[Senate Hearing 113-465, Part 6]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 113-465, Pt. 6
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR
2015 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM
=======================================================================
HEARINGS
before the
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
S. 2410
TO AUTHORIZE APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2015 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
----------
PART 6
PERSONNEL
----------
MARCH 26 AND APRIL 9, 2014
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services
S. Hrg. 113-465 Pt. 6
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR
2015 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM
=======================================================================
HEARINGS
before the
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
S. 2410
TO AUTHORIZE APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2015 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
__________
PART 6
PERSONNEL
__________
MARCH 26 AND APRIL 9, 2014
Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov/
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
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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, Chairwoman
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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march 26, 2014
Page
The Active, Guard, Reserve, and Civilian Personnel Programs...... 1
Wright, Hon. Jessica L., Acting Under Secretary of Defense for
Personnel and Readiness; Accompanied by Hon. Jonathan A.
Woodson, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs;
Hon. Frederick E. Vollrath, Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Readiness and Force Management; and Richard O. Wightman, Acting
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs............. 3
Davis, John R., Director, Legislative Programs, Fleet Reserve
Association.................................................... 46
Hayden, Col. Michael F., USAF (Ret.), Director, Government
Relations, Military Officers Association of America............ 54
Hanson, CAPT Marshall, USNR (Ret.), Director, Legislative and
Military Policy, Reserve Officers Association.................. 60
Moakler, Kathleen B., Government Relations Director, National
Military Family Association.................................... 69
Questions for the Record......................................... 100
april 9, 2014
To Continue to Receive Testimony on the Active, Guard, Reserve,
and Civilian Personnel Programs................................ 151
Bromberg, LTG Howard B., USA, Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1......... 155
Moran, VADM William F., USN, Chief of Naval Personnel/Deputy
Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training,
and Education, N-1, U.S. Navy.................................. 164
Cox, Lt. Gen. Samuel D., USAF, Deputy Chief of Staff for
Manpower, Personnel, and Services, A-1......................... 173
Milstead, Lt. Gen. Robert E., Jr., USMC, Deputy Commandant,
Manpower and Reserve Affairs................................... 184
Chandler, SMA Raymond F., III, U.S. Army......................... 205
Stevens, MCPON Michael D., U.S. Navy............................. 212
Cody, CMSAF James A., U.S. Air Force............................. 218
Barrett, SGTMAJMC Michael P., U.S. Marine Corps.................. 227
Questions for the Record......................................... 257
(iii)
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR
2015 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM
----------
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014
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 10:03 a.m. in
room SR-222, Russell Senate Office Building, Senator Kirsten
Gillibrand (chairwoman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Committee members present: Senators Gillibrand, Hirono,
Kaine, King, Ayotte, Graham, and Lee.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, CHAIRWOMAN
Senator Gillibrand. The subcommittee meets today to receive
testimony from the Department of Defense (DOD) on the Active,
Guard, Reserve, and civilian personnel programs in review of
the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2015 and the
Future Years Defense Program.
Today, we will have two panels. The first one consists of
our senior DOD leaders, with whom we will discuss not only DOD
personnel policy issues but specific budget proposals in
furtherance of our subcommittee's oversight responsibilities.
The Honorable Robert F. Hale, Under Secretary of Defense,
Comptroller; the Honorable Jessica L. Wright, Acting Under
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness; the Honorable
Jonathan A. Woodson, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health
Affairs; the Honorable Frederick E. Vollrath, Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Readiness and Force Management; and
Mr. Richard O. Wightman, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense
for Reserve Affairs.
Our second panel will consist of representatives from
beneficiary groups who represent the interests of Active Duty
and Reserve servicemembers, retirees, and their families. I
will introduce them after the first panel concludes.
DOD submits its budget for fiscal year 2015 at a time of
tremendous challenge and uncertainty for the Nation, the
military, and our servicemembers, retirees, and their families.
DOD will not be under sequestration in the coming fiscal year
but nevertheless faces a constrained fiscal environment. The
$496 billion top line for DOD is unchanged from the funding
levels in fiscal years 2013 and 2014 and remains more than $30
billion below the funding provided to DOD in fiscal years 2010,
2011, and 2012.
Military personnel funding, including funding for health
care for servicemembers, their families, and retirees, totals
$176.6 billion in the fiscal year 2015 request. This represents
a slight decline over last year's total, although the portion
of the total budget devoted to personnel has risen slightly.
The proposal before us includes numerous reductions in pay
and benefits about which many, including myself, have serious
concerns. The budget put forward by DOD proposes significantly
lower end strengths for the ground forces through 2019,
including a reduction of 50,000 more than had previously been
planned in Active Duty Army end strength, with smaller
reductions in the Guard and Reserve. The budget sets a pay
raise for servicemembers below the rate of inflation, freezes
pay for general and flag officers, begins a phased reduction in
the growth of the housing allowance that will result in
servicemembers paying 5 percent out-of-pocket for housing
costs, reduces support to commissaries that will result in
higher prices, and makes significant and structural changes to
the TRICARE benefit.
In all, DOD's personnel and compensation proposal seeks to
save over $2 billion in fiscal year 2015 and shifts those
savings to the Operation and Maintenance account. Each of these
reductions is significant in and of itself, but I am extremely
concerned about the cumulative effect of all of these cuts,
especially on the junior members of the force and their
families.
These benefit proposals are being made, I would note, while
the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization
Commission (MCRMC), established in the 2013 defense bill, has
yet to finish its work. The MCRMC was established to review all
aspects of the military compensation and retirement systems,
including health care, and how these systems might be reformed
to modernize and enhance the viability of the All-Volunteer
Force. It will report its findings and recommendations next
February.
The Services continued the process of removing barriers to
service by women, an effort I strongly endorse. This past
January, the Army notified Congress of its intent to open
33,000 positions to women that were previously closed due to
their proximity to combat. These positions are in military
occupational specialties (MOS) already open to women. The real
challenge moving forward will be opening occupations such as
infantry that are currently closed.
A little more than a year ago, Secretary Panetta and
General Dempsey rescinded the Ground Combat Exclusion Policy
and gave the Services and the Special Operations Command until
January 2016 to open all positions to service by women or to
request an exception to keep certain positions closed. I
believe in the value of a deliberative and scientific approach
in evaluating occupational standards for all military jobs,
which I hope will be the Services' approach. I do expect that
once these standards are properly validated, be they physical,
mental or technical, that all servicemembers, men and women,
will be able to serve and compete for any military job for
which they meet the requirements necessary for the position.
I remain concerned about sexual assault in the military. I
was disappointed that despite the support of the majority of my
colleagues, we were not given an opportunity to vote on passage
of my proposal to make sure that decisions to prosecute serious
offenses are made by trained, professional, and independent
lawyers rather than commanders who don't necessarily have the
training or perspective to make these decisions objectively.
But I have not given up on making this change that so many
survivors have told us will make a difference when it comes to
reporting the crime.
I will also continue my efforts to make sure that the
changes that have been legislated are implemented in an
effective manner and will continue to work toward initiatives
to better address this scourge in our military.
I am also interested to hear more about the standard of
care you are providing to our servicemembers and their
families, something which must not be sacrificed in an era of
belt-tightening. I believe that ensuring that servicemembers,
retirees, and their families get the best care is fundamental
to readiness. As you are aware, I am particularly concerned
about your work in support of the developmentally disabled
dependents of servicemembers.
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 to 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 best we can assist
our servicemembers and their families to ensure that our
military remains steadfast and strong.
So now I would like to turn it over. When Senator Graham
joins us, he can use his opening statement at his discretion.
Secretary Hale, if you would like to start with your
statement.
Secretary Hale. Madam Chairwoman, I'm going to defer to
Secretary Wright to open up. Then I'll have a brief statement.
Senator Gillibrand. That's fine.
Secretary Wright.
STATEMENT OF HON. JESSICA L. WRIGHT, ACTING UNDER SECRETARY OF
DEFENSE FOR PERSONNEL AND READINESS; ACCOMPANIED BY HON.
JONATHAN A. WOODSON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR HEALTH
AFFAIRS; HON. FREDERICK E. VOLLRATH, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF
DEFENSE FOR READINESS AND FORCE MANAGEMENT; AND RICHARD O.
WIGHTMAN, ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR RESERVE
AFFAIRS
Ms. Wright. Chairwoman 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
2015 budget request.
More than a third of the DOD's base budget supports our
military personnel pay and benefits package. As Secretary Hagel
testified, DOD's priority for this budget is to balance pay and
benefit compensation with force readiness.
We have planned for a capability favoring a smaller force
that is trained properly and modernized to accomplish the
mission. This budget reflects long and careful deliberations,
and it came with some very sobering choices that we had to
make.
This budget reflects a 1 percent pay raise in base pay for
military personnel, with the exception of general and flag
officers, whose pay will be frozen for a year. DOD is proposing
to gradually slow the growth of the tax-free basic allowance
for housing (BAH) until BAH ultimately covers approximately 95
percent of the average servicemember's housing expense. We will
also eliminate renter's insurance costs from the allowance.
These changes will be phased in over several years to allow
members to plan accordingly.
We propose a $1 billion decrease over 3 years to the annual
budget to operate the commissaries. Our plan does not direct
the closure of any commissaries. Overseas commissaries and
those commissaries in remote locations will continue to receive
subsidies.
We will simplify and modernize our TRICARE health program
by consolidating all of the plans and by adjusting deductibles
and co-pays. These changes will encourage members to use the
most affordable means of care, such as the Military Treatment
Facilities (MTF), preferred providers, and generic
prescriptions. The proposed single TRICARE system consolidates
the various TRICARE options into one plan.
We know that compensation and benefits are only part of
what attracts and retains people in our military, and this is
especially true when we talk directly to our servicemembers.
Our members join our Services to learn and exercise their
skills. We believe that readiness and training are clearly the
ultimate care we can give our servicemembers. If we cannot
afford to train, exercise, and operate, if the quality of their
service is diminished, we will precisely lose those
servicemembers we want to retain.
We have an obligation to ensure servicemembers and their
families are fairly and appropriately compensated and that
caring for them during their time and after their time in
uniform is also on our radar scope. We also have the solemn
responsibility to give our troops the finest training and the
finest equipment possible. When America calls upon our
servicemembers, they must be prepared with every advantage we
can give them so they return home safely to their family and
friends. The President's budget fulfills both of these promises
to our servicemembers and their families.
Ma'am, thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
Ma'am, we were asked for only one statement, and Mr. Hale
will follow.
Secretary Hale. Madam Chairwoman, Senator Graham, thank you
for the chance to appear today. Secretary Wright has outlined
the key personnel issues with DOD's 2015 budget. I would like
to expand on a couple of them, with a focus on the budget.
Balance is the key goal in the 2015 DOD budget. We have
made hard choices designed to create a force that can carry out
the overall defense strategy, though with higher risk in some
missions.
To minimize risk, we sought a balanced combination of
military readiness, size, and technical capability, and we did
this while meeting some pretty stringent budget limits.
Achieving this balance required a lot of difficult decisions. I
will focus on just two that are particularly related to
personnel.
Even under the budget proposed by the President, we had to
reduce the size of our military forces. Compared to levels
expected at the end of this year, total Active Duty military
personnel will decline by about 6 percent by fiscal year 2019.
Guard and Reserve personnel decline by a lesser amount, 4
percent. Civilian personnel decline about 5 percent.
These planned cutbacks in personnel would be even larger if
sequester-level budgets return. The President has proposed
budgeting at levels above the Budget Control Act caps, the
sequester levels, by a total of $115 billion in the years 2016
through 2019. If Congress does not increase the caps to
accommodate the President's proposed budget levels, then
military forces would have to decline by larger amounts. For
example, instead of a 6 percent decline in Active Duty, it
would go to 9 percent under sequester-level budgets.
These personnel cutbacks mean that we will have fewer
forces available. Under the President's proposed budget, the
Air Force will retire more than 300 aircraft, including all of
its A-10 and U-2 fleets. The Navy will put 11 ships into phased
modernization and eliminate crews while the ships are in this
status. The Army will reduce the number of brigade combat teams
and combat air patrols, and force reductions would be even
larger under sequester-level budgets.
We believe that a smaller military force, even though it
means accepting more risk in some missions, is necessary so
that we can comply with the budget limits while still having
enough funds to modernize and provide a high level of
readiness. Smaller forces are one key to maintaining the
balance that is the theme of this budget.
Balance also requires some reductions and rebalancing in
the Guard and Reserve. The Reserve components have performed
superbly over the past 10 years. I have watched this for 40
years. If you had told me we could have seen the Guard and
Reserve in 13 years of war and still maintain recruiting and
retention, I think I would have been very skeptical, but they
did it. We intend to maintain the Reserve components as full
war-time partners in addition to their homeland defense mission
and the other important things they do.
However, there are some missions that are simply best
suited for the Active Forces--for example, the ``Fight
Tonight'' kinds of missions. Therefore, as we work toward
balanced reductions in the size of the military, we plan some
cutbacks in Reserve component forces, though by a smaller
percent than the cuts imposed on the Active-Duty Forces.
Another key to balance is the difficult decisions we have
made regarding military compensation. As Secretary Wright has
reviewed those, I won't go through them again. We made them in
order to comply with budgetary limits while preserving enough
funds for training and maintenance. We need that to return to a
high state of military readiness.
Our compensation proposals follow some clear principles. No
one's pay and allowances will be cut. We will slow the growth,
but we will not cut pay and allowances. We will ensure that
compensation is sufficiently generous to attract and retain the
people we need to man the military in a very demanding
profession. We will make sure that we support the All-Volunteer
Force. The funds saved by slowing the growth in military
compensation will all be reinvested in training and
maintenance. That is a commitment we made to the Joint Chiefs
when they developed these proposals, and we have kept it.
Secretary Wright, as I said, already reviewed the
proposals. They have an important effect on the balance in this
budget. Madam Chairwoman, you referred to this. If Congress
turns down all of these proposals, most of which require
legislation, then in order to live within the budgetary limits,
Congress will have to find $2.1 billion in other cutbacks in
fiscal year 2015, and together we will have to identify $31
billion of additional cutbacks over the next 5 years. These
cuts are going to have to come out of readiness and
modernization. There is nowhere else to go. This will harm the
balance that we believe is needed to minimize risk to national
security.
Senator King. Excuse me. What was the figure for the 5
years?
Secretary Hale. $31 billion.
We know that this budget features difficult choices. They
were difficult for us--I sat through I don't know how many
meetings on the budget as we went through this with the Chiefs
and the Secretary--and they are also very difficult for you.
But we believe we have created a balanced package of changes
that meet budgetary limits while permitting us to carry out the
current defense strategy, though with some added risks in
certain missions. We ask for your support for these budgetary
proposals.
With that I'll stop, and I believe we are now ready for
questions.
[The joint prepared statement of Secretary Wright,
Secretary Vollrath, Secretary Woodson, and Secretary Wightman
follows:]
Joint Prepared Statement by Hon. Jessica L. Wright, Hon. Frederick
Vollrath, Hon. Jonathan Woodson, and Mr. Richard O. Wightman, Jr.
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Senator Graham, and distinguished members of
the subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you to
discuss key personnel and manpower matters in support of the
President's fiscal year 2015 budget request. The fiscal year 2015
Defense budget request of $495.6 billion includes $176.6 billion for
our military personnel pay and benefits, such as retirement benefits
and medical care, which make up more than a third of the Department's
base budget request.
As Secretary Hagel testified before you, the Department's priority
was to balance readiness, capability and capacity, favoring a smaller
force that is properly trained, capable and modernized to accomplish
its mission. The Secretary of Defense has been very clear that
sequestration funding limits imposed by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of
2011 will yield a force that is too small, and not ready enough to meet
the Nation's security objectives. That said, the President's budget
allows us to begin responsibly adapting and reshaping our defense
enterprise in an era of unprecedented uncertainty and change.
The President's plan reflects the imperative to ensure that our
military forces are ready and capable of responding to a rapidly
evolving and complex security environment both now and in the future.
It also reflects the difficult choices brought about by severely
constrained resources and extreme fiscal uncertainty. These choices
include:
Reductions in troop strength and force structure in
every Military Service--Active and Reserve--in order to sustain
our readiness and technological superiority, and to protect
critical capabilities like Special Operations Forces and cyber
resources.
Terminations or delays in some modernization/
procurement programs to protect our most acute readiness
challenges in training and maintenance.
Slowed growth of military compensation costs in ways
that will preserve the quality of the All-Volunteer Force, but
also free up critical funds needed for sustaining training,
readiness, and modernization.
balancing a ready and capable force
Thirteen years of demanding operations in support of Operation
Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom required the Services to
generate forces suited to those missions at the expense of maintaining
the full spectrum of capabilities demanded by the 2012 Defense
Strategic Guidance (DSG). As those operations began to wind down, the
Services faced a series of challenges of simultaneously broadening
their operational focus and reducing force capacity in an era of
diminishing resources. The President's budget request for fiscal year
2014 reflected the Services' plans for recovering these full-spectrum
capabilities over the next 5 years. Sequestration in fiscal year 2013,
operating under a 6 month continuing resolution, and unanticipated war
costs all contributed to degraded readiness and hindered those initial
readiness recovery plans. As a result, readiness was alarmingly low by
the end of fiscal year 2013.
The Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) of 2013 unquestionably stemmed this
readiness decline. The fiscal year 2014 enacted appropriations targeted
the most pronounced shortfalls, especially in the areas of training and
maintenance. However, fiscal year 2015 funding levels do not sustain
that level of investment. The budget does not provide adequate funding
for modernization, increased training and facility sustainment needed
to resolve the Department's readiness challenges. However, under the
very tight constraints of the fiscal year 2015 funding caps and the
uncertainty of funding levels in future years, the breadth and scope of
our existing readiness challenges guarantee that they will take years
of sustained investment to fix. It took years to produce our readiness
challenges and it will take years to resolve them.
Over the last decade, counterinsurgency training and operations
have crowded out the ability to train for higher-end, doctrinal
missions. This not only reduced the full-spectrum capability of units,
it limited the leadership development of the junior and mid-grade
members who will lead future operations. The Army estimates that over
5,500 company commanders did not receive the necessary professional
development in combined arms maneuver as part of unit decisive action
training. The Air Force, Marine Corps and Special Operations Forces saw
similar patterns and while their units have performed extraordinarily
well for the missions they are currently assigned, they are not
prepared for the full spectrum of conflict. Fiscal year 2014 and 2015
funding allowed some training recovery, but not enough to relieve this
backlog.
Much of the funding requested in the Opportunity, Growth and
Security Initiative is designed to further close readiness gaps in
training. For example, while the Army already programmed for 17 full-
spectrum training rotations for fiscal year 2015, it would apply its
investment funds to additional ground and aviation training, allowing
them to make greater progress in regaining full-spectrum capability.
The Marine Corps would direct additional funds towards training its
operational forces, maximizing its opportunity to create expeditionary,
highly capable forces to provide forward presence and crisis response.
The Air Force would increase flying hours with extra funds to give
pilots more flying time to further restore capabilities across the full
range of required missions. U.S. Special Operations Command will
provide additional funding to help recover maritime skills for SEALs
and full-spectrum aviation readiness for special operations aviators.
The Opportunity, Growth and Security Initiative would also help
resolve some of the Service's maintenance challenges, especially
aviation maintenance. However, probably the most important use of this
investment fund is to address mounting degradations in the facilities,
ranges, logistics support, and procurement. The Services have been
driven to underfund these accounts in order to protect higher-priority
training and maintenance concerns. While defendable, this strategy is
not sustainable. For example, the Navy needs additional funding to
reinstate a large portion of their facility sustainment,
recapitalization and modernization accounts. This funding will help
protect the industrial base and allow for fluid throughput at the
maintenance centers and shipyards. Similarly the Marine Corps and Air
Force both seek additional funding to cover range upkeep and
modernization.
The President's plan to create a smaller but capable force did not
come without sobering choices. The most difficult involve drawing down
end strength and slowing the growth military and civilian personnel
costs. We know that the single most critical readiness determinant is
the quality of our people. Our military personnel and their families
have shouldered the worst costs of the longest war in our Nation's
history and deserve the most compensation a grateful nation can afford.
We have also vowed to never again send our people into harm's way
unprepared for the missions they will face. Today's fiscal climate
creates huge challenges in balancing these two imperatives. This budget
reflects long and careful deliberation about how to strike this
balance. Below are specific force structure and compensation proposals
that would allow the Department to achieve that end.
Reduction in End Strength
Since the Department of Defense (DOD) strategy will no longer size
the force for prolonged stability operations, the Army will accelerate
the pace of its drawdown, attaining an end strength of 490,000 by the
end of fiscal year 2015 from the current 520,000 and will continue to
drawdown to a range of 440,000 to 450,000 Active Duty soldiers in
subsequent years. To maintain a balanced force, the Army National Guard
and Reserves will also draw down in fiscal year 2015 to 350,200 and
202,000, respectively and continue to 335,000 and 195,000 in subsequent
years. We will help ensure this force remains well trained and
equipped.
However, if sequestration returns in 2016, both the Army Active and
Reserve components would be forced to be smaller, with an uncertain
level of readiness, resulting in a drawdown to 420,000 Active, 315,000
National Guard, and 185,000 Reserves.
The Marine Corps Active Force numbers about 190,000 today and will
draw down to 182,000 in the next several years. This figure provides
for about 900 additional marines for embassy security. Unfortunately,
like the Army, they will have to reduce further, to about 175,000, if
sequestration is not avoided. The Marine Corps Reserve is also planning
for a slight decrease.
Air Force end strength reflects force structure choices, decreasing
to 310,900 in fiscal year 2015, while the Reserve and Guard decrease
slightly to 67,100 and 105,000, respectively. Like the Air Force's,
Navy end strength complements force structure choices. Navy strength
remains steady in fiscal year 2015 at 323,600, while the Reserve
declines slightly to 57,300.
Pay Increase (except GO/FO for 1 year)
The fiscal year 2015 President's budget requests a 1 percent raise
in basic pay for military personnel, with the exception of general and
flag officers, whose pay will be frozen for a year. Basic pay raises in
future years will be similarly restrained, though modest increases will
continue.
Finding the appropriate balance between providing the men and women
who serve our great nation a competitive package of pay and benefits
and, while providing them the best possible training and equipment is a
monumental challenge in the current fiscal environment. Making
appropriate adjustments to control the growth in compensation costs now
will aid the Department in achieving this balance.
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH)
DOD is proposing to gradually slow the growth rate of the tax-free
basic allowance for housing, until the BAH ultimately covers
approximately 95 percent of the average servicemember's housing
expenses, and eliminate renter's insurance costs from the allowance.
This will allow the Department to effectively operate under constrained
budgets, while still being able to recruit and retain an All-Volunteer
Force. These changes will be phased in over several years to allow
members to plan accordingly. Additionally, the rate protection feature
already in place for BAH will remain in effect. A member's BAH will not
be reduced so long as that member retains eligibility for BAH at the
same location and does not change dependency status or lose rank.
Servicemembers in the same pay grade but living in different areas
would have their BAH rates adjusted by the same dollar amount to ensure
members retain the same purchasing power regardless of the cost of
housing in their local area. Adjusted rates will be publicly available
(as they are today) to allow members to make informed decisions when
making housing choices. Depending on a member's actual housing choices,
they may or may not have to pay any out of pocket costs. Savings
generated from this proposal will be reinvested back into the force for
training and readiness.
commissaries--reducing direct subsidies
Commissaries currently receive an appropriation of $1.4 billion per
year. We propose a $1.0 billion decrease to the annual budget to
operate commissaries, with the decrease taking place gradually over the
next 3 years. Our plan does not direct the closure of any commissary.
Under this plan overseas commissaries and those in remote locations
will continue receiving direct subsidies. The Defense Commissary Agency
(DeCA) will continue to receive approximately $400 million to support
overseas commissaries and those commissaries designated by the
Department as remote/isolated. Prices at all commissaries will rise,
however, and the mix of products may change. Commissaries will also
need to find additional operating efficiencies. This plan requires
changes to U.S. law. The Department is drafting a proposal for the
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2015 to
implement the adjustments.
DOD recognizes the value of commissaries to our people, especially
younger military families and retirees. Stateside commissaries,
however, have many private-sector competitors and it is reasonable to
operate more like a business. Commissaries will continue to provide
good deals to servicemembers, military families and retirees and will
remain a dependable benefit for families, particularly those serving
overseas and in remote and isolated areas.
tricare--system modernization
We will simplify and modernize our TRICARE health insurance program
by consolidating plans and adjusting deductibles and co-pays in ways
that encourage members to use the most affordable means of care--such
as military treatment facilities, preferred providers, and generic
prescriptions, while also increasing their freedom of choice. The
proposed TRICARE Consolidated Health Plan consolidates the various
TRICARE plans, while also increasing their freedom of choice. Prime,
Extra, and Standard, into one plan. The proposal also includes modest
changes in beneficiary out-of-pockets costs for Active Duty families,
retirees and their families, and Reserve Component members and their
families.
Servicemembers on Active Duty would have no out-of-pocket expenses
regardless of the point of care delivery (Military Treatment Facilities
[MTF], network, or out-of-network) and the highest priority for MTF
care. The cumulative effect of the proposed TRICARE fee increases still
ensures beneficiary out-of-pocket costs: (a) remain far below costs
experienced by military beneficiaries in 1994; and (b) remain far
better than virtually every comparable employer in the United States
today. The TRICARE benefit remains one of the most comprehensive
benefits in the country, as it should be.
The Quality of Service
The quality of our men and women in uniform directly contributes to
our role as the world's pre-eminent fighting force. We know that
pecuniary compensation is only part of what attracts and retains
people, and this is especially true for military members. Our members
join the Service to learn and exercise new skills. The opportunity for
overseas travel is often an explicit benefit cited by recruits.
However, if we cannot afford to train, exercise, or operate--in other
words, if the quality of our Service diminished, we will lose precisely
those members who we want to retain the most.
We have experienced just these problems before. In the late 1990s,
when budgets were under significant pressure, the Navy and Air Force
were not able to keep aircraft up and flying. Problems were so acute,
that the Navy even experimented with ``bagging'' aircraft as a means of
storing aircraft that they could not afford to fly. At the same time,
the airlines were actively recruiting and, as a result, we suffered
significant losses in second-tour, experienced pilots. It took years
and a variety of bonuses to recover from the degradation.
We are very concerned about repeating these mistakes. Today, we are
struggling to maintain the same promise of a valuable military career
to our members and must protect our training and exercise dollars to
keep our best and brightest.
America has an obligation to make sure servicemembers and their
families are fairly and appropriately compensated and cared for during
and after their time in uniform. We also have a responsibility to give
our troops the finest training and equipment possible--so that whenever
America calls upon them, they are prepared with every advantage we can
give them so that they will return home safely to their families. The
President's budget fulfills both of these promises to our
servicemembers and their families by making several specific proposals.
total force and force management
A fundamental key to future readiness is the well-reasoned
management of the Total Force of Active and Reserve military,
government civilians and contracts for services. DOD must balance force
readiness with fiscal reality in the face of uncertain, evolving
operational challenges.
We do not believe this is simply an issue of the ``least costly
force.'' Moreover, the Nation's uniformed All-Volunteer Force is the
implicit assumption upon which all our commanders' plans are
predicated. If we fail to sustain it, little else will matter. However,
even the All-Volunteer Force must conform to today's fiscal challenges.
The proposed Active and Reserve Force structure in the fiscal year 2015
budget reflects this reality while ensuring that we meet our defense
strategy.
The Services continue to reduce their forces to meet their
prescribed end strengths. With the assistance of Congress, DOD has the
force shaping tools necessary to meet the drawdown in its current plan.
However, continued budget reductions make it necessary to revisit the
composition of all components of the Total Force--Active Duty, Reserve
component, DOD civilians and contractors. Future assessment may require
requesting additional congressional authorization for force shaping
tools to meet reduced end strengths.
Active and Reserve Component Recruiting and Retention
The All-Volunteer Force has performed remarkably well for more than
40 years. This success does not come easily and is the result of
teamwork and countless hours by a dedicated force of professional
recruiters. Even after 13 years of protracted conflict our recruiters
continue to attract the best and the brightest of America's youth from
around the country. These diverse young men and women represent the
United States proudly around the world as members of the strongest and
most respected military in the world.
Fiscal year 2013 was a successful recruiting year. All but two of
the components achieved fiscal year 2013 missions, with only the Army
Guard (99 percent) and the Army Reserve (88 percent) recruiting less
than their goal. Competition for high quality Reserve recruits will
increase as the economy improves and the Services draw down. Reserve
recruiting missions may be more difficult to achieve. As such, the
recruiting forces have already begun to adopt a more aggressive
proactive canvassing approach to their efforts. However, as the Active
component continues to reduce end strength, some Active Duty members
may choose to continue Service in the Reserve component.
Collectively, DOD recruited 276,210 new enlisted members for the
Total Military force in fiscal year 2013. The Department also met or
exceeded both of the established benchmarks for new recruits in fiscal
year 2013. DOD-wide, 99.6 percent of new Active Duty recruits, and 96.6
percent of Reserve recruits, were high school diploma graduates against
our benchmark of 90 percent. Further, 75 and 67 percent respectively
scored above average on the AFQT, versus our benchmark of 60 percent.
Through the first quarter of fiscal year 2014, all Services except Army
Reserve have met or exceed recruiting quantity and quality objectives
year-to-date.
The recruiting market is changing and DOD's continued recruiting
success may become more difficult and we must remain focused and
vigilant. Today, nearly 75 percent of our youth are not qualified for
military Service with medical conditions and weight accounting for most
of the disqualifications. Data from the Joint Advertising and Market
Research and Studies (JAMRS) program also show that only 14 percent of
youth are inclined to serve in the Military. Current economic
conditions have highlighted the value of serving in the military to
some people who in the past may not have given it serious
consideration. However, the downward trend in youth unemployment
indicates we are entering a more competitive employment environment,
which can make Military Service less attractive.
In these times of constrained resources each Service has reviewed
and made adjustments to its recruiting programs. However, we must be
prudent in considering further cuts to these programs. In order to man
the All-Volunteer Force, sustained resources must be available for the
Services to continue to meet the recruiting missions which are vital to
our Nation's security.
Fiscal year 2013 was also a successful year for retention, as each
of the Services successfully met their overall retention goals. Reserve
component attrition has also remained consistent in both fiscal year
2012 and 2013. The aggregate fiscal-year-to-date departmental attrition
rate was 5.97 percent in fiscal year 2013 and is currently at 5.99
percent. However, as we reduce the budget and the economy continues to
improve, it will become increasingly challenging to retain the best and
most qualified servicemembers. Reduced discretionary funds will limit
our ability to offer selective reenlistment bonuses in high demand-low
density skills that are equally valued in the private sector.
Special Pays and Bonuses
While retention has been strong over the past several years,
certain career fields and specialties continue to see manning shortages
and experience difficulty in filling billets in certain critical
skills. As a result, DOD continues to rely on the use of special and
incentive pays. At less than $4 billion, these pays are a small, but
critical, part of the total budget. They provide a cost effective and
efficient tool by selectively and precisely targeting pay to
incentivize specific behaviors in order to address our specific force
manning challenges.
DOD is currently in the midst of a 10-year plan to transition the
legacy special and incentive pays to the new, flexible special and
incentive pay authorities provided by Congress. To date, the Department
has implemented seven of the ten consolidated authorities in
subchapters II and III, chapter 5, title 37 U.S. Code. For example, the
general bonus authority for enlisted members (section 331) consolidates
nine separate authorities, allowing the Department to offer enlisted
bonuses to members in the Active and Reserve components. We are
currently on schedule in the transition process and expect the entire
transition process to be complete on time.
The ``Right'' Mix of the Active and Reserve Forces
The Reserve component offers the opportunity to preserve military
capability and capacity at reduced cost. Keeping the Reserve component
prepared through periodic deployments adds value to the military by
maintaining Guard and Reserve readiness, augmenting the Active
component, and providing force structure options in our resource
constrained environment.
Recently passed legislation has enabled the Services to program the
operational use of the Reserve component by providing access for
National Guard and Reserve utilization. I appreciate the authorities
and support this committee has provided in this matter.
The Reserve components are more integrated, and are better manned,
equipped and trained than ever before in history. Reserve component
units and servicemembers have answered the call globally and in
significant domestic crises. The systems for producing ready Active
component and Reserve component forces have improved dramatically in
the last 13 years of war. Those systems that are working now must be
sustained to retain the best of what has been gained. As we shift to a
smaller military, more modern and capable of global actions, the
Department will continue to leverage the Reserve component.
As overall deployments decrease, military integration and
initiatives to enhance integration will sustain readiness. The Air
Force, by example, has pioneered a culture of utilization of the
Reserve component, specifically, where associate units share equipment
and facilities and maintain readiness to identical standards. Across
the Services, there are opportunities to further integrate Reserve
component into Active component and vice versa, leading to greater
efficiency and effectiveness. The fiscal challenges we face call for
innovative solutions to readiness problems, and we will continue to
foster greater utilization and integration of the Reserve component.
Civilian Hiring Freeze and Furloughs
One of the highest profile effects of sequestration was the
furlough of the majority of DOD's civilian workforce. We applied
furlough actions in a consistent and equitable manner, with exceptions
based on specific mission requirements. We also implemented, with
limited exceptions, a civilian hiring freeze during this tough budget
period.
The disruptions of the furlough had an immediate negative impact on
our civilian workforce, potentially damaging our ability to carry out
the Department's mission. Declines in morale and productivity, as well
as recruiting were all exacerbated by the challenging fiscal
environment. The hiring freeze also put the Department further at risk
of competency gaps and critical skill shortages in key mission critical
areas.
Going forward, DOD is working to reshape our civilian workforce to
increase efficiencies and meet targeted reductions, while ensuring that
the workforce has the skills needed for the future. As we do so, our
goal is to do everything possible to avoid more hardship. Where
necessary, we will continue hiring freezes, and encourage the liberal
use of Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay (VSIP) and Voluntary Early
Retirement Authority (VERA), both of which have been valuable in
reducing involuntary separations and associated costs.
