost to DOD
each year could be as much as $3.8 million and $4.3 million for a DCFSA
and HCFSA, respectively. Additionally, the participation rates could be
even lower than 20 percent given DOD civilian employee participation
rates for 2012 were 1.5 percent for DCFSAs and 10.1 percent for HCFSAs.
These costs and anticipated low participation rates argue against
establishing FSAs.
______

Questions Submitted by Senator Kelly Ayotte

MILITARY VOTING

31. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, it is our moral duty to
protect the civil rights of our men and women in uniform and their
families. They make tremendous sacrifices in the defense of our Nation,
but those sacrifices should not include their right to vote. I believe
DOD should treat military voting the same way it treats Servicemember
Group Life Insurance (SGLI). Every time a servicemember changes a duty
station or in-processes to or out-processes from a unit, DOD actively
has the servicemember reconfirm their SGLI status. Why can't DOD treat
registering to vote the same way it treats SGLI?
Secretary Wright. We agree with you and DOD does treat voting
rights like SGLI in that at each transition point in their military
careers individuals are provided the opportunity to apply for voter
registration or request an absentee ballot. As individual States run
elections, a voter's completed form is sent directly to the State or
local election official where the voter is requesting registration. We
take the following specific actions:

1. DOD Instruction 1000.04 requires Installation Voter Assistance
Offices to be included in the administrative in- and out-processing
activities of reporting and detaching personnel.
2. Voting assistance is also required to be provided to all
personnel, military and civilian, who are reporting for duty on an
installation, detaching from duty and when deploying and returning from
deployment.
3. The Instruction requires the registration and absentee ballot
request form to be delivered by January of each year and again by July
of even-numbered years.
4. The Instruction requires the Military Services to provide
annually training on absentee registration and voting procedures to all
servicemembers, including activated National Guard and Reserve
personnel.
5. The FVAP focuses on promoting awareness of the right to vote
and providing non-partisan tools and resources to vote from anywhere in
the world. Resources available include the FVAP.gov web portal, an
information-rich website with live chat assistance and online wizards
that walk the individual through the process of registering, requesting
a ballot, or using the back-up ballot (Federal Write-In Absentee
Ballot).
6. FVAP also sends email reminders to all servicemembers with a
``.mil'' address, publishes voting notifications on servicemembers'
Leave and Earnings Statements and uses Public Service Announcements,
social media, and print and online media.

NATIONAL GUARD YOUTH CHALLENGE PROGRAM

32. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright and Secretary Wightman, why
did DOD cut training services to the entire field well below the
National Guard Bureau standards, in order to address a small number of
chronic underperformers by hiring a new and apparently duplicative
contractor in a near dollar-for-dollar trade-off?
Secretary Wright and Secretary Wightman. In fiscal year 2013, DOD
was faced with funding restrictions during the continuing resolution
period and fiscal challenges due to sequestration reductions. DOD
placed a priority on fully supporting NGYCP at the maximum DOD cost
share of 75 percent to ensure continued program operations and cadet
development. The strategy to ensure operations resulted in restricting
discretionary spending in other areas; such as staff training and
travel. Our review revealed that training standards for NGYCP staff
have not yet been fully certified. Since most NGYCP staff training is
considered discretionary by the states and currently varies from state
to state, we are working with National Guard Bureau (NGB) to establish
staff training criteria. Results will be included in the program's
annual report to Congress. The goal of these assessments is to find the
best methods for each individual program to maintain and deliver staff
training by leveraging existing DOD and other Federal, State, and local
agency programs.
The hiring of a new contractor in fiscal year 2012 was based on an
assessment that a number of sites were not meeting cadet graduation
targets. It was determined that analysis of student participation was
required before more staff training. In fiscal year 2010, NGB had
reported ten programs, nearly 30 percent of the total NGYCPs, failed to
graduate at least 100 cadets per class. Seven of the thirty-two
programs (22 percent) failed to meet their graduation goals by more
than 10 percent. In 2011, DOD further reviewed graduation information,
and assessed that after recent funding increases over the past several
years, there had been only negligible increases in the number of NGYCP
graduates. In fiscal year 2012, we realized that without reversing this
downward trend, coupled with the continued implementation of the SECDEF
efficiencies initiative, the funding support for the program could be
seriously jeopardized. The goal of the new contract proposal is to
investigate and identify any process and technical reasons for the
declining trend in the performance of certain NGYCPs, and to recommend
appropriate solutions to policies and regulations that could be
implemented at the Departmental, State and local levels.
We continue to closely oversee the Youth Challenge Program in
accordance with statutory authority, and intend to assist the NGB to
further strengthen this important program. We appreciate your support.

BEYOND YELLOW RIBBON/DEPLOYMENT CYCLE SUPPORT PROGRAM

33. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wightman, I would like to thank you
for your office's past support for National Guard and Reserve outreach
and integration programs. On March 26, 2013, Senator Shaheen and I sent
you a letter regarding Beyond the Yellow Ribbon outreach programs.
These programs have helped thousands of servicemembers and their
families ease the transition back into civilian life over the better
part of the last decade. Do you commit to utilizing the full amount
appropriated by Congress for the purpose of funding existing programs
with strong records of success and using unspent balances to evaluate
programs to develop a nationwide set of best practices or to initiate
similar programs in other States?
Secretary Wightman. The Department commits to utilizing the full
amount of supplemental funding appropriated by Congress for its Beyond
the Yellow Ribbon outreach programs. In accordance with congressional
guidance, the additional funding shall be used for National Guard and
Reserve outreach and reintegration programs with strong records of
success, National Guard and Reserve employment enhancement programs and
peer-to-peer hotline services. A portion of the funding shall be used
to evaluate those programs to develop a nationwide set of best
practices. This is a continuation of efforts that Congress began
supporting in 2011 with an original $16 million in supplemental OCO
funding.

NAVY FURLOUGHS

34. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, I remain concerned about the
impact furloughs will have on our military readiness--not to mention
the financial hardship they will inflict on our DOD civilians who
perform critical tasks at our shipyards and depots. I hope that we can
eliminate furloughs for the entire department. However, if the Navy has
a plan to avoid furloughs, the Navy should be allowed to implement that
plan regardless of the other Services. Are you aware of the Navy's plan
to avoid furloughs?
Secretary Wright. The Department must evaluate the impact of
sequestration cuts across all military service accounts. The
sequestration cuts $20 billion in operating accounts, requiring cuts in
training and maintenance that are harming readiness. The Navy delayed
deployments and cut back on training, including one less carrier strike
group in the Gulf. In addition to the sequestration cuts, we have a $7
to $10 billion shortfall in our fiscal year 2013 war costs due to
higher operating tempo and transport costs than we estimated 2 years
ago.
While we appreciate your desire to allow the Navy maximum
flexibility to avoid civilian furloughs, DOD's most important
responsibility is national security. In reallocating resources
throughout the Department to the highest national security priorities,
we will strive for consistency and fairness across the Department. As
announced by the Secretary of Defense on May 14, 2013, most of the
Department's civilian personnel will be subject to furloughs of up to
11 days to help cover operating shortfalls. However, DOD guidance
allowed for a specific limited number of exceptions driven by law and
by the need to minimize harm to mission execution. Accordingly,
civilian employees in Navy shipyards will be excepted from furloughs
because it would be particularly difficult to make up delays in
maintenance work on nuclear vessels and these vessels are critical to
mission success.

35. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, would you support the Navy's
request to avoid furloughs regardless of the actions of the other
Services?
Secretary Wright. The Department must evaluate the impact of
sequestration cuts across all military service accounts. While we
appreciate your desire to allow the Navy maximum flexibility to avoid
civilian furloughs, DOD's most important responsibility is national
security. In reallocating resources throughout the Department to the
highest national security priorities, we will strive for consistency
and fairness across the Department. As announced by the Secretary of
Defense on May 14, 2013, most of the Department's civilian personnel
will be subject to furloughs of up to 11 days to help cover operating
shortfalls. However, DOD guidance allowed for a specific limited number
of exceptions driven by law and by the need to minimize harm to mission
execution. Accordingly, civilian employees in Navy shipyards will be
excepted from furloughs because it would be particularly difficult to
make up delays in maintenance work on nuclear vessels and these vessels
are critical to mission success.

INVOLUNTARY SEPARATION

36. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, in order to achieve end
strength reductions, it has been said that the Army in particular might
have to utilize involuntary separations. Has the Army had to utilize
involuntary separations thus far?
Secretary Wright. Yes, the Army has used involuntary separations to
properly shape their force and ensure they are postured correctly for
mission readiness and to meet all national security objectives.

37. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, do you anticipate that the
Army will have to use involuntary separations to achieve end strength
reductions?
Secretary Wright. I anticipate the Army will continue to use
involuntary separations to properly shape their force and ensure they
are postured correctly for mission readiness and to meet all national
security objectives.

38. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, if sequestration goes
forward, do you believe that the Army and Marine Corps will have to
further reduce their end strengths?
Secretary Wright. The fiscal year 2014 budget builds on the choices
from the previous budget cycle and further implements the defense
strategy articulated in January 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance. In
developing our fiscal year 2014 budget and planning for future years,
we reduced the size of the Joint Force commensurate with requirements
for future missions, while at the same time ensuring full support for
our All-Volunteer Force.
If sequester levels remain in place, we will ask for flexibility to
apply the reductions in a more strategic manner than the current
sequestration rules that require large and sudden reductions to defense
spending in a rigid, across-the-board manner. The Department has
initiated the Strategic Choices and Management Review to focus on the
choices we have to make in fiscal year 2015 and beyond, informed by the
strategy that was put forth by the President a year ago. We will have
to look at everything, including further force cuts to absorb a $52
billion level reduction.

39. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, would large additional end
strength reductions due to sequestration likely necessitate the more
aggressive use of involuntary separations?
Secretary Wright. Sequestration should have minimal effect on end
strength. Sequestration primarily affects our civilian personnel, since
uniformed personnel are exempt from sequestration cuts. If, however,
reductions to the budget force additional end strength reductions,
increases in involuntary separation actions may be necessary as this is
the fastest way to accelerate a drawdown.

[Whereupon, at 3:59 p.m., the subcommittee adjourned.]

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR
2014 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM

----------

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2013

U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Personnel,
Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC.

CONTINUATION OF TESTIMONY ON THE ACTIVE, GUARD, RESERVE, AND CIVILIAN
PERSONNEL PROGRAMS

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:10 a.m. in
room SR-222, Russell Senate Office Building, Senator Kirsten
Gillibrand (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Committee members present: Senators Gillibrand, Blumenthal,
Ayotte, and Graham.
Majority staff members present: Jonathan D. Clark, counsel;
Gabriella E. Fahrer, counsel; Gerald J. Leeling, general
counsel.
Minority staff members present: Steven M. Barney, minority
counsel; and Allen M. Edwards, professional staff member.
Staff assistant present: Jennifer R. Knowles.
Committee members' assistants present: Kathryn Parker,
assistant to Senator Gillibrand; Brad Bowman, assistant to
Senator Ayotte; Craig Abele, assistant to Senator Graham; and
Charles Prosch, assistant to Senator Blunt.

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, CHAIRMAN

Senator Gillibrand. The subcommittee meets today to receive
testimony from the Military Services on military and civilian
personnel programs contained in the administration's national
defense authorization request for fiscal year 2014 and the
Future Years Defense Program.
With us today are the senior leaders responsible for
military and civilian personnel matters in each of the
Services. In addition to discussing their plans and programs
for fiscal year 2014, we will also look forward to hearing
about specific budget items relevant to our subcommittee's
oversight responsibilities.
Your statements and testimony today are extremely important
as we prepare to mark up the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2014, and to find a way ahead with respect to
the Budget Control Act (BCA) and the effects that sequestration
is having on our Nation's military.
Our witnesses today are the Honorable Thomas R. Lamont,
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve
Affairs; the Honorable Juan M. Garcia III, Assistant Secretary
of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs; the Honorable
Daniel B. Ginsberg, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for
Manpower and Reserve Affairs; Lieutenant General Howard B.
Bromberg, Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, U.S. Army; Vice Admiral
Scott R. Van Buskirk, Chief of Naval Personnel, U.S. Navy;
Lieutenant General Robert E. Milstead, Jr., Deputy Commandant
for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, U.S. Marine Corps; and
Lieutenant General Darrell D. Jones, Deputy Chief of Staff for
Manpower, Personnel and Services in the U.S. Air Force.
As I stated at our oversight hearing last week, there is no
greater responsibility for Congress and military leaders than
to support our courageous and dedicated servicemembers, their
families, and the civilian employees who are a vital component
of the military team. For more than a decade, Congress has
ensured that our military personnel receive a pay raise that
meets or exceeds the increase in private sector wages. We have
also been able to substantially enhance health care benefits,
though I would like to see us expand the benefit further to
include coverage for autism therapy for all TRICARE
beneficiaries.
However, this subcommittee faces a very clear challenge
this year as we address the need to control the increasing
costs of personnel programs. I am deeply committed and
concerned about the rising costs of health care for both our
Active Duty and retirees, and I believe we need to consider all
other options before breaking faith with our servicemembers on
this.
This challenge is made more difficult by the significant
budgetary and programmatic pressures imposed by sequestration
under the BCA. As the result of sequestration, the Department
has told us that it already has taken extraordinary measures to
cope with the across-the-board cuts of nearly 8 percent. The
President's budget request for fiscal year 2014 does not
account for any sequester of funding for that fiscal year,
which, if it remains in effect, would reduce the Department's
budget by yet another $52 billion, further affecting morale and
military readiness.
While military personnel pay accounts are exempt from
sequestration, the funding to pay for the Department of Defense
(DOD) civilian employees, family support programs, health care
claims, and training, among other things, are not. I am
particularly concerned about the effects that possible
furloughs are already having on the morale of DOD's 800,000
civilian employees who are an integral component to the
military's total force in crucial fields, such as cyber
security and health care. I worry that breaking our commitment
to our civilian workforce in this way will have devastating
effects, not only on the morale, but the future propensity to
continue their civil service, but on the critical services and
support programs for servicemembers and their families,
including DOD schools, child care centers, and access to health
care.
Because of the tenuous budget environment, difficult
choices had to be made by the President, DOD leadership, and
the Services. The subcommittee intends to carefully examine
each of them as we begin consideration of the annual defense
bill.
As you know by now, I am deeply committed to addressing the
scourge of sexual assault of our men and women in uniform. At
the hearing with the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)
officials, I also discussed several other personnel issues that
are important to me as we begin this budget cycle, in
particular, hazing, DOD's proposed health care fee increases,
and the provision of benefits to same sex partners.
The Army and Marine Corps continue to draw down their
forces. The Army requested fiscal year 2014 Active Duty end
strength of 520,000. That is 32,000 below the fiscal year 2013
authorized level. Moreover, we know that the Army will finish
this fiscal year with 530,000 soldiers, primarily because of
success in reducing the backlog of its wounded soldiers
processing out of the military and back into civilian life,
which is a good story.
Finally, I and the rest of Congress remain extremely
troubled about the number of servicemembers who are committing
suicide, both Active Duty and Reserve component members.
Another facet to this issue that was brought to our attention
at last week's hearing is the military dependent suicides, and
whether the Services are tracking or even at this point whether
they have the capability of tracking those tragic deaths.
I look forward to hearing about each of these issues from
the Service perspective. We want to hear in your views what you
believe your Service is doing well, what challenges remain, and
how Congress can help so that we can best provide for our
servicemembers, civilians, retirees, and families.
Now I would like to give the floor to Senator Graham.

STATEMENT OF SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM

Senator Graham. Thank you, Madam Chairman. It has been a
pleasure working with you on the subcommittee. This is, I
think, the best one to have because we are in charge of the men
and women who serve and their families. This is really a
wonderful opportunity to make sure that Congress listens and we
get it right.
Two areas: the sustainability of health care costs. They
are just unsustainable. We are going to have to do something
about TRICARE. We are going to have to make it more sustainable
for those who are on it and for the military's budget. Second,
sequestration seems to me one of the most ill-conceived ideas
in a place that is known for ill-conceived ideas. That is
pretty impressive. We can maybe top the list here.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said that sequestration
was affecting morale, and it is detrimental to morale. So could
you please focus on that? Tell us from a military personnel/
family point of view what are we doing to our men and women in
uniform and their families under sequestration.
Thank you all for your service.
Senator Gillibrand. In the interest of time, I will be
calling only on the Assistant Secretaries to provide oral
statements. I ask that each of you keep your oral statements to
3 to 5 minutes in length. Your complete prepared statements
will be included in the record. Following the opening
statements, we will limit our questions to 7 minutes per round.
I am going to call on our witnesses by Service, starting
with the Army. Mr. Lamont?

STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. LAMONT, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE
ARMY FOR MANPOWER AND RESERVE AFFAIRS

Mr. Lamont. Thank you. Chairman Gillibrand, Senator Graham,
distinguished members of this committee, thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you today. I am honored to
represent the 1.1 million men and women serving in the U.S.
Army in uniform, and our more than 260,000 army civilians.
This combat seasoned force has performed superbly over more
than a decade of war and now faces the difficult task of
reducing strength during this time of fiscal constraint. We
will do this in a careful and deliberate manner, ensuring the
future of the All-Volunteer Force while maintaining the best
army in the world.
Our challenge is to ensure that we balance the
congressional mandate, which I quote, ``to fulfill the current
and future operational requirements of combat and commands,''
with the need to maintain our All-Volunteer Force. We recognize
our greatest moral obligation is to ensure that our Nation's
sons and daughters are fully prepared and trained when called
on to risk their lives for the defense of freedom, and then to
ensure the service and capabilities exist to care for these
brave Americans.
As we manage constrained resources, we look to ensure that
soldier-focused programs, such as recruiting, compensation,
educational opportunities, Sexual Harassment Assault Response
and Prevention, suicide prevention, and transition assistance
are balanced with the requirement to train and equip our Army
to ensure its success on today's complex battlefields. We must
ensure that however large the Army may be, we maintain its
readiness, even as we sustain the All-Volunteer Force.
To ensure a force of the highest quality soldiers, the Army
must likewise balance recruitment, retention, promotions,
voluntary and involuntary separations, and natural losses. To
assist our soldiers and civilians who will transition to
employment in the private sector, we must equip them with the
skills and knowledge to continue their professional growth. We
must continue to keep faith with the soldiers and family
members who sacrificed so much for our country.
We continue to work with the Veterans Administration (VA)
to streamline the disability system and improve coordination
for health care, compensation, and benefits for our medically-
separated and retired soldiers. The Army must also maintain its
focus on assisting our soldiers and family members struggling
with depression, substance abuse, and other health of the force
issues.
The American soldier is the centerpiece of everything we do
in the Army. Our efforts must remain focused on the
preservation of our most precious resource: our people. I can
assure you that your Army will continue to meet the Nation's
needs whenever and wherever it is called to serve.
Chairman Gillibrand, Senator Graham, and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for your support, and I look forward to
your questions.
[The prepared joint statement of Mr. Lamont and Lieutenant
General Bromberg follows:]

Joint Prepared Statement by Hon. Thomas R. Lamont and LTG Howard B.
Bromberg, USA

INTRODUCTION

Chairman Gillibrand, Senator Graham, distinguished members of this
subcommittee, we thank you for the opportunity to appear before you on
behalf of America's Army. The U.S. Army is a values-based organization
that exists to serve the American people, to defend the Nation, to
protect vital national interests, and to fulfill national military
responsibilities. We are now poised to execute a historic drawdown of
both our military and civilian personnel, and we are proposing to do it
in a deliberate, responsible, and careful manner. Thousands of
individuals will transition out of military and civil service and
deserve quality transition assistance.
While the future Army will be smaller, the Army is implementing a
number of changes in force structure and other capabilities to ensure
it remains the best led, best trained and best equipped land force in
the world today and in the future. Our soldiers have performed superbly
during more than a decade of war, displaying the values, character and
competence that make our Army second to none. We must not waver on our
commitment to support all those who have served with courage, pride,
and honor.
Thank you for your steadfast commitment to ensuring that the needs
of our soldiers, their families, and our civilian workforce are met by
supporting our personnel initiatives to ensure the sustainment and well
being of our All-Volunteer Force.

STRATEGIC OVERVIEW

The Army has been in a state of continuous war for nearly 12
years--the longest in our Nation's history. More than 4,800 soldiers
have given their lives on behalf of this Nation. Today we have more
than 81,000 soldiers committed to operations around the world with
approximately 58,000 in Afghanistan. Nearly 1.5 million soldiers have
deployed and more than half a million have deployed multiple times--
some as many as six times. Additionally, Army civilians shoulder a
majority of the Generating Force mission, and 30,000 civilians have
deployed into harm's way. Our soldiers, civilians, and families remain
vital to the strength of our Nation.
Now we will transition to a smaller force, while continuing to
remain vigilant of new threats and prepare for new capabilities and
requirements. To maintain an All-Volunteer Force of the highest quality
soldiers and achieve our end-strength goal, the Army must responsibly
balance force shaping across accessions, retention, promotions,
voluntary and involuntary separations, and natural losses. We will
leverage the Army Total Force Policy, for full integration of our
Active and Reserve components, maximizing each component's strengths,
in order to continue accomplishing our mission in a time of fiscal
constraints. We will expand opportunities to women in the Army by
opening up previously closed positions and career paths. We will ensure
quality assistance to our soldiers and civilians who transition from
their military and civil service careers to employment in the private
sector.
We are currently working with the Veterans Administration to
streamline the disability system and improve coordination for health
care, compensation, and benefits for our medically separated and
retired soldiers. The Army also continues to focus on assisting our
soldiers and family members struggling with depression, substance
abuse, and other Health of the Force issues. This year we have
implemented ``Ready and Resilient,'' a new comprehensive campaign--
designed to enhance individual and collective resilience and improve
readiness.
The American soldier is the centerpiece of everything we do in the
Army. Our efforts must remain focused on the preservation of our most
precious resource, our people.

DRAWDOWN/END STRENGTH

In keeping with the National Defense Strategy, the Army is building
our future force to meet the Nation's requirements. The Army is
reducing its Active component end strength to 490,000 soldiers by
fiscal year 2017. The Army has already reduced the additional temporary
end strength increase of 22,000 soldiers, approved in 2009 by the
Secretary of Defense, and is on target to be at an Active component end
strength of 530,000 by the end of fiscal year 2013. In fiscal year
2014, the Army will begin to take further steps to achieve the end
state force of 490,000 by fiscal year 2017.
Based on Total Army Analysis of future requirements, the force
structure effective in fiscal year 2017 requires an additional decrease
of approximately 5,700 enlisted soldiers and 6,900 officers beyond our
current rate of attrition over this same period. Our projected drawdown
ramp allows for funding 490,000 of end strength in the base budget in
fiscal year 2014 and beyond, with all other end strength resourced with
Overseas Contingency Operations funding. This ramp allows for a steady
enlisted annual accession mission of about 68,000 and an Active Army
Competitive Category officer mission of about 4,600. Our strength
projections also incorporates additional soldier inventory to mitigate
the impact of nondeployable soldiers in the Integrated Disability
Evaluation System. Temporary end strength Army medical is present in
fiscal year 2013 and fiscal year 2014 and fully eliminated by the end
of fiscal year 2015.
To maintain the highest quality All-Volunteer Army, we will execute
the upcoming force reductions in a responsible and targeted fashion
while maintaining a ready force. To achieve planned end strength
reductions, the Army expects to use various types of separation
authorities across all elements of the force (Officer and Enlisted).
The National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Year 2012 and Fiscal
Year 2013 provided several incentive authorities to help the Army shape
the force over the drawdown period, along with the flexibility to apply
them to meet specific grade and skill requirements. Under normal loss
rates, the Army will not be able to reach its end strength goal over
the fiscal year 2013-fiscal year 2017 period. There is no single force
shaping method among the choices of accessions, retention and
separations that will achieve the Army's end strength goals, and there
will be good soldiers who we cannot retain. Reduced accession levels,
promotion selectivity and tightened retention standards will help shape
our force naturally. Through these processes, we expect to lose some
combat-seasoned soldiers and leaders, but our focus will be on
retaining the best individuals in the right grades and skills. As
soldiers depart our active duty formations, the Army is committed to
assisting them and their families as they transition to the Army
Reserve, National Guard, or civilian life.

RECRUITING AND RETENTION (OFFICER AND ENLISTED)

Our soldiers are the Army's most important resource, and our
ability to meet the challenges of the current and future operational
environment depends on our ability to sustain the All-Volunteer Force.
Even as we drawdown the Army, we must continue to bring high quality
men and women into the force to grow our future leaders. We must also
retain the most talented soldiers with the experience and skills
necessary to meet our future needs.
Despite the challenges of an ongoing conflict, future drawdown
plans, and budgetary constraints, the active Army and the Army Reserve
once again exceeded their enlisted retention missions in fiscal year
2012. Focusing on required grades and skills, the Army National Guard
reduced their retention mission in fiscal year 2012 to avoid exceeding
their congressionally mandated end strength limits. The active
component achieved its fiscal year 2012 recruiting mission and accessed
over 96 percent high school diploma graduates, with the lowest number
of waivers and test category IV enlistments ever. The Total Army's
percentage of new enlisted soldiers with a high school diploma was well
above historic rates. Additionally, the Army achieved over 99 percent
Military Occupational Specialty requirements. In addition, recruits
scoring 50-99 percent on the Armed Forces Qualification Test exceeded
the DOD standard of 60 percent, while recruits who scored in the lower
range (30 percent and below) were at a record low in fiscal year 2012.
We are currently on track to achieve the fiscal year 2013 recruiting
mission, with the exception of the U.S. Army Reserve mission. However,
a tougher recruiting environment and impacts of sequestration have
already caused a decline in the fiscal year 2014 entry pool.
Upcoming reductions in Army operating budgets will likely have
significant impact on recruiting operations. While the Army can
mitigate many of the fiscal constraints by focusing cuts to preserve
operational capabilities at the tactical level, the impact of
reductions across multiple funding lines poses the greatest threat to
the Army's ability to sustain the All-Volunteer Force.
In fiscal year 2012, Combined Active Army (AC) and Army Reserve
component (RC) enlistment and reenlistment incentives totaled slightly
over $1.03 billion compared to $1.23 billion in fiscal year 2011.
Entering fiscal year 2013, the combined Active and Reserve components
will spend slightly over $1.009 billion: AC recruiting ($237 million),
AC retention ($237 million); Army National Guard recruiting and
retention ($348 million); USAR recruiting and retention ($187 million).
A large part of the fiscal year 2013 incentives budget is a result of
obligations for enlistment bonuses occurring from fiscal years 2008-
2011. As a result of lower recruiting missions and prior year success,
the percentage of Army recruits receiving a bonus dropped from over 62
percent of all recruits in fiscal year 2009 to 3 percent in fiscal year
2013. Enlistment and reenlistment bonuses are only used to incentivize
longer-term enlistments in a small percentage of critical skills. These
incentives ensure the success of the total Army recruiting and
retention missions and shape the force to meet specific grade and skill
requirements. The amount budgeted for contractual payments is
anticipated to decrease until at least fiscal year 2015.
Recruiting is expected to be more difficult in fiscal year 2014.
The Army and the Nation still face challenges such as rising obesity
rates as we recruit the All-Volunteer Force. In today's environment,
fewer than one in four 17- to 24-year-olds are eligible to serve in the
Army without a waiver. One in five youths age 12-19 are currently
overweight, compared to 1 in 20 in the 1960s, and this trend is
projected to grow to one in four by 2015. More than 20 percent of high
school students fail to graduate, a critical milestone in becoming
competitive to serve in highly skilled postions.
In fiscal year 2012, the Active Army reenlisted 64,012 soldiers.
The Army Reserve reenlisted 14,377 soldiers, exceeding their annual
goal by 9 percent. The Army National Guard fell short of their mission,
achieving 93 percent of their assigned mission, reenlisting 49,272
soldiers, again purposely under producing to avoid exceeding end
strength limits.
During fiscal year 2012 and into fiscal year 2013, retention
bonuses were carefully monitored and adjusted to ensure that the Army
met its retention goals while remaining fiscally responsible. During
fiscal year 2013, the Active component retention program is on track to
successfully retain a quality force that supports Army end strength and
readiness requirements. As we posture for future reductions in the size
of our force, the Army is using lessons learned from past reductions to
ensure that today's decisions maintain the viability of tomorrow's All-
Volunteer Force. Retention policies will emphasize retention of
soldiers with high potential coupled with appropriate force alignment
and structure.

TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Our Nation entrusts its best and brightest to the Army to support
the All-Volunteer Force. Therefore, the Army has a responsibility to
help our transitioning personnel prepare for post-active duty life by
providing the training and tools to enable their success. We must help
them use their Army training, education and experience to successfully
return to civilian life and to become gainfully employed. With
thousands of soldiers possessing diverse skills, and scheduled to
depart over the next few years, the Nation has a motivated, disciplined
and work-ready force to employ. The redesigned Transition Assistance
Program (TAP)--entitled ``Transition GPS'' (Goals, Plans, Succeed)--
will assist our soldiers in understanding and communicating what great
skills and abilities they do bring to our Nation's workforce. To be
successful in their transition, we must provide the assistance,
curriculum, training, skills building and tools our members need so
they are prepared and most importantly, career ready to achieve their
goals in civilian life. Transition GPS includes the following elements:

Pre-Separation Assessment and Individual Counseling:
Through the new transition program, separating servicemembers
will have a one-on-one counseling session to discuss their
transition needs and goals. Each servicemember will develop an
Individual Transition Plan that documents their personal
transition, as well as the deliverables they must attain to
meet the new transition program's Career Readiness Standards.
5-Day Core Curriculum: The 5-day Transition GPS Core
Curriculum will include a financial planning seminar, a
workshop offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs on the
available veterans' benefits, and a redesigned employment
workshop offered by the Department of Labor. Transitioning
servicemembers will also undertake a Military Occupational Code
Crosswalk to translate their military skills, training, and
experience into civilian occupations and credentials.
Career-Specific Additional Curriculum: In addition to
completing the Transition GPS Core Curriculum, transitioning
servicemembers will also have the option of participating in a
series of 2 day tailored tracks within the Transition GPS
curriculum: (1) an Education track, for those pursing college
education; (2) a Technical Training track, for those seeking to
attend technical school or earn a credential; and (3) an
Entrepreneurship track, for those wanting to start a business.
CAPSTONE Event: At least 90 days before their
separation from Military Service, servicemembers will
participate in a CAPSTONE event, which will verify that
transitioning servicemembers completed the Transition GPS
curriculum and achieved Career Readiness Standards.
Servicemembers who require additional assistance will be
referred to additional or remedial training opportunities. In
addition, through the CAPSTONE event, all servicemembers will
be offered a ``warm handover'' to government agencies and
organizations that will be able to provide them continued
benefits, services, and support as veterans.
Military Life Cycle Transition Model: The new
transition program will incorporate career readiness and
transition preparation into the entire span of a
servicemember's career. In the past, transition and preparation
for the civilian workforce occurred late in a servicemember's
lifecycle--near the point of separation. Under this new
program, these concepts will be incorporated earlier as a way
to ensure that the counseling, assessments, and access to
resources to build skills or credentials occur at earlier
stages.

In December 2011, the Army published an execution order for
transition policy which changed our program to a ``Commander's
program'' to ensure soldiers have their commander's support and take
advantage of transition services. We have established a Transition
Strategic Outreach Office to synchronize job connection efforts between
soldiers and industry. In November 2012, the Army implemented the
``Veterans' Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act'' and has
began efforts to implement recommendations from the Veterans'
Employment Initative Task Force. As part of this effort, the Army
increased its ACAP counselor support within the Warrior Transition
Command from 30 to 41 counselors. Through the revamped Transition
Assistance Program, the Army is working to maximize job opportunities
by leveraging private industry contacts and local governments to remove
barriers to job-related licenses and certifications wherever possible.
To support these recent changes in legislation and policy, we
reinforced the Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP) and demobilization
platforms with a total of nearly 700 contractors and civilian personnel
comprised of transition and finance counselors, administrative support
staff, and information technology support team. We established a new
ACAP center in Kuwait. We have created 25 regionally-located transition
support teams to support the USAR and ARNG in the soldiers' hometowns.
We plan to add 65 education counselors at the end of fiscal year 2013.
The legislative and policy mandates present a 300 percent increase in
participation and focus our program on compliance.

CIVILIAN WORKFORCE/END STRENGTH

Consistent with the reductions of our authorized end strength for
active duty and the Army National Guard, we expect to reduce the
civilian workforce from 272,000 to 255,000 by the end of fiscal year
2017. The rate of reductions for the civilian workforce will be based
on the understanding that it will take 2-3 years after our troops
redeploy from Afghanistan to adequately reset our personnel, families,
and equipment.
To help mitigate the Army's budget execution risks, on January 22,
2013, a hiring freeze went into effect. The memorandum that established
the freeze also directed commanders to terminate temporary employees
and to let the appointments of term employees lapse upon the expiration
of their current appointments. To date, we have released over 1,800
temporary and term employees and expect to release a total of 3,100 by
the end of this fiscal year.
Recognizing the inevitable risks of decreased civilian employee
productivity and morale, we may need to furlough up to 250,000 civilian
employees this fiscal year. In addition to the hardship the pay loss
poses to our dedicated workforce, this furlough will have an immediate
trickle-down effect as the majority of these civilians are located
throughout the United States on our posts and stations, and their
spending directly impacts local economies and contributes towards State
and local taxes. Although we will endeavor to protect critical services
as much as possible, any furlough will have an immediate impact on
important Army services.

IMPLEMENTING THE ARMY TOTAL FORCE POLICY

Approved by the Secretary of the Army in September 2012, the Army
Total Force Policy is an important milestone in our Army's history
because it lays out a roadmap for the full integration of our Active
and Reserve component forces. The Active Army, the Army National Guard
(ARNG), and the Army Reserve (USAR) each serve vital roles in our
National Security Strategy, and it is imperative that we use each
component's strengths to accomplish the Army's missions in a time of
fiscal constraint. The essence of the Total Force Policy is to manage
risks by maintaining appropriate levels of readiness while balancing
immediate response capabilities with operational and strategic depth.
The Total Force Policy establishes formal guidance for integrating
the diverse regulations that govern how the Army mans, trains, equips,
and sustains Active Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve Forces.
To employ Active and Reserve component forces most efficiently, the
Army will establish common standards for unit training and readiness
validation; a common deployment period policy; standard procedures for
mobilizing and deploying Reserve component forces using new activation
authorities under title 10, 12304b, and will complete fielding of the
Integrated Pay and Personnel System. The Army Total Force Policy will
reshape the Army and ensure the Total Force provides the Nation the
best balance of readiness and depth.

WOMEN IN THE ARMY

On January 24, 2013, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) eliminated the Direct Ground Combat
Assignment Rule. While this resulted in all positions being opened to
women, the Army must notify Congress through the CJCS and Office of the
Secretary of Defense and complete the congressional notification period
prior to recruiting, reclassifying or assigning women to these
positions. There are significant documentation requirements as the Army
proposes opening further positions and completes the required
validation of occupational standards prior to January 1, 2016.
Female soldiers have demonstrated their ability to excel in combat
over the last 10 years. The Army is committed to ensuring all soldiers
have career opportunities that enable them to reach their highest
potential without regard to gender. The expansion of opportunities for
women will improve overall Army capability and readiness. With the
removal of the collocation restrictions in fiscal year 2012, this
enabled the Army to open an additional 13,139 positions and 6
additional military occupational specialties previously closed to
women. Women may now serve in leadership positions previously closed to
them; allowing them to be competitive with their male peers as they
gain new experiences.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The diversity of our Army is a continuous source of strength as we
recruit soldiers and Army civilians from an increasingly diverse
America. We must take full advantage of opportunities to bring new
ideas and expanded capabilities to the mission by reaching out to
diverse communities and building relationships that will support the
Army's human resource requirements. To this end, we have developed and
fully implemented a strategy for conducting outreach activities to our
Nations's diverse communities on an Army-wide basis. In the first year
of execution, 9 commands and the Army Staff coordinated 35 outreach
events for the Total Army. We will continue to build on this strategy
in the future.
Our ability to be inclusive of the Nation's diverse citizenry while
sustaining a high performance Army requires the engagement of senior
leaders and continuous diversity education throughout the Force. The
Army Diversity Roadmap outlines a unique approach to an enterprise-wide
diversity and inclusion initiative over the coming years and guides our
actions in the areas of leadership, people, structure and resources,
training and education, and inclusive work environments. Within the
Roadmap, we are implementing an intra-Army council of senior leaders to
advise the Secretary and provide a forum for collaboration and sharing
ideas in connection with implementation of the Army Diversity Roadmap
and execution of components of our strategy. In addition, the Council
will facilitate delivering the diversity and inclusion message
throughout the Army, while receiving direct feedback from senior
leaders on recommended priorities and areas of emphasis.
Our initial diversity training and education efforts have focused
on practitioners who support our commanders and other leaders. We
continue to ensure high quality initial training for Military Equal
Opportunity and Equal Employment Opportunity professionals. Over the
past 4 years, over 600 general officers and civilian senior executives
have completed a diversity education program that emphasizes inclusive
leadership, self-awareness, leading change, and other topics that
ensure a successful diversity and inclusion strategy for the Army. In
this program senior leaders are presented with challenges and
opportunities and participate in experiential exercises that enhance
understanding and perspective.
We will continue to invest in diversity education and inclusive
leadership by seamlessly integrating the training for senior leaders
into their initial leader development programs. Ultimately, we will
also reach every soldier and Army civilian through the Army's
institutional professional development system.
We must position the Army to recruit, develop and retain the most
talented people our Nation has to offer. Critical to our global mission
is an understanding of the cultures, languages and social norms of the
people in locations where we deploy as well as in our own ranks. This
diversity and inclusion initiative is integral to the Army's long-term
vision for human capital and our understanding of the human dimension
of leadership and global engagements.

THE ARMY DISABILITY EVALUATION SYSTEM

Fiscal year 2012 was the first full year in which the Army used the
Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) Army-wide. Under IDES,
the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) use a single set of general and specialty medical examinations and
a single-source disability rating to execute their respective
responsibilities. This results in more consistent, less contentious
evaluations, faster fitness determinations, and timely benefits
delivery for our medically retired or separated soldiers. As a result,
the VA can deliver benefits in the shortest period allowed by law
following discharge, thus reducing the ``benefit gap'' that previously
existed under the legacy process. IDES also provides assistance to
soldiers as they transition from the military to the services and
benefits the VA offers, and has eliminated many of the sequential and
duplicative processes found in our respective legacy systems.
The IDES has been strategically successful in reducing the post-
separation benefit gap; however expansion of IDES across the Army has
been challenging. Historically, several factors have hindered the
processing of soldiers through the IDES, including: ineffective
governance structure, inadequate capacity to meet demands, lack of
standardization, and a lack compliance with established policies and
guidance.
Over the last year, the Army has devoted an extraordinary amount of
time, attention, resources, and leadership to improve the IDES. In
addition to adding staff to our Medical and Physical Evaluation Boards
to support current operational demands, the VA and the Army have
implemented a number of initiatives to improve the performance of IDES.
These improvements have resulted in the following:

Since February 2012, the Army has reduced the number
of cases over 400 days by 24 percent.
Over the last year, the Army increased its capacity
from 1,200 to 3,000 cases per month. Consequently, Medical
Evaluation Board (MEB) output has exceeded input for the last 8
months, and the MEDCOM reduced its inventory of MEB from over
5,000 to 2,300 cases.
MEB output has exceeded input for the last 8 months;
the average days to complete the MEB Phase have improved 46
percent from 146 days in March 2012 to 112 days at the end of
February 2013. Time to complete the Narrative Summary (NARSUM)
has improved from 51 days in March 2012 to 22 days in February
2013 (56 percent improvement).
The Physical Evaluation Boards (PEBs) achieved DOD's
120-day goal for the last 4 months. The average number of days
to complete the PEB Phase has also decreased from 126 days in
March 2012 to 104 days at the end of February 2013, an 18
percent improvement.

Soldiers starting IDES today will complete the process in less than
295 days. With the added capacity and process improvements in place,
the Army expects to meet the DOD's goal of completing 70 percent of AC
cases in 295 days and RC cases in 305 days by January 2014. More
importantly, we remain committed to making this process more accessible
to our soldiers and their families.

READY AND RESILIENT CAMPAIGN

For the Army to continue to improve, and increase capability and
performance, we must continue to build resilience in our total force.
We have a historic opportunity to understand the lessons of the last 12
years and make our force even stronger. Thus on February 4, 2013, the
Secretary of the Army issued a Directive requiring the Army to move
forward with its Ready and Resilient Campaign (R2C) plan. The R2C will
address the challenges that stress the Force, and integrate and
synchronize the multiple efforts and programs designed to improve the
readiness and resilience of soldiers (Active, Reserve, and National
Guard), Army civilians, and their families.
The R2C is a far-reaching, comprehensive campaign, designed to
enhance individual and collective resilience and improve readiness.
This initiative will integrate and synchronize existing and emerging
Army programs that focus on improving physical, psychological and
emotional health. The goal is to ensure that individuals understand and
have access to effective programs and feel empowered to seek help if
and when they need it; free from stigma related barriers.
The success of the Ready and Resilient Campaign depends on
commanders and leaders at all levels acting with unity of effort and
emphasizing the campaign's importance to sustaining Army readiness in
the future. This campaign will guide the Army's efforts to build and
maintain resilience across the Total Army to improve unit readiness and
further reinforce the Army Profession. The Ready and Resilient Campaign
Execution Order (EXORD) will follow the Campaign Plan with specific
tasks and details for the execution of the campaign. We expect every
leader to fully support the campaign by incorporating resilience
training into all educational and professional development programs.
Soldiers of all ranks must practice the skills that build resilience as
part of our collective effort to build a strong Army team. Success will
come from a cultural change in the Army by directly linking personal
resilience to readiness and emphasizing the responsibility of personnel
at all levels to build and maintain resilience.

HEALTH PROMOTION RISK REDUCTION AND SUICIDE PREVENTION

The Army continues to institute a multi-disciplinary, holistic
approach to readiness and resilience and suicide prevention. Increased
emphasis remains on developing and implementing targeted training
programs as well as funding for support programs that impact the entire
Army Family. This approach is also reflected in the various senior
leader forums that are conducted throughout the Army: the Army Vice
Chief of Staff-led Senior Suicide Review Group; the Health Promotion
Risk Reduction Council; and the Community Health Promotion Councils at
posts, camps, and stations.
Key elements of the Army's approach are: (1) Prompt access by
soldiers to quality behavioral health care; (2) Multi-point screening
and documentation of mild Traumatic Brain Injuries/Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorders; (3) Improved leader and soldier awareness of high-
risk behavior and intervention programs; and (4) Increased emphasis on
programs that support Total Force (soldiers, Army civilians, and family
members) readiness and resilience.
The Army had 324 potential suicides during 2012--the highest annual
total on record. Of those, 184 deaths occurred within the AC and RC
(Army National Guard [ARNG]/U.S. Army Reserve [USAR]) on Active Duty.
This total exceeds the previous Active Duty high of 166 in 2009 and
2011. The RC not on Active Duty total of 140 is the second highest on
record, exceeded only by the 2010 not on Active Duty total of 146.
While most Army suicides continue to be among junior enlisted soldiers,
the number of suicides by noncommissioned officers has increased over
each of the last 3 years. By far, most Army suicides were in the 21-30
age range, a trend that held each year from 2010 to 2012.
In November 2012, the Army published the ``2020 Army Strategy for
Suicide Prevention'' as Annex C of the ``Headquarters Department of the
Army (HQDA) EXORD 037-13, Ready and Resilient Quick Wins.'' It is
deliberately and closely synchronized with the ``2012 National Strategy
for Suicide Prevention'' in order to promote coordinated
implementation. It features four major lines of Effort: (1) Healthy and
Empowered Individuals, Families, and Communities-Prevention; (2)
Clinical and Community Support Services--Intervention; (3) Treatment
and Recovery Services--Postvention; and (4) Surveillance, Research, and
Evaluation. The references to Prevention, Intervention and Postvention
tie the 2020 Army Strategy back to extensive work done over many
preceding years, while at the same time it presents a forward-looking
way-ahead in step with the National Strategy.