Achieving Better Governance of Contract Services
We are giving this element of the Total Force more scrutiny. The
$29.9 billion in contracting efficiencies DOD has budgeted is a good
start. Moreover, we have gained efficiencies by improving requirements
definition, negotiating lower labor and overhead rates, increasing
competition, improving our purchasing processes, and by aggressively
reviewing Services contracts. In many cases, Components have
reprioritized services and divested contracted workload of lower or
marginal value. Further savings are possible as we reduce the military
force structure and continue to implement process and system
improvements to actively manage contracted services.
sustaining superior and cost-effective military health system
American medicine has changed since the TRICARE plans were put into
place 18 years ago, and it is time to update and modernize TRICARE
based on what we learned. Currently, elements of our TRICARE health
plan design are costly and administratively complex--differentiation
for beneficiaries in selecting sources of care, resulting in patients
using less optimal and more costly care options. For example, no cost-
sharing for emergency room (ER) care has contributed to almost double
the ER utilization rate seen in civilian health plans. In addition, we
have not increased out-of-pocket costs since the TRICARE program was
first introduced.
We are taking a number of steps to ensure the long-term viability
of the TRICARE Program. First, we are taking an aggressive approach to
health promotion and prevention. Operation Live Well is the overarching
framework for a set of programs and Services we are offering to our
military communities. We are also focusing our efforts on the Healthy
Base Initiative. For this Initiative, 14 military installations and
Defense agency offices around the world are participating in highly
customized local efforts to improve health and well-being.
Second, over the last 4 years, DOD has identified a number of
efforts focused on reducing purchased care costs--to include the
implementation of outpatient prospective payment, reimbursement changes
for Sole Community Hospitals, and changes in how we reimburse the
Uniformed Services Family Health Plan providers for our dual-eligible
Medicare/TRICARE beneficiaries.
Third, we are taking steps to improve the execution of the TRICARE
Health Plan by better integrating the Services provided in our direct
care and purchased care systems. As this generation of TRICARE
contracts nears the end of its contract term, DOD is looking to reshape
our contracts in ways that can improve integration with military
medical facilities, reduce unnecessary overhead and achieve greater
simplicity for the beneficiary and the government.
Fourth, our fiscal year 2015 budget proposal includes efforts to
modernize TRICARE, which has not changed since its inception in 1995.
In this proposal, we plan to simplify and modernize the existing
TRICARE program in ways that provide incentives for wellness, decrease
health services overutilization, and allow beneficiaries to choose
their providers. Preventive Services would be covered at no cost to
beneficiaries, regardless of where they receive their care--MTF,
network or out-of-network.
Finally, we are focused on ensuring that our servicemember,
families, and retirees continue to receive the best medical care
possible. Regardless of the budget realities, that commitment and
priority does not change. They deserve no less.
Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
The Military Health System provides one of the most comprehensive
sets of specialized services for children with an Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD) diagnosis, to include the provision of ABA, in the
United States. The TRICARE Basic Program is a comprehensive health
benefit plan offering a full array of medically necessary services to
address the needs of all beneficiaries with ASD. TRICARE's Basic
Program provides occupational therapy to promote the development of
self-care skills, physical therapy to promote coordination/motor
skills, speech and language therapy to promote communication skills,
child psychiatry and child psychology to address psychopharmacological
needs, and psychological testing. The full range of medical specialties
to address the additional medical conditions common to this population
are covered.
All TRICARE family members with a diagnosis of an ASD, established
by a TRICARE authorized provider, are eligible for ABA by a Board
Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) or Board Certified Behavior Analyst-
Doctorate-level provider (BCBA-D). Further, the Department is
processing claims for additional ABA Services authorized under the
Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) Autism Demonstration, extended to
March 15, 2015. The central aspect of the ECHO Autism Demonstration is
to provide reimbursement for one-on-one ABA services delivered by
individuals who are not TRICARE-authorized providers. These non-
certified individuals are referred to in the ECHO Autism Demonstration
as ``ABA Tutors'' by TRICARE, or ``ABA Behavioral Technicians'' by the
Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). Also, under the added
authority of the 1-year ABA Pilot Program established by section 705 of
the 2013 NDAA (the ABA Pilot), a new interim TRICARE ABA reinforcement
benefit for retired family members was implemented on July 25, 2013,
modeled after the ECHO Autism Demonstration.
Mental Health Support
DOD considers the behavioral health of its servicemembers and their
families a top priority. The TRICARE plan provides a generous and
comprehensive mental health benefit for Active Duty, Reserve, and Guard
servicemembers, retirees, and their families, including psychiatric
outpatient, inpatient, partial hospitalization, and residential
treatment services. To ensure access to this care, DOD has hired more
behavioral health specialists, brought on Public Health Service medical
professionals, expanded the TRICARE network, issued regulations to
recognize the independent practice of certified mental health
counselors, worked to further de-stigmatize mental health treatment and
expanded the ways by which our beneficiaries can access mental health
services.
The requirements of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 and the
Mental Health Parity Addiction Equity Act of 2008, as well as the plan
benefit provisions contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act, do not apply to the TRICARE program. However, DOD fully
supports the principle of mental health parity and has undertaken a
complete review in order to assess and address any perceived gaps in
parity. Should gaps be identified, DOD will request legislation and
modify regulations to eliminate any barriers to medically necessary and
appropriate mental health services.
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD)
Since most Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) incurred by
servicemembers are mild (mTBI), the Department has focused on early
identification to ensure effective mitigation and treatment of the
physical, emotional, and cognitive effects of the injury. DOD is also
investing heavily in TBI research with an emphasis on the development
of diagnostic tools, evidence-based care protocols, and studies that
follow TBI patients over time to better understand the course of the
condition. This research has already led to advances in understanding
what happens to the brain after a concussive event, including
advancements in neuroimaging, biomarkers, and rehabilitation efforts.
The long-term effects of TBI, including conditions that can occur
after mTBI is another area of focus for the DOD. We know that a person
will experience more symptoms and longer recovery times with higher
numbers of concussions. Some of these symptoms may complicate recovery
and are often associated with other conditions such as PTSD,
depression, chronic pain, sleep problems, or substance use disorders.
DOD has several programs in place to better understand the long-term
effects of TBI and the effects that occur with it.
A recent ``game changer'' in the field of TBI is the Defense and
Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) developed guidance, a ``how to''
manual on Progressive Return to Activity following mild TBI, which
defines what ``rest'' should be after concussion, as well as outlines
the steps to take and what to avoid in order for an individual to
successfully return to pre-concussion activities. This tool is the
first of its kind in the world.
Following implementation of theater-wide policies, including the
September 2012 DOD Instruction 6490.11 ``DOD Policy Guidance for
Management of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury/Concussion in the Deployed
Setting,'' approximately 16,300 servicemembers were screened for mild
TBI/concussion following potentially concussive events in theater
(August 2010 to December 2013). Of those screened, approximately 16.1
percent (2,629) were diagnosed with mild TBI/concussion, which has been
a consistent trend over the last 3 years.
DOD continues to place great emphasis on policies and procedures
related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Refinements to
policies and procedures for review of post-September PTSD cases have
provided unprecedented levels of protections for our affected
servicemembers. The Department remains committed to maintaining and
improving policies and procedures to ensure fairness and equity in the
review of all PTSD claims with a view toward appropriate disposition
based upon the facts and circumstances of each individual case.
Substance Abuse Program Policies
DOD is taking steps to improve and sustain Substance Use Disorder
(SUD) Services. These efforts include removing the ban on substitution
therapies for the treatment of SUDs, revision of policy and changes to
TRICARE coverage of SUD care, and formation of an Addictive Substance
Misuse Advisory Committee in March 2011 to standardize SUD prevention
and treatment efforts.
In addition, DOD Instruction 1010.01, ``Military Personnel Drug
Abuse Testing Program,'' was published on September 13, 2012, to
establish standards for specimen and data collection on drug use and
misuse and to direct the Services to issue guidance regarding
participation in national anti-drug awareness, community outreach, and
education campaigns. Finally, a new DOD Instruction 1010.04, entitled
``Problematic Substance Use by Department of Defense Personnel,'' was
published on February 20, 2014. It establishes requirements for
prevention, screening, and intervention for SUDs.
Laboratory Developed Tests
DOD is aware of industry and beneficiary concern with our policies
regarding the reimbursement for select Laboratory Developed Tests
(LDTs)--medical tests created and owned by individual laboratories for
purposes of determining a diagnosis or providing information to guide
potential treatment. We are in the process of proposing an expanded
demonstration program to provide a pathway for the Department to
reimburse laboratories for LDTs that are medically appropriate and meet
the standard of care. We are committed to identifying and implementing
administrative solutions that will be more responsive to rapidly
evolving medical technologies.
Care of Our Wounded, Ill, and Injured Servicemembers
We have made great strides towards improving the disability
evaluation of our wounded, ill, and injured servicemembers. In 2007,
DOD and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) created the Integrated
Disability Evaluation System (IDES) to provide servicemembers a fairer,
faster, and more transparent process to receive both their DOD and VA
disability benefits. As of January 2014, the IDES has reduced the
``benefits cliff'' between military Service pay and disability
compensation from 240 to 77 days. In our most recent IDES customer
survey, 83 percent of servicemembers indicated satisfaction with the
IDES process.
The departments continue to improve the IDES process. We have
increased our IDES staff and improved our timeliness, which has
decreased DOD process times (106 days against a 105-day goal). We have
created an electronic case file transfer capability to eliminate
mailing paper records and are collaborating with VA on completion of
its interface to the Veterans Benefits Management System that will
enable both departments to process IDES cases electronically.
We are not stopping there. We are implementing an IDES Quality
Assurance Program to measure accuracy and consistency of Medical and
Physical Evaluation Board decisions. Additionally, we are studying
options to reform DOD's disability evaluation and temporary disability
retirement programs. We will not have the recommendations and results
of those studies until later this year at which time we will decide
whether legislative relief is required for implementation.
Electronic Health Records
A critical force multiplier for our system of care and important
element of our modernization priorities is to implement a new
Electronic Health Record (EHR) in the coming years. Over the last 10
months, we have made tactical changes in how we will work with the VA
on this effort, but our strategic objectives remains the same: (1)
Provide seamless, integrated sharing of standardized health data among
DOD, VA, and private sector providers; and (2) Modernize the electronic
software and systems supporting DOD and VA clinicians. The Department
is now moving forward with our plan to procure a new EHR through full
and open competition.
Suicide Prevention
Deaths from suicide in the U.S. Armed Forces increased between 2001
and 2012, peaking in 2012. Preliminary 2013 data indicates this trend
is reversing, with Active component deaths from suicide declining ( 18
percent), and Reserve component deaths from suicides showing a slight
increase ( 5 percent). Several more years of data will be needed to
substantiate a trend. Reducing suicide in the military will always be a
difficult task, one that broader society also struggles to accomplish;
as suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the general
population.
The DOD Suicide Event Report indicates that those who have died by
suicide have predominately been younger, Caucasian males, in junior
ranks who used a firearm. About half had deployed and a small
percentage had seen combat. Less than half had a known mental health
diagnosis.
Regardless of the associated factors with suicides, the lives of
our service men and women are too important for me to not make suicide
prevention a priority. DOD has responded by focusing on resilience
training, outreach campaigns that reduce stigma, conducting program
evaluation and research, and increasing access to behavioral health
care by increasing the size of its mental health system and embedding
providers in primary care and line units, at home and abroad.
Additionally, confidential peer support and resilience case management
are key components in expanding venues for addressing this complex
problem.
sexual assault prevention and response
Preventing and responding to sexual assault is a top priority, and
considerable efforts are underway to combat this crime. Our program is
proactive, victim-focused, and multi-disciplinary, with leaders at all
levels taking steps to establish a culture of dignity, respect, and
professional values. We employ and must sustain a multi-pronged
approach, which requires persistence and innovation in victim
assistance, prevention, investigation, accountability, and assessment.
A critical element to our approach is increasing victim confidence, so
that more victims are willing to report. We know that our response to a
report of sexual assault will impact future victims' decisions to
report--and reporting is essential to delivering care and to holding
offenders appropriately accountable.
Our preliminary data for fiscal year 2013 shows a dramatic increase
in reports when compared to all previous years. Historically, reports
of sexual assault have increased about 5 percent per year since 2007.
In fiscal year 2013, reports are up an unprecedented 50 percent with
commanders at the center of our military justice system making
disposition decisions. We assess this increase as consistent with a
growing level of confidence in our response systems. This provides an
indication that the wide range of sexual assault prevention and
response initiatives fielded over the past year and a half are having a
positive impact throughout the force, as more victims are reporting and
accessing critical support.
Status of 2013 and 2014 NDAA Progress
In cooperation with congressional leadership, the Services are
implementing a number of significant reforms put forward in recent
Defense Authorization bills. In fact, the 2014 NDAA provided the most
sweeping reform to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) since
1968 with 16 different military justice provisions that enhance
victims' rights and constrain convening authorities' power.
Specifically, the 2014 NDAA included 33 different sections of law
containing multiple provisions in each section. We have already taken
action to put into effect three provisions: the prohibitions on
accessions for those who have sexual assault convictions; the ability
to conduct an expedited transfer of the suspect; and the mandatory
referral of sexual assault incidents to independent Military Criminal
Investigative Organizations.
The 2013 NDAA contains 18 substantive provisions and requires five
congressional reports. With the issuance of an updated DOD Instruction
earlier this year, the vast majority of these provisions have been
fully implemented. Four are still in progress. Two involve the
independent Response Systems Panel review of the UCMJ and a separate
Judicial Proceedings Panel review, both of which are continuing their
work. The Panels' reports will be filed by their suspense dates, the
first of which is June of this year. The two remaining policy
provisions will be completed when our instructions on Reserve Component
Line of Duty Findings for Health Care and the Military Equal
Opportunity Program are issued. Of the five congressional reports,
three have been completed with the submission of the Special Victims
Capability report, the fiscal year 2013 Sexual Assault Prevention and
Response Annual Report, and the report on General Officer reviews of
separation of members who were sexual assault victims.
Status and Progress of Secretary of Defense Initiatives
In addition to the work of Congress, DOD continues to be proactive
in fielding solutions that will make a difference in preventing and
responding to sexual assault, particularly when the Secretary has the
authority to do so. Secretary Hagel has directed the implementation of
21 specific initiatives since May 2013. These actions are designed to
empower victims, improve care, and enhance the administration of
military justice. I wanted to highlight a few for you here today:
Implementation of the Special Victims Counsel program,
which offers sexual assault victims legal consultation and
representation throughout the justice process. More than 185
attorneys are now fielded across the Armed Forces.
The Services have fielded evaluation methods to assess
the performance of military commanders and enlisted leaders in
establishing command climates of dignity and respect and
adhering to SAPR principles.
Another critical element of establishing the culture
we desire is the Secretary's direction to elevate command
climate surveys to the next commander in the chain of command
to increase the level of accountability for maintaining a
climate of dignity and respect.
We have also now taken a best practice from one of the
Services--the Marine Corps 8-day oversight report--and intend
to make it a common practice across all of the Services. That
policy is in final coordination and will ensure that general
officers have oversight of the immediate response to a sexual
assault report.
Additionally, in coordination with the release of the Military
Service Academy Report in January, Secretary Hagel directed five
additional measures to enhance program effectiveness, advance the
culture we desire, and expand alcohol policies at the Academies.
Surveys
DOD utilizes the Workplace and Gender Relations Survey of Active
Duty Members, conducted by the Defense Manpower Data Center, to assess
the prevalence rate of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the
Active-Duty Force. DOD has comparable unwanted sexual contact rates for
2006, 2010, and 2012. In fiscal year 2014, DOD survey will be conducted
by an outside organization. RAND will design, analyze, and report the
survey results in our Progress Report to the President in December 2014
and the DOD Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military in April
2015.
Way Ahead
Sexual assault is one of the most serious challenges facing our
personnel and compromising our military readiness. We will continue our
prevention efforts on all fronts and at all levels by educating all
servicemembers, commanders, and leaders, and holding them appropriately
accountable. We must preserve the system of justice and response
systems that we have fielded and continue to improve upon; they are
making a difference and motivating more victims to come forward. We
will sustain our current intense level of attention, focus, and
emphasis throughout the entire DOD.
military personnel policy and family support issues
While we remain attentive to all military personnel policies and
family support programs, I want to highlight several recent areas of
interest. We are working to address congressional concerns and I am
committed to keeping open communications and working closely with you
to address these important issues to our servicemembers and their
families.
Military Retirement System
While not part of DOD's fiscal year 2015 proposals, DOD completed
its 2-year review of military retirement. Earlier this month, Acting
Deputy Secretary of Defense Fox sent a letter to the Military
Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission and Congress that
offered four military retirement design options for consideration: the
current retirement system, the ``cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) minus
one,'' and a white paper that outlines two retirement design concepts
developed by the Department.
DOD does not specifically endorse any of the four design options
submitted to the commission, but we offered these four options for
consideration and further deliberation. DOD, however, continues to
firmly support the position that any new retirement system must be
``grandfathered'' to protect servicemembers currently serving and
current retirees.
Women in the Services
DOD is proceeding in a measured, deliberate, and responsible manner
to implement changes that will enable servicemembers to serve in any
capacity based on their abilities and qualifications and not their
gender. Using the Joint Chiefs' guiding principles to ensure successful
implementation, the Services and the U.S. Special Operations Command
(SOCOM) are conducting thorough doctrine, training, education,
facilities, and policy analyses to ensure deliberate and responsible
implementation. DOD is committed to opening positions and occupations
when and where it makes sense while preserving unit readiness,
cohesion, and the quality of the All-Volunteer Force.
Implementation through 2016 will be an evolutionary process. Since
start of the Women in Service Review effort in 2012, DOD has notified
Congress of our intent to open approximately 57,000 positions that were
previously closed to women, and we look forward to expanding
opportunities for women into all newly opened positions and occupations
within the Armed Forces, to the fullest extent, over the next 2 years.
Religious Accommodation
DOD has the responsibility to safeguard the First Amendment rights
and the free exercise of religion for all military personnel. DOD
places a high value on the rights of personnel and their families to
observe the tenets of their religions and recognize that the free
exercise of religion is an important element of the operational
readiness and well-being of our force.
DOD, as well as its respective Services, has, through policy and
practice, consistently sought to strike the proper balance in
respecting members' religious practices and maintaining military
operational readiness.
To maintain this balance, DOD revised and published policy in DOD
Instruction 1300.17, Accommodation of Religious Practices within the
Military Services, to ensure the protection of rights of conscience of
members of the Armed Forces in accordance with the 2013 and 2014 NDAA.
Specifically, this policy balances and protects individual expression
of sincerely held beliefs with military readiness and indicates to
servicemembers and their commanders that requests for religious
accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
To ensure more specific protections for the chaplains, DOD also
revised policy in DOD Instruction 1304.28, Guidance for the Appointment
of Chaplains to the Military Departments. Chaplains are protected from
being required to perform any rite, ritual, or ceremony that is
contrary to the conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of
the chaplains, or to discriminate or take any adverse personnel action
against a chaplain, including denial of promotion, schooling, training,
or assignment, on the basis of the refusal by the chaplain to perform
such duties. Because chaplains are servicemembers, their rights are
also protected in DOD Instruction 1300.17.
In summary, DOD policies more clearly provide for individual
expressions of religious beliefs and strive to accommodate requests for
religious accommodation. If concerns arise, commanders of the unit
involved handle these issues on a case-by-case basis with advisement
from chaplains to find the best avenue in balancing religious freedoms
with mission accomplishment.
Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity
The purpose of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute
(DEOMI), under my oversight, is to enhance mission readiness by
promoting human dignity through education and research in equity,
diversity and cultural competence. DEOMI's primary mission is to
enhance unit combat and operational readiness and organizational
leadership and cohesion by training DOD military personnel assigned to
units as equal opportunity advisors (EOAs) to military commanders.
DEOMI has trained thousands of EOAs in its 43 years of existence and
recently celebrated 30 years of accreditation with the National Council
on Occupational Education.
Recent congressional and media interest have focused on DEOMI after
military members in the field identified in their equal opportunity
training certain organizations as extremists or hate groups.
Maintaining or relating lists that identify organizations as extremists
or hate groups is inconsistent with DOD policy and DEOMI training.
DEOMI does not support or endorse any entities list of extremist
organizations or hate groups.
The Military Tuition Assistance (TA) Program
DOD supports servicemembers in the pursuit of their educational
goals via the military TA program, which helps to defray the rising
cost of tuition. Given the current and projected fiscal environment, we
must continually evaluate programs across DOD and provide guidance to
the Services to ensure consistency. Each year, a third of our
servicemembers enroll in post-secondary education courses leading to
associates, bachelors and advanced degrees. During fiscal year 2013 we
saw over 827,000 course enrollments, and more than 55,000
servicemembers earn degrees and certifications. This statistic has held
steady over the previous few years.
Ensuring the quality of education provided our servicemembers is
essential to DOD. Underpinning this effort is DOD's requirement that
all post-secondary institutions that participate in the TA program must
be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the Department of
Education. The implementation of the requirements in Executive Order
13607 makes it easier for servicemembers and veterans to make informed
decisions regarding their educational choices and helps counter
deceptive practices by some educational institutions.
Starting in summer of 2013, the DOD, VA, Department of Education,
and agency partners, including: the Department of Justice, the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau. and Federal Trade Commission, began
implementing pieces of the legislation. These efforts included
launching a student complaint system. This system provides a
centralized, online tool for students to provide feedback on schools.
The Postsecondary Education Complaint System went on line on January
30, 2014. The system ensures judicious stewardship of taxpayer dollars
by increasing and improving oversight of the educational programs
offered to our servicemembers by the 3,245 educational institutions
that signed an MOU with DOD agreeing to provide special protections for
military students.
DOD is committed to offering high quality, comprehensive, lifelong
learning opportunities for servicemembers and effectively delivering
voluntary education programs that meet the changing needs of the
military.
support for military families with special needs
DOD continues to make progress addressing gaps in Services
supporting military families with special needs. At the forefront of
this effort is a multi-year functional analysis of the current
Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP), which will standardize the
EFMP to be completed across the military Services. The goal is to
provide families with the same level of access to the program
regardless of location or Service affiliation, to include uniform
procedures to support timely identification and enrollment and to
centralize management of cross-service data. A working group within DOD
is being formed to further address challenges for families with special
needs. Training has already been conducted on the new Quick Reference
Guide and Family Needs Assessment form.
Future of Servicemember and Family Support--Efficiencies and
Transformation
The Task Force on Common Services for Servicemember and Family
Support Programs conducted a joint 1-year senior-level review of total
cost and methods of providing common Services for military and family
programs DOD-wide. It explored 15 different support areas in detail
(such as child care, youth, family programs; lodging; Exceptional
Family Member Program; personal financial management programs) and
documented more than 200 actionable recommendations to improve
effectiveness, increase economies of program delivery, and reduce
related overhead expenses. The results suggest that there is
significant room for improvement in cooperation and collaboration, with
the potential for consolidating certain kinds of support to all, with
no impact to the end user.
transition support
Our commitment continues as we assist our servicemembers transition
successfully to civilian careers and veteran status. Transition
assistance is a vital to aiding our servicemembers, spouses, and family
members. We will continue to work closely with the VA, Department of
Labor (DOL), and other Federal, State, and local entities to coordinate
our efforts to better meet the needs of those who have served our
Nation in uniform.
DOD-VA Backlog
An increasingly important element of support that we give to all
servicemembers is the careful regard shown when they transition out of
the U.S. military, especially those who require care. To that end, we
maintain a close collaborative relationship with our counterparts in VA
through executive committees for benefits, health and information
sharing.
The backlog of Service-related disability benefit claims is a major
concern. DOD has refined our processes whereby we respond to VA
requests for personnel and medical information required to finalize
veterans' claims. These include Service central cells and single points
of contact to manage individual Service Treatment Records.
Additionally, we have provided military liaison officers to assist VA
with a more efficient and accurate transfer of necessary information.
In fact, as of January 1, 2014, we now provide Service Treatment
Records in an electronic format, and we are on track to develop
interoperable electronic health records. These initiatives will help VA
to focus on the current backlog and preclude future disability benefit
claims from becoming a part of the backlog.
Transition Assistance Program
DOD, along with its interagency partners (VA and DOL), has made
significant improvements to the content, delivery, and availability of
the Transition Assistance Program (TAP). We have implemented Career
Readiness Standards that servicemembers meet prior to separation. We
launched a comprehensive new curriculum--Transition GPS (Goals Plans
Success), with a robust set of core training modules (pre-separation
counseling, VA benefits briefing, DOL employment workshop, including
resume preparation) and specialized optional tracks (assessing higher
education track, career technical track and entrepreneurship track)
tailored to a servicemember's goals and interests.
Transition GPS is now also accessible virtually to all
servicemembers and spouses even after separation. Also, in January, we
completed a Memorandum of Understanding that was signed by all
interagency partners to include VA, DOL, Small Business Administration,
the Office of Personnel Management, and the Department of Education.
This MOU codifies our shared commitment to transitioning servicemembers
and establishes formal roles and responsibilities for all partners
contributing to Transition Assistance.
As part of our 2015 Agency Priority Goals, our next major step is
to embed the Transition Assistance Program throughout the military
lifecycle, beginning as early as accession. Rather than confining
career readiness preparation to a servicemember's final months of
service, this model will provide our servicemembers with knowledge and
support to conduct proactive career planning early and often in their
military careers. Implementation of the Military Lifecycle Transition
Assistance Program model will be completed by the end of 2014.
The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program
The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) continues to evolve
to meet the unique resilience and transition challenges facing the
Reserve component community. Through fiscal year 2013, YRRP has served
1,326,758 servicemembers and families through 10,382 events hosted by
the Reserve components. In response to high RC unemployment rates, as
well as the accompanying unemployment compensation (UCX) costs, YRRP
partnered with Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) to
launch Hero2Hired (H2H), a comprehensive career Services program
containing tools that help connect job seekers with military-friendly
employers. H2H tools include a military skills translator; resume
builder; military-friendly job listings; career exploration tools; and
education and training resources. Since its launch, H2H has registered
more than 173,878 job seekers and 21,530 employers through https://
h2h.jobs and supported 13,068 direct hires through 56 Employment
Transition Coordinators.
conclusion
During the past 13 years, 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. DOD is committed to
our servicemembers' success. Now we need your help in the most ready
and capable force that will apply the lessons-learned from the past and
prepare to address the challenges of the future.
Thank you for your continued support for our Total Force.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you very much for your testimony.
Senator Graham is going to submit his opening statement for
the record at this time.
[The prepared statement of Senator Graham follows:]
Prepared Statement by Senator Lindsey Graham
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I look forward to hearing from our
witnesses this morning concerning the administration's proposed cuts to
pay and benefits to servicemembers in the 2015 budget request;
specifically, why these changes cannot be made, if necessary, after the
Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission reports
it finding in early 2015. I also want to thank the witnesses for
appearing today and for their willingness to serve our Nation.
Senator Gillibrand. I will start with Secretary Wright.
With the MCRMC set to report out about a comprehensive
approach next February, what is the rationale for the timing of
these proposals? Why not wait until the commission reports?
Ms. Wright. Thank you, ma'am. Frankly, with the proposals
that we are submitting in this budget, we know DOD has gone
through enough rigor and enough analysis to submit them. We are
looking to the commission. We have submitted four retirement
proposals to them. As you see, there is nothing in the budget
that looks at retirement. We are waiting until they come back.
We have submitted four different proposals to them. We are
waiting for them to do the rigor and the analysis on those
retirement proposals for us to look at moving forward on them.
But on the BAH, the commissary, and the pay, we really
believe that we have looked at enough information, that we have
gathered all of the data in order to make some of these very
difficult choices to balance between both compensation and
benefits, and readiness and modernization.
Secretary Hale. May I just add to that briefly? As
Secretary Wright said, we think we have the information. But
the budget caps are in effect right now. If we wait 2 years
until we have the commission results, and it will take that
long, then we are going to have to take all this money out of
readiness and modernization, and we think that will destroy a
balance and damage national security. So that is why we are
doing this.
We would rather wait. We would rather not do it. But the
limits are in effect, and we don't see them changing.
Senator Gillibrand. But there is no requirement that you
have a certain amount of savings out of every aspect of
spending within the military. You don't have to silo every
budget and find savings in every budget. You in your opening
statement said that it was important that you offer pay
packages that are sufficient that we keep an All-Volunteer
Force.
But if you're looking at the enlisted rates E-2 through E-
9, you're talking about salaries from $20,000 to roughly
$70,000, and so much of what you're cutting is considered
compensation to men and women who serve. For example, having a
pay raise that is equivalent at least to the cost-of-living
adjustment (COLA). So, yes, we can cut the rate by which their
pay increases, but if you cut it less than the COLA, it just
means their paycheck doesn't go as far. If you cut their
housing allowance and have them have some kind of co-pay or a
percentage, you're basically just undercutting how much is
defrayed from the housing allowance. If you cut TRICARE through
your modernization efforts, again that is out-of-pocket money
for retirees or for families. If you limit what places they can
go to get services, what it means is you have much longer drive
times. If you are no longer Active Duty or your family doesn't
live near a base, you may have to drive 90 miles or 100 miles
to get basic services.
Commissaries, which, I can understand they filled a need
before that isn't necessarily true today. But again, average
personnel, they see about a 30 percent savings for their weekly
grocery bills.
So we offer a set of benefits and pay to incentivize our
forces to take on these very tough jobs and make the sacrifices
of having to relocate your family every 2 years, every 3 years,
have to sacrifice that your spouse may not be able to work
because of that relocation. So we really are changing the deal.
My concern is, if we have this commission and they are
going to do a more balanced approach, it seems to be a missed
opportunity to not wait to see what they can come up with as
well, because these are, as you've said in your testimony, very
tough cuts to figure out. This was not an easy process. But
these are real cuts.
So if you're a family that's making $20,000 a year, or
$30,000 a year, that 30 percent of groceries that you were just
taking away, that savings, matters. So I would like to push
back a bit that this is easy. I just don't think $2 billion in
1 year is easy.
Secretary Hale. Let me start, and then I would ask
Secretary Wright if she wants to add.
I agree with what you said. These are tough choices. The
Chiefs had meeting after meeting debating these very points.
But if we choose or if you choose to go back on these
proposals, you're going to have to take it out of somewhere. I
don't think you want to take it out of modernization. We could
have the same debate about whether we are buying enough
aircraft and ships. I know, or I hope you don't want to take it
out of readiness. But those are the choices you have.
So we feel we have provided you a balanced proposal.
Incidentally, you used the word ``cuts.'' I respectfully
disagree. They are slowing the growth. We are not cutting
anybody's pay and allowances. We are slowing the growth to free
up money so that we can keep them ready in case they have to
put themselves in harm's way, and that is what the Chiefs have
repeatedly said.
We feel strongly that we need to provide the training and
maintenance and the equipment to give them the best opportunity
if they have to be in harm's way, and we think our proposal
does it. But these are difficult choices, and I'd fully agree
with you in that regard.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
My time has expired. I have questions that I will submit
for the record and if we have a second round, specifically
about the TRICARE changes, the Defense Finance and Accounting
Service cuts, also concerns about benefits for families that
have children with special needs, educational challenges,
autism and other developmental disabilities. That is still an
issue that Secretary Wright and I have worked on in the past
that is a very important issue for me. So in the second round,
if we have one, or for the record, I will submit those
questions.
Senator Graham?
Senator Graham. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
I want to associate myself with the chairwoman's comments.
I understand where you're coming from. You have a budget cap,
and this is the world we've created in a bipartisan fashion,
which seems to me every day becoming more and more a bizarre
world. I hope we'll reevaluate what we've done to the military
and to some other vital programs and see if we can come up with
a more sensible way to make budget cuts.
Secretary Wright, the commissaries, $1.4 billion basically
is salaries and transportation; is that right?
Ms. Wright. Yes, sir.
Senator Graham. The base exchange (BX), post exchange (PX),
most of that is non-appropriated fund activity; is that true?
Ms. Wright. Yes, sir.
Senator Graham. If you get people going off base in terms
of shopping, what effect would a change in commissaries have on
the PX or the BX?
Ms. Wright. So, right now, as I have indicated, we are not
looking to close any commissaries, and we are looking for our
commissary population to remain. I understand that our budget
does bring it down from a 30 percent savings to somewhere
around a 10 percent savings, but it is still a savings.
However, to your point, if people do not use the
commissary, we suspect that they also won't come into the PX.
We understand that, and so the PX savings and/or what they
contribute to the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) fund
may go down. But at this point in time, with our research and
what we're looking at, we believe that we are on firm ground.
Senator Graham. For the benefit of the committee here, in a
prior life I dealt with appropriated fund and non-appropriated
fund activities and spent a lot of legal time figuring out what
account was the right one to be looking at and how you could
move money around.
The PX and the BX, whatever money they make, about 40
percent of the people that work at these places are family
members of Active Duty or retired veterans; is that correct?
Ms. Wright. In the commissaries? Yes, sir.
Senator Graham. What about the BX or the PX?
Ms. Wright. I'm going to defer to Mr. Vollrath for that,
please, sir.
Secretary Vollrath. Sir, I don't have a specific number for
you, but it's about the same.
Senator Graham. Yes. So, basically, you've moving your
families around a lot, and if you have a teenage son or
daughter, it's a place you can go be a bag person. Your spouse
can work maybe part-time at the BX, and that's some money for
the family, and I think that's what Chairwoman Gillibrand is
trying to say. The structural changes do have a ripple effect,
and if the shopping becomes less at the commissary, eventually
people are less likely to shop at the BX and PX.
I know you're shaking your head.
The MWR account, the quality-of-life issues that are pretty
much funded by the servicemembers themselves take a hit. Could
you maybe--what's your name, sir?
Secretary Vollrath. Vollrath.
Senator Graham. Do you generally agree with what I'm saying
as a concern?
Secretary Vollrath. Fundamentally, yes, because in the
deliberations, in taking a look at the commissary reduction, we
did have discussions about potential impacts on the exchange
system.
Senator Graham. Yes.
Secretary Vollrath. The leaders of the exchange system told
us that if the patronage in the commissaries goes down, that
they would expect the patronage in the exchanges to go down
because of the habits of the patrons now.
Senator Graham. The auto hobby shop, and you can just name
whatever MWR activities you might have on base, eventually get
hit, right?
Secretary Vollrath. That depends on where the commanders
and the local commanders want to spend the MWR dividend.
Senator Graham. They'll just have less choices because
they'll have less money.
Secretary Vollrath. Correct. The money won't go as far.
Senator Graham. It's not just one thing but they will have
an inventory of MWR activities and they'll have to delete some
of them.
I just bring that up to show that one thing is connected to
the other.
Mr. Hale, we've had great discussions over the last several
years about budgets. Would it be fair to say if Congress could
find $2 billion outside of DOD to interject into this budget
process this year, a lot of these choices that we're talking
about, structural changes, could be delayed until the
commission reports back?
Secretary Hale. If you find another way to offset it, yes.
I'm not going to go to where you do that. I'll leave that up to
you to do that. But if you find a way to offset it, I guess
that's true. But given the budget caps and the seeming no
chance of changing them, it's going to come out of defense.
Senator Graham. I got you.
Here's the challenge for the subcommittee, for all the
bright minds at this table, excluding myself. [Laughter.]
Could we find $2 billion outside DOD, or even inside DOD,
that would avoid us having to make structural decisions about
commissaries, about TRICARE and other things, about
compensation, which I will eventually probably support? I'd
just like the commission to do it. It's not that I don't trust
your work product. We have ourselves in a bind here. You have a
commission studying the same subject matter. You have an
administration that has to come up with money in the budget
caps. You're doing what we required you to do.
So if we could find a $2 billion safety valve here, I think
it would prevent them from having to just ignore the personnel
account and raid other accounts and allow the commission to do
its work. To me, that would be a great exercise, because the
structural changes that are going to come--and they will come--
have to be better thought out, I think. If you're going to ask
people to give up housing allowances, pay 5 percent or
whatever, I'd just like to make it a more thoughtful process
and be able to go to these folks and say we've had people, the
best minds in the country outside of the administration,
outside of Congress, to look at this. I just think it would
make sense and be easier for us to sell.
So that's my challenge to the subcommittee, not to you
guys, to see if we can find $2 billion.
Secretary Hale. Can I add two thoughts? First, I think
these are well thought out. There were more than a dozen
meetings the Joint Chiefs participated in fully. In the end,
with all due respect to the commission, I think the Chiefs have
a great deal of expertise and they are the ones that you want
to make recommendations to you.
Second, it's just not the $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2015.
If you delay all these, the whole budget slips. So we're going
to have to take another $10 billion or so out of the--I don't
know the exact number, but if you delay it a year or probably
2----
Senator Graham. I don't want to--you said just a few
minutes ago that if you could find $2 billion----
Secretary Hale. In fiscal year 2015. But then we will have
to turn around in 2016 through 2020 and, because you've delayed
it probably 2 years to wait for the commission, probably
another $15 billion or so in that period. I don't know the
exact number. I will supply it for the record. But what you're
doing is forcing further cuts in perhaps numbers of personnel
or modernization in the out-years.
[The information referred to follows:]
By delaying the proposed pay and compensation changes included in
the fiscal year 2015 President's budget by 2 years in order to wait for
the results of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization
Commission, the Department of Defense would lose approximately $18
billion of the savings assumed within the current Future Years Defense
Program (fiscal year 2015 to fiscal year 2019). With the topline fixed,
these added costs will lead to cuts in needed funds for readiness or
modernization.
Senator Graham. I look at it the other way. I'm looking at
trying to make structural changes that will affect quality-of-
life in a more reasoned way. That's what I'm looking at, and I
think $2 billion would help. Everything does affect the other.
That's why I'm going with this thing. I will be your strongest
advocate for structural changes because you're going to have
to, but not this way.
Thank you.
Senator Gillibrand. Senator King?
Senator King. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Mr. Hale, it would help me to understand the context of
this if, for the record, you guys could produce a graph, an
historic graph of compensation costs per capita, not
compensation costs as a percentage of the defense budget,
because that relates to the number of soldiers. I'm looking for
what has been the growth over, say, a 10-year, 15-year period
of compensation costs; and then secondarily, compensation costs
per capita as a percentage of the DOD budget. Because I get 50
percent, 30 percent, 65 percent, and I'm trying to separate
that from numbers of people to the package.
If you want to respond, that's fine. But I assume----
Secretary Hale. We can do that for the record. If it helps,
I'll say that since 2001 the pay and benefits for military
personnel have gone up about 40 percent more than the growth in
the private sector. So we've seen--we created a new healthcare
system, we had higher pay raises than the Employment Cost Index
(ECI), we phased out all the out-of-pocket costs in the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). So we've seen sharp
growth.
Now, some of that was needed to make up for problems in the
1990s, but we do believe our analysis says we can recruit and
retain the people we need even with these modest slow-downs in
compensation that we're proposing now. But we will supply the
details for you.
Senator King. You understand what I'm looking for.
Secretary Hale. I do.
[The information referred to follows:]
The attached graphs provide the historical military personnel
compensation costs per capita requested for the record. The first graph
shows the Department of Defense's (DOD) base budget military pay and
benefit costs for fiscal year 2001, fiscal year 2012, and the fiscal
year 2015 President's budget request along with the total Active and
Reserve component end strength levels. For fiscal year 2001, these
costs totaled $99.5 billion and supported a total end strength of
2,253,650, which equates to an average cost per end strength of
approximately $44,200. By fiscal year 2012, pay and benefit costs
increased to $183.8 billion while the total end strength actually
decreased to 2,239,942--equating to an average cost per end strength of
roughly $82,000. Therefore, over the 11-year period from fiscal year
2001 to fiscal year 2012 the average pay and benefit cost per end
strength increased by 86 percent.
The second graph attempts to provide per capita figures for Active
component personnel only by excluding the Reserve component Military
Personnel Appropriations and Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care
Accrual costs from the numerator and the Reserve component end strength
from the denominator. However, it should be noted that DOD's military
pay and benefit costs include many programs and in-kind benefits (e.g.,
commissaries, family programs, et cetera) that are utilized or
available to all military and their families (Active component and
Reserve component), and in some cases retirees and their families, but
are not specifically funded or easily allocated by component.
Therefore, these costs are fully allocated to the Active component in
the per end strength figures shown.
As shown in the second graph for fiscal year 2001, Active component
pay and benefit costs totaled $88.3 billion and supported an Active
component end strength of 1,385,116, which equates to an average cost
per Active component end strength of approximately $63,700. By fiscal
year 2012, pay and benefit costs increased to $161.4 billion while
Active component end strength increased by about 1 percent to
1,399,622--equating to an average cost per end strength of roughly
$115,300. Therefore, over the 11-year period from fiscal year 2001 to
fiscal year 2012, the average pay and benefit cost per Active component
end strength increased by 81 percent.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator King. Of course, the other question is, this is a
business, a business that's very dangerous, but the real
question is recruiting and are you able to recruit and retain
the people you need based upon whatever the compensation
schedule is.
Secretary Hale. We believe we can.
Senator King. I'd appreciate doing that, and I think it
should be noted for the record that you didn't ask to be thrown
into this situation, that this is a zero-sum game that you're
in, in terms of the way the budget caps work, and that every
dollar that stays in compensation is a dollar that comes out of
readiness or modernization, and Congress has certainly had a
major role in creating that situation, and I think we have to
own up to that.
The other important thing, it seems to me, is to be
thinking about prospective changes, because even though some
changes--for example, on retirement--should only affect new
people, and they may not take effect for 20 years. They may not
save us money, but 20 years has a way of coming. We learned in
the budget deal that changes in current retirees' structure
isn't going to fly, at least not for more than about 42 days, I
think.
But we really do need to think about prospective changes
that will provide savings to future presidents and future
Congresses.
Secretary Wright?
Ms. Wright. Sir, I fully agree, and DOD agrees. The four
proposals that we sent to the commission went with the
understanding that those individuals that are presently in the
Services under the retirement system that they're in need to be
grandfathered, because that's the retirement system that they
signed up for. So we understand that the savings won't come
immediately, or maybe there won't even be savings, but the
retirement system can be different.
But the issue is that grandfathering, to use that term, is
extremely important when we talk about the retirement system.
Senator King. The other piece, and you alluded to this, is
what people sign up for. In other words, what are the
expectations, and what is in writing when you sign that paper.
Now, I realize 18-year-olds probably don't study the fine print
of the enlistment form, but it seems to me that that's an area
that deserves some thought in terms of bold print, this is what
you're committing to, and this is what the likely compensation
is, this is the retirement plan, so that we can have some clear
understandings going forward for people, what it is they're
committing to.
Ms. Wright. Sir, if I can add, I'm a retired officer, and I
was an enlisted soldier, and when I signed up, you sign an oath
of office. It doesn't, to my knowledge--and, of course, I was
young when I did it, but it doesn't have on there what the
retirement system is, what the healthcare system is, what the
pay system is. It has that you will support and defend the
Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign
and domestic.
I will turn it over to Mr. Vollrath, who is also retired,
to add if there is more to that than I remember.
Secretary Vollrath. You have a very good memory, but so do
many other Americans.
Senator, I would agree with your point. The young recruit,
in most cases, does not start out saying ``I think I'm going to
go for 20 years because it's just a knockout retirement.'' They
primarily join for various other reasons. But in the back of
their mind, we know that is also there.
Equally important, what we know is that the influencers of
those young men and women understand what the long term means.
I don't know what anybody's experience on the committee has
been, but in my experience, I can't tell you how many people I
have bumped into in my lifetime that said: ``If I'd only stayed
in the military,'' and they are referring to the retirement and
the benefits, et cetera.
So what we do know when it comes to recruiting is that the
influencers understand the system, and that also drives that
new recruit and the decision of that young man or woman. So it
is an art, unfortunately. It's not a science.
Second, I would agree with your point. I think if and when
we do change the retirement system, we need to be very clear,
right up front with the new cohorts coming in, as to what that
retirement system is, because those that are grandfathered will
have one set of experiences and beliefs, and that will have an
effect on the new cohort coming in.
Senator King. Is there a potential issue or problem of
recruiters making promises or assertions that may not turn out
to be, or could--in other words, the paper doesn't say it, but
the recruiter says ``sign here and you have 20 years and
lifetime''?
Secretary Vollrath. That is certainly a possibility, and we
know that from time to time it does occur. But, frankly, we
work overtime to make sure that the recruiters have the facts
and only the facts and put forth that in their recruiting
efforts.
Senator King. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Senator Gillibrand. Senator Lee?
Senator Lee. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Thanks to each of you for being here. It's an honor to have
you here with us.
Secretary Wright, I have a few questions for you. I was
alerted to a situation a few weeks ago that occurred at the Air
Force Academy involving the removal of a Bible verse from a
whiteboard outside of a cadet's dormitory room. Are you
familiar with that incident?
Ms. Wright. Yes, sir, I am.
Senator Lee. Okay. Let me just restate the basic facts as
I'm aware of them and then tell me what I'm missing.
Based on the information that I and my staff have been able
to obtain from the Air Force, the cadets at the Air Force
Academy use these whiteboards, according to the Air Force, in
order to display ``items, quotes, or other things that reflect
their personality or from which they draw inspiration.''
The cadet in question made this display, wrote this Bible
verse up on his whiteboard, found himself being reported
through his chain of command within the cadet structure, and
also apparently the commanding officer became involved in the
situation and used it as what someone described as a teachable
moment, and the cadet apparently took it down.
Now, those who have provided this account said that he took
it down voluntarily, although I do find the use of the word
``voluntarily'' to be curious given that it occurred after
intervention from those in his chain of command.
The Bible verse in question that he was quoting was not one
that I would regard as offensive. It was from Galatians,
chapter 2, verse 20, which is fairly innocuous, as I read it.
It says simply, ``I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I
live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me, and in the life which
I now live, in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God
who loved me and gave himself for me.''
Now, last year, the Senate Armed Services Committee passed
an amendment that I introduced in connection with the National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2014. The
amendment I introduced passed in this committee, survived the
various iterations of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2014, and it now
appears in section 532(a). It says, ``Unless it could have an
adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, and good
order and discipline, the Armed Forces shall accommodate
individual expressions of belief.''
Now, I regard this as an individual expression of belief.
It's also an expression of something from which this cadet
apparently draws inspiration. So my question for you is how can
this particular Bible verse quoted by this cadet from the Book
of Galatians simply declaring his faith from which he draws
inspiration, placed on a board that traditionally is used for
that purpose, to reflect that cadet's personality and sources
from which the cadet draws inspiration, how can that be deemed
inappropriate?
Ms. Wright. First, sir, I am not as familiar with the case
as it appears you are, and what I have heard from the members
of the Air Force, I have a little conflicting information. So
to address the case right now I think would be inappropriate,
but I would like to come over or bring someone over
specifically to address this case myself and/or somebody from
the Air Force.
But globally, for DOD, we do support freedom of speech, and
we totally support the freedom to exercise your religion. I
will be honest with you. I'm of the Catholic faith. I have a
mass card of St. Theresa on my desk which I use as my faith. I
don't start out my meetings that way because as a leader of
32,000 people, that would be inappropriate. But I use that.
So I think that common sense needs to clearly be applied
when we talk about whether or not they can have an article of
faith or something like that on their desk or on their wall.
But when you're a leader, you have to understand that you have
all faiths that you command, and you must respect everybody's
faith.
So again, I don't know the very specific facts of the Air
Force case. I don't want to get into that in public.
Senator Lee. You said a moment ago that your understanding
of it is a little bit different than mine. Can you enlighten me
as to how it was different?
Ms. Wright. Sir, I heard that it wasn't he that wrote the
verse. I heard it was his roommate. But I need to make sure
that I am getting the correct information if it conflicts with
your information. I think the bottom line is we both need to
know exactly the end state.
Senator Lee. Right, right.
Ms. Wright. So, if you don't mind, sir, if I can come over
and bring the Air Force A1, the person in charge of personnel,
that would be great.
Also, Mr. Vollrath, do you have anything to add on the
religious----
Secretary Vollrath. No, I don't, Secretary Wright, except
just to reinforce what she said. We certainly are trying to
comply with the law, and intend to. It is fundamental to free
speech and the exercise of religion. It is part of what makes
America America.
Senator Lee. Certainly, and I definitely agree with that.
My time is winding down, and so I appreciate the offer to come
by and inform me as to what the facts were.
Ms. Wright. Yes, sir.
Senator Lee. As to whether it was this cadet or whether it
was the cadet's roommate, somebody wrote it----
Ms. Wright. Yes, sir.
Senator Lee.--as an expression of their faith, and somebody
took it down. The fact that it was taken down is itself
alarming, much as it would be alarming, I would think, if
someone came to you and removed something from your desk that
is a source of faith and inspiration for you. This is exactly
the kind of scenario we had in mind when we adopted this
amendment, certainly when I introduced this amendment.
I would also note that on the Army's Web site can be found
a very inspiring statement from General Eisenhower sent just
prior to the invasion at D-Day in which he concluded his
remarks by saying to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines
who were about to embark on this very dangerous mission, ``Let
us all beseech the blessings of almighty God upon this great
and noble undertaking.'' If that's not offensive, then I find
it difficult to understand how the decision by this cadet at
the Air Force Academy, placed on a whiteboard outside his
dormitory for the purpose of expressing something about his
personality and about sources from which he draws inspiration,
how that could possibly be deemed offensive, how that could
require a teachable moment, and how that could require those in
his chain of command to give him encouragement that would
result in him taking it down.
Thank you very much.
I see my time has expired. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, did you want to
respond?
Ms. Wright. I was only going to say that I totally
understand and would be more than happy to come over with the
Air Force and clear up the facts as they are.
Senator Lee. Thank you. That would be wonderful.
Senator Gillibrand. I would be grateful for a report on it,
as well.
Ms. Wright. Yes, ma'am.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Senator Hirono.
Senator Hirono. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
I have a follow-up question regarding the commissary
changes. The testimony indicates that prices in the
commissaries will go up. So my question is, would these
increase in prices to servicemembers, retirees, and families be
the same across all locations? Would there be some
differentiation that would occur in these price increases?
Ms. Wright. Ma'am, if I could, I'm going to turn to Mr.
Vollrath. The commissary comes under his direct supervision.
Secretary Vollrath. Thank you, Senator, a very good
question. The intent in this change is to have common pricing
throughout all commissaries, be they overseas, remote sites, or
in metropolitan areas such as Fort Bragg or here in Washington,
DC, common pricing, not differentiated based on rank or Active
Duty or Reserve or retired status. It would be the same.
Senator Hirono. Right now, the difference between the
prices at commissaries and what the prices would be outside,
although we have a lot of competition for lower prices through
Costco and other places, is about 30 percent right now, isn't
it?
Ms. Wright. The savings in the commissary?
Senator Hirono. The savings in the commissary.
Ms. Wright. Yes, ma'am.
Senator Hirono. So if the savings becomes only about 10
percent, would you expect to lose a lot of commissary customers
to these other places? What would that do to the entire
commissary system?
Secretary Vollrath. It is a possibility that that would
occur. The probability we don't know yet until we embark on it.
But in working with some of the other retail organizations,
when your price goes up, the patronage tends to go down. So we
would expect a reduction in patronage.
Senator Hirono. Yes.
Secretary Vollrath. Again, that's not just based on working
with other retail organizations. We know that some of the
patrons, particularly retirees, will drive a long distance
because of the current savings, and they may not if the savings
drop. They may not drive 2 hours from where they are retired to
come in to get those savings. So there is a probability that
the patronage will go down, yes.
Senator Hirono. If it goes down very significantly to the
point where we may be having to close some commissaries, that
might happen, that could happen?
Secretary Vollrath. It's a possibility. I don't know what
the probability is. Our hope in working this, which is an art,
that we will still offer enough benefit that the servicemembers
and their families will value that.
Senator Hirono. Well, I hope so.
Regarding recruitment and retention, on page 12 of your
testimony I note that there's a reference that only 14 percent
of youth are inclined to serve in the military. So there is
already just a small percentage of the young people who want to
serve in our military, and that even for those who want to
join, a huge percentage of them are not able to join. Maybe 75
percent--that's a number that I came across in some other
setting--are not qualified, a lot of them due to the fact that
they may not have high school degrees.
While this may not be in your wheelhouse, we're talking
about a very small number of people who would even be able to
qualify. So what are your thoughts on what we can do to enhance
graduation from high school as a start?
Secretary Vollrath. You have your facts right. About 75
percent of the youth 18 to 24 in America do not meet the basic
qualifications for enlistment because of weight or lack of
schooling or some other run-in with the law, for example. So
that leaves us with about 25 percent of the youth that can
qualify to our standards.
The 14 percent propensity is within that, and of course the
key to recruiting is to increase that propensity and get as
many as we can out of the 25 percent that are eligible. So
that's the challenge in recruiting, is to expand from the 14
percent up.
We have been very successful with our recruiting incentives
and with our quality-of-life and with the challenging lifestyle
to attract sufficient people from that small population in
America over the last 10 years. All of the Services last year
met their recruiting numbers except for the Army Reserve, which
went down slightly for the first time in years, and the quality
standards that we have have been far exceeded, to the degree
that 95.9 percent of all of the recruits last year had a high
school diploma and were graduates, or the equivalent of that.
So we're taking the best of the best given the current
conditions that we have.
We are, however, cognizant of the fact that as the economy
improves--and thank goodness for America, it is improving--as
the economy improves, it may present us with greater challenges
in recruiting. Therefore, we are vigilant now to make sure that
we have enough recruiters and we're not going down that road,
and we have enough recruiting incentives and we're not taking
any great shots at that, because we have learned our lesson
from the 1990s, the last time DOD had a significant drawdown.
We're concurrent with the drawdown. We cut recruiters, we cut
advertising budgets, we cut incentives and, of course, hit the
wall at the end of the 1990s in trying to recruit.
So we are cognizant of the fact that we don't need to make
those mistakes twice.
Senator Hirono. I think, as a general proposition, that it
behooves all of us to care about the graduation rates
throughout our country, and clearly whatever the military can
do, what you all can do to support the education efforts
across-the-board, that would be a good thing.
My time is running out, but I do have a question also about
the GI bill. There have been some concerns about certain,
basically, for-profit colleges that recruit heavily among
veterans, and the outcomes may not be all that terrific. They
rely a lot on loans and all that.
Do you have any concerns about the recruitment tactics used
by some of these schools? What are you doing about it, if you
have such concerns?
Ms. Wright. First, yes, we do. We're working with a lady
named Holly Petraeus, who also has a huge concern over this
particular issue. We're also working with the education centers
that we have throughout DOD that are on the post, camps, and
stations that people come into to apply for college to let them
understand that there are for-profit colleges that you can get
a degree, but the degree is very expensive and not marketable
once you get it. So you've spent all this time, energy, and
money for a degree that's not marketable if you choose to not
stay in the military and potentially use that degree.
So we're working to make sure our servicemembers understand
that there are great institutions throughout this Nation that
will not only take your money but also give you a great
education and a very marketable degree.
Mr. Vollrath?
Secretary Vollrath. We have also instituted a document that
all institutions of higher learning have to sign, which has in
the document principles of excellence, how they will conduct
the education and how they will treat the students, and we have
more than 3,200 already signed up. So they have to meet
standards going in and coming out.
We have set up a system with other agencies in the Federal
Government for students to report, both by phone or
electronically, any problems they have with the school, and
then we will take them on in DOD; or if they appear to be
criminal in some way, we do pass them over to the Department of
Justice, because we understand that there may be people who are
not that well-intentioned.
Senator Hirono. Thank you.
I do thank the chairwoman for her indulgence. I went over
my time.
Senator Gillibrand. Your questions were so good, I didn't
want to interrupt you.
Senator Hirono. Thank you.
Senator Gillibrand. Senator Ayotte?
Senator Ayotte. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
I wanted to, first of all, thank you all for being here and
for the work that you're doing.
I was just in Afghanistan last week, and I met a New
Hampshire soldier who has been in the Army for 8 years, and
he's done five deployments in those 8 years, and I can tell you
some of the personal experiences he's had with his personal
life have been very difficult as a result of being deployed so
many times.
I think it's also a very difficult challenge for our Guard
and Reserve because they're being deployed multiple times, and
then they come back to a civilian setting where they're not on
a base where other people have had the similar experiences that
they've had, and that presents unique challenges for us as the
Guard and Reserve have been operational.
We have a program in New Hampshire that I've mentioned
before that I'm very proud of. It's called the Deployment Cycle
Support Program. It's really a public-private partnership where
we've partnered State resources with Easter Seals in the non-
profit sector that has raised money for it, and then taken some
of the Yellow Ribbon money from DOD and really leveraged it.
In our State, we just last year served 523 servicemembers.
We intervened in 10 suicides where there was a suicide risk;
102 participants previously unidentified for mental health
issues were diagnosed and received treatment. We got 77 people
to work, 55 people prevented from homelessness, 62 people were
going to lose their homes and we stopped them. We referred over
1,000 participants overall to other care providers, and raised
a lot of money on the local level from the private sector to
really maximize the Federal dollars.
So although I'm supportive of the Yellow Ribbon program,
the way we've done it, frankly, I'm quite proud of being able
to really leverage those dollars.
So I wanted to ask you, all of you who--certainly Secretary
Wright, Secretary Woodson, Secretary Wightman, what you think
of this program, and if you haven't had a chance to see how
it's working, we would love to have you in New Hampshire
because I think it's a model to leverage scarce Federal dollars
in a way that brings the entire community in.
Ms. Wright. Yes, ma'am. First, your panel members up here
are comprised of a guardsman and two reservists. So we do
understand what the National Guard and Reserve have done,
particularly in the last years, and I am very familiar with
your program from the standpoint of hearing about it. I have
not had the pleasure of going up and seeing exactly what they
do.
Senator Ayotte. We'd love to welcome you if you'd like to
come up.
Ms. Wright. I will take you up on that.
But to your point, the program funded with Beyond the
Yellow Ribbon money is excellent, and it does do exactly what
you have said, and potentially more, because those individuals
who either get housing or get jobs or are taken care of then
affect tons of people that are their immediate and also
extended family. So it does support many more than just the
guardsman and the reservist.
I'd like Mr. Wightman also to add information. He is
responsible for the Reserve components.
Mr. Wightman. Thank you. Senator, this is a great program.
I have not been there as well, and I would love to come out
there and see the program in action.
It appears that Beyond the Yellow Ribbon is an extension of
the Yellow Ribbon program, and what you've done out there is
fantastic. The Yellow Ribbon program goes up to a point through
the entire deployment cycle, and then this program gets down
with a care coordinator, with the family in the community, and
that seems to be the full spectrum from one end to the other.
So I would commend the program. I know you have $1.2
million coming your way as a result of the work that's been
done in the past.
Senator Ayotte. Thank you. I appreciate it. I think it also
gets the community more involved, which is really important, I
think, to provide that support structure back in the community.
Let me just ask about the proposed benefit changes. I want
to associate myself with the comments of the chairwoman, as
well as the ranking member, about really looking at this in a
holistic manner with the commission. I'm concerned about moving
on this now.
Here is one of my big concerns. It's usually the junior
military personnel who are going to spend a higher percentage
of their total income on housing, food, and health care. As I
see these changes, they're going to be hit the biggest because,
frankly, they're the junior enlisted soldiers that make the
least. As I understand it, unfortunately, some of our soldiers
are even having to be on food stamps.
When I think about those soldiers having to pay whether
it's more at the commissary or, if they have to live off base,
a reduction in housing allowance, I'm very concerned for our
enlisted soldiers, not that I'm not concerned for all of our
soldiers because I am, but it seems that we're also hitting our
enlisted disproportionately here as we look at the economic
challenges that these families face.
Can you help me understand what is going to be the impact
on the junior enlisted, and do you agree with me that they're
likely to get hit, looking at how much they make and how much
they just logically have to spend on housing and food, that
they're going to get hit the biggest on this? They already have
a lot of challenges, so I'm worried about this.
Secretary Hale. Perhaps I can start. First off, I think we
did look holistically. The Joint Chiefs designed this program
personally, and I have great respect for the commission and I
understand why you set it up, and I would hope you would listen
to them.
In terms of the overall design, I haven't done the numbers
by grade, but I can tell you that we have benchmarks that
suggest that we can recruit and retain the people that we need.
The enlisted now are around the 90th percentile or in the 90s
in terms of their pay and allowances, and the officers in the
80s. So our benchmarks suggest we can do it.
If we're wrong and we find that we have created retention
and recruiting problems with these really fairly modest changes
overall, then we'll reverse them. We're going to support the
All-Volunteer Force. We have a strong commitment to do that.
But we don't think we'll have to do that. We think we can do
this and free up the money to help their training. I keep
asking you to come back to that because that's why we're doing
this. If you don't mind cutting readiness, then I suppose that
we can do away with these proposals. But none of us want to do
that.
Senator Ayotte. Let me just be straight. I voted against
sequestration, and I think that we should work together to
address sequestration, especially since the world is in a very
challenging time, not only with Ukraine, Syria, every other
risk we face in the world. I understand the challenges you're
under.
What I would like to hear from the panel, I would very much
like to know what will be the financial impact and what
analysis you did, particularly looking at the junior enlisted
and how much your average junior enlisted, and I assume before
you proposed this, you all ran these numbers and really looked
at rank versus how much that person will pay more.
I think that that's really important for us to see the
numbers that you relied on and the underlying data, because
this, to me, is, again, I think of deep concern to the greatest
asset we have in our military, our people. We can have all the
greatest equipment and everything else, but without the people,
as I know you all agree, we can't do anything.
I'm just going to submit that for the record, just to get
the numbers, and I'm sure that all of us would like to see what
was the analysis done, and also by rank and what your average
person makes and how this would impact them.
Thank you.
[The information referred to follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Gillibrand. I'd like to associate myself with
Senator Ayotte's comments. I would like that report as well. I
think she's exactly right.
Senator Ayotte. Thank you.
Senator Gillibrand. Senator Kaine?
Senator Kaine. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I know we have
a vote call, so I'll try to move quickly.
Senator Lee asked some important questions, I think, about
accommodations of religious expression. I know that it is a
very challenging and subjective issue, often, for a leader to
determine what is expression and what is proselytization or
pressure that makes others feel uncomfortable, and that's
something you can't write a rule for.
But here's something that is pure expression, and it's a
particular passion of mine, and I know of the chairwoman's as
well, and that's the treatment of Sikhs who serve in the
military. Sikhs could serve in the military and wear their
traditional hair, beard, garb, up through the late 1980s, but
then there's been a change to make that more difficult.
The chairwoman and I have written a couple of letters about
this and we want to continue our focus on this issue. For me,
this is not just an issue of the protection of an individual's
religious rights, which is extremely important, but in a world
now where so many of the conflicts we are seeing are conflicts
driven by sectarian religious intolerance, one of the best
things we can do as a Nation is demonstrate that we are
welcoming and open and we tolerate different religious
practices that don't go over the line into proselytization.
I think actually a change in accommodation for Sikhs would
serve an important purpose of showing how we as a society can
model this. I am just really putting that on the radar screen.
It's something I'm going to continue to focus on with others
here.
Secretary Wright, I want to ask you a question. Part of the
testimony deals with a brief report about the success of the
military in eliminating gender exclusions in MOSs in the last
year. Could you just talk about progress there?
Ms. Wright. Yes, sir. Secretary Panetta and Chairman
Dempsey are the ones that eliminated the 1994 Ground Combat
Exclusion Rule. The Services have until 1 January 2016 to
thoughtfully and deliberately integrate women into those closed
positions. The Services are continuing the review to come up
with gender-neutral standards which will allow women to then
come into these otherwise closed occupations.
The Army and the other Services have opened up and,
frankly, I will have to turn to Mr. Vollrath for the specific
number, but many different jobs for women, and they have also
opened up--the Army, in particular, I can use as an example. If
you are, say, for example, a medic, which women can go into,
they have opened up units that were previously closed, an
infantry battalion if you will, so that female medics can be in
those units.
Senator Kaine. Can I just say, something that I would ask
you to pay attention to, and we will, and I hope this isn't a
concern but just history being a guide. In Virginia and in many
States, when the Federal Government changed via Constitution
the ability of a State to exclude voters on the grounds of
race, my State said, okay, we can't exclude voters on the
grounds of race, but we can come up with new requirements that
have never been imposed before to basically exclude those
voters, and that might trip up some others as well.
I would just hope in this effort, and I assume good faith,
and I was so excited with this announcement last year, in the
effort to come up with the neutral criteria to use to determine
suitability for MOSs other than gender, I hope that there is
some scrutiny to what those criteria are in an effort to make
sure that they really are fair and objective and they're not an
attempt to exclude women from MOSs without having a specific
gender exclusion.
Ms. Wright. Yes, sir, they are. In fact, we have hired
scientists to do this. We are not doing this on our own as an
organization. We need to pay attention to the occupational
standards that are required to perform these jobs, and that's
why I used the term ``thoughtful and deliberate,'' because we
have to continue to do the mission in the fashion that the
mission needs to be done, and we can't negate that mission or
lower that mission or lower standards to perform that mission.
We need to also have the standards be scientifically
reviewed and established for anyone to perform those particular
jobs.
Mr. Vollrath?
Secretary Vollrath. The only thing that I would add,
Senator, is that in addition to the scientific approach to make
sure that any bias isn't there, if perchance there is, and we
don't think there is honestly, we also know that implementation
has to be done in good fashion. You can't just dictate this.
Given the military assignment-reassignment system, that process
has already begun, and we are very cognizant of the fact that
there will always be the first in some of these units. So we
are cautioning commanders and senior noncommissioned officers
that they need to understand and make sure that they are
prepared for this, because it needs to be successful for the
proper defense of this country.
Senator Kaine. I'm extremely supportive of this effort, and
I recognize that human beings are human beings, so there are
going to be some glitches along the way. Our best wishes in
this effort, and we'll continue to dialogue on it.
One last question, briefly, for Secretary Wright. My first
legislation got wrapped up and included in the NDAA last year,
which is the Troop Talent Act, largely about the credentialing
of military members during Active Duty service with the skill
sets they obtain, when they obtain them, and I know that
there's been a pilot project on this, and the DOD evaluation of
the pilot was very positive. It found in the pilot that the
cost of credentialing, about $285 a person, was significantly
less than trying to go in and deal with people's employment
needs once they were veterans or much later as they're getting
ready to transition out. The cost of Department of Labor
programs, the cost of unemployment insurance that the military
pays, these are significant costs, and much better to give
somebody a civilian translatable skill set for $285 than have
to pay costs down the road.
What more can we be doing to facilitate DOD and Service
branch-wide acceleration of credentialing initiatives?
Ms. Wright. Sir, we have someone that is clearly working
that aspect, credentialing and licensing, from the DOD job,
from the military job to a civilian job. Frankly, yesterday I
met with financial people to see what their standards were to
see if we can move forward on that. So we are doing it all the
time.
The individual's name is Mr. D--we call him D9. I
apologize.
Secretary Vollrath. DiGiovanni.
Ms. Wright. DiGiovanni, yes. He works for Mr. Vollrath, so
if you want to add a little bit?
Secretary Vollrath. Senator, we're right in line with your
philosophy and direction, and it's a two-way street. It is not
just focused on the individual and trying to get the individual
credentialed for life after Service. What we've learned in the
process is we, DOD, get benefit from this, too. So, for
example, if a medic can be credentialed as an emergency medical
technician, we in DOD gain, as does that individual, and they
can take it with them through life. So it increases our
professionalism in those particular skills.
What we've also learned is that members who drive vehicles
can begin to move toward the commercial driver's license, that
they become more professional and more turned on, if you will,
about their job.
We've also discovered that we can take this into some other
areas that people generally don't think about--for example,
human resources. There is a professional body that licenses
civilian human resource professionals. So we're going to move
in that area and improve professionalism there.
So it is a win-win proposition from our perspective.
Senator Kaine. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you for your testimony.
Because we will vote, and Senator Kaine and I only have
about 5 minutes to get there before the close, we need to close
this panel. I do have additional questions that I will submit
for the record.
I am very grateful for your service and your testimony. I
know how hard you've worked on this issue. I know it's not
easy. As you can see, there's a lot of concern among the
subcommittee about doing this because we somehow have to pay
for all our cuts within personnel, and I think there's a push-
back on that within the subcommittee, and we may be waiting for
the larger-scale, longer-term structural reforms that come with
the commission's recommendations.
Thank you for your work. Thank you for your service.
We will reconvene this hearing at 12:10 p.m., which will
accommodate the votes--we have four votes--for the next panel.
You are dismissed. Thank you very much. [Recess.]