ARMY SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROGRAM

The Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) is a commander's program
that uses prevention, education, deterrence, detection, and
rehabilitation, to reduce and eliminate alcohol and drug abuse. It is
based on the expectations of readiness and personal responsibility.
In March 2010, the Army conducted a counselor requirements analysis
based on each installation's average daily client census with a ratio
of one counselor for 30 patients. Patient caseload was as high as 60
patients per counselor at some installations. The Army has shifted to a
1:30 ratio as an acceptable ratio based on literature and counselor
input. Applying this ratio yielded a requirement of 563 counselors
assuming a 20 percent growth in number of patients over a 5 year
period.
An Army priority in this area includes the hiring of more
counselors. There is a finite pool of qualified substance abuse
counselors nationwide and the Army is competing for this scarce talent
with private industry, the Veteran's Administration and State and local
governments. As of March 20, 2013, the Army has hired 436 of the 563
counselors needed. The Army is increasing the use of recruiting,
relocation, and student loan reimbursement incentives to attract more
qualified candidates, and is developing a ASAP Counselor Internship
Program which will allow students with Master's degrees to work in a
supervised internship for up to 2 years as they obtain their licenses
and substance abuse counselor certifications.
The Confidential Alcohol Treatment and Education Pilot began in
July 2009 and offers confidential alcohol treatment and education to
eligible soldiers. This pilot was initially offered at Fort Lewis, Fort
Richardson, and Schofield Barracks. The Secretary of the Army directed
that the pilot be expanded to include Forts Carson, Riley, and Leonard
Wood with successful treatment outcomes at these sites.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT/ASSAULT RESPONSE AND PREVENTION PROGRAM

Over the last year, the Army made great strides to institutionalize
our Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Program
to enable Army readiness, combat sexual violence and reinforce the
Army's commitment to create a climate where soldiers live the Army
Values, thereby eliminating sexual assault and sexual harassment.
As we assess our efforts, results from our recent Operational Troop
Survey indicate a significant increase (28 percent in 2009 to 42
percent in 2012) of female soldier survey respondents who indicated
they experienced a sexual assault and reported the crime. This increase
in soldiers propensity to report this crime is critical to ensure
commanders can provide support to survivors, take appropriate action
against offenders, and effectively address command safety issues.
The Army's goal is to eliminate sexual violence through cultural
change, thereby, creating a professional climate where every member of
the Army family (soldiers, civilians, and family members) trusts their
leaders to treat them with dignity and respect. The Army is
aggressively pursuing this goal through the integration of policies,
training, communication and a unity-of-command approach to our sexual
harassment and sexual assault response and prevention efforts.
Highly trained SHARP staff are key to achieving SHARP goals. The
Army trained approximately 19,000 command-selected program personnel on
a prevention-focused 80-hour program certification course. The Army is
institutionalizing this training at the command level by establishing
73 full-time SHARP 80-hour certification course trainer positions
within our Active and Reserve components. The Army is aggressively
pursuing DOD certification of more than 10,000 SHARP personnel by the
end of fiscal year 2013.
The Army also continues to expand our SHARP Life-Cycle Training.
The training is designed to improve the capabilities of our force to
address sexual assault at every level of career progression.
While the primary objective is prevention, when an incident occurs,
the Army is committed to providing the best possible support and
protection of the survivor through our advocacy efforts. In 2012, the
Army implemented the requirement to have two full-time program
personnel to serve as Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARC) and
Victim Advocates (VA) at brigade and equivalent units. To
institutionalize these efforts, the Army is resourcing 829 military and
civilian full-time SARC and VA positions at AC/RC brigade and
equivalent units and thousands of collateral positions at battalions
and below.
In 2012, the Army began executing its executive agent role to train
military investigators/prosecutors from all Services at the U.S. Army
Military Police School 80-hour Special Victim Unit Investigation
Course. The course includes the ground-breaking Forensic Experiential
Trauma Interview technique developed by the Army. This interviewing
technique reduces the survivor's risk of re-traumatization during
interviews and produces stronger case evidence.

DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL REPEAL/EXTENDING BENEFITS TO SAME SEX PARTNERS

The Army, in coordination with the DOD, is proceeding with the
planning necessary to implement the extension of benefits to same sex
domestic partners.
With the repeal of ``Don't Ask Don't Tell,'' discrimination based
on sexual orientation no longer has a place in the military. All
soldiers who serve our Nation deserve to be treated with equal dignity
and respect. As such, on February 11, 2013, the Secretary of Defense,
directed the Services to develop plans to extend family member and
dependent benefits that can be lawfully provided to the same-sex
domestic partners of military servicemembers and their children.
These 22 family member and dependent benefits identified by the
Joint Benefits Review Working Group require policy revisions, training,
and technical upgrades to our automated personnel identification
system. However, the Army will be ready to make these benefits
available to same-sex domestic partners by August 31, 2013 as directed
by the Secretary of Defense.
While our work is focused on changing our policies and practices in
accordance with current law to ensure fair and equal treatment of all
our members and their families, we will ensure we implement this change
in the same disciplined manner that has characterized the Army's
service for the past 237 years.

CONGRESSIONAL ASSISTANCE

As the Army continues the deliberate and methodical reductions in
the force, we will need congressional support to drawdown accurately
and efficiently while maintaining readiness. The Army will maximize
voluntary measures, but will need congressional support as it resorts
to inevitable involuntary measures in the coming fiscal year. The
continued support of Congress for competitive military benefits and
compensation, along with incentives and bonuses for soldiers will
remain critical to the All-Volunteer Army's efforts to recruit, retain,
and support the highest caliber of individuals. The Army must retain
the flexibility to offer incentives to attract and retain talent. The
continued funding of these programs by Congress is absolutely critical.
These incentives assist in shaping the force for both quality and
specific talent required. Finally, predictability in the authorization
and appropriation bills that are aligned with the President's budget
request would help the Army tremendously in preparations for the force
of the future.

CONCLUSION

We have invested a tremendous amount of resources and deliberate
planning to develop and preserve the All-Volunteer Force. People are
the Army, and our enduring priority is to preserve the high quality,
All-Volunteer Force--the essential element of our strength.
While we transform to a smaller Army, we remain dedicated to
improving readiness, and building resilience in our soldiers,
civilians, and their families. The Army will not sacrifice readiness as
it draws down. We must draw down wisely to preserve the health of the
force and prevent breaking faith with the brave men and women who serve
our Nation. The Army has gained the trust of the American public more
now than at any other time in recent history, while fulfilling our
responsibilities toward those who serve.
The well-being of our force, regardless of its size, is absolutely
dependent upon your tremendous support. The Army is proud of the high
caliber men and women whose willingness to serve, is a credit to this
great nation. To conclude, we wish to thank all of you for your
continued support, which has been vital in sustaining our All-Volunteer
Army through an unprecedented period of continuous combat operations
and will continue to be vital to ensure the future of our Army.
Chairman Gillibrand, Senator Graham, and members of the
subcommittee, we thank you again for your generous and unwavering
support of our outstanding soldiers, civilian professionals, and their
families.

Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Secretary Garcia?

STATEMENT OF HON. JUAN M. GARCIA III, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF
THE NAVY FOR MANPOWER AND RESERVE AFFAIRS

Mr. Garcia. Thank you, Chairman Gillibrand, Senator Graham,
and distinguished members of the subcommittee. Thank you for
this opportunity to speak about the Department of the Navy's
personnel programs, about the sailors, the marines, and the
civilians who comprise the Navy.
There have been several significant and successful changes
in the Navy in personnel policies and programs since we last
testified before this subcommittee. In accordance with the
January 24, 2013 Secretary of Defense memorandum entitled
``Elimination of the 1994 Direct Ground Combat Definition
Assignment Rule,'' we will submit the Navy-Marine Corps
implementation plans next month to the Secretary of Defense.
These plans will provide details on how we intend to move
forward with our expansion of opportunities for females to
serve in previously closed Military Occupational Specialties
(MOSs), ground combat units, and those positions closed due to
privacy and berthing restrictions.
We have made great strides by opening positions on
submarines and assigning women to previously closed ground
combat units at the battalion level. We continue to offer the
opportunity for female lieutenants to volunteer for training at
the Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course immediately following
graduation from The Basic School. We are committed to providing
women with the same opportunities as their male counterparts
while maintaining the highest levels of combat readiness and
capitalizing upon every opportunity to enhance our warfighting
capabilities.
The Navy is supporting ongoing efforts by DOD to review and
extend benefits, including compensation benefits, to same sex
domestic partners of servicemembers. Many benefits are
currently available to same sex domestic partners by
designation of servicemembers. At the direction of the
President, DOD established a Joint Benefits Review (JBR)
Working Group, comprised of representatives from each of the
Services. The JBR's mission is to conduct a careful and
deliberative review of the benefits currently provided to the
families of servicemembers.
The working group has identified 22 additional family well-
being, child and youth programs, family support, travel and
transportation, and survivor and death benefits that can be
lawfully provided to the same sex domestic partners of
servicemembers and their families through changes to DOD
policies and regulations. On February 11, 2013, then Secretary
of Defense Panetta directed the extension of those benefits to
same sex domestic partners and their children once the
servicemembers and their same sex partners sign declarations
attesting to the existence of a committed relationship.
Implementation of these benefit changes requires
substantial policy revision, training, and technical upgrades.
The Department of the Navy will extend the 22 additional family
member and dependent benefits to eligible partners of the
servicemembers no later than October 1 of this year, subject to
approval by the Secretary of Defense. Meanwhile, the Department
will continue to comply with existing law and will review the
extension of military benefits in conjunction with OSD and
other Services should a change in law occur.
In addition to ensuring our manpower and personnel policies
meet our country's security requirements, it is my honor and
privilege to represent and advocate for the more than 800,000
sailors, marines, and civilian teammates who are always
prepared to respond to whatever our Nation needs. Vice Admiral
Van Buskirk and Lieutenant General Milstead will have the
opportunity to address their respective Services' personnel
plans in detail, but I would like to touch on some common
challenges the Navy faces as a whole.
After more than a decade of war and given the challenges in
the broader economy, we must honor our commitment to veterans
and wounded warriors by taking concrete steps to facilitate
their transition to civilian life. A key achievement over the
last year is the progress made with regard to transition
support and reintegration. In fiscal year 2012, the Navy hired
10,867 veterans into civilian positions. Fifty-nine percent of
those were new hires. Of these, nearly one-quarter were
disabled veterans and 1 in 10 was a wounded warrior.
The Navy has just over 200,000 U.S. direct hire civilians
as of December. Veterans, including wounded warriors and
disabled veterans, comprise a majority of our civilian
workforce. Civilians operate across a broad spectrum of 558
occupations to include world class scientists and researchers
who develop and procure cutting-edge weapons and equipment.
More than half of the civilian workforce is made up of
technical professionals, such as engineers, logisticians,
mathematicians, scientists, acquisition specialists, and
members of the medical community.
Because of the combination of sequestration and the fiscal
year 2013 continuing resolution, Navy commands have been
operating under an across-the-board civilian hiring freeze to
reduce spending, primarily in the Operations and Maintenance
(O&M) accounts, since January. Fortunately, the Marine Corps
has been able to avoid so drastic a measure. Sustained
execution of a hiring freeze simply hampers the Navy's ability
to recruit a skilled and talented workforce capable of
executing the mission. Critical gaps created by ongoing
vacancies affect the Navy's readiness and could negatively
impact execution for many months to come.
Our Department level sexual assault prevention strategy
since 2009 has had three main components, each of which has
shown progress during fiscal years 2012 and 2013. I know we
will have a chance to address those.
From suicide reduction to sexual assault prevention and
response, the Navy's 21st Century Sailor and Marine Initiative
is addressing head-on the critical and urgent issues facing our
sailors, marines, and their families. As part of our aggressive
drug demand reduction efforts, we have expanded our drug
testing panel to include synthetics, like spice. We have also
ended discount subsidies on the sale of tobacco products in our
Navy and Marine Corps exchanges, while providing no cost
tobacco cessation products for those trying to quit, and
improved education and training programs to steer potential new
consumers away from starting.
In short, the 21st Century Initiative is providing the
tools needed to face challenges through a variety of programs
aimed at fostering a healthy lifestyle both on and off duty. We
are committed to continuing these efforts to ensure a safe,
healthy, resilient, and ready force.
I wish to thank the committee members for your continued
and unwavering support to the Navy, Marine Corps, and the men
and women who are sailors and marines, who serve bravely in
Afghanistan, spend months at sea apart from their families,
guard embassies throughout the world, conduct humanitarian
assistant missions whenever and wherever needed, and perform
countless other missions under often unimaginably demanding
conditions and circumstances.
We look forward to your questions. Thank you.
[The prepared joint statement of Mr. Garcia, Vice Admiral
Van Buskirk, and Lieutenant General Milstead follows:]

Prepared Joint Statement by Hon. Juan M. Garcia, VADM Scott R. Van
Buskirk, USN, and Lt. Gen. Robert E. Milstead, Jr., USMC

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Department of the Navy's fiscal year 2014 manpower and
personnel budget request appropriately balances risk in supporting the
readiness requirements of the fleet and providing for the care and
compensation of our sailors and marines. Our active budget request will
support active end-strength of 323,600 within the Navy and 182,100
within the Marine Corps (190,200 with Overseas Contingency Operations
support) and a Reserve end strength of 59,100 within the Navy and
39,600 within the Marine Corps.

Personnel Efficiencies
The overall pressure on the budget and the need for efficiency made
achieving an appropriate balance between resources and requirements
particularly difficult this year. The pay raises and changes in TRICARE
fees for fiscal year 2014 and across the Future Years Defense Program
(FYDP) represent the Department's best effort to balance personnel
requirements, budget realities, and the welfare of our servicemembers
and retirees. Because the increases in base pay are more modest than
those of recent years, funding of special pays and bonuses will be
particularly important. In addition, the budget includes increases for
Basic Allowance for Housing (4.2 percent) and Basic Allowance for
Subsistence (3.4 percent). As indicators of an improving economy
emerge, we are closely monitoring for any downward trend in recruiting
and retention. Meanwhile certain critical skills and positions remain
difficult to fill.

Sailor, Marine, and Family Care
In fiscal year 2014 our team of dedicated family readiness
professionals will continue to respond with agility to the needs of
sailors, marines, and their families. Our goal is to address the needs
of individual service and family members while also providing for the
family unit as a whole. Technology, such as handheld applications and
more sophisticated tools like eMarine, provides a wide range of
communication capabilities. By providing information for self-help and
education electronically, these tools enable our staff to focus their
efforts on providing face-to-face interaction when and where it is
needed the most. In addition, the Department continues to support vital
programs such as the Military Spouse Employment Partnership, both as a
resource for our members' spouses and as an employer, and the Yellow
Ribbon Reintegration Program, a popular and proven reintegration tool.

Recruiting
Both the Navy and Marine Corps continue to experience strong
performance in our recruiting programs across both the officer and
enlisted force. Accordingly, both Services' fiscal year 2014 budget
requests for accession bonuses represent reductions from fiscal year
2013. However, accession bonuses remain critical to achieving our goals
for certain hard to fill positions such as health professionals,
nuclear operators, and special warfare/special operations in both the
Active and Reserve components and Unrestricted Line officers in the
Navy Reserve component.

Retention
The overall economic conditions, particularly with the improving
but still weak civilian job market, contribute to the Navy and Marine
Corps having had considerable success with retention across the force.
As a result, bonuses and special pays have been reduced significantly
in recent years. While we continue to make selected reductions in
bonuses and special pays paid to sailors and marines, these highly
targeted forms of compensation remain crucial to filling critical skill
areas. In many cases these skill areas require significant investments
in training and education and civilian demand for people with these
skills remains strong despite the overall economic environment.

Transition Support
While higher than normal unemployment in the civilian sector makes
it easier to meet our retention goals, it also makes it more difficult
for those who leave the military to find a job. In fiscal year 2012,
the Department of Navy spent nearly $344 million on unemployment
benefits for those who left active service. While the unemployment rate
for veterans is lower than the national average, and the vast majority
of our veterans do find civilian employment, it is taking many of them
too long to do so. The newly redesigned Transition Assistance Program
(TAP)--entitled ``Transition GPS'' (Goals, Plans, Succeed)--is intended
to prepare sailors and marines to make a successful transition from
military to civilian life and help shorten their time to post-service
employment. Transition GPS includes the following elements:

Pre-Separation Assessment and Individual Counseling:
Through the new transition program, separating servicemembers
will have a one-on-one counseling session to discuss their
transition needs and goals. Each servicemember will develop an
Individual Transition Plan that documents their personal
transition, as well as the deliverables they must attain to
meet the new transition program's Career Readiness Standards.
5-Day Core Curriculum: The 5 day Transition GPS Core
Curriculum will include a financial planning seminar, a
workshop offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs on the
available veterans' benefits, and a re-designed employment
workshop offered by the Department of Labor. Transitioning
servicemembers will also undertake a Military Occupational Code
Crosswalk to translate their military skills, training, and
experience into civilian occupations and credentials.
Career-Specific Additional Curriculum: In addition to
completing the Transition GPS Core Curriculum, transitioning
servicemembers will also have the option of participating in a
series of 2 day tailored tracks within the Transition GPS
curriculum: (1) an Education track, for those pursing college
education; (2) a Technical Training track, for those seeking to
attend technical school or earn a credential; and (3) an
Entrepreneurship track, for those wanting to start a business.
CAPSTONE Event: At least 90 days before their
separation from Military Service, servicemembers will
participate in a CAPSTONE event, which will verify that
transitioning servicemembers completed the Transition GPS
curriculum and achieved Career Readiness Standards.
Servicemembers who require additional assistance will be
referred to additional or remedial training opportunities. In
addition, through the CAPSTONE event, all servicemembers will
be offered a ``warm handover'' to government agencies and
organizations that will be able to provide them continued
benefits, services, and support as veterans.
Military Life Cycle Transition Model: The new
transition program will incorporate career readiness and
transition preparation into the entire span of a
servicemember's career. In the past, transition and preparation
for the civilian workforce occurred late in a servicemember's
lifecycle--near the point of separation. Under this new
program, these concepts will be incorporated earlier as a way
to ensure that the counseling, assessments, and access to
resources to build skills or credentials occur at earlier
stages.
______

Chairman Gillibrand, Senator Graham, and distinguished members of
the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to speak about the
Department of the Navy's personnel programs and about the sailors,
marines, and civilians who comprise the Department of the Navy.
There have been many significant and successful changes in the
Department of the Navy personnel policies and programs since I
testified before you last spring.
In accordance with the January 24, 2013, Secretary of Defense
Memorandum, ``Elimination of the 1994 Direct Ground Combat Definition
and Assignment Rule,'' we will submit the Navy and Marine Corps
implementation plans in May to the Secretary of Defense. These plans
will provide details on how we intend to move forward with our
expansion of opportunities for females to serve in previously closed
Military Occupation Specialties (MOS), ground combat units, and those
positions closed due to privacy and berthing restrictions. We have made
great strides by opening positions on submarines and assigning women to
previously closed ground combat units at the battalion level. We
continue to offer the opportunity for female lieutenants to volunteer
for training at the Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course immediately
following graduation from The Basic School. We are committed to
providing women with the same opportunities as their male counterparts
while maintaining the highest levels of combat readiness and
capitalizing upon every opportunity to enhance our warfighting
capabilities.
The Department of the Navy is supporting ongoing efforts by the
Department of Defense to review and extend benefits, including
compensation benefits, to same-sex domestic partners of servicemembers.
Many benefits are currently available to same sex domestic partners by
designation of servicemembers. At the direction of the President, the
Department of Defense established a Joint Benefits Review (JBR) working
group. Comprised of representatives from all the Services, the JBR's
mission is to conduct a careful and deliberative review of the benefits
currently provided to the families of servicemembers. The working group
has identified 22 additional family well-being, child and youth
program, family support, travel and transportation, and survivor and
death benefits that can be lawfully provided to the same-sex domestic
partners of servicemembers and their families through changes to
Department of Defense policies and regulations. On February 11, 2013,
then-Secretary of Defense Panetta directed the extension of these
benefits to same-sex domestic partners and their children once the
servicemembers and their same-sex domestic partners sign declarations
attesting to the existence of their committed relationship.
Implementation of these benefit changes requires substantial policy
revision, training, and technical upgrades. The Department of the Navy
will extend the 22 additional family member and dependent benefits to
eligible same-sex domestic partners of servicemembers no later than
October 1, 2013, subject to approval by the Secretary of Defense.
Meanwhile, the Department of the Navy will continue to comply with
existing law and will review the extension of military benefits in
conjunction with OSD and the other services should a change in law
occur.
In addition to ensuring our manpower and personnel policies meet
our country's security requirements, it is my honor and privilege to
represent and advocate for the more than 800,000 sailors, marines, and
civilian employees who are always prepared to respond to whatever our
Nation demands.
Vice Admiral Van Buskirk and Lieutenant General Milstead will
address their respective Service's personnel plans in detail, but I
would like to touch on some common challenges the Department of the
Navy faces as a whole.
Last March, the Secretary of the Navy unveiled the 21st Century
Sailor and Marine Initiative which is designed to place an increased
focus on the resiliency and fitness of our servicemembers. With so much
of our new defense strategy dependent upon the Navy and Marine Corps,
we must ensure that our resources support the most combat effective and
the most resilient force in our history. We set high standards and
provide individuals with the services and training needed to meet those
standards.
Aligned with the Defense Strategic Guidance's direction to maintain
a ready and capable force, the 21st Century Sailor and Marine
Initiative is designed to maximize sailor and marine personal
readiness, to maintain the resiliency of the force, and to hone the
most combat effective force in the history of the Department of the
Navy. The 21st Century Sailor and Marine Initiative consists of five
basic ``pillars'': Readiness, Safety, Physical Fitness, Inclusion, and
Continuum of Service. Our intention is to maximize sailor and marine
personal readiness and resilience by concentrating on all five pillars.
The Navy will continue to provide a well-trained, healthy force in
order to maximize our greatest military advantage and the bedrock of
our Navy and Marine Corps--our sailors and marines. To accomplish this,
our leadership team will do all we can to provide each member with the
resources needed to maintain resiliency. The Navy will continue efforts
to reduce suicides, curb alcohol abuse, deter the illegal use and
misuse of drugs--including emerging synthetic drugs and prescription
drugs, prevent sexual assaults, improve motorcycle safety, move to a
culture of physical readiness, offer healthful and nutritious dining
options, expand diversity (ideas, expertise and backgrounds) and
provide tools for life after military service.
After more than a decade of war, and given the challenges in the
broader economy, we must honor our commitment to veterans and Wounded
Warriors by taking concrete steps to facilitate their transition to
civilian life. A key achievement over the last year is the progress
made with regard to transition support and reintegration. In fiscal
year 2012, The Department of the Navy hired 10,867 veterans into
civilian positions (59 percent of new hires). Of these, nearly one-
quarter (2,540) were disabled veterans and 1-in-10 was a Wounded
Warrior.
The Department of the Navy has just over 200,000 U.S. direct hire
civilians as of December 2012. Veterans, including wounded warriors and
disabled veterans, comprise a majority of our civilian workforce. The
Navy civilians operate across a broad spectrum of 558 occupations, to
include world-class scientists and researchers who develop and procure
cutting-edge weapons and equipment. More than half of the civilian
workforce is made up of technical professionals such as engineers,
logisticians, mathematicians, scientists, acquisition specialists, and
members of the medical community.
Because of the combination of sequestration and the fiscal year
2013 continuing resolution, Navy Commands have been operating under an
across-the-board civilian hiring freeze to reduce spending, primarily
in the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) accounts, since January.
Fortunately, the Marine Corps has been able to avoid so drastic a
measure. Sustained execution of a hiring freeze severely hampers the
Navy's ability to recruit a skilled and talented workforce capable of
executing its mission. Critical gaps created by ongoing vacancies
affect the Navy's readiness and could negatively impact execution for
many months to come.
One consequence of the hiring freeze is a significant reduction in
our hiring of veterans and Wounded Warriors. The number of veterans
hired in February 2013 totaled only 355, compared to 925 in December
2012. Similarly, the numbers of Wounded Warriors and disabled veterans
brought onboard in February dropped to 97, a sharp decrease from the
306 in December.
Additionally, the sequestration required DOD to consider
furloughing civilian personnel. The reduction in pay associated with
furloughs, in conjunction with the hiring freeze, could severely impact
our ability to attract and/or retain employees in our mission critical
occupations.
The Navy views civilian furloughs as an option of last resort. Our
civilian employees are absolutely critical to the Navy and Marine Corps
team that is more than 10 years into the longest sustained period of
combat operations in American history. Our civilians have responded to
the increased operational tempo of the last decade, but the impact of a
furlough, combined with continued pay freezes, may severely damage
morale and retention. This proposed civilian furlough affects all
levels of the department, from blue collar workers to members of the
Senior Executive Service. Exceptions are extremely rare, largely
limited to those deployed in a combat zone; those responsible for
safety of life and property (mostly police, fire fighters, and nuclear
accident responders); those who provide 24-hour inpatient and emergency
care; those funded by the Foreign Military Sales trust fund; and
civilian mariners at sea. DOD has also exempted foreign nationals,
select child care employees and non-appropriated-fund employees. As it
currently stands, mid-June is the earliest possible date for a civilian
furlough. We continue to prepare our employees and our Commands for the
impact this would have on our operations.
Another topic of special concern is sexual assault and prevention.
Both the CNO and the CMC have clearly made these issues a high priority
for senior leaders. The Marine Corps instituted the Sexual Assault
Prevention and Response Campaign Plan 2012, and the Navy focused on
improving the victim support process. We hold ourselves to a high
standard of conduct and we will not tolerate sexual assaults within our
ranks.
The Department of the Navy is committed to a Department-wide
culture of gender respect where sexual assault is completely eliminated
and never tolerated, and where sexual assault victims receive
compassionate and coordinated support. This ongoing effort is a top
priority of the Department and its two Services--the Navy and the
Marine Corps. There are challenges yet to overcome, but we have
accomplished much.
Our Department-level sexual assault prevention strategy since 2009
has had three main components, each of which has shown progress during
fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2013. The first involves the
progressive dissemination of a clear, consistent, top-down leadership
message that sexual assault is never acceptable anywhere in the
Department of the Navy, and that all sailors and marines have shared
responsibilities for their own behavior and for protecting each other
from sexual assault. The second component involves the broad
application of updated Service-wide training tools across the Navy and
Marine Corps. Influencing the attitudes and behaviors of young sailors
and marines requires their repeated exposure to training that is
informative, relevant, and pertinent to them. Our third strategy
component involves testing new initiatives to determine their efficacy
in actually preventing sexual assaults. Experience at the Navy's
Training Support Command Great Lakes has been very encouraging, and we
are working to distill the key insights from numerous simultaneous
initiatives there, and to apply the more effective ones elsewhere.
Underlying all of these concepts is our commitment to candid self-
assessment using insights from anonymous surveys, sexual assault case
reviews, and site visits to Navy and Marine Corps locations worldwide.
Our tactical objective is to reduce the number of sexual assaults
involving sailors or marines with a special focus on preventing the
most egregious forms of sexual assault.
During fiscal year 2012, both Services deployed innovative new
sexual assault prevention training tools. At the Department level, we
distributed over 15,000 copies of a newly-published Commander's Guide
containing information on departmental priorities, background data, and
specific suggestions on the management of sexual assault cases. We also
fielded half-day leadership programs at eight concentration sites of
Navy and Marine Corps operational forces in the United States and
abroad. Each session combined summaries of Departmental insights and
priorities, along with presentations by an outside civilian expert with
unique experience in sexual assault criminal investigations and
offender profiling. A separate, live-acted, vignette-based educational
program, which emphasized the importance of bystander intervention in
preventing sexual assault, was presented simultaneously to packed
theaters of sailors and marines. In addition, work is nearing
completion on a professionally produced Department-level sexual assault
prevention and response (SAPR) training video suitable for Department-
wide use and focused on educating and orienting Navy civilians.
The Navy leadership has worked with both Services to improve sexual
assault victim support services. In addition to coordinating Service-
level strategies for implementing new requirements established in NDAA
2012 for full-time victim advocates and sexual assault response
coordinators, the Under Secretary of the Navy worked directly with the
Naval Audit Service and Navy-SAPRO to assess the responsiveness of 24/7
telephone access to SAPR services for sexual assault victims. The
result has been a dramatic improvement in performance and the
establishment of formal Navy standards. In another area, the Department
partnered during fiscal year 2012 with the Department of Justice (DOJ)
to develop a DOJ grant project to explore the efficacy of tele-medicine
support for Sexual Assault Forensic Exams at remote sites. The
Department of the Navy is the only Military Department engaged with DOJ
in this effort, and our insights have helped shape the focus of ongoing
project development.
From suicide reduction to sexual assault prevention and response,
the Department of the Navy's 21st Century Sailor and Marine Initiative
is addressing, head on, the critical and urgent issues facing our
sailors, marines, and their families. As part of our aggressive drug
demand reduction efforts, we have expanded our drug-testing panel to
include synthetics like ``Spice''. We have also ended discount
``subsidies'' on the sale of tobacco products in our Navy and Marine
Corps Exchanges while providing no-cost tobacco cessation products for
those trying to quit and improving education and training programs to
steer potential new consumers away from ever starting. In short, the
21st Century Initiative is providing the tools needed to face
challenges through a variety of programs aimed at fostering a healthy
lifestyle, both on and off duty. We commit to continue these efforts to
ensure a safe, healthy, resilient and ready force.
The budget process requires a careful balancing of resources and
assessment of risk. The President's fiscal year 2014 budget and the
Future Years Defense Program are the results of difficult decisions and
tradeoffs. The final product meets mission requirements while providing
appropriate compensation and benefits for our Active Duty, Reserves,
civilian employees, and military retirees.
In response to the newly enacted requirement to ``establish
policies and procedures for determining the most appropriate and cost
efficient mix of military, civilian, and contractor personnel to
perform the mission of the Department of Defense'' contained in Section
931 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, the Department
of the Navy has established the Total Force Integration Board (TFIB),
which I chair. The TFIB serves as the principal forum for Total Force
Planning and Management efforts, including determination of optimal
workforce mix across the Navy enterprise. Additionally, as of September
2012, the Department of the Navy has implemented the Contractor
Manpower Reporting Application (CMRA) which provides for the
identification of Service contracts and labor hours expended within the
Navy as reported by the contractors. These data will be aggregated and
reported to Congress beginning in fiscal year 2014. The application is
modeled after the Army's version of CMRA and may eventually transition
to an enterprise-wide version of CMRA at the OSD level.
Both Sea Services will strive to meet their operational
requirements with as efficient a force as possible. For the Navy this
means continuing to move sailors from shore support functions to sea
duty to enhance operational readiness. Such a shift means not only
fewer sailors available for mission critical work ashore, but also that
sailors will, on average, spend more time at sea away from their
families. For the marines, the reduction of nearly 20,000 end strength
coincides with the planned withdrawal from Afghanistan, but will
require careful balancing to maintain the right mix of seniority and
specialties.
Our highest priority remains the care and the recovery of our
wounded, ill, and injured servicemembers. The Department of the Navy is
leading the way in innovative therapeutic treatments of our wounded
warriors and these efforts include our continued focus and research in
the areas of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress
disorder. The Navy is collaborating with the other Services, our
Centers of Excellence, the Veterans Administration, and leading
research and academic centers. We continue to make progress but
recognize there is more work ahead in this area.
We continue to search for innovative ways to improve the efficiency
and capability of our forces as well as the quality of life of our
members and their families. The Navy is actively preparing for the
congressionally-created commission on military compensation and hopes
for increased flexibility to meet our requirements with both efficiency
and fairness to our members and retirees.
We wish to thank the committee members for your continuous and
unwavering commitment to support the Navy and Marine Corps and the men
and women who, as sailors and marines, serve bravely in Afghanistan,
spend months at sea apart from their families, guard embassies
throughout the world, conduct humanitarian missions whenever and
wherever needed, and perform countless other missions, often under
unimaginably demanding conditions and circumstances.
The following service specific information is provided for the
committee. We look forward to your questions.

[The prepared statement of Vice Admiral Van Buskirk
follows:]

Prepared Statement by VADM Scott R. Van Buskirk, USN

I. INTRODUCTION

Chairman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Graham, and distinguished
members of the subcommittee, I am honored to appear before you today to
review Navy manpower, personnel, training, education and family support
programs and priorities for fiscal year 2014.
These are clearly challenging times for all of us. With budget
concerns continuing and the pressures of increased OPTEMPO we are
asking sailors to do more than ever before. Navy has had to make tough
and sometimes unpopular decisions; however, we remain committed to
supporting sailors and their families through this challenging time.
While we have planned for, and are executing, prudent reductions; the
majority of the impacts will not take effect until this summer. My
primary concern is the potential for a slowdown in training and impacts
on recruiting our future force, resulting in reduced manning and
quality of our deployable forces. Our sequestration planning
specifically attempted to avoid training and recruiting impacts;
however, the depth and prevalence of reductions, increase the
probability of an unintended training slowdown and challenge in
accessing quality recruits.

II. A READY AND CAPABLE GLOBAL NAVY

In the past year, since assuming duties as Chief of Naval Personnel
and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Manpower, Personnel, Training,
and Education), I have had the opportunity to observe and assess where
the Navy is and where it needs to go within the manpower, personnel,
training, and education domain. Navy is America's away team--relevant
and in demand--for peace keeping duties and power projection. As we
expand America's focus in the Pacific Theater, Navy assumes an
increasingly critical role in the Defense Strategic Guidance. As we
work to achieve the Chief of Naval Operations' tenets of Warfighting
First, Operate Forward, and Be Ready, I have established as my three
strategic priorities, Responsive Force Management, Effective Personnel
Readiness and Sound Organizational Management.

Responsive Force Management:
We must maintain forward progress to properly man the fleet with
trained and experienced sailors. This begins with attracting the most
qualified youth of America to serve in the Navy by demonstrating the
many opportunities and rewards associated with naval service, and
appealing to their pride in our Nation, commitment to its ideals, and
devotion to protecting its freedoms. It continues with providing world-
class training and education opportunities to prepare them to excel in
maritime-centric jobs in an increasingly technical fleet comprised of
fewer and less manpower-intensive platforms and weapon systems.

Effective Personnel Readiness:
We must capitalize on investments in sailors, both officer and
enlisted, by providing the incentives needed to retain the best and to
achieve and sustain optimum fleet readiness. Compensation remains an
important part of our incentives system but is only a part of what we
must do to preserve the world's best All-Volunteer Force. We must
continue to offer the best training available and provide opportunities
for off-duty education to enhance the force and help our people meet
their education goals. Highly educated sailors are our best performers
and tend to stay in the Navy making them key to Navy's success. We must
continue to build resiliency among sailors and their families. We ask
much of our men and women in uniform and those who support them at
home. We owe them the tools to help them endure and thrive in
challenging environments and under demanding circumstances.

Sound Organizational Alignment:
The fleet is our primary customer and we must ensure that every
decision and action supports the needs of the fleet and its sailors.
Shortly after assuming the helm as Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral
Greenert issued direction to optimally position his headquarters staff
to meet the demand signals provided by fleet and combatant commanders.
We continue to evaluate our effectiveness in delivering what the fleet
requires and to ensure that we align ourselves to be on time and within
budget. We must ensure effective coordination and communications among
major headquarter organizations, fleet and shore commands, and our
support organizations, to deliver the best possible services to sailors
and their families in all areas of Navy manpower, personnel, training,
and education.
In addition to these three strategic priorities, my primary mission
objectives are to effectively Stabilize, Balance and Distribute the
force. Since the mid-1990s, Navy end strength has trended downward,
consistent with manpower needs dictated by a decreasing force structure
and, more recently, withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan. However,
beginning in fiscal year 2013, we began a period of slow growth to
stabilize the force, increase manning at sea, improve sea/shore flow
and increase the Navy's Cyber capabilities. As we worked to determine
the proper force size, we conducted a requirements-based process to
properly balance the force in size, seniority, and skill mix, and to
enhance capabilities to better distribute qualified personnel to the
right places at the right time. This set the stage for long-term force
stabilization while maintaining effective personnel readiness.
To stabilize, balance, and distribute the force, it is essential
that sailors are assignable, deployable, and distributable. Given the
demands placed on our people over the past decade, including the
stresses of war and high operational tempo, we have placed
unprecedented emphasis on force resiliency. Fit and resilient sailors
are critical to Navy readiness. We must continue to bolster Navy
families to meet the demands we place on them; the 21st century sailor
initiatives provide the priority and resources necessary to permit
sailors to achieve excellence while instilling confidence through our
unwavering commitment to them and their families. It is imperative that
we continue to commit resources toward programs that build force
resiliency.

III. RESPONSIVE FORCE MANAGEMENT

Responsive Force Management strategic priorities are focused on end
strength, compensation, fleet manning, retention, recruiting, and
training throughput.

Stabilize End Strength:
The President's fiscal year 2014 budget request supports active end
strength of 323,600, and selected Reserve end strength of 59,100. The
request seeks $27.8 billion in Military Personnel, Navy (MPN)
appropriations, and $1.8 billion in related Operation and Maintenance,
Navy (O&MN), appropriations. The request includes $1.9 billion for
Reserve Personnel, Navy (RPN) and $24.9 million in related Operation
and Maintenance, Navy Reserve (O&MNR) appropriations.
Navy has invested in additional strength to help reduce manning
gaps at sea, while concurrently restoring targeted shore billets to
provide adequate shore rotational assignments for sailors in sea-
intensive ratings, and at regional maintenance centers and afloat
training groups. These additional billets will not only help improve
sea/shore flow, they will develop additional trained sailors with
advanced maintenance skills while on shore duty, who will return to sea
better prepared to make an immediate technical contribution to their
commands. In the near-term, we are also increasing strength among
junior officers in the surface and submarine warfare communities to
meet future department head requirements. Our budget request
appropriately balances risk, preserves capabilities to meet current
fleet and joint requirements, fosters growth in emerging mission areas,
and provides vital support to sailors and Navy families, as we
carefully monitor personnel and fleet readiness. We are also applying
and adjusting force management tools to retain the right skills, pay
grade, and experience-mix necessary to provide mission-ready naval
forces. End strength continues to grow across the Future Years Defense
Program until it stabilizes at approximately 326,100 in fiscal year
2018.
We are carefully managing reduction of over 3,000 positions from
the Reserve billet base, to 59,100 end strength. These adjustments
align the Selected Reserve with post Operation Enduring Freedom
requirements, reconfiguration of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command,
and the new Defense Strategy, while retaining capabilities vital to
fulfilling the Reserve component role in Navy's Total Force mission. By
calibrating accessions, offering increased active duty augmentation and
recall opportunities, and allowing for natural attrition, the Navy
Reserve will accomplish this reduction within strength and fiscal
controls. In the long term, however, the Navy Reserve Force will grow
to approximately 60,000, and the Reserve mission-set is increased to
include shipyard maintenance augmentation, unmanned aerial vehicle
support, maritime operations center augmentation and additional
intelligence, cyber and information dominance.

Effective Force Management:
Perform to Serve (PTS) remains our primary force-management tool to
maintain balance across all enlisted ratings by ensuring that we have
the right number of enlisted sailors in each rating at the right
experience level. Through PTS, which uses performance criteria within
individual ratings and length of service cells to ensure long-term
sustainment of experience, we have made significant progress toward
achieving balance across all enlisted ratings, reducing the number of
overmanned ratings from 35 in 2011, to just 9 today.
Improved rating balance has resulted in more reenlistment
approvals. In 2011, approximately 60 percent of PTS requests were
approved, while just 1 year later 80 to 90 percent were approved, and
advancement opportunity increased. PTS also allows sailors not selected
for retention in their current rating to consider, as alternatives to
leaving the Navy, converting to a new rating or transitioning into the
Navy Reserve.

Compensation:
Compensation is a critical force-management tool. As we look for
cost saving measures, we strive to ensure that we will not disadvantage
sailors; rather we will look to preserve the strength of the All-
Volunteer Force and ensure fiscal sustainability of our pay and
benefits programs. Special and Incentive (S&I) pays provide flexible
compensation incentives to address specific manning needs or other
force management issues not efficiently addressed through basic pay
increases alone. Navy judiciously applies S&I pays, such as Enlistment
Bonuses, Selective Reenlistment Bonuses and Critical Skills Retention
Bonuses, to recruit and retain sailors in key occupation specialties or
critical skill areas. S&I pays are also provided as compensation for
onerous or hazardous duty assignments or conditions, and for
maintaining proficiency in specific skills important to national
security.

Recruiting:
Navy has worked hard to achieve strong recruiting success over the
past 5 years by attracting the Nation's best and brightest for
America's Navy. Our recruiting brand, ``America's Navy-A Global Force
for Good'', captures CNO's priorities while appealing to our 17-24
year-old recruiting market. In fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2013-
to-date, Navy achieved accession goals for officers in the Active
component, and for enlisted in both the Active and Reserve components.
We continue to do well recruiting into priority ratings in the Naval
Nuclear Propulsion Program (NNPP) and Navy Special Warfare/Special
Operations (NSW/SPECOPS). Additionally, we attained the highest quality
future sailors in history, with 99 percent of accessions entering as
high school diploma graduates, and 90.2 percent of accessions scoring
in the upper 50th percentile on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude
Battery (ASVAB).
Navy Recruiting leading indicators forecast that our recruiting
mission will become increasingly challenging. While the quality of
accessions rose between fiscal year 2009 and fiscal year 2012,
accession quality has begun trending downward, and is expected to
close-out the year with approximately 85 percent of accessions scoring
in the upper 50th percentile on the ASVAB. While still well above DOD
and Navy minimum standards, this trend is a source of concern as we
continue our efforts to recruit the best America has to offer.
Additionally, each month, Navy is meeting enlistment contracting goals
later in the month. The impact of sequestration on recruiting
resources, particularly marketing and advertising, will further
increase our recruiting challenges.
Navy achieved most Active component officer recruiting goals in
fiscal year 2012, but experienced a shortfall in attaining direct
accession physicians, which was offset by success in recruiting within
student medical officer programs. We were also successful in recruiting
officers into the priority NNPP and NSW/SPECOPS mission areas. Success
in officer program recruiting was further reflected by the highest ever
quality and number of diversity applicants into the NROTC Program.
For the Reserve component, Navy faced challenges again this past
year with recruiting for the General Officer unrestricted line
communities (e.g., surface, submarine, and aviation warfare) primarily
because of high active duty retention rates. In recent years, we have
also had challenges in recruiting specialized medical professionals for
the Reserve Component (e.g., surgeons, anesthesiologists) due to high
active duty retention, stiff competition from the civilian healthcare
community, and perceived risk to civilian medical practices due to
frequent mobilizations.
Fiscal year 2014 is projected to be more challenging for both
officer and enlisted recruiting. Consequently, we will balance
recruiter manning, accession bonuses, and the marketing and advertising
budget, to continue to aggressively attack challenging areas, such as
healthcare specialties, and maintain focus on priority recruiting
mission areas. The fiscal year 2014 budget requests $269 million for
recruiting programs, including accession incentives, advertising, and
support for Active and Reserve recruiters despite the improving
economic forecast, our budget request ensures that the recruiting force
remains appropriately sized and resourced for success.

Selection and Classification Programs:
Effective selection and classification programs are the foundation
of Navy efforts to properly man the fleet to current and future
requirements in this dynamic environment. We are using state-of-the-art
technology and processes to hire recruits into jobs optimally suited to
their abilities and interests. This same technology is used to identify
sailors for lateral conversion into mission critical career fields.
These programs have had a significant impact on reducing training
losses, increasing retention and increasing promotion opportunity.

Fleet Manning:
Navy manpower has decreased by more than 50,000 sailors since 2004,
through a combination of reduced force structure and reduced manning
aboard individual ships and aircraft, causing an imbalance between sea
and shore billets and between ratings. As a result of efforts that
began in fiscal year 2012 to improve fleet manning by moving
approximately 6,000 billets from shore to sea, fleet manning is
projected to improve throughout the remainder of the fiscal year while
gaps at sea decrease from about 11,600 to 7,800. We also project that
by the end of the fiscal year, nearly 95 percent of all enlisted
billets at sea will be manned, with close to 90 percent filled by the
right sailor with the proper seniority and appropriate skill level and
training.
Through various force management tools, including special and
incentive pays applied to critical skills, voluntary/involuntary
distribution, funding the Individuals Account and shore billets for sea
intensive ratings, Reserve to Active augmentation, and Active Duty
Definite Recall Program for Reserve Enlisted, we are shaping sailor
behavior to attain optimum fleet manning. Selective application of
these tools is helping retain sailors in undermanned skills, but
requires continuous assessment and regular adjustments to account for
changing economic conditions. Ultimately, we must ensure that gaps at
sea are filled by the right sailor, with the right skills at the right
time.

Retention:
Navy aggregate enlisted retention continues to be strong compared
to last year, with increased retention in all zones. However, retention
in select areas is challenging and our current key focus is on first
term sailors. Four years ago, we reduced accessions so that we could
retain more career sailors. Consequently, as these cohort groups enter
their reenlistment windows, we now need a greater percentage of first
term sailors to reenlist. As we monitor personnel and fleet readiness,
with a focus on increasing sea duty manning, we are applying force
management tools, where appropriate, to retain the right skills across
pay grades. Our new and existing policies encourage sailors to commit
earlier to stay for longer periods, affording increasing predictability
of future personnel readiness. We recently updated reenlistment bonuses
to target junior enlisted personnel to attain first term retention
goals in fiscal year 2013, and sustain a healthy force into the future.
To position Navy to meet future mission requirements, we must
balance the force by recruiting and retaining officers in the right mix
of specialties. Officer inventory shortfalls remain in several critical
communities. Offering precise targeted incentive pays and bonuses is
essential to maintaining and improving manning in these mission-
essential specialties.