Welcome, everyone. Our second panel has convened. We have
members of The Military Coalition (TMC), a consortium of
nationally prominent uniformed service and veteran
organizations. Retired Colonel Michael F. Hayden is the
Director of Government Relations, Military Officers Association
of America (MOAA); Mrs. Kathleen B. Moakler is the Government
Relations Director of the National Military Family Association
(NMFA); Mr. John R. Davis is the Director of Legislative
Programs, Fleet Reserve Association (FRA); and retired Captain
Marshall Hanson is the Director of Legislative and Military
Policy, Reserve Officers Association (ROA).
I invite you all to give an opening statement, to keep your
oral statement to under 5 minutes. I invite John Davis to speak
first.
STATEMENT OF JOHN R. DAVIS, DIRECTOR, LEGISLATIVE PROGRAMS,
FLEET RESERVE ASSOCIATION
Mr. Davis. My name is John Davis and I'm Director of
Legislative Programs with the FRA. I want to thank you for
allowing me to speak with you today.
At the heart of the budget challenges facing DOD is the
devastating effect of sequestration. FRA and our coalition
partners insist Congress should exclude defense from
sequestration. We agree with Secretary of Defense Hagel, who
stated at his February 24th press conference that continued
sequestration cuts will create a hollow force.
While debt reduction is a national priority, we believe
that such a disproportionate share of this burden must not
continue to be foisted on DOD, especially on the backs of
military members and families who sacrifice so much for their
country.
Adequate pay increases are needed to at least in part
offset the extraordinary demands and sacrifices expected in a
military career. We want to thank the chairwoman for her
mentioning junior enlisted families regarding pay cuts and
benefit cuts. FRA advocates that to sustain a first-class
career military force requires a strong bond of mutual
commitment between the servicemember and his or her employer.
Pay and allowances remain the top retention choice for Active
Duty military personnel since the beginning of the All-
Volunteer Force. The highest rated benefit for Active Duty in
FRA's online survey done in February and March 2014 was base
pay, 93 percent of Active Duty believe base pay is very
important, the highest rating.
The Active Duty community is disappointed that Congress
capped the 2014 Active Duty pay raise at 1 percent, which is
0.8 percent less than the growth of the private sector pay
measured by the ECI, and is the smallest pay increase in recent
memory.
In 1999, it was determined that there was a 13.5 percent
pay gap between military and private sector pay, and Congress
made a commitment then to gradually close that gap. FRA
believes that Congress should hold fast to that commitment. The
gap was reduced to 2.4 percent, but it is now headed in the
other direction with the 2014 pay increase.
BAH is an allowance paid to Active Duty servicemembers
based on pay grade, dependency status, and geographic location
within the United States. The fiscal year 2015 budget
eliminates compensation for renter's insurance and cuts the
average payment by 5 percent.
BAH is the third highest priority for Active Duty members
in FRA's online survey, indicating that 83 percent of Active
Duty see BAH as very important. In 2000, BAH payments provided
80 percent of housing costs. Congress at that time made a
commitment to increase the benefit to 100 percent as part of
the overall effort to enhance pay and other benefits to improve
retention and recruitment. FRA is concerned that Congress has
not learned from past mistakes that pay caps and other benefit
cuts eventually impact negatively on retention and recruitment.
Also, adequate military end strength is vital in sustaining
our national security. The strain and inadequate dwell time of
repeated deployments are significant and related to end
strength levels. This is reflected in troubling stress-related
statistics that include alarming rates of suicide, prescription
drug abuse, alcohol use, and military divorce rates.
For the last 13 years, servicemembers and their families
have endured unprecedented sacrifices, often having less than a
year at home before returning again for another year in combat.
Roughly 1 percent of the population has volunteered to shoulder
100 percent of the responsibility of our national security.
Now, with these even greater end strength reductions, many
servicemembers worry if they will be able to continue serving
their Nation.
I'll be glad to answer any questions. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Davis follows:]
Prepared Statement by The Fleet Reserve Association
introduction
Chairwoman Gillibrand and Ranking Member Graham, the Fleet Reserve
Association (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. 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.
The current All-Volunteer Force (AVF) has been through a dozen
years of wartime sacrifices never envisioned by those who designed a
voluntary military force. The U.S. military is a stressed force with
many serving in multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. The
current benefit package is the glue that holds the AVF together, and
any budget-driven cuts in pay and benefits could have adverse impact on
recruitment and retention and ultimately threaten the very foundation
of the AVF. 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.
The whole purpose of a unique military retirement pay and health
care benefit is to offset the extraordinary demands and sacrifices
expected in a military career. FRA advocates that to sustain a first-
class, career military force requires a strong bond of mutual
commitment between the servicemember and his/her employer.
synopsis
The 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.
dod budget and sequestration
FRA notes with concern the decrease in the Department of Defense
(DOD) personnel programs from $144 billion in the current fiscal year
2014 budget to $135 billion proposed in the administration's fiscal
year 2015 request. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel stated that this is
the first budget to reflect the end of American involvement in
Afghanistan, and will significantly reduce end strength for all
branches of the military including the Reserve component. Hagel warned
that future sequestration budget cuts mandated by the 2011 Budget
Control Act (BCA) will create a ``hollow force.'' FRA shares the
Secretary of Defense's concerns about a ``hollow force'' military and
supports adequate end strengths for our military's operational
commitments. The Association believes that Defense should be excluded
from sequestration cuts mandated by the BCA. FRA opposes new TRICARE
fee increases, cuts to commissary benefits and cuts to Basic Allowance
for Housing (BAH). FRA also believes that active-duty pay increases
should at least keep pace with comparable civilian pay increases as
measured by the Employment Cost Index (ECI).
Pentagon officials have repeated expressed concern that personnel
cost are ``eating us alive.'' The facts do not support that assertion.
Other data indicates that personnel costs have remained at
approximately one-third of the Defense budget for many years.
The BCA of 2011 established automatic budget cuts known as
sequestration that mandates that 50 percent of the cuts come from
Defense even though Defense only makes up 17 percent of the budget.
These cuts put America's national defense capabilities at greater risk.
Unless current law is changed, the DOD will have to cut an additional
$54 billion in fiscal year 2016 and some $269 billion over the
following 5 fiscal years.
The DOD budget was already scheduled to be cut by $487 Billion over
a 10-year period BEFORE the enactment of sequestration, that if fully
implemented will cut an additional $500 billion in the defense
spending. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 mitigated the spending cuts
for fiscal year 2014 and 2015. However, the original sequestration cuts
fiscal year 2016 thru 2021 remain in effect continuing to place
national security at risk.
Sequestration has already forced the Services have already canceled
deployment of ships, slashed flying hours, renegotiated critical
procurement contracts, temporarily furloughed civilian employees, and
are in the process of reducing force structure by some 124,000
personnel. Additionally, the Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year
2014 capped military pay raises at 1 percent, the lowest pay raise in
50 years.
The proposed fiscal year 2015 defense budget assumes some
additional monies will be forthcoming to mitigate sequestration
impacts. However, the budget proposes additional force reductions of
some 78,000 personnel in the Army, Army Reserves, Army National Guard,
and the Marines Corps (6,000) giving America the smallest military
force since before World War II. If sequestration relief is not ended,
additional force reductions will likely go deeper and training and
modernization will be further impacted.
The fiscal year 2015 budget submission proposes several
compensation measures to free monies for force structure and
modernization by capping the fiscal year 2015 pay raise at 1 percent, a
figure below the mandated ECI, slowing the growth in base housing
allowances and increasing out-of-pocket expenses for personnel,
reducing commissary savings and increasing TRICARE fees for both
retirees and active duty personnel.
While debt reduction is a national priority, such a disproportional
share of this burden must not be imposed on military families who
already have sacrificed for their country.
cost-of-living adjustment cuts
FRA welcomed the repeal of the 1-percent cost-of-living adjustment
(COLA) cut for those joining the military before January 1, 2014 but
was disappointed the COLA cut applies to future retirees that joined
the military on or after January 1, 2014. The Association is delighted
that all current retirees and almost all of those currently serving are
excluded from the 1-percent COLA cut. FRA remains concerned, however,
that the 1-percent COLA cut provision for those enlisting after January
1, 2014, could have a negative impact on recruitment. Further, these
changes should go through the ``regular order'' of subcommittee and
committee hearings in the House and Senate to thoroughly review the
impact on the future of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF). Additionally,
FRA argues that any changes to retirement benefits and military
compensation should be put on hold until the Military Compensation and
Retirement Modernization Commission (MCRMC) makes its final report in
February 2015. FRA will continue to advocate for repealing COLA cuts
for all future retirees.
retirement reform and the commission
Secretary of Defense Hagel clarified at his February press
conference that he will await the final report from the MCRMC, which is
due February 2015, before proposing any changes to military retirement
benefits. FRA is thankful for the Secretary's restraint but wonders why
DOD has proposed other changes in TRICARE, and military compensation
that is also be reviewed by the Commission. The nine-member MCRMC,
created by the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013, has held a series of hearings
and has continued to seek input from various interested parties. The
commission has been charged to review ``the full breadth of the
systems,'' including healthcare, military family support, and any
Federal programs that could influence the decision of current or future
servicemembers to stay in uniform or leave the Service. Before making
their final recommendations to Congress and the President, the
commission must examine the impacts of proposed recommendations on
currently serving members, retirees, spouses, children, and survivors.
tricare benefits and fee increases
FRA's membership appreciates the following Sense of Congress
provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act (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.
The fiscal year 2015 DOD budget will shift costs to military
beneficiaries by:
Consolidating the TRICARE Health Plans into one--results in
much higher costs while reducing access
Raising annual fees for retired and active duty families of
all ages and categories
Dramatically increasing pharmacy copays
Imposing means-testing of military retiree health benefits--
which no other Federal retirees endure
FRA advocates that DOD must sufficiently investigate and implement
other options to make TRICARE more cost-efficient as alternatives to
shifting costs to TRICARE beneficiaries, and the Association opposes
any indexing of future TRICARE Fee increases beyond CPI indexed COLA
increases.
The administration's fiscal year 2015 budget request includes a
complex plan to merge TRICARE Prime, Standard and Extra into one
program for all retirees under age 65; Raising annual fees for retirees
under age 65 and active duty family members; Dramatically increasing
pharmacy co-pays for retirees under age 65; and new annual fee for new
TIRICARE-for-Life (TFL) beneficiaries. FRA opposes the new proposed fee
increases included in the fiscal year 2015 administration's budget and
opposes the merger of programs that will result in TRICARE Standard and
Extra beneficiaries paying a new annual ``participation'' fee, and
TRICARE Prime beneficiaries paying higher co-pays and deductibles.
Background
TRICARE Prime enrollment fees for military retirees increased by 13
percent in 2012 with future increases tied to the annual COLA increase.
In addition Congress increased pharmacy co-pays and mandated future
increases tied to the annual percentage increase in the retiree COLA
starting in 2014 through 2022. A 5-year pilot program also requires TFL
beneficiaries to obtain refills of maintenance drugs through the
TRICARE home delivery program for at least 1 year.
FRA will vigorously oppose Pentagon efforts to shift the cost of
health care to beneficiaries. DOD has proposed merging TRICARE Prime,
Standard, and Extra into one program. The Association believes under
the pretext of this merge that retirees under age 65 will be forced to
accept TRICARE Standard benefits with TRICARE Prime enrollment fees and
more fees.
Military retirees under age 65 and are enrolled in TRICARE Prime
experienced a 13-percent increase in their annual enrollment fees 2
years ago, and these fees are increased annually based on inflation.
TRICARE Standard, Extra, and Prime beneficiaries have their pharmacy
co-pays increased every year with the rate of inflation.
FRA will vigorously oppose Pentagon efforts to shift the cost of
health care to beneficiaries. DOD has proposed merging TRICARE Prime,
Standard, and Extra into one program. The Association believes under
the pretext of this merge that retirees under age 65 will be forced to
accept TRICARE Standard benefits with TRICARE Prime enrollment fees and
more fees.
The Association believes that DOD should fix inefficiencies first
before shifting health care costs to retirees. There have been many GAO
reports that indicate that the DOD cost accounting system is
dysfunctional and cannot be audited. Also consolidating the DOD health
care system into a unified medical command would create a more
efficient organization that could obtain substantial savings.
active duty pay
FRA strongly supports a full Employment Cost Index (ECI) military
pay increase for fiscal year 2015. Pay and allowances remain the top
retention choice for active duty military personnel since the beginning
of the All-Volunteer Force and that is reflected in the FRA online
survey (February/March 2014) indicates that 93 percent of active duty
see base pay as ``Very Important''--the highest rating. So I'm sure the
active duty community is disappointed that Congress capped the 2014
active duty pay raise at 1 percent, which is 0.8 percent less than the
growth of private sector pay (ECI), and the smallest pay increase in
recent memory.
In the 1970s several annual pay caps contributed to a serious
retention problem that was fixed by large salary increases in 1981 and
1982. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s budget limitations lead to several
salary caps providing salary increases below the annual ECI. In 1999 it
was determined that there was a 13.5 percent gap between military and
private sector pay, and Congress made a commitment then to gradually
close that gap, and FRA believes that Congress should hold fast to that
commitment. The gap was reduced to 2.4 but now is headed in the other
direction with the 1 percent increase in 2014 the smallest increase in
many years. Adequate pay increases are needed to at least in part
offset the extraordinary demands and sacrifices expected in a military
career.
basic allowance for housing cuts
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is an allowance paid to active
duty servicemembers based on pay grade, dependency status, and
geographic location within the United States. The fiscal year 2015
budget eliminates compensation for renter's insurance and cuts the
average payment by 5 percent. The fiscal year 2015 budget eliminates
compensation for renter's insurance and cuts the average payment by 5
percent. BAH is the third highest priority for active duty in FRA's
online survey indicating that 83 percent of active duty sees BAH as
``very important.''
uniformed services former spouses protection act
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 enforce-able by the Department of Justice
(DoJ) 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 DoJ or DOD 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 com-mitted 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.
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).
The Association also wants to make the early retirement credit
retroactive to September 11, 2001, after which the Reserve component
changed from a strategic reserve to an operational reserve.
The Association 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 have no access to
health care.
FRA 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.
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).
survivor benefit plan/dependency and indemnity compensation offset
repeal
FRA supports the ``Military Surviving Equity Act'' (H.R. 32)
sponsored by Representative Joe Wilson (SC) and its Senate companion
bill (S. 734) sponsored by Senator Bill Nelson (FL), to eliminate the
Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP)/Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)
offset for widows and widowers of servicemembers. These bills 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. Further FRA believes Congress should
reduce the age for paid-up SBP to age 67 for those who joined the
military at age 17, 18 or 19. Congress should also 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.
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
(DFAS) 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.
dislocation allowance
Moving households on government orders can be costly. Throughout a
military career, servicemembers endure a number of permanent changes of
station (PCS). Often each move requires additional expense for
relocating to a new area far away from the servicemember's current
location. To help servicemembers defray these additional expenses
Congress in 1955 authorized the payment of a special allowance referred
to as ``dislocation allowance.'' Unfortunately servicemembers preparing
to retire from the military are not eligible for this allowance, yet
are subject to the same additional expenses they experience a PCS. In
either case, moving on orders to another duty station or retiring are
both reflective of a management decision. Therefore FRA supports
authorizing payment of a dislocation allowances to servicemembers
retiring or transferring to an inactive status such as the Fleet
Reserve or Fleet Marine Reserve who execute a ``final change of
station'' move.
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 health data.
The importance of fully implemented interoperability of electronic
medical records cannot be overstated. The Association was grateful that
the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2014 has
a provision that requires DOD and VA to implement a seamless electronic
sharing of medical health care data by October 1, 2016. This provision
was in response to the VA and DOD shelving plans to jointly develop an
iHER system due to cost and schedule challenges, and instead the two
agencies decided to pursue separate efforts to modernize or replace
their existing systems. However, according to a new Government
Accountability Office (GAO) report (GAO-14-302) the VA and DOD ``have
not substantiated their claims that the current approach will be less
expensive and more timely than the single-system approach.'' The GAO
report also notes that neither department has provided a joint
strategic plan that explains lines of responsibility, time schedule,
how to eliminate management barriers, and how much the project will
cost. FRA has long supported efforts to ensure adequate funding for DOD
and VA health care resource sharing in delivering seamless, cost
effective, quality services to personnel wounded in combat and other
veterans, and their families.
There is some sharing now between DOD, VA, and the private sector,
but more needs to be done. Wider expansion of data sharing and exchange
agreements between VA, DOD, and the private sector is needed. VA's
``Blue Button'' initiative permits veteran's online access to some
medical history, appointments, wellness reminders and military service
information, but most is only accessible only after in-person
authentication. VA is also moving forward on its paperless disability
processes that is Health Insurance Portability and Protection Act
compliant.
Jurisdictional challenges notwithstanding this subcommittee must
remain vigilant regarding its' oversight responsibilities associated
with ensuring a ``seamless transition'' for our Nation's wounded
warriors.
mental health/suicide
FRA believes post-traumatic stress (PTS) should not be referred to
as a ``disorder.'' This terminology adds to the stigma of this
condition, and the Association believes it is critical that the
military and VA work to reduce the stigma associated with PTS and TBI.
Access to quality mental health service is a vital priority, along with
a better understanding of these conditions and improved care. ``Roughly
20 percent of the 2.5 million men and women who served in Afghanistan
and Iraq have PTSD or other mental ill. About 200,000 incarcerated
veterans in the United States, about 14 percent of the Nation's
prisoners. Contrary to public perception, Afghanistan and Iraq vets are
only half as likely to be incarcerated as those who fought in earlier
wars, but . . . suffer from PTSD at three times the rate of older
veterans.'' \1\ PTS diagnosis and treatment remain a major challenge
for the VA. ``The number of veterans who received VA treatment for PTSD
and other mental health issues reached 1.3 million last year, up
400,000 since 2006.'' \2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Time Magazine, Feb. 10, 2014, ``A Troubled Marine's Final
Fight'' page 38-39, Mark Thompson
\2\ The Washington Post, Nov. 11, 2013 ``VA Shinseki is determined
to Leave no Vet Behind'' Steve Vogel
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
An average of 22 veterans a day commit suicide and because of that
fact suicide prevention is a priority issue for FRA. More specifically
the Association is deeply concerned that ``suicides among young
veterans climbed sharply in a recent 3-year period, according to a new
government analysis focused on Veterans Health Administration clients.
The number of suicides among 18- to 29-year-old men increased from 88
in 2009 to 152 in 2011. That translates into a 44 percent rise in the
suicide rate, which jumped to 57.9 suicides per 100,000 veterans.'' \3\
In 2005 the VA's 13,000 mental health professionals were providing care
for veterans. Today there are more than 20,000 mental health
professionals at the VA and that number should continue to increase.
The VA/DOD crisis hot line has assisted more than 640,000 people and
rescued over 23,000 from potential suicide, and there must be readily
available counseling support and expanded awareness of help that's
available to veterans in crisis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Los Angeles Times, Jan. 12, 2014, ``More Young Veterans
Committing Suicide, Data Show'' Alan Zarembo
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A member posted this on FRA facebook page January 14, 2014:
``Suicide prevention and the FAILURE of the VA. 22 Veterans committed
suicide every day in 2010. This past Sunday (January 12, 2014) at 2008
hours I chose to call the VA's suicide/crisis hotline on behalf of a
veteran I felt was in distress and prone to taking his life. My call
was answered by a machine, was immediately placed on hold with elevator
music and my call was DROPPED after 4:15 min/sec . . . having never
spoken to a human. Suicide/crisis line . . . never answered after 4+
minutes . . . REALLY?!?!?!'' FRA passed on this information to VA
staff.
Expanding VA counseling to veteran's family members, strengthening
oversight of IDES, and requiring VA to establish accurate measures for
mental health were included in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 are also
important in addressing this issue. ``The number of military suicides
declined significantly in 2013, a relief to the Services after record
and near record levels in 2012.'' \4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Marine Corps Times, Feb. 17, 2014, ``Military Suicides Decline
but Data Incomplete,'' Patricia Kime
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
adequate end strengths
Adequate military end strength is vital in sustaining our national
security, and FRA is concerned about budget-driven calls for reducing
end strength. The strain and inadequate dwell time of repeated
deployments are 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. For the last 13 years, servicemembers and their families
have endured unprecedented sacrifices often having less than a year at
home before returning for another year in combat.
Now with these even greater end strength reductions, many
servicemembers worry if they will be able to continue serving their
nation.
FRA believes that the Nation needs to maintain an adequate force to
respond to unexpected contingencies and retaining combat experience by
encouraging departing veterans to join the Guard and Reserve. On
September 10, 2011 no one expected the following 12 years decade would
find us engaged in a protracted war.
Cutting Guard/Reserve Forces as well as Active Forces will make
achieving these goals even more difficult to obtain. The Association is
thankful that Congress has provided the Services with various voluntary
tools to draw down the forces, but in the sequester-driven budget
times, the Services are reverting to use of involuntary methods.
military predatory lending law
FRA thanks this subcommittee for improvements in the Military
Lending Act (MLA) specified in 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 (FTC).
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 CFPB in January 2013 took its first enforcement action against
a payday lender by ordering Cash America International, Inc. to refund
consumers for robo-signing court documents in debt collection lawsuits.
The CFPB also found that Cash America--one of the largest short-term,
small-dollar lenders in the country--violated the Military Lending Act
(MLA) by illegally overcharging servicemembers and their families. Cash
America will pay up to $14 million in refunds to consumers and it will
pay a $5 million fine for these violations and for destroying records
in advance of the Bureau's examination.
After a routine CFPB examination of Cash America's operations, the
CFPB found multiple violations of consumer financial protection laws.
This is the Bureau's first public enforcement action against a payday
lender, its first public action under the Military Lending Act (MLA)
and the first public action for a company's failure to comply fully
with the CFPB's supervisory examination authority.
FRA applauds CFPB efforts to regulate predatory lenders through
enforcement of the MLA. The Association was in the forefront of
supporting the enactment of the MLA in 2006 and supported the creation
of the Office of Military Liaison within the CFPB when the Bureau's
enabling legislation was enacted in 2010. FRA continues its work to
ensure active duty personnel are protected from predatory lenders, and
urges this subcommittee to ensure that the MLA is effectively
administered.
The NDAA also called on DOD to conduct a study to identify harmful
credit products and practices and recommend protections to close
loopholes. DOD is also required to promulgate a regulation to implement
changes in the law. FRA, CFPB, and consumer groups have asked DOD 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
FRA opposes the proposed reduced funding for military commissaries.
Military commissaries and exchanges are essential parts of the military
benefit package and FRA's on-line survey completed in February/March
2014 indicates that 61 percent of active duty respondents and more than
63 percent of retirees rated Commissary/Exchange privileges as ``very
important.''
A 2013 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. Exchange profits also
fund important base morale, welfare and recreation programs (MWR) that
contribute to an enhanced quality of life for military beneficiaries.
conclusion
FRA is grateful for the opportunity to provide these
recommendations to this distinguished subcommittee.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Colonel Hayden?
STATEMENT OF COL. MICHAEL F. HAYDEN, USAF (RET.), DIRECTOR,
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
Colonel Hayden. Madam Chairwoman, the MOAA, along with our
coalition partners, disagree strongly with the budget proposal
to shift billions more in health care costs to military
beneficiaries. Fortunately, Congress rejected last year's
TRICARE fee proposals, and we thank you for that.
Yet this year, TRICARE fee proposal is much more than a
regurgitation of last year's. It includes similar
disproportionate pharmacy fee increases and means-tested
TRICARE for Life enrollment fees, both rejected by Congress. It
also includes a plan to consolidate the three major elements of
TRICARE--Prime, Standard, and Extra--to what is being
characterized as streamlining or modernization, which you heard
this morning. Actually, this proposal will have families and
retirees paying more and getting less. It retains the TRICARE
Prime enrollment fee by relabeling it as a participation fee,
yet eliminates the one major element that the enrollment fee
assured, and that was guaranteed access standards.
But even more concerning is that this includes fees where
fees never existed before and provides no additional
discernible value. For the first time, this proposal would have
working-age retirees paying to be seen in the MTFs. DOD's
proposal would also have military families paying more for
their health care when they have limited or no access to
military facilities.
A main argument of this year's budget submission is to slow
the growth of personnel costs to include health care. Critics
continue to make claims of unsustainable health care cost
growth since 2000, as if that was some type of reasonable
starting point. But it's 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 cost growth has
been declining ever since, and since 2010 the combination of
military personnel and health care cost growth has been slowed
to less than 2 percent per year.
I do want to make one thing clear. The military TRICARE
benefit is, by and large, an excellent one, but it has to be to
help induce large numbers of top-quality people to accept the
extraordinary demands and sacrifices inherent in a multi-decade
military career. That's why assertions that military retirees
pay far less for health care than civilians are so aggravating
to those who wear the uniform or who have worn the uniform.
Military people already pay far steeper premiums for health
care coverage than any civilian ever has or ever will.
We realize DOD is in a very difficult situation with
sequestration's arbitrary and disproportionate cuts, cuts that
need to be eliminated. However, we also believe that DOD can
look at making the system much more efficient instead of simply
shifting costs onto the beneficiaries. For example, there is no
single point of responsibility for budgeting or delivery of DOD
health care. The Defense Health Agency is a small step in the
right direction, and the jury is still out on the projected
savings. However, this fiscal year 2015 proposal does nothing
to improve the benefit. It simply shifts DOD's cost onto the
families and retirees because it's easier to do.
We have worked with this subcommittee and the House of
Representatives counterparts for the past several years to put
what we think are reasonable fee standards in law, including
annual adjustments tied to the retiree pay COLA percentage. We
have accepted mail order requirements in lieu of higher
pharmacy co-pays. All of these changes we accepted will save
DOD billions in the coming years and have slowed the growth of
health care costs. Now we think it's time to develop management
efficiencies that won't impact beneficiaries, access to care,
or delivery of quality of care.
In closing, Secretary Hagel stated before the fiscal year
2015 budget release that ``continuous piecemeal changes will
only magnify uncertainty and doubt among our servicemembers
about whether promised benefits will be there in the future.''
We couldn't agree more. Any changes to pay, compensation, and
benefits to include health care should be looked at
comprehensively, not piecemeal. Since the congressionally-
directed MCRMC has been tasked to take a holistic and
comprehensive look at the entire compensation package and
propose even broader reforms next year, these piecemeal budget-
driven changes are even more inappropriate.
Finally, we believe the budget will require balance, but we
are concerned that DOD is heading down a previous path,
repeating some of the very same mistakes that led to
significant retention problems the Nation experienced by the
late 1990s. History shows comparability can't work unless it is
sustained through both good times and bad budget times. We are
still a Nation at war. Capping pay and forcing troops and their
families to pay more for their housing, health care, and
groceries sends the wrong message.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Colonel Hayden follows:]
Prepared Statement by The Military Officers Association of America
Madam Chairwoman and Ranking Member Graham, on behalf of over
380,000 members of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA),
we are grateful for this opportunity to express our views and
appreciate the subcommittee for hosting this hearing on the fiscal year
2015 defense budget submission and the related personnel program
proposals.
MOAA does not receive any grants or contracts from the Federal
Government.
We are truly grateful for your unwavering commitment to men and
women who defend our fine Nation.
We appreciate that Congress have given personnel issues top
priority in the past decade. You have had difficult choices to make
while bolstering a weak economy and addressing budget deficits. The
past few years have been arduous, with our military winding down
operations in Afghanistan and the Nation dealing with the effects of
sequestration.
sequestration
Sequestration was thought to be so harmful that it would have never
come to pass. But it is a reality with DOD still taking a
disproportionate share of the fix.
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 mitigated the sequestration
spending cuts for fiscal years 2014 and 2015. However, the original
sequestration cuts of fiscal year 2016 thru 2021 remain in effect,
continuing to place national security at risk.
This concern for readiness and national security was reinforced
during Secretary Hagel's February 24, 2014, press conference outlining
the fiscal year 2015 budget submission when he stated `` . . . the only
way to implement sequestration is to sharply reduce spending on
readiness and modernization, which would almost certainly result in a
hollow force . . . the resulting force would be too small to fully
execute the President's defense strategy.''
The Services have been forced to slash flying hours, cancel the
deployment of ships, renegotiate critical procurement contracts,
temporarily furlough civilian employees, and are in the process of
reducing force structure by some 124,000 personnel.
As a result, sequestration caused the Pentagon to submit proposals
in fiscal year 2014 that have started to reverse some of the needed pay
and benefits fixes Congress put in place over the past decade--
specifically, the military pay raise cap below the Employment Cost
Index (ECI) of 1 percent, the lowest pay raise in 50 years and cutting
the housing allowance.
The proposed fiscal year 2015 defense budget assumes some
additional monies will be forthcoming to mitigate sequestration
impacts. However, the budget proposes additional force reductions of
over 78,000 personnel. If sequestration is not ended, additional force
reductions will likely go deeper and training and modernization will be
further impacted--to include putting our national security strategy at
risk.
But what greatly concerns MOAA and should concern the subcommittee
are the fiscal year 2015 budget submission proposals to ``slow the
growth'' of personnel costs--a second year of capping the military pay
raise below ECI with the possibility of four additional years,
increasing out-of-pocket housing expenses for military families,
significantly reducing commissary savings, and a consolidation of
TRICARE plans which will have all beneficiaries except those in uniform
paying more for their health care while eliminating access standards.
While debt reduction is a national priority, such a disproportional
share of this burden must not be foisted on the backs of military
families who already have sacrificed more for their country than any
other segment of Americans.
Congress needs to end the harmful effects of sequestration by
supporting a bipartisan debt reduction package that avoids
disproportional penalties on the Pentagon and on servicemembers and
their families.
military personnel and healthcare overview
The most important element to a strong national defense is
sustaining a top-quality, All-Volunteer Force. This requires a pay and
benefits package that is fundamentally different from those of the
private sector in order to induce young men and women to wear the
uniform for not only one term of enlistment, but also for two decades
or more.
But military pay and benefits continue to come under attack. For
many years, critics have claimed military personnel costs are ``rising
out of control'' and, if left un-checked 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 time and some hard experiences have proven such claims wrong in
the past--and they are still wrong today.
But with this year's budget rollout, defense leaders were
suggesting cuts to pay, the housing allowance, the commissary, and
health care stating spending on pay and benefits for service members
has ``risen about 40 percent more than growth in the private sector''
since 2001.
In addition, late last year there have been other alarming
statements on the glide path that personnel costs are on, such as: ``by
2025 or so 98 cents of every dollar [will be] going for benefits.''
The truth is the same one-third of the defense budget has gone to
military personnel and health care costs for the last 33 years. That's
no more unaffordable now than in the past.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
the fiscal year 2015 budget
The fiscal year 2015 budget submission proposes several significant
pay and benefit cuts which are inconsistent with the sacrifices
exemplified by the last 12 years of war.
Capping pay below the Employment Cost Index (ECI) for
a second straight year (with more planned);
Reducing Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) by 5
percent, reversing DOD's own initiative to eliminate out-of-
pocket housing cost completed in 2005;
Reducing commissary savings for uniformed service
families; and
Restructuring the TRICARE benefit where active duty
families and retiree beneficiaries will pay more for their
health care.
The Pentagon is suggesting these cuts, in order to ``slow the
growth'' of personnel costs stating personnel costs have ``risen about
40 percent more than growth in the private sector'' since the turn of
the century.
But this is statement needs to be put in the proper context.
Personnel cost growth has gone up at a rate greater than the private
sector since 2000 . . . that's true. Since 2000, personnel and health
care costs experience an average rate of growth of nearly 7.6 percent
annually.
But using ``2000'' as the baseline without reflecting on the
historical context is misleading--it implies that 2000 was an
appropriate benchmark for estimating what reasonable personnel and
healthcare spending should be--it's not.
Years of budget cutbacks led to a 13.5 percent pay gap, a 25
percent reduced retirement value for post-1986 entrants, a point where
service members were paying nearly 20 percent out-of-pocket for their
housing costs, and beneficiaries over 65 were completely thrown out of
the military health care system.
In the late 1990s, retention was on the ropes, and Congress was
being asked to correct these problems to prevent a readiness crisis.
Congress did so over the next decade restoring military pay
comparability (slide to the left), repealing the retirement cuts,
zeroing-out member out-of-pocket housing costs, and restoring promised
health coverage for older retirees.
Cost growth since 2000-2001 was essential to keep the previous
compensation cutbacks from breaking the career force.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Since 2011, personnel cost growth has already slowed to less than 2
percent per year.
The rate of military personnel and health cost change will only
decline further in the out-years due to:
Significant pharmacy copay increases which started
last year (fiscal year 2013);
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;
Significant reductions to end strength;
Recent changes to the retirement system for new
entrants; and
Savings from sustaining pay with private sector pay
growth (ECI) since 2011.
However, the proposals in this year's defense budget are a huge
step backwards repeating many of the same bad habits during past
drawdowns--cutting end strength, capping pay, and attacking benefits--
that led to the difficult retention times of the late 1990s.
Past experience of capping military raises below private sector pay
growth has proven that once pay raise caps begin, they continue until
they undermine retention and readiness--and this is the second year of
proposed pay caps with a possibility of four more.
One pay cap is a data point, two is a line, and three is a trend.
Six years of planned caps is definitely a bad trend and does not bode
well for the currently serving.
This proposal is not limited to pay. This ``quadruple whammy'' of
capping pay, increasing out-of-pocket expenses for housing, slashing
commissary savings, and having military families pay more for their
health care, would be major steps backward on the road towards
repeating the insidious measures which led to retention and readiness
problems in the past.
Each may seem small by themselves . . . a pay cap of .8 percent. A
5 percent out-of-pocket housing cost. Copays for family off-post doctor
visits. Reduced savings at the commissary.
However, the elimination of the $1 billion subsidy for the
commissary benefit itself will reduce the purchasing power of a
military family of four by nearly $3,000 annually.
When you add up the fiscal year 2014 and fiscal year 2015 pay caps,
the proposed BAH reductions, the reductions in commissary savings, and
the new TRICARE fee structure, an E-5's family of four would experience
a loss of nearly $5,000 in purchasing power annually; and an O-3's
family of four would experience a loss of nearly $6,000.
These are very conservative projections seeing that it only
includes 2 years of pay caps and the new TRICARE consolidation/fees
will be very dependent on a military family's access to an MTF and
special needs.
TRICARE Consolidation
DOD again is proposing similar disproportionate pharmacy fee
increases and a means-tested TFL enrollment fee as they did last year
and in the past that thankfully Congress has rejected.
But it also includes a plan to consolidate the three major elements
of TRICARE--Prime, standard, and extra--into what is being
characterized as ``streamlining'' or ``modernizing''.
In this proposal currently serving families and retirees will pay
more and get less. It retains the TRICARE prime enrollment fee by re-
labeling it as a ``participation'' fee yet eliminates the one element
that the enrollment fee assured . . . guaranteed access standards.
But even more disconcerting is that the proposed change includes
fees where fees never existed before and provides no discernable value.
For the first time, this proposal would have working-age retirees
paying to be seen in the military treatment facilities.
The Pentagon proposal will have military families paying more for
their health care when they have limited or no access to military
facilities.
MOAA wants to make one thing clear. The military TRICARE benefit is
by and large an excellent one.
But it has to be, in order to induce large numbers of top-quality
people to accept the extraordinary demands and sacrifices inherent in a
multi-decade military career.
Military people already pay much steeper premiums for health
coverage than any civilian ever has or ever will.
Defense leaders say they'll keep faith with the currently serving
on retirement reform, and would apply changes only to new entrants.
But if it's breaking faith to change the rules for someone with 10
years--or 1 year--of service, it's doubly so to impose new fees on
military families who don't have access to the MTFs as well as imposing
fees for use of the MTF on those who already completed 20 or 30,
whether they'll retire next year or are already retired.
We believe DOD must look at making the system much more efficient
instead of simply shifting costs. For example, there's still no single
point of responsibility for budgeting or delivery of DOD health care.
DHA is a small step in the right direction and the jury is still
out on projected savings; however, this fiscal year 2015 proposal does
nothing to improve the benefit . . . it simply shifts DOD's costs onto
the families and retirees, because it's easier.
We've worked with this subcommittee and the House counterpart for
the past several years to put what we think are reasonable fee
standards in law . . . including annual adjustments tied to the retired
pay COLA percentage.
We've accepted mail-order requirements in lieu of higher pharmacy
copays.
All of these changes we accepted will save DOD billions in the
coming years and has slowed the growth of health care costs.
Now we think it's time to develop management efficiencies that
won't impact beneficiary fees, access to care, or delivery of quality
care and simply shift more of DOD's costs onto them.
summary
In closing, Secretary Hagel stated before the fiscal year 2015
budget release that, ``Continuous piecemeal changes will only magnify
uncertainty and doubts among our service members about whether promised
benefits will be there in the future.''
We couldn't agree more. Any changes to pay, compensation, and
benefits, to include health care, should be looked at comprehensively--
not in a piecemeal manner.
Since the congressionally-directed Military Compensation and
Retirement Reform Commission has been tasked to take a holistic and
comprehensive look at the entire compensation package, and propose
broader reform proposals next year, these piecemeal, budget-driven
changes are even more inappropriate.
What's needed is to sustain pay and benefits for the men and women
in uniform and their families as well as those that have faithfully
served two decades or more.
MOAA remains concerned that the Pentagon is heading down a
previously taken path, repeating some of the very same mistakes that
led to significant retention problems the Nation experienced by the
late 90s and undoing the needed compensation improvements Congress has
made since 2000 to match the extraordinary demands and sacrifices of
military service and a military career.
History shows comparability can't work unless it's sustained
through both good and bad budget times. We are still a nation at war -
capping pay and forcing troops and their families to pay more for their
housing, health care, and groceries sends the wrong message.
The most important element of a strong national security is the
sustainment of a dedicated, top-quality mid-level noncommissioned
officer and office force. These changes will significantly devalue the
compensation and benefits needed to sustain those seasoned, trained,
and talented troops and ultimately have a negative impact on
recruiting, retention, and overall readiness.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Captain Hanson?
STATEMENT OF CAPT MARSHALL HANSON, USNR (RET.), DIRECTOR,
LEGISLATIVE AND MILITARY POLICY, RESERVE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
Captain Hanson. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I am Marshall
Hanson. In addition to my legislative job at the ROA, I am also
a co-chair for TMC's Guard and Reserve Committee. We appreciate
the opportunity to testify this afternoon.
All of us have heard how the Army expects to reduce its
numbers to below the manning levels prior to World War II. What
is missing from this explanation is a back-up plan if DOD's
strategy is wrong. Between 1924 and 1939, while the Active Army
was small in size, the plan was to mobilize 1.3 million men
within 4 months of any crisis. No such fallback plan exists
today, placing the full onus onto the Reserve and National
Guard to provide any surge.
While there is an increasing number of studies supporting
the Reserve and Guard cost efficiencies, the Army is pushing
back against the role of the Reserve Force. Using the
Quadrennial Defense Review as a reference, the Army is now
challenging how quickly the Reserve or Guard can be mobilized
to respond to a crisis. Over the last 13 years, nearly 900,000
Reserve and Guard members have been mobilized.
TMC believes that the Nation needs to continue to use the
Reserve components as an operational force and sustain this
number as a surge capacity for unexpected contingencies. As DOD
is willing to accept risks, as we heard this morning, the
Reserve and Guard are the only insurance policy. It is
important to retain the combat experience of veterans in the
Reserve component during a reduction in the total force.
Cutting the Reserve and Guard, as well as the Active-Duty
Forces, will make achieving readiness goals even more
difficult.
This is why there needs to be caution before making
compensation cuts to the Reserve Force. Compensation needs to
keep pace with the Nation's ever-increasing reliance on the
Reserve and the Guard. Yet DOD wants to reduce monthly
reimbursement, has suggested changes to retirement, and cost
increases for benefits.
If you calculate the number of days worked against current
pay, the ratio for both Active and Reserve components are the
same. Reducing monthly pay will drive away the best, as they
can reap higher rewards elsewhere. Suggested changes to
retirement will actually pay Reserve Force retirees less over
their lifetime.
A fiscal year barrier exists, denying reservists a 90-day
credit if their service crosses between 2 fiscal years. TMC
supports S. 240 by Senators Tester, Chambliss, and Blumenthal
to retroactively fix this problem in U.S. Code. TMC also
advocates expanding the early retirement to the warriors who
served since September 11, 2001. As many senior officers and
enlisted are performing duty without pay, TMC also endorses
crediting all inactive duty toward Reserve retirement.
Several years ago, DOD reassured beneficiary associations
that TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) would not be included in fee
increases that DOD had requested. This year, however, if fees
are increased, DOD leaders say they will be the same for TRS as
it will be for TRICARE Standard beneficiaries. DOD views TRS
not as a health program for Reserve and Guard, but as a health
insurance option. Reserve Force members have proven themselves
over the last 13 years and should have a health care program
fit for warriors.
Undesirably, 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 Active
Duty. This has caused many Reserve members to be uncertain
about TRS. TMC supports an option to pay a stipend to employers
during mobilization periods, permitting family members to
continue on their civilian medical insurance.
For those reservists who are wounded or injured, many are
not receiving the same disability rating as their Active Duty
counterparts. If any warrior is asked to take a risk, their
benefits should not be discounted, because no one is part-time
in a war zone. Similarly, if they make the final sacrifice in
the line of duty, Reserve and Guard surviving family members
should receive the same level of survivor benefits as their
Active Duty counterparts.
TMC looks forward to working with this subcommittee on
these and other issues highlighted in the written testimony. I
thank you. I await your questions.
[The prepared statement of Captain Hanson follows:]
Prepared Statement by the Reserve Officers Association of the United
States and 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.
With less than 7 percent of the U.S. population ever having served
and less than 1 percent of the population currently in uniform, the
Reserve Forces provide a necessary link between the military and the
civilian communities. 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.
Both the Title 10 Reserve and the National Guard provide support to
States during natural and man-made disasters, as well as provide
homeland defense against foreign threats.
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.
eliminating the reserve gap
After 13 years of war, Reserve Force members feel they have done
their share as equal partners in the total force. Bolstered by comments
such as ``when you go into the combat theater, you can't tell the
difference between Guard, Reserve, or Active-Duty member--which have
been made by both congressional and Pentagon leadership--members of the
Reserve Force feel they have contributed to the total All-Volunteer
Force.
Congress and the American people in many cases do not recognize the
incredible value of the Reserve Forces, overlooking the contributions
that have been made, and the readiness factor that the Reserve Force
provides. Sadly, the Reserve Force is often overlooked when legislation
is written, leaving gaps in protections, benefits, and funding.
At 1.1 million serving members, the military's Reserve Force makes
up 48 percent of the Armed Forces. During the last 13 years of war, the
Pentagon has ordered nearly 900,000 call-ups from the Reserve and
National Guard in support of the Total Force. The war couldn't have
been fought without the Reserve Force.
Yet, a perception gap exists between the Active and Reserve
components that has lead to the current clash between the Army and the
National Guard. Recent comments by Army leadership suggested that the
Army Reserve Force was assigned missions that required less
sophisticated tactical planning, coordination, and execution that has
been interpreted as casting the Army Reserve Component, in particular
the Guard, as a second-rate fighting force. This is insulting and
shocking to a generation of Guard and Reserve warriors who thought Army
leaders valued their service.
Starting from the top with Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno, Army
active duty leadership have argued that Reserve Force troops who train
part-time are ill-prepared to quickly mobilize for missions that are
reactive to crises and rapidly emergent threats.
The Reserve component leadership, on the other hand, wants their
components to be considered equally vital and used more operationally.
Active Duty leadership sees vulnerability in an availability cycle that
is ``mobilize, train, and deploy.'' Reserve leadership supports a cycle
of ``train, mobilize, and deploy'' to improve mobilization readiness.
These differences in view are based on available resources and
willingness to invest in advance on the training.
DOD directive 1235.10 states that ``Predictability of the Reserve
component forces is maximized through the use of defined operational
cycles and utilizing force generation plans to provide advanced
notification that allows the implementation of the train-mobilize-
deploy model.''
Advance notification is becoming a stumbling block. Last year's
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requires a minimum 120-day
notification prior to deployment and a minimum 180-day notification
prior to cancellation of deployment for the operational Reserves. This
causes the active duty leadership to prefer Active-Duty Forces over
Reserve Forces for deployment because of greater flexibility.
The Active Navy views their Reserve as an augmentation force. The
Navy Reserve has declined in size by nearly 63 percent since the end of
the Cold War. Today, there are fewer units with specific fleet missions
or operational responsibilities. Expeditionary missions that were
developed within the Navy Reserve were taken over by the Active Force.
With the end of the Iraq War and the draw down in Afghanistan, the U.S.
Navy is reducing the size of the supporting Navy Reserve Expeditionary
Force. Thirteen years of war merely delayed the active duty plans to
reduce the Reserve Seabee battalions with the Navy announcing a 45
percent reduction in Navy Reserve construction forces.
The Air Force is perhaps the most integrated service. It
acknowledges that traditional guardsmen and reservists in the Air Force
dedicate themselves fully to their service's core principles and
ideals, and the Reserve components cannot be a traditional strategic
Reserve Force, but there is still a separate but ``equal'' status
between the components. Unlike other Services, the Air Force components
don't have to necessarily train together. Associate units exist but not
necessarily with integrated crews. Parallel commands, missions and
administration continue despite common use of equipment.
The National Commission on the Restructuring of the Air Force found
that barriers remain between the Active and Reserve components in the
Air Force. ``Some of those barriers are contained in law, but others
reside solely in service policy, tradition, and culture.''
The report points out that ``the Air Force must embrace the idea
that service in the Reserve components does not constitute `separation'
or `getting out of the Air Force,' but rather is a way for airmen to
continue to serve and for the Nation to maintain capability and
preserve its investment in highly trained and dedicated people.''
The Coast Guard Reserve has been embedded into the active Coast
Guard since the mid-1990s. During the war it was undermanned at 8,100,
but met mission requirements both in war overseas and domestically
during natural and manmade disasters. Budget constraints have required
the active duty leadership to transfer about 1,000 of the authorized
end strength into the non-paid Individual Ready Reserve.
Also, at issue for all Reserve components is training to service
standards. Reserve and Guard members need to be trained and equipped to
the standards expected of the Active Force, to do otherwise, will leave
the United States a military that is ill-prepared to meet future
challenges.
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.
This committee need not be reminded about the 2010 study ``The
Independent Panel Review of Reserve Component Employment in an Era of
Persistent Conflict,'' written by Gen. Dennis J. Reimer, LTG Roger C.
Schultz, and LTG James R. Helmly, all retired. Also known as the Reimer
report, it says that Reserve Forces must be ``consistent and sustained
over time instead of the past paradigm of fight-win-demobilize-return
to garrison and subsequently mobilize for another conflict--at huge
cost in people and money.''
Requested Action:
Include the Reserve Force in legislation protecting
serving members.
Recognize the Title 10 Reserves as well as the
National Guard in bills and press releases.
Provide funding for family, health care and veteran
support for Reserve Force members:
Family Support Programs for families of
serving Reserve and Guard members.
Mental and behavioral health care for pre- and
post-activation periods.
Military and Veteran Health coverage in remote
locations.
Restore Reserve Force education parity to Active Duty:
Begin eligibility when the service member
elects to use the program the first time.
Extend eligibility to 10 years
following enrollment.
Increase MGIB-Selected Reserve to 47 percent
of MGIB-Active of $1,564 per month.
Include 4 year as well as 6-year reenlistment
contracts to qualify for MGIB-SR.
Allow use of the MGIB benefit to pay off
student loans.
Continue eligibility for up to 10 years after
separation from the Selected Reserves.
Recent studies by both the Reserve Forces Policy Board and by DOD
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.
economic argument
The Reimer report included many common-sense ideas for maintaining
what is arguably the most cost-effective part of the military.
The National Commission on the structure of the Air Force report
echoes the Reserve as the cost saving component: The ``Part-time''
force structure--that capability delivered by traditional reservists
and guardsmen who do not serve continuously on active duty--costs less
than the force structure provided by ``full-time personnel . . . Based
on the record before the Commission, and subject to all the caveats set
out [in the report], the Commission determined that the cost of a
traditional reservist, who is not performing active duty missions
during a year, is approximately 1/6th the cost of a full-time Active
component airman.''
While the Reserve Force Policy Board (RFBP) calculated different
savings, it came to the same conclusion: ``The cost of a Reserve
component servicemember, when not activated, is less than one third
that of their Active component counterpart,'' reported the RFPB to the
Secretary of Defense in January 2013. ``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 Active component
counterparts' per capita costs, depending on which cost elements are
included. While Reserve component forces account for 39 percent of
military end strength, they consume only about 16 percent of the
Defense budget.''
Even DOD's internal Cape Report concludes that Reserve and Guard
troops are not only cheaper when in drilling status but also when fully
mobilized, in part because their overall compensation is lower when
taking into account noncash benefits such as retirement accrual and
health care. Additionally, the overhead cost overall for reservists are
lower because part-time troops do not tap into many military perks such
as family housing, DOD schools, military base family support and
permanent change of station moving allowances while active-duty troops
move every few years when they are reassigned.
With so many studies supporting the life-cycle saving if DOD better
utilized the Reserve component, the Active component leadership is now
pushing back, using the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) as their
reference. DOD is challenging how quickly the Reserve Force can be
mobilized during a crisis, and emphasizing that conducting operations
with Reserve component forces is not always less expensive than doing
so with Active component forces.
An example of the latter is Gen. G. Michael Hostage, III, Commander
Air Combat Command, who while acknowledging the need to operationalize
reservists in order to maintain dwell cycles for the active duty,
stressed that in order to activate a reservists, he would have to have
a 270-day call-up in order to gain 180 days of operational support.
General Martin E. Dempsey noted in the 2014 QDR that ``since time
is a defining factor in the commitment of land forces, I strongly
recommend a comprehensive review of the Nation's ability to mobilize
its existing Reserves as well as its preparedness for the potential of
national mobilization.''
The Active component wants to return to the days of round-out units
(strategic reserve). No one argues that Active Duty units will not
always be the first responders, but Reserve Force units if properly
trained and equipped are perfectly capable for follow-on operations or
during a long conflict.
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. Civilian skill sets add to the value of the
individual Reserve component serving member.
A common sense balance between Active and Reserve components is
needed; as the American people are unwilling to pay for an Active Army
large enough to meet all of Nations defense responsibilities by itself.
If we don't take care of the Guard and Reserve, we'll have no ``safety
net'' for the next fight.
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
guidance policy.
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.''
In the Hamilton Project report--``National Defense in a Time of
Change'', authors ADM Gary Roughhead, U.S. Navy (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 suggested that while Congress should reduce the Army, ``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.''
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.
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, because of suggested changes to compensation
and benefits.
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.
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 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.
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 (NGREA)
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 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 to continue to close the Active/
Reserve component modernization and interoperability gap.
additional funding for reserve component support programs
While Reserve components have worked closely with their parent
services to develop seamless, integrated family readiness and support
programs to provide information and services to all members, support
differs between the Active and Reserve components.
Family Support
Family readiness centers are located on military bases, but
unfortunately few Reserve units are located near such bases. It is more
likely for spouse and dependents to move to families for support rather
than onto active military locations. Additionally, active units have
developed internal family support networks. These are not as easy to
maintain in the Reserve and Guard as member families are scattered
throughout the civilian community. The most common support for Reserve
Force families is online at such websites as Military OneSource.
Reserve Force members face unique challenges balancing military
service with civilian life. Unlike active duty members of the Armed
Forces, they juggle the demands of both military and civilian jobs.
Their families often live where there is less community support
available to them than active duty military families who can share
issues and concerns with people dealing with the same challenges.
Many in Congress and in the Pentagon overlook the challenges faced
by Reserve families. The 2004 Quadrennial Quality of Life Review noted,
from a spouse survey, that more than 60 percent of Reserve component
spouses had 2 weeks or less notification before activation. The spouses
indicated they needed time during pre-activation to resolve dependent
care, legal, health coverage, and financial issues. Due to limited
support, marital problems for the Reserve components have increased
from 37 percent in 2006 to 44 percent in 2008.
A child of an active duty military family whose parent is deployed
often has several friends with military parents, whereas a reservist's
child may be the only one in his or her school with a parent who is
deployed. ROA is working up a school kit to explain to teachers about
the stresses faced by children of Reserve or Guard members who are
deployed.
Mental Health
A team of Medill students found significant gaps between the health
care and support for the Reserve and National Guards members who have
fought in Iraq and Afghanistan and their active-duty counterparts. Many
Reserve Force members have been hastily channeled through a post-
deployment process that has been plagued with difficulties, including
reliance on self-reporting to identify health problems. They report
higher rates of some mental health problems and related ills than
active-duty troops. The students' 2011 research suggest that attempts
by Congress, the military and private contractors to address the
problems have been uncoordinated and often ineffective.
A study by Marian E. Lane, Ph.D. found rates of post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal ideation were significantly higher
in the deployed reservists compared to deployed active-duty personnel.
Lane believes that reservists may react more extremely to the anxiety
of potential deployment than active-duty personnel because they are
somewhat removed from the daily stresses of military action. One size
treatment doesn't fit all; providing services and interventions
tailored to reservists will better facilitate the successful return and
reintegration of servicemembers experiencing post-deployment mental
health issues.
Reservists lack access to the system or networks that are needed to
assess and treat their injuries. After brief demobilization
assessments, Reserve troops return home and must navigate disparate
health-care and support providers. This is further complicated by
distances between Reserve Force members and the military health and
behavior provider networks.
Education
The Reserve Force education allowance is woefully inadequate, at
less that 23 percent of the Active Duty MGIB (Chapter 30) and 11.5
percent of the new Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition and allowances. Most
selected reservists (which include National Guard as well as Reserve
members) don't apply, because they are unable to take advantage of the
education benefit while performing their Reserve duties. Based on their
service in the global war on terrorism at home and abroad, today's
military reservists deserve enhancements to their eligibility under the
MGIB for Selected Reserves.
In 2008, amendments to U.S. Code, chapter 1606 made the Montgomery
GI Bill for Selected reservists in a drill status even more
restrictive. The only education program is offered to traditional
reservists after their initial active duty obligation, when they
reenlist is for a period of 6 years. Eligibility ends when the
individual is separated from the Selected Reserve, either upon
completion of their reenlistment, upon retirement, or when transferred
out of a pay status.
Where servicemembers once had up to 14 years to use their MGIB-SR
benefits from the time they became eligible, such language has been
stricken. Eligibility for these benefits now only lasts until the
reservist or guardsman stops drilling. An exception is if a reservist
stops drilling after being activated, he or she may switch back to
Chapter 1606 for a period equaling the length of deployment plus 4
months. Active Duty recipients have 10 years after separation to use
their benefits.
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.
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.
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 September 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.
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.
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
members.
Requested Actions:
Make Tricare Reserve Select a standalone health care
program by:
Decoupling it from any changes made to Tricare
Standard; and
Requiring members to opt out rather than
enroll in.
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,
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. REA and REA
cannot support recommended fee increases and the relabeling of the
military health program. 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.
a second look at base realignment and closure
Reports have surfaced that the Pentagon has authority (10 U.S.C.
Section 2687) to close bases domestically, as archaic laws remain on
the books providing DOD with authority to close facilities without
congressional approval. This authority only requires notification. Both
the Army and the Air Force say that without further infrastructure that
budget reduction would require deeper end strength cut, reduced
readiness, and reductions in weapons procurement.
To oversee the process, Congress must maintain control; the most
effective tool is Base REalignment and Closure (BRAC). The BRAC process
reduces political influences with the establishment of an independent
panel, and an up or down approval of the commission's recommendations
by Congress.
Requested Action:
Limit any BRAC to base closures where expenses will be
covered by savings within the first 5 years.
Set a goal to maintain a Title 10 military presence in
every State.
Study overseas basing and relocation within the United
States before determining excess domestic infrastructure.
Do not use Reserve and Guard installations to be the
bill payers to keep active facilities open.
Update bonuses and travel allowances for Reserve Force
personnel displaced by future BRAC decisions.
Provide Reserve Transition Incentives to offset the
penalty of earlier retirement. Include the cost of allowances
and incentives in calculation of overall BRAC expenses.
Any future round of BRAC must include force realignment analysis to
take into account future integration of Reserve and Active duty units,
as the elimination of parallel unit structures may give reason for
consolidation of infrastructure.
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 and sequestration
are going to make this committee's job that much harder.
ROA and REA look forward to working with the personnel sub-
committee where we can present solutions to these challenges and other
issues, and offers our support in anyway.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Mrs. Moakler?
STATEMENT OF KATHLEEN B. MOAKLER, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
DIRECTOR, NATIONAL MILITARY FAMILY ASSOCIATION
Ms. Moakler. Good afternoon, Madam Chairwoman. I am
Kathleen Moakler, Government Relations Director of the NMFA and
a proud military family member. I also co-chair two committees
for TMC.
Thank you for allowing me to speak to you on behalf of
military families this afternoon, and thank you for your
eloquent words about military families in your comments before
the first panel this morning. My statement will reinforce your
words.
While some families still have loved ones deployed, many
families felt the hardships were over for a while. For 13
years, they have experienced repeated deployments, worried
about a loved one in harm's way, parented on their own, and put
their lives on hold year after year. They know this is what
their servicemember had signed up for, but they also felt their
government was there to support them, to have their backs, and
had provided them the tools they needed to get through it, many
provided by this subcommittee.
Servicemembers and their families have kept trust with
America through over 13 years of war. Unfortunately, that trust
is being tested. Recent national fiscal challenges have left
military families confused and concerned about whether the
resources contributing to their strength, resilience, and
readiness will remain available to support them. We know that
looming cuts mandated by sequestration threaten these programs
and services they rely on.
The administration's proposals to cut pay increases, reduce
housing allowances, eliminate commissary savings, and increase
health care costs, all at the same time, pose significant risk
to the financial well-being of military families.
We ask Congress to oppose shifting health care costs to
Active Duty family members. The proposed consolidated TRICARE
health plan would create a barrier to accessing care by making
military families pay more when they need to see a doctor
outside the military hospital or clinic.
We have been successful over the past few years in reducing
the stigma associated with military families seeking behavioral
health counseling. Because of the shortage of military
behavioral health providers and the appropriate focus on first
providing care to the servicemember in the MTF, our families
often have no choice but to seek counseling outside the
military hospital. Special needs families face the same limited
choices for most of their specialty care. Let's not prevent
military families from seeking the help they need because they
have to pay out-of-pocket.
Military families tell us they rely heavily on the
commissary savings and appreciate the good deal they get. We
believe that the 30 percent savings available to military
families who regularly shop at the commissary is an important
part of compensation. In 2013, for every dollar spent from
appropriations, military families realized $2 in savings. Why
are we messing with a successful system?
We repeat and reiterate what we told this subcommittee last
year. We need Congress to end sequestration once and for all,
which places a disproportionate burden on our Nation's military
to reduce the deficit.
We also want to speak for those who have been affected the
most by these past years of war. We ask you to correct
inequities in survivor benefits by eliminating the Dependency
Indemnity Corporation (DIC) offset to the survivor benefit
plan. We agree with the recommendations of the 11th Quadrennial
Review to ensure Survivor Benefits Plan (SBP) annuities for the
family of a reservist who dies while performing Active Duty
training are calculated using the same criteria as for a member
who dies while on Active Duty.
Servicemembers and their families must be assured that our
Nation will provide continued, unwavering support to the
wounded, ill, and injured. This support must also include
programs and services that help military caregivers, typically
spouses or parents, successfully navigate their new role.
Please continue to support these important resources and ensure
that the resources adapt as the needs of these families change.
In order to keep the trust of military families, the Nation
must keep its promises. Reject budget proposals that threaten
military family financial stability as a way to save money for
the government. Military families continue to do their part to
ensure the readiness of our fighting force. We ask the Nation
to do their part in providing for the readiness of military
families. Our highest priority, as is yours, is a ready force.
Thank you. I await your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Moakler follows:]
Prepared Statement by the National Military Family Association
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Graham, and distinguished
members of the subcommittee, the National Military Family Association
thanks you for the opportunity to present testimony concerning the
quality of life of military families--the Nation's families. After more
than 13 years of war, we continue to see the impact of repeated
deployments and separations on our servicemembers and their families.
We appreciate the Personnel Subcommittee's recognition of the service
and sacrifice of these families. Your response through legislation to
the ever-changing need for support has resulted in programs and
policies that have helped sustain our families through these difficult
times.
We also appreciate the creation by Congress of the Military
Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission. We feel it is
imperative that its charter be honored. It was formed to examine the
entirety of the military compensation system. We have provided input to
the Commission on issues important to military families and suggested
alternatives that could enable the Department of Defense (DOD) to
provide benefits and family support services more effectively. We are
not opposed to changes in the compensation system if they are made
after thoughtful research and consultation and careful study about how
the changes in individual elements of the system affect the whole. A
piecemeal approach will not work. We expect the commission process to
be respected and the recommendations thoughtfully considered in
consultation with all the stakeholders.
We endorse the recommendations contained in the statement submitted
by The Military Coalition on personnel issues and health care. We have
chosen to focus our statement on issues affecting current
servicemembers and their families.
executive summary
The U.S. military is the most capable fighting force in the world.
Over more than a decade of war, servicemembers and their families never
failed to answer the call, gladly sacrificing in order to protect our
Nation. They made these sacrifices trusting that our government would
provide them with resources to keep them ready. Recent national fiscal
challenges have left military families confused and concerned about
whether the programs, resources, and benefits contributing to their
strength, resilience, and readiness will remain available to support
them and be flexible enough to address emerging needs. DOD must provide
the level of programs and resources to meet this standard.
Sequestration weakens its ability to do so. Servicemembers and their
families have kept trust with America, through over 13 years of war,
with multiple deployments and separations. Unfortunately, that trust is
being tested. The fiscal year 2015 budget proposal put forward by the
administration will undermine military family readiness in fundamental
ways, by cutting families' purchasing power and forcing them to bear
more of their health care costs. At the same time, looming cuts
mandated by sequestration threaten the programs and services they rely
on for support. Our Association makes the recommendations in this
statement in the name of supporting the readiness of military families
and maintaining the effectiveness of the All-Volunteer Force. We ask
the Nation to keep the trust with military families and not try to
balance budget shortfalls from the pockets of those who serve.
We ask Congress to:
Let the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization
Commission (MCRMC) do its job in evaluating compensation, including
health care, Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), and commissaries,
holistically.
As you evaluate the proposals submitted by DOD, we ask you to
consider the cumulative impact on military families' purchasing power
and financial well-being, as well as their effects on the morale and
readiness of the All-Volunteer Force now and in the future. We ask you
to:
reject budget proposals that threaten military family
financial well-being as a way to save money for the government.
keep military pay commensurate with service and
aligned with private sector wages.
oppose shifting health care costs to active duty
family members. We especially ask you to oppose any TRICARE
change that will create a barrier to military families' access
to behavioral health care.
protect the 30 percent savings military families
receive when shopping at the commissary by continuing the
annual appropriation to support the system at its current
level. Commissaries are part of compensation and provide
important savings for military families.
ask DOD how the reduction in BAH payments will impact
the contracts that have been negotiated with the privatized
housing contractors. Will this result in fewer services,
reduced maintenance or families paying over and above their BAH
for their privatized housing?
We especially ask Congress to end sequestration, which places a
disproportionate burden on our Nation's military to reduce the deficit.
We have addressed the immediate and long-term impacts of the
proposed fiscal year 2015 budget on military families. Our Association
also asks Congress to make improving and sustaining the programs and
resources necessary to keep military families ready a national
priority. We ask Congress to:
Provide oversight to ensure DOD and the individual
Services are supporting families of all components by meeting
the standards for deployment support, reintegration, financial
readiness, and family health in Department of Defense
Instruction (DODI) 1342.22. Fund appropriately at all levels.
Special attention needs to be paid to the flexibility for surge
capabilities.
Join with DOD to help civilian communities realize
their role in supporting servicemembers and families is
ongoing, even as servicemembers transition to veteran status.
Continue funding the Yellow Ribbon program and stress
the need for greater coordination of resources supporting
Reserve component families.
Ensure families of all seven Uniformed Services have
timely access to high quality, affordable health care and a
robust TRICARE benefit including preventive health care
services.
Instruct DOD to ensure future TRICARE policy changes
are thoroughly analyzed before being implemented with the
impact on beneficiary access to the medical standard of care as
a top consideration.
Ensure military families' access to the medical and
non-medical counseling they need to recover from the stress of
long years of war.
Ensure TRICARE makes the process for accessing
specialty care more flexible and streamlined to address the
unique aspects of military life without having families pay
more out-of-pocket.
Instruct TRICARE to enhance the Extended Care Health
Option (ECHO) program's utility to military families by
ensuring it covers the products and services families need.
Extend ECHO eligibility for 1 year following separation to
provide more time for families to obtain services in their
communities or through employer-sponsored insurance.
Continue funding DOD's Spouse Education & Career
Opportunities (SECO) programs. Make military spouse preferences
and hiring authorities non-discretionary. Expand outreach and
eligibility for the My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) to
spouses of all of the Uniformed Services to facilitate better
utilization and access.
Ensure adequate funding for military child care
programs, including child care fee assistance programs.
Ensure appropriate and timely funding of Impact Aid
through the Department of Education (DoEd) and restore funds to
the Impact Aid Federal properties program.
Continue to authorize DOD Impact Aid for schools
educating large numbers of military children and restore full
funding to Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA)
schools and the DODEA Grant Program.
Help families in crisis by funding ongoing tracking of
military family suicides. Ensure Family Advocacy programs are
funded and resourced appropriately to help families heal and
aid in the prevention of child and domestic abuse.
Correct inequities in Survivor benefits by eliminating
the Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) offset to the
Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP); allowing payment of the SBP
annuity into a Special Needs Trust to preserve disabled
beneficiaries' eligibility for income based support programs;
and ensuring SBP annuities for a reservist who dies while
performing active duty training are calculated using the same
criteria as for a member who dies while on active duty.
Ensure better cooperation and accountability between
DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at the highest
levels in the support of transitioning wounded, ill, and
injured servicemembers and caregivers. The lack of a seamless
transition between agencies still exists and must be corrected.
Exempt the Special Compensation for Assistance with
Activities of Daily Living (SCAADL) from income taxes, enhance
marketing of SCAADL to the eligible population, and add an
electronic application process to reduce the burden of
completing SCAADL paperwork.
Encourage DOD and the VA to develop a solution to
continue in-vitro fertilization (IVF) coverage for veterans and
military retirees facing service connected infertility.
Require DOD and VA to regularly assess the unmet needs
of caregivers and develop programs to address their evolving
requirements.
keeping the trust of military families
America's All-Volunteer Force is the most capable fighting force in
the world. Over more than a decade of war, servicemembers and their
families have heroically answered our Nation's call to serve. Their
sacrifice--of life, limb, and family--is offered selflessly, trusting
in the steadfastness of our government to provide for their readiness
and the needs of their families.
Many military families feel their sacrifices go unnoticed by
civilian society, which is consumed with domestic concerns such as the
economy and unemployment. Military families share those concerns. But
they also feel the Nation is forgetting the price they alone have paid
in 13 long years of war.
Trust in government is essential to the long term viability of the
All-Volunteer Force. That trust is reinforced through the
predictability, efficiency and fairness of compensation and benefits.
Since 2006, throughout the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the
administration has proposed various benefit ``reforms,'' mostly in
health care, which would have increased the financial burden of those
who have served. The changes proposed in the fiscal year 2015 budget,
coupled with the arbitrary reductions forced by sequestration,
undermine the trust military families have in the government's
commitment to support the All-Volunteer Force over the long term. This
is a price the Nation cannot afford to pay.
Moreover, the administration's proposals to cut pay increases,
reduce housing allowances, eliminate commissary savings, and increase
health care costs pose significant risk to the financial well-being of
military families. Congress must resist these changes.
The forthcoming report of the Military Compensation and Retirement
Modernization Commission (MCRMC) should become a catalyst for a broad
discussion of military compensation and benefits for future
generations. Taxing those currently serving, and those who have served,
in order to finance other priorities, is wrong headed and unacceptable
to military families. We ask Congress to honor its commitment to
military families and not to balance budget shortfalls on the backs of
those who serve.