IV. EFFECTIVE PERSONNEL READINESS

The Effective Personnel Readiness strategic priorities focus on
matching sailors with jobs for which they are well-suited; and on
sailor quality of life, training, education, and family support.
21st Century Sailor and Marine Initiative:
In March 2012, the Secretary of the Navy announced the 21st Century
Sailor and Marine initiative. To maximize sailor personal readiness, we
designed objectives and policies to maintain the resiliency of the
force and to hone the most combat effective force in the history of the
Department of the Navy. Our aim is to prepare sailors and their
families to face life's challenges through a myriad of programs focused
on creating a balanced lifestyle, on- and off-duty, while specifically
addressing the needs of wounded warriors through our Navy Safe Harbor
Program.

Health of the Force. Navy's assessment of the overall
health of the force is good, morale remains high and work
satisfaction increased over the last 12 years. Our sailors are
choosing to remain in the Navy; aggregate retention remains
strong, though some areas continue to prove challenging. The
2012 Quality of Life Survey and Behavioral Health quick polls
revealed positive feedback with standard of living/income and
job satisfaction, while concern was expressed about manning
shortages, long work hours and high operational tempo. As
deployment lengths and schedules change, based on world events,
we must monitor the impact on sailors and their families and
understand the underlying factors that may distract from our
operational goals. We expect the assessment of the health of
the force to remain strong; however, there are areas that
require significant continued focus and efforts, specifically
prevention of suicides and sexual assaults. Additionally, we
remain committed to providing quality care and robust programs
through our wounded warrior Safe Harbor program.
Suicide Prevention and Operational Stress Control.
Suicide prevention extends beyond specific program efforts and
strives to create an open environment that reduces barriers and
encourages sailors to seek help. Navy's suicide prevention
strategy concentrates on moving prevention as far left of the
potential event as possible through effective execution of five
lines of effort: Education and Awareness, Prevention and
Intervention, Sailor Care and Transformational Growth,
Physical, Mental and Spiritual Fitness, and Assessment. Navy
focuses on building personal resilience, promoting peer-to-peer
support, enhancing family relationships, enabling intervention
up-and-down the chain of command, and fostering a command
climate in which help-seeking behaviors enable sustained
personal resilience. Our robust programs include:

Navy's Operational Stress Control (OSC)
Program;
Reserve Psychological Health Outreach Program
(RPHOP);
Navy Mobile Care Teams;
Deployment Health Assessments;
Returning Warrior Workshops;
Project FOCUS (Families Overcoming Under
Stress);
Coalition of Sailors Against Destructive
Decisions (CSADD); and
Crisis Intervention and Response.

Navy leadership is determined to prevent suicides in
our force; the loss of even one life to suicide is a
one too many.

Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR). Sexual
assault rates in the Navy remain unacceptable; we are committed
to achieving a steady reduction in the incidence of sexual
assault to eradicate this abhorrent crime from our ranks. Our
lines of effort to combat sexual assault are: Education and
Awareness, Prevention and Intervention, Victim Advocacy and
Resiliency, Investigation and Accountability and Assessment.
Navy has focused proactively on prevention programs, expanded a
successful model instituted at Recruit Training Command,
focused on individual unit climates and instituted enhanced
victim care, prosecution measures and reporting procedures. We
will continue to aggressively promote and foster a culturally
aware and informed Navy; respectful of all, intolerant of
sexual assault, and supported by a synergistic program of
prevention, advocacy and accountability.
Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention. Navy's ``zero
tolerance'' drug abuse policy is comprised of three key
elements: detection, deterrence, and prevention. Navy Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Prevention (NADAP) is a comprehensive, science-
based program consisting of sailor education, prevention
awareness, advocacy, trend analysis/threat assessment, and
intervention. This past year, NADAP achieved tangible goals in
reducing the number of positive urinalysis and alcohol-related
incidents and increasing Navy leadership awareness of
prevention programs. In 2012, Navy incorporated testing for
synthetic drugs, including spice and bath salts. The testing
regimen is robust and flexible enough to adjust testing
protocols to the dynamic synthetic drug market through a
collaborative arrangement with intelligence resources that
track market changes. Initial indications are that this is
having the desired deterrent effect on synthetic drug use. We
recently implemented use of hand-held Alcohol Detection Devices
(ADD) as an education and awareness tool to provide sailors and
commands the ability to readily identify the impact of alcohol-
use decisions.
Family Support. Navy recognizes that military service
presents unique challenges and opportunities for sailors and
their families. Family support programs assist commanding
officers and Navy families in managing the demands of military
life in concert with a healthy family life. Fleet and Family
Support Centers provide services that include deployment
support, crisis response, and career support and retention
programs. Navy leadership is committed to investing and
increasing resources for Sailor and Family Readiness Programs,
including:

sexual assault prevention and response;
alcohol awareness and deglamorization;
drug detection and abuse prevention;
Navy Safe Harbor wounded warrior support;
suicide prevention and resiliency;
casualty assistance and funeral support;
child care; and
Morale, Welfare, and Recreation.

We are working to minimize the impacts of
Sequestration on Sailor and Family Readiness programs
to avoid adverse affects on the people each of them
supports.
Navy's budget request adds $18 million to support
full implementation of the VOW Act and Veterans
Employment Initiative (VEI). We are also implementing a
re-designed Transition Assistance program, entitled
``Transition GPS'' (Goals, Plans, Succeed)), which
includes delivery of legally mandated requirements,
such as Pre-Separation Counseling, Department of Labor
(DOL) Employment Workshop and a Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) Benefits briefing. Transitioning sailors
will also have the option of participating in a series
of two-day tailored instructional tracks within the
transition GPS curriculum:

a higher education track, for those pursuing a
college degree;
a technical training track, for those seeking
job-ready skills and industry-recognized credentials in
shorter-term training programs; and
an entrepreneurship track for those desiring
to start a business.

The design of all of fleet and family support
programs is to help families be resilient, well-
informed, and adaptable.

Training and Education:
Our most critical obligation in the continuum of training is
providing sailors with the most relevant knowledge, skills, and
abilities as quickly as possible to achieve optimal knowledge transfer
and make best use of finite resources. This means using our established
end-to-end curriculum content development-and-revision process to
identify the most cost-effective solutions to deliver training without
sacrificing quality. As new weapon systems and platforms are
introduced, we must ensure that innovative techniques, such as
interactive multimedia, simulators, and avatars, are applied when
appropriate.
Navy has developed a plan to improve timeliness, relevance, and
comprehensiveness of technical training. Modularized training optimizes
the initial training pipeline and provides continuous training
opportunities as sailors progress through their first tours. This
approach creates flexibility in the pipeline and allows sailors to
report sooner to their first duty station, armed with the necessary
skills to have an immediate positive impact. Strategically distributing
training delivery, so that sailors receive only the instruction
necessary to perform their immediate duties, minimizes time between
instruction and utilization, thereby, reducing knowledge-and-skill
decay associated with current delays. Pilot programs evaluate the
modularized training concept to ensure training quality remains high
along the continuum.

Asymmetric Advantage: There is an inherent premise
that asymmetric warfare must deal with unknowns. The ability of
our maritime forces to respond quickly to crises and eliminate
threats is a direct result of exemplary training. Technical
expertise gained through a variety of initial and advanced
skills training gives sailors the ability to evaluate what
needs to be done to fight and win. Navy's leadership training,
mentoring, and coaching, contribute directly to development of
a sailor's critical thinking skills, willingness to accept
prudent risks, and ability to adjust rapidly based on
situational assessment.
The discipline, technical expertise and esprit de corps that
enable us to win in combat also enable us to adapt to, and
accomplish, other complex missions, such as humanitarian relief
efforts at home and abroad. New technologies, combined with
proven learning strategies, continue to drive cost-effective
improvements in training. Intelligent tutoring systems and
learning strategies leveraging simulation, virtual worlds, and
emerging technologies, allow us to maximize training efficiency
while improving training effectiveness and timeliness of
delivery, ensuring our asymmetric edge is maintained.
Nationally Recognized: In addition to meeting fleet
performance requirements, initial skills training provided to
new accessions has been consistently recognized by leading
industry and training organizations for innovations that
improve workplace learning. Over the past 2 years, our training
commands were recognized by the prestigious American Society
for Training and Development, with three ``Excellence in
Practice'' awards and three citations. For the last 4 years,
Navy has ranked as one of the country's top training
organizations on Training Magazine's ``Top 125'' list. The high
quality of training provided to our force is also demonstrated
through thousands of college credit hours recommended by the
American Council on Education, which supports our efforts to
compete for the best talent in the Nation.
Additionally, our training programs are internationally
recognized. We provide training and education to foreign
servicemembers and civilians from over 160 nations in support
of the DOD Guidance for the Employment of Forces and the
Maritime Strategy, for deeper partnerships, building partner
nation capacity; and improving joint, allied and coalition
interoperability. On any given day, over 1,270 international
military students train at over 150 schools and activities in
the United States and participate in a wide-range of training
activities in foreign countries. In fiscal year 2012, we
finalized training arrangements for U.S. grant programs, such
as the International Military Education and Training Program,
Counter Terrorism Fellowship Program and African Partnership
Station.
Transformative Training and Technology. Traditional
Navy war-fighting communities (e.g., surface, aviation, and
submarine) and the recently reconstituted expeditionary
community, rely increasingly on simulators to conduct training.
Simulators are among the most significant improvements in our
training programs. As fidelity and access to simulator
technology increase, prevalence of this technology is building
at Navy schoolhouses, training commands and in the fleet.
Investment in simulator training increases training capacity,
effectiveness, and efficiency and reduces wear on platforms and
operational equipment; thereby, minimizing operation
maintenance and replacement costs. Simulators used for the
expeditionary community are currently resourced through
Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding. Accordingly, we
have requested an additional $3.3 million to facilitate
shifting funding for this vital simulator training into the
baseline budget.
Joint and Professional Military Education. Naval War
College (NWC) and Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) continue to
deliver core mission functions that provide critical support to
the maritime strategy. Both are central to Navy's strategic
investment in Navy- and DOD-relevant education to develop a
resilient, knowledgeable and adaptable force. With
implementation of Enlisted Professional Military Education
(EPME) in 2008, which includes Joint Professional Military
Education (JPME), Navy has a progressive continuum of Navy-
specific PME coupled with JPME, from pay grade E-1 through O-9.
Voluntary Education/Tuition Assistance. Navy remains
steadfast in our commitment to sustain the Tuition Assistance
(TA) Program. The Chief of Naval Operations has assured sailors
that TA will remain intact and available. We have made no
changes to the program and continue to provide 100 percent
funding up to the established caps for eligible sailors. While
ongoing fiscal pressure will necessitate continued scrutiny of
all investments, our goal is to ensure that we can continue
meeting current obligations and fulfilling the educational
goals of every sailor who desires to enroll. Our course
completion rate is well over 90 percent, which we attribute in
part to the exceptional support sailors receive from trained
Navy education counselors. Each sailor, working with a
qualified counselor, must develop an appropriate educational
plan, which the counselor must approve before TA funding can be
authorized and classes begin. Counselors ensure that sailors
are prepared for the academic requirements associated with each
sailor's approved plan and help them streamline an attainable
degree completion process.
Credentialing and Licensure. Navy Credentialing
Opportunities Online funds over 17,000 credentials each year
for approximately 7,500 individuals. Every Navy occupation has
at least one professional credential available, with more than
1,800 civilian certifications now funded. Additionally, the
Navy Credentialing Program Office actively participates in the
President's Education, Training, and Credentialing Strategic
Working Group, in supporting the Presidential Call for a
Career-Ready military by maximizing servicemember
certifications in critical civilian job fields.
Language, Regional Expertise and Culture (LREC).
Navy's LREC program builds capability by incentivizing
language, regional, and culture learning through relevant,
cost-effective education and training products structured to
meet operational requirements while leveraging proven, existing
resources. The program incorporates regional and cultural
content in Navy Professional Military Education (NPME),
provides language acquisition and sustainment training to
Cryptologic Language Analysts (CTIs) and Foreign Area Officers
(FAOs), and makes nonresident language instruction available to
sailors who require it. To encourage language learning for
Naval Special Warfare commands, expeditionary units, and
Afghanistan-Pakistan Hands, Navy expanded its Foreign Language
Proficiency Bonus (FLPB) program to incentivize language skills
at the proficiency levels specifically required for the
operational readiness of those forces. Navy LREC also provided
products and services to more than 110,000 sailors and
coastguardsmen in 2013. In response to the Defense Strategic
Guidance of January 2012, Navy has developed an Asia-Pacific
Hands Pilot, which leverages existing educational resources to
provide enhanced regional knowledge to select officers ordered
to assignments in the Pacific Command Area of Operations.

CONCLUSION

The President's fiscal year 2014 budget request resources critical
programs that will continue to support Navy manpower, personnel,
training, and education priorities of: Responsive Force Management,
Effective Personnel Readiness, and Sound Organizational Alignment,
while maintaining a ready and capable global Navy. I look forward to
working with you as we continue to shape the Navy to meet current and
emerging requirements, while confronting the challenges that lie ahead.
On behalf of the men and women of the U.S. Navy, and their families,
thank you for your leadership, commitment, and unwavering support.

[The prepared statement of Lieutenant General Milstead
follows:]

Prepared Statement by LTGEN Robert E. Milstead, Jr., USMC

I. INTRODUCTION

Chairman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Graham, and distinguished
members of the subcommittee, it is my privilege to appear before you
today to provide an overview on Marine Corps personnel.
As our commandant recently testified to you, sequestration--both
the immediate cuts in fiscal year 2013 and the associated reductions in
discretionary caps in future years--could have a significant impact on
our Nation's readiness both short- and long-term. However, no matter
what the implications, there are some things that must endure. Your
Marine Corps is, and will continue to be, our Nation's expeditionary
force in readiness. We will be ready to rapidly respond to crises
around the globe to ensure the continued security of the American
people and to protect the interests that underpin our prosperity.
Marines will be always faithful to the trust which the American people
have vested in them. Already a lean organization, your marines will
continue to give you the best capability that can be squeezed from the
resources you allocate for our Nation's defense. Our individual marines
are the Corps' most sacred resource, and always will be.

II. END STRENGTH

Pursuant to guidance issued by the President and the Secretary of
Defense, the Marine Corps has initiated a reduction in our Active
component end strength from 202,100 to 182,100 by the end of fiscal
year 2016. We are conducting our drawdown in a measured way. Our plan
is to reduce our end strength by no more than 5,000 marines per year
and will be accomplished primarily by natural attrition, voluntary
separation, and retirement authorities. Involuntary separations will be
minimized as much as possible, and we have no plans to conduct a
reduction-in-force. Such an approach would no doubt do significant
long-term damage to our ability to recruit and maintain a quality
force. Our overarching goal must be to keep faith with our marines and
their families.
During fiscal year 2012, we made a conscious decision to get a
`head start' on our drawdown rather than wait for fiscal year 2013.
This early drawdown was achieved primarily through increased voluntary
attrition of junior enlisted marines as part of the large Grow-the-
Force cohort population. As a result, the Marine Corps' active duty end
strength at the end of fiscal year 2012 was 198,479 marines (including
reservists who served on active duty at least 3 out of previous 4
years). Our end strength goal for fiscal year 2013 is 193,500 marines.
While our military personnel accounts have been exempted from
sequester in fiscal year 2013, it would be inaccurate to assume that
your marines are not to be impacted by it. Overall, the readiness of
your Corps stands to take a hit. In essence, those whom have given the
most to the security of this Nation are asked to accept the bulk of the
risk sequestration poses to this Nation.

III. MARINE CORPS RESERVE

Our Reserve component continues to make essential contributions to
Total Force efforts in Overseas Contingency Operations. We are
continuing to refocus our recruiting and retention efforts on meeting
our Reserve component grade and skill requirements at the unit-level.
These efforts include retraining marines affected by force structure-
directed actions, lowering rates of attrition, providing travel
reimbursement for our senior staff noncommissioned officer and company
grade officer leadership, and discreet targeting of those marines
eligible to receive an incentive. As a result, we have achieved our end
strength goal of 39,600 over the last 2 years.
For fiscal year 2013 and beyond, we have refined the use of
incentives to strengthen unit staffing in specialties and grades where
we remain critically short. In particular, our Selected Marine Corps
Reserve unit staffing of company grade officers, aviators, and staff
noncommissioned officers (SNCO) remains most challenging. Targeted
incentives and transition assistance outreach programs help us to
attract junior officers and aviators who are leaving the Active
component. While transitioning officers from the Active component
provides the majority of our company grade officer leadership, we have
had considerable success commissioning officers directly into the
Reserve. The Reserve Officer Commissioning Program, which includes
Officer Candidate Course-Reserve (OCC-R)--has produced a total of 561
lieutenants for the Marine Corps since its creation in 2006 and has
been key to increasing ground company grade officer fills from 21 to 67
percent. More importantly, it enables the Marine Corps Reserve to place
officers in critical small unit leadership positions at the platoon and
company level.
To complement outreach efforts and the use of incentives, and to
address the challenges of geographic constraints, we offer occupational
specialty retraining. Our retraining programs are crucial in our
efforts to join enlisted marines to units that are located in areas of
the country where it is geographically challenging to recruit, that are
undergoing Force Structure Review Group actions, or that are in high-
demand low-density Military Occupational Specialties (MOS). This
training has helped us to build positive trends with respect to
recruiting and retention and are integral to our future success in
staffing our SNCO above the current level of 63 percent.
This year we increased efforts to fully staff Reserve aviation
squadrons. To achieve this goal, we developed a number of Reserve
aviation manpower initiatives designed to encourage transitioning
Active component aviators to affiliate with Reserve units. Since there
are a limited number of Reserve squadrons, the use of travel
reimbursement, incentives, and aviator transition and conversion
programs are critical to achieving our staffing goals. Altogether,
these programs, combined with our prior service recruiting efforts,
should provide for at least 90 percent staffing of critical combat arms
and company grade officer billets by the end of fiscal year 2015 with
Reserve squadrons reaching this mark 1 year later.

IV. RECRUITING

The Marine Corps is unique in that all recruiting efforts (officer,
enlisted, regular, Reserve, and prior-service) fall under the purview
of the Marine Corps Recruiting Command. Operationally, this provides us
with tremendous flexibility and unity of command, allowing us to meet
accession requirements.
To meet future challenges in the current recruiting environment, it
is imperative that we maintain our high standards both for our
recruiters and those who volunteer to serve in our Corps. Recruiting
quality youth ultimately translates into higher performance, reduced
attrition, increased retention, and improved readiness for the
operating forces. Our actions, commitment, and investments today in
recruiting ensure a high state of readiness in our Corps tomorrow.
Severe budget constraints related to sequestration that result in
reductions in recruiters, recruit advertising, and potential civilian
furloughs at our recruit processing stations will degrade the quality
of our recruit pool, cause disruptions in our pipeline of recruits, and
place added stress on our recruiters, 71 percent of whom already work
in excess of 60 hours per week. Reductions to our recruit advertising
budget jeopardizes our established market share and awareness with
prospects, their influencers, and multicultural audiences, which
includes diversity outreach capacity. It is important we acknowledge
that today's successes are dividends from the investments made in
recruiting and advertising 4 to 5 years ago.
Last year, we successfully achieved all enlisted and officer
recruiting goals for both the Active and Reserve components. Our
current mission for enlisted marines is 33,200 regulars (Active
component) and 5,780 reservists. We expect to achieve our annual
recruiting `shipping' mission (i.e. new accessions sent to recruit
training) and quality goals, but sequestration-related budget
constraints may impact our contracting efforts and capacity to achieve
success in fiscal year 2014. The fiscal year 2014 mission forecast is
30,200 regulars and 5,481 reservists.
Our officer accessions mission for fiscal year 2013 is 1,400 Active
Duty and 125 Reserve officers. Historically, the Active component has
been the exclusive source of lieutenants and captains for the Reserves.
As previously noted, filling company grade officer billets for our
Selected Marine Corps Reserve units is traditionally our greatest
challenge, but the success from the OCC-R program is proving to help in
remedying this shortfall.
Our greatest asset continues to be the individual marine.
Recruiting remains the lifeblood to the Corps and our bedrock to ``Make
Marines, Win Battles, and Return Quality Citizens.'' We thank you for
the generous support you have provided to us and look forward to
working with you to ensure continued success in the future.

V. RETENTION

For fiscal year 2013, the Marine Corps is on track to achieve its
end strength target of 193,500 Active component marines (and
approximately 250 reservists who have served on active duty at least 3
of the previous 4 years). It is vital during our drawdown that the
Marine Corps continue to shape our force to meet continuing mission
requirements and fill critical military occupational specialties (MOSs)
with the most qualified marines. Incentive pays remain critical to this
effort, allowing the Marine Corps to fill hard to recruit positions,
such as crypto linguists and reconnaissance. Enlistment bonuses also
allow us to ship new recruits at critical times to balance recruit
loads at the depots and meet school seat requirements. It is important
to note that only 8 percent of new Marine Corps recruits receive an
enlistment bonus. Similarly, Selective Reenlistment Bonuses (SRBs)
allow us to shape our career force. SRBs target critical MOSs and
supports lateral movement of marines to these MOSs.

VI. CIVILIAN MARINES

Our civilian marines support the mission and daily functions of the
Marine Corps and are an integral part of our Total Force. They
exemplify our core values; they embrace esprit de corps, teamwork, and
pride in belonging to our Nation's Corps of Marines. Serving alongside
our marines throughout the world, in every occupation and at every
level, our civilian appropriated funded workforce remains the leanest
of all Services, with a ratio of 1 civilian to every 10 active duty
marines. Over 93 percent of our civilians do not work in headquarters'
elements in the Pentagon; they are at our bases, stations, depots, and
installations. Sixty eight percent are veterans who have chosen to
continue to serve our Nation; of those, a full 13 percent have a
certified disability. Our civilian non-appropriated funded workforce
steadfastly continues to provide vital support to our marines, Reserve
marines, their families, and our wounded, ill, and injured.
The potential human impact associated with furloughing our civilian
marines is significant. While we would like to believe that a
discontinuous furlough will reduce the impact on our employees, most
will not be able to easily absorb this sudden loss of income, even over
a period of several months. With prolonged budgetary uncertainty
employee stress is increasing, morale is declining, and at some point
productivity will begin to suffer. Marine Corps bases and commands in
Virginia, California, North Carolina, and Georgia will feel the most
dramatic impact as hiring pools stagnate and the essential talent
needed to conduct missions there begins migrating.
Our civilian labor represents less than 5 percent of the Marine
Corps' total O&M budget, demonstrating that our ``best value'' for the
defense dollar applies to our civilians as well as our marines.

VII. WOMEN IN SERVICE REVIEW

On January 24, 2013, the Secretary of Defense rescinded the 1994
policy that restricted women from combat roles. The Secretary has
provided the services ample time to assess this change in policy by
setting a deadline for full implementation of 1 January 2016. The
Commandant and the entire Marine Corps are dedicated to maintaining the
highest levels of combat readiness and capitalizing upon every
opportunity to enhance our warfighting capabilities and the
contributions of every marine; it is the right thing to do. Our ongoing
deliberate, measured and responsible approach to validate occupational
performance standards for all marines is consistent with the
Secretary's decision to rescind the direct combat exclusion rule for
women. As our Corps moves forward with this process, our focus will
remain on combat readiness and generating combat-ready units while
simultaneously ensuring maximum success for every marine. The talent
pool from which we select our finest warfighters will consist of all
qualified individuals, regardless of gender.
Our implementation plan will take a two-pillar approach, which will
be conducted concurrently--one for previously closed occupational
specialties and the other for closed units. The first pillar will
include a three-step process: (1) review and validate the physically
demanding tasks by occupational specialty; (2) test male and female
marines on these physically demanding tasks and correlate their
performance to scores on the current Physical Fitness Test and Combat
Fitness Test; and (3) develop a safe, physical test that will serve as
a predictive mechanism for recruiters to use to determine an
applicant's physical propensity to successfully accomplish the
physically demanding tasks required of an MOS.
The second pillar will include a phased expansion of our
assignments of females in open MOSs to previously closed ground combat
units. These assignments are a continuation of an effort which the
Marine Corps began in June 2012 known as the Exception to Policy (ETP)
pilot program. The Marine Corps opened 371 Marine and 60 Navy billets
in open Military Occupational Specialties to females in previously
closed units under the ETP. These 19 previously closed operational
units included artillery, tanks, assault amphibian, combat engineers,
and low altitude air defense communities. The assessments and feedback
from these units are positive. Expansion of this pilot program in
newly-opened units to female noncommissioned officers will be
considered as assessment of the current assignments of SNCOs and
officers to those units indicate that additional assignments would be
successful. A phased approach will provide leadership the opportunity
to address issues, establish a solid mentorship program, and progress
towards the necessary social/cultural shifts within these units.
Overall, 90 percent of our military occupational specialties are open
to females, as well as 68 percent of our table of organization (T/O)
billets.

VIII. HAZING

Hazing violates our institutional character and disrespects our
most precious asset--our marines and sailors. Consequently, the Marine
Corps will continue to pursue the actions necessary to eliminate hazing
in any form. In April 2012, a Marine Corps working group was convened
to examine hazing prevention and response within the Marine Corps. The
working group's efforts centered on conducting a critical review of the
Marine Corps' current policies and procedures and culminated with the
development of specific recommendations for increasing our
effectiveness at preventing and responding to hazing. These
recommendations, upon final approval, will be incorporated into our
current policy.
The most significant planned changes to the Marine Corps' new
hazing policy include: mandatory and immediate reporting all hazing
allegations irrespective of the initiation or completion of the initial
investigation, mandatory reporting of hazing allegations within the
existing Discrimination and Sexual Harassment (DASH) database,
utilization of the DASH database as a comprehensive, service-level
hazing database enabling tracking of all reported hazing allegations
from start to finish, and amplification of the Marine Corps' hazing
definition in order to enhance its application in real-world scenarios.
In the short-term, implementation of these procedural changes may
result in an increased number of reported hazing incidents. However,
the positive consequence of this potential increase is that it may
indicate growing trust in leadership to effectively respond to hazing
allegations. Through this foundation of mutual trust, the Marine Corps
will more accurately determine the prevalence of hazing within our
ranks and ultimately develop more effective prevention plans.

IX. DIVERSITY

The Marine Corps is committed to attracting, mentoring and
retaining the most talented men and women who bring a diversity of
background, culture and skill in service to our Nation. In both
representation and assignment of marines, diversity remains a strategic
issue. Our diversity effort is structured with the understanding that
the objective of diversity is not merely to strive for a force that
reflects a representational connectedness with the rich fabric of the
American people, but to raise total capability through leveraging the
strengths and talents of all marines.
We are near completion of a new comprehensive campaign plan to
focus our diversity effort in areas where improvement is most needed
and anticipate release of this roadmap this year. This is an effort
facilitated through our standing Diversity Review Board and Diversity
Executive Steering Committee chartered to establish the foundations for
diversity success in the Total Force. During January 2013, the Marine
Corps held an Executive Off Site for Diversity to commence senior
executive action in support of the long term diversity effort. In
addition, since 2010, we have conducted leadership seminars that
introduce diverse college undergraduates and high school students to
Marine leadership traits and leadership opportunities in the Marine
Corps; we are actively seeking new communities within which to continue
this effort.
The Marine Corps has established minority officer recruiting and
mentoring as the highest priority in our recruiting efforts. Because we
acknowledge the accession and retention of minority officers has been a
challenge for our Corps, we are committed to taking steps to further
facilitate the mentoring and career development of all our officers
with emphasis on our minority officers in order to encourage the
retention of our best officers no matter their background.
Overall, we seek to communicate the Marine Corps diversity mission
through community outreach and recruit marketing; to ensure continued
opportunities for merit based development and advancement; and to
optimize training and education to increase the understanding for all
marines of the value that diversity brings to the Total Force.

X. TAKING CARE OF MARINES, SAILORS, AND FAMILIES

The Marine Corps' approach to potential sequestration cuts to our
Marine and family support portfolio is focused on preserving programs
that support the health and welfare of our marines and their families.
These protected programs collectively promote the physical and mental
well-being of marines and families and are considered most essential in
meeting the operational objectives of the Marine Corps. We will have to
prioritize our resources to ensure we maintain these protected programs
while taking risk in lower priority programs.
Furthermore, any actions that impact our civilian workforce will
directly impact our capability to provide essential support services to
marines and their families. A furlough would impact our direct-care
service, decreasing service hours across Behavioral Health, Family
Readiness, Personal and Professional Development, and Family Care
programs, including child care. However, our highest priority family
programs will be protected to the greatest degree possible, as will our
Wounded Warrior Regiment, the command responsible for recovery care for
our wounded, ill, and injured marines.

Caring for our Families
Our Family Readiness Program strengthens and fortifies marines and
families by providing official unit communication, readiness
preparedness training, information on and referral to qualified helping
professionals, and vital unit, installation and community connection.
Our Family Readiness Officers are an asset throughout the Total Force
and support the commander's family readiness mission through direct
interaction with marines and families. Our Marine Corps Family Team
Building training provides preventative education to marines and
families and enhances their quality of life, provides a feeling of
empowerment, and increases levels of resiliency. Lifestyle, Insights,
Networking, Knowledge, and Skills (L.I.N.K.S.) training, for example,
helps marines and families connect to the military culture and teaches
how best to thrive in it. eMarine, our secure family readiness website,
delivers strategic communications to marines and their families, both
Active Duty and Reserve, whether they are stationed at large
installations or in remote locations. It gives family members access to
documents, photos and videos, discussion forums, and information about
their marine's unit from anywhere in the world, 24/7. We continue to
improve and streamline our programs in fiscal year 2013, with a focus
on our computer-based Marine Corps Family Team Building curriculum and
a new initiative to promote volunteerism to enhance unit morale and
family readiness.
Our Family Care programs support the development continuum of
Marine Corps children from birth to their teens. First, our school
liaisons provide school districts with information about the needs of
Marine Corps families and access to training and counseling services to
support teachers and students. Marine parents are comforted by the
support of a local education expert, who provides meaningful insight to
new transfers and those with questions on local education policies.
Second, child care services remain a high priority, and we plan to
increase our child care capacity with additional spaces in fiscal years
2013 and 2014. Third, families enrolled in our Exceptional Family
Member Program strongly endorse our focus on providing a continuum of
care and the improvements made to their level of support. The Marine
Corps continues to underwrite the cost of up to 40 hours of short-term
respite care per month for enrolled families, providing more than
400,000 hours of respite care in fiscal year 2012.

Transition Assistance
Our transition assistance will be integrated into the lifecycle of
a marine from recruitment, through separation or retirement, and beyond
as a veteran marines. Our first step is our revised Transition
Readiness Seminar, which now gives marines a choice of one of four
pathways during this program: College/University Education; Employment;
Vocational or Technical Training; or Entrepreneurship. This tailored
approach reduces information overload, targets individual needs of the
marine, promotes effective military skills translation, and is in full
compliance with the VOW to Hire Heroes Act and the recommendations of
the President's Veterans Employment Initiative. The Marine for Life
Program, with its nationwide network of Marine for Life
Representatives, will support improved reach-back and outreach support
for those veteran marines who require localized support in their
hometowns with information, opportunities, or other specific needs.
These assets help veterans develop and maintain local networks of
Marine-friendly individuals, employers, and organizations.

Sexual Assault Prevention and Response
Sexual assault is a crime that is incompatible with Marine Corps
values of honor, courage, and commitment. Not only does it undermine
mission readiness and unit cohesion, sexual assault results in an
irrevocable loss of faith in the institution and violates the basic
principles every marine has vowed to uphold and defend. In step with
our Commandant-directed 2012 Sexual Assault Prevention and Response
(SAPR) Campaign Plan, the SAPR Program implemented large-scale Corps-
wide training initiatives, utilizing a top-down leadership model.
SAPR's training message charges leadership with establishing an
environment that is non-permissive to any misconduct or crime--
especially sexual assault--and making certain that the Marine Corps'
high standard of discipline is maintained. SAPR training remains
unequivocal in its assertion, however, that the inherent duty of
preventing sexual assault belongs ultimately to marines of every rank.
While aggressive in our prevention initiatives, we remain steadfast
in our commitment to victim care and response, never ceasing in our
efforts to ensure that all victims of sexual assault receive the kind
of supportive services and justice that preserve their dignity and
safety. Response systems have been strengthened through intensified
credentialing requirements for SAPR personnel, as well as through an
increased number of SAPR personnel in the field. In addition, the
Commandant directed a reorganization of our legal community to improve
our ability to prosecute complex cases. The centerpiece of this new
model is the regional complex trial team comprised of experienced
military prosecutors and augmented by civilian highly qualified
experts, providing a wealth of experience for the prosecution of such
cases. Eliminating sexual assault in our ranks is our ultimate goal,
and the Commandant intends to stay personally and actively engaged in
leading this campaign.

Behavioral Health Support
The integration of our behavioral health programs seamlessly weaves
our efforts in suicide prevention and response, combat and operational
stress, substance abuse, and family advocacy into the support network
of command structures and the health and human services across the
Marine Corps. We focus on evidence-based practices to ensure we are
providing effective support in these critical areas. The Marine Corps
is increasing the number of personnel available on installations to
develop, implement, and execute behavioral health prevention and
treatment assistance. Community Counseling Centers are being
established to enhance clinical case management capabilities as well as
easier resource system navigation and ensure that marines are properly
screened, tracked, and referred to appropriate behavioral health
services. We are expanding our Military Family Life Consultant program
so that these licensed clinical providers are embedded into the larger
support network of command structures and can provide confidential
counseling when needed.
We are implementing our Behavioral Health Integrated Training,
which will consolidate all behavioral health information into a single
training session that focuses on common risk and protective factors
across the full spectrum of behavioral health issues. Our Behavioral
Health and Brain Injury Advisory Committee meets quarterly to advise
senior Marine Corps leadership on emerging programs and issues, solicit
senior leadership guidance and feedback regarding integration efforts,
and identify gaps in services delivery as well as opportunities to gain
efficiencies. Our Behavioral Health Integrated Case Management System
will facilitate the communication of clinical and administrative data
across behavioral health programs.

Suicide Prevention and Response
One suicide is too many. Suicide prevention is not a single act but
rather a series of actions. The Marine Corps is actively engaged in
making lasting improvements to the overall health, well-being, and
quality of life for marines. Each tragic loss to suicide has a far-
reaching impact on families, friends, and our entire Marine Corps
community. Saving lives requires vigilance and our concerted effort to
harness the strength of engaged leaders. Engaged leaders are alert to
those at risk for suicide and take action to help marines address the
hard times or pain in their lives, helping individual marines optimize
their physical, psychological, social, and spiritual spheres and
revitalize depleted areas. Fit marines are fortified and strengthened
and better able to withstand the tensions and stressors of life in and
out of the Marine Corps.
Leaders prevent suicide by strengthening all marines and
encouraging them to engage helping services early when problems are
most manageable. Whenever possible, we deploy evidence-based prevention
practices such as our award-winning ``Never Leave a Marine Behind''
suicide prevention training program, which is peer-led and updated to
reflect emerging evidence-based practices. Our Suicide Prevention
Program Officers, located at our battalions and squadrons, will be an
administrative and coordinating resource for the commander to use in
managing a unit's suicide prevention program. Our DSTRESS Line, which
is staffed by veteran marines and corpsmen, family members and civilian
counselors trained in Marine Corps culture, provides anonymous, 24/7
counseling services to any marine, attached sailor or family member. We
work closely with DOD and forge strong relationships with other Federal
agencies, academia, and private industry in an effort to work together
to better understand suicide and improve our programs.

Combat and Operational Stress Control
Our Combat and Operational Stress Control (COSC) program assists
marine leaders with maintaining warfighting capabilities by addressing
the impacts of stress, enhancing fitness, and addressing the long-term
health and well-being of marines and their families. COSC resources
support all of the tenets of good leadership. Understanding the full
range of stress reactions and associated leader actions enhances the
ability to mitigate risk and take care of marines in all environments.
COSC efforts prevent, identify, and manage combat and operational
stress-related issues and increase access to mental health care by
breaking stigma and raising awareness. COSC principles are embedded in
Operational Stress Control and Readiness Team Training, Deployment
Cycle Training and third location decompression events that reach the
Total Force. We have improved training including education and
awareness on Traumatic Brain Injury, continuing the destigmatization of
behavioral health care, and incorporating current information from
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom deployments.
Marine Total Fitness. In fiscal year 2013, we are continuing to
advance our Marine Total Fitness concept to develop marines of
exemplary physical, psychological, spiritual, and social character.
Marine Total Fitness infuses fitness-based information and concepts
into all aspects of a marine's training and readiness and prepares
marines to successfully operate in and respond to the rigors, demands,
and stressors of both combat and garrison.

XI. SEMPER FIT AND EXCHANGE SERVICES

Semper Fit and Recreation programs supports the social and physical
cords of Marine Total Fitness efforts by providing the best mix of
programs and services to marines and their families. This year we are
expanding programs, such as High Intensity Tactical Training (HITT), a
comprehensive strength and conditioning program geared towards
optimizing physical performance and combat readiness. Another program
slated for expansion to additional installations is Operation
Adrenaline Rush (OAR), which combines Combat and Operational Stress
Control (COSC) principles with an Outdoor Recreation Adventure activity
to aid in mitigating boredom and high risk behavior for marines
recently returned from deployment. OAR assists marines with
reintegration by empowering small unit leaders, maintaining combat
readiness, and reinforcing unit cohesion. The goal is to increase
social resilience through unit-driven recreational activities such as
whitewater rafting, mountain biking, and deep sea fishing. Semper Fit
is focused on providing relevant programs that promote the overall
fitness and health of our Corps.
The Marine Corps Exchange (MCX) is an important part of the overall
non-monetary benefits package. MCX success is measured on the program's
value and contributions to the readiness and retention of marines, as
well as our ability to provide unparalleled customer service, premier
facilities, and valued goods and services at a significant savings.
With MCX, unlike any other retail store, marines can rely upon a high
quality product at a fair price and know that the proceeds are returned
to their community, creating a stronger Marine Corps.
Deployed support is one of the most important services we provide.
Our Exchange, Recreation and Fitness, Communication, and MCCS Amenity
Wi-Fi services not only boost and maintain morale, but also help to
reduce mission-related stress:

Exchange. Ongoing missions in Afghanistan include the
operation of two Direct Operation Exchanges Tactical at Camps
Leatherneck and Dwyer, one Tactical Field Exchange at Camp
Delaram II, one Imprest Fund Site at Forward Operating Base
(FOB) Edinburgh, and numerous Warfighter Express Services Teams
operating out of Camps Leatherneck, Dwyer, and FOB Edinburgh.
Recreation and Fitness. We assist in providing
transportable recreation, sports, and fitness equipment to
units throughout Helmand Province.
Communication. We have delivered 13 satellite
communications systems to units in Afghanistan. Each system has
2 phones which each provide 6,000 free minutes per month and 5
laptops that allow internet access and chat/video capabilities
to deployed marines. In 2012, there were 94,272 phone calls
using 776,644 minutes of air time; approximately 72,860 marines
were able to use the Morale Satellite services at several
different FOBs/COPs during 2012.
MCCS Amenity Wi-Fi Solution. The Marine Corps
Community Services Amenity Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) Solution
program deploys Wi-Fi capability at various facilities on
installation at no cost to marines and families. This morale
and welfare initiative helps families stay in contact while
separated from their marine.

XII. WOUNDED WARRIOR REGIMENT

The Marine Corps' Wounded Warrior Regiment (WWR) is a fundamental
component of the Marine Corps' pledge to ``keep faith'' with those who
have served. The WWR supports marines wounded in combat, who fall ill,
or who are injured in the line of duty.
The WWR administers the Marine Corps' Recovery Coordination Program
that ensures wounded, ill, and injured (WII) marines' medical and
nonmedical care needs are fully integrated. Through its comprehensive
organization of nonmedical care assets, the WWR has been supporting the
recoveries of WII marines and their families since it was established
in 2007. In the broadest terms, this includes determining the degree of
support required through case review, working with marines and their
families to develop recovery plans, and executing those plans for their
return to duty or reintegration to their hometowns. When WII marines
successfully execute their recovery plans, they are well-positioned for
their future endeavors.
Under the Marine Corps' proven care model, WII marines may remain
with their parent units so long as their medical conditions allow and
their units can support them. When WII marines remain with their parent
units, they are also supported by the WWR through its various assets.
This support is accomplished through direct contact with the WII marine
and family members and by providing information and resources to the
WII marine's commander. WII marines not assigned to a WWR element are
still connected through the Wounded Warrior Battalion Contact Centers,
where staff reaches out at regular intervals to ensure their needs are
being met.

Recovery Care Coordinators and Marines' Comprehensive Recovery Plans
To be successful in his or her recovery mission, a WII marine must
take a pragmatic look forward and set attainable goals. These goals
must be developed based on each marine's, and his or her family's
needs, and incorporated into a plan with carefully articulated and
monitored actionable steps.
The Marine Corps continues to fully comply with the ``Wounded
Warrior Act'' section of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2008. Prominent in this section is the requirement to
assign a Recovery Care Coordinator (RCC) to recovering marines. All
eligible marines, generally those who are severely to catastrophically
ill or injured and unlikely to return to duty, may be assigned an RCC.
RCCs meet with a WII marine within 72 hours of assignment and begin a
comprehensive assessment process which takes into consideration the
various recovery components (i.e., housing, finances, counseling,
family support, disability evaluation, employment, and more). The
results of this assessment process form the basis for the Marine's
Comprehensive Recovery Plan (CRP). Each CRP is tailored to the WII
marine's and family's specific recovery circumstances. The CRP
document, which is owned by the WII marine, is frequently updated and
adjusted to suit the WII marine's evolving situation.

Support for Caregivers
Compassionate and dedicated caregivers are central to recovery and
they endure many hardships, to include financial setbacks when they
leave their jobs, to be with their recovering marine. We thank Congress
for authorizing Special Compensation for Assistance With Activities of
Daily Living. The WWR is also providing our marines' caregivers the
opportunity to receive caregiver training, which is identical to the
caregiver training provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to
support their Caregiver Stipend Program.

Transition
Most WII marines will not return to duty and will transition to
veteran status. Meeting this transition milestone prepared and
confident is paramount to a WII marine's success in his or her civilian
community. The WWR's transition support is twofold: we help WII marines
and families successfully enter the VA system and assist them with
securing rewarding and fulfilling careers.
For WII marines with CRPs, prior to leaving active duty service,
the Marine's RCC will schedule phone conferences with the Marine's VA
recovery team members to ensure all required paperwork is transferred
and benefits are on schedule for payment. Marines not joined to a WWR
element may be provided VA transition information via the WWR's fact
sheets and staff who hold subject matter expertise. They are also
assisted through the WWR's Call Center. The WWR highly encourages all
WII marines to register with the VA's eBenefits, a joint VA/DOD web
portal that provides resources and self-service capabilities to
veterans, servicemembers, and their families.
WWR has transition cells at its Regimental Headquarters and its
Wounded Warrior Battalions where coordinators work with marines in a
one-on-one setting to conduct comprehensive career assessments; develop
education and career plans; provide career coaching; identify
education, internship and training opportunities; and facilitate
networking and transition activities such as job fairs. WWR also
coordinates with external entities to enhance WII marines' transition
success. The Regiment has facilitated the placement of Vocational
Rehabilitation and Employment Service counselors aboard various Marine
Corps installations; WII marines continue to take advantage of Federal
internships through the Operation Warfighter Program; and the WWR
continually coordinates with charitable organizations, such as the USO
and Hire Heroes USA, to provide transition workshops and opportunities
specifically geared toward WII servicemembers and their families.
To further ensure WII marines are succeeding in their civilian
lives, we utilize our Sergeant Merlin German Call Center to make
outreach calls to marines and families who have transitioned. The Call
Center conducts an average of 7,000 calls per month. Call Center staff,
to include psychological health professionals, is also available 24/7
to accept calls from marines and families. Moreover, WII marines who
transition from the WWR receive varying levels of needs-based support
for 90 days (or more if needed) to ensure smooth transition to the VA.
The WWR's District Injured Support Coordinator Program (DISC)
provides assistance to WII marines transitioning from military to
veterans status through its geographically dispersed network of
marines. Our DISCs are purposefully aligned with the Department of
Veterans Affairs Veterans Integrated Service Networks to further
enhance coordination with VA services. DISCs provide a multitude of
services to include conducting face-to-face visits with marines and
families, ensuring marines are registered with the VA, providing
information on various community resources, and linking WII marines in
need back to the WWR for assistance.

Collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs
Given the transition outcomes of our WII marines, the value of our
collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs cannot be
overstated. Although our WII marines may depart our ranks, they are
always considered marines and we have a sense of duty to advocate for
them after they have transitioned. At the strategic, tactical, and
operational levels, the WWR partners with various VA entities to ensure
our marines receive the transition support they require. With our VA
colleagues, we engage in policy development that will suit the
interests of WII marines from point of incident throughout their
veteran status. Currently, we are active participants in the
Interagency Care and Coordination Committee, which is working to better
harmonize the efforts of the Departments of Defense and Veterans
Affairs, simplify processes, and reduce confusion for our recovering
servicemembers and their families. We have a Marine Corps Liaison
Officer position established at the VA for enhanced coordination. Our
RCCs and other multi-disciplinary team advocates regularly engage with
Federal Recovery Coordinators on behalf of our WII marines who have
sustained serious or very serious wounds, injuries, or illnesses. We
will continue to identify ways to collaborate with our VA partners on
behalf of our Nation's wounded, ill, and injured.
As this statement demonstrates, the Marine Corps is heavily
invested in providing for WII marines and their dedicated family
members. Whether we are a Nation at war or in times of peace, the WWR
will continue to successfully meet their care and support needs. For
the Marine Corps, wounded warrior care is not a process, but a
persistent relationship between the Marine Corps and our marines.