``The All-Volunteer Force is comprised of people who trust--
they trust that we will treat them with dignity, respect, and
due regard for their overall well-being. This trust is
priceless. This trust puts in place the greatest weapons system
we can provide the sailors of the U.S. Navy. That weapons
system is called unit morale.''--Master Chief Petty Officer of
the Navy (MCPON) Mike Stevens
the administration budget proposal: a disaster for military family
pocketbooks
The administration's budget proposal has only added to the growing
sense of frustration in the military community. Military families are
financially savvy. They are doing the math and feel they are
shouldering the burden for balancing the budget when they've shouldered
the entire burden of the last 13 years of war.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Pay Raise
For the second year in a row, the administration is proposing a pay
increase of only 1 percent, below the level of private sector wage
increases. The Employment Cost Index (ECI) was chosen as the standard
for active duty pay raises in order to recruit and retain the quality
of servicemembers needed to sustain the All-Volunteer Force. What's
changed?
We ask Congress to keep military pay commensurate with service and
aligned with private sector wage increases.
Basic Allowance for Housing
Under the administration proposal, servicemembers will receive 95
percent of the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for their rank and
location resulting in greater out of pocket housing costs. This
``slowed growth'' of the BAH will affect families whether they rent or
own their own home. We appreciate the lower BAH will not affect a
military family until their next duty assignment, but are concerned
about the long-term impact on families' ability to find and pay for
appropriate housing.
BAH is paid at a with-dependent or without-dependent rate and
varies based on the servicemember's rank and the rental and utility
costs for housing within a reasonable commuting distance of where the
servicemember is assigned.
What will be the effects of lower BAH rates on privatized housing?
Right now, the rent for privatized housing is tied to the BAH rate for
each rank. Privatized housing has been a good deal for the government
and for military families. If the amount paid to the contractors is
reduced, what will that mean in terms of maintenance and renovation
down the road? Would military families be responsible to pay the
difference between rent and BAH?
Please ask DOD how the reduction in Basic Allowance for
Housing (BAH) payments will impact the contracts that have been
negotiated with the privatized housing contractors. Will this
result in fewer services, reduced maintenance, or families
paying over and above their BAH for their privatized housing?
Commissaries
Our Association believes that the 30 percent savings available to
military families who regularly shop at the commissary is an important
part of compensation. Re-engineering the way the commissary does
business by reducing the appropriation and thus raising prices wreaks
havoc with a system that has been recognized as a model of efficiency.
In 2011, the commissary saved customers more than $2.79 billion,\1\
with a cost to DOD of only $1.34 billion. In 2013, the commissary
continued to provide $2.08 billion in savings to patrons for every $1
of appropriations.\2\ Why would the government want to cut a program
that returns twice the value to customers that it costs DOD to provide?
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\1\ http://www.commissaries.com/press--room/press--release/2012/
DeCA--28--12.cfm
\2\ http://www.commissaries.com/press--room/press--release/2014/
DeCA--01--14.cfm
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Military families appreciate that efficiencies must be found,
especially to preserve readiness. However, the commissary is not just a
quality of life program that can be downsized. It, too, is intended
``to support military readiness, recruitment, and retention'' (10
U.S.C. Sec. 2481). While other readiness programs have had to grow in
cost to support growing numbers of servicemembers and patrons, the
government contribution for the commissary has stayed relatively level.
DOD proposes commissaries take on a business model closer to that
used by the exchanges. The exchanges operate on a for-profit model that
allows them to set prices above cost, currently prohibited by law to
the commissary. Furthermore, the exchanges and commissaries carry few
of the same products and serve entirely different purposes. Profits
from the exchange are used for operations and help fund Morale, Welfare
and Recreation (MWR) programs. We wonder if military installations
would be able to support two for-profit entities in their environs,
especially if they carry duplicate products. We wonder what the effect
will be on contributions to MWR when the commissary starts selling more
of the same products as the exchange. If the purpose of the commissary
system is to support servicemembers and families by selling groceries
at cost plus a surcharge for construction and renovation, why is
raising prices acceptable?
Out of all of the cuts in the fiscal year 2015 budget proposal,
many families tell us the reduction in commissary savings is what will
prove most detrimental to their financial well-being. Even with the 10
percent savings proposed by DOD, a family of four that shops regularly
at the commissary would lose at least $200 per month.\3\
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\3\ Current estimations show that a military family of four
shopping regularly/exclusively at the commissary saves $3,600/$4,500
annually (http://www.commissaries.com/press--room/fast--facts.cfm).
I think it's personally ridiculous that we're going to go
after something that saves some . . . young lance corporal, . .
. $4,500 a year for every time he walks in there--he has two
kids and every time he . . . shops it's $240. Well, . . . he
just put $80 worth of gas into his car and he doesn't even know
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it.--Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Micheal Barrett
Military families tell us they rely heavily on the commissary
savings and appreciate the good deal they get. Some tell us they don't
use the commissary often due to distance, unfamiliarity, or
inconvenience and they may not realize the overall savings they can
achieve. For servicemembers who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) or the Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
nutrition program, using the commissary allows families to stretch
their benefit and provides a buffer to the many others who may be
teetering on the financial edge. The many who use the commissary tell
us they not only value this benefit, they do not know how they would
provide for their families without it. Recently, a family member told
us:
Anyone who says the commissary is unnecessary has never tried
raising a family on $1,400/month and has never been on recruiting duty.
The commissary is a budget lifesaver.
Senior leaders tell us they will not close commissary stores as
part of this proposal. But when military families lose their savings at
the commissary, they will stop shopping there. Fewer patrons will
reduce the ability of the commissary system to leverage economies of
scale--the revenues generated at the larger commissaries such as Fort
Belvoir allow the family shopping in a smaller commissary in Guam or
Dugway, UT, to realize the same savings. This will have tragic
consequences for a system that currently works. Military families need
savings; they don't need just another grocery store that is convenient
to where they live!
Protect commissary savings by continuing the annual appropriation
to support the system at its current level. Commissaries are part of
compensation and provide important savings for military families.
Consolidated TRICARE Health Plan
Our Association opposes shifting health care costs to active duty
family members. We are particularly troubled the Consolidated TRICARE
Health Plan proposal does not spread these costs evenly among all
beneficiaries. Rather, the additional out of pocket expenses will be
concentrated among those who cannot receive care at a Military
Treatment Facility (MTF) and special needs families who require
extensive specialty care. Even though the Consolidated TRICARE Health
Plan proposal suggests the impact on families will be modest, we
believe the proposed plan will have a significant negative impact on
those populations mentioned above. We also firmly oppose any policy
that will create a barrier to military families' access to behavioral
health care. The Consolidated TRICARE Health Plan raises many
unanswered questions and significant concerns that it will ultimately
result in diminished access to care for military families.
The Consolidated TRICARE Health Plan proposed in the fiscal year
2015 budget would eliminate the current TRICARE managed care and fee-
for-service options (Prime, Standard, and Extra) and replace them with
a cost sharing structure for everyone including active duty family
members.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Currently, the 79 percent of active duty family members enrolled in
Prime \4\ pay no cost shares for treatment received at an MTF or from
civilian providers in the TRICARE network, assuming the beneficiary
follows TRICARE referral and authorization policies. Previous reform
proposals have focused on retirees. The fiscal year 2015 proposed
Consolidated TRICARE Health Plan reform will create unavoidable out of
pocket health care costs for many active duty families, driven largely
by their geographic location, health care condition, and ability to
access care in an MTF.
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\4\ Evaluation of the TRICARE Program: Access, Cost, and Quality,
Fiscal Year 2013 Report to Congress, Office of the Office of the
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs)
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The current TRICARE Prime referral and authorization process can be
cumbersome and sometimes prevents timely access to specialty care.
While we appreciate that the Consolidated TRICARE Health Plan proposal
provides beneficiaries with open access to providers of specialty care,
we are concerned cost will become the new barrier to accessing health
care. Proposed cost shares are the lowest in MTFs, higher in the
network, and highest out of network. While we understand this cost
structure is designed to encourage use of military clinics and
hospitals, thereby improving efficiency of the Defense Health Agency's
(DHA) fixed facility cost structure, we believe it is important to
understand that not every active duty family has access to a military
hospital or clinic.
Some servicemembers, for instance those in recruiting positions,
are stationed far from the nearest MTF. Others are at installations
where the MTF is at capacity and family members are routinely referred
to the network for most or all of their care. Still other military
families are at installations with limited direct care resources. For
instance, when the Army reactivated the 10th Mountain Division at Fort
Drum, Army leaders decided to take advantage of excess capacity in
local hospitals rather than building an inpatient facility on post to
serve 10th Mountain military personnel and their families. As a result,
nearly 20,000 Fort Drum family members receive most of their specialty
care from civilian providers because the post clinic only offers basic
services. Because there is no hospital on post, Samaritan Hospital of
nearby Watertown, NY, provides 90 percent of the post's inpatient care
needs.\5\ With the Consolidated TRICARE proposal, Fort Drum families
will face cost shares for much of their health care, not because they
have chosen civilian providers, but because they do not have the option
of seeking care at an MTF.
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\5\ Defense Communities 360: Community Network Provides Inpatient,
Specialty Care for Fort Drum Personnel, January 29, 2014 http://
www.defensecommunities.org/headlines/community-network-provides-
inpatient-specialty-care-for-ft-drum-personnel/#
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DHA has characterized the proposed cost shares as modest. However,
the relatively low ``per family'' dollar impact the DHA presents \6\ is
an average assuming cost shares are spread evenly across the
beneficiary population. In reality, costs shares will be borne
disproportionately by families without MTF access, those who need
specialty care, and those with special needs family members. We fear
that, for these families, co-pays will become a barrier to accessing
necessary medical care.
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\6\ U.S. Department of Defense fiscal year 2015 Budget Request
Overview, March 2014, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense.
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While cost shares will disproportionately impact all families
without MTF access, junior enlisted families will be particularly
vulnerable. With their relatively lower incomes, cost shares ranging
from $10 to $50 per visit (see chart above) will necessarily have a
greater impact on their family budgets. Junior enlisted families
without access to an MTF may not be able to absorb co-pays for every
medical appointment. We are concerned they may elect to forego medical
care to avoid the out of pocket costs.
We are pleased DOD has listened to requests for protections of
benefits for those who have been medically retired and surviving
spouses. Keeping their health care fees at the same level as active
duty family members reflects their extraordinary sacrifice and service.
Due to their greater requirements for specialty care, the
Consolidated TRICARE Health Plan will also have a pronounced effect on
special needs families. Many special needs families require medical
care that is not typically delivered at MTFs. While special needs
families enrolled in TRICARE Prime can now seek specialty care in the
network at no cost, the new proposal will result in cost shares for
each network appointment. Given the number of specialty appointments
many of these families require, we fully expect their expenses to reach
the catastrophic cap: $1,500 for network care, $2,500 for combined
network/out-of-network care. The $1,500 cap for network care is $500
above the current cap for active duty military families, thus they will
have to spend more for health care before DOD will pick up additional
costs. This will have a significant impact on the purchasing power of
special needs families.
Our Association finds the behavioral health care co-pays in the
Consolidated TRICARE Health Plan absolutely unacceptable. Network
behavioral health appointments are treated the same as any other
specialty care with co-pays of $20-$25 per visit. Because of the heavy
demand by servicemembers in the MTF, more families have no choice but
to seek care in the network. With co-pays of $20-$25 per appointment,
we fear this will have a devastating effect on military families'
ability and willingness to seek behavioral health care.
Recognizing that 13 years of war has taken a toll on our community,
TRICARE has made improvements in facilitating access to behavioral
health care for military family members. Currently, TRICARE
beneficiaries do not need referral or prior authorization for the first
eight outpatient behavioral health care visits per fiscal year.\7\ This
has allowed military family members to more easily access critical
mental health resources. TRICARE Prime family members currently incur
no costs for behavioral health care whether they access it at an MTF or
in the network.
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\7\ TRICARE Behavioral Health Care Resources Fact Sheet
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Our Association believes it is imperative that behavioral health
care, whether it is delivered in the Military Treatment Facility (MTF)
or in the network, continues with no out of pocket costs for active
duty military families.
The Consolidated TRICARE Health Plan is designed to increase demand
for MTF health care. We are concerned about how this increased demand
will be managed. How will active duty families be prioritized within
the MTF? Will they face longer waits for appointments? Will acute care
be available when needed? We fear military families' access to care
will be hampered by the increased demands placed on the MTFs.
In addition to the concerns outlined above, our Association has
many unanswered questions about the proposed TRICARE Consolidated
Health Plan and its potential impact on military families, including:
What modifications will be needed to the current TRICARE
Managed Care Support Contracts to implement these changes? Will
there be changes in requirements for the contractors to build
and maintain networks and to keep accurate listings of which
providers are in the network?
What resources will remain in place for the management of
complex illnesses or conditions where coordinated care is
needed? Where will that responsibility reside, with the MTF or
the TRICARE contractor?
Will military retirees and their family members with Other
Health Insurance (OHI) who wish to use TRICARE as a second
payer be required to pay the same participation fee as those
who want to keep TRICARE as their primary insurance?
Will there be changes in how network maternity care will be
reimbursed? Maternity is generally a bundled benefit with
different cost sharing. For example, instead of paying a co-pay
for each doctor's visit, the doctor accepts a flat amount,
regardless of the number of visits and the mom pays a
percentage of the fee. Also, maternity hospitalization has a
different rate for mom and then for baby, generally less than
traditional hospitalization. How will this be handled?
What will be the cost to the Services/MTFs to create systems
to process co-payments by retirees and their families?
How much savings will the Consolidated TRICARE Health Plan
provide to DOD?
Transition Challenges During Downsizing
Downsizing of the force has already begun as a result of
sequestration. The fiscal year 2015 budget calls for a greater decrease
especially in the Army. The effects of this downsizing are many. The
servicemember and their family may feel the many years they spent
facing multiple deployments are not appreciated. Morale will be low.
Families are still dealing with the after-effects of war, problems with
reintegration, with coming together again as a family, and the impact
of the invisible signature wounds of these conflicts--post-traumatic
stress and traumatic brain injury. We don't know what the long term
implications are and what services will be needed by the servicemember
and by the family as well.
A national debate is needed now on how veterans' families will be
supported once they leave the safety net of support they had while the
servicemember was on active duty. What can the VA do to help families
as well as veterans ease into civilian life and recover from multiple
wartime deployments? What help will communities need to support these
families?
A Holistic Approach Is Needed
We firmly believe the administration's fiscal year 2015 budget
proposal did not consider the cumulative effects of a reduced pay raise
combined with lower BAH payments, loss of commissary savings, and
possible out-of-pocket health care costs on the purchasing power of
servicemembers and their families. This budget proposal would reduce
cash in a servicemember's pocket!
We ask Congress to reject budget proposals that threaten military
family financial well-being as a way to save.
Let the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization
Commission (MCRMC) do its job in evaluating compensation, including
health care, holistically.
sequestration: an ongoing threat to family readiness
The effects of sequestration have already resulted in cuts to
benefits and programs that military families have come to rely on. Much
of the funding for these programs is embedded in the Service Operations
and Maintenance Accounts, which have been the hardest-hit by
sequestration. Understanding what is affected by sequestration has been
confusing for families. Our Association used social media to help
military families tell truth from fiction and to keep them up to date
on how sequestration would affect them. Our families used social media
to voice their frustration about sequestration's effects on their
servicemembers' ability to do their jobs and on the damage caused to
the military community.\8\ Military families were impacted by
sequestration with cuts to services and the threat of closure of DOD
schools when civilian workers were furloughed and hiring was frozen.
Sequestration limited the availability of health care appointments
because furloughs of civilian medical staff resulted in reduced hours
of operation at military hospitals and clinics. Military families
reported longer wait times for appointments and delays in obtaining
treatment. Some were told to go to the emergency room for acute care
that would normally be handled at the MTF.
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\8\ http://www.militaryfamily.org/assets/pdf/Sequestration-Photo-
Book--final--web.pdf
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When we speak to military families about sequestration, one of
their major areas of concern is child care. Servicemembers who rely on
installation child care centers worry centers will reduce their
operating hours or turn more families away. Families who use the fee
assistance program wonder if those funds will still be available. We
have already heard from families that child care respite programs for
families of deployed servicemembers are being phased out. Other
locations have curtailed or eliminated hourly or drop-in care. Losing
these services is a particular hardship to families overseas or in
remote locations, who may have few child care alternatives.
Impact Aid was one of the first casualties of sequestration cuts,
because unlike other education programs, Impact Aid is current-year
funded. Over the course of the past year, we heard reports from school
districts facing significant funding cuts due to sequestration. For
example, the Killeen Independent School District, which serves 18,000
military children, faced the loss of more than $2.6 million in 2013.
Our Association thanks Congress for restoring $65 million to the
Department of Education Impact Aid program in the fiscal year 2014
Consolidated Appropriations Act. This funding is critical to public
school districts educating large numbers of military children. However,
we continue to be concerned about the long-term consequences the
spending caps imposed by the Budget Control Act (BCA) will have on
school districts reliant on Impact Aid.
While the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 provided some relief, we
know that with future cuts required down the road, military families
will continue to see cuts and threats to the programs and resources
they require for readiness.
We ask Congress to end sequestration and end the threat to the
resources military families depend on for their readiness.
keeping military families ready: what do military families require?
We have addressed the immediate and long-term impacts of the
proposed fiscal year 2015 budget on military families. But we ask you
not to forget that military families depend on a variety of programs
and resources that must be sustained and, in some cases, improved.
The National Military Family Association believes our Nation's
leaders should guarantee the readiness of our force by taking care of
servicemembers and their families, serving in both Active and Reserve
components, no matter where they live. We ask you to sustain support by
providing: quality, accessible health care; behavioral health support;
spouse career opportunities; good schools for military children;
quality, affordable child care; a secure retirement; and unwavering
support for those wounded, widowed, or orphaned. We challenge Congress
and the administration to join us in seeking greater collaboration
between government and community agencies to enhance support and enable
military families to thrive and be ready to answer any call to duty,
now and in the future.
DOD created a blueprint for the framework of family readiness in
DODI 1342.22, ``Military Family Readiness''. \9\ The DODI integrates
policy for core family readiness services into a single source,
including requirements for financial education and counseling,
relocation assistance, emergency family assistance, spouse employment
and requirements for delivery of services to the Reserve Components. It
spells out the expectation that families be empowered to enhance their
own readiness, but have the ability to access a trusted network of
services regardless of branch of Service, active or Reserve status, or
geographic location. It changes the traditional mindset of military
family support, which focused on installation-based services and
created the expectation that families should come to the support rather
than having the support service connect with families where they are.
The DODI emphasizes the importance of creating a family readiness
system in which servicemembers, families, other government agencies,
and private organizations collaborate to support troops and families.
It focuses on three areas of readiness: mobilization and deployment
readiness, mobility and financial readiness, and personal and family
life readiness.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/134222p.pdf
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Our Association believes full implementation of DODI 1342.22 across
all Services and components is essential for the readiness of both the
current and future force. It sets the structure and expectations for
family readiness and must be resourced appropriately.
Deployment and Reintegration Support
Military families have been living a revolving door existence since
the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They experienced
repeated deployments, each the same with the strains of separation, but
unique with the dynamic of their family at that moment in time. They
had repeated reunions, honeymoons followed by the hard work of
rebuilding their family. As they rebuild, they still worry about the
future, the nagging thought that soon their family will be doing this
again.
Despite the drawdown in the Middle East, the mission of the U.S.
military continues. Deployment patterns will change, but deployments
will continue. A downsized force will still be busy doing more missions
with fewer troops. A structure should be maintained to meet families'
deployment related needs. DODI 1342.22 requires that programs be
flexible enough to respond swiftly to the changes in needs of
servicemembers and families. If deployment support programs are
dissolved completely they will not easily be regenerated when needed
again. We cannot lose the structure for proven programs such as pre-
mobilization briefs that prepare families for deployment. During
deployment, families rely on the programs and staff that support them,
including respite care and the Army family readiness support assistants
(FRSAs), Marine Corps family readiness officers (FROs), ombudsmen, and
Military OneSource. This support network is essential for the families
of many servicemembers who are sent apart from their units as
individual augmentees. Readiness does not stop when a unit comes back
from an operation or start up when a new operation is identified.
Readiness is the underpinning that must be maintained and sustained at
an appropriate level for the unit and their families.
``With guys doing multiple deployments, they're getting a
tough 9 to 10 deployments over a 12-year period, the impact on
families is going to be noticeable. Anything that can cut down
and make the deployments less vigorous in terms of operation
tempo is going to be a better thing''.--Rear Admiral George
Worthington, USN (retired), retired Navy seal \10\
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\10\ Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/11/
special-ops-forces-wearing-thin-from-high-demand/?utm--source=RSS--
Feed&utm--medium=RSS
Reintegration programs, along with deployment support, are key
ingredients in the family's success. Our Association believes we need
to focus on treating the whole family with programs offering
readjustment information; education on identifying stress, substance
abuse, suicide, and traumatic brain injury; and encouragement to seek
assistance when having financial, relationship, legal, and occupational
difficulties. DODI 1342.22 calls for this support to promote positive
adjustment to deployment, family separation, and family reunion.
Successful reintegration programs will require attention over the
long term, as well as a strong partnership at all levels between the
various mental health arms of DOD, VA, and State agencies. DOD and VA
need to provide family and individual counseling to address these
unique issues. Opportunities for the entire family and for the couple
to reconnect and bond must also be provided. Our Association has
recognized this need and established family retreats in national parks
under our Operation Purple program, promoting family reintegration
following deployment.
During the past 13 years of war, our Nation has relied on the
services of the National Guard and Reserve more than ever before. Our
Association appreciates the great strides made by both Congress and the
Services to help support our Reserve component families. We believe
sustaining effective support programs for our ``Citizen Soldiers'' and
their families is essential at every stage of deployment. DOD agrees by
integrating family readiness for the Reserve component into DODI
1342.22. We ask Congress to provide funding for preventive and follow-
up counseling and behavioral health services for mobilized Reserve
component members and their families.
We have been in touch with the staff of the Yellow Ribbon
Reintegration Program (YRRP) and are pleased they have developed a way
ahead for the Yellow Ribbon program as a best practice for continued
Reserve Component family readiness. The Reserve components will
continue, for the foreseeable future, to execute operational missions
globally in response to our Nation's security needs. As the operating
environment evolves, YRRP will be there to provide vital information
and resources to servicemembers and families throughout and beyond
deployment periods. It will remain an enduring component of unit and
individual readiness and reintegration challenges. More about the
program and the resources can be found at www.yellowribbon.mil.
Additionally, the YRRP has been working with Office of Military
Community and Family Policy (MC&FP) on accreditation standards as MC&FP
works to accredit Family Programs in the Army Reserve and National
Guard.
Provide oversight to ensure the Defense Department and the
individual Services are supporting families of all components by
meeting the standards for deployment support, reintegration, financial
readiness, and family health in DODI 1342.22. Fund appropriately at all
levels. Special attention needs to be paid to the flexibility for surge
capabilities.
Continue funding the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) and
stress the need for greater coordination of resources supporting
Reserve Component families.
Support for Transitioning Families
Transitioning due to downsizing affects the whole family. In
addition to the transition assistance program available to
servicemembers, resources need to be identified that is pertinent to
the family members that would also be transitioning. Training on issues
like health care coverage for dependents including information on the
Affordable Care Act, how to find community resources to replace DOD
programs and general inclusion of the military spouses role in the long
term care of the family as a whole aren't really covered in the
transition classes.
We are developing a transition program specific to spouses. We will
highlight the programs available through the DOD and develop a
framework of best practices for family transition. Military spouses are
a critical component in familial stability, often leading issues in
health care and finances in the home. Their role in transition is
equally critical to the success of the entire family in the move to
civilian life.
Expand the opportunity for spouses to attend transition classes
with servicemembers. Through other military information portals tailor
other information to address family transition issues.
We encourage Congress to join with DOD to help civilian communities
realize their role in supporting servicemembers and families is
ongoing, even as servicemembers transition to veteran status.
Military Health Care
Affordable and timely access to health care is important to all
families, but it is vital for military families. Repeated deployments,
caring for the wounded, ill, and injured, the stress and uncertainty of
military life, and the ability to maintain family readiness, demand
quality, and readily available health care. A robust and reliable
health care benefit allows families to focus on managing the many
challenges associated with military life versus worrying about how they
are going to access and pay for essential health care. Any changes to
the military health care benefit must recognize the unique conditions
of service and the extraordinary sacrifices demanded of servicemembers
and their families.
The National Military Family Association strongly asserts that any
discussion of military health care, especially its costs, must make a
distinction between the health care readiness needs of servicemembers
versus the earned health care benefit provided to family members,
retirees, and survivors. Ensuring the physical and mental health of
servicemembers so they can perform their mission is a readiness cost
and not part of the compensation package.
Likewise, the health care costs associated with wartime operations
or the care of wounded, ill, and injured servicemembers should not be
included as part of the cost of providing a health care benefit to the
children, spouses, and surviving family members of servicemembers and
retirees. Our Association believes DOD, in its statements about the
rising costs of the military health care benefit, has not effectively
differentiated health care readiness costs from the costs of providing
the earned health care benefit. This failure, we believe, puts both the
readiness function and access to care for family members and retirees
at risk.
The military health care system--because of its dual readiness and
benefit provision missions--does not function like civilian plans. The
TRICARE benefit includes both direct care provided by MTFs as well as
coverage that enables military families to access health care within
the civilian community.
Access to care is also impacted by TRICARE's reimbursement
policies. We believe TRICARE's reimbursement policies should be
comparable to commercial and other government plans. They should align
with current standards of medical care. Furthermore, they should be
flexible enough to accommodate changes in medical technologies and
treatment protocols.
Ensure families of all seven Uniformed Services have timely access
to high quality, affordable health care and a robust TRICARE benefit
including preventive health care services.
In the past year, military families have faced several
reimbursement policy decisions that made TRICARE coverage inferior to
commercial and other government plans, ignored medical standards of
care, and created hardship for beneficiaries. These policy decisions
include:
Changes to the referral and authorization requirements
for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) created significant
barriers to military families accessing this therapy. These
changes were later reversed for the TRICARE Basic and ECHO
Demonstration programs and were applied only to the ABA Pilot.
Compound prescription coverage changes. In June,
TRICARE announced it would cease coverage of all compound
pharmaceuticals containing non-Federal Drug Administration
(FDA) approved bulk chemicals or ingredients. This policy
change would have created difficulties for many beneficiaries,
such as children, who rely on compounding for safe and
effective prescriptions. TRICARE eventually reversed this
decision.
Laboratory Developed Tests coverage denials. In
January 2013, TRICARE ceased coverage of over 100 diagnostic
genetic tests without notice to health care providers or
beneficiaries. These tests are covered by Medicare and Medicaid
as well as commercial health plans. They represent the standard
of care and include a common prenatal screening for cystic
fibrosis that the American Congress of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists has recommended for over 10 years. Denying access
to these tests could lead to substandard health care for
military families. We have been working with DHA and
congressional offices for over a year to get this policy
reversed. In the meantime, we have heard from numerous families
faced with paying for lab tests out of pocket or foregoing
tests ordered by their physicians.
Reimbursement denials for diagnostic genetic tests have significant
implications for military families. An active duty Army family
contacted our Association regarding their daughter whose eye was
removed due to retinoblastoma, a cancer that can spread to the brain.
Her physician recommended genetic testing to determine the likelihood
that the cancer would appear in her other eye. Without the genetic
test, the child would require close monitoring until age 6 including
eye exams under anesthesia as well as sedated magnetic resonance
imaging (MRIs) every 4-6 weeks. After getting the genetic test results,
her treatment plan was modified to greatly reduce the number of eye
exams and MRIs. Because TRICARE refused to cover the diagnostic genetic
test, this Army family had to find a third party to pay for it. Without
the test results, this family would have faced greater uncertainty
about their daughter's condition, while the child would have been
subjected to many more sedated eye exams and MRIs--at a significant
cost to the government. We appreciate the understanding of the
egregiousness of this policy expressed by members of the Senate in
their recent letter to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health
Affairs Dr. Jonathan Woodson.
Arbitrary reimbursement policy changes create confusion and
uncertainty among military families. We request that DOD ensure future
policy changes are thoroughly analyzed before being implemented. The
impact on beneficiary access to the medical standard of care should be
a top consideration. Should reimbursement policy changes be made, we
request that TRICARE inform providers and beneficiaries with sufficient
lead time to allow alternative treatment plans to be developed.
TRICARE's reimbursement policies should be comparable to commercial
and other government plans.
DOD should ensure future TRICARE policy changes are thoroughly
analyzed before being implemented with the impact on beneficiary access
to the medical standard of care as a top consideration.
We remain especially concerned about access to care for National
Guard and Reserve families. We continue to believe that paying a
stipend to a mobilized National Guard or Reserve member for their
family's coverage under their employer-sponsored insurance plan may
work out better for many families in areas where the TRICARE network
may not be robust. This option will remain viable as the current
pattern of mobilizations declines with the end of conflicts. DOD
leaders say our military will continue to rely on National Guard and
Reserve members to perform the changing missions of the future. A
different set of health care options may be needed to accommodate the
needs of these mission-critical servicemembers, their families, and the
military.
Pay a stipend to a mobilized National Guard or Reserve member
for their family's coverage under their employer-sponsored
insurance plan.
TRICARE's policies often present challenges in accessing the
appropriate pediatric care. Children's health care needs differ from
those of adults. Because TRICARE is modeled on Medicare, its policies
are sometimes ill-suited for pediatric care. TRICARE's policies should
address the unique needs of children when defining medical necessity to
ensure military children receive comprehensive and quality health care
consistent with pediatric best practices. It is imperative the quality
of health care provided to our military children is commensurate with
the sacrifices made by our servicemembers and their families.
We appreciate the inclusion in the National Defense Authorization
Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013 for a report to comprehensively review
TRICARE health care policies and practices to make recommendations that
specifically account for children's health care and pediatric care
settings. Encourage DOD to release the results of the review as soon as
possible.
TRICARE's policies should address the unique needs of children when
defining medical necessity to ensure military children receive
comprehensive and quality health care consistent with pediatric best
practices.
Behavioral Health
Research validates the high level of stress and mental strain
military families are experiencing.
A recent study published by the Journal of Adolescent
Health indicates children with a parent or sibling deployed in
the military during the last decade of war are more likely than
their peers to experience depression and suicidal thoughts,
particularly if the servicemember deployed more than once.\11\
The same study also found multiple deployments by a parent or
sibling were associated with an increased likelihood of drug
and alcohol use.\12\
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\11\ Tamika D. Gilreath, et al., ``Well-Being and Suicidal Ideation
of Secondary School Students From Military Families'', Journal of
Adolescent Health, November 18, 2013
\12\ Tamika D. Gilreath, et al., ``Substance Use Among Military-
Connected Youth'', American Journal of Preventative Medicine, January
8, 2013
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Another study, Wartime Military Deployment and
Increased Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health Complaints,
found an 11 percent increase in outpatient behavioral health
visits for military children from the ages of 3-8 during 2006-
2007. Researchers found an 18 percent increase in pediatric
behavioral health visits and a 19 percent increase in stress
disorders when a parent was deployed.\13\
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\13\ Gregory H. Gorman, Matilda Eide, and Elizabeth Hisle-
Gorman,``Wartime Military Deployment and Increased Pediatric Mental and
Behavioral Health Complaints'', Pediatrics: The Official Journal of the
American Academy of Pediatrics, November 8, 2010.
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Additional research found an increase in mental health
care use by spouses during their servicemembers' deployments. A
study of TRICARE claims data from 2003-2006 published by the
New England Journal of Medicine showed an increase in mental
health diagnoses among Army spouses, especially for those whose
servicemembers had deployed for more than 1 year.\14\
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\14\ Alyssa J. Mansfield, et al., ``Deployment and the Use of
Mental Health Services among U.S. Army Wives,'' The New England Journal
of Medicine, January 14, 2010.
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In the research they conducted for our Association,
RAND found military children reported higher anxiety signs and
symptoms than their civilian counterparts. Our research also
found the mental health of the caregiver directly affects the
overall well-being of the children.\15\ Therefore, we need to
treat family members as a unit as well as individuals.
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\15\ Anita Chandra, et al., RAND Center for Military Health Policy
Research, Views from the Homefront: The Experiences of Youth and
Spouses from Military Families, 2011
The body of research focusing on the increased levels of anxiety
and utilization of mental health services causes our Association
concern about the overall shortage of mental health providers in
TRICARE's direct and purchased care network. While TRICARE contractors
have expanded their behavioral health provider networks to help meet
demand, military families in some areas continue to report provider
shortages, especially for psychiatric care for children and teens. We
believe one of the consequences of almost 13 years of war is demand for
mental health services that continues to outstrip supply. More must be
done to persuade mental health care providers to participate and remain
in the TRICARE network, even if that means raising reimbursement rates.
It is also critical that TRICARE keeps provider lists up-to-date.
We hear from families about the number of times they contact network
providers using the TRICARE provider list only to find the providers
cannot meet access standards, are no longer taking TRICARE, or are not
taking new TRICARE patients. Behavioral health provider lists must be
up-to-date and robust enough to handle real time demands by military
families. Inaccurate provider lists present a barrier to accessing
behavioral health care for military families.
Families tell us they appreciate the access to non-medical
counseling through Military OneSource and the Military Family Life
Counselors (MFLC). DOD implemented these resources to help
servicemembers and their families access counselors where they work and
where they live with a certain degree of anonymity. MFLCs have also
been used effectively in training local educators on techniques to help
their military students cope with deployment and in supporting National
Guard and Reserve Yellow Ribbon events. We believe the need for
behavioral health care will continue to grow over the next several
years and we encourage DOD to continue to seek innovative solutions to
providing care for military families.
It is a moral imperative to provide military servicemembers and
their families with the help they need after years of enduring repeated
combat deployments and to meet the challenges of the future.
Ensure military families' access to the medical and non-medical
counseling they need to recover from the stress of long years of war.
Access to Health Care for Military Special Needs Families
Caring for a special needs family member can be difficult and
draining for any family. However, the impact for military families is
magnified by the unique challenges associated with military service.
Frequent geographic relocations are a fact of life for military
families. A geographic relocation will, by definition, disrupt the
continuity of care that is so important in managing complex medical
conditions. After every move, special needs military families must
begin a lengthy cycle of referrals, authorizations and waitlists at
each new duty station, resulting in repeated gaps in care. A nationwide
shortage in pediatric specialists means even when families have
successfully navigated the authorization and referral process at their
new location, they may face a delay of weeks or even months before
treatment can restart. Military families fear these repeated treatment
delays have a cumulative and permanent negative effect on their special
needs family members.