XIII. CONCLUSION

To continue to be successful, we must always remember that our
individual marines are our most precious asset, and we must continue to
attract and retain the best and brightest into our ranks. Marines are
proud of what they do. They are proud of the ``Eagle, Globe, and
Anchor'' and what it represents to our country. With your support, a
vibrant Marine Corps will continue to meet our Nation's call.
Thank you for the opportunity to present this testimony.

Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Secretary Ginsberg?

STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL B. GINSBERG, ASSISTANT
SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE FOR MANPOWER AND
RESERVE AFFAIRS

Mr. Ginsberg. Chairman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Graham,
and members of the subcommittee, Lieutenant General Jones and I
would like to thank you for the honor and opportunity to
testify today on behalf of more than 700,000 Active, Guard,
Reserve, and civilian airmen who make up the most capable air
space and cyber space force the world has ever known. We know
that you and the members of this subcommittee are keenly
interested in the well-being and support of our airmen. We must
start by thanking you for all that you have done and continue
to do on their behalf.
As the Nation draws down its efforts in the U.S. Central
Command area of responsibility and prepares to support a
strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific, the Air Force finds itself
at a critical juncture. The Air Force faces continual demands
on its people and all its specialized capabilities, while
dealing with new fiscal realities. Our airmen have met every
challenge and are poised to respond to these new challenges in
the future.
The strictures of sequestration have forced the Air Force
to face tough choices, like a furlough of civilians and
standing down of some our combat coded flying squadrons. At the
direction of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Air
Force is protecting funding for war time operations, wounded
warrior programs and, to the extent feasible, programs most
closely associated with this new defense strategy, as well, of
course, as family programs.
The Air Force remains committed to providing cost-effective
medical care, services, and programs to maintain balanced,
healthy, and resilient airmen and families. Initiatives
implemented by our airmen and Family Readiness Centers, such as
transition assistance, wounded warrior, Yellow Ribbon, and
suicide prevention programs, have made considerable progress.
This past year, we confronted the problem of sexual assault
and unprofessional relationships at basic military training,
and we have strengthened our sexual assault prevention efforts
with new initiatives, like an Air Force-wide health and welfare
inspection and the establishment of a Special Victim's Counsel
program. The Air Force remains steadfast in our commitment to
prevent incidents of sexual assault, provide victim care where
assault has occurred, and hold those who commit such acts
accountable.
Looking ahead, the Air Force will continue to balance
competing defense needs among the size of our force structure,
today's readiness, and modernization in the future. The Air
Force is committed to carrying out our national defense mission
while dealing with the disruption of sequestration.
As I have said before, it is both an honor and a privilege
to represent and advocate on behalf of our Nation's airmen as
we search for better and smarter ways to approach and solve our
Nation's security challenges. Thank you for your continued
commitment and overwhelming support to our total force airmen,
civilians, and families. I look forward to answering your
questions.
[The prepared joint statement of Mr. Ginsberg and
Lieutenant General Jones follows:]

Prepared Joint Statement by Hon. Daniel B. Ginsberg and Lt. Gen.
Darrell D. Jones, USAF

Today the 690,000 Total Force airmen of your Air Force are a highly
trained, experienced, and battle tested force, standing as vanguards of
freedom around the world. Despite the last 2 decades of sustained
conflict, the men and women of your Air Force are as dedicated,
innovative and hard working as ever before. The Air Force does not take
lightly its primary role of training and equipping the highest quality
airmen the President, Congress, combatant commanders, and ultimately
our Nation can call upon as needed.
Airmen are the backbone of our Air Force. Throughout our Service
history and ingrained in our culture, is a spirit of innovation where
airmen are enabled and expected to find novel solutions to ensure
domination in our multi-dimensional battlefield of air, space, and
cyber space. In order for airmen to continue to fulfill their expected
roles as innovative leaders and warriors, the Air Force must remain
focused on recruiting, training, developing, supporting and retaining a
world-class, All-Volunteer Force. Maintaining an All-Volunteer Air
Force is a significant undertaking and requires a continuous and
deliberate investment of time and national resources.

MILITARY AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL BUDGETS

The Air Force is committed to maintaining and sustaining the
appropriate size and force mix to meet mission requirements with
acceptable personnel tempo and associated stress on the force. Total
Force Military changes in end strength are based on Strategic Guidance,
the Air Force operating budget, and an operational assessment to align
manpower resources to critical missions. Fiscal realities require the
Air Force to face tough choices, trading size to protect a high quality
and ready force while balancing overall risk to military capabilities.
The Air Force will focus on reinforcing military end strength in high
priority areas, such as Cyber, Intelligence, F-35, KC-46, and Sexual
Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) programs.
The Air Force's total military end strength forecast for fiscal
year 2014 will be reduced by 2,640 from 506,040 to 503,400, which
represents an approximate 0.5 percent reduction from fiscal year 2013
levels. This will result in an Active Duty (AD) military end strength
reduction from 329,460 to 327,600. Our Air Force Reserve (AFR) military
end strength will decrease by 480 to 70,400, and Air National Guard
(ANG) military end strength will decrease by 300 to 105,400. The fiscal
year 2014 budget includes a total budget authority request of $29.2
billion for AD, ANG and AFR military personnel. Included in this budget
is a 1 percent military base pay increase, a 4.2 percent increase in
the housing allowance and a 3.4 percent increase in subsistence
allowance. In addition, the civilian personnel budget requested for
fiscal year 2014 is $11.4 billion for a programmed civilian strength of
186,026, and includes a 1 percent pay raise.
Programmed reductions were accomplished in base/management
operating support and logistics/maintenance functional areas, as a
result of declining defense budgets, and in an effort to make the best
use of our resources, including military manpower. These reductions to
our military end strength would place greater responsibilities on the
remaining civilian and contractor workforce.
Subsequently, OSD tasked the Services to analyze their civilian
workforce requirements. Working with OSD, Air Force conducted a
comprehensive, enterprise-wide review examining the full spectrum of
operations--from base level to headquarters activities in an effort to
develop a wide range of initiatives to forge a leaner, more effective
Air Force in support of defense guidance. As a result, civilian
workforce reductions are planned which are commensurate with our
programmed military reductions. The civilian workforce review also
provided a means to shift resources in support of Cyber Command and
source emerging requirements such as enhanced transition programs
compliant with the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes
Act and the Veteran Employment Initiative (VEI).

MILITARY FORCE MANAGEMENT

By trading size for quality, the Air Force is postured to rapidly
respond to a full range of contingencies and threats to national
security interests. Our Force Management program is a tailored multi-
year strategy focused on sizing and shaping the total force with the
right balance of skills to meet current and emerging joint mission
demands. The program ensures career field sustainability as we retain
sufficient personnel inventory and experience to meet career field
requirements. The Air Force's strategy over the past few years has been
aggressive, allowing us to meet congressionally mandated end strength
requirements and maintain a high quality force by leveraging voluntary
programs first, offering incentive programs where needed, and
implementing involuntary actions when required.
Our active duty officer and enlisted force experienced continued
high retention rates in fiscal year 2012, just below the 20-year high
of 2011. This continued trend required us to employ a variety of
voluntary and involuntary force management programs to achieve the
required losses to stay within our fiscal year 2012 332,800 programmed
end strength. Our force management initiatives brought the force within
0.1 percent of end strength for fiscal year 2012, with the officer
force 408 below and the enlisted force 545 above their targets.
Our force management efforts in fiscal year 2012 positioned us well
for fiscal year 2013 but a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
for Fiscal Year 2013 mandated 3,340 end strength reduction and
lingering high retention require the continued use of Force Management
tools. The Air Force's voluntary programs in fiscal year 2013 are
similar to the officer and enlisted programs offered in fiscal year
2012. For our officer force, we will rely solely on voluntary measures
to achieve additional losses over normal attrition. Voluntary programs
will include time-in-grade, active duty service commitment, 8 versus 10
years of commissioned service waivers for certain year groups and
overage career fields. We will also continue the Palace Chase program
for eligible lieutenant colonels and below to retain experience levels
in our Reserve component.
For our enlisted force, we will rely on a number of voluntary and
involuntary measures to achieve additional losses over normal
attrition. Voluntary programs include Limited Active Duty Service
Commitment and time-in-grade waivers, as well as Palace Chase
opportunities. Additional enlisted measures include Date of Separation
Rollbacks, a very limited reduction in accessions, reduced
opportunities for retraining after initial skills training failures,
and Career Job Reservation constraints.
The AFR is also experiencing a reduction in end strength and while
the cuts are smaller, they still require meticulous handling to
maintain a strong force. Since AFR units are primarily filled by
reservists who live relatively close to their base of assignment, force
structure changes typically result in members separating from the AFR
if they cannot find a position reasonably close to their residence. A
number of authorities like Inactive Duty Training (IDT) travel pay and
even Permanent Change of Station (PCS) entitlements, however, will help
retain some of these well-trained and experienced assets in other
vacant billets nation-wide. Authorities such as 180 days of Tricare and
retention of the Montgomery GI Bill we help ease transition from the
selected Reserve for those members unable to be placed in a suitable
position. In anticipation of future reductions, the ANG and AFR are
also submitting legislation to request approval for the Temporary Early
Retirement Authority (TERA) and retention of education benefits for
those members involuntarily discharged because they could not find a
position. These additional authorities will help shape the force while
allowing a smooth landing for those who are forced to end their
careers.
The objective of our fiscal year 2014 Force Management strategy is
to continue to maximize voluntary programs first in order to minimize
the need for involuntary measures. Given the current fiscal challenges,
we will continue to assess the need to pursue voluntary and involuntary
force management actions to meet future authorized end strength levels.

CIVILIAN FORCE MANAGEMENT

The Air Force continues to perform strategic assessments to ensure
our civilian workforce maintains mission critical competencies and to
eliminate redundant functions in order to improve the effectiveness of
the Air Force mission. The Air Force's civilian Strategic Human Capital
Plan identified Cyber, Acquisition, Nuclear, and Engineering as
critical occupational series necessary to meet current mission
requirements and defense guidance. Our efforts are focused on ensuring
these critical functions have the necessary talent to meet mission
requirements, including heavy recruiting efforts to fill these highly
technical specialties.
In 2010, the Defense Department began a comprehensive effort to
increase efficiencies, reduce overhead costs, and eliminate redundant
functions in order to improve the effectiveness of the DOD enterprise.
In fiscal year 2012, the Air Force voluntarily retired or separated
approximately 3,500 civilian employees through three rounds of
Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation
Incentive Pay (VSIP) to achieve civilian reductions. In addition, the
service received limited approval to implement Reduction In Force (RIF)
actions on positions in the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC), Air
Education and Training Command (AETC) and Air Force Space Command
(AFSPC). The RIFs resulted in 77 separations, 27 reassignments, and 69
grade reduction actions (without reductions in pay) which mitigated the
need for involuntary separations.
The Air Force requires latitude to continue voluntary separation
programs, such as VERA and VSIP to allow civilian employees to retire
or separate on a voluntary basis and avoid involuntary separations for
fiscal year 2013 and fiscal year 2014. The Air Force will also require
RIF authorities, including involuntary separations, as an option to
balance the civilian workforce skills if reductions are not achieved
through voluntary separation programs.

QUALITY TRAINED AND DEVELOPED FORCE

Our Chief of Staff clearly articulated in his recent vision
statement that ``Education and training are the foundation of our
airpower advantage . . . and . . . we must safeguard and reinforce that
foundation'' by ensuring we remain the most technically proficient,
best-educated, and best-trained air force in the world. Developing the
world's best airmen requires the best education and training. The
developmental education pillar of our force development framework
includes Professional Military Education (PME), Fellowships, Advanced
Academic Degrees (AAD), Professional Continuing Education (PCE) and
voluntary education. The training pillar includes initial skills
training and retraining as well as skills and proficiency training such
as Language, Region, and Culture training.
Our enlisted PME and Officer developmental education programs
provide an educational foundation through the delivery of carefully
prescribed skill sets or institutional competencies. Our leadership
doctrine defines these competencies and lays out a road map to develop
our force to accomplish national security and national defense
objectives. Reductions to developmental education would have severe
long-term effects to the professional and innovative capabilities of
our Air Force.
The Air Force is striving to enhance the development, sustainment,
and utilization of cross-culturally competent airmen across the Total
Force to lead and enhance partnerships in today's dynamic global
environment. The ability to work collaboratively with stakeholders and
support the Department of Defense (DOD) Security Cooperation mission of
building international partnerships is critical in meeting complex and
emergent threats and will require greater foreign-language, regional,
and cultural skills.
Air Force Voluntary Education (Vol Ed) programs provide
comprehensive opportunities for airmen to pursue programs of higher
education in order to meet Air Force goals of a highly trained and
educated workforce. Vol Ed program funding is largely comprised of
Military Tuition Assistance (MilTA) which is provided to servicemembers
to pursue accredited post-secondary programs. MilTA supports and
affects approximately 105,000 military airmen in an active duty status
(of those, approximately 78,000 are junior noncommissioned officers
(NCO)). It contributes to force readiness by assisting our airmen in
attaining a higher level of skill and management proficiency. This core
group of young airmen will one day become our Senior NCOs responsible
for leading and developing other young airmen as well as advising Air
Force leaders. MilTA has historically cost more than budgeted, and we
fund it in execution years to maintain the commitment to our airmen. In
the current fiscal environment, we must establish updated enrollment
and compensation controls in the MilTA program to sustain the
programmed budget.

RETENTION, RECRUITMENT, BONUSES, AND INCENTIVE PAYS

The Air Force continues to successfully attract, assess and retain
innovative airmen to maintain our status as the world's preeminent
aerospace nation. The Service has consistently met its accession goals
since 1999 and this positive trend continued through fiscal year 2012.
Our recruiting strategy is founded on a powerful organization and
network of professional recruiters in communities across the country
supported by a compelling, multi-layered, local, regional and national
marketing campaign. In the recovering economy, the Air Force Recruiting
Service (AFRS) is predicting challenging recruiting conditions from
fiscal year 2013 through fiscal year 2016. We are projecting enlisted
accession requirements will reduce by 2,661 to 26,376 for fiscal year
2013 and then stabilize at 27,085 in fiscal year 2014. The Air Force
strategy to sustaining an All-Voluntary Force includes: Maintaining a
Strong and Experienced Recruiter Force; Understanding the Recruiting
Environment; leveraging the Power of Marketing; and leveraging
Technology and Information Systems to Improve the Mission.
The AFRS' success is partially attributed to its advertising and
marketing campaign that targets America's best and brightest youth
across a broad slice with respect to race, gender, geography and socio-
economic background. We are projecting a $63 million advertising budget
for fiscal year 2014--$6 million less than this year's budget. Air
Force advertising and marketing strategies continue to attract quality
recruits as validated by our recent success in recruiting 99.5 percent
of our enlisted accessions (EA) as high school graduates (HSG) while
98.4 percent of our EA scored in the top three mental categories (CAT I
to IIIA) of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). Our
fiscal year 2012 EA production quality outpaced the Department of
Defense (DOD) standards of 90 percent HSG and 60 percent for CAT I to
IIIA. The Initial Enlistment Bonus (IEB) program ensured AFRS recruited
100 percent of all critical skills accessions. We used the IEB program
to target nine career fields for 6-year enlistments with the majority
of these being Battlefield Airmen such as Combat Control and
Pararescue. Our programed budget for IEB is $14.5 million in fiscal
year 2014. We expect the fiscal year 2014 IEB career fields will
continue to focus primarily on Battlefield Airmen.
The Air Force Reserve (AFR) will continue to focus on filling geo-
specific vacancies in critical skills needed to ensure wartime
capability. In fiscal year 2012, the AFR accessed 9,429 personnel
against a goal of 9,229 obtaining 102 percent of their fiscal year 2012
recruiting goal. The AFR is projecting to finish at 100.3 percent of
their 8,900 fiscal year 2013 recruiting goal and their fiscal year 2014
goal is also expected to be approximately 8,900.
The Air National Guard (ANG) achieved 100.7 percent of their
officer and enlisted goal in 2012. They are on pace to meet their
11,600 (10,500 enlisted/1,100 officer) goal for 2013. However, the ANG
is experiencing a percentage of losses not seen since 1989, as well as
multiple mission changes across the country as a result of the 2013
NDAA.
ANG Incentive Program is a national program designed to attract and
retain quality personnel in critical enlisted and officer career
fields, with additional focus on Health Professionals (HP) and
Chaplains. Other targeted commissioned career fields include
Engineering, Intelligence, Cyber and Battlefield Airmen. The enlisted
accession and reenlistment bonuses focus on critical skills within
Aircraft Maintenance, Intelligence, Civil Engineering, Medical, and
Battlefield Airmen. This effort includes a Local Program designed to
assist units in recruiting and retaining personnel in critical enlisted
and officer career fields, by wing and geographically separated unit.
The ANG's fiscal year 2013 Incentive Program Budget is $88.5
million for Recruiting and Retention and includes HP Bonus, HP and
Chaplain Loan Repayment, Officer Accession and Affiliation, Enlistment,
and Reenlistment Bonuses. Funding covers initial payments for new
contracts and anniversary must-pays for prior year contracts. The
fiscal year 2014 Incentive Program budget of $65.2 million continues to
target all critical skills and professional officer specialties.
Overall, our Active component officer force continued to experience
strong retention in 2012 with an average career length (ACL) of 14.8
years of service, a value just slightly below the all-time high of 15.9
in 2010--the highest since tracking began in 1993. Despite high
retention trends, however, there are pockets of concern for our
stressed career fields. Currently, 11 out of 96 officer career fields,
6 pilot and combat systems officer career fields and 5 Special
Operations Forces (SOF) and non-rated career fields, are stressed with
high operational demand, low manning and insufficient retention. To
stem attrition, we are excluding all stressed career fields when
possible from targeted voluntary and involuntary Force Management
programs in fiscal year 2013 and fiscal year 2014. Where necessary, we
will add accessions and retrainees to stressed career fields to
increase overall inventory and bring undermanned year-groups closer to
required levels. Additionally, we offer Aviator Retention Bonuses and
Critical Skills Retention Bonuses (CSRB) to specific skills and year
groups in our stressed career fields to include Combat Rescue, Special
Tactics, and Contracting officers.
Enlisted force retention rates remained high for the third year in
a row; however, retention is still problematic for certain skills and
year groups. Currently, 13 out of 329 enlisted career fields,
specifically Battlefield Airmen, Intelligence, and Career Enlisted
Aviator career fields, are stressed with high operational demand, low
manning and insufficient retention. The Selective Reenlistment Bonus
(SRB) continues to be the most effective, responsive and measurable
tool for retention, encouraging airmen to stay and/or retrain into
career fields with high demand requirements. Additionally, CSRB remains
a vital tool to retain Senior Noncommissioned Officers (SNCO) in
certain high-demand specialties experiencing manning shortfalls, and
high operational demand.
The fiscal year 2013 budget for all Special and Incentive Pay is
$926.5 million, with recruiting and retention pays accounting for
$420.4 million. The remaining $506.1 million of the total budget pays
for health profession incentive pay, flying duty pay, hazardous duty
pay and other special pays, such as Special Duty Assignment Pay and
Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus/Pay. The Air Force allocated $232
million of the Special and Incentive Pay budget in fiscal year 2013 for
SRBs for 55 Air Force specialties, up slightly from 53 specialties at
the end of fiscal year 2012 but down considerably from 78 specialties
at the beginning of fiscal year 2012.
The fiscal year 2014 budget for all Special and Incentive Pay is
$894.2 million, with recruiting and retention pays accounting for
$412.5 million. The remaining $481.7 million of the total budget pays
for health profession incentive pay, flying duty pay, hazardous duty
pay and other special pays, such as Special Duty Assignment Pay and
Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus/Pay. The Air Force allocated $232
million of the Special and Incentive Pay budget in fiscal year 2014 for
SRBs and will continue to focus on Battlefield Airmen; Intelligence,
Surveillance and Reconnaissance; and Career Enlisted Aviator career
fields. SRB investments have shown to improve retention from 1 to 8
percent per SRB increment, depending on the reenlistment zone.

OPERATIONAL RESERVE

The Air Force has successfully employed the Operational Reserve
concept for more than 2 decades. During this timeframe, the three
components (Active, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard) have
become an increasingly integrated force fully capable of supporting
combatant commander requirements as a single seamless team. Continued
expansion of Total Force associations will further enhance the
operational effectiveness of the forces provided to combatant
commanders. Under this concept, the components routinely train together
at home station, which allows individual members of all three
components to develop effective working relationships and team
cohesiveness prior to deploying. Additionally, they develop an
understanding and appreciation of the strengths (and inherent
limitations) of each component.
Looking to the future, the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air
Force have chartered the Total Force Task Force to take a holistic
approach to provide strategic options on the appropriate Total Force
capabilities mix to meet current and future Air Force requirements.
Three Major Generals (one from each component) will be leading this
effort The task force will consider the strategic shifts driven by
post-Afghanistan reconstitution and the new Defense Strategic Guidance.
The expectation is for the task force to recommend policy, legislation,
personnel, organizational, and force structure changes that would
maximize the overall effectiveness of the Air Force's total force team
in a budget-constrained environment.
Our Total Force Air Force will continue to be structured on a
balanced foundation that relies on the strengths of each component, to
provide and sustain the capabilities required in the years ahead. Total
Force Task Force recommendations anchored on this principle will inform
the Air Force Strategic Planning and Programming Process for fiscal
year 2015 and beyond.
The Secretary of Defense recently approved the Air Force policy and
procedures for Reserve involuntary mobilization authority under title
10 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 12304a and 12304b. The Air Force is prepared to
implement Sec. 12304a to involuntarily access the Air Force Reserve if
needed to respond to a major disaster or emergency within the United
States. We are working closely with the Air National Guard and Air
Force Reserve to develop the plans and specific missions where it may
be necessary to augment the Active component for preplanned missions
using Sec. 12304b involuntary mobilization authority. We will apply
this authority judiciously in order to ensure predictability for
Reserve component members to minimize the impact to their families and
employers. Appropriate use of this authority is being considered as we
develop the Air Force input to the fiscal year 2015 President's budget.

SUPPORT TO AIRMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES

The Air Force will continue to prioritize quality airmen and family
support programs to sustain the resiliency of our force. Our strategy
to meet the Service's evolving demographics and demands is to tailor or
eliminate services where appropriate and capitalize upon community
resources to gain efficiencies where possible.
Our Airman and Family Readiness Centers (A&FRC) have made
considerable progress implementing the Transition Assistance Program
(TAP) requirements that will expand training and employment services
for our Active and Reserve component members who transition from the
military. The Air Force was compliant with the Veterans Opportunity to
Work (VOW) To Hire Heroes Act of 2011 as mandated by law on 21 November
2012 and is on schedule for compliance with the Veterans Employment
Initiative (VEI) Task Force goals by 1 October 2013. In support of VEI,
the Air Force was the first service to pilot the redesigned 5-day TAP
workshop and the Higher Education optional track at Joint Base San
Antonio (JBSA) and the first to pilot the Small Business
Administration's Entrepreneurship track Outside the Continental United
States (OCONUS) at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, United Kingdom. During
fiscal year 2013, all Air Force installations will complete the rollout
with the addition of three 2-day tracks of Entrepreneurship, Technical
Training, and Education and a Capstone ensuring that members are ready
to make a successful civilian transition.
In fiscal year 2012, Air Force Child Development Programs supported
more than 61,000 children ages 6 weeks to 12 years, with over 4,600 of
these children having special needs care requirements. We have
continued to focus on increasing our care capacity in our Child
Development Centers, adding 5,794 childcare spaces from fiscal year
2005 to fiscal year 2012. The Air Force also participated in piloting
the first centralized web-based DOD request for childcare system, which
will provide our families with easier access to DOD-wide childcare
options.
We are concerned about the effect Sequestration will have on our
Child and Youth Programs in fiscal year 2013 due to potential
Appropriated Fund (APF) civilian furloughs. The furlough of Child Care
support staff could impact approximately 25 percent of our caregiving
staff as well as our entire management and administrative team, who are
charged with ensuring health and safety standards are maintained. To
maintain these mandated standards, installations may be forced to
reduce hours of operation or reduce class sizes, which may require
single and dual working parents to adjust their work hours or find
alternative care off base at a higher cost. Reduced staffing and
construction project delays could also stall the opening of
approximately 750 childcare spaces that are currently in different
phases of construction. Due to limited off-base childcare options
(particularly for infants and toddlers at many locations), the result
may be growing on-base child care waiting lists at a time when
community-based funding for such programs has simultaneously been cut.
The Air Force is equally committed to supporting Child and Youth
programs that are designed for the unique requirements of our ANG and
AFR members. The Home Community Care (HCC) Program continues to provide
ANG and AFR members access to quality childcare services that are
similar to those available to military assigned to or living on a
military installation and provides free quality childcare during
primary drill weekends. In 2012, HCC provided care for 7,632 children
within 35 ANG and AFR units with 59 State licensed providers.
Recognizing our recent funding challenges and the evolving
demographics and lifestyles of today's airmen and families, we are
reviewing all Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs
through customer satisfaction surveys and business analysis. Our goal
is to determine how best to provide family and MWR programs and base-
level support services in today's budget-constrained environment. For
instance, we are focusing our resources on those core programs (ex:
Food, Fitness, Child and Youth Programs) which best support ready,
resilient airman and may be forced to make hard decisions to not fully
support other programs (ex: Libraries, Outdoor Recreation). To support
this initiative, we launched our Services Transformation Project (STP)
in July 2011 to conduct an Air Force-wide program business assessment
of base-level service and support, MWR programs. Major Commands
(MAJCOM) and installations were provided STP business assessment
results with proposals to keep, divest or repurpose programs. These
assessments contributed to Wing Commander decisions to eliminate 22
programs at various installations. Additionally, a STP team visited 8
test bases making recommendations to create Community Commons and
Information Learning Centers among other recommendations that will
combine MWR programs into a central location.
Airmen and family quality of life is also significantly enhanced by
the contributions of our non-pay programs. The Army Air Force Exchange
Service (AAFES) provides merchandise at an average savings of 24
percent compared to similar retail stores and gave back $223.9 million
in dividend contributions to military communities in fiscal year 2012.
Additionally, the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) operates as a
nonprofit organization and can save a family of four an estimated
$4,500 a year.

COMPREHENSIVE AIRMAN AND FAMILY FITNESS

The Focus of Comprehensive Airman and Fitness (CAF) is building
resilience among our Total Force airmen and their families. While we
have completed our mission in Iraq, airmen are still in Afghanistan
where they have been for more than 10 years and in the Middle East for
over 20 years. Continued high operations tempo at home and abroad
coupled with downsizing the force and budget cuts stress the need to
deliberately increase our focus on building strong, resilient airmen
and families. Resilient airmen are better equipped to withstand,
recover and/or grow in the face of stressors and changing demands. Many
of our programs are designed to continue to build resilient airmen and
families.
The planned way-ahead for 2013 through 2014 includes the
development of a Virtual Wing-Man smart phone application, continued
production of Master Resilience Trainers (MRT) and the rigorous
analysis of scientific data collected to validate the effectiveness of
the MRT training on First Term Airmen Center (FTAC) students.

SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE

The Air Force remains steadfast in our commitment to prevent
incidents of sexual assault, provide victim care where assault has
occurred and hold accountable those who commit such acts, while
protecting the due process rights of the accused. Our current and
ongoing initiatives to achieve a zero tolerance environment are
targeted toward prevention (dissuade, deter, and detect) and response
(victim care and responsibility).
In fiscal year 2013, we stood up our first of several Integrated
Product Team meetings, incorporating university experts and other
subject matter experts, to assess our pre-command, senior enlisted and
entry-level SAPR education and training curricula with the goal to make
it more relevant, impactful and reality based. Increased emphasis on
Investigations and Accountability included an Advanced Air Force Sexual
Assault Investigations course and Special Victims' Counsel ``Pilot''
program to provide representation and advocacy throughout the
investigation and prosecution processes by a specially trained Judge
Advocate.
The Air Force also distributed a Wing Commander's SAPR Guide,
developed by subject matter experts and Wing Commanders and Command
Chiefs. The guide includes statistics, facts and talking points to help
installation leaders encourage healthy conversations with their airmen.
It was distributed to installation commanders, MAJCOM commanders, six
area of responsibility commanders, and the ANG. DOD SAPRO recognized
this guide for how well it was done.
In March 2013, HQ Air Force Office of Special Investigations
(AFOSI) published new policy guidance to improve the investigation of
sexual assault offenses. One change directs Command-wide use of AFOSI's
new Sexual Assault Investigative Plan Worksheet and Sufficiency
Assessment Tool in drafting written investigative plans. The tool will
help focus collaboration between agents and military justice attorneys,
as it integrates legal sufficiency (Articles 120, 125, and 80 elements
of proof) with investigative sufficiency (i.e. investigative activities
apt to reveal information probative to the elements). Additionally, HQ
AFOSI has equipped its field units with cutting-edge alternate light
sources to greatly enhance agents' ability to detect the presence of
forensic evidence at sexual assault crime scenes. The field was also
armed with new cyber tools that significantly improved agents' ability
to identify and collect probative information from computers and cell
phones.
The Air Force is assessing manpower requirements needed to execute
fiscal year 2012 and projected NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 requirements.
Our goal is to increase manpower in policy oversight, education and
training and legal/investigation roles. We will comply with the
requirements by establishing at least one full time Sexual Assault
Prevention and Response Coordinator (SARC) and one full time Victim
Advocate (VA) at each Air force host wing. Additionally, we are going a
step further by placing additional SARCs or VAs at larger installations
and those with higher risk populations (such as our training bases),
while also providing a capacity for supporting expeditionary
requirements. We have created standardized position descriptions for
SARCs and VAs to facilitate hiring, and we are continuing efforts
toward SARC and VA certification by 1 October 2013.
The Air Force SAPR office utilized the Unit Climate Assessment
(UCA), a known commander's management tool, to proactively assess
climate for Air Force individual units. Embedded in the Air Force
Climate Assessment are six questions that illuminate four dimensions of
the SAPR climate factors. These Air Force climate factors and results
detailed areas for further work in 2013 and beyond, namely more
information geared towards junior enlisted, civilians and lessening the
barriers to reporting. Additionally, the UCA revealed that our
Bystander Intervention training and reporting options are both
understood and found to be highly viable tools. In 2013, we will launch
a follow-on survey to the initial 2010 Gallup survey which established
a baseline measurement of actual prevalence and incidence of sexual
assault in the Air Force. This repeat measurement will be compared to
our baseline data to assess the progress of our SAPR program. As we
move forward with our program, ongoing biannual measurement and
tracking will allow the Air Force to continue monitoring changes and
improvements.

HAZING

The Air Force has a zero tolerance policy for hazing, bullying,
maltreatment, and discrimination as it is contrary to the standards of
conduct that we expect of all airmen--entitling every airman to
dignity, respect, and equal opportunity. Guided by our core values of
Integrity, Service and Excellence, the Air Force utilizes a
comprehensive approach to prevent and/or respond to such allegations or
observations. We believe that using a comprehensive, continual training
approach throughout an airman's career not only ensures that these
concepts and preventative measures are delivered at the right time, but
more importantly, become part of the Air Force culture and help to
ensure good order and discipline. If an allegation of hazing is
substantiated, it may be punishable by court-martial or nonjudicial
punishment under several punitive Articles of the Uniform Code of
Military Justice.

INTEGRATION OF AIR FORCE COMPONENT PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

To better support our airmen and families, we continue to move
forward with our ``3 to 1 Total Force Personnel Management''
initiative. This effort integrates personnel management policies,
processes and procedures across the Active, Reserve, and Air National
Guard components to create a more efficient and effective Air Force.
In May 2012, we successfully completed a high level review of all
laws, regulations and policies to determine where barriers to
integration existed. This review yielded 69 recommendations, spanning
over two dozen human resource activities. We learned that few legal
barriers exist to the integration of Air Force Human Resource policies,
but there are many opportunities for us to consolidate directives and
instructions, while still allowing for component uniqueness where
warranted. This will pave the way for significant process improvement,
facilitate better collaboration and coordination across Air Force
components, optimize warfighter support and improve service levels for
our airmen.
A few examples of change include the establishment of a Total Force
Recruiting Council which is analyzing consolidated storefronts and
conducting a Total Force review of schoolhouse curriculum; the
implementation of enlisted performance reports for Traditional
Guardsmen; process and training enhancements to remedy issues
associated with transition between components; and the deployment of an
electronic operating support system for our Total Force promotion and
force development board processes. This will transition manual and
cumbersome paper boards to a new technology that will garner
significant efficiencies in the coming years.
Finally, the most significant outcome from this effort to date is
the institution of a Total Force Human Resource Management governance
structure which stood up on 1 April 2013. For the first time in our Air
Force's history, we will have a unified Total Force forum where we can
discuss challenges and shape shared solutions towards a common Total
Force human capital strategy.

DIVERSITY

The Air Force recognizes a diverse force is a military necessity
and we continue to focus efforts on advancing our strategic priorities
of institutionalizing diversity, attracting, recruiting, developing and
retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce of highly qualified total
force individuals who reflect the rich tapestry of the Nation we serve.
Over the past 2 years, we have made significant progress in our
efforts to execute these priorities. First, in response to the
Presidential Executive Order (13583) establishing a Coordinated
Government-Wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the
Federal Workforce, we recently updated our Diversity Strategic Roadmap.
The Roadmap is an action plan that directly supports Air Force
diversity objectives and is designed to move us forward in key areas
essential for success and posture us to compete for a finite pool of
candidates in a changing nation. Additionally, in July 2012, the Air
Force published Air Force Instruction 36-7001, Diversity, which
provides policy and oversight for Air Force Diversity and guidance for
its implementation within the Air Force.
Outreach programs remain key to attracting and recruiting diverse
talent. In partnership with the Office of Diversity Management and
Equal Opportunity within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, our
sister services and Air Force total force stakeholders (active duty,
Guard, Reserve and civilian service), the Air Force plans, coordinates
and provides oversight to national-level diversity outreach programs
supporting our priorities, goals and objectives. In fiscal year 2012,
our Global Diversity Division collaborated with the AFRS to conduct a
targeted advertising campaign aimed at attracting high performing
African American and Hispanic students who might qualify for U.S. Air
Force Academy (USAFA) or Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps
programs. In fact, the recruiting service devoted 20 percent of its
fiscal year 2012 marketing budget to initiatives targeting specific
minority communities (African American and Hispanic) to locate high
performing applicants and counter cultural biases against military
service.

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY

The USAFA continues to thrive as a world-class university, creating
strong leaders of character that are prepared for today's strategic
environment that includes a broad range of threats and an unpredictable
set of challenges.
USAFA cadets have performed impressively over the past 12 months.
The graduating class of 2013 has a Marshall Scholar and the U.S. News
and World report ranked USAFA's undergraduate management program #1 in
the Nation. The Academy's undergraduate engineering program is ranked
#4 in the Nation, civil and computer engineering programs are ranked #5
nationally, and USAFA has the #2 air and space engineering program for
the 12th consecutive year.
Respect for human dignity and integrity are at the core of the
USAFA's leadership development. The Academy continues to enhance sexual
assault prevention and response programs by identifying new ways to
advance a climate of dignity and respect, and to more completely
integrate sexual assault, harassment and violence prevention into
Academy life and learning. Additionally, the Academy continues to
conduct Religious Respect Training which is receiving national
attention as a benchmark program.
USAFA is committed to recruiting a diverse force and its numerous
recruitment efforts and programs such as Summer Seminar, Diversity
Visitation, and Admissions Forum have succeeded in many aspects and
serve as the foundation for future efforts. The Summer Seminar Program
targets high performing, diverse students who would be USAFA direct
entry, USAFA Prep-School or Falcon Foundation candidates. The Diversity
Visitation Program brings prospective minority cadets to the Academy
for a 4-day program, which includes academics, interaction with senior
leaders, tours of the Prep School and airfield and attendance at a
sporting event. The USAFA Admissions Forum Initiative conducts up to
ten admissions events per year in strategically selected locations
across the country that have under-representation of target populations
at the USAFA.

WOUNDED WARRIORS

The Air Force is dedicated to continuously improving the support to
our combat and seriously wounded, ill, and injured airmen by leveraging
prior Air Force investments including the Recovery Care and Coordinator
Program (RCCs). In fiscal year 2012 the Air Staff, Air Force Personnel
Center and Office of Surgeon General jointly planned and reengineered
the Air Force Recovery Coordination Process to integrate the medical
and nonmedical care of all Air Force wounded, ill, and injured into one
7-phased Continuum of Care process. This initiative eliminated
redundancies and minimized confusion for our recovering airmen and
their families. This effort produced a single centralized and
coordinated line of command for operations and a decentralized
execution process. In addition, a singular referral and identification
process was implemented for determining eligibility for these
specialized services and added to the combat ill and injured
population, the management of care for all seriously ill and injured.
This design approach relates to airmen's perspective by better meeting
their anticipated needs in advance and leading to improved sustained
care. The Recovery Team now provides concentrated care while
simultaneously providing services to all current ill and injured and
results in a 30 percent reduced active case load ratio to the current
45/1 (40/1 is DOD standard). As a result, the AF now manages this
population in an improved and inclusive process, which currently stands
at 2,583 (498 ill; 1,299 psychological; 786 injured [including TBI]).
Of this total population 1,048 are still on active duty and 1,535 have
separated from the AF. In summary, the AF focuses its support of airmen
and their families through medical and non-medical programs on behalf
of DOD and in coordination with the VA as follows:

DOD Medical Support: Clinical Care & Case Management
Line Non-Medical Support: Directorate of Airman &
Family Care and Recovery Care Coordinators
VA Support: Poly Trauma Centers, Case Management &
Federal Recovery Coordinators

Air Force sponsored, along with other Services, Adaptive Sports
Camps to assist recovering airmen to heal not only physical, but
socially, emotionally and spiritually. Warrior Game participation has
grown from 27 to more than 100 new athletes in fiscal year 2012 and 50
participants have been selected for the 2013 Air Force Wounded Warrior
Games team. In addition to Warrior Game participation, the Air Force
purchased adaptive sports equipment now located in its fitness centers
and established a dedicated adaptive sports staff under the new Air
Force Wounded Warrior directorate to host advanced adaptive sports and
recreation camps and clinics. As simply put by AF Staff Sgt. Larry
Franklin, a program participant, ``This program saved my life. Being
part of a team again gives me a sense of pride and makes me feel like
I'm a part of something.''

AIR FORCE YELLOW RIBBON PROGRAM

The Air Force Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) has
promoted the well-being of Air National Guard and Air Reserve airmen
and their families. Driven by high tempo deployment cycles, these
events have taken on an increased importance given the increased
accumulated stress on our ARC airmen and their families. The events,
offered at key stages in the deployment cycle, have clearly addressed
the need for the providing critical support information to family
members and more importantly, given the multiple deployments, supported
the build-up of resilience skills to better cope with the significant
stress on families caused by absence of their airmen.
The value-added propositions of these events, which further allow
for the development of inter-family support teams, cannot be
overstated. Many of these ARC units are not in close proximity to
Active Air Force airmen and family care centers, so the YRRP events
serve as form of resilience support and training.

INTEGRATED DISABILITY EVALUATION SYSTEM

The purpose of the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES)
is to maintain a fit and vital force. Air Force uses the IDES to
determine if airmen who are wounded, ill, or injured are still fit for
continued military service and quickly returns those who are. If they
are deemed unfit for continued service, the IDES process ensures
servicemembers receive a Veteran's Affairs (VA) disability rating and
are aware of their compensation and benefits before they transition
from military service. We are aggressively working to meet OSD's goal
to process airmen through the IDES in 295 days. Currently, the Air
Force Active component is averaging 362 days processing time from
referral for disability evaluation to the date of VA benefits decision
or return to duty. Within the IDES, the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB)
phase performance is averaging 63 days, which is well below the IDES
goal of 100 days. However, the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) phase is
averaging 141 days, which falls short of the IDES 120-day goal.
The Air Force is committed to improving IDES timeliness to better
serve airmen as they rehabilitate, reintegrate or transition from
military service. We are diligently working various measures to improve
the IDES timeliness. We have realigned manpower and made hiring a
priority within the Air Force Personnel Center to assist the PEB. The
Air Force has partnered with OSD and the VA to enhance IDES information
technology (IT) to create a seamless and integrated system to improve
IDES timeliness. While DOD and VA develop an enterprise IT solution,
the Air Force is exploring short-term IT solutions to expedite the
transfer of IDES cases between the Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs)
and the Informal and Formal PEBs. In addition, we have improved
communications between the VA, the Air Force Personnel Center, and the
Air Force Surgeon General to ensure consistency of IDES tracked data.
Finally, the Air Force rolled out its IDES pre-screening initiative to
ensure the right airmen are referred into the IDES. The IDES pre-screen
process provides a centralized review at the Air Force Personnel
Center's Medical Retention Standards Branch of potential IDES cases
which may not meet retention standards. The intent of the pre-screening
process is two-fold, to identify airmen who may be returned to duty
(RTD), instead of entering the IDES, thus preserving resources and
reducing hardship on the airman and the unit. Additionally, the process
identifies airmen, who need a complete Medical Evaluation Board, and
refers them to the IDES, preserving readiness and a fit force. The pre-
screening process does not alter any stage of the IDES, airmen rights
remain intact and the Air Force ensures due-diligence. As of 10 April
2013, the Informal PEB adjudicated 978 cases referred into the IDES by
our Personnel Center's Medical Retention Standards shop as a result of
pre-screening. Of those, only 27 were returned to duty by the Informal
PEB, for a 2.7 percent RTD rate, far below the 15-20 percent RTD rate
historically seen prior to pre-screening implementation. We expect
these major improvement strategies to improve the Air Force IDES
timeliness by fall 2013.
On 13 June 2012, former Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta,
directed the Department to conduct a comprehensive review of mental
health diagnoses for prior servicemembers who completed a disability
evaluation process from 11 Sep 2001 to 30 Apr 2012. The Office of the
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness is the delegated
authority to establish the Special Review Panel as a collaborative
undertaking of the DOD Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR) and
the Military Department Boards for Correction of Military Records.
These reviews will include a re-evaluation of servicemember records
whose mental health diagnoses were changed to their possible
disadvantage during the disability evaluation process. The PDBR has
coordinated with the Services and has defined the resources required
for the timely completion of these important reviews.

SUICIDE PREVENTION

Air Force leaders at all levels are committed to suicide prevention
through our wingman culture. We do not view suicide prevention as
belonging to either personnel or medical communities, but to all
members of the Air Force community, including commanders, supervisors,
and peers. Suicide prevention is a Total Force responsibility. This is
the premise upon which our Community Action Information Board (CAIB)
was built and the cornerstone of the Air Force suicide prevention
program as we established it in 1996. We believe evidence shows it is
the necessary framework for effective intervention across the
enterprise. Prevention starts with leadership involvement from the top
down and across all spectrums of the Air Force.
In a wingman culture, airmen look out for fellow airmen. We teach
them to identify risk factors and warning signs for suicide, and to
take appropriate action once these indicators are identified. We call
it: Ask, Care, Escort (ACE). We have taken Air Force-wide training to a
new level with required Frontline Supervisor Training for the highest
risk career fields. We are increasing our mental health provider
staffing across the Air Force by more than 300 professionals by 2016.
All of our mental health providers are trained to use the Air Force
Guide to Managing Suicidal Behavior, a clinical guide for assessing,
managing and treating suicidal ideation.
Within the Air Force, we have not seen a link between suicide and
deployments, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or Traumatic Brain Injury.
For our Total Force, the most frequently linked risk factors to suicide
continue to be relationship problems, legal or administrative problems,
work related issues, or a combination of these factors.
We are keenly focused on reducing stigma through positive commander
messages and by expanding opportunities to access mental health
resources such as embedding mental health providers in our primary care
clinics. Although the 2012 Air Force Climate Survey found stigma is
still an issue for many airmen, we are encouraged that most reported
they are willing to seek help, and 90 percent see leadership as
genuinely interested in preventing suicide.
We continue to research how we can better identify those at risk
for suicide to achieve the earliest possible intervention. One such
study explores how airmen's use of social media impacts their
relationships, help-seeking, and emotional well-being. We are also
conducting research that examines the role of life events and social
stressors in the suicides of specific clusters of airmen.
In addition, we continue to collaborate with the Defense Suicide
Prevention Office, our sister Services, and the Department of Veterans
Affairs to leverage the full extent of our internal resources,
combining our experiences and best practices to improve our suicide
prevention efforts.