It is frustrating for military parents to know these treatment
delays could be mitigated if the process for accessing specialty care
were more flexible and streamlined to address the unique aspects of
military life. Unfortunately, TRICARE's rigid referral and
authorization process too often hinders the transition process for
military families rather than facilitating it. In addition, providers
often tell us working with TRICARE is overly complex. Many choose not
to participate in the TRICARE network because it is too difficult to
navigate and administer. The resulting shortage of TRICARE network
providers further impedes families' access to specialty care. While the
fiscal year 2015 budget proposal appears to fix this problem by getting
rid of referrals and authorizations, it will force these families to
pay more out of pocket.
TRICARE should make the process for accessing specialty care more
flexible and streamlined to address the unique aspects of military life
without forcing active duty families to pay more out of pocket.
For special needs military families, frequent relocation presents
another obstacle: the inability to qualify for services through
Medicaid waivers. Caring for children with complex medical needs can be
incredibly expensive. Most families in this situation ultimately
receive some form of public assistance, typically through State
Medicaid waivers. State Medicaid programs provide assistance not
covered by TRICARE: incontinence supplies, respite care, employment
support, housing, and more flexible medical coverage. Because the
demand for these services far outstrips the supply, there is a lengthy
waiting list to receive assistance in most states. For that reason,
these services are often out of reach for a military family who must
relocate every 2 to 3 years. Even if a military family places their
special needs child on a Medicaid waiver waiting list, they must start
again at the bottom of the waiting list when they move to a new state.
The Defense State Liaison Office (DSLO) has recognized military
families' inability to access care through Medicaid waivers as one of
its high priority issues and is working with State legislatures to
address this problem. However, little progress has been made in
resolving this disparity.
TRICARE's ECHO program was designed in part to address this
imbalance, by allowing families to access non-medical services not
covered under TRICARE. According to TRICARE's website, benefits covered
under ECHO include ``training, rehabilitation, special education,
assistive technology devices, institutional care in private nonprofit,
public and State institutions/facilities and, if appropriate,
transportation to and from such institutions/facilities, home health
care and respite care for the primary caregiver of the ECHO-registered
beneficiary.'' However, in practice military families find it difficult
to obtain services through the program.
This reality was reflected in TRICARE's May 30, 2013 report, The
Department of Defense Report to Congress on Participation in the ECHO,
detailing military families' usage of the ECHO benefit. They reported
that, in 2012, 99 percent of funds expended through the ECHO program
were spent on Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy and ECHO Home
Health Care (EHHC). Although these services are important and popular
with special needs families, it is impossible to see this statistic and
not wonder why families are not accessing the long list of other
services ostensibly available to them under ECHO.
When families do manage to navigate the process of applying for
benefits through ECHO, they often find that it does not pay for the
products and services they actually need. For example, many families
need larger than normal diapers for their disabled children. ECHO deems
this a convenience item and will not pay for it, although incontinence
supplies are regularly paid for by state Medicaid programs.
Another service much in demand by families is respite care. For
families with special needs children, the time away afforded by respite
care is vital. Access to quality respite care allows families to run
errands, spend time with other children, and simply recharge. Studies
even show that parents of special needs children have healthier
marriages when they are able to access regular respite care. Thus,
access to respite care can be seen as an important element in military
family readiness. Respite care is ostensibly available through the ECHO
program, but TRICARE policies limit its utility. ECHO sets strict
requirements for respite care providers, making it difficult for
families to identify eligible providers. In addition, TRICARE requires
that families use another service through ECHO in any month that
respite care is also provided. In its May, 2013 report to Congress,
TRICARE describes this rule as a ``reasonable demand management tool.''
Congress has given DOD much more discretion in its coverage of ECHO
benefits than it has concerning medical benefits provided under the
Basic Program. Thus, TRICARE has the authority to make changes that
would enhance the ECHO program's utility to military families. Easing
the restrictions on respite care, for example, would do much to enhance
special needs military families' readiness and quality of life.
Our Association has suggested a DOD pilot study to identify what
products and services special needs families need to enhance their
quality of life. We recommend that families in the pilot receive $3,000
annually above what is provided under ECHO to purchase self-selected
items not currently covered, such as cooling vests, cranial helmets,
diapers and nutritional supplements. DOD would be required to authorize
each type of purchase to verify that it was appropriate. The program
would be similar to the ``money follows the patient'' model already
adopted by several state Medicaid programs and would identify gaps in
coverage while providing a better picture of what military special
needs families really need.
TRICARE should enhance the ECHO program's utility to military
families by ensuring it covers the products and services families need.
The transition out of the military and into civilian life is
difficult for many families but especially so for special needs
families, who immediately lose access to ECHO benefits. Families may
still face long waits before being eligible for care through Medicaid,
which leads either to gaps in treatment or financial hardship for a
family trying to pay for needed care. As more servicemembers and
families transition out of the military, this problem will become more
widespread. To ease the hardship for families in this situation, we
recommend ECHO eligibility be extended for 1 year following separation
to provide more time for families to obtain services in their
communities or through employer-sponsored insurance.
We ask Congress to extend eligibility for the ECHO for 1 year
following separation to provide more time for families to obtain
services in their communities or through employer-sponsored insurance.
Additional Support for Special Needs Families
The main vehicle through which DOD provides support to special
needs military families is the Exceptional Family Member Program
(EFMP). The EFMP is intended to perform three interrelated functions:
identify and enroll eligible family members; coordinate the assignment
process to ensure special needs families are not sent to locations that
lack adequate resources; and provide families with information about
and referral to local resources.
To be successful, the EFMP requires smooth communication and
coordination. The offices responsible for assigning families to new
duty locations must work with installation medical personnel and
service providers to ensure that families are assigned appropriately.
EFMP personnel at sending and receiving installations must coordinate
to make sure that families receive information about programs available
at the new installation to avoid interruption in services and ensure a
smooth transition. Too often, however, this communication does not
occur. In the worst case scenario, families may find themselves
assigned to locations without appropriate medical or educational
services for their special needs family member. Other families tell us
about delays in receiving services at their new installations because
of a lack of communication between EFMP Coordinators at the old and new
locations.
This problem is exacerbated when families move to an installation
operated by a different Service. Currently communication and
coordination among the different Services' medical, personnel, and
family support components is extremely limited. This lack of
coordination adds to the stress of families who are already coping with
the difficulty of moving with a special needs family member. Families
need the reassurance that they will have continuity of care and a warm
hand-off as they move from installation to installation.
The Office of Community Support for Military Families with Special
Needs (OSN) was created in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2010 to enhance and
improve DOD support for military families with special needs, whether
medical or educational. A 2012 GAO report, Better Oversight Needed to
Improve Services for Children with Special Needs, (GAO-12-680,
September 10, 2012) noted there are no Department-wide benchmarks to
set standards for the Services' EFM programs. As a result, DOD has been
unable to assess the effectiveness of the branches' EFM programs and
ensure that improvements are made when needed. In addition, although
OSN was created to enhance and monitor the military branches' support
for families with special needs, it has no authority to compel the
branches to comply with DOD or Service-level program requirements and
it has no direct means by which to hold them accountable if they fail
to do so. We appreciate that OSN has been working closely with the
Services' EFMP programs to standardize services and improve
communications. However, much work remains to be done in this area.
We ask DOD to improve coordination and communication within and
among Services' EFMP and to set consistent standards for support of
special needs military families.
financial readiness
While military families are shown to have better financial literacy
rates than their civilian counterparts, their military commitments
often make it difficult to grow their investments over the long
term.\16\ Frequent moves and deployments can be a barrier to home
ownership or force families in and out of lease agreements. Spouses
have reduced earning power, yet many military families are paying on
one or more student loans. Frequent moves make spouses ineligible for
public service loan forgiveness programs.
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\16\ http://www.usfinancialcapability.org/downloads/NFCS--2012--
Report--Military--Findings.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some elements of the military compensation package are meant to
take the sting out of those losses. However, as sequestration continues
and budgets are cut, military families will face more and more
disadvantages compared to their civilian counterparts. We ask Congress
keep in mind the fiscal restraints imposed on military families when
evaluating changes to the military compensation package.
Support for Spouse Education and Employment
Every time a permanent change of station (PCS) occurs, a working
military spouse, or one who would like to be employed, has to start
from scratch. Lack of longevity in any one location or job position
negatively affects career trajectory and earning power. Frequent moves
disrupt educational goals. State licensing requirements and industry
tenure restrict employment opportunities for military spouses. Military
spouse unemployment or underemployment affects the total earning power
of the military family. The First Lady and Dr. Biden initiated Joining
Forces in 2011 to help address these issues, and we have seen progress,
but military spouses continue to face significantly lower earnings,
higher unemployment and underemployment than their civilian
counterparts.\17\ Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and
Military Families released a Military Spouse Employment Survey with
Military Officers Association of America that showed 90 percent of
active duty spouses responding are underemployed meaning they possess
more formal education/experience than needed at their current or most
recent position.\18\ The results are evidence of ongoing career
barriers that military spouses face during their servicemembers
commitment.
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\17\ Http://vets.syr.edu//reserach-highlights/milspouse-survey
\18\ Http://vets.syr.edu//reserach-highlights/milspouse-survey
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DOD has realized spouse education and employment opportunities are
linked. DOD provides the Spouse Education & Career Opportunities (SECO)
program, which oversees the Military Spouse Employment Partnership
(MSEP) and the My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) Scholarship.
Recently, SECO launched the My Individualized Career Plan (MyICP) tool
to help military spouses build a roadmap specific to their goals and
plans, educational and professional. These programs are vital to
bridging the unemployment and wage gap (26 percent and 25 percent,
respectively) military spouses face as a result of the requirements and
pressures of military family life. These programs provide financial
assistance in education and training for portable careers, career
planning and job search assistance, networking assistance and advocacy
at no cost to the military spouse.
We ask Congress to continue funding DOD's Spouse Education &
Career Opportunities programs.
Military spouse preferences and non-competitive hiring authority
for military spouses have been expanded over the years, but
implementation is onerous and complex. The process for using these
options must be simplified for the job seeker and non-discretionary for
the hiring agency in order to serve the purpose intended; aiding
military spouses seeking Federal employment. The Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) is considering revising its rules to make it easier to
achieve career tenure in the Federal Government by allowing employees
to earn time toward tenure in aggregate rather than in continuity. We
are pleased frequent moves are recognized as a barrier to this career
goal for military spouses, but are concerned more bureaucratic barriers
will exist that make Federal career employment an impossibility for
most spouses.
We ask Congress to make military spouse preferences and hiring
authorities non-discretionary.
Since 2004, our Association has been fortunate to sponsor our
Joanne Holbrook Patton Military Spouse Scholarship Program. Of
particular interest, of nearly 7,000 applicants from our 2013
scholarship applicant pool, more than 50 percent were not eligible for
the MyCAA program because of rank or service ineligibility. We ask
Congress to better address the educational needs of spouses of all
servicemembers, including those in the Coast Guard and the Commissioned
Corps of NOAA and the U.S. Public Health Service.
We ask Congress to expand outreach and eligibility for MyCAA to
spouses of all of the Uniformed Services to facilitate better
utilization and access.
Quality, Affordable Child Care
Media reports about military compensation often refer to subsidized
child care as one of many ``benefits'' provided to military families.
To our Association, this view is a mischaracterization of the role and
importance of child care to the military and military families. Access
to quality, affordable child care is not just a ``nice-to-have'' part
of a benefit package. Rather, it is central to servicemember and family
readiness.
More than 40 percent of servicemembers have children, and the
largest cohort of military children is under age 5.\19\ Servicemembers
face the same challenges as all working parents. If child care
arrangements fall through or the babysitter gets sick, a parent may
find himself forced to miss work. When the parent who must miss work is
in the military, his or her absence may threaten the readiness of an
entire unit.
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\19\ 2012 Demographics: Profile of the Military Community
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Quality child care is also essential to military family financial
stability. Like most families, many military families rely on having
two paychecks in order to make ends meet. However, military spouses
face many barriers to employment, including distance from extended
family who might otherwise be available to assist with child care.
Quality, accessible child care is inextricably linked to spouse
employment and thus to military family financial readiness.
We appreciate that Congress and DOD have recognized the importance
of child care to military families and have taken steps to make quality
child care both more available and more affordable. Thanks to those
efforts, military families have access to a wide range of child care
options to meet their needs, from on-installation Child Development
Centers (CDCs) to in-home care providers.
While installation CDCs are the preferred option for many families,
they are not always a viable choice, either because of long waiting
lists or because the family lives far from the installation. However,
particularly in high cost areas, quality child care is often
unaffordable for military families. Recognizing this need, DOD
established a program to provide fee assistance to families without
access to on installation child care centers. This program, operated
through a partnership with Child Care Aware, has proven to be popular
with families and an effective means of ensuring that families can
afford quality care. Because this partnership has been so successful,
we are concerned about the Army's plan to begin managing its fee
assistance program itself in 2014. We intend to watch closely to ensure
the transition is seamless and Army families can continue to benefit
from the fee assistance program.
Ensure adequate funding for military child care programs, including
child care fee assistance programs.
support for military children
The military lifestyle includes inevitable challenges for children,
who must cope with repeated moves and frequent separation from their
servicemember parent. Parents worry about the effect of these
disruptions on their children's emotional well-being and academic
achievement. Ensuring that military children receive a quality
education as well as emotional support is both a moral imperative for
our Nation and essential to military family retention and readiness.
Education of Military Children
The task of educating military-connected children falls largely to
the Nation's local public schools, where more than three-quarters of
school-aged military children are enrolled.
Although most communities welcome military children and families,
the fact remains that an influx of children connected to a military
installation presents increased costs to a school district. At the same
time, the presence of a military installation or other Federal property
in a school district reduces its tax base and thus its available
funding level. Most school districts receive the majority of their
operating funds through local property taxes. Since Federal land--
including military installations--is not subject to local property tax,
school districts with large numbers of military connected children
often have few sources of revenue.
Department of Education (DoEd) Impact Aid was established in 1950
to address this imbalance and reduce the burden on local communities
and taxpayers. It recognizes the Federal Government has a
responsibility to help communities educate children who are only there
because of their connection to a military installation or other Federal
activity. federally-impacted school districts rely on these funds to
meet payroll, operate school buses, and purchase textbooks. All
children and families in a district--not just military families--
benefit from Impact Aid funding.
We also note for the third year in a row the administration has
proposed the elimination of the Impact Aid category covering Federal
properties. Eliminating this funding would affect more than 50
military-impacted school districts in 19 States. We thank Congress for
acting to restore these section 8002 funds last year and ask that you
do the same this year.
While we understand this committee does not have jurisdiction over
this program, we ask you to work with your colleagues to ensure
appropriate and timely funding of Impact Aid through DoEd and restore
funds to the Impact Aid Federal properties program as essential to
meeting the needs of military families.
We strongly urge Congress to ensure appropriate and timely funding
of Impact Aid through the Department of Education and restore funds to
the Impact Aid Federal properties program.
We appreciate the inclusion of $40 million for DOD Impact Aid in
the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2014 to support public schools with large
numbers of military children, as well as $5 million for districts
educating military children with disabilities. This funding is vitally
important to help districts provide the military children they serve
with a high quality education. We also thank Congress for appropriating
funds to renovate and expand public schools on military installations,
many of which are overcrowded and in disrepair.
Continue to authorize Department of Defense Impact Aid for schools
educating large numbers of military children.
In 2007, the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act
established a grant program to directly support public schools
educating large numbers of military-connected children. These grants,
which are managed by the Department of Defense Education Activity
(DODEA), support programs that enhance student achievement in science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics. Funds have also been directed
toward programs that support military children as they transition to
new schools or cope with the stress of a parent's deployment. Grant
funds have given military children in more than 50 public schools
greater access to and success in Advanced Placement (AP) courses in
math, science, and English. Since 2009, this innovative partnership
program has directly supported 320,000 military students at 1,500
public schools. We were disappointed funding for this valuable program
was not included in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2014 and encourage
Congress to restore this program in fiscal year 2015.
Restore funding for the DODEA Grant Program.
Department of Defense Schools
More than 80,000 military children in grades pre-K through 12 are
enrolled in schools operated by the DODEA. The agency operates schools
both at overseas locations and at 15 installations in the United
States. DODEA is vital in helping to ensure military children can
receive a quality education regardless of where their parents are
stationed. Thus, our Association was concerned to see the
administration's budget proposal included a cut to funding for DODEA.
How can DODEA absorb these cuts without affecting the classroom
experience of the military children they serve? We believe strongly the
education of military children should not be compromised due to budget
constraints. We ask Congress to restore DODEA funding to ensure
military children receive the best possible education.
In late 2013, DOD announced the launch of the CONUS Education
Options Assessment (CEOA), which will analyze the operations of the
Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESS) at
installations in the United States. The purpose of this study is to
assess education options that effectively balance cost and quality
considerations. Possible recommendations include maintaining the status
quo, turning the schools over to local school districts, and
establishing charter schools, among other options. We welcome the
opportunity to learn more about DDESS schools and are pleased DOD is
including the views of parents, students, administrators and local
public school officials in its study. However, we urge DOD to move
cautiously before making any changes to its education program. These
schools have become tightly woven into the fabric of the communities
they serve. Eliminating them would be complicated and expensive for
DOD, costly for local communities, and painful for military children
and their families. Most importantly, closing DDESS schools would
jeopardize the education of thousands of military children, at least in
the short term. In some cases, the existing school buildings are not up
to state standards and would have to be extensively renovated. States
and localities would have to be compensated for the additional expense
of educating military children over and above what they receive from
Impact Aid.
Restore full funding to Department of Defense Education
Activity schools.
military families in crisis
Even though the war in Afghanistan is coming to an end, military
families continue to live extraordinarily challenging lives.
Reintegration continues to pose challenges for some. Others are
concerned they will be impacted by the military drawdown and are
anxious about their financial futures. Most military families are
resilient and will successfully address whatever challenges come their
way. However, some will need help. It is critical that military
families trust DOD services and programs and feel comfortable turning
to them in times of need. These programs and services must be staffed
and resourced adequately so when families reach out for help, they can
trust it is available. Military families must be assured our Nation
will support them in times of family or personal crisis.
Suicide
Earlier this year, the Defense Suicide Prevention Office (DSPO)
released a report outlining an approach for tracking military family
member suicides. The report, Suicide and Military Families: A Report on
the Feasibility of Tracking Deaths by Suicide among Military Family
Members, was requested by the Senate and House Armed Services
Committees.
The National Military Family Association appreciates that DSPO in
its report has identified a methodology for tracking military family
member suicides. Anecdotal reports indicate the number of military
family suicides is growing. We cannot address the problem until we know
its extent. Identifying a methodology is an important first step in
accomplishing this goal.
The National Military Family Association strongly urges Congress to
fund ongoing tracking of military family member suicides.
Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect, and Domestic Violence
Research commissioned by our Association \20\ and others during the
past decade documents the toll of multiple deployments on children and
families, the difficulties many families face on the servicemember's
return, and the added strain a servicemember's physical and invisible
wounds can place on a family. These stressors put military families at
risk for marital/relationship problems and compromised parenting that
must be addressed with preventative programs.
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\20\ Anita Chandra, et al., RAND Center for Military Health Policy
Research, Views from the Homefront: The Experiences of Youth and
Spouses from Military Families, 2011
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Current research validates families will experience the effects of
war long after deployments end. A recent study highlighted parenting
challenges fathers face following deployment. The study found that
while deployment is a time of great stress for families, the need for
support and a strong community continues during the extended period of
reintegration after the servicemember returns. This need is
particularly pronounced when the returning servicemember is father to a
young child, and he faces the core challenge of reconnecting with a
child who has undergone significant developmental changes while he was
away.\21\ A 2013 research brief issued by Child Trends, Home Front
Alert: The Risks Facing Young Children in Military Families,\22\
concluded many children negatively impacted by a parent's repeated
combat deployments will continue to have exceptional needs as they grow
older.
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\21\ Tova B. Walsh, et al., ``Fathering after Military Deployment:
Parenting Challenges and Goals of Fathers of Young Children,'' Health &
Social Work: A Journal of the National Association of Social Workers,
February 2014.
\22\ ``Home Front Alert: The Risks Facing Young Children in
Military Families'', Child Trends, July 22, 2013.
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As the war winds down in Afghanistan, those looking for budget cuts
may find it tempting to slash family support, family advocacy, and
reintegration programs. However, bringing the troops home does not end
our military's mission or the necessity to support military families.
Recent media coverage indicates the incidence of child abuse and
neglect among Army families has increased. We are concerned the
extraordinary stress military families have faced could lead to
increased domestic violence as well. Preventative programs focused on
effective parenting and rebuilding adult relationships are essential.
The government should ensure military families have the tools to remain
ready and to support the readiness of their servicemembers.
We are encouraged that the Family Advocacy Program, a
congressionally-mandated DOD program designed to prevent and respond to
child abuse/neglect and domestic abuse in military families, has
redoubled its focus on prevention programs. Their efforts to repair
relationships and strengthen family function will be essential.
We thank Congress for the study included in the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 that will look at the needs of
the families of those servicemembers convicted of a crime.
We encourage Congress and DOD to ensure that Family Advocacy
programs are funded and resourced appropriately to help families heal
and aid in the prevention of child and domestic abuse.
Military Sexual Trauma
Our Association appreciates the legislation included in the NDAA
for Fiscal Year 2013 concerning Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and the
further legislation that was passed this year. We believe these changes
will enhance trust in the system among both victims and their loved
ones. However, we feel the impact of MST on both the families of
victims and perpetrators has been overlooked.
Our research indicates civilian organizations supporting sexual
assault survivors recognize both the importance of family support for
the victim and the difficulties family members face following their
loved one's assault. Some of these civilian resources offer guidance on
how to help the sexual assault survivor through the recovery process.
They also provide tips to help family members cope with their own
emotions, including shock, anger, sadness, anxiety and fear, so they
are better equipped to help the sexual assault victim. Perpetrators'
families are not addressed by these resources or any others we could
find. They could also be invisible victims.
It appears there are limited resources specific to MST victims'
families. Although the DOD Safe Helpline website (operated by RAINN -
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), has a section called What to Do
if You or Someone You Know has been Sexually Assaulted, we feel more
needs to be done to support family members of MST victims and
perpetrators.
We request DOD conduct a needs assessment among family members of
MST victims to determine the ways in which they are struggling to
support their servicemembers and deal with their own emotions. Together
with an environmental scan to determine currently available resources,
this will provide a foundation for developing a family support
strategy. Directing MST victims' families to existing civilian
resources may be part of the solution.
We encourage those supporting victims of sexual assault to remember
to share resources and support with the families of the victims and the
families of the perpetrators.
Survivors
The Services continue to improve their outreach to surviving
families. We appreciate the special consideration, sensitivity, and
outreach to the families whose servicemembers have committed suicide.
We do have some concerns about the effect Federal civilian employee
downsizing or hiring freezes will have on programs when certain
expectations for survivors have been established. DOD and the VA must
work together to ensure surviving spouses and their children can
receive the mental health services they need.
Our Association still believes the benefit change that will provide
the most significant long-term advantage to the financial security of
all surviving families would be to end the Dependency and Indemnity
Compensation (DIC) offset to the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). 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.
Eliminate the Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) offset to
the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to recognize the length of commitment
and service of the career servicemember and spouse. We support H.R. 32,
which provides for that elimination.
We believe several other adjustments could be made to the Survivor
Benefit Plan. Allowing payment of the SBP benefits into a Special Needs
Trust in cases of disabled beneficiaries will preserve their
eligibility for income based support programs. This cost of this
adjustment cannot compare to the peace of mind this affords the parents
of these special needs children.
Allow payment of the Survivor Benefit Plan annuity into a Special
Needs Trust to preserve disabled beneficiaries' eligibility for income
based support programs.
The 11th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation released in
June 2012 recognized the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity for
Reserve component personnel who die while performing inactive duty is
significantly less than the benefit available to survivors of active
duty members and Reserve members who die on active duty. Despite their
inactive status, these reservists are still performing military duties
at the time of their death. The review report recommends calculating
SBP benefits for a reservist who dies while performing active duty
training using the same criteria as for a member who dies while on
active duty.
Calculate Survivor Benefit Program annuities for a reservist who
dies while performing active duty training using the same criteria as
for a member who dies while on active duty.
Wounded Servicemembers Have Wounded Families
Our Association asserts that behind every wounded servicemember and
veteran is a wounded family. It is our belief the government,
especially DOD and the VA, must take a more inclusive view of military
and veterans' families. Those who have the responsibility to care for
the wounded, ill, and injured servicemember must also consider the
needs of the spouse, children, parents of single servicemembers and
their siblings, and the caregivers. DOD and VA need to think
proactively as a team and one system, rather than separately, and
address problems and implement initiatives upstream while the
servicemember is still on active duty status.
Reintegration programs become a key ingredient in the family's
success. For the past 5 years, we have held our Operation Purple
Healing Adventures camp to help wounded, ill, and injured
servicemembers and their families learn to play again as a family. We
hear from the families who participate that many issues still create
difficulties for them well into the recovery period. Our Association
believes everyone must focus on treating the whole family, with DOD and
VA programs offering skill based training for coping, intervention,
resiliency, and overcoming adversities. DOD, the VA, and non-
governmental organizations must provide opportunities for the entire
family and for the couple to reconnect and bond, especially during the
rehabilitation and recovery phases.
Ensure better cooperation and accountability between the
Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) at the highest
levels in the support of transitioning wounded, ill, and injured
servicemembers and caregivers. The lack of a seamless transition
between agencies still exists and must be corrected.
Caregiver Support
Servicemembers and their families must be assured that our Nation
will provide unwavering support to the wounded, ill and injured. This
support must extend beyond the recovering warrior's medical and
vocational rehabilitation. It must also include programs and services
that help military caregivers, typically spouses or parents,
successfully navigate their new role. The VA acknowledges that:
``Caregivers provide crucial support in caring for veterans.'' However,
providing this support often has an enormous personal impact on
caregivers. The time required can result in lost jobs or lost
wages.\23\
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\23\ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs web page: http://
www.caregiver.va.gov/support--benefits.asp
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Our Association appreciates the strides DOD has made in providing
monetary compensation to caregivers of catastrophically wounded, ill,
and injured servicemembers. The Special Compensation for Assistance
with Activities of Daily Living (SCAADL) helps offset the loss of
income by a primary caregiver who provides non-medical care, support,
and assistance to the servicemember. We believe, however, more can be
done to optimize the program. SCAADL is considered taxable income,
which diminishes its value to wounded warrior families. Awareness of
SCAADL is low and families report difficulties in applying for the
benefit. Consistent with recommendations from the Recovering Warrior
Task Force, we request a legislative change to exempt SCAADL from
income taxes, enhance marketing to the eligible population, and add an
electronic application process to reduce the burden of completing
SCAADL paperwork.
Exempt SCAADL from income taxes, enhance marketing to the eligible
population, and add an electronic application process to reduce the
burden of completing SCAADL paperwork.
One of our legislative priorities is to help wounded warrior
families become whole again, including addressing service-connected
infertility. Combat injuries involving pelvic, abdominal, or urogenital
wounds have led to an increase in the number of servicemembers and
veterans facing infertility. DOD has authorized assisted reproductive
services, including in-vitro fertilization (IVF), for severely or
seriously injured active duty servicemembers. Unfortunately, once
wounded warriors leave active duty, they are no longer covered for IVF
by TRICARE or the VA, greatly limiting their ability to start or grow
their families. Considering the sacrifices these wounded warriors and
their families have made, we believe it is incumbent on our Nation to
make every effort to restore their reproductive capabilities. We urge
DOD and the VA to develop a solution to continue IVF coverage for
veterans and military retirees facing service connected infertility.
We urge the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA)
develop a solution to continue in vitro fertilization (IVF) coverage
for veterans and military retirees facing service connected
infertility.
Thanks to a grant from the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, our
Association conducted a study with caregivers last year. This resulted
in a tool developed by military caregivers for military caregivers to
help them navigate their new role.\24\
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\24\ http://www.militaryfamily.org/get-info/caregiver/care-for-the-
caregiver/tips-from-caregivers.html
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We believe that DOD and VA must regularly assess the unmet needs of
caregivers and develop programs to address their evolving requirements.
These programs not only enable our military caregivers to provide
essential support to recovering warriors, they also signal a commitment
to all servicemembers and their families. These assurances allow
military families to more willingly accept the risks inherent in
military service resulting in enhanced family readiness.
Require DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to
regularly assess the unmet needs of caregivers and develop programs to
address their evolving requirements.
military families--maintaining their readiness
We have made many recommendations in our statement today all in the
name of supporting the readiness of military families. Recent national
fiscal challenges have left military families confused and concerned
about whether the programs, resources, and benefits contributing to
their strength, resilience, and readiness will remain available to
support them and be flexible enough to address emerging needs. Our
Association believes the DODI 1342.22 must be the baseline for military
family readiness. DOD must provide the level of programs and resources
to meet this standard. Sequestration weakens its ability to do so.
Servicemembers and their families have kept trust with America,
through over 13 years of war, with multiple deployments and
separations. We ask the Nation to keep the trust with military families
and not try to balance budget shortfalls from the pockets of those who
serve.
Bringing the troops home does not end our military's mission or the
necessity to support military families, dealing with the long-term
effects of more than a decade at war. The government should ensure
military families have the tools to remain ready and to provide for the
readiness of their servicemembers. Effective support for military
families must involve a broad network of government agencies, community
groups, businesses, and concerned citizens.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you for your testimony. I think
it is vital that each of your testimonies is part of this
debate because you are the voice for so many who have served
our country, who are still serving our country, and those who
rely on the support that benefits and wages actually provide
for these families.
So I have three questions for all of you to answer in
whatever measure you prefer.
The first is, do you support any of the proposals that the
administration has offered?
Second, if you don't, do you have any proposals that could
yield savings that could be used to restore readiness and
modernization?
Third, do you believe that we should wait for the MCRMC to
report next February so we can consider these proposals more
holistically? Some of you said that in your testimony.
But those are the three questions.
Mr. Davis, you can start if you like.
Mr. Davis. I'm not sure where you'd want me to start with
as far as what the proposals are for the--
Senator Gillibrand. Wherever you like.
Mr. Davis. Okay. We certainly don't have any problem with
them looking at the merger of the TRICARE as long as it's done
in an adequate way. We do oppose them shifting the cost of
TRICARE to the beneficiaries, as Colonel Hayden mentioned in
his statement.
Senator Gillibrand. Do you have concern about the fact that
you have to travel to a hospital or medical services on a base
for those who are retired? I thought that might be an issue for
a lot of people.
Mr. Davis. It is. We have a considerable number that are
near MTFs, but it is for a lot of our members as well the
travel that they want to save money. We have come forward with
some proposals with that. For example, the direct mail, which I
know is being implemented for the TRICARE for Life, and I know
it's been talked about for extending that to other beneficiary
groups as well, and I think that's important.
I think the main thing is we've painted ourselves into a
corner with sequestration, and we need to look at how we can
get around that, not only just with the benefits for enlisted
people and for the retirees but also just for our national
security. I think when you see the cuts coming down the road in
the coming years, we could cut all kinds of benefit programs
and we still wouldn't have enough, and we'd end up cutting
significant end strength and weapons programs and other parts
of the military that would really jeopardize our national
security.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Colonel Hayden. Senator, if I could, it's an interesting
question, line of questioning when you take a look at it. I'm
going to actually try to answer the last question first,
because it really comes down to piecemeal approaches.
It appears that the budget proposal this year, especially
when you're talking about the overall impact on what it would
be for military members and their families, as well as the
retiree population, this is like Jello on a wall. We just threw
as many things as we could, and we've had to do some things,
we've had to assume some risk, and DOD is basically saying here
are the areas where we can assume some risk, and we may or may
not impact recruiting and retention.
From our perspective, those piecemeal approaches should be
the last thing that we should be looking at. If you're going to
look at broader reforms and you have a commission that Congress
directed to do just that, that's what we should be looking for,
much broader reforms.
I'm encouraged that TMC has had an opportunity to meet with
the members of the commission, as well as with their staffs,
and we're encouraged that they're looking at it from more of a
perspective of how do we provide the same level of benefits, or
even much better benefits, which potentially could be at a
lower cost. The idea there is that this is the way this should
be approached. Unfortunately, what we see, and at least from
MOAA's perspective, that these are really budget-driven
decisions.
This overall impact of the E-5, as we have on the chart
there, it shows it's about $5,000 annually. When you start
looking at our pay caps of just 2 years, and the proposal is
actually for pay caps of what would be 6 years, and all of
those just repeat the same bad behaviors that we did in the
1990s. When I was in the Service, I was a recruiter in the
1990s, turn it around, was the chief of personnel policy in the
Air Force in 2003 to the 2005 time period, with all of the
drawdown aspects we were doing at the time, these are starting
to be some of the same repeat bad behavior that I was involved
with in the 1990s. So we're capping pay, we're cutting back on
a commissary benefit, and all of this has a direct impact.
So the first question that you asked, I'd say no. I'd say
that we have to take a look at this. How can we do this much
more efficiently? That's what the commission is supposed to be
doing and provide those holistics, as well as much more
streamlined.
We even offered that a single budget authority could be one
of the ways we look at it just in the health care delivery.
There are other things that can be done as you look forward and
going on to provide the benefit structure.
But these that they've proposed right now is just Jello on
the wall.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Captain Hanson. Thank you. I'm going to be the one who says
it. The proposals for TRICARE that DOD is coming up with is
just slapping a label onto a bottle of wine that already
exists. There aren't really new proposals. They just want to
re-identify things, and one of the best examples is the fact
that they're changing what used to be called ``enrollment
fees'' to ``participation fees.''
When a group of the beneficiaries were on a teleconference
call with DOD leadership, they got confused on what term to
use. When it was pointed out that they were confusing
enrollment fees with participation fees with premiums, they
said, oh, it's all the same.
Senator Gillibrand. It's about how much money are you going
to pay, how much money can we get from you.
Captain Hanson. Right. So the whole purpose of this
repackaging is to find ways to shift the cost burden from DOD
onto the backs of the beneficiaries.