CONCLUSION

Our airmen and their families will always remain as the cornerstone
to the success of the U.S. Air Force. The enduring contributions
provided by Air Force airpower are a direct result of the innovative
spirit that resides in all our airmen. Investments in our Air Force
capabilities are inextricably linked to our Service's ability to
recruit, train, develop, support and retain a world-class, All-
Volunteer Force. We are confident that our Air Force will continue to
overcome any challenge or adversary if we, as a Service and a Nation,
keep faith with our commitment to train and equip the highest quality
airmen.

Senator Gillibrand. Thank you all for your statements. We
have also received a statement for the record from the National
Guard Association of the United States. Without objection, it
will be included in the record.
[The information referred to follows:]

Senator Gillibrand. I am going to talk about a couple of
issues in my 7 minutes. I want to go through sexual assault,
hazing, suicide. I have enormous respect for the men and women
who serve in the military, and that is why I am absolutely
committed to ending violent crime, sexual assault, and rape
among those in uniform.
The new DOD health related behavior survey of the Active
Duty military personnel was released this week, and I was
disturbed by the findings that more than one in five women on
Active Duty in the armed services reported experiencing
unwarranted sexual contact by a fellow servicemember. The rate
for men was 3.3 percent. Those rates are absolutely
unacceptable, and the men and women who serve in our armed
services are the military's most precious resource, as you
said, Secretary Lamont. Clearly the system is failing to
protect them from the worst kinds of violence.
As you may know, I am working on legislation that will
remove the initial disposition authority from commanding
officers and put them in the hands of experienced military
prosecutors. Over the past few months, we have been examining
this change, and one of the concerns that has been voiced is
that it will disrupt the good order and discipline of the unit.
In your opinion, what precisely about this change would
disrupt good order and discipline? What other recommendations
do you have for dealing with this crisis and actually getting
results? You may start, Secretary Lamont.
Mr. Lamont. One thing that detracts from the dignity and
respect of a soldier, and we have carefully considered it, we
are very much aware of our most recent challenges in this
regard.
While I have not seen your proposed legislation, I am aware
of bits and pieces of it. I will leave for General Bromberg the
concerns that you made reference to with regard to good order
and discipline.
Senator Gillibrand. General Bromberg?
General Bromberg. Yes, Senator. Certainly we are just as
concerned as you are obviously, and it is just not good enough
the progress we are making. We need to continue to make
progress. Certainly we want to look at all options on how we
can improve as we go forward.
I think the team approach we put into effect, we are in the
third year of our campaign plan. This year, we are focusing on
achieving cultural change, and I think cultural change is key
to our success as we move forward. We need to continue to push
that at every level across the Services.
But the teaming approach we have added over--almost 829
full-time victim advocates and sexual assault response
coordinators. They are all trained. They are all nationally
certified. They have 80 hours of training. We have also added
over 9,000 collateral duty part-time victim advocates and
sexual assault coordinators. We have added 20 special
prosecutors, 30 additional lab technicians, 10 additional
headquarters, what is called special highly qualified experts,
to help with this process to enable the commanders to more
fully understand the program, and increased training of all our
Criminal Investigations Command agents with another additional
80 hours of special investigating procedures.
We think this team approach that we have put together is an
alternative to go forward, to include paralegals, victim
liaisons from the local judge advocate office as well. So
achieving cultural change, including the approach of training,
as well as prosecution and putting this larger team together is
an alternative we certainly are pushing forward on.
Senator Gillibrand. How much time do you think those
changes will take to start getting the numbers down, because
obviously the difference between the 2008 report and the 2011
report was in the wrong direction. Now, that might just be a
difference in feeling comfortable reporting, so we do not know
why the change increased the number. How long do you think you
will see results, tangible results, see numbers coming down,
see reporting going up?
General Bromberg. I think it is always difficult to put a
time on cultural change. But we have seen an increase in our
own internal surveys that we are looking at right now and
balancing those with other reports we are seeing to make sure
we are looking at the right data.
We have seen an increase in the propensity to report. Our
last survey showed a 28 percent propensity report. Our most
recent survey shows a 42 percent propensity report for females.
Now, I am not saying that is----
Senator Gillibrand. What is that report called?
General Bromberg. It is an internal operational troop
survey that we have done internal to the Army.
Senator Gillibrand. You said ``propensity report?''
General Bromberg. Propensity. The propensity of a female to
report that she has been either harassed or assaulted. We have
to go back and really dig in the numbers, so I caution on the
numbers. We are not claiming that as a victory, but certainly
it may be a leading indicator.
We want to continue to do that. We want to continue to
watch those leading indicators. A slight increase for males as
well.
Mr. Lamont. I do want to point out, though, that the actual
assaults reported did drop this year. Of course, nowhere where
we want it to be, but I would like to believe it is an
indication that some of these programs, and particularly with
regard to the investigators and the special prosecutors will be
having an effect.
Senator Gillibrand. How did the numbers drop? You mean
between 2008 and 2011, or in your own internal numbers?
General Bromberg. Our internal numbers. That is one of our
challenges when we look at the surveys, Senator, we have to
make sure we are all looking at the same data on the surveys. I
have not seen the reports you are referring to in detail yet,
so as we peel those numbers back, then we will be able to tell
the differences, because the numbers could be totally different
for the different surveys.
Senator Gillibrand. I would like you to furnish all your
internal tracking so that we have the benefit of that.
Admiral Van Buskirk? Secretary Garcia? General Milstead?
Mr. Garcia. If I could start, Senator.
Senator Gillibrand. Go ahead.
Mr. Garcia. The Navy leadership shares your belief these
numbers are unacceptable, and we appreciate the approach you
have taken with your proposed legislation and sharing it with
us and letting us offer input.
We concur that the court martial process as we know it has
evolved since World War II. The introduction of specialized
prosecutors, defense counsel, a robust appeals process, has
changed. That is why we are working at the Secretary of
Defense's direction to revisit and reform the convening
authority process as it exists now.
But know that we are not waiting on that process, and we
are not living with these numbers. As we had a chance to visit
the other day, you know that we have hired additional full-time
sexual assault response coordinators and advocates and
instituted a fleet-wide training programs. Every sailor and
marine in the Navy has received training this year. Bystander
intervention, training is taking place at every fleet
concentration center.
Special training for our Judge Advocate General and Naval
Criminal Investigation Service agents ensure they are armed
with the optimal prosecution and investigative tools available.
You know about our expedited transfer policy. You know about
the elevation of the sexual assault initial disposition
authority. More than that, we are seeking to, as my Army
colleagues referenced earlier, change the command culture where
events like this could take place. We know, for example, there
is an undeniable correlation all too often between incidents of
assault and alcohol use, and that is why we are in the process
of introducing across the Navy and across the Marine Corps, at
every command, the use of alcohol detection devices, which is a
new step that we have never taken before, to educate our
personnel and our force about responsible use.
I am aware of the study you cited earlier. I echo the
concerns voiced earlier that the numbers are challenging, and
we are digging into that. Within those numbers, for example, an
increase in unrestricted reports versus restricted reports is a
trend we want to see. An increase in personnel being willing to
report events on the lower end of the unwanted sexual contact
spectrum is positive if they are experiencing an atmosphere
where they feel more comfortable coming forward.
We have our teeth into this, and we are committed to this,
Senator.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you. My time has expired, the Air
Force can submit your answer for the record.
[The information referred to follows:]

Mr. Ginsberg. The challenge we face regarding sexual assault in the
military is complex. Sexual assault damages unit cohesiveness and
mission accomplishment at the unit level. Because of this impact, our
commanders need to be at the forefront of the fight to reduce sexual
assault in the military.
One example of how good order and discipline could be directly
impacted by removing initial disposition authority from commanders is
with respect to the ability to enforce discipline through nonjudicial
punishment under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. If
an airman commits an offense that is appropriately disposed of through
nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, the commander cannot compel
the member to accept an Article 15. In the Article 15 process, if an
airman accepts the forum, his commander assumes the role of trier of
fact as well as sentencing authority for the offense alleged. However,
an airman has the right to demand trial by court-martial instead. The
ability of commanders to swiftly deal with those charges would be
impacted if the commander did not have the authority to initiate court
martial for an airman who turned down an Article 15 and essentially
could render void one of the key tools for commanders to enforce good
order and discipline through nonjudicial punishment by Article 15.
When commanders consider the appropriate level of discipline before
exercising their initial disposition authority, they are advised by a
judge advocate. By teaming a commander and a judge advocate, we achieve
the purposes of military law. The commander fulfills the obligation to
preserve good order and discipline in the pursuit of combat capability;
the Judge Advocate General fulfills the purpose of the independent
provision of legal advice in the pursuit of justice.
We continue to enhance our sexual assault prevention and response
program to eliminate sexual assault from the Air Force, improving
specific initiatives in the realms of prevention, investigation,
accountability, and assessment in line with the Secretary of Defense's
strategic guidance.

Senator Gillibrand. But if we have a second round, that
will be my first question. Thank you. Secretary Graham, I mean,
Senator Graham.
Senator Graham. Thank you.
Senator Gillibrand. Mr. Secretary. [Laughter.]
Sorry, Senator Graham.
Senator Graham. Does it pay more and you get a plane? I
will take it. [Laughter.]
Senator Gillibrand. More than that.
Senator Graham. The country has enough problems without
making me secretary of anything. [Laughter.]
TRICARE, from the Army, Navy, and Air Force's perspective
at the Secretary level in 30 seconds or a minute, tell me about
the sustainability of TRICARE.
Mr. Lamont. Our health care costs are rising out of sight,
as you can imagine. We would support the Secretary of Defense's
efforts to increase minimally our fees where necessary.
Senator Graham. They really have not been adjusted since
1995, have they?
Mr. Lamont. No. While we do have cost-of-living adjustments
and our other benefits have gone up for our servicemembers, our
TRICARE fees and costs to them have remained flat. I think we
are really going to have to address that in the future.
Senator Graham. Secretary Garcia.
Mr. Garcia. Senator, the numbers speak for themselves. Our
medical health system as a whole has gone from a $19 billion
enterprise in 2006 to a $49 billion.
Senator Graham. Nineteen to $49 billion?
Mr. Garcia. That is right.
Senator Graham. Wow.
Mr. Garcia. Like you, we know how critical this benefit is
to our personnel, but it has to be sustainable. We are willing
and in support of the efforts to enact sensible and reasonable
adjustments to do so.
Senator Graham. Air Force.
Mr. Ginsberg. Senator, obviously, sustaining an All-
Volunteer Force is the Department's most critical priority, and
medical readiness, and the medical care we provide for our
airmen, and all of our servicemembers, is obviously vital.
That said, of course, the trend in health care costs is
certainly rising, and in the flat to declining budgetary
environment, that means that there is additional pressure on
other areas of our budget, including force structure,
modernization, and readiness. So, if we do not address those
larger issues and make sure we strike that right balance. The
continual formula for the Air Force is continually shrinking to
become a smaller force, a less ready force. So again, we have
to make sure we take care of our people, but then do it in a
sustainable fashion.
Senator Graham. So the glide path for the budget is pretty
much not growing very fast, but health care costs are. So
eventually that is not good news for the budget, and we have to
make it more sustainable.
From an Army perspective in about 1 minute, tell us what
sequestration is doing on the personnel side, even though pay
is exempt from sequestration. From a morale point of view and a
readiness point of view, on the personnel side, including
families and civilians, how is this playing out in the Army?
General Bromberg. Yes, Senator, if I could, first of all,
as I am sure you are aware, we have had to curtail training in
about 80 percent of the force, focusing on Afghanistan forces,
those next deployers, as well as those in Korea.
Additionally, we have curtailed for the first time six
combat training center rotations at our national training
center. I do not recall a time we have ever done that before.
We have cut our flight training hours by 37,000 hours. That
takes about 500 aviators out of the force. That will take us a
couple of years to recover that, and aviation is one of our
most used assets in Afghanistan.
Senator Graham. If you do not fly a lot, it is dangerous,
right?
General Bromberg. Yes, sir, very much so. So that is going
to be significant for us. We have had to cancel some courses
this year, leader development courses. We have had to defer
maintenance, both the depots and also down to the units. We
have had to release over 3,000 temporary employees, and
additionally, we had to reduce the Reserve component and
medical readiness. We have had to cut that budget as well.
For the families as far as morale, those civilian cutbacks
have then translated into reduced services on installations, so
everything you can think about that services a family on a
post, camp, or station is going to see less hours, less
availability. That, of course, creates great angst in the
force.
Senator Graham. Okay. The Navy.
Admiral Van Buskirk. Senator, I would like to focus on--you
asked specifically about the morale, and I think from the great
part of our jobs and being in the personnel business, you
mentioned, is about the people. I get a chance to actually go
visit all of our homeports and actually hold townhalls and all
hands call our people.
I would say that the morale is good, yet what is cropping
up more and more recently is uncertainty in terms of as they
listen to the debates that are being carried among the Services
and here in Washington, DC, they are watching very closely how
they can be impacted in terms of the budget.
Senator Graham. Are families beginning to feel it?
Admiral Van Buskirk. Yes. Well, they are questioning are
services going to be available. So we are reassuring them that,
yes, the services are going to be there. The counseling
services, our family and readiness services are going to be
there. Our critical components of our 21st century sailor and
marine are going to still be there.
However, while we are able to do the services, there is a
mortgaging of the future because we may not be able to do
repairs to the facilities that they are operating in and
modernize at the same time. So we are foregoing some of our
future perhaps enhancements at the bias towards providing the
services on a day-to-day basis.
So a little bit of the uncertainty I think is creeping in
there with what is next. You mentioned health care, is health
care still going to be there for them? So it is important for
us to go out, talk to them, hear their concerns, and address
them straightforwardly to let them know what is going on.
Senator Graham. Thank you.
Admiral Van Buskirk. But overall, I think the morale still
remains good, but there is some uncertainty there.
Senator Graham. The Marines?
General Milstead. Thank you, Senator. The U.S. Marine
Corps, 61 percent of our budget goes to the military personnel
account. Of that 61 percent, only approximately about 4 percent
is discretionary. So a large chunk of our money goes for
people. I will echo the uncertainty.
But we have been able to, with the authorities that we have
had, the commandant has been able to shift monies around in
2013. We have been able to do that. But 2014 and out----
Senator Graham. If we do this over 10 years, will it be
devastating?
General Milstead. Yes. I would say that the Marine Corps is
going to have to make some hard decisions. You mentioned that
the personnel account is protected. It is protected this year,
but the President may not choose--that is a policy decision. He
could unprotect it.
But regardless of whether it is protected or not next year,
we cannot afford to have the other 39 percent or so go to our
readiness, as the Admiral pointed out, in our O&M accounts. The
Marine Corps will be forced to do some things, some draconian
things, and they may have to do with industry.
Senator Graham. And----
General Jones. Sir, many of our civilian employees are also
military spouses. As we cut, as furlough would hit the civilian
spouses, it will hit the joint income of the family. But you
have to remember, morale is also part of the mission. We have
very proud airmen, and we are very proud of what they do every
day, and as we take down flying hours by 203,000 flying hours
across the Air Force, as sustainment modernization and
restoration accounts are hit significantly under sequestration,
all of that begins to eat away at the comfort level of their
ability to do the mission.
Our airmen and their families feel the uncertainty of what
is going forward in the future because of sequestration as it
impacts them personally as a family and professionally as a
mission.
Senator Graham. One final thought. It is one thing to be
inconvenienced and not have the nicer stuff. People, I think,
understand that they are sacrificing their lives in military.
But one thing I think would destroy morale is to believe that
your spouse is not well equipped and well trained.
Voice. Senator, is your microphone on?
Senator Graham. Yes, sorry. I said the one thing that will
hurt family morale more than anything, they can live without
conveniences. They are a tough lot. But if they believe that
their loved ones are not well trained and well equipped, we are
going to destroy the family.
Thank you.
Senator Gillibrand. Senator Blumenthal?
Senator Blumenthal. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I would like
to pursue a line of questioning that Senator Gillibrand began.
I am pleased to be working with her on some of these sexual
assault initiatives, and thank her for her leadership.
To come back to the question that she raised, and I am not
sure it was answered, General Bromberg, if prosecutorial
decisions were removed from the commanding officer either for
sexual assault or more broadly, would that pose an insuperable
obstacle to the good order and discipline of the military?
General Bromberg. Senator, it could. It could very well,
and that is what we have to look at. We have to look at the
authorities and responsibilities of the commander, not just in
this area, but across the whole spectrum of what we ask
commanders to do from the company level, at the captain level,
all the way through the general office level, particularly in a
deployed environment where you expect officers to maintain good
order and discipline in combat operations as well as when
people are in garrison. Of course, this problem spans both
deployment situations as well as at the home station.
I think we have to look at the fundamental reasons why we
want the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the
authority with our commanders in the field. So I think there is
a real potential. We have to discuss it, and we have to
understand the full range of impacts of those kinds of----
Senator Blumenthal. But you are willing to discuss it,
because if there were certain kinds of crimes, and these are
really predatory crimes, violence often, that kind of decision
as to whether to commence a criminal prosecution in some
instances might well be at least lodged in some independent
authority.
General Bromberg. I think right now today, Senator, with
the special teams we have put together advising the commander,
it gives the commander that capability in the first place. So I
would like to start to have that discussion.
Senator Blumenthal. Those special teams include a victim's
advocate or a survivor's advocate?
General Bromberg. They include the special prosecutors, the
highly qualified experts, the additional training of the
criminal investigation units----
Senator Blumenthal. I know that the Air Force, and maybe I
can ask you, General Jones, when I received a briefing from
General Welsh, he described the victim's advocate program that
the Air Force was implementing. I wonder if you could describe
for us perhaps some of the most recent lessons learned, some of
the experience, and your evaluation of it.
General Jones. Sir, I would be happy to. We started with 60
legal experts who we trained to be special victim's counsels to
give the victims a voice in this process, because the process
can be intimidating. The process can be daunting, and many
victims will tell us that they are revictimized as they go
through the system.
When we appointed 60 attorneys to specifically focus as
special victim's counsels, the number of cases they took
quickly ramped up to over 250 cases. I say ``over 250'' because
literally every day we go back to look at the numbers. They are
continuing to increase. It is empowering the victims to feel
that they can go through with the process.
In speaking with national experts that everyone recognizes,
individuals such as Anne Munch and David Lisak, are real
experts in this area. They will tell us that one of the
benchmarks that you should look at is how many people did not
follow through with the allegations once they were sexually
assaulted, that did not see things through to the end.
You can argue that the number of people who report sexual
assaults may go up if you have a good program and people feel
comfortable reporting. There is evidence that if people do not
feel like there is trust in the system, the numbers will go
down. So the experts will tell us the number of people who will
not follow through is something we should look at.
The fact that we have instituted this special victims
counsel within the Air Force, the fact that our chief of staff
called in every operational level commander, every wing
commander, to specifically look them in the eye and tell them
that we are going to get after sexual assault in the Air Force.
We had 790 sexual assaults in the Air Force last year. One is
too many. We have to be able to go make sure that the
individuals are protected, that the individuals, when they come
forward with a crime, that we investigate the crime, we punish
the perpetrators.
Senator Blumenthal. We have at this point, and I apologize
for interrupting you.
General Jones. No, that is okay.
Senator Blumenthal. We are all limited in terms of the
amount of time we have. Do you have benchmarks or metrics
that--and I know they may be very difficult to establish, show
the success of this program, although it has been operating for
a relatively short period of time.
Mr. Ginsberg. Senator, this program just started in
January, but it is something we are looking at very carefully.
We get reports frequently from our Judge Advocate General,
Lieutenant General Harding. We are going to do some interim
reports and then a more final report as this goes on, but the
initial results, as General Jones says, is that this is making
the victims very comfortable with the legal and investigative
process.
They have already gone through what can be a life altering
experience, and then they are going to go through this very
fatiguing investigatory and prosecutorial process. Now to have
somebody to help interpret this process, help be there with
them, along with the full-time victim advocates that we are
bringing on, and the sexual assault response coordinators. You
have this whole sort of interdisciplinary team that is there to
back up victims as they go through.
Senator Blumenthal. Have the other Services expressed
interest or inquired about this program?
Mr. Ginsberg. Senator, we are certainly very open with the
other Services about our program and how we are doing it, but I
certainly do not want to characterize where they are.
Senator Blumenthal. I want to express my appreciation for
the good work that you are doing in this area, and suggest that
perhaps the other Services might, as you generally do, learn
from the experience of your colleagues in your brother and
sister Services.
If I may ask, General Milstead, I know that there has been
a plus up of the Marine Corps cyber command, Marine security
guards, and special operations. As the Marine Corps draws down,
are you concerned that the increase in personnel in these
various commands could detract from or hollow out the strength
of the other units?
General Milstead. Senator, as we have incrementally
downsized the Marine Corps, we have done it through a structure
review. We have gone at this through a deliberate process of
analysis.
We are currently on target for a 1,821 force, and that
1,821 force sufficiently fills the needs to keep the Marine
security guard. The extra 1,000 marines that has come out of
late is additive to that. The Commandant has made it very clear
that the cost of those personnel and the cost for their
training, the O&M for those personnel and for those billets
must be above and beyond what is in our budget piece.
As far as the cyber community, that has an increased
appetite, and we have been feeding it, and we will continue to
do so in an analytical way. That has been a part of the
process. So as we downsize, you will not see a corresponding
decrease in those two forces. They are manned for a specific
mission, and they will be kept at that.
Senator Blumenthal. Thank you. My time has expired, but I
want to thank every one of you for your extraordinary service
to our Nation in a difficult time. I very much appreciate your
being here today and your very excellent testimony. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Ayotte.
Senator Ayotte. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I would ask, first of all, Secretary Garcia and Admiral Van
Buskirk, about the civilian furlough impact in the Navy. I am
very proud of the work done at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard,
having visited there recently, and talked to them about the
civilian furlough impact on the maintenance schedule for our
fleet.
Obviously, I think this is a situation that ends up being
pennywise, pound foolish because we will get behind on the
maintenance schedule, and will not be able to have our fleet
ready obviously. Then it costs more in the end as we are
looking forward to the maintenance costs here for our submarine
fleet. I just wanted to say I think it is critical that the
hiring freeze be lifted or waivers approved, particularly for
critical areas, like maintenance of our submarine program.
Recently it has been brought to my attention that the Navy
has developed a plan that could allow the Navy as well as the
Marine Corps, General Milstead, to use its funds within
existing appropriations to avoid the civilian furloughs all
together. Do you anticipate the Office of the Secretary of
Defense will permit the Navy to move forward with this plan?
Mr. Garcia. Senator, I appreciate the question, and I know
you are aware that from the beginning of this process, the
Navy's position has been that furlough is the last resort. We
have developed daily plans to minimize--the number, as we
speak, is 14 days--to bring that number as far down as
possible. But there are tradeoffs, and this is a deliberative
process across DOD. We are working with them every day,
including as recently as a session with the comptroller and our
Secretary of the Navy yesterday.
In the meantime, we have no alternative but to--our jobs
are to manage our workforce such that if the furloughs do go
forward, the impact on readiness, on long-term maintenance, is
as minimal as possible, spreading those out where we can,
trying to drive that number as far down as possible. Scott?
Admiral Van Buskirk. I would just like to add that I think
you hit it on the mark. Our biggest concern lies in the
maintenance areas because that is directly associated with our
ability to maintain a fleet ready and ready to deploy.
Senator Ayotte. Yes. You get behind on those issues.
Admiral Van Buskirk. Yes, ma'am. Of course, we are very
concerned about that. We are also concerned about it from the
total force aspect. One of my contemporaries also mentioned
here about the impact on morale. As this goes forward, it is
one that we are concerned with because this hits just one
specific area of our workforce. But still the burden of the
work is going to be there and have to be picked up by the
remaining civilians who are there, and uniformed service, and
Active and Reserves. So we are watching it very carefully.
Certainly as low as we can get in terms of the furlough days is
the better for us to be able to manage.
From a personnel perspective, I represent as well training
and education uniquely as chief of naval personnel. So we are
just as concerned there in terms of the furlough days because
we have many civilians who work in the training environment
that are the instructors that work in our school houses.
Therefore, we are concerned about potential impacts to the
throughput of our sailors who then have to go--will be manning
the ships to fulfill--to backfill those who are leaving. So it
concerns us in that area as well.
Senator Ayotte. I appreciate that it certainly concerns all
of you. My concern is that we know that certainly the Navy can
avoid the civilian furloughs, has a way forward to do it. It is
up to OSD right now.
I understand what they are saying about looking total
force, but we have a situation where we are going to pay for
this in the end. I hope OSD actually goes forward with the plan
that the Navy has put forward. I will leave it with that.
I wanted to ask about the Army Integrated Disability
Evaluation System (IDES). Secretary Lamont, in your prepared
testimony, you said that fiscal year 2012 was the first full
year in which the Army used the IDES Army wide, and that it has
eliminated many of the sequential and duplicative processes
found in the respective Legacy systems.
Thank you for you doing that. I appreciate it. I applaud
your efforts. But currently, what is the average time for a
soldier to process through IDES?
Mr. Lamont. We still exceed over 400 days in that.
Senator Ayotte. Obviously, I think we can all agree that is
totally unacceptable.
Mr. Lamont. Yes, we do agree.
Senator Ayotte. I know that in your prepared remarks, you
said that soldiers starting IDES today will complete the
process in less than 295 days. Is that true?
Mr. Lamont. That is certainly our goal, and we expect to be
there by the end of this fiscal year.
Senator Ayotte. Let me ask you this. Please, do not tell me
you think that 295 days is acceptable either.
General Bromberg. Two hundred and ninety-five is the duty
goal, Senator, but what is most important is the care they get.
Whatever we do, whether it is a complex case to a simple case,
some will get through in 180 days, but they get the appropriate
care with the appropriate compensation with appropriate
benefits in the amount of time that we desire. That is our
primary goal first.
Senator Ayotte. But you are not setting the ultimate goal
at 295 days, are you?
General Bromberg. That is the DOD goal right now, and that
is probably pretty reasonable for what the process----
Senator Ayotte. That is where we are going to keep the
goal.
General Bromberg. Ma'am, it may change in the future, but
we need to meet that goal first.
Senator Ayotte. No, I want you to meet it, but do not tell
me that that is where we are going to stop because I just do
not think that is acceptable.
General Bromberg. We will not stop there, but we will never
shortchange the medical care that these folks need to get.
Senator Ayotte. I think we are certainly all in agreement
on that.
General Bromberg. It does take a while for complex cases.
Senator Ayotte. I have to say, certainly thank God you are
all in a better--having been in a hearing the other day with
Secretary Shinseki before the VA, I mean, at least it is better
than what is happening in many of those cases there. But we
still have a significant coordination issue obviously with the
VA that needs to be addressed. It is really important because
we just hear from too many people that are waiting too long.
Mr. Lamont. Well, we have been very fortunate, frankly,
because Congress did give us the ability to increase the
resources necessary for our health care workers and the people
who are involved in this process. Through the years, we have
now standardized our process. We understand where we are going,
and our throughput is much, much better than it was before. In
fact, we may have contributed, because of that unexpected
success, to the VA's problem in that we have created a backlog
for them that may not have been able to compensate for without
those additional resources.
Senator Ayotte. Well, at least you got a system online.
They are finally getting their system online. I mean, it is
taking too long for these things. I know you had a comment,
Secretary Ginsberg.
Mr. Ginsberg. Just to add to the discussion of the DOD
standard. This is something, of course, of prime interest to
our Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary. Periodically
they will get the Service Secretaries, Assistant Secretaries,
and those responsible for personnel, to look up and down the
various stages of the IDES and say, is this reasonable? What
can we do to improve it? Is this really a good metric that is
in place. So a critical concern is to make sure that we are
moving everybody through the process, and that the standards
that are being set are reasonable.
Senator Ayotte. I thank you all very much for being here
today and for your service. This is a very important issue that
I look forward to continuing to work with you on, so that we
can obviously get our servicemembers evaluated as quickly as
possible. I know that you are focused on making sure they get
the care that they need in the interim. But we all share the
same goal.
I appreciate you leading in difficult times with
sequestration, and I thank you for what you are doing.
Senator Gillibrand. We have time for another round, so if
you would like to stay, you can have another 7 minutes.
I would like to ask a little bit more about cyber. I
appreciated Senator Blumenthal's focus on that. The fiscal year
2014 budget indicates a large investment in our military cyber
capabilities. The Pentagon approved a major expansion of the
U.S. Cyber Command, increased ranks from 900 to 4,900
personnel, or create the cyber warriors. I understand you are
going to fortify DOD's own networks, help guide executive
offense attacks, protect critical infrastructure like power
grids and power plants.
Senator Vitter and I have a bill called the Cyber Warrior
Act, which provides the National Guard to serve a robust role
in providing cyber experts to the Department. I understand that
General Alexander is seeking thousands more cyber personnel,
and that the Services do not have the adequate experts among
your active duty.
What is each of your Services doing to recruit and retrain
individuals with the skills needed for military cyber
requirements? Do you need additional legislative authority to
track these individuals to military Service? Is there a better
way to make use of our National Guard and Reserve to make use
of cyber skills resident in our society? Why do we not start
with the Air Force?
General Jones. Ma'am, we are looking at how we have been
doing cyber for a while in the Air Force, but we are looking at
how we take that next step, how we retain and recruit these
very specialized individuals. Many of them today are military.
We can use recruiting bonuses. We can use continuation bonuses.
But under sequestration, all bonuses will be getting severe
scrutiny as we look to reduce the budget.
Right now we do not know of any special legislative
authorities we would need at this point, although we are still
evaluating that. But we just have to make sure we are not being
caught up in the old way of thinking as we look down at what
clearly is going to be a new form of warfare.
Mr. Ginsberg. Ma'am, if I could just dovetail on General
Jones' remarks and talk specifically about the role of the Air
Reserve component, Guard and Reserve. As we go forward and
figure out what are the requirements to staff up to this new
cyber command, we are going to make sure that we are looking at
the portion of that mission that the Guard and Reserve can
contribute to very carefully. This is certainly relevant. The
Guard and Reserve could bring some very key contributions.
You need a continuity of expertise in this mission area. We
do not move people in the Guard and Reserve at the same level,
so you need somebody who understands the details, understands
the change in technology. That could very well be a mission
that the Guard and Reserve take on more. We have a process in
the Air Force to really look at what the Air Force mission
requirements are over the long term, and then think mission
area by mission area, what is the best balance among the
various components.
Admiral Van Buskirk. Senator, I think nothing like that--as
I look across this table, all of us who are sitting at this
table, we are collectively working with OSD on this very issue,
sharing our best practices, our lessons learned as we are
trying to all, I think, work jointly towards attacking this
issue, and collectively working towards what should be the
incentives that we apply. What should be the makeup of the
people that make up our cyber warriors, the seniority, the
ratings, the ranks, the MOSs? I think you should be encouraged
by how well I think the Services are working towards providing
this critical capability for our national defense.
Additionally, we are looking at all those things to see if
there are legislative things that we do need, and that is what
we all have been working on to make sure we do this together
jointly so there is no fratricide between us as we go forward,
or with the other agencies. Clearly, there are a lot of skill
sets that are demanded from our people which would be in demand
for other agencies to use. So to make sure we are working with
the other agencies that are involved in the cyber area, that we
attack it jointly and look towards how we build the workforce,
how we sustain it.
So I think, again, you should be encouraged by how well I
think we are working towards this to solve those issues, look
to see where there are seams.
General Bromberg. Senator, yes. Very similar to my
colleagues here, looking at everything in detail. But there is
definitely a place for the Reserve component, particularly when
we look at the particular skillsets we need.
We are going to start by using our existing forces
obviously and build from those capabilities. We have already
started screening. It does not matter what you are doing today,
but do you have the right skills and attributes that we would
look for in cyber warfare?
We also believe there might be the need for legislation if
we want to look at something along direct commissioning, going
out into the civilian market and trying to pull people in. But
of course with that will come dollars, and I think we will have
to talk in the future about what kind of incentives because I
think to maintain this talent and not have it transferred to
the civilian sector back and forth, we will have to talk about
compensation at some point. A very unique skill set. From my
time at the U.S. Strategic Command, a couple of years ago I saw
the same thing happen as we started this off. So we would be
very sensitive to that, and we will bring those proposals
forward jointly, I believe.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you. That sounds wonderful. I
really want to work with you on this and to develop the plan,
and whatever support you need we want to make sure we get it
for you because it is such an urgent issue.
Since I have a minute and a half left, I want to return
back to hazing and suicides. Obviously the suicide rate is
horrible. Suicide is not a military specific tragedy, but I
would like to know what you are doing specifically to prevent
suicides.
I have heard that for a lot of the servicemembers, there is
still a stigma associated with seeking mental health services,
and there is a fear that it could end a member's career. So
what is being done specifically to encourage servicemembers to
come forward? The increase in suicide among people who have
never been deployed is especially troubling, so what are we
doing for that particular group?
Now, with regard to hazing specifically, two of the recent
suicides were New Yorkers, Private Danny Chen and Private
Hamson McPherson. They were both minorities serving in the
military, and it has been suggested that the lack of diversity
in the military played some role in the hazing that led to
their suicides.
It is my understanding that hazing is not an enumerated
offense in the UCMJ, leaving convening authorities with limited
options for charging the perpetrators. Do you believe with that
specifically we should change the UCMJ to make hazing a
criminal offense? Just more broadly, what is your status
reporting on hazing? What policy changes do you propose? Do you
agree that increasing diversity will reduce instances of hazing
based on individuals being different? What are your Services
doing to increase diversity? Whoever wants to take it first.
General Bromberg. Just in time, ma'am, very quickly, we
have already changed our regulations as far as hazing. We have
also modified the UCMJ to include where that is chargeable, and
that is with hazing. We will follow up with the details on
that.
Senator Gillibrand. Okay.
General Bromberg. Because it is a much more longer answer.
As far as the stigma on suicide--Ready and Resilience
Campaign in the Army. Again, we will take this for a follow-up.
We will give you a full detail. That is now we are approaching
it, building resiliency in individuals and engaging leadership.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you. Any other----
Mr. Garcia. If I could start with the suicide challenge. If
time permits, Admiral Van Buskirk and General Milstead can take
you through the specifics of the programs. You will hear things
about the DSTRESS Line. You will hear about the effort to end
the stigma of raising their hand. The fact that every marine or
sailor who have spent 30 days or greater with boots on the
ground will receive a mental health assessment without having
to raise their hand. Everyone gets it.
Senator Gillibrand. Great.
Mr. Garcia. We will do it again 120 days later. You will
hear about the mobile training teams that are out in theater
affirmatively seeking out our individual augmentees and
assessing their mental health. They can get into those details.
But if I was to give an overarching departmental wide
perspective on this challenge, it is this: perhaps the most
vexing piece of this is that, as I suspect you are aware, 50
percent of our suicides--our worst tragedy--are nondeployers.
Of those, 80 percent have never gone outside the proverbial
wire. When we drill down on these tragedies, and we drill down
on every one, what we find are all too often, as you alluded to
earlier, non-military components that came together to cause
this individual to take the most tragic action.
Personal finance, relationship issues, professional
challenges, stress, and that is why we have enacted a series of
programs from enhanced financial management for our junior
enlisted personnel and their families to address each one of
those. If time permits, I know the flag officer----
Senator Gillibrand. You can submit a full answer for the
record.
[The information referred to follows:]

Mr. Ginsberg and Lieutenant General Jones. We do not believe the
Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) should be amended to include an
enumerated offense for hazing. Under its current construct, our
military justice system has multiple tools that can be used to respond
to incidents of hazing.
Violating the Department of Defense (DOD) anti-hazing regulations
is an offense under Article 92 of the UCMJ and subjects an offender to
the possibility of a dishonorable discharge and confinement for up to 2
years. In addition, the offender could still be accountable for any
underlying offenses committed during the hazing (most commonly assault
under Article 128, UCMJ). There is no shortage of enumerated offenses
under the current UCMJ with which to charge misconduct otherwise
characterized as hazing.
Although section 534(b)(3) of the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2013 requires each of the Service Secretaries to
report the methods currently implemented to track and report incidents
of hazing, and Section 534(b)(4)(E) requires an assessment of the
feasibility of establishing a database to track incidents of hazing, no
requirement currently exists for any of the Services to formally report
hazing.
Data on hazing in the Air Force, however, is indirectly collected
through use of our Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps' Automated
Military Justice Analysis and Management System (AMJAMS) database.
AMJAMS is an offender-centric database used by the Air Force legal
community to track the administration of justice for airmen suspected
of any UCMJ violation that could result in preferral of court-martial
charges or nonjudicial punishment. Offenses are tracked in AMJAMS
according to the specific UCMJ article or articles suspected to have
been violated in a particular case. Since there is no specifically
enumerated offense under the UCMJ for hazing, a query of hazing
offenses in the Air Force is accomplished by searching the narrative
fields of the database files for key words.
In the past 5 years, the Air Force has had six reports of hazing,
with five of those reports substantiated. We have no evidence that
there is any link between diversity in the Air Force workplace and our
five substantiated reports of hazing. While there are many benefits to
increasing diversity in the workplace, it is not clear to us that it
will have any impact on incidents of hazing.
We are working hard to identify specific areas of interest in under
recruited geographic labor markets to enable us to attract and recruit
the highest quality, diverse individuals to serve in our Air Force. In
FY12, our Global Diversity Division partnered with the Air Force
Recruiting Service to conduct a targeted advertising campaign in direct
mail, digital media and print aimed at attracting high performing
African American and Hispanic students who might qualify for U.S. Air
Force Academy (USAFA) or Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps
(AFROTC) programs. In fact, the recruiting service devoted 20 percent
of its fiscal year 2012 marketing budget to initiatives targeting
specific minority communities (African American and Hispanic) to find
high performing applicants and counter cultural biases against military
service.
In addition to the recruiting service's efforts, the USAFA's
numerous recruitment efforts and programs, such as its Summer Seminar
Program, Diversity Visitation Program and Admissions Forum Initiative
have been successful in many areas and serve as the foundation for the
future. The Summer Seminar Program targets high performing, diverse
students who would be USAFA direct entry, USAFA Prep-School or Falcon
Foundation candidates. The Diversity Visitation Program brings
prospective minority cadets to the Academy for a 4 day program which
includes academics, interaction with senior leaders, tours of the Prep-
School and airfield and attendance at a sporting event. The USAFA
Admissions Forum Initiative conducts 6-10 admissions events per year in
strategically selected locations with under-representation of target
populations and includes presentations to area high school students and
their parents/guardians, training sessions with area Admissions Liaison
Officers (ALO), informational presentations to local educators/
counselors, and informational/training sessions with local
congressional staffers.
In its fourth year as a renewed program for recruiting, AFROTC's
Gold Bar Recruiting Program will utilize 20 newly commissioned second
lieutenant Gold Bar Recruiters (GBR) during the 2012-2013 school year.
GBR's continue to refine their enterprise to find and influence high
school minority candidates who have exceeded minimum High School
Scholarship Program (HSSP) selection averages. The diverse backgrounds
of GBRs allow them to connect with and recruit highly valued diverse
applicants, some having similar experiences. The young, diverse faces
of AFROTC recruiting, GBRs attend local, regional and national
recruiting events.
In fiscal year 2013/2014, continued coordination between all Air
Force stakeholders regarding the recruitment of future diverse military
and civilian candidates will be crucial to our success. Organizations
across the Air Force enterprise will continue to leverage integration
of their accession efforts with the goal of gaining economies of scale
and scope while maximizing the strategic effectiveness and impact of
the Air Force message to key target audiences.
______

Vice Admiral Van Buskirk. Chairman Gillibrand, your question
included multiple parts. I will respond to each one, individually:
Question:
What you are doing specifically to prevent suicides?
Answer:
Navy's Suicide Prevention Program employs five Lines of Effort,
guided by an official fleet-wide policy instruction. The first two
lines of effort--Education & Awareness and Prevention & Intervention,
prepare leaders and sailors with the tools to navigate life's
challenges and recognize the factors and warning signs that lead to
suicide. Operational stress control and suicide prevention awareness
and skills training are institutionalized at all accession points and
career milestones. Additionally, in 2011, the Chief of Naval Operations
established mobile training teams to deliver detailed professionally-
facilitated fleet skills training, on-demand worldwide, for both deck-
plate and senior leaders.
Because risk factors and warning signs may be more obvious to
qualified professionals, we've developed collaborative partnerships
with care providers; medical, chaplains, and other Navy-affiliated
counselors, to leverage their unique expertise in recognizing risks in
care and treatment settings to actualize our third line of effort--
Sailor Care & Transformational Growth. These experts are key in the
reintegration process as well, returning ready sailors to their
commands. We've also developed and instituted training for legal
officers, designed to enable them to proficiently recognize at-risk
sailors in legal trouble, and focused staff training for transient
personnel units where sailors are temporarily billeted while they
prepare for separation from naval service.
Navy suicide prevention policy mandates that every command appoint
a suicide prevention coordinator, who receives formal training and is
responsible for local suicide prevention activities, annual command
general military training, crisis response preparedness and reporting
requirements. Suicide prevention coordinators contribute to building a
supportive command climate and assisting leaders with maintaining an
environment that promotes our fourth line of effort, Physical, Mental
and Spiritual Fitness. Program-branded strategic communications
products provide suicide prevention coordinators, leaders, and sailors
with information on tools and education available to help them preserve
their personal readiness, navigate stress and seek help before
stressors compound. Additional ``postvention'' outreach is conducted
for commands that have experienced a suicide to help them return to a
mission-ready state.
The fifth line of effort, Assessment, informs program managers and
Navy leaders through suicide data collection and analysis, and fleet
feedback using annual Behavioral Health Quick Polls and the Command
Stress Assessment, which is part of the Defense Equal Opportunity
Climate Survey required to be completed annually by every Navy unit.
Question:
What is being done specifically to encourage servicemembers to come
forward?
Answer:
Encouraging help-seeking behavior is a critical component of our
program's mission. Navy addresses policy barriers that lead to hiding
stress injuries, suicidal behaviors and emotional stress, to ensure
that commands understand leadership's commitment to upholding seeking
help as a sign of strength. All of our training, informational
products, leadership messages and multi-media resources encourage
sailors to ``ACT: Ask, Care, Treat.'' The 2012 Behavioral Health Quick
Poll revealed that over 87 percent of sailors were able to correctly
identify the ACT acronym, and many believed that shipmates would be
supportive if a sailor sought help from the Navy for suicidal thoughts
or actions. Committed to minimizing the negative perceptions and
misconceptions regarding seeking help, Navy introduced the message
"It's Okay to Speak up When You're Down" in 2012. This message was
presented to the fleet through a highly successful Public Service
Announcement (PSA) contest that offered first-hand depiction of sailor
perceptions. Several high quality PSAs are now being used for command-
level training and awareness. We have also developed resources to
promote healthy discussion of stress and suicide, as well as those that
address myths about the perceived negative effect of reporting
psychological health issues on security clearance form SF86.
Additionally, this year, Navy has initiated a high degree of
collaboration with the Chaplain Corps to reinforce their
confidentiality campaign and promote awareness of Navy chaplains' 100
percent confidentiality policy. We continue to find new and creative
ways to encourage those who have successfully sought treatment for
emotional or psychological issues to come forward and be an example for
shipmates, normalizing and rewarding help-seeking actions.
Question:
So, what are we doing among people who have never been deployed?
Answer:
The current Navy operating environment and operational tempo do not
appear to directly increase the risk of suicide, likely due to high
unit cohesion and camaraderie during deployment, in conjunction with an
elevated sense of belonging and purpose. These are protective factors
against suicide. Therefore, our Operational Stress Control and Suicide
Prevention training and awareness efforts focus heavily on recognizing
the same stressors faced by both civilians and sailors, deployers or
non-deployers, e.g., relationship difficulties, financial troubles,
career decline, substance abuse, and psychological health, in
conjunction with service-related factors such as transition periods.
From the time sailors enter the Navy--having never experienced a
deployment--throughout the duration of their careers, operational
stress control courses are the cornerstone of our fleet stress
management training, providing an integrated structure of health
promotion and resilience-building designed to improve stress coping
skills and ultimately to prevent suicide. Initial program awareness
training is delivered at Recruit Training Command, and is then mandated
annually through General Military Training at every Navy command.
Additionally, tailored senior leadership training is delivered at the
Senior Enlisted Academy and Command Leadership School, to help leaders
recognize the signs of distress in all sailors and all operating
environments.
Question:
Do you believe we should change the UCMJ to make hazing a criminal
offense?
Answer:
There is no need for a new article of the UCMJ to specifically
create an enumerated offense of hazing. The conduct which constitutes
hazing is already sufficiently punishable under existing articles.
Although hazing is not a stand-alone offense under the UCMJ, the UCMJ
does allow for its effective prosecution. It is punishable under
Article 92, UCMJ, for Violation of a Lawful General Order. The maximum
punishment for hazing as an orders violation is dishonorable discharge,
2 years of confinement, total forfeiture of pay and allowances, and
reduction to pay grade E-1.
Under Navy instruction, hazing is defined as any conduct whereby a
military member or members, regardless of service or rank, without
proper authority causes another military member or members, regardless
of service or rank, to suffer or be exposed to any activity which is
cruel, abusive, humiliating, oppressive, demeaning, or harmful. No one
can consent to hazing under the instruction.
In addition to Article 92, servicemembers alleged to have committed
hazing can also be charged with additional offenses under the following
articles:

- Article 93, Cruelty and Maltreatment. This article may apply
when the accused is in a position of authority over another
person (such that the accused can issue orders to that person),
and the accused is cruel toward, or oppresses, or maltreats
that person. Maximum punishment: dishonorable discharge, 1 year
confinement, total forfeitures of pay and allowances, and
reduction to pay grade E-1.
- Article 128, Assault. Depending on the circumstances and
method of assault, the crime may be prosecuted as simple
assault; assault consummated by a battery, or aggravated
assault. Maximum punishment for the type of aggravated assault
that may be the result of hazing: dishonorable discharge, 3 or
5 years confinement (depending on the facts), total forfeitures
of pay and allowances, and reduction to paygrade E-1.

Hazing-related offenses can be prosecuted at general, special, or
summary courts-martial or servicemembers can receive non-judicial
punishment or administrative separation for conduct that constitutes
hazing.
The Acting General Counsel of the Department of Defense recently
tasked the Joint Service Committee on Military Justice (JSC) to
evaluate the possibility of establishing a specific ``hazing'' offense
within the UCMJ. The JSC concluded that the UCMJ currently provides
sufficient authority to prosecute hazing offenses. The JSC did propose
a change to the Manual for Courts-Martial: the inclusion of an Analysis
section, which will provide specific guidance to trial prosecutors on
charging hazing incidents as a violation of a lawful order, under
Article 92. Another proposal being reviewed is a sentence enhancement
for hazing. If adopted by the President, this enhancement would
increase the authorized maximum punishment for an Article 92 violation,
if that violation constituted hazing.
Question:
What is your status on reporting on hazing?
Answer:
The requirement to report an act of hazing is outlined in the
Department of the Navy's hazing instruction and Navy's Special Incident
Reporting Procedures. By Department of the Navy policy, any allegation
of hazing must be reported to the commanding officer, who must report
any substantiated incident to the Chief of Naval Operations.
Question:
What policy changes do you propose?
Answer:
We propose no changes to current hazing policy, which is clear and
unambiguous.
Question:
Do you agree that increasing diversity will reduce instances of
hazing based on individuals being different?
Answer:
There is currently no data that supports the premise that increased
diversity will reduce instances of hazing. Every member of the
Department of the Navy must be afforded the opportunity to be a
productive and contributing member, free of hazing and its ill effects.
Question:
What are your Services doing to increase diversity?
Answer:
Navy is utilizing focused outreach and recruiting to maintain and
expand diversity of accessions, and is utilizing internal programs to
enhance retention and development of all sailors. The rescission of the
combat exclusion rule opened equal professional opportunity for women
and the implementation of proactive programs e.g., longer post-partum
deployment waivers, changes to sea/shore rotations, the career
intermission pilot program, are having a positive impact on retention
of women. Navy has moved away from an episodic, to a sustained, model
of outreach to underrepresented groups. A Vice Chief of Naval
Operations-led panel oversees the allocation of Navy outreach funds and
strategy. Navy Recruiting Command utilizes Navy City Outreach Officers
to directly contact diverse groups in their respective areas of
responsibility. Individual Navy communities are accountable to the
Chief of Naval Operations during their annual community self-assessment
briefs for diminishing barriers to retention and advancement of diverse
groups.
______

Lieutenant General Milstead. Senator Gillibrand requested the
following responses based on the hearing transcript page 56 thru page
59:

1. Obviously the suicide rate is horrible. Suicide is not a
military specific tragedy, but I would like to know what you are doing
specifically to prevent suicides? Preventing suicide requires vigilance
and our concerted effort to harness the strength of engaged leaders.
Answer:
Suicide is a very complex problem and it takes a multilevel (unit,
family, peer, individual, community, society), multifaceted
(individual/peer suicide prevention, family training, responsible
reporting of suicide, stigma reduction of receiving behavioral
healthcare treatment, case management) public health approach to
prevent suicide. The mission of the Marine Corps as it relates to
suicide prevention is to consistently and aggressively identify sources
of risk and develop a comprehensive and strategic approach to address
them.
Identifying at risk: All marines are taught to recognize the
warning signs of suicide, ask if a marine is thinking of suicide,
express genuine care and concern for the marine, and immediately escort
the marine to help. Marine Corps leaders are taught to know their
marines on a personal and professional level and show genuine
compassion and concern for all of the marines. Leaders are also taught
that they serve as models to show marines that it takes a strong,
committed marine to ask for and receive help.
Comprehensive and Coordinated Services: To efficiently manage
behavioral health risk, protective factors, and ultimately prevent
suicide, the Marine Corps has combined all related programs under one
behavioral health branch, and is developing integrated training
programs to address common risks and protective factors across all
domains of behavioral health. The training supports universal awareness
and selected and indicated training for certain high risk Marine
populations. It will consolidate all behavioral health information,
including our Never Leave A Marine Behind training, into a single
training session that focuses on common risk and protective factors
across the full spectrum of behavioral health issues.
Operational Stress Control and Readiness (OSCAR) serves suicide
prevention by providing marines the avenue to recognize, acknowledge
and seek help for stress reactions, which can lead to suicide. OSCAR
supports commanders in building unit strength, resilience and
readiness, therefore, keeping marines in the fight. The OSCAR team
training creates teams of marines, medical, religious personnel, and
mental health professionals within each battalion, or equivalent unit,
who work together to create a network of support. This model empowers
marines with leadership skills to break stigma and act as sensors for
the commander by noticing small changes in behavior and taking action
early.
The Marine Corps is implementing a Case Management System (CMS)
that reaches across multiple programs. The system assists in the
identification of at-risk marines and improves appropriate service
delivery as well as aftercare efforts. The CMS better equips the Marine
Corps to closely monitor marines at-risk for suicide to ensure they
receive appropriate care.
The Marine Corps DSTRESS Line provides anonymous, 24/7 counseling
services to any marine, attached sailor, or family member. The line is
staffed by veteran marines and Fleet Marine Force corpsmen, Marine
family members and civilian counselors specifically trained in Marine
culture. The counseling gives callers `one of their own' to speak with
about their issues.
Additional ongoing and new prevention efforts are happening as
well. This includes appointment and training Suicide Prevention Program
Officers for each battalion and squadron to essentially serve as the
``eyes and ears'' of the suicide prevention program for the commanding
officer.

2. I have heard that for a lot of the members of the troops, there
is still a stigma associated with seeking mental health services, and
there is a fear that it could end a member's career. So what is being
done specifically to encourage servicemembers to come forward?
Answer:
It is important for marines to know that their leadership believes
that they should seek help when faced with hard times and pain in their
lives. Having engaged leaders that are alert to those at risk for
suicide and take action to help them get help goes far to removing any
notion of stigma. Additionally, it is essential to have leaders that
show genuine care and concern for the marine, and who immediately
escort the marine to help. It is also necessary for our leaders to
serve as models to show marines that it takes a strong, committed
person to ask for and receive help and by doing so lives up to the
marine ethos. Through our various training programs, the Marine Corps
is showing that our leaders are committed to standing behind our
marines and their families when they need help spiritually, physically,
psychologically and socially.
One particular program that helps remove stigma is OSCAR. OSCAR
serves suicide prevention by providing marines the avenue to recognize,
acknowledge and see help for stress reactions, which can lead to
suicide. OSCAR supports commanders in building unit strength,
resilience and readiness, keeping marines in the fight. The OSCAR team
training creates teams of marines, medical, religious personnel, and
mental health professionals within each battalion, or equivalent unit,
who work together to create a network of support. This model empowers
marines with leadership skills to break stigma and act as sensors for
the commander by noticing small changes in behavior and taking action
early.

3. The increase in suicide among people who have never been
deployed is especially troubling, so what are we doing for that
particular group?
Answer:
Regardless of the deployment history of a marine, the Marine Corps
has programs that are available to decrease stress involving suicide
risk factors, such as, relationship problems, legal or disciplinary
problems, behavioral health diagnoses, financial problems and substance
abuse. In addition, our Operational Stress Control and Readiness
(OSCAR) program is currently being refreshed with a curriculum that is
applicable to all duty assignments. Content is driven by questions
rather than scenarios and key messages/topics are relevant regardless
of deployment history. Pilots are underway for the updated OSCAR
training with planned force-wide implementation in late summer 2013.

4. It is my understanding that hazing is not an enumerated offense
in the UCMJ, leaving convening authorities with limited options for
charging the perpetrators. Do you believe with that specifically we
should change the UCMJ to make hazing a criminal offense?
Answer:
The Marine Corps recommends that no specific hazing offense should
be created under the UCMJ or the MCM because it is unnecessary.
Enumerating a specific hazing offense under the UCMJ or the MCM would
be duplicative of existing articles under which hazing can be
appropriately charged. Creating a new hazing offense will not improve
accountability or adjudication of hazing. Under its current construct,
our military justice system has multiple tools that can be used to
respond to incidents of hazing.
Violating the DOD anti-hazing regulations, in and of itself,
subjects the offender to the possibility of a dishonorable discharge
and confinement for up to 2 years. That charge, however, does not speak
to the underlying offense. The offender could still be accountable for
any additional offenses committed during the acts which constitute
hazing. There are no shortage of enumerated offenses with which to
charge misconduct that qualifies as hazing.
Hazing often has an assault component, and such misconduct will
generally be charged separately. In many such cases, the assault is the
gravamen of the offense. Since the prevention of hazing is tied to good
order and discipline, Article 92 (violation of failure to obey a lawful
general order or regulation) is an appropriate mechanism by which to
enforce that standard. Moreover, statutory definitions are difficult to
amend and update over time. When using Article 92 to prosecute hazing,
DOD and the Service branches may update or amend the parameters of
hazing much more effectively.
To the extent that Article 92 is the appropriate mechanism with
which to charge those who violate the hazing policy, the Marine Corps
recommends including guidance on pursuing charges against
servicemembers suspected of hazing under Article 92, in a discussion
section to be added under that Article, in Part IV of the MCM. The
discussion would read as follows:
``Department or Service regulations may promulgate policies on
hazing and prescribe punitive provisions. Where such punitive
regulations exist, incidents of hazing may therefore be charged as
violations of Article 92(1), violation of failure to obey a lawful
general order or regulation. In addition to Article 92, practitioners
in all armed services may consider additional charges under other
punitive articles based upon the underlying conduct of hazing
incidents.''

5. With regard to hazing specifically, two of the recent suicides
were New Yorkers, Private Danny Chen and Private Hamsom McPherson. And
they were both minorities serving in the military, and it has been
suggested that the lack of diversity in the military played some role
in the hazing that led to their suicides. What is your status reporting
on hazing?
Answer:
Effective 20 May 2013, the Marine Corps' policy for reporting
allegations of hazing was revised and republished within Marine Corps
Order (MCO) 1700.28B. Under this order, all allegations of hazing will
be reported to Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps (HQMC). This reporting
requirement is not subject to, or dependent upon, the results of
investigation used for determining whether or not allegations are
substantiated.
As a result of this revised reporting policy, HQMC will be more
aware of the prevalence of hazing throughout its ranks and more
effective in tracking hazing cases as they proceed through adjudication
processes.

6. With regards to hazing, what policy changes do you propose?
Answer:
Effective 20 May 2013, the Marine Corps' hazing policy was revised
and republished as MCO 1700.28B. The most significant changes reflected
in the Marine Corps' new hazing policy include expanded reporting
requirements, implementation of new tracking procedures, and
refinements to the definition of hazing. With it promulgation all
allegations of hazing will be reported to Headquarters, U.S. Marine
Corps (HQMC). This reporting requirement is not subject to, or
dependent upon, the results of investigation used for determining
whether or not allegations are substantiated.
In addition to the implementation of increased reporting
requirements, MCO 1700.28B mandates the entry of all hazing allegations
into the already existing Discrimination and Sexual Harassment (DASH)
database. Once entered into the DASH database, all allegations will be
tracked by HQMC from initial report to final disposition.
Finally, the definition of hazing has been refined to specifically
describe actions or activities that may be considered hazing. Marines
of all ranks participated in the revision process, which has resulted
in a more refined definition that will provide increased clarity to
junior marines.
In addition to providing a more comprehensive and presumably
effective hazing policy, the Marine Corps has also taken the necessary
actions to ensure that questions directly related to hazing are
included on command climate surveys. The purpose of this initiative is
to proactively identify and address underlying issues within the
command environment that may contribute to incidents of hazing.

7. Do you agree that increasing diversity will reduce instances of
hazing based on individuals being different?
Answer:
Currently, we have not identified a linkage between hazing and
race, ethnicity, or gender.

8. What are your Services doing to increase diversity?
Answer:
Four main points illustrate the Marine Corps' diversity strategy:

1. Identify, attract and retain the best.
2. Create a climate that allows marines to perform at their peak.
3. Assess and understand the eligible population and their
influencers.
4. Remove institutional barriers that hinder opportunities
Executive Engagement on Diversity
The Commandant's Diversity Initiative includes four diversity task
forces. These task forces have taken ownership of diversity challenges
associated with ethnic minorities, leadership, women and service
culture. Three-star executive sponsors are providing guidance and
oversight of each task force. The task force concept represents a
significant philosophical shift-from ignoring human variations to
uncovering and understanding them in order to drive actions. Through
research and discussion of key questions, marines assigned to the task
forces will play a key role in charting the way ahead for diversity in
the Marine Corps. In order to ensure all officers and senior staff
noncommissioned officers have an opportunity to be heard regarding
diversity in the officer corps, all have been invited to participate in
an online survey. The survey is a supporting arm of the task force
effort in that it addresses: Culture and Leading Change; Leadership,
Accountability, and Mentoring; Race/Ethnicity; and Women in the Corps.
Analysis of the focus groups' themes and other resources may be used to
direct future diversity actions and initiatives.
Marine Corps Leadership Seminar (MCLS)
The Marine Corps continues to present the Marine Corps Leadership
Seminar to university students and community influencers at venues
across the nation. In calendar year 2012, the Marine Corps conducted 6
MCLSs and reached 242 students and 334 influencers. During the spring
of calendar year 2013, the MCLS held 5 seminars and 1 reception which
provided the opportunity for Marine officers to interact with a diverse
audience of over 275 students and 40 influencers. The MCLS schedule
included seminars at Virginia Commonwealth University, University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, North
Carolina Central University, and the Wake County Young Men's Leadership
Academy, a magnet high school. The MCLS in conjunction with Marine
Corps University is currently scheduled to visit the University of
Washington's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs in June 2013. In
addition, leadership seminars are scheduled in Louisville, KY, in
September and Atlanta, GA, in October. These seminars showcase Marine
Corps leadership to diverse communities across the United States. The
focus is on providing instruction and establishing dialogue with both
student and faculty groups at colleges and universities. The intent is
to offer participants an introductory understanding of the Marine
Corps' unique brand of leadership. The MCLS accomplishes this by
employing General Officers, active and retired, field-grade officers,
company-grade officers and Staff Noncommissioned Officers to deliver
personal leadership perspectives to each target audience.

Senator Gillibrand. It is something I want to work with you
on. I also want to offer whatever resources you need. Any
collaboration you need from the Senate on these issues I will
provide because it is such an urgent issue.
Mr. Garcia. Great.
Senator Gillibrand. Thanks.
General Jones. Ma'am, one of the things we have done which
is innovative is we have started embedding our mental health
providers in the primary care facilities, not in the mental
health clinic, but where you go for sick call, so that if you
go in to see a doctor and the doctor is questioning you about
how things are going, and he feels like there is a mental
health issue here, he does not need to take you down the hall
to mental. He walks you across the hall to a provider within
that little office of six or seven providers so no one knows
that you are going to see someone, where you can be evaluated
to see if there is a mental health issue.
We, like all the other Services, have found in the Air
Force specifically there is no causal relationship between
deployment, so we have to go after those things that do cause
it. Relationships, financial problems, and legal problems are
the top three things in the Air Force that cause it. The
numbers will continue to be a challenge for us all, but we
cannot take our eye off the ball.
We share your concern and your passion for this issue
because it is just a tragedy we cannot afford to let happen in
our Services.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Senator Blumenthal?
Senator Blumenthal. Thank you. I would like to pursue a
topic that a number of you raised in your written testimony,
which is the transition assistance program (TAP), preparation
for life after the military, which will be an increasingly
important and prevalent challenge given the draw downs and the
reduced numbers of active duty that are going to occur.
I assume that every one of the Services are at work on
initiatives going forward, even beyond what you described in
your testimony. So maybe I could ask each of the Services to
expand on what you have given us in your testimony. We can
just--in whatever order.
Mr. Ginsberg. Senator, this was a major priority of the
President last year, and he launched into a veterans
opportunity work, veterans employment initiative, that
basically really directed the Services to look at our
transition assistance up and down. That goes well beyond just
redoing the TAP, which held a 3-day seminar. It was
fundamentally enhancing it, adding new career tracks.
It also helps servicemembers be more career ready earlier
on, to help start thinking about the transition and what they
are going to do next even if they might be in the Service for
20 years. But as they go along, to always just be ready so that
if for some reason through force management actions they find
themselves in a transition, they will be prepared and be able
to move out.
So we have applied manpower to this. We have applied
resources. But it is an entirely redesigned program, again,
presidentially directed that we will be rolling out in the
months and years ahead.
[The information referred to follows:]

The Air Force is aggressively rolling out the redesigned Transition
Assistance Program (TAP), and capturing monthly updates from
installations Air Force-wide on the status of implementation. The Air
Force was in compliance with the Veterans' Opportunity to Work Act by
the 21 Nov 12 due date, with all active duty installations ready to
provide the redesigned TAP.
The Air Force TAP assists our transitioning airmen to be
competitive in the private sector during this period of challenging
economic conditions. The overall goal of TAP is to provide separating
or retiring servicemembers and their families the information, skills,
and resources, as well as personal and financial wellness and life
skills needed for a successful transition to the civilian sector. Prior
to the re-design of TAP, the Air Force provided pre-separation
counseling, workshops, and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits
briefings to separating airmen.
With the redesign of TAP, there were major changes and improvements
to the program. An example includes the increased partnership between
the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Education (DOE), the
Small Business Administration (SBA) with the Department of Defense and
the VA to provide new courses to transitioning servicemembers. Also,
Transition Goals, Plans and Successes (GPS), a 5-day workshop, is now
mandatory for all separating servicemembers as part of the new program.
Part of Transition GPS is a new 3-day curriculum on gaining employment
administered by the DOL. Also part of Transition GPS, the VA benefits
briefing has been revised and is mandatory for everyone. Other changes
surround the policy on attendance. Airmen who do not already have
confirmed employment or acceptance to school, must participate in one
of the following workshops: Technical Track (Run by VA),
Entrepreneurial Track (Run by SBA), and the Education Track (Run by the
DOE). In addition, a capstone event is added to provide a time for the
service to verify the airman has completed all components of TAP, has
met the Career Readiness Standards, and has received the resources and
information he/she needs to be successful upon separation. Ultimately,
TAP will no longer begin at the time a servicemember decides to
separate from the Air Force. With the redesign, TAP will start from the
time an airman enters the Air Force and continue throughout the
Military Life Cycle. Lastly, additional resources have been added to
support the new requirements, to include manpower and funding.
Feedback from airmen who are separating or retiring and have
attended the new TAP program has been consistently positive, and have
found the program useful. Our stern focus on providing our Air Force
personnel who are separating and/or retiring with the information,
skills, and resources needed for a successful transition to the
civilian sector continues to grow. We are committed to exploring new
means of sustaining innovative, timely and relevant support to our
airmen that have defended this Nation.

General Milstead. For the Marine Corps, our effort to
rebuild our TAP precedes the Veterans' Opportunity to Work Act.
The Commandant started that. That was one of the Commandant's
planning guidance. It was to fix TAP. It was broken terribly.
It had not received any attention in 15 years.
We are actually stepping out now with the new program. It
has a common module where everybody goes through. There could
be somebody that is, say, an officer or enlisted. They get the
same common presentations that they need on VA, those sorts of
things. Then we bust them off to use the analogy of whatever
your window is. If you are going to college, you go down the
college path. If you are going to get into an entrepreneurship,
you are going to open up your own business, you go down that
path. If you are going to do a vocation or do something like
that, be a truck driver, then you go down that path. If you are
going to college, then you go down that path because you do not
want to sit there--I do not need what you need, and you do not
need what I need, and it is a waste of time. We constrict it to
1 week because after a week, you lose them.
Then, we are putting it online, and we are having the reach
back capability for those that do not listen, sit there, they
text the whole time because, you know what? They are going to
Costa Rica and surf for 6 months. Then when they come back and
then they decide, oh, my gosh, what was it they said, they can
come back online. They can reach back in. So this has the
Commandant--it is one of his top, top topics.
Senator Blumenthal. Thank you.
Mr. Garcia. The only thing I would add to that, Senator, is
TAP, which we have known for the last decade and a half, is
unrecognizable to this new regime. I will just caveat that the
General's insights into the individual, specifically tailored
tracks by saying there is a baseline that every transitioning
member will get before they go into those individuals chutes.
They will be signed off on having received their full VA
benefit package review, their full Department of Labor series
of benefits and programs available to them there. Each of them
will be advised on how their specific military specialty, their
MOS, their Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC), translates into
civilian industry in the private sector.
Senator Blumenthal. Thank you.
Admiral Van Buskirk. One thing I would like to add is, and
I think General Milstead pointed to this, is that by virtue of
going after this jointly, we are also stimulating some great
innovation on how to deliver these products. You mentioned
reach back and application, apps, so that the information is
not just available to the person for a short period of time. It
is available for a long period of time and can be updated and
made more current, and, I think, more of interest to our
members who are transitioning so they will pay attention, and
they will have the resource for a longer period of time.
General Bromberg. Senator, as my colleagues have said,
totally different program, mandatory, 5 days. Great program.
As far as the Army, we have increased counselors to over
400. This year we have almost 700 counselors worldwide to help
soldiers. We have 25 forward locations to help the Reserve
component as they demobilize or as they leave Service and
Reserves. We also have 76 locations for the Active component.
Virtual capabilities have now been added. Virtual job fairs are
becoming very popular.
In addition, the Army has wrapped this up in a Soldier for
Life program where we are engaging industry in the communities.
Many, many partnerships. I meet quarterly with 25 global
companies to talk about removing barriers to veterans, and that
has shown us a lot of product and a lot of great initiatives.
Lastly, a great initiative with the American Pipefitters.
We have started a pilot up at Fort Lewis, WA, where they have
actually taken soldiers while on duty time have trained, and
they will become journeymen with a job guarantee when they
complete the course. So great initiatives going forward.
Mr. Lamont. Just to follow up on that, it is the
credentialing that we are really trying to help with with some
new programs. If you are a truck driver, for instance, in the
Army, you may be very well qualified to receive a commercial
driver's license in the State of Connecticut. Without having to
go through additional training or pass a test, or what's the
equivalent? We are trying to make sure that in many of these
occupations, we can have a direct transfer, whether you are an
electrician--what are your qualifications you would have to
have in the various States.
We have any number of occupations similar to that, as you
say, the pipefitter situation. In Illinois, for instance, the
Heroes to Heart has a program with the teamsters, is very much
focused on the over the road driver.
But those credentialing programs are going to be very, very
important in moving them very quickly into the private sector.
Senator Blumenthal. I would like to thank each of you for
your information on this point. I think I do not need to tell
you because you know it better than I, that this area is really
so critically important, not only to our present service men
and women, but also to the veterans who are merging and have
such contribution and skills to provide to our Nation. So thank
you very much. I would like to follow up individually with you
afterward.
My time has expired. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you to each of you for your
extraordinary service, your very, extremely helpful testimony.
We look forward to writing this year's authorization bill with
your assistance. Thank you again for all you have done.
[Questions for the record with answers supplied follow:]

Questions Submitted by Senator Lindsey Graham

CIVILIAN FURLOUGHS

1. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, I am concerned about the potential impact of
civilian furloughs on the Services' critically important family support
programs. If furloughs take place, do you expect any cutbacks in your
operating hours at commissaries, exchanges, and child development
centers or curtailment of morale, welfare, and recreation, Department
of Defense Education Agency (DODEA) programs, Transition Assistance
Program or military spouse employment programs?
Mr. Lamont. As a result of funding reductions/furlough guidance,
each commissary will close 1 day per week. Operations at 7-day stores
will reduce to 6-day operations; 6 days to 5; and 5 days to 4. Stores
will be closed 1 additional day a week unless adequate local nationals
are available to remain open in overseas locations. HQ/Areas Operations
will be closed to coincide with store closures. There will be no impact
on operating hours at the Exchange.
As far as DODEA, furloughs will not affect the end of the 2012-2013
school year. Though furloughs will be in place at the start of the
2013-2014 school year, the number of days has not been confirmed.
Regardless, DODEA will ensure that all students have a robust academic
year. School staff will ensure students receive a full year of academic
study even within a slightly shortened academic year due to the
furloughs.
Transition counseling services are contracted by a fully-funded
contract through 30 Sep 13. There will not be a decrease/delay in
providing transition services to soldiers and their families. However,
the program is overseen at most installations by Transition Services
Managers (TSMs), who are civilian employees. Garrisons will have a
civilian employee or military personnel available to oversee contract
operations during the time the TSM is furloughed. At smaller
installations, transitioning soldiers will utilize virtual counseling
services to meet Veterans Opportunity to Work Act requirements.
Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (FMWR) programs and
services are currently frozen at fiscal year 2012 levels.
Nonappropriated Fund (NAF) employees are currently exempt from
furlough, which includes 2,637 full-time Child Development Center (CDC)
and School Age Center (SAC) employees. These individuals will continue
to maintain 5-day coverage of centers to accommodate the needs of
soldiers and families.
Although NAF employees are the primary service providers for most
FMWR programs and services, appropriated fund (APF) employees are
utilized within Army Community Service (ACS) Centers and, in some
cases, Community Recreation programs. These employees are subject to
furlough and some services will be impacted. Installation Senior
Commanders and Garrison Commanders will determine the optimum method of
furlough implementation with the goal of minimizing disruption to
critical soldier and family programs. Some of these key programs
include spouse employment, victim advocacy for sexual assault and
domestic violence, Army emergency relief, support to exceptional family
members, child abuse prevention and intervention support, support to
wounded warriors and their families, and support to survivors. In most
cases, our ACS Centers plan to close one day per week during the
furlough period. In order to mitigate the effect of furlough, ACS
Centers will develop strategies to ensure 24/7/365 coverage for key
services such as victim advocacy and child abuse/domestic violence
response. We encourage our centers to rely on electronic resources such
as Army OneSource and Military OneSource to provide information and
link up service providers to our soldiers and families.
Mr. Garcia. The Defense Commissary Agency has advised that the
furlough may result in the closure of each commissary one day a week.
Nonappropriated Fund (NAF) employees are exempt from furloughs and
there is no anticipated impact to Navy Exchange or Marine Corps
Exchange operations.
There is no anticipated impact to operating hours for child
development centers as child care providers are exempt from the
furlough.
The Navy does not expect any significant disruptions to family
programs. Navy Family Support Programs and Services will establish
staggered staffing hours and utilize furlough-exempt personnel to
minimize the service delivery impact. This will accommodate furlough
days for GS staff and allow us to maintain uninterrupted support for
family services such as, family readiness centers, Sexual Assault
Prevention and Response (SAPR) programs, spouse employment services,
clinical counseling services, and financial counseling services.
Navy Morale, Welfare and Recreation activities, while implementing
reduced hours of operation in all programs, including libraries,
swimming pools and fitness centers, will minimize disruption by
adjusting hours to peak usage periods.
The Defense Education Activity (DODEA) has indicated that furloughs
will be in place at the start of the next school year 2013-2014. DODEA
is planning an approach that will not risk a full year of academic
credit for our students.
Furloughs will have no direct impact on the Department's ability to
implement the new transition assistance program as directed by the
Veterans Employment Initiative Task Force.
Mr. Ginsberg. Civilian furloughs will have a negative impact on our
ability to provide, and maintain, a variety of services to our airmen
and their families. Specifically, commissaries will close 1 additional
day per week and MWR programs are projected to experience reduced hours
of operation and/or closed facilities. Additionally, budget reductions
will have a negative impact on our ability to timely transform our
activities to make our Services more efficient.
With the exemption of 1,610 child care employees, we will continue
to provide child care operations and minimize the impact to airmen and
their families. Additionally, we do not anticipate Army and Air Force
Exchange Service, TAP and Military Spouse Employment to be affected by
furloughs.

2. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, if civilian furloughs, in response to
sequestration, impact the mission of the Military Entrance Processing
Stations, then what options does your Service have to ensure your
recruit accessions are not disrupted?
Mr. Lamont. By shifting funding, the Army addressed the risk of
accession mission failure in fiscal year 2013 and fiscal year 2014 due
to sequestration. Civilian furloughs will not affect the ability of
Army accessioning agencies to achieve fiscal year 2013 accession
missions. If the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command curtails
operations in fiscal year 2013 due to civilian furloughs, some delays
in contracting new soldiers for entry into the Army in fiscal year 2014
may occur. For example, the Military Entrance Processing Stations will
be shut down for one day per week. This will significantly increase
applicant travel costs and adversely affect the streamlined process of
new recruits. The Army plans to mitigate these delays by processing
these soldiers after the beginning of the new fiscal year.
Mr. Garcia. Marine Corps - All service recruiting will be impacted
by civilian furloughs at Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS);
because 80 percent of MEPS personnel are civilians. The possible
civilian furlough reduces their available processing capacity.
Implementation of a 4-day processing week would likely degrade our
accession efforts.
Navy - Navy ships its recruits from Monday through Thursday. We
anticipate the furlough would shut down MEPS processing on Friday only.
Therefore, Navy Recruiting accession mission may not be impacted as a
result of planned MEPS furloughs in fiscal year 2013. However, with the
planned 11 day MEPCOM furlough, Navy Recruiting would experience a New
Contract mission shortfall of approximately 2,900 total new contracts
for both Active component (AC) and Non-Prior Service Reserve component
(RC). This shortfall represents approximately 15 percent of the
remaining fiscal year 2013 New Contract mission of 19,675 (AC/RC). This
shortfall would result in a 5 percent decrease in the Delayed Entry
Program (DEP) posture for the beginning of fiscal year 2014. The
reduction of the DEP posture from a target of 50 percent will increase
our New Contract mission for fiscal year 2014. However, we anticipate
meeting our accession mission in fiscal year 2014. If Military Entrance
Processing Command (MEPCOM) furloughs continue into fiscal year 2014,
MEPS capacity to process new contracts will be restricted and Navy's
accession mission could be at moderate risk.
Mr. Ginsberg. As approximately 80 percent of MEPCOM employees are
civilian, if fully implemented, the 11-day furlough (as announced on
May 14, 2013) will have a significant impact on MEPCOM's ability to
process recruits and manage military accessions testing programs.
Processing will be reduced from 5 days down to 4 days.
There are no options to overcome recruit processing disruptions as
a result of the MEPCOM furlough. Another mechanism doesn't exist to
qualify youth for military service. MEPCOM is the sole entity for
enlisted accessions. The Air Force will adjust to the reduced
processing capacity by tightly managing the available processing slots.
The Air Force will ensure slots are first utilized to send fiscal year
2013 recruits to Basic Military Training (BMT), and then whatever slots
remain will be prioritized to best meet fiscal year 2014 needs. These
processing restrictions will force the Air Force to delay processing
motivated applicants until slots become available at a later date.

INTEGRATED DISABILITY EVALUATION SYSTEM

3. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, it is unconscionable that servicemembers
must wait many months to receive a disability determination from the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). While the Department of Defense
(DOD) and the VA have made some progress in decreasing the amount of
time it takes to get disability claims completed in the Integrated
Disability Evaluation System (IDES), more work must be done. What is
your Service doing to help the DOD and the VA doing to expedite claims
through the system?
General Bromberg. To assist the VA in managing this additional
workload, the Army is providing personnel to perform administrative
procedures to allow VA adjudicators to focus rating activities. Army is
also making additional entries into the Veterans Tracking Application
to allow VA to better manage cases in Benefits delivery phase of IDES.
VA estimates this assistance will provide a 10-15 percent increase in
the number of Ready for Decision cases over the 90-day period. We
continue to explore and implement other solutions that provide the
information that VA needs to finalize their rating decisions in a
timelier manner.
Admiral Van Buskirk. IDES performance data for April 2013, reflect
that the average time to complete IDES processing for sailors is 258
days, the fewest in DOD. This is measured against an IDES goal of 295
days, which was established to ensure sailors receive all appropriate
medical treatment, due process, and transition assistance while
undergoing disability evaluation. Sailors continue to receive pay and
benefits while going through the IDES, which helps narrow any ``benefit
gap.''
Navy is supporting the VA portion of the IDES process through
efforts to provide the VA with a complete Service Treatment Record and
by ensuring VA claim development and medical appointments are not
missed. We are also participating in a joint-DOD/VA effort to improve
timeliness in transferring information included in the DD Form 214,
``Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty'', which is
needed to initiate benefits delivery.
Recent changes to the Transition Assistance Program and the
Veterans Employment Initiative create a direct connection with VA
counselors. As a result, awareness of benefits available through the VA
is increasing, which may lead to an increase in the number of claims
being filed prior to separation or retirement. Processing of such
claims should be quicker since establishing service connection and
access to medical records are typically easier before the servicemember
transitions. Additionally, we have agreed to include an audiogram as
part of our Separation Health Assessment (SHA) to establish a baseline
for potential future VA evaluations.
General Milstead. The Marine Corps does not own the IDES process.
However, on behalf of our marines we have successfully undertaken
various advocacy measures to reduce processing times. The Marine Corps
is working to improve processing times in coordination with the Bureau
of Medicine and Surgery through teleconferences with IDES stakeholders.
Additionally, we have been providing Marine Corps leadership with
detailed IDES information, which has resulted in their ability to work
closer with the Regional Medical Commanders on specific issues
impacting IDES performance. The Marine Corps has provided the Physical
Evaluation Board (PEB) processing center with five enlisted marines, in
excess of their authorized allowance, to ensure their authorized
manning is kept at 100 percent. Additionally, four senior
noncommissioned officers, above the PEB's allowance are being provided
to perform field-level counseling and case processing assistance.
Since, the Marine Corps began tracking the performance of marines
processing through the IDES (June 2011), the number of cases exceeding
the 100-day goal for the Medical Evaluation Board phase has decreased
by 91.8 percent (610 cases down to 50). The Marine Corps will continue
to work to identify and execute methods to ensure claims process
expeditiously in the best interest of the marine.
General Jones. The Air Force is committed to improving the IDES
timeliness to better serve airmen as they rehabilitate, reintegrate or
transition from military service. We are diligently working various
measures to improve the IDES timeliness. We have realigned manpower and
made hiring a priority within the Air Force Personnel Center to assist
the PEB.
The Air Force has partnered with OSD and the VA to enhance IDES
information technology (IT) to create a seamless and integrated system
to improve IDES timeliness. While DOD and VA develop an enterprise IT
solution, the Air Force is exploring short-term IT solutions to
expedite the transfer of IDES cases between the Military Treatment
Facilities (MTF) and the Informal and Formal PEBs. In addition, we have
improved communications between the VA, the Air Force Personnel Center,
and the Air Force Surgeon General to ensure consistency of IDES tracked
data. Finally, the Air Force rolled out its IDES pre-screening
initiative to ensure the right airmen are referred into the IDES. The
IDES pre-screen process provides a centralized review at the Air Force
Personnel Center's Medical Retention Standards Branch of potential IDES
cases which may not meet retention standards. The intent of the pre-
screening process is two-fold. First, to identify airmen who may be
returned to duty (RTD), instead of entering the IDES, thus preserving
resources and reducing hardship on the airman and the unit. Second, the
process identifies airmen, who need a complete Medical Evaluation
Board, and refers them to the IDES, preserving readiness and a fit
force. The pre-screening process does not alter any stage of the IDES,
airmen's rights remain intact and the Air Force ensures due-diligence.
As of 10 Apr 2013, the Informal PEB adjudicated 978 cases referred into
the IDES by our Personnel Center's Medical Retention Standards shop as
a result of pre-screening. Of those, only 27 were returned to duty by
the Informal PEB, for a 2.76 percent RTD rate, far below the 15-20
percent RTD rate historically seen prior to pre-screening
implementation. We expect these major improvement strategies to improve
the Air Force IDES timeliness by fall 2013.

4. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, do you believe that the VA is doing all
that it can do to decrease the amount of time for disability case
reviews and claims adjudication?
General Bromberg. Yes. I believe our partners in the VA are doing
everything they can to decrease the amount of time for disability case
reviews and claims adjudication.
Admiral Van Buskirk. The delays in case review and adjudication are
unacceptably long. At the same time, VA is coping with an enormous
increase in claims being filed. We are very supportive of our VA
partners in helping to decrease their disability case review and
adjudication backlog. The Department of the Navy is moving ahead to
support the VA's request to certify the Service Treatment Record
completeness when forwarding for disability claim reviews. This will
expedite the VA's ability for claim adjudication. Innovative solutions
are always possible and we stand ready to assist the VA as they explore
solutions for improvements.
General Milstead. We are aware that the VA has objectives and key
initiatives to reduce the case backlog. However, as a matter of
protocol, the Marine Corps defers to VA for quantifiable data on their
level of effort to decrease claims adjudication times. The Marine Corps
Wounded Warrior Regiment, the military command charged with recovery
care coordination for wounded, ill, and injured marines, regularly
coordinates with VA on various disability-related matters. From an
individual casework perspective, we find VA efforts to be complementary
and oftentimes the actions of VA employees enhance our marines'
recovery experiences, to include disability claims issues.
General Jones. DOD and VA have implemented several improvement
strategies to improve the IDES PEB timeliness.

1. VA has added 109 personnel to reach 264 full-time equivalents
for claims adjudication, and consolidated Army claims at Seattle
Disability Rating Activity Site to reduce processing times.
2. VA has proactively engaged DOD to expedite adoption of
Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQs) within the IDES Program.
3. To better support DOD and members of the Reserve components
(RC), VA implemented a process to perform IDES Compensation and Pension
examinations closer to the residence of RC servicemembers.
4. VA's Chief of Staff conducts bi-monthly internal Video
Teleconferences (VTC) with Central Office and Field Executive staff to
review IDES performance metric and discuss process improvement
measures. VA also has joint monthly VTCs with both Army and Navy/Marine
Corps to discuss site performance and general collaboration
opportunities.
5. VA's IDES leadership conducts weekly meetings with IDES
leadership from Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Warrior Care
Policy, and the Military Services. These meetings have been occurring
since July 2011.
6. VA Central Office personnel conduct periodic site visits to
identify best practices and provide assistance.
7. VA and DOD routinely collaborate to improve and refine policies
and procedures.

Air Force continues to collaborate with VA to improve the overall
disability evaluation process. Despite improvements, challenges still
remain and all of the DOD is committed to working diligently with VA to
continue streamlining and improving the overall disability process.

5. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, does the VA need additional resources to
hire more claims adjudicators?
General Bromberg. The Army does not know if VA requires additional
resources to hire more claims adjudicators.
Admiral Van Buskirk. The VA continues to balance their workforce.
We are confident the VA presented their defensible resource
requirements in the President's budget.
General Milstead. We defer to the VA for information on their
manning and resource requirements.
General Jones. The Air Force continues to collaborate with VA to
improve the overall disability evaluation process. Despite
improvements, challenges still remain, the DOD and the Air Force are
committed to working diligently with VA to continue streamlining and
improving the overall disability process.

PROTECTING PROSPECTIVE RECRUITS

6. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, a recent tragic case in Maryland appears
to have been a murder/suicide involving a prospective recruit and her
recruiter. What guidance has your Service provided to ensure that
prospective recruits and their parents or guardians are fully aware of
the limits for relationships with recruiters?
General Bromberg. Army Recruiter contact with newly contracted
soldiers, prospects and applicants is highly restricted by Army policy.
Recruiters who violate the regulations governing this contact are
subject to disciplinary action, relief, or separation. Cards describing
sexual harassment prohibitions and what the prohibited activities are
for recruiters and applicants are given to all applicants upon first
contact as well as to their parents. These cards are used by the US
Army Recruiting Command in their recruitment of Regular Army and Army
Reserve applicants. The Army National Guard has similar cards in
development. In addition, all recruits in all the Army's components
sign contracts which include descriptions of sexual harassment
prohibitions and what the prohibited activities are for recruiters and
members of the DEP.
Admiral Van Buskirk. Navy Recruiting Command (NRC) provides
applicants information on the first day of their enlistment into the
DEP at MEPS. Additionally, recruiters and their supervisor also provide
the same information to the future sailor and their parents or
guardians during the 72-hour indoctrination. This policy is included in
the Enlisted and Officer Recruiting Manuals. NRC also has a
Fraternization Policy Acknowledgement that details the proper behaviors
of future sailors and recruiters, which all future sailors must read
and sign.
At the time of DEP enlistment, NRC provides all future sailors a
Standards, Transitions, Acknowledgements, Requirements, and Training
(START) Guide. Recruiters and immediate supervisors are required to
review the contents with each future sailor during the 72-hour
indoctrination. The START Guide contains information regarding Sexual
Harassment and Fraternization. Additionally, the START Guide lists
``Recruiter Prohibited Practices,'' which includes a prohibition on any
relationship other than a formal, professional, relationship. Every
Navy recruiter business card contains the following personal pledge
from Commander NRC: ``We at Navy Recruiting Command are committed to
professional, honest, and respectful treatment of every prospect and
applicant.'' Also included is the NRC headquarters number, which is
answered by Admiral Gay's personal staff.
Finally, NRC is completing an intensive, updated SAPR Delayed Entry
Program (SAPR-D) video presentation, which will be shown to every
future sailor. It provides training on the Navy's SAPR Program,
fraternization and sexual harassment policies. The video clearly
articulates and emphasizes the future sailor's rights and responses if
they feel they have been violated or mistreated.
General Milstead. The Marine Corps has enacted additional policy
and products that augment long standing ethical standards and
procedures between applicants and recruiters. We established the
requirement that all officer candidates and members of the DEP read,
sign, and certify a Statement of Understanding regarding sexual assault
and sexual harassment. This document includes notification and
reporting procedures, which are also included in our formal ``Welcome
Aboard'' materials. Additionally, a required values-based training
curriculum, which includes video vignettes and ethical decision
discussions to include sexual misconduct, has been incorporated into
the DEP for all accessions. All marines attending the Basic Recruiters
School are provided formal instruction on an `Ethics Package' that
addresses specifically, relationship restrictions between applicants
and recruiters, fraternization, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and
alcohol issues and usage. Additionally a training product has been
introduced for leaders at the recruiting station level to emphasize and
reinforce ethics standards with their marines. This standardized
product provides leaders videos and briefing points that require the
interactive participation by their marines on the topic of instruction.
All of the aforementioned were done to maintain and uphold the existing
Marine Corps ethical standards of conduct between applicant and
recruiter.
General Jones. Air Force Recruiting has instituted an aggressive
and comprehensive program to inform and educate recruits and their
parents on the subject of inappropriate behaviors, to include
unprofessional relationships throughout the recruiting process. This
program employs video, talking points, ``Applicant Rights/
Responsibilities Cards'', and signed statements. The program clearly
defines what constitutes an unprofessional relationship vs.
professional relationship between recruits and their recruiters, and
advises the recruits of their right and obligation to report suspected
or actual cases. The program also outlines sources of assistance and
steps to be taken to address concerns.

7. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, what information does your Service require
to be provided to prospective recruits to ensure that they have
immediate access to assistance and intervention, if necessary, if they
believe a recruiter is intending to take improper advantage of them?
General Bromberg. Army Recruiter contact with newly contracted
soldiers, prospects and applicants is highly restricted. Cards
describing sexual harassment prohibitions and what the prohibited
activities are for recruiters and applicants are given to all
applicants upon first contact as well as to their parents. These cards
are used by the U.S. Army Recruiting Command in their recruitment of
Regular Army and Army Reserve applicants. The Army National Guard has
similar cards in development. Applicants and recruiters are offered a
hotline phone number on the card to report any violation of a safe and
proper environment. In addition, all recruits in all the Army's
components sign contracts which include descriptions of sexual
harassment prohibitions and what the prohibited activities are for
recruiters and members of the DEP. The contract also provides the
applicant a recruiting agency senior leader's telephone number for
reporting sexual harassment or prohibited activity violations.
Admiral Van Buskirk. Each Navy Recruiting Station has posters with
Navy Recruiting District points of contact if applicants or future
sailors have any issues during the recruiting process for which they
desire assistance from someone other than their recruiter. Posters
include the Department of Defense Safeline phone number and NRC
Inspector General hotline number. Every applicant receives a business
card from their recruiter that contains the recruiter's information on
the front of the card and the following personal pledge from Commander,
Navy Recruiting Command (CNRC) on the back: ``We at Navy Recruiting
Command are committed to professional, honest, and respectful treatment
of every prospect and applicant.'' Also included is CNRC phone number,
which is answered by Admiral Gay's personal staff. We provide
additional information at the time of Delayed Enlistment Program
enrollment while at Military Entrance Processing Station, and again
during the 72-hour indoctrination. Command Hotline and NRC Headquarters
phone numbers are provided.
General Milstead. The Marine Corps has introduced new policy and
products that augment long standing ethical standards and procedures
between applicants and recruiters. Our efforts include but are not
limited to the expansion of ethics instruction at the Recruiters
School, sustainment training for the recruiting force, and for all new
accessions a mandatory recruiter-driven values-based training program
and written `Statement of Understanding' that address sexual misconduct
and reporting procedures. A Marine recruiter's immediate supervisor is
identified during the initial process as an applicant's or parent's
primary point of contact for any concerns or complaints, specifically
including inappropriate conduct. Renewed command emphasis combined with
improved education and information for applicants and parents increases
the safety of our applicants and reinforces confidence in Corps-wide
actions directed toward the prevention of sexual assaults.
General Jones. Air Force Recruiting Service (AFRS) personnel are
required to provide all applicants with an ``Air Force Applicant
Rights/Responsibilities Card'' as early as practical in the application
process before Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM)
processing. This card clearly defines professional relationships to
potential applicants and provides guidance on how to report any
violations. Recruiters are directed to discuss and train DEP recruits
on expectations.
In addition, each applicant views a video discussing professional
relationships--what is professional and unprofessional, as well as
expectations of recruits as Air Force members and what they can expect
from their recruiter and the recruiting process. By defining what is
and is not acceptable, the applicant knows what is expected and what is
expected of the recruiter. This enhances the Rights/Responsibilities
card--if the recruit notices unacceptable behavior, he/she can then act
on it by contacting local Air Force leadership or the contacts listed
on the card.
Each recruit has the opportunity to discuss potential misconduct
when they visit the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) for the
first time. Here, away from his/her recruiter, our MEPS liaison
completes a survey with each recruit and asks if there were any
instances of misconduct or action/words that made the recruit
uncomfortable. If so, leadership addresses the concerns with the
recruit and investigates allegations further to determine if additional
action is necessary.
Applicants will also receive periodic briefings from supervisors
and squadron leadership during their time in the DEP. These briefings
will further emphasize rights, roles, and responsibilities of all
members as well as ways to report suspected or actual cases.
The survey process completed with the MEPS liaison in the
recruiting process is repeated both in BMT and Technical Training.
Essentially the survey becomes a cradle to grave document within the
accessions and training continuum.

DEFENSE SEXUAL ASSAULT INCIDENT DATABASE

8. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, DOD has told us they have achieved full-
deployment of the congressionally-mandated Defense Sexual Assault
Incident Database (DSAID). Is your Service providing data to populate
the database?
General Bromberg. Yes. The Army pushes the DOD required sexual
assault data to DSAID on a monthly basis using our Sexual Assault Data
Management System (SADMS).
Admiral Van Buskirk. Navy uses DSAID as a centralized, case-level,
database for the collection and maintenance of information regarding
sexual assaults. Navy Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARCs) use
DSAID as a case management system, entering information within 48 hours
of a report of sexual assault (96 hours in deployed locations
presenting internet connectivity issues). DSAID includes available
information about the nature of assaults, the victim, services offered
to the victim, the offender, and disposition of reports associated with
the assault. Naval Investigative Service uploads final case disposition
weekly into DSAID.
General Milstead. Yes. Full migration to the DSAID was completed in
October 2012.
General Jones. Yes, the Air Force is providing data to populate
DSAID.

9. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, what information, specifically, is this
database providing your Services' leadership concerning sexual assault
incidents?
General Bromberg. The Army provides the required sexual assault
data to DSAID from SADMS on a monthly basis. This information includes
the type of report (Restricted or Unrestricted), type of assault (rape,
forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual contact, etc), gender and rank of
victim and alleged offenders, location (on/off post), investigation
status, disposition status (court-martial, nonjudicial punishment,
adverse administrative action, et cetera.) and victim services provided
(counseling, healthcare, advocacy, legal, et cetera).
Admiral Van Buskirk. The DSAID is a centralized, case-level,
database for the collection and maintenance of information regarding
sexual assaults, which Navy has been using since October 2012. DSAID
includes information about the nature of assaults, the victim, services
offered to the victim, the offender, and the disposition of reports
associated with the assault. Over time, as DSAID becomes populated with
more case data, it will increasingly provide the ability to identify
and manage trends, analyze risk factors or problematic circumstances,
and assist with actions and plans to mitigate risks.
General Milstead. DSAID provides Marine Corps leadership accurate
information on sexual assault cases and trends, which will inform
assessments and decisions regarding future programs and training
efforts. DSAID affords the Services enhanced ability to provide
comprehensive and standardized victim case management, improved overall
administrative functionality, and accountability in the tracking of
victim services. DSAID also allows for the Military Criminal
Investigative Organization data to be linked directly to a case,
ensuring investigative data is accurate and allows cases to be
transferred between military Services without re-creating case
information, a functionality that was not provided for previously in
each individual Service database.
General Jones. The DSAID provides information on the following:
Restricted and unrestricted reports, safety concerns identified, if the
victim assessment was completed, status of investigation, location of
the assault (on/off base), victim relationship to offender, and
demographic information of the victim.

10. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, before this committee, DOD witnesses described the
recently revised DOD-wide policy on the Sexual Assault Program to
standardize prevention, health care, victim safety, training and
response efforts, and to clearly convey the role of servicemembers and
employees in sexual assault prevention and recovery. This committee is
concerned that medical care providers were not fully aware of their
obligations concerning restricted reports, including the obligation to
withhold disclosure to the chain of command. What actions have been
taken to ensure standardization with response to protecting the
sanctity of restricted reports?
Mr. Lamont. The Army follows DOD policy and requires our healthcare
providers to notify a SARC when a sexual assault victim seeks care at a
MTF. The SARC (if not present with the victim) will then respond to the
victim as quickly as possible.
Health care providers are trained to safeguard the confidentiality
of medical information and maintain it in accordance with current
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines
regardless of whether the soldier elects restricted or unrestricted
reporting. Improper disclosure of covered communications and improper
release of medical information are prohibited and may result in
disciplinary actions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, loss
of credentials, or other adverse personnel or administrative actions.
Additionally, each Army MTF has a Sexual Assault Care Coordinator
(SACC), Sexual Assault Clinical Provider (SACP), and a SARC who train
other healthcare providers and healthcare personnel on their
requirements regarding the preservation of restricted reports
Mr. Garcia. Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Instruction 6310.11A
(Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Medical-Forensic Program) has
been recently revised and signed on May 2, 2013. This policy
establishes the training requirements for all health care providers who
will complete medical-forensic examinations.
A subset of the multi-disciplinary policy revision working group
has been convened to oversee and support implementation of policy
guidance. The training is 14 hours in length and in a standardized
format that supports health care providers in completing a Sexual
Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE), reviews the SAFE kit and contents,
chain of custody, preparing to be a factual witness and Navy specific
policy guidance and reporting options. Restricted reporting is
thoroughly covered in this training as well as the current medical
response training required of all Navy Medical Department personnel.
Documentation of completion is required and metrics have been
established to support tracking of training implementation.
Mr. Ginsberg. DOD and the Air Force have established policy
concerning restricted reporting cases as detailed in Department of
Defense Instruction (DODI) 6495.02 and Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36-
6001. Sexual assault policy pertaining to medical care is listed in AFI
44-102. All sexual assault cases are referred to a SARC who insures the
victim is briefed on their options for reporting. If the victim elects
restricted reporting, then all medical assessments are completed but no
reporting occurs to command authorities. Documentation of the medical
assessment is flagged to prevent unauthorized release. In addition
healthcare providers are required to take standardized first responder
training.

11. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, what additional challenges do you see in attaining
the required level of standardization?
Mr. Lamont. I do not see any challenges in standardization that the
Services and DOD, working together, have not already addressed. Two
examples include the decisions by DOD to standardize SARCs and Victim
Advocate (VA) credentialing requirements and train sexual assault
investigators from all Services at the U.S. Army Military Police
School.
Mr. Garcia. Each Military Service has a unique culture and
operating environment. Beyond that, sexual assault prevention, sexual
assault victim support, and sexual assault criminal investigations and
prosecutions are overlapping but separate areas of activity.
First, we need to better distinguish between specific activities
that should be performed in just about the same way everywhere, and
those where tailored approaches may be more effective. Sexual assault
victim support is a good example of the former--victims should expect
the same services everywhere. Sexual assault prevention is a good
example of the latter--the Services need flexibility to implement
strategies that work for them.
Second, we need to evolve beyond standardizing exactly how to do
things, and instead explore performance-based standards for key aspects
of our processes that are most important to those affected. That will
be hard work, and it will require genuine collaboration. For example,
we want to know what aspects of our victim support processes are most
important to victims themselves, so we can focus on making them more
personal and effective.
Mr. Ginsberg. DSAIDS is the system of record for all reports of
sexual assault. The Navy and Air Force both update each incident
(restricted and unrestricted) reported into DSAIDS while the Army uses
their Sexual Assault Data Management System (SADMS) which interfaces
with DSAIDs. Each Service participates on the OSD SAPRO Change Control
Board (CCB) to ensure standardization and system improvements.

12. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, what additional tools does your Service need in
order to continue to reduce--with the goal of eliminating--sexual
assault?
Mr. Lamont. Continuing our partnership with Congress is necessary
so we can work together toward our common goal of eliminating sexual
assault. Recent legislation has facilitated that effort. However, it is
our responsibility to establish the positive organizational climate and
culture needed to appropriately prevent and respond to sexual assault.
An area where Congress may be able to assist is to establish
programs in communities and schools that counteract the negative social
influencers that contribute to behavior that may lead to sexual
assault.
Mr. Garcia. We need more expert resources for investigations of
alleged sexual assault crimes. NCIS has come a long way in the past
several years. They have implemented impressive special training, and
they have hired criminal investigators with civilian expertise, but the
workload impact of new requirements to investigate all alleged sexual
assaults, regardless of severity, is daunting.
We also need to establish new, tailored, programs for sailors and
marines who have been victims of sexual assault. We are in the early
stages of developing such programs. Sexual assault victims have an
especially high risk of re-victimization, and we must break that cycle
by providing peer support and personal tools to help them succeed and
fulfill their personal and professional goals without unduly labeling
them or undermining their performance of primary duties.
We are in the process of expanding across the entire Navy
Department best practices from local pilot projects involving focused,
synchronous, SAPR efforts. We must maintain visible and consistent
senior leadership engagement working across organizational boundaries
to change our culture and re-shape the attitudes and behaviors of our
sailors and marines. It will require dogged commitment and perseverance
over a prolonged effort. Key to our success will be our ability to
partner across the Department of the Navy uniformed and civilian
leadership to identify common goals and standards while implementing
effective solutions that work in various settings and operating
environments.
Mr. Ginsberg. Air Force leaders have worked diligently towards the
goal of eliminating sexual assault from our ranks. While there is no
single tool to fix the sexual assault problem, we're attacking it from
every angle. The Air Force is constantly evaluating our techniques and
mediums to provide education and training content that will increase
awareness of sexual assault and the importance of prevention,
intervention, and victim care. Additionally, we are bolstering the
investigative and prosecutorial process to show we're serious about
taking action against offenders, which we believe will increase
confidence in the process. This is evidenced by the introduction of the
Special Victims' Counsel (SVC), effective January 28, 2013, which has
had the greatest influence on victim empowerment and willingness to
cooperate in the military justice system. Prior to the implementation
of our SVC program, the rate of change from restricted to unrestricted
reports was 17 percent. Now approximately 55 percent of our victims
assigned to a SVC change from restricted to unrestricted reports.

13. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, some have suggested that it would be
appropriate to incorporate standardized assessments of commanders'
performance in prevention, investigation, accountability, advocacy and
assessment of sexual assault response and prevention lines of effort.
What is your assessment of the feasibility of implementing commanders'
performance in service-specific performance appraisals?
General Bromberg. It is very appropriate to assess all officers and
noncommissioned officers (NCO) on their enforcement of SAPR principles
including their establishment or support of a positive command climate.
The current Officer and NCO Evaluation Report allows for comment
regarding support of Equal Opportunity and Sexual Harassment. Army
Regulation 600-20, Army Command Policy also encourages comment for this
topic. The future Officer Evaluation Report (OER) and Noncommissioned
OER will continue to stress this topic and will be further reinforced
by the Army Doctrine Reference Publication 6-22, Army Leadership under
the Leader Competency of Trust.
Admiral Van Buskirk. Incorporating standardized assessments of a
commander's performance in prevention, investigation, accountability,
advocacy, and assessment of sexual assault response and prevention
lines-of-effort, could be accomplished using the current Navy fitness
report by amending our governing instruction to require such an
assessment, or by revising the current form. Additionally, current Navy
fitness reports evaluate an officer's performance related to Command or
Organizational Climate/Equal Opportunity.
General Milstead. The Marine Corps Fitness Report system provides
the official evaluation and record of an officer's performance and
contains a section entirely dedicated to leadership. This section
evaluates the commander's ability to set the example, communicate
effectively, provide direction, and motivate, which includes his or her
ability to develop, lead, and ensure the well-being of subordinates.
Ensuring the well-being of subordinates necessitates that officers
demonstrate a genuine concern for their safety--a characteristic rooted
in the defining Marine Corps values of honor, courage, and commitment.
The commander's efforts must enhance the concentration and focus of the
subordinate on unit mission accomplishment, which includes setting an
environment free of any criminal behaviors, such as sexual assault
In line with the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) memorandum dated 6
May 2013, the Marine Corps is exploring methods to assess the
performance of our commanders in establishing command climates that
foster dignity and respect. To this end, the Commandant has directed
the development of new command climate surveys to be administered
within 30 days of a new commander taking command and at the commanding
officer's 12-month mark. Designed to measure the ``health'' of a
particular command, the survey will cover a spectrum of issues,
including sexual assault, and will be integrated with the ongoing
efforts to stop all behavior-related offenses, including sexual
harassment, hazing, and alcohol misuse. This initiative fulfills a
specific provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and
the 6 May SECDEF memo, which also mandates that survey results be
provided for review to the next level up in the chain of command.
General Jones. The current Air Force Officer Performance Report
(OPR) already evaluates a commander on all leadership performance
factors which include the implementation of the SAPR program within
their units.

14. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, the annual report on sexual assault at the
Service academies revealed that many people who enter the armed
services have experienced and report sexual assault or unwanted sexual
contact that occurred before they entered the Service Academies or the
armed services. What could your Service be doing to improve support to
men and women in the accession process, to identify whether individuals
have experienced sexual assault?
General Bromberg. The U.S. Military Academy does not screen
applicants for a history of sexual assault, but does provide all new
cadets information about the Army's Sexual Harassment/Assault Response
and Prevention Program.
When a New Cadet self-identifies during Cadet Basic Training, or
subsequently over the course of their career as a Cadet, the cadet is
referred to a SARC or Victim Advocate who provides essential support
and care to the victim.
This support includes, but is not limited to, providing information
on available reporting options (restricted and unrestricted), available
resources to assist the victim in the healing process (e.g., on- and
off-post counseling, chaplaincy, DOD SafeHelpline), and due process and
investigation procedures (legal assistance and/or law enforcement to
include Criminal Investigation Division--even if serving in a liaison
role between civilian law enforcement and the military for off-post
incidents).
The Victim Advocate provides continual support until the victim
states that she/he no longer requires assistance or until departure
from the academy, at which point she/he receives information about
resources available after departure.
Admiral Van Buskirk. Navy has a thorough application process, which
includes detailed medical screening of applicants at Military Entrance
and Processing Station (MEPS). Although not asked explicitly, are
questioned by MEPS Chief Medical Officers using a Supplemental Health
Screening Questionnaire to determine if they have experienced any
significant abusive events in their life.
To improve support for men and women during the accession process,
NRC has developed training focused specifically to indoctrinate them on
military SAPR policies, to help prevent sexual harassment and assault,
and to provide them with procedures to act on an incident that might
occur. In addition to attending this training, there are a wide variety
of products and resources (e.g., videos, posters, and brochures)
recruiters use for local training programs and to increase awareness
with the future sailors in the DEP.
The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) also has a thorough application
process, which includes medical screening of applicants. USNA ensures
that each entering freshman is made aware of the services of the
Academy's SAPR Office, including medical, counseling and advocacy, and
legal assistance. All incoming plebes receive a SAPR indoctrination
brief within 14 days of arrival. This session includes an in-depth
overview of the USNA SAPR Program; a discussion on sexual assault,
consent, types of reports, and services available; and stresses that
these services are available regardless of when they experienced the
sexual or interpersonal violence. Academy SAPR staff follow up with
plebes, conduct refresher training, answer questions and again stress
the availability of services.
As a result of findings in the most recent Service Academy Gender
Relations survey, the USNA has implemented additional process changes
for the entering Class of 2017 that will arrive this June.
Specifically, during the Indoctrination-Day check-in each plebe will be
asked in a confidential setting if they have experienced sexual assault
prior to entering the Academy. Regardless of response, each plebe will
receive a data sheet identifying available services and points of
contact, should they desire to use them. This information will provide
the SAPR Office and chain-of-command with real-time data on our at-risk
population, and provide individuals information they can use to access
services discreetly.
Navy is sensitive to the fact that asking explicit questions
regarding sexual assault could lead to revictimization of an applicant,
which is something that should be carefully avoided. DOD is currently
conducting a review of the applicant accessions process as one aspect
of the 2013 DOD SAPR Strategic Plan released by the Secretary of
Defense on May 6, 2013.
General Milstead. Sexual assault policies are explained to all
members within 14 days of their entrance on active duty. The brief
includes how to report a sexual assault and what supportive resources
are available pertaining to care and justice. During the process,
servicemembers are afforded the opportunity to speak to a Victim
Advocate.
Servicemembers who were assaulted prior to entry in the military
are provided the same resources and care as those who were assaulted
during their service in the military. All victims are given the option
to file a restricted or unrestricted report and, after exercising this
option, are assigned a Victim Advocate and SARC and afforded medical
and counseling services. If the case is unrestricted, it is referred to
the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the victim's command is
notified.
General Jones. The U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) has programs in
place to inform incoming cadets about available helping agencies and
resources to assist them, along with information on how to access those
services. USAFA makes every effort to provide an environment where
these victims can thrive as they begin their military careers. In these
instances, our goal is to ensure the victim's choices are honored and
that they are comfortable coming forward to get help and report if they
choose. USAFA will also cooperate to support the civil authority with
jurisdiction should the cadet pursue filing charges. Several
initiatives are in place to help victims of trauma connect with support
mechanisms.
Under the current program, basic cadets are briefed on sexual
assault and associated helping agencies on day two after their arrival.
This briefing addresses coping with assaults that may have occurred
prior to coming to USAFA. The briefing also discusses the numerous
resources available to include: SARC; chain of command; Military
Guidance Officers--cadets trained to interface with other helping
agencies; chaplains; counseling services; equal opportunity experts;
medical providers.
Later in basic training, in conjunction with sexual assault
awareness training, anonymous polls are conducted to get an idea of the
number of basic cadets previously assaulted and to remind them of the
resources available to them. Individuals are not asked to identify
themselves to protect their ability to file a restricted report, if
desired. Some basic cadets are unaware that they experienced a sexual
assault until they receive the training and understand the Air Force
definitions.
Similar to USAFA, Air Education and Training Command has an
aggressive and comprehensive program for new recruits regarding proper
relationships and to explain and educate them on their rights and how
to report inappropriate conduct. In October 2012, AFRS rolled out its
Dissuade, Deter, Detect, Hold Accountable (D3A) program to train
recruiters and applicants alike on professional relationships. The D3A
program is designed to baseline professional relationships from day one
as they work through the recruiting process and follows them to BMT.
Following initial professional relationship training, applicants are
provided an ``Applicant Rights/Responsibilities Card'' and both the
recruiter and applicant sign a ``Professional Relationship Contract''.
Professional relationship training is then reinforced at each stage of
the recruiting process. Additionally, the applicant is provided the
opportunity to address relationship concerns/issues through a
``Professionalism Questionnaire'' provided at initial Military Entrance
Processing Station (MEPS) processing and on ``ship day'' when they
depart for BMT.

COMMAND CLIMATE ASSESSMENTS

15. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, what percent of your commands conduct
command climate assessments?
General Bromberg. According to the records maintained in the Equal
Opportunity Reporting System the Army is 80 percent on the completion
rate for this fiscal year. Our units rely on the Defense Equal
Opportunity Management Institute Organization Climate Survey (DEOCS), a
web-based survey instrument, and it was offline from Septempter 12
through mid March 13 due to budget issues which account for a lower
rate. Units relied on the Army Research Institute paper and pencil
survey during the time DEOCS was offline and this is a time consuming
process and caused delays in meeting the mandated timelines in our
regulation.
Admiral Van Buskirk. All commanders are required to conduct a
Command Climate Assessment (CCA) within 90 days of taking command and
yearly thereafter. In fiscal year 2012, 90 percent of Navy commands
participated in the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute
(DEOMI) Organizational Climate Survey (DEOCS), before the system went
down on 19 September 2012. However, the DEOCS is just one portion of a
CCA. Echelon II commands are charged with tracking their subordinate
command's completion of the CCA. We entrust Commanders to hold their
Commanding Officers accountable for 100 percent completion of the CCA.
General Milstead. 100 percent. All commands conduct climate
assessments in accordance with current DOD, Navy, and Marine Corps
directives.
General Jones. All Air Force units have the opportunity and are
encouraged to conduct climate assessments by the Equal Opportunity (EO)
Office. EO Offices, on behalf of the commander, administer Unit Climate
Assessments (UCA) on organizations that have 50 or more personnel (both
military and civilian combined). For those organizations with less than
50 members, commanders are not afforded the UCA; however, they are able
to utilize other forms of EO climate assessment such as Out and Abouts,
Focus Groups, and Interviews. In addition, the Defense Equal
Opportunity Climate Survey (DEOCS) is available through the Defense
Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) to gauge the climate of
the organization. The difference between the UCA and the DEOCS is that
contractors are permitted to be survey participants in the DEOCS.
The UCA is required every 2 years or upon commander's request. With
the passage of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013, the new requirements
necessitate annual climate assessments and they must be completed
within 120 days upon assumption of command. The Air Force is currently
revising Air Force regulations to reflect the new requirements.

16. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, what are your Services doing to improve
the regularity of command climate assessments?
General Bromberg. We updated Army Regulation 600-20 in September
2012 to read ``Company level commander (or their equivalents) will
conduct a unit command climate survey within 30 days of assuming
command (120 days for ARNG and USAR), again at 6 months, and annually
thereafter. Assessments must include a facilitated small group
discussion of topics. Company level commanders (or equivalents) may
supplement any survey efforts with individual and group interviews, the
analysis of unit records, and statistical information (awards,
promotions, reenlistments, incidents of misconduct resulting in UCMJ,
and EO complaint reports).'' We report and track the compliance rates
for command climate surveys.
Admiral Van Buskirk. Every commanding officer is required to
conduct a command climate assessment within 90 days of taking command
and annually thereafter. The Navy will continue to track the completion
of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI)
Organizational Climate Survey (DEOCS), by Echelon II command, on a
quarterly basis.
General Milstead. Current changes in the command climate survey
requirements will result in commanders surveying their commands within
30 days via the Defense Equal Opportunity Climate Survey and annually
thereafter. Results of the completed surveys will be provided to the
next higher level command.
General Jones. The overall Air Force climate assessment is
conducted annually. Current regulatory guidelines require units to
conduct climate assessments in units once every 2 years and upon
request by a commander. The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 has a requirement
to conduct a climate assessment annually and within 120 days upon
assumption of command by a new commander.
The Air Force is considering several courses of action on how to
increase the regularity of command climate assessments with existing
resources, including increasing the use of focus group interviews and
various other survey assessments.

17. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, what is your Service doing to evaluate the
results of the command climate assessments to ensure necessary follow-
up action?
General Bromberg. Equal Opportunity Advisors assist the company
commanders with accomplishing the command climate assessment by
assisting with completion of a command climate survey, focus groups,
evaluation of complaints requests for assistance (if any). Once the
assessment is complete, EOAs assist the commander with developing a
training plan to address any issues discovered during the assessment
and provide guidance on the feedback required to the unit to complete
the assessment cycle. Commanders and EOAs then brief equal opportunity
training during Quarterly Training Briefings to their superior
Commander. Additional command climate surveys will be reviewed by the
superior Command on a research basis.
Admiral Van Buskirk. Each Immediate Superior in Command (ISIC)
ensures subordinate commanders assess their command climate within 90
days of assuming command with annual follow-up assessments during their
command tenure. Every commanding officer is required to provide an
executive summary of survey results and any intended actions, within 60
days of completing a command climate assessment. The ISIC also ensures
necessary follow-up action on the results of command climate
assessments. Additionally, we are constantly evaluating what we can do
to increase the effectiveness of our leaders in command. A working
group has been assigned to evaluate and make recommendations on
expanding and reinforcing supervisory command relationships. By
identifying potential or ongoing issues early, timely correction is
likely to set conditions for a successful command environment.
General Milstead. The Commandant of the Marine Corps has directed
new command climate requirements to be administered within 30 days of a
new commander taking command and annually thereafter, in order to
continue fostering a positive climate within each Marine Corps unit.
The survey covers a spectrum of personnel issues and will be closely
integrated with ongoing efforts focused on reducing all behavior-
related offenses. The results of the surveys will be measured in order
to obtain accurate knowledge on the health of each command. To assure
accountability, the results of the surveys will be shared with each
commander's next higher headquarters. The Commandant's intent is to
provide commanding officers with the necessary tools to identify high-
risk behaviors and positively act on behalf of the health of their
commands.
General Jones. The Air Force Climate Survey is conducted biennially
and the results are out-briefed to the Secretary of the Air Force and
released to the units. Commanders with ten or more respondents are
provided survey results along with a guide developed by behavioral
scientists from the Air Force Personnel Center, Directorate of Manpower
containing specific recommendations and lists of resources to improve
their unit climate. Leaders that use previous survey results to make
improvements with the organization have yielded higher levels of
agreement in all areas.
In addition to the Air Force Climate Survey, the Air Force has
Equal Opportunity (EO) subject matter experts that conduct UCAs,
analyze the results, and provide an out-brief to unit commanders.
During the out-brief, EO professionals discuss recommendations and
strategies for problem resolution and offer follow-up services to help
resolve EO or managerial related problems. With the passage of the NDAA
for Fiscal Year 2013, UCAs will be conducted annually, rather than
biennially, and within 120 days upon assumption of command.

FEDERAL VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

18. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, what is your assessment of the performance of your
Services' Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP)?
Mr. Lamont. It is my assessment the Army has a very robust voting
assistance program. We have a large network of Installation Voting
Assistance (IVA) offices and Unit Voting Assistance Officers (UVAOs)
who are providing voting assistance on a year round basis. In 2012, the
Army voting assistance program had over 7,800 appointed and trained
active duty UVAOs who provided information to eligible voters within
their organizations. The Army also created Public Service Announcements
that were seen overseas and state-side and participated in Absentee
Voters Week and Armed Forces Voters Week to encourage eligible voters
to register and vote. The Army voting assistance program has also
successfully leveraged social media by using Facebook and Twitter, and
established and maintain a vigorous communications strategy. We empower
individual voters and continue to provide voting assistance and
guidance to soldiers, civilians, and their dependents.
Mr. Garcia. The U.S. Marine Corps has an effective Voting
Assistance Program (VAP) and the Marine Corps is complying with the
requirements put forward by title 10, U.S.C., section 1566 and the DOD
FVAP. This assessment is based upon the results of 19 inspections
conducted during calendar year 2012 and 7 inspections so far during
calendar year 2013 at all levels of command. The Marine Corps VAP
operates in accordance with established policies and procedures and is
effective in assisting eligible voters. The Marine Corps is confident
that servicemembers and their eligible family members were aware of all
2012 voting events and were provided assistance and documentation for
all absentee voting requirements. The current Marine Corps order
covering VAP was republished on 1 April 2013, and incorporates
previously issued interim guidance as was required by changes to the
law from the MOVE Act that passed as part of NDAA for Fiscal Year 2010
(P.L. 111-84) and updated DOD Instructions. The Marine Corps will
continue to inspect, review, and provide guidance to update appropriate
Marine Corps orders, policies, and procedures to ensure eligible voters
have the opportunity to exercise their voting rights.
Mr. Ginsberg. The Air Force FVAP is a successful program within the
department at all levels of command. In 2012, the Air Force Major
Command inspection teams reviewed 134 Voting Assistance Programs at
squadron, group, wing and command levels with just 12 discrepancies
reported. All discrepancies were classified as ``minor deficiencies''
by the SAF/IG. As a result, the Air Force is confident we have an
effective FVAP in place and military members have the resources to
exercise their right to vote.

19. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, what Service-specific initiatives have you
implemented to improve compliance with FVAP and to maximize the
opportunity for servicemembers to exercise their right to vote?
Mr. Lamont. The Army welcomes the responsibility for providing
voting assistance to our servicemembers, their family members, and our
civilian employees. Before the 2012 elections, we made weekly phone
and/or e-mail communications to IVA offices to ensure proper manning
and updated any changes to office contact information. The Army
continues to complete monthly phone and/or e-mail communications to the
IVA offices. To maximize voter participation, over 7,800 active duty
UVAOs provided voting assistance at the unit level. They presented
registration and voting information during meetings, training sessions,
and formations. The UVAOs provided assistance and encouraged
servicemembers to access the FVAP website for fast and efficient voter
registration and assistance. Some of the Army voting activities for
2012 included participation in Armed Forces Voters Week and Absentee
Voters Week with IVA offices setting up voting information tables in
high traffic areas. To increase voter awareness and participation, the
Army Voting Assistance Program uses Facebook, Twitter, public service
announcements, print media, and mass e-mail distribution. The Army
continues to use collaborative tools and information sharing with FVAP
to push current and relevant voting information to our voting
assistance personnel and eligible voters.
Mr. Garcia. In addition to publishing a revision to the Marine
Corps order on 1 April 2013, several steps were taken to increase
voting awareness, improve compliance with FVAP and maximize voting
opportunities for servicemembers. The Marine Corps released two video
public service announcements for inclusion on all units annual training
and Marine Corps movie theaters during the months leading up to the
2012 Federal Election. There are 18 IVA Offices established on bases
and stations across the Marine Corps in accordance with FVAP
directives, and every unit with 25 persons or more are required to have
a Voting Assistance Officer appointed in writing by the Commander of
the unit to assist and train all personnel in voting processes and
responsibilities. Family member outreach for voting age dependents is
also coordinated at Headquarters Marine Corps, and the Family Readiness
Officer network is utilized to convey voting and election information
to the spouses and other voting age dependents.
The 2012 election cycle saw a wide range of initiatives taken by
the Navy to provide a better-than-ever level of support to voters.
Efforts included the full implementation of the MOVE Act and
establishment of an IVA Office at every Navy Installation, the
engagement of senior leadership, strengthening of command level voting
assistance programs, innovative marketing and awareness efforts, and
training. The Navy took a holistic approach to ensure that voters were
aware of elections and their rights and afforded every opportunity to
register and vote absentee.
Mr. Ginsberg. The U.S. Air Force (USAF) Voting Assistance Program
initiated several initiatives to improve compliance with FVAP and title
42, U.S.C.

1. The USAF made a change to Air Force Policy Directive (AFPD)
36-31 which effects the requirement for an IVA office in the Military
and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, establishing the office as a
voter registration agency within the installation headquarters
organization reporting directly to the installation commander
2. USAF moved ahead quickly with changes to the AF Voting Action
Plan in December 2009, implementing various requirements of the MOVE
Act prior to OSD and FVAP releasing any guidance (i.e., service
requirements for moving members and deployers immediately implemented).
3. USAF implemented the ``Core Unit Voting Assistance Officer
(UVAO)'' position which is authorized by the installation commander's
appointment letter for the IVA office. IVA Offices are given the
authority to appoint up to four Core UVAOs to assist in the manning and
workload of the IVA Office, which remains an unfunded mandate to date.
Special training is required for IVA Office and Core UVAO positions.
4. USAF produced an ``IVA Office Handbook'' supplement to the
``FVAP IVA Office Handbook'' on 30 Aug 2010. To date, seven versions
have been published. In May 2013, the Handbook contents are being
incorporated into the AF Voting Action Plan so that IVA Offices and
other IVA Office workers have a single document for the execution of
the AF Voting Assistance Program.
5. USAF established an effective communication dissemination
system from Service Voting Action Officer (SVAO) to IVA Office to UVAO
to all Squadron members and their voting age family members. Any voting
news items generated by FVAP were immediately passed on to voters
through this streamlined network.
6. USAF IVA Offices are required to be clearly marked and
advertised on base, giving voters a visible office; and UVAOs were not
forgotten. 85 percent of voting assistance during the past quarter was
done at the unit level by UVAOs.
7. USAF SVAO scripted a Public Service Announcement which the
USAF Chief of Staff released in January 2012, encouraging military
members, DOD civilians and their families to vote.
8. USAF SVAO implemented a new Staff Assistance Visit
(inspection) requirement for IVA Offices to perform on all assigned
UVAOs between Feb and March of every even-numbered year.
9. IVA Offices are instructed to partner with military and
civilian personnel offices to have the IVA Office included on in/out-
processing checklists for Permanent Change of Station (PCS) and
deployment processing as well as for address changes.
10. USAF maintains an online website that allows IVA Offices and
UVAOs to access all current documents and guidance; search for and
submit ``best practice'' documents; and communicate via the forum.
11. USAF IVA Offices are encouraged to work with local election
officials (LEOs) during biannual Armed Forces Voters Week and Absentee
Voters Week events to invite the LEOs on base to assist in the booth
for local voters.
12. USAF IVA Offices are provided an intuitive, stand-alone,
forms-based ``IVA Office's Database'' for easy management of UVAO
manning and training requirements as well as documenting UVAO ``due-
outs'' (tasks), voters week plans and after action reports. Reports are
generated at the push of a single button.
13. The USAF Voting Action Plan provides IVA Offices and UVAOs
multiple tools to use in the execution of their voting assistance
duties. These include instructions for ordering forms, posters, and
banners online at no cost to their units; template voting assistance
information forms; and a biannual chronological sequence of events.
14. Various other measures were taken following the passing of the
MOVE Act: (a) IVA Office voicemail and email is answered within 48
hours (24 hours if within 60 days of a Federal election); and (b) USAF
SVAO hosted a webinar to train IVA Offices on establishing and running
IVA Offices (three webinars done to ensure time zones around the world
were supported).

OPERATION TEMPO OVERSIGHT

20. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, what is your assessment of your Services'
Operation Tempo (OPTEMPO) reporting and how well are we meeting our
OPTEMPO requirements to reduce stress on our servicemembers and their
families?
General Bromberg. Overall the Army is meeting its operational
tempo, with the exception of the Army Reserve. The Active component
goal is a ratio of 1:2 (time deployed vs. time home). The Active
component is exceeding this goal with a ratio of 1:2.46. The Army
National Guard is achieving the goal of 1:4 (time deployed vs. time
home). The Army Reserve is continuing to improve and currently at a
ratio of 1:3.5.
Admiral Van Buskirk. Current Navy individual personnel tempo
(ITEMPO) reporting is effective and we remain focused on reporting
compliance and accuracy. In April 2013, Navy achieved 94.8 percent
reporting compliance which included 98.9 percent of all Navy personnel
represented in compliant activities. Additionally, we are in the
process of improving our capability to analyze ITEMPO data for use in
assessing ITEMPO days away from homeport and its relationship to stress
on the force.
General Milstead. For individual marines, we actually report and
track Personnel Tempo/Deployment Tempo, for how much time marines are
deployed or away from home. Our reporting is consistent with OSD's
guidance on same. Our reporting indicates that generally both Active
component and Reserve component marines are deploying for shorter
durations and/or less frequently, which we expect will reduce the
stress on our marines and their families.
General Jones. The Air Force is successfully meeting our
operational requirements. We have approximately 186,000 Active Duty
airmen supporting combatant commander operations. However, some airmen
have a higher Operational Tempo (OPTEMPO) than others. We assess
OPTEMPO within our career field stress assessment. Approximately 10
percent of our Active-Duty Force resides in stressed career fields, of
which, OPTEMPO is a contributing factor. The Air Force prioritizes
force management policy and programs, including bonuses, to maintain
sufficient numbers of personnel in critical career fields to reduce
stress and meet operational requirements. Additionally, we provide
airmen a predictive deployment schedule, via the Air Expeditionary
Force construct, so they can plan and prepare their families for their
deployments.

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE TRAINING

21. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, military members with language and culture training
are essential to a U.S. global force. The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013
authorized the Secretary of Defense to transform the National Language
Service Corps (NLSC) from a pilot program to a permanent program, and
also to enhance the ability of our Federal agencies to hire people with
strategic foreign language skills and as National Security Education
Program awardees. What are your Services' goals with respect to the
capabilities represented by the NLSC?
Mr. Lamont. The Army continues to support and leverage the
capabilities provided by the NLSC under the NDAA. Currently, the Army
works with NLSC's recruiters to hire language proficient soldiers
departing the Army to work at NLSC. We display NLSC advertisements on
various portals targeting language qualified soldiers and civilians.
Additionally, the NLSC provides an overview of their organizational
opportunities to our 09L soldiers (native speakers of foreign languages
who serve as interpreters) planning to depart military service. The
Army is very active in supporting this program's growth. In addition,
the Army leverages NLSC capabilities to fill short-term foreign
language requirements that cannot be met within. Some of these
categories include: role players, interpretation, translation and
analysis, training (instruction), and administrative language support
services.
In order to respond to increasing demands for foreign language
skills, the NLSC plans to increase membership from the current 4,200 to
at least 5,500 personnel along with the number of languages/dialects
represented is expected to increase from 283 to at least 350 by fiscal
year 2015. The Army continues to work with the Secretary of Defense to
more actively expand the NLSC membership, reaching out to groups in
which the government has already invested along with leveraging the
capabilities of this organization
Mr. Garcia. Marine Corps - The Marine Corps recognizes the valuable
service provided by the NLSC. In fact, Marine units have employed NLSC
services on several occasions for operational and exercise support and
foreign language instruction. As a matter of practice, however, the
Marine Corps will seek assistance from the NLSC only after all internal
Marine Corps options to satisfy language requirements could not be met
through organic Service capabilities. For this reason, the Marine Corps
has not set any specific parameters or goals for the employment of NLSC
services. Rather, the Marine Corps requests NLSC assistance on an ad
hoc basis similar to other language resources including the National
Virtual Translation Center. The Marine Corps has implemented several
programs to increase foreign language capacity and capability within
its uniformed and civilian workforce, to include the Regional, Culture
and Language Familiarization program for career marines; expanding the
Foreign Area Officer program; and the creation of a Foreign Area
Specialist program for senior enlisted marines.
Navy - Navy recognizes the broad range of language and culture
capabilities provided by the NLSC, and finds particular value in their
ability to satisfy short notice requirements. Navy has utilized NLSC
resources for both standard fleet operations and humanitarian missions.
NLSC personnel have served as interpreters/translators for
multinational maritime exercises when service personnel either were not
available or non-existent for the task.
In the future, Navy plans to formalize its process for filling ad
hoc requests for language, regional expertise, and culture (LREC)
support. To that end, and similar to Navy's employment of the National
Virtual Translation Center, the NLSC will be included as an option when
organic assets are unavailable or nonexistent. Therefore, the intent is
not to establish explicit, quantifiable goals for usage. Navy will
continue to train its own assets based on identified, validated, and
documented requirements. For ad hoc LREC support requests, Navy will
try to use sailors first and will consider other government options
afterwards. Navy is pursuing several initiatives to enhance LREC
capability within its force, but it is neither reasonable nor fiscally
sound to invest in LREC training and sustainment to meet all
contingency needs. Navy plans to coordinate as necessary with the
Defense Language and National Security Education Office on any
policies, procedures, or business practices to improve or better
utilize the NLSC.
Mr. Ginsberg. The purpose of the NLSC is to have a pool of
language-capable individuals available to support sudden and short-term
requirements. The NLSC construct is not currently used to support the
type of exercises and operations conducted by the Air Force. Rather,
the Air Force meets its language needs by deliberately developing
individuals to meet its requirements. The Air Force intends to
encourage separating and retiring airmen who have existing language
skills to join the NLSC.

MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

22. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, one effect of sequestration was that DOD
quickly moved to end service advertising, marketing, and outreach
programs that have been used to aid in recruiting. What is your
assessment of the value of funding these programs, and the projected
impact to recruiting if these programs are not funded?
General Bromberg. It is essential that the Army conduct a vigorous
and sustained marketing and advertising program in order to recruit a
quality force capable of handling 21st century mission challenges.
Admiral Van Buskirk. Navy currently has an annual accession mission
of over 45,000 officer and enlisted sailors with potential recruits
dispersed throughout the country. Recruiting quality individuals is the
first step in ensuring that we have intelligent, capable, high quality
people in the future force. Paid advertising, marketing and outreach
are critical components in our efforts to attain the proper recruiting
mix. Working together to inform the American public of opportunities
available in the Navy, they collectively communicate efficient and
effective messages that favorably impact recruiting mission and
contribute to end strength attainment in support of national security
objectives. Further reduction in marketing, advertising, and outreach
efforts and resourcing, would clearly present challenges to future
accession goal attainment.
Specific impacts to recruiting are measured through leads and
contracts with direct linkage to advertising efforts. In fiscal year
2008, 44.7 percent of Navy accessions (20,218 contracts) originated
from advertising efforts. The national unemployment rate at that time
was 5.2 percent. As the unemployment rate declines, recruiters will
need more assistance from advertising-generated leads to meet accession
goals. With current levels of unemployment, 22.64 percent of contracts
(9,810) come from advertising. These are direct effects and do not
account for the indirect effects that advertising has on influencing
and reinforcing the joining behavior of our market.
Outreach programs, including Navy Weeks and Blue Angel appearances,
allow the American public to directly interact with Navy
representatives and afford them opportunities to observe examples of
the technology and equipment sailors use in the daily performance of
their duties around the world. These interactions prompt them to
consider military service.
The value in funding paid advertising and participating in outreach
events is derived from end strength requirements. Joint Advertising and
Marketing Research Studies (JAMRS) indicate that 53 percent of armed
forces accessions come from youth who, when asked if they would
consider joining the military, had previously indicated ``definitely
not'' or ``probably not''. Additionally, approximately 74 percent of
high quality applicants indicated they initiated first contact with a
recruiter. Advertising, marketing, and outreach events serve to drive
these initial interactions by creating awareness and a positive image
of the Navy and its career opportunities.
General Milstead. In fiscal year 2012, 99.9 percent of Marine
recruits were high school graduates and 74.8 percent scored in the
upper half of the written military entrance exam. The quality of our
applicants is higher than ever before. A critical requirement to
continued success is our recruit advertising program. Our advertising
program is used both strategically and tactically to deliver branded
communications to support marines on recruiting duty, generate leads
and create positive awareness that engages our prospect and influencer
audiences. In total, recruiting a quality and representative force
costs less than 1 percent of the Marine Corps' overall budget.
Recruiter success is inextricably linked to operational and advertising
support. Advertising creates awareness and drives consideration to
serve in the military--it produces `leads'. Advertising leads enable
recruiters to efficiently focus their prospecting activities.
Advertising dollars currently generate approximately 25 percent of all
new contracts (enlisted) through numerous avenues, such as television
commercials, enhanced area canvassing activities and social media
outlets. A further loss of funding to advertising will ultimately lead
to increased stress and reduced quality of life for Marine Corps
recruiters most of whom currently work in excess of 60 hours per week.
If advertising spending is cut back too much when recruiting is strong,
potential long-term gain in awareness and propensity may be lost. The
dramatic advertising cutbacks between 1986 and 1993 coincided with a
considerable erosion of public awareness regarding military service.
General Jones. The Air Force advertising, marketing, and outreach
programs are a critical component to our mission--to attract the best
and brightest youth of America. Reduced funding for these programs will
jeopardize the Air Force's ability to meet career field and DOD quality
requirements. Even though the Air Force has greatly benefited from
historic highs in the quality of accessions in recent years, initial
indicators are signaling a potential shrinking market for high quality
recruits per JAMRS ``State of the Recruiting Market,'' briefing April
2013. That same study indicates that 47 percent of new recruits were
undecided about a career path and were influenced within a year of
joining the Service. The Air Force must continue to strategically
advertise, market, and maintain outreach programs to target the highest
quality recruits and to convert applicants that are less propensed to
serve.

INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD

23. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, DOD and VA have been working on an integrated
electronic health record (EHR) for a number of years with very little
progress being made towards a truly seamless transition of health
information between the two Departments. In January 2013, VA decided to
use VistA, its legacy system, as its core health record despite the
findings of a recent study commissioned by the VA that identified many
VistA deficiencies. We've been told that DOD has been evaluating
existing solutions to determine the appropriate core health record to
use. Has DOD coordinated its proposed EHR program with your Service?
Mr. Lamont. Yes, the Army has coordinated with the Navy and Air
Force in the review of the request for information submissions. This
information was released to the public on February 8, 2013. Results and
recommendations were briefed to DOD leadership and the three Service
Deputy Surgeon Generals. Army functionals were active contributors in
defining EHR Core capabilities.
Mr. Garcia. Yes, DOD has coordinated with the Navy while analyzing
and determining requirements for a proposed EHR program. We have
participated in the review of the request for information submissions
which were publicly released on 8 February 2013.
Mr. Ginsberg. Yes, the Air Force (AF) Surgeon General Chief Medical
Information Officer has been involved in the Analysis of Alternatives
(AoA) between VistA and other commercial electronic health records.
Additionally, the AF Deputy Surgeon General has been a regular
participant in DOD and Veterans' Affairs meetings regarding validation
of requirements and evaluation of solutions. The Deputy Surgeon General
has kept me and the Surgeon General updated.

24. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, how much will it cost for your Service to field a
new EHR?
Mr. Lamont. Specific dollar figures would be better obtained by DOD
Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation as the numbers are acquisition
sensitive.
Mr. Garcia. The Services do not provide funding to this effort as
all funding is centrally managed through the DOD/VA Interagency Program
Office (IPO), the organization responsible for oversight and
coordination of DOD/VA information-sharing initiatives. The Navy
remains focused on tri-service planning for the joint deployment of an
integrated EHR which achieves maximum economies of scale and
standardization of the business process of healthcare among the three
Services.
Mr. Ginsberg. DOD's electronic health record cost estimates must be
redetermined after the Secretary of Defense evaluates the results of
the AoA. Prior cost estimates were based on a previous DOD and VA
strategy that was determined by both Departments to be infeasible.

25. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, what impact do you anticipate for your Services'
medical readiness?
Mr. Lamont. The integrated EHR provides a platform for a lifetime
electronic health record from the time of accessions through a soldiers
service and is a key enabler for seamless transition to the Department
of Veterans' Affairs.
Deploying the integrated EHR will provide improved access to
medical records data and improve readiness capabilities, such as
improved immunization tracking. The integrated EHR will improve medical
records extraction to support the IDES process. The integrated EHR must
have full compatibility with readiness data systems for all Services to
enable crucial bi-directional data exchange. Current systems require
duplicate efforts that introduce errors and gaps.
Mr. Garcia. A new integrated EHR should enhance the ability to
assess medical readiness for our sailors and marines. While information
can currently be viewed via the Bi-directional Health Information
Exchange, a single integrated EHR will afford expanded access to the
source of that health information; permitting quicker assessment and
care coordination among healthcare providers.
Mr. Ginsberg. With a new electronic health record, data and
documentation pertaining to individual medical readiness will be better
integrated into clinical processes, enhancing our ability to provide
timely health measures to sustain the readiness of the servicemembers
under our care.

26. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, do you believe the EHR must be deployable?
Mr. Lamont. Yes, it is essential that the integrated EHR be
deployable to support soldiers deployed to theaters of operation or
contingency operations. A deployable integrated EHR will allow data
input and visibility throughout the continuum of care from point of
injury to DOD medical treatment facilities to VA treatment facilities.
Documenting care in the deployed environment will enhance the accuracy
of a soldier's medical history, which could affect future disability
assessments and benefits determination.
Documenting pre-hospitalization care and assessment provides
valuable retrospective data to conduct research to improve patient care
to address preventable causes of battlefield death. Finally, a
deployable integrated EHR also enables deployed providers to access the
medical history of the injured soldiers, thereby improving the quality
of care.
Mr. Garcia. It is absolutely essential that the IEHR be deployable
to support marines in the field and sailors at sea since a vast
majority of marines and sailors spend significant portions of their
careers deployed away from home station. A key feature of the
integrated EHR is the ability to continue to document medical care in
times of low or no network connectivity, and then synchronize data once
a connection is restored so it is available for future use. To that
end, the integrated EHR will provide one system permitting both the
inputting of data and the visibility of that data throughout the
continuum of care--from the initial point of injury through the
Military Treatment Facility and on to the VA treatment facility.
Documenting healthcare in the deployed environment will enhance the
accuracy of the medical history for our sailors and marines, which is
key to ensuring they receive the right healthcare at the right time.
Well documented healthcare is also critical for use in determining
future disability assessments and benefits determination.
Mr. Ginsberg. In the Initial Capability Document approved by the
Joint Requirements Oversight Council, the electronic health record
should be deployable in theater and support the mobility requirements
for en route care. The solution would eliminate the need for three
separate theater electronic health record solutions and enhance
continuity of care, even in ``low-communication/no-communication''
environments.

27. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, what input has each Service had on the EHR program?
Mr. Lamont. Army Medicine as well as the Navy Bureau of Medicine
and Air Force Surgeon General have been involved in the integrated EHR
program from the beginning. Army's contributions to the integrated EHR
program include: requirements generation and support with Clinical
Informatics, Capability Management, and Enterprise Architecture assets.
The Army Surgeon General is a non-voting member of the Interagency
Program Office Advisory Board, which is responsible for integrated EHR
governance.
Mr. Garcia. Navy Medicine is actively engaged and currently
collaborating with our Army and Air Force counterparts, as well the
Veterans Health Administration. The Navy has provided subject matter
experts to work on the Capability Integrated Project Teams, Clinical
Informatics Teams and Enterprise Architecture Teams as well as staffing
to assist with the requirements generation process. The Navy Surgeon
General is also a non-voting member of the DOD Integrated Program
Office Advisory Board which is responsible for integrated EHR
governance.
Mr. Ginsberg. The Air Force (AF) Surgeon General Chief Medical
Information Officer has been involved in the AoA between VistA and
other commercial electronic health records. Additionally, the AF Deputy
Surgeon General has been a regular participant in DOD and Veterans'
Affairs meetings regarding validation of requirements and evaluation of
solutions. The Air Force Medical Service and AF Communications
communities have provided more than 100 clinical subject matter experts
for the functional and technical requirements process.

BENEFITS FOR SAME-SEX PARTNERS

28. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, recently, former Secretary of Defense Panetta
announced that DOD will expand benefits to unmarried same-sex domestic
partners who declare a committed relationship, but will not extend
those same benefits to unmarried heterosexual domestic partners. Do you
agree with former Secretary Panetta, that when it comes to benefits
paid for by hard-working American taxpayers, that DOD should favor
same-sex domestic partners over heterosexual partners?
Mr. Lamont. We support former Secretary Panetta's decision.
Heterosexual couples, if they so choose, have the opportunity in every
State to get married; currently, same-sex couples do not have this
opportunity. The steps announced today are an effort to close the
equity gap for benefits, consistent with current law. Once implemented,
same sex domestic partners will be required to sign DD Form 683,
(Declaration of Partnership) attesting to the committed relationship.
Similarly, a DD Form 684, (Dissolution of Partnership) will be required
if the relationship ends. Soldiers must notify their personnel official
within 30 days of the dissolution and will be required to wait 6 months
before entering attesting to another relationship.
Mr. Garcia. As an assistant secretary of a military department, I
am committed to supporting the requirements and priorities as
determined by the Secretary of Defense. Many benefits for families in
same-sex relationships remain restricted by law. Heterosexual couples,
in contrast, have the option to marry and enjoy the full range of
benefits. I am committed to working with OSD to ensure fairness and
equal treatment and to taking care of all of our servicemembers and
their families to the extent allowable under law.
Mr. Ginsberg. Heterosexual couples, if they so choose, have the
opportunity in every State to get married, and their marriage is
recognized in Federal law. Currently, same-sex couples do not have this
opportunity (per Defense of Marriage Act), we can only recognize
marriage between a man and a woman. The extension of benefits to same-
sex domestic partners of military members closes the gap in equity for
benefits consistent with current law.

29. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, was your Service consulted to determine the cost
impact of extending these benefits to same sex partners?
Mr. Lamont. The respective Services were not consulted directly.
However, the Joint Benefits Review Working Group, which includes
service representatives, considered cost impact as part of the overall
analysis and determined that the cost was negligible.
Mr. Garcia. Yes. The Department of the Navy was included among the
representatives in the DOD working group established by the Secretary
of Defense which, among other things, determined the cost impact of
extending these benefits to same-sex partners.
Mr. Ginsberg. Benefit subject-matter experts were consulted during
the OSD-led Joint Benefits Review working group and the Air Force
provided input via this working group and various other Senior Leader
briefings and discussions leading up to the announcement of benefits
extension. From a fiscal perspective, the benefits that are being
extended are of negligible cost. Some are cost neutral and self-
sustaining such as MWR Programs, and Commissary and Exchange
privileges.

TOTAL FORCE MIX

30. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, General Dempsey said, in his testimony
last week, that DOD needs flexibility to keep the force in balance and,
that everything must be ``on the table'' including the mix among
Active, Reserve, and National Guard units. In view of the heavy wartime
demand on the forces including the Reserve and Guard, what do you
envision as a viable option to change that force mix for your Service?
General Bromberg. The Army remains committed to the Army Total
Force Policy. The Active Army, the Army National Guard, and the Army
Reserve each serve vital roles in our National Military Strategy, and
it is imperative that we use each component's strengths to best
advantage to accomplish all of the Army's missions. We will carefully
review force structure and mix changes as we gain more clarity on a
future budget.
Admiral Van Buskirk. Navy conducts a comprehensive review every
programming cycle after reviewing all applicable strategies (e.g.,
Defense Strategic Guidance and Cooperative Strategy for the 21st
Century Sea Power). Our program, as submitted, provides Navy with the
optimal Active and Reserve component mix, by which Navy can surge,
regenerate and flex capabilities needed for current operations and
future contingencies. This optimal mix is predicated on the assumption
that the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) Individual Augmentation
demand for Navy personnel will continue to decline and that the Reserve
component will continue to have the capacity to source those
requirements. This strategy enables the active component to man our
force structure units (i.e., ships, submarines, aviation squadrons, and
other operational units) and provide forward presence required by the
ongoing rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region.
Navy has leveraged some of the authorities enacted in the NDAA for
Fiscal Year 2011, to more fully utilize the Reserve component to
increase readiness and operational capacity. Specifically, title 10
U.S.C., sections 12304a and 12304b, allow involuntary access to Reserve
component personnel in response to a major disaster or emergency
(12304a) or to meet preplanned missions in support of combatant
commanders (12304b). Trained and qualified reservists provide increased
capability and capacity to meet strategic Navy requirements and enable
us to transition to a force that can seamlessly integrate into an
active unit or replace an entire active unit to perform routine
operational missions. Additionally, we have successfully implemented
continuum of service policies by which Reserve enlisted sailors have
options for voluntary recall to serve on active duty for up to 3 years
or to return to the Active component and resign their Reserve
contracts. As we continue progressing from a strategic reserve to an
operational reserve, opportunities for further adjustments in the
Active/Reserve Force mix may become increasingly evident.
General Milstead. While the Marine Corps is reducing the end
strength of the Active component from 202,000 to approximately 182,100
for the post Operation Enduring Freedom environment, we do not plan to
draw down its Reserve end strength. We believe the proportion of 39,600
reservists and 182,100 Active Duty marines is the right level for the
foreseeable future.
General Jones. Total Force Task Force was formed to examine the
operational impacts and cost factors associated with various approaches
to total force integration. By identifying and implementing the optimum
force mix of an Active, Reserve, and Guard component, we should be able
to maximize operational effectiveness, better optimize total force
efficiencies; and provide better stability over time to our Guard
units, States, and Reserve organizations.

MILITARY COMPENSATION

31. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, our Nations' historical experience of pursuing cost
savings by cutting military compensation has demonstrated that periods
of designed reduction in overall compensation levels resulted in
retention problems. And those retention problems, especially in the
context of generally improving civilian employment opportunities, meant
Congress was required to come back and authorize catch up increases to
help us keep the highly trained talents and skills that we need. What
is your assessment of the impact of the President's proposed slowdown
in military compensation on retention and recruiting in your Service?
Mr. Lamont. The Army believes that a slowdown in the increase in
military compensation can be accomplished without sacrificing recruit
quality or member retention. Conditions appear favorable for slowing
the increase in military pay. Recruiting quantity is being met and
recruit quality is high; retention goals are typically being exceeded.
Any unanticipated changes in circumstances, such as a significant
improvement in civilian employment opportunities, could negatively
affect Army retention and recruiting. However, at present and in the
anticipated future environment, the Army does not believe that a
slowdown in the increase in military compensation will adversely affect
its ability to recruit and retain an adequate number of high-quality
personnel.
Mr. Garcia. Military compensation is highly competitive today, and
the President's proposed slowdown in base pay is not likely to cause
recruiting or retention problems in the near term provided recruiting
bonuses and retention pays are preserved. The most recent Quadrennial
Review of Military Compensation reported enlisted members were paid at
the 90th percentile and officers were paid at the 83rd percentile
relative to private sector counterparts with comparable education and
experience. Just 13 years ago, both officer and enlisted personnel were
below the 70th percentile benchmark, and DOD made deliberate
investments in military pay to meet that threshold. In the current
fiscal environment, there is room to slow down base pay growth, thereby
helping to mitigate further cuts to force structure, readiness and
modernization.
Mr. Ginsberg. At this time, the Air Force does not foresee
significant challenges to our recruiting and retention efforts as a
result of the proposed slowdown in military compensation. Our Force
Management program is a tailored multi-year strategy focused on sizing
and shaping the total force with the right balance of skills to meet
current and emerging joint mission demands. The Air Force's strategy
over the past few years has been aggressive, allowing us to meet
congressionally mandated end strength requirements and maintain a high
quality force by leveraging voluntary programs first, offering
incentive programs where needed, and implementing involuntary actions
when required. Due to the expected improvements in the economy and the
importance our airmen place on overall compensation, our recruiting and
retention will be increasingly challenged, particularly as the Air
Force addresses the need for its highly technically-skilled force.
These compensation challenges may require increased recruiting and
retention incentives for our future force.

FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAMS

32. Senator Graham. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, and
Secretary Ginsberg, General Dempsey testified last week that
unsustainable costs and smaller budgets require DOD to examine every
warrior and family support program to make sure we are getting the best
return on our investment. How do you assess the investments our Nation
has already made in family support programs, and suicide prevention in
particular, in moving the needle with demonstrable positive return on
investment?
Mr. Lamont. In late 2011, the Army adopted a portfolio approach to
managing warrior and family support programs. This portfolio approach
promotes a shift in the governance focus from individual program
proponents to the entire group of related programs such as Suicide
Prevention. In 2012, the Army piloted its first enterprise evaluation
to assess how programs within the Health Promotion and Risk Reduction
Portfolio contribute to specific strategic outcomes (Help-Seeking, Risk
Reduction, Transition, and Resilience and Coping). The findings of this
and future evaluations will focus on how programs could increase their
ability to achieve the Army's strategic outcomes and improve our return
on investment.
Mr. Garcia. The Navy and Marine Corps continually evaluate the
effectiveness of their programs to ensure the needs of our sailors,
marines, and their families are being met. Assessment and research
efforts help identify program deficiencies, program best practices and
satisfaction. This insight enables the Department of the Navy to adjust
internal programming and accurately direct external support to best
serve sailors, marines, and their families.
The Navy actively participates in the Defense Suicide Prevention
Office's (DSPO) program evaluation initiative. DSPO is conducting an
analysis of the Services and the OSD Suicide Prevention programs in
order to align and integrate programs, resources, policy, and strategy.
The analytical method being utilized has the following three
components:

(1) Strategic Coverage: The Navy is supporting efforts to align
and analyze suicide prevention programs to assess whether there are
gaps in addressing the overall OSD suicide prevention strategic
objectives.
(2) Resource Allocation & Analysis: OSD and the Services are
conducting a review of Suicide Prevention Programs to determine full
costing of requirements/level of effort, funding amounts, and potential
shortfalls. This review includes examining program duplication and AoA
in an effort to reduce costs without significant negative impact.
(3) Program/Portfolio Effectiveness: The DSPO recently completed
an effort to establish a common framework and understanding of measures
of effectiveness (MOEs), and ground rules, for Suicide Prevention
Programs. The Services and OSD are examining measures of effectiveness
and performance measures. This analysis will be used to realign
existing program resources and ensure that highly ranked suicide
prevention programs are implemented across all of the military
Services,

Mr. Ginsberg. We have multiple forums that enable us to monitor the
delivery of family support programs. Within our Airman and Family
Readiness Centers, we have a very robust computer management system
that provides us with real time data for our supported populations-
service codes are used to record the type of support sought (e.g.,
financial management) and the system allows the provider to make
notations of the visits. Additionally, the Air Force conducts biennial
community assessments, through the Air Force Surgeon General, that
provide valuable data on our ability to meet individual needs, and also
collects information regarding behaviors that may place an individual
at risk. Further, the Air Force Community Action Information Board
(CAIB), convened at the installations, major commands, and Headquarters
Air Force, identifies community issues to emphasize the importance of
taking care of airmen and their families. Since 1996, the CAIB process
has focused extensively on monitoring, managing, and implementing
suicide prevention best practices for use by commanders. Additionally,
the CAIB provides detailed actions and discussions on sexual assault
prevention, child and family maltreatment issues, and resilience. A
significant outcome from the CAIB process has been the development and
implementation of the Comprehensive Airman Fitness concept that
concentrates exclusively on developing our airmen and families to
become more resilient and better prepared to meet the unique challenges
of military service.

TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

33. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, I am pleased to learn that DOD has now
reinstated the Tuition Assistance program, previously cancelled by the
Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force in response to the administration's
failure to plan for sequestration. How does Tuition Assistance enable
your Active-Duty Forces to meet the professional development
requirements described by General Dempsey to establish the Profession
of Arms as the foundation for the Joint Force?
General Bromberg. Tuition Assistance supports soldiers in
completion of classes leading to Associate's, Bachelor's and Master's
degrees as well as certificate programs. This off-duty voluntary
education program develops critical and adaptive thinking skills
soldiers and leaders need to make informed decisions. These skill sets
allow the Army to learn faster and adapt more quickly than its
adversaries and inable, necessary skills to meet the challenges of
today's operational environment.
Admiral Van Buskirk. Education is a critical strategic investment
that enhances the overall effectiveness of our force. All assignments
benefit from well-developed skills in critical thinking, problem
solving in complex environments, and effective communications. Navy's
unwavering support of the Tuition Assistance program, along with our
numerous other educational programs and opportunities, support
development of these skills and attributes across the force. Education
becomes an asymmetric advantage in our ability to develop leaders who
are able to innovate, adapt, and succeed in the planning and delivering
of maritime joint warfighting and support capabilities.
General Milstead. The Marine Corps' tuition assistance program is
focused on providing exposure to higher education for our marines. We
expose marines to the critical thinking, analysis and problem-solving
skills that one learns through higher education. While we know that
most of our marines will leave the Corps after their first enlistment,
we value involving them in higher education for two reasons. First, if
they stay marine and continue to pursue higher education, they will
develop the cognitive skills required of thinking institutions, as
described by General Dempsey. Second, if those marines leave the Corps
and re-enter civilian life, they return prepared to pursue higher
education, develop similar skills, and contribute to the advancement of
society. Either way, our Nation improves its thinking and problem
solving capacity.
General Jones. Military Tuition Assistance provides the financial
means for our airmen to pursue higher education. In turn, higher
education provides the educational background crucial in developing the
critical thinking skills needed for practitioners of the profession of
arms. This means our airmen are more able to work in the dynamic
climate of today's conflicts. Additionally, higher education allows
airmen to develop the critical ability to make connections between
seemingly unrelated events or information and develop holistic
solutions quickly and accurately. Military tuition assistance will
continue to be integral to the recruiting, retention and readiness of
our airmen. However, competing funding requirements will necessitate
changes in fiscal year 2014 and beyond to ensure the financial health
of the program.

SUICIDE PREVENTION

34. Senator Graham. General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General
Milstead, and General Jones, our force is exceptionally well-trained on
suicide awareness and prevention, and yet we still experience the
tragedy of suicide at an unacceptably high rate. What is your
assessment on whether the current level of training and leadership
engagement is sufficient or whether it has inadvertently created a
climate in which some vulnerable individuals may have contemplated
suicide because we talk about it so much?
General Bromberg. We continually assess our training for
effectiveness. The Ready and Resilience Campaign requires an assessment
of programs that support the campaign. The Army has not completed an
assessment on the correlation of suicide prevention training and the
incidences of suicides overall. Suicides are complex issues with a
multitude of variables influencing each. The Army focus on identifying
the early signs of suicidal behaviors and intervention skills remains
the best option in attempting to reduce the number of suicides. There
is no known direct correlation that the increase in suicide prevention
training has created a higher propensity of soldiers to consider
suicide as a viable option to their problems.
Admiral Van Buskirk. The U.S. Surgeon General's 2012 National
Strategy for Suicide Prevention recommends emphasis on resiliency in
training, messaging and communications, as well as clinical practice
guidelines. Navy's operational stress control training teaches skills
that build resilience, navigate stress and identify resources that
reduce risk of crises. By helping sailors develop life skills and
promote comprehensive wellness--physical health, nutrition, fitness,
proper rest, sound financial decisions, strong relationships and
spirituality--suicide risk factors are reduced without explicitly
discussing the subject. Navy's training is designed to foster
meaningful discussion of stress and proactive ways to mitigate it and
instill awareness of stress injury warning signs for those having
trouble navigating through challenges.
Our strategic and tactical communications products provide best
practices on how to discuss stress injuries that avoid risk of suicide.
Adapted from the national suicide prevention resource center's
recommendations, these Navy branded products are not only useful to
guide training, but encourage leaders to engage in meaningful dialogue
with their sailors, reinforcing the message that ``It's okay to speak
up when you're down.'' Finally, unit leadership engagement is critical
to enable sailors to move beyond decades of negative psychological
health perceptions and barriers, and to seek the help needed to remain
resilient and operationally ready. Navy is confident that both the
training strategy and leadership commitment to engage all aspects of
suicide prevention will provide sailors and their families with the
necessary tools to choose life.
General Milstead. The Marine Corps continually evaluates the
effectiveness of its suicide prevention training and makes periodic
updates to incorporate the latest evidence-based practices. Our
evaluation includes partnering with Federal agencies, academia and
private industry in cooperation with Defense Centers of Excellence for
Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury to study the
effectiveness of our suicide prevention training.
To ensure that we do not inadvertently create a climate that talks
about suicide too much, the Marine Corps adheres to the latest
recommendations for reporting of suicide, which include offering hope
and avoiding talks about suicide. We do not discuss suicide method,
dramatic images, or act to glamorize a death. Discussing suicide
carefully can correct myths and encourage those who are vulnerable or
at risk to seek help.
General Jones. The current level of training on suicide prevention
for leaders in the Air Force is appropriate. Suicide is one of the most
challenging issues Air Force leaders at all levels face. The Air Force
Suicide Prevention Program (AFSPP) is an effective evidenced-based,
leader-led, community program that relies on 11 overlapping elements.
The core of these 11 Elements is leadership involvement.
In 2011, as part of the Air Force response to the findings of the
2010 Volpe report on suicide in the military and the RAND report, ``The
War Within,'' enhancements were made to the 11 Elements of the AFSPP.
One of the most critical enhancements was the development of a
strategic communication plan to promote responsible reporting of deaths
by suicide, encouraging help-seeking behaviors among all airmen, and
removing barriers to seeking care. This was done to ensure that in our
efforts to prevent suicide, the Air Force was not inadvertently
promoting suicide. To that end, the Air Force Public Affairs Guidance
(PAG) on Suicide Prevention was developed based on the World Health
Organization's (WHO) ``Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media
Professionals.'' The Air Force PAG provides guidelines on crafting
suicide prevention messaging, responsible reporting information on
death by suicides, delivering strength-based messages, championing
responsible help-seeking behaviors in airmen, and modeling healthy
behaviors and choices throughout our wingman culture. This approach is
mirrored in annual training for all airmen and frontline supervisor
training for at-risk career fields. Another enhancement was the
development and issuance of comprehensive post-suicide and post-
suicide-attempt guidelines. These guidelines assist leaders in the
critical time after a suicide attempt or the loss of an airman to
suicide to appropriately support the bereaved and prevent additional
suicides. Research shows that the time immediately following a death by
suicide is a period of increased risk for friends, family, and co-
workers of the deceased.
______

Questions Submitted by Senator Kelly A. Ayotte

INTEGRATED DISABILITY EVALUATION SYSTEM

35. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont and General Bromberg, what
must be done to further reduce the time it takes for soldiers to
progress through IDES?
Mr. Lamont and General Bromberg. The Army remains committed to
making this process more accessible to our soldiers and their families.
Over the last year, the Army has devoted an extraordinary amount of
time, attention, resources, and leadership to improve the Integrated
Disability and Evaluation System. These include doubling the total
number of personnel supporting IDES nationwide, establishing and
enforcing Army-wide processing standards, placing a General Officer in
charge of IDES overall, and establishing three Medical Evaluation Board
remote operating locations to reduce the backlog of Reserve component
soldiers. The results of those efforts are evident in our Medical
Evaluation Board and PEB processing time metrics and will reflect in
the average time for the entire process once the current backlog of
cases have finished the process. However, this is still a very
complicated process touching unit, personnel, medical, Veterans'
Health, Veterans' Benefits, and finance systems. Short of complete
overhaul of the system, we believe redesigning the existing process
within the constraints of current statutes will only result in
unnecessary turmoil and confusion and will likely result in another
inefficient process.

36. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont and General Bromberg, what are
the leading causes of delay?
Mr. Lamont and General Bromberg. The Army is meeting OSD's
processing goals in all subprocesses of the IDES with the exception of
the VA Preliminary Rating Stage and VA Benefits Stage. Recent process
improvements in the Army's Medical and PEB processes have increased the
average monthly input of cases to the Disability Evaluation System
Rating Activity Site, creating a backlog. Until this backlog is
eliminated, the Army will have difficulty meeting OSD's 295-day goal.

INVOLUNTARY SEPARATION

37. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont and General Bromberg, in your
prepared remarks, you state that the Army will ``need congressional
support as it resorts to inevitable involuntary measures in the coming
fiscal year.'' Why is it inevitable that the Army will need to utilize
involuntary separations?
Mr. Lamont and General Bromberg. The Army must retain the very best
soldiers to continue to succeed in performing our critical missions on
behalf of the Nation. Our modeling has shown that current volunteer
separation rates will not achieve the required end strength goals.
Experience from the 1990s drawdown showed us that incentivizing
voluntary separations prevented the Army from keeping many of its
promising members. In addition, funding to support financial incentives
for voluntary separations would be pulled from critical programs
already significantly impacted by sequestration adjustments. For
today's force shaping efforts, the Army is committed to deciding who we
will retain and who must transition by putting in place a robust
program of transition assistance for servicemembers and families. This
will ensure all who must separate will have the tools needed to care
for family needs and transition their hard won skills into our Reserve
components or to civilian careers.

38. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont and General Bromberg, what
level of involuntary separations do you anticipate in the next fiscal
year?
Mr. Lamont and General Bromberg. Approximately 1,000 officers will
need to be separated through promotion nonselection and Selective Early
Retirement Board actions in fiscal year 2014.

39. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont and General Bromberg, in terms
of grade, years of service, number of deployments, and military
occupational specialty, what type of soldiers will be involuntarily
separated in the coming fiscal year?
Mr. Lamont and General Bromberg. The Army expects to separate
enlisted soldiers in the ranks of private through sergeant major, and
officers at the grades of captain through colonel. The majority of the
members separating will have deployed and will span a range of
specialties. We anticipate that many of these soldiers will be eligible
to apply for Temporary Early Retirement Authority or regular
retirement.

40. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont, General Odierno testified
that if sequestration continues, the Army may have to reduce at least
100,000 additional personnel. During last year's subcommittee hearing,
you said that the Army may have to involuntarily separate as many as
24,000 enlisted soldiers and up to 5,000 officers. Has your estimation
changed or are those the numbers we are still looking at in terms of
involuntary separation?
Mr. Lamont. For the Army to achieve an end strength of 490,000, we
expect to have to require the involuntary separations of approximately
6,500 officers and just under 6,000 enlisted over the period between
today and fiscal year 2017. If sequestration remains in place, those
numbers would have to be increased based on any additional end strength
reductions required.

41. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont, consistent with current law,
what is the approximate number of anticipated involuntary separations
if sequestration continues until 2021?
Mr. Lamont. The Army has not completed its analysis of
sequestration impacts on the force. It would be imprudent to provide
any numbers at this time.

42. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont, will the majority of
involuntarily separated soldiers be retirement eligible?
Mr. Lamont. Yes. Since Temporary Early Retirement Authority is
available, we anticipate that the majority of our separating soldiers
will qualify for a retirement pension and benefits.

REDUCED RECRUITING POOL

43. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, Secretary
Ginsberg, General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General Milstead, and
General Jones, in Secretary Lamont's and General Bromberg's prepared
remarks, they stated that ``recruiting is expected to be more difficult
in fiscal year 2014.'' You mention that ``one in four 17-& 24-year-olds
are eligible to serve in the Army without a waiver''. You also state
that ``One in five youths age 12-19 are currently overweight, compared
to 1 in 20 in the 1960s, and this trend is projected to grow to one in
four by 2015.'' From a broad, national security perspective, what
concerns, if any, do you have regarding a declining pool of eligible
recruits?
Mr. Lamont and General Bromberg. A declining pool of eligible
recruits is a national security concern because it impacts the ability
to field a quality, and diverse, All- Volunteer Force. This directly
impacts readiness. While beneficial to the country, the steadily
improving economic environment compounds the problem of the declining
pool and adds to today's recruiting challenge. The Army has the mission
to recruit over 100,000 eligible and qualified young men and women
across all three of its components each year. The Army competes for
these qualified youth with the other Services as well as colleges,
universities, and industry. Of those who are eligible, only a small
portion (8 percent) is interested in joining the Army. In order to
convince this limited pool of the value of Army service over the other
options available to them, Army marketing must be sufficiently
resourced.
Mr. Garcia and Admiral Van Buskirk. Navy is concerned about the
trends, but has no concern from a broad, national security perspective,
as the remaining Qualified Military Available (QMA) pool is projected
to remain relatively stable. QMA is the official DOD metric for
eligibility. Based on a fall 2012 assessment by OSD JAMRS, the high
quality, eligible, and propensed, target market is estimated at
approximately 529,500, which will meet the DOD accessions requirement.
Navy will meet accessions requirements in the foreseeable future
without relaxing accessions standards.
Mr. Ginsberg and General Jones. The Air Force role in national
security requires us to carry out activities conducted by the brightest
and most capable airmen and our ability to seek out and recruit these
individuals is critical to our success. A declining recruiting pool
reduces the Air Force's ability to find the diverse mix of applicants
to sustain our highly technical career fields. Based on current
worldwide trends and threats, the Air Force projects increased
requirements in career fields such as Cyber. These technical
specialties depend on our ability to provide sufficient numbers of
qualified recruits to sustain these career fields over the course of a
20- to 30-year career.
General Milstead. The pool of highly qualified eligible recruits
has been declining for several years now and shows no sign of improving
in the near future. The Marine Corps has been proactive in addressing
this concern. The backbone of the Marine Corps' recruiting effort is
the High School and Community College program in which we focus our
recruiters' efforts on the most qualified youth; although qualified
prospect numbers are diminishing they are presently adequate. Access to
high schools and college campuses is critical to our recruiters being
able to meet face-to-face with quality applicants. With about 75
percent of the market being unqualified for military service, recruiter
access to these educational institutions is imperative. Adequately
funding our recruiting efforts, specifically advertising and personnel
structure, will enable the Marine Corps to avoid mission failure in the
coming years.

44. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, Secretary
Ginsberg, General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General Milstead, and
General Jones, is the declining recruit pool a long-term trend we
should be concerned about?
Mr. Lamont and General Bromberg. Yes, the declining long-term trend
of young Americans who are eligible to serve in the Army is a concern.
The United States is facing a national security challenge--not only a
military recruiting problem. Recruiting is expected to be more
challenging in fiscal year 2014; the Army and the Nation still face
challenges such as rising obesity rates and decreasing high school
graduation rates as we recruit the All-Volunteer Force. Today, fewer
than one in four 17- to 24-year-olds are eligible to serve in the Army.
More than 20 percent of high school students fail to graduate and one
in five youths, 12-19 years old, are currently overweight. This trend
is projected to grow to one in four by 2015. Recruiting soldiers to
meet the challenges of the 21st century will prove increasingly
difficult due to these changing U.S. demographics. Trends such as
increased requirements for technological proficiency, increasing
obesity and a reduced interest in military service not only limit the
recruiting population, but potentially prevent some of the best and
brightest from serving in our ranks and benefitting from an Army Strong
foundation. The Army requires quality prospects that can adapt and
operate in complex environments; the declining recruit pool is
concerning as it may impact future capabilities.
Mr. Garcia and Admiral Van Buskirk. Navy is concerned about the
trend in obesity, increase in substance abuse, and the general lack of
military awareness; however, analysis of the data indicates that the
recruit pool is relatively stable through 2020. The size of the age 17-
24 youth population is projected to increase between 2020 and 2030.
Analysis of OSD JAMRS data suggests that, even with QMA factors applied
to gross census numbers, the recruit pool remains large when compared
with the projected number of DOD annual accessions of approximately
150,000; therefore, it is not expected to impact accession goals.
Mr. Ginsberg and General Jones. Yes, a declining recruiting pool
threatens the Air Force's ability to meet future national security
requirements and marketing data, provided by the JAMRS, indicates that
this trend is growing.
General Milstead. Yes, for the sake of our national character as
well as national security. Based on ethnicity or race, between 21 to 42
percent of young Americans did not graduate from high school in 2012.
Another 10 percent cannot join the military because of their criminal
records. When weight problems are combined with educational deficits,
criminal records, and other disqualifiers, such as asthma or drug
abuse, 75 percent of Americans 17 to 24 years old are unable to join
the military.

45. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, Secretary
Ginsberg, General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General Milstead, and
General Jones, will your Service be forced to lower standards in order
to recruit a sufficient number of people?
Mr. Lamont and General Bromberg. The Army has no plans to lower
recruit quality standards to achieve its goals.
Mr. Garcia and Admiral Van Buskirk. Navy does not need to lower its
accession standards. NRC's analysis of the data indicates that the
recruit pool is relatively stable through 2020. The age 17-24 youth
population is projected to increase between 2020 and 2030. Even with
QMA factors, the official DOD eligibility metric, applied to gross
Census numbers, the recruit pool remains large when compared with the
DOD projected annual accessions of approximately 150,000. Based on a
fall 2012 assessment of OSD JAMRS data, the high quality, eligible, and
propensed, target market is estimated at approximately 529,500, which
will meet the DOD accessions requirement.
Mr. Ginsberg and General Jones. It is too early to determine if the
Air Force will need to lower standards in the future to meet accession
goals. We have enjoyed a robust recruiting environment in recent years
mostly due to the relatively high unemployment rate and a struggling
economy. This recruiting environment has produced inflated quality
indicators such as a higher than normal number of applicants qualifying
in the highest mental aptitude test categories. We will continue to
monitor our recruiting trends as the economy improves and other factors
continue to shrink our recruiting pool and make adjustments if we feel
it is necessary to meet production goals.
General Milstead. The Marine Corps has not, and does not plan to
reduce our quality standards or enlistment criteria. Quality standards
were maintained when the Marine Corps expanded in size during the
recent decade. Studies and research confirm that quality applicants are
an investment that ultimately saves money due to lower attrition--
specifically, more individuals will complete their enlistment--which
helps stabilize our recruiting accession mission. Most importantly it
provides the highest caliber of force capable of adapting and
succeeding on 21st century battlefields. Lowering standards to chase
short-term gains in meeting accession missions leads ultimately to
higher costs, a less capable force, and negative implications for
national security.

46. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, Secretary
Ginsberg, General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General Milstead, and
General Jones, how can programs like the National Guard Youth Challenge
Program increase the number of eligible recruits?
Mr. Lamont and General Bromberg. While the mission of the Army
Reserve National Guard (ARNG) Youth Challenge Program is to intervene
and assist 16-18 year old high school dropouts, the impact on expanding
the ARNG recruiting market is minimal. Many of the National Guard Youth
Challenge participants have law violations and would thus require
misconduct waivers. Very few program participants join (14 percent) and
many may not qualify if they do receive a GED or high school diploma.
Mr. Garcia and Admiral Van Buskirk. The National Guard Youth
Challenge Program (NGYCP) is recognized as a Tier II education program
by OSD. Per fiscal year 2013 DOD quality standards, 90 percent of total
force non-prior service accessions must be Tier I High School Diploma
Graduates (HSDG). Navy's higher quality standards require 95 percent to
be Tier I HSDGs. Navy does access some NGYCP participants, but is
limited by the academic quality standard. Absent modification to Tier I
and Tier II HSDG standards, or increased academic performance on the
part of NGYCP applicants, and applicants of similar programs, the NGYCP
cannot increase the number of eligible recruits.
Mr. Ginsberg and General Jones. The Air Force agrees that national
and local level programs such as the NGYCP can be effective in
generating potential recruits by providing a means to qualify otherwise
disqualified youth. The NGYCP is a community-based program that leads,
trains, and mentors at-risk youth so they may become productive
citizens. Many of these at-risk youth have other disqualifying factors
prohibiting them from serving in the Air Force.
The Air Force has found it more cost effective to use our resources
to generate awareness and interest for our programs by targeting youth
still in school. The Air Force currently participates in various
national-level sponsorships that focus on STEM and targets mechanically
inclined youth, as well as the many local-level programs with
involvement of our 27 squadrons and approximately 1,100 recruiters. The
intent of our efforts is to educate youth and influencers on the high
tech opportunities in the Air Force, and formulate a favorable
impression of the Air Force as a viable and noble career option for
youth.
General Milstead. The Marine Corps does not utilize programs like
the NGYCP for expanding eligible recruits. Our source for our quality
applicant resides in the traditional high school market. Applicants
from the high school market consistently have lower attrition, score
higher in qualifying test scores for classification to military
specialties, and have fewer moral issues compared to applicants with
alternative education credentials.

WOMEN IN SERVICE REVIEW

47. Senator Ayotte. General Milstead, from a Marine Corps
perspective, can you provide an update on the Women in Service Review?
General Milstead. We are on track to have the new policy fully
implemented by the deadline of 1 January 2016. We are continuing to
follow a two pillar approach as we implement our plan in a deliberate,
measured, and responsible manner. The first pillar is the opening of
closed MOSs; we are nearly complete with the full review and validation
of all physical standards for MOS qualification. Throughout this summer
and fall, we will be testing 800 male and female Marine volunteers on
MOS physical tasks and looking for correlations to our Physical Fitness
Test (PFT) and Combat Fitness Test event performance. Following this
research, we plan to have a physical screening mechanism in place to
aid in MOS classification by the end of this year.
Our research at the Infantry Officer Course is ongoing. Over the
last six months, four female lieutenants have volunteered for the
course but none have completed it. An additional four lieutenants have
volunteered for the course this July.
The second pillar of our plan is the opening of closed units. This
process was initiated in 2012 with the approved ``Exception to
Policy.'' Currently, 48 female Marine officers and staff
noncommissioned officers have been assigned to 19 previously closed
battalions (Artillery, Amphibious Assault Vehicle, Tanks, Combat
Assault, Combat Engineer, and Low Altitude Air Defense); continual
assessment of this program will shape expansion to full integration by
2016.

SUICIDES

48. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, Secretary
Ginsberg, General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General Milstead, and
General Jones, in Secretary Lamont's prepared statement, he discussed
the serious problem of suicide in the Army. He states that, ``The Army
had 324 potential suicides during 2012--the highest annual total on
record.'' New Hampshire's Deployment Cycle Support Care Coordination
Program has received national recognition and has achieved tangible
results on this front--not only in preventing suicide but also in
assisting servicemembers and their families in the areas of mental
health care, employment, and homelessness. In 2012, program care
coordinators intervened successfully in 29 suicide risk situations. Are
each of you aware of New Hampshire's Deployment Cycle Support Care
Coordination Program?
Mr. Lamont and General Bromberg. Yes, we are aware of the New
Hampshire Deployment Cycle Support Care Coordination Program. The Army
National Guard partners with the legislatively mandated Yellow Ribbon
Reintegration Program, which helps National Guard and Reserve component
servicemembers and their families nation-wide, connect with their local
support community before, during, and after deployments. All National
Guard and Reserve components hold events and activities to provide
servicemembers and their families training, information on child and
youth programs, available benefits, resources, and services. The
National Guard mandates servicemembers to attend Yellow Ribbon events,
and family members are strongly encouraged to attend.
Mr. Garcia and Admiral Van Buskirk. Yes; the Department of the Navy
is aware of New Hampshire's Deployment Cycle Support Care Coordination
Program and the successes it has reported since its inception. Many of
the core elements of this program are duplicated in the Navy
initiatives and programs that support sailors, marines, and their
families throughout the deployment cycle and transition to civilian
life. The Navy applauds the National Guard for providing comprehensive
protective initiatives that assist guardsmen with navigating stress. We
continually review best practices of all Services and components to
identify those that can be tailored to fit the needs of sailors,
marines, and their families.
Mr. Ginsberg and General Jones. We were not aware of New
Hampshire's Deployment Cycle Support Care Coordination program. We
appreciate being made aware of the program and our subject matter
experts are reviewing it for potential application to the Air Force
Suicide Prevention Program.
General Milstead. The Marine Corps is aware of the New Hampshire
Deployment Cycle Support Care Coordination Program. We are pleased that
the program provides support to the National Guard members prior to,
during, and post deployment.
The Marine Corps' Community Counseling and Prevention Services
provides similar programs such as Operational Stress Control and
Readiness, Deployment Cycle Training, and Third Location Decompression
events, which are intended to prevent, identify, and manage combat and
operational stress-related issues and increase access to mental health
care by breaking stigma, raising awareness, and providing education and
resources to support marines. Combat and Operational Stress Control
principles are embedded in training that reaches the total force
supporting marines in theater, in garrison, and at home.
Additionally, the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) has
been incorporated into the Marine Corps overall Unit, Personal and
Family Readiness Program. YRRP, which was developed for National Guard
and Reserve servicemembers and their families, is one of the many tools
available to our units to ensure our marines and family members are
well equipped to deal with the many challenges facing them.

49. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Lamont, Secretary Garcia, Secretary
Ginsberg, General Bromberg, Admiral Van Buskirk, General Milstead, and
General Jones, are each of your Services looking to the National Guard
for best practices that can inform your Services' efforts going
forward?
Mr. Lamont and General Bromberg. Yes. Potential best practices
provided by the National Guard are shared across the Total Force.
Senior Army Leaders and Commanders also share potential best practices,
lessons learned, and identify trends and themes implemented across the
Army during monthly Vice Chief of Staff of the Army-led Suicide Senior
Review Group meetings in an effort to help mitigate suicides and reduce
risky behaviors. These lessons-learned and potential best practices are
also posted on the Army G-1, Army Suicide Prevention website at:
www.preventsuicide.army.mil.
Mr. Garcia and Admiral Van Buskirk. Yes, the Department of the Navy
collaborates with all the Services suicide prevention offices (SPO),
including the National Guard, to identify the best practices and
successes of individual programs. Collaboration is realized through
group engagements with SPO representatives and the DOD Suicide
Prevention and Risk Reduction Committee monthly meetings. Best
practices are carefully considered for inclusion into Navy and Service
initiatives to improve support to servicemembers and their families.
Mr. Ginsberg and General Jones. The Air Force works collaboratively
with the Guard and Reserve through the CAIB and the Integrated Delivery
System (IDS) at each level of the Air Force (Headquarters Air Force,
Major Command, and installation). CAIBs are cross-functional forums
created to identify and resolve or elevate to the next appropriate
level those community issues that impact readiness or affect the
quality of life of Air Force members and their families. The IDS
functions as the action arm of the CAIB and develops a comprehensive,
coordinated plan for integrating and implementing community outreach,
prevention, and resiliency programs, such as suicide prevention.
Also, all components of the Air Force (Active Duty, Guard, and
Reserve) are actively engaged with the Defense Suicide Prevention
Office in helping shape suicide prevention efforts across DOD through
the Suicide Prevention and Risk Reduction Committee, the General
Officer Steering Committee on Suicide Prevention, and other working
groups and committees. The Air Force also continues to collaborate with
our sister Services to leverage the full extent of our internal
resources, combining our experiences and best practices to improve our
suicide prevention efforts across the force.
General Milstead. The Marine Corps shares all of our resources,
plans and findings with our sister Services, including the National
Guard, through the Suicide Prevention and Risk Reduction Committee
chaired by Defense Suicide Prevention Office. Additionally, we look to
our sister Services and the National Guard for best practices to inform
our prevention efforts. We regularly compare our initiatives to the
best practices registry sponsored by the Department of Health and Human
Services through the federally funded Suicide Prevention Resource
Center.

[Whereupon, at 11:13 a.m., the subcommittee adjourned.]