On to the question of travel to hospitals and MTFs, it
should be remembered that the Guard and the Reserve for the
most part are outside of the normal TRICARE network. Because of
this, they have long distances to travel, and they also have
challenges to get doctors to accept their TRICARE. So, one,
they have longer distances to probably find someone, a provider
who accepts it. Two, with a relabeling, you're going to see the
same confusion occur in the civilian area that occurred when
CHAMPUS changed to TRICARE, and those two terms are still being
used interchangeably today. So we may actually drive providers
out of the system because things get relabeled.
As to the question on alternatives, I can share with you
that when the COLA minus 1 percent issue came up, and we thank
Congress for having fixed that so quickly, the associations got
together and started considering certain options to find
offsets to help correct that problem. You managed to do that on
your own, and I can share with you that we do have some in our
pocket to discuss with the subcommittee if we have to find
these offsets in the near future.
Now, one example that I can share with you that we tend to
agree with, a big area that can be improved upon within DOD is
their acquisition programs. Purchasing of weapons systems is
not the most efficient, and a lot of dollars are being lost in
how things are occurring, and that money could be used to save
some of the benefits.
We are working, as was mentioned, with the MCRMC, and what
concerns the ROA the most is DOD's white paper that they
submitted to the MCRMC already. What we found is this white
paper is a patchwork of utilizing previous studies and throwing
out a lot of different choices to the MCRMC. Again, these
aren't well thought through. I describe it as Jello on the
wall, but it's definitely a patchwork, and this is a concern
that we have to go through and analyze these things thoroughly.
If people are going to submit things to the MCRMC, they
should do the full staff work in advance rather than relying on
the MCRMC to do the work for them.
Thank you.
Senator Gillibrand. Ms. Moakler?
Ms. Moakler. First off, I agree with the previous panelist
that we cannot stress how important it is for the MCRMC to
finish their work. We agree that they have been most open in
speaking with us. We have had chances to submit testimony, to
speak with the different commissioners. So they are really
doing due diligence to try to look at the entire compensation
picture.
Military families know that there are budget cuts coming
down the pike, and they have already experienced them, and
they've seen the agencies that provide programs and resources
for them trying to do more with less, with the people in the
brick and mortar buildings wearing multiple hats. They kind of
expect that.
But what they didn't expect was the volley of hits to their
pocketbook that were the budget proposals, the less-than-ECI
pay raise, the slowing of the growth of the BAH, the attack on
the savings from the commissary. The commissary is such an
important part of life and the source of such savings to really
help the financial stability of our military families, it is
something that they rely on.
Was it 8 years ago that we finally opened it to the Guard
and Reserve so they could shop there as often as they wanted
to? So that is a great resource for them, as well.
I think the most egregious is forcing Active Duty families
to assume some of their costs for health care. When we were on
that same phone call with the leadership, it was implied that
families have a choice whether they want to go to a provider in
the network or out of the network, as opposed to going to the
MTF, the military hospital or clinic. As I spoke to in my
statement, sometimes they don't have a choice.
Senator Gillibrand. Is that because the military provider
doesn't exist, or because----
Ms. Moakler. No, because you may be the family of a
recruiter. You may be a family of someone doing Reserve
Officers' Training Corps duty. You may be attached to a Reserve
unit. We were reminiscing earlier. When my husband was in
graduate school, that was the first time I had to use treatment
for my children that was outside the MTF back in the days of
CHAMPUS, and that was quite a hit to our pocketbook then.
Senator Gillibrand. That's because your kids weren't
covered under your husband's----
Ms. Moakler. No, because we weren't near a military
hospital.
Senator Gillibrand. Oh, logistically.
Ms. Moakler. Logistically, and that's what is going to be
tough for our families.
Senator Gillibrand. That's what I'm worried about. If your
kid is sick, you can't drive 90 minutes to get him antibiotics.
That is not going to work with your schedule. There is not
going to be time in the day to do that. I think it's crazy.
Ms. Moakler. It's not good health care.
Senator Gillibrand. It's terrible health care.
Ms. Moakler. It's not good practice, even for our retirees.
To think that they're going to drive 2 hours just because
they're going to be able to access the MTF is a fallacy. They
should have health care close to where they live.
Senator Gillibrand. Right.
Ms. Moakler. Plus, we are wondering how they are going to
address capacity issues, because they're talking about giving
preference to those folks who are already enrolled in TRICARE
Prime so that they would be able to stay in the military
hospital. But one of the beauties of the TRICARE system was
that it allowed the military hospitals to ebb and flow, for
them to make sure that there was room in the hospital or in the
network, before they had to pay, that they would be able to be
seen.
Now we don't know what capacity there will be for military
families as they move from place to place because we have a
mobile society with our military families, and how are they
going to know when they move from one station to another
whether there is going to be room in the military hospital for
them? So that's a big concern that we have.
It's just an awful lot for families to take considering the
sacrifices that they've made over the past few years. I think
there is some other way that DOD could come up with to make
these cuts. We don't have any suggestions on our part, but
we're hoping that they would be able to come up with those.
Senator Gillibrand. Let me ask you specifically, for all of
you who have an answer on this. I am very worried. Our last
hearing we had was on suicide rates, and there has been a
horrible increase in the number of both Active Duty and veteran
status personnel who have committed suicide, and family
members, because of the strains with multiple deployments,
because of the nature of the deployments, and because of a lot
of untreated issues like sexual assault in the military.
My concern is, under these new proposals for health care,
that we won't have the access that we need for specialists,
particularly mental health specialists, for family members, or
for veterans, or for retired, or for Active Duty, and I'd like
you to speak to that to the extent you know how these proposals
could impact that access.
Mr. Davis. One of the things that I could tell you is, and
this is from not only hearings of the Senate Armed Services
Committee but also the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, there
is a shortage of mental health professionals.
Senator Gillibrand. Yes.
Mr. Davis. So we can mandate that we can hire more mental
health professionals, but literally there may not be enough out
there to take care of everyone. So that's a major concern that
we're very concerned about.
We are concerned about, like I said, with the reduction in
end strengths, that that can cause a lot of stress on the
families. That includes the kids and the spouse and the
servicemember, and this can cause a lot of problems with regard
to suicide, but also alcoholism and other bad behavior that
just exacerbates that situation.
So we're very concerned about it, but we're very concerned
that there may not be enough mental health counselors out there
to fill that void.
Senator Gillibrand. I think you have to be very aware, and
we heard that from the statements by Senators today, that the
recommendations of this panel will be taken very seriously, and
you have to recognize that it could include every single one of
the administration's recommendations. I think, in order to
prepare and to actually give them access to the information
that they need, you must document what the impact of these
administration proposals are for the MCRMC, because these are
minor compared to, I think, what the MCRMC will come up with.
I think while we're resting on this, the MCRMC is going to
look at everything, it's going to be more holistic, we're very
hopeful. If we see what the MCRMC's recommendations are and
it's all of these cuts plus 10 more, we are going to be in a
very concerned place.
I think this is an opportunity for you to heighten your
advocacy, to get more specifics, and I think even begin to
document not only the suicide rate but the increase in domestic
violence rate, and the increase in divorce rate. You can show
the trauma that is going on amongst these retirees, veterans,
and family members that is not being addressed. When you change
the access to mental health services and other health care
services, you're going to continue to degrade the force,
because ultimately this is about military readiness, and you
will not have the force you have today if you can't meet their
medical needs, and that includes their family members. If you
have increases in divorce rates and domestic violence rates,
you're not going to have a ready force.
I really think you need to look into this issue. We've
never seen suicide rates as high as we've seen in the military
today. We've never seen family members committing suicide at
the rate we've seen today. It's because of the pressure we're
putting on the force.
I really think, to the extent you can spend a lot of time
and effort investigating and actually coming up with this is
the impact of these cuts on every single constituency that you
represent, it will be very meaningful, because people are
thinking these are just numbers.
I can tell you how Washington works. When they look at
budgets, they think it's just a number, and we know from the
administration's proposal how much every single one of these
budget proposals add up to. This one is $400 million, that one
is $600 million. We know it's a number, and it adds up to $2.1
billion, and they're going to just see it as a number, and we
have to change that reality and see it as a consequence to real
people, real families, men and women that we ask everything
from and who deserve better from this country. I will request
your help.
Does anybody else want to speak to mental health while
we're still on that topic?
Captain Hanson. Mental health is a challenge for those that
are in the Guard and Reserve because, as I mentioned before,
they're further away from the network, and some of the tele-
counseling programs have been cut back on that were
experimented with a couple of years ago under demonstration
projects.
The suicide rate for the Guard and Reserve is a challenge.
Oddly enough, what brings it about is employment, or I should
perhaps say unemployment, relationships because of the stresses
that you pointed out, and in some ways deployment. Ironically,
it's not so much having been deployed but not having been
deployed to where we have young reservists and Guard members
who are now left out of the cadre of the people who went over
and fought overseas.
One thing that I know we support is a mental evaluation
program done upfront when an individual affiliates. One, it can
filter out personality disorders, which has been a challenge
for the Services; and two, create a benchmark so that if
someone is indeed deployed, you know what their mental state
was before they went, and then you can measure it again when
they come back. I think that would help on the mental health
side to see these changes so you can target those people who
need to be counseled the most.
Senator Gillibrand. Certainly, that would be helpful in
benefits, because for a lot of those who have been sexually
assaulted or raped in the military, one of the ways some of
these personnel were retaliated against was giving them a
mental disability, literally saying we're kicking you out of
the military because you have now displayed emotional problems,
which these members of the military did not have coming in,
that they were created because they were subjected to the worst
kind of treatment, not only by the assailants but then by their
command structure that should have protected them but allowed
retaliation and didn't allow proper reporting and justice to be
done.
It's a dual betrayal which is undermining so much of their
ability to be able to continue to thrive in the military, and
many have been forced out with, now, emotional or personality
disorders. I think that would be a very useful thing to be able
to have a baseline, because it's been a tool, unfortunately,
used to get rid of members of the military who have been so
bold to report a sexual assault or a rape.
Ms. Moakler. Madam Chairwoman, I just want to highlight the
recent study that DOD provided to Congress that was
congressionally mandated on the feasibility of tracking
suicides of family members, and to encourage you to encourage
DOD to take the next step and start tracking the suicides of
family members so we can help analyze what's causing it and
what tools are needed to help stop it.
Senator Gillibrand. We will try to get that in the next
NDAA, because it would be very useful.
The last question I want to talk about is, particularly for
military families, what are the most useful programs we have
now for our military families? What are the things that support
them the most? Do the reintegration programs after military
deployments meet the needs of our military families? Is there
sufficient transition assistance? What should be done to
improve on these programs?
Ms. Moakler. I think one of the most helpful programs that
has far-reaching effect on all military families, no matter
where they live, is Military OneSource. That was an innovative
program at the beginning of the war to address the needs of
Guard and Reserve families, geographically dispersed families.
The website is available for those non-ID-card-holding
families.
The counseling session of it was amazing and really helped
a lot of folks cope with the challenges that they met during
deployments. So we really appreciate Military OneSource and
feel that it was money well spent.
In our testimony we highlighted the fact that the Yellow
Ribbon program, the folks at the headquarters are working on a
plan for the future, and they've come up with a plan for the
future on how to adapt the Yellow Ribbon program to the ebb and
flow of how we're using the Guard and Reserve and how to adapt
it. They offer three different ways to reach everyone, whether
they're drilling, whether they're being deployed, however
they're being used.
Senator Gillibrand. I would like to work with you on that
because I think that's very important.
Ms. Moakler. Yes, it really is. We are very concerned with
downsizing and how we are going to help our families
transition, because they have been used to a very robust set of
support services, and the challenges that they have aren't
going to go away just because their servicemember is out of
uniform.
Senator Gillibrand. Correct.
Ms. Moakler. How we can educate them on the services that
are available in their community, and educate communities on
meeting the challenges that these families are going to have.
Senator Gillibrand. I want to thank all of you for your
testimony.
Yes, Mr. Hanson?
Captain Hanson. Thank you, ma'am. One of the things that
was covered in the ROA written testimony is the fact that
support for families is one of the Reserve gaps that we found.
I think Kathy has given a good summary of efforts that are
occurring to help the Guard and Reserve in family support. But
the big challenge you have, of course, is the geographic
dispersement, unlike military Active Duty organizations where
families are close together.
I think it's going to take a public-private partnership to
accomplish building additional programs to help the Guard and
Reserve in this area because there is still a void there.
One area I know that the ROA is working on is School Kits,
as we call it, because when you have Active Duty children going
on-base to school or just off a base to school, the teachers
are very familiar with deployments and things like this, but
you could very much have a Reserve child as an individual
within a school with the teachers not realizing the type of
stresses that they face.
We've been working with the NMFA on developing this kit,
and we've been trying to get partnership in the private sector
so that we can beta test this.
Senator Gillibrand. I'd be delighted to work with you on
that. I think we should also try to engage the Governors
Association because, obviously, the Governors are supposed to
have a responsibility towards National Guard and Reserve. So
maybe a collaborative effort between Federal Government and
State government could be beneficial in that.
Again, thank you all for your testimony. You can submit any
additional testimony for up to a week. I think it's been very
important that you're here to be part of this debate. As I
mentioned, this is going to be a very long debate, and so I
urge constant advocacy in every State because I think people
have to see the face and understand the family impacts of these
types of decisions. If it's just a number, it's very easy to
cut. If it's families and people and real lives, it is less
easy to cut.
Thank you. We are adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 1:09 p.m., the subcommittee adjourned.]
[Questions for the record with answers supplied follow:]
Questions Submitted by Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand
tricare changes
1. Senator Gillibrand. Dr. Woodson, every year since at least 2006,
the Department of Defense (DOD) has proposed changes to the TRICARE
program to shift more of the cost to beneficiaries. Congress has not
supported these efforts. While we have not yet seen the DOD legislative
proposal for this year, we understand that it is an effort to
fundamentally restructure TRICARE. How does this year's proposal differ
from prior DOD proposals?
Dr. Woodson. Previous years' proposals were largely proposed
changes (increases) to the costs borne by participants. The fiscal year
2015 President's budget proposal is a wholesale renovation of the
TRICARE program that offers real improvements to participants. This
proposal would simplify and modernize the existing TRICARE program in
ways that provide incentives for wellness, decrease overutilization of
health services, and allow beneficiaries to choose their providers
whenever they need care. This proposal includes modest increases in
beneficiary out-of-pocket costs for Active Duty families, retirees and
their families, and Reserve component members and their families,
although some families may actually see a decrease. The TRICARE benefit
would remain one of the most comprehensive benefits in the country, as
it should be. Servicemembers on Active Duty would have no out-of-pocket
expense regardless of where care is delivered (Military Treatment
Facility (MTF), network, or out-of-network) and the highest priority
for access to MTF care.
2. Senator Gillibrand. Dr. Woodson, how would this year's proposal
increase the out-of-pocket cost of healthcare for Active Duty family
members, military retirees under the age of 65, and military retirees
using TRICARE for Life (TFL)?
Dr. Woodson. In the fiscal year 2015 President's budget submission,
DOD seeks to leverage proven utilization management controls by
building a shared commitment to health care while offering
beneficiaries more flexibility and choices. DOD is proposing a
consolidated TRICARE health plan to replace the TRICARE Prime,
Standard, and Extra health insurance-like plans. Following are key
financial elements of the consolidated health plan:
No change for Active Duty--who would maintain priority
access to health care without any cost sharing and would still
require authorization for civilian care.
Cost shares--will depend on beneficiary category
(excluding Active Duty) and care venue and are designed to
minimize overutilization of costly care venues, such as
emergency departments. Cost shares would be the lowest in MTFs,
higher in the network, and highest out of network, which will
facilitate the effective use of military clinics and hospitals
and thereby improve the efficiency of our fixed facility cost
structure.
Participation Fee--for retirees (not medically
retired), their families, and survivors of retirees (except
survivors of those who died on Active Duty). They would pay an
annual participation fee or forfeit coverage for the plan year.
Catastrophic caps--which have not gone up in 10 years
would increase slightly but still remain sufficiently low to
protect beneficiaries from financial hardship. The
participation fee would no longer count towards the cap.
Medically retired members and their families and
survivors of those who died on Active Duty would be treated the
same as Active Duty family members with no participation and
lower cost shares.
In addition to consolidating TRICARE Prime, Standard, and Extra,
DOD proposes to:
Increase co-pays for pharmaceuticals (excludes Active
Duty servicemembers). While the National Defense Authorization
Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013 included some adjustments to
the TRICARE pharmacy co-pay structure and initiated a pilot
program requiring the use of mail order to refill maintenance
medications for TFL beneficiaries, DOD determined that
additional adjustments are necessary to fully incentivize the
use of mail order and generic drugs. The proposed pharmacy
changes in the fiscal year 2015 budget are phased-in over a 10-
year period, and prescriptions will continue to be filled at no
cost to beneficiaries at MTFs. In addition, the proposal
requires that all prescriptions for long-term maintenance
medications (e.g., blood pressure, cholesterol) must be filled
through the MTFs or the TRICARE mail order pharmacy.
Implement modest annual fees for TFL coverage, but the
proposal will grandfather TFL beneficiaries in the program
prior to enactment. The TFL enrollment fees will be phased in
over a 4-year period and will be based on a percentage of the
beneficiary's military gross retired pay up to an annual fee
ceiling, with indexing to retiree cost-of-living adjustment
after fiscal year 2018. There will be a separate fee ceiling
specifically for general/flag officers.
record integration
3. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, in your written testimony
you discuss the work being done to integrate DOD and Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems. DOD and
VA previously worked to integrate their two existing systems, and after
many years and millions of dollars the plans were scrapped and DOD
announced it would find a way to build its own system. In fact, a
recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report stated ``VA and
DOD have not substantiated their claims that the current approach will
be less expensive and more timely than the single-system approach.''
Every day that we wait for an integrated Electronic Health Record
(iEHR) system is a day that veterans are held up while trying to
process their claims. It is unacceptable. Please explain why work to
establish a joint system fell apart last year and why DOD thinks trying
to establish and integrate separate systems will work better than
finding a way to create a single system?
Ms. Wright. In December 2012, Secretaries Panetta and Shinseki
directed a joint review of the iEHR program with the goal of
simplifying and accelerating the achievement of data interoperability
while reducing the cost and technical risk of what had proven to be a
complex and expensive joint IT development program.
In January 2013, the Secretaries of both Departments directed the
DOD/VA Interagency Program Office (IPO) to execute several near-term
data interoperability initiatives on an accelerated timeline. The
accelerators included the creation of a data management service that
retrieves electronic data from across DOD and VA EHR system data
repositories for any given patient and shares it between DOD and VA in
a standardized format. This enables data that was previously shared
between the two Departments as ``viewable'' only, to be more clinically
useful to providers in the delivery of care. This has been accomplished
for seven critical clinical areas--medications, problem lists,
allergies, laboratory results, vital signs, immunizations, and note
titles--which represent the vast majority of most patients' clinical
information. This level of interoperability was achieved without
replacing the healthcare management software system for either
Department. The standardized health data is easily exchanged regardless
of the EHR system used, similar to how two different email systems are
able to exchange email messages.
It is important to note that, for the DOD, achieving data
interoperability is also the path forward to exchanging health
information with private healthcare providers. Today, 65 percent of all
servicemember, dependent, and beneficiary healthcare is provided
outside the military health network through private providers.
Capturing this health information from patient encounters that are
performed outside the military health system (MHS) can only be
accomplished through interoperability standards championed by the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and being adopted by
commercial health care providers. The use of open national standards to
express the content and format of the information, not a single
healthcare management software system, is the cornerstone of seamless
exchange of health information.
Today, DOD and VA are pursuing complimentary but different paths to
modernize the EHR. On May 21, 2013, Defense Secretary Hagel announced
the DOD decision to pursue a full and open competition to modernize its
EHR systems while continuing to ensure interoperability with VA. VA
will be modernizing their VistA-based platform over the coming years.
DOD under the DOD Healthcare Management System Modernization (DHMSM)
Program will be acquiring an industry-based EHR platform with the goal
to have initial operating capability by the end of calendar year 2016.
DOD will build upon many of the iEHR and legacy interoperability
efforts so that when the DHMSM EHR system comes on line it will have
developed interoperability capabilities to interact with the modernized
VA EHR system and private healthcare providers. Further, DOD will work
with IPO and the HHS Office of the National Coordinator to drive the
adoption of national data standards required for seamless exchange of
health information through the DHMSM acquisition.
defense finance and accounting service
4. Senator Gillibrand. Mr. Hale, it has come to my attention that
the Army is considering a proposal to restructure its financial
enterprise in a way that would impact how the Army uses the Defense
Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). This plan could severely impact
the civilian employees currently working at DFAS sites like the one in
Rome, NY, who ensure the centralization, professionalism, and
efficiency of DOD's accounting. I believe DFAS is a logical focal point
to ensure that DOD has independent accountants developing standardized,
auditable records. What can you tell me about this plan?
Mr. Hale. The Army Financial Management Optimization initiative is
intended to adopt best practices, increased effectiveness and
efficiencies, reduce redundant capacity, and produce auditable
financial statements.
As part of this initiative, the Army will conduct a pilot program
that will consolidate internal Army Finance Corp activities into a
single location to gain efficiencies. This pilot will begin October 1st
of this year. We cannot forecast the results of this pilot program;
however, the pilot itself will not have an effect on the workload of
any DFAS location.
5. Senator Gillibrand. Mr. Hale, what is your vision for DFAS's
role and functions?
Mr. Hale. As a service provider, DFAS supports DOD's finance and
accounting needs. DFAS will meet these needs in the most cost effective
and efficient means possible while maintaining high standards and
supporting DOD's audit readiness goals.
6. Senator Gillibrand. Mr. Hale, I am concerned that I had to hear
about the impact to my State through back channels. Do I have your
assurances that you will highlight this with your successor as a
priority and ask that my office be kept apprised of all future action
relating to changes in the DFAS mission and force structure?
Mr. Hale. I will ask my successor to keep you and Congress informed
of any changes to the DFAS mission or force structure.
autism
7. Senator Gillibrand. Dr. Woodson, I would like to update you on
changes to applied behavioral analysis (ABA) coverage since the last
time you addressed this subcommittee: in 2013 Federal Employees Health
Benefits Program plans began offering coverage of ABA as a medical
treatment; there are now 34 States that require insurers to cover ABA
as medical care; since the roll out of the Affordable Care Act (ACA),
half of the State exchanges picked up coverage of ABA as a medical
benefit; dozens of large self-insured companies like Home Depot, United
Technologies, Capital One, Qualcomm, and American Express provide ABA
coverage, including services delivered by ABA technicians and assistant
behavior analysts, for their employees as medical care, yet TRICARE
does not. I understand that TRICARE offers three different programs
through Basic, Extended Care health Option (ECHO), and the pilot
program, yet each program comes with its own set of restrictions on
coverage. And during last year's hearing you even stated that you would
prefer ABA to be an educational benefit instead of a medical benefit
despite a broad recognition of it as a medical benefit. We are now less
than 4 months away from the end of the pilot program that was
authorized during the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013. Please update me on
the ABA therapy pilot program that was authorized as part of the NDAA
for Fiscal Year 2013. How many families have made use of the program?
Dr. Woodson. The ECHO Autism Demonstration ABA tiered service
delivery model was extended to non-Active Duty family members (NADFM)
under a 1 year pilot project (these NADFMs include retiree dependents
and participants in TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS), TRICARE Retired
Reserve, TRICARE Young Adult, TFL, and the Continued Health Care
Benefit Program). Any NADFMs who choose not to participate in the ABA
pilot may still receive ABA under the TRICARE Basic Program. Based on
contractor feedback (TRICARE purchased-care claims can be submitted up
to 1 year after the service is provided and, therefore, claims data is
incomplete and not a reliable indicator of current ABA pilot
participation), as of March 2014, there were 124 beneficiaries approved
to receive ABA for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) under the ABA pilot
and another 177 pending approval.
8. Senator Gillibrand. Dr. Woodson, do you have data you can share
on the success of the program?
Dr. Woodson. Based on contractor feedback (TRICARE purchased-care
claims can be submitted up to 1 year after the service is provided and,
therefore, claims data is incomplete and not a reliable indicator of
current ABA pilot participation), as of March 2014, there were 124
beneficiaries approved to receive ABA for ASD under the ABA pilot and
another 177 pending approval.
9. Senator Gillibrand. Dr. Woodson, I understand that several
primary barriers to service have been identified as a result of the
requirements to participate in the pilot program. I have heard from
families that these barriers were so restrictive that many families
decided it was not worth it to participate in the program, which has
contributed to low enrollment. What are those barriers and what are you
doing to eliminate them?
Dr. Woodson. Completion of psychometric testing and assessment
requirements is the biggest barrier. Specifically, obtaining the
required psychometric testing--Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule,
Second Edition (ADOS-2) and/or Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale II
(Vineland-II), is primary reason for reported treatment delays.
TRICARE has been engaging in focus groups with various stakeholders
regarding the ABA pilot and TRICARE's coverage of ABA for ASD. Included
in these focus groups have been participants from various
organizations, families of children with ASD, military providers who
treat ASD, and ASD advocacy groups. Feedback was provided regarding the
ABA pilot, to include concerns about the availability of psychometric
testing.
Adjustments have already been made to policy regarding the ABA
pilot in response to feedback from focus groups. For example,
administration of the ADOS-2 is required only at the beginning of
enrollment in the ABA pilot, and waiver requests for continued ABA
beyond 2 years will not require a repeat ADOS-2. Another example of
feedback from the focus groups was a concern regarding continuity of
care during transition periods. Subsequently, Active Duty family
members enrolled in the ECHO Autism Demonstration who transition to
retiree status will be allowed direct entry into the ABA pilot, and a
1-year grace period will be granted to meet the ABA pilot's diagnosis,
referral, and assessment requirements. TRICARE continues to integrate
feedback from the focus groups to make improvement in the delivery of
ABA services.
10. Senator Gillibrand. Dr. Woodson, families report that the
limited number of available board certified behavior analysts makes
access to ABA services under the TRICARE basic program difficult. To
meet the demand for care in the civilian marketplace, ABA services are
often delivered through a tiered service delivery model that uses
assistant behavior analysts and ABA technicians who work under the
supervision of a board certified behavior analyst. This delivery model
is allowed by insurance carriers under State insurance laws and State
exchanges, helps deliver treatment economically, and allows for the
expertise and oversight needed to reach treatment goals. As we have
seen through the Autism Demonstration, the tiered service delivery
model has the ability to greatly expand the number of providers that
deliver ABA services, thereby improving access to care for TRICARE
beneficiaries. Are there any statutory or regulatory barriers that
prevent the TRICARE basic program from covering ABA services delivered
under the tiered service delivery model? Are there any emergency
regulations that allow you to address this need immediately?
Dr. Woodson. Yes, ABA has not been shown by reliable evidence to
meet the requirements of 10 U.S.C. 1079 (a)(13) and 32 C.F.R. section
199.4(g)(15) to be proven medically or psychologically necessary
appropriate medical care for ASD. The reliable evidence standard for
cost-sharing required by 32 C.F.R. section 199.4(g)(15) has not been
met. An interim coverage determination of June 28, 2013, reaffirmed
that reliable evidence does not support coverage under the basic
program, but deferred any change during the 1-year NDAA-2013 ABA pilot,
which has a statutory end date of July 24, 2014.
In response to the second question, yes, using DOD's demonstration
authority in section 1092 of title 10, U.S. Code, DOD will address this
need by consolidating TRICARE coverage of ABA into a new Autism Care
Demonstration to improve the quality, efficiency, convenience, and cost
effectiveness of those autism-related services that do not constitute
the proven medical care provided under the medical benefit coverage
requirements that govern the TRICARE basic program. The Autism Care
Demonstration will offer comprehensive ABA, including the tiered model,
for all TRICARE eligible beneficiaries with an ASD when diagnosed by an
appropriate provider.
11. Senator Gillibrand. Dr. Woodson, the pilot program is set to
expire on July 24, 2014. Do you have a plan in place to allow for
continued coverage of ABA therapy for families accessing the pilot?
Dr. Woodson. Yes, DOD seeks to consolidate TRICARE coverage of ABA
based on DOD's demonstration authority in section 1092 of title 10,
U.S. Code.
12. Senator Gillibrand. Dr. Woodson, have you addressed this with
the impacted families so that they may plan for coverage after the
pilot expires?
Dr. Woodson. Yes, the Defense Health Agency (DHA) has been engaging
in focus groups with various stakeholders regarding the ABA pilot and
TRICARE's coverage of ABA for ASD. Included in these focus groups have
been participants from various organizations, families of children with
ASD, military providers who treat ASD, and ASD advocacy groups. The DHA
will proactively educate beneficiaries, providers, and other
stakeholders about the new Autism Care Demonstration (ACD). To ensure
continuity of ABA care for all beneficiaries, the ACD will be
implemented in a phased approach to transition from those coverage
rules that currently exist under the patchwork of programs to the new
consolidated ACD, and all contracting actions necessary to start
services under the ACD are completed. DOD will commence ABA coverage
under the ACD model by July 25, 2014, the statutory end date of the
current ABA pilot, with all beneficiaries transitioned from their
current ABA coverage model to the new consolidated ACD not later than
December 31, 2014.
13. Senator Gillibrand. Dr. Woodson, what have you included in your
budget submission for fiscal year 2015 to improve upon TRICARE's
coverage of ABA therapy for military dependents?
Dr. Woodson. Using DOD's demonstration authority in section 1092 of
title 10, U.S. Code, DOD will consolidate TRICARE coverage of ABA into
a new ACD to improve the quality, efficiency, convenience, and cost
effectiveness of those autism-related services that do not constitute
the medical care provided under the medical benefit coverage
requirements that govern the TRICARE basic program. An independent
government cost estimate for this initiative is pending. However,
reflecting the growth in the number of program users, total government
costs for Active Duty family member ECHO and Basic ABA program
participants with ASD diagnoses nearly quadrupled between fiscal year
2009 and fiscal year 2013 (from $31.0 to $122.8 million) increasing at
an average annual rate of 41 percent over the period. In addition, non-
Active Duty family members incurred a total of $6.4 million in
expenditures using the TRICARE basic and ABA pilot programs.
14. Senator Gillibrand. Dr. Woodson, I would like specifics on how
many TRICARE beneficiaries have been diagnosed with ASD and other
disorders requiring ABA treatment. How many are dependents of Active
Duty service members; how many are dependents of non-Active Duty
servicemembers, including National Guard, Reserve, and retirees; how
many are dependents of members of the Coast Guard, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, the Public Health Service, and their
retirees?
Dr. Woodson. In fiscal year 2013, there were a total of 7,808
Active Duty family member beneficiaries with an ASD requiring and
receiving ABA services. Of those beneficiaries, 3,397 were dependents
of Active Duty Army, 1,733 Navy, 1,656 Air Force, 775 Marine Corps, 192
Coast Guard, and 55 other. In addition, 634 non-Active Duty family
members required and received ABA services.
basic allowance for housing
15. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, DOD has proposed
increasing out-of-pocket housing costs by approximately 5 percent and
also the same dollar amount for everyone in a certain rank regardless
of location over the next several years. The current housing allowance
is based on rental data and is intended to cover 100 percent of housing
costs. Can you please explain how you plan to implement this?
Ms. Wright. The out-of-pocket percentage will be phased in
beginning in fiscal year 2015; because members will be rate protected
at their current location, the exact percentage to be taken each year
during the phase-in is dependent on the actual change in housing costs
from 1 year to the next. Renter's insurance accounts for about 1
percent of BAH rates and will be removed in 2015. The proposal allows
for a growth in BAH rates of 1.5 percent per year, with the difference
between this and otherwise unconstrained BAH rates to be made up
through increasing out of pocket. Using a planning factor of 4.2
percent growth in housing costs per year and removing renter's
insurance in the first year, we expect to see out-of-pocket housing
costs growing as follows: 1.6 percent in 2015, 4.1 percent in 2016, and
5 percent for 2017 and beyond (when also considering the removal of
renter's insurance, the average impact to the member is expected to be
2.6 percent/5.1 percent/6 percent). However, the actual out-of-pocket
percentage could then be modified each year based on other factors such
as retention.
In order to ensure members are treated equally regardless of
whether they are stationed in high-cost or low-cost areas, the out-of-
pocket percentage will be taken from the national average BAH rate for
each grade. This will determine the dollar amount of reduction to be
applied to each BAH rate for that grade.
sexual assault and harassment
16. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, although you discussed an
increase in reports of sexual assault last year, you did not do a
prevalence survey, making it impossible to know if reporting rates
actually went up or down. Why did you not do a prevalence study last
year and do you plan to do one this year?
Ms. Wright. Section 481 of title 10, U.S.C. requires DOD to conduct
a Workplace and Gender Relations Survey (WGRS) so as to solicit
information on issues relating to gender-based harassment, assault and
discrimination, and the climate in the Armed Forces for forming
professional relationships between men and women. The WGRS is conducted
biennially and is to be conducted for 2014. The WGRS includes
prevalence rate and fulfills this requirement. DOD understands that
servicemembers are asked to respond to numerous surveys from internal
DOD agencies and external organizations on a variety of topics and
interests, including sensitive topics such as sexual assault. As the
number of surveys rises, we have seen decreasing response rates across
all military survey efforts. We feel maintaining a biennial cycle for
the WGRSs is the best way to protect our members from survey fatigue
and produce the most accurate data on this topic to DOD, Congress, and
the public.
17. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, are you making any
changes to how the study will be implemented?
Ms. Wright. Yes, we are. The fiscal year 2014 WGRS was contracted
with RAND Corporation, a federally-funded research and development
center (FFRDC) to independently design, administer, and analyze.
In addition to reporting prevalence of sexual assault and
associated risk factors (e.g., sexual harassment, alcohol use, etc.),
RAND will also conduct a critical review of the DOD's survey
methodology, implement improvements for the 2014 WGRS to increase
response rates and reduce non-response bias, and recommend additional
improvements for future WGRS administrations by DOD.
With respect to development of the survey questions and
definitions, RAND intends to consult with an advisory panel of
nationally-recognized experts in survey methodology, assessment of
sexual assault and harassment, military law, and related topics. The
panel will review and modify, as necessary, the sexual assault and
harassment survey questions to ensure consistency with the offense
definitions in Articles 120, 125, and 80 of the Uniform Code of
Military Justice (UCMJ).
RAND's methodological design will include:
A Larger Sample. RAND will invite 100 percent of
Active Duty female servicemembers and 25 percent of Active Duty
male servicemembers to take the survey. This approach will
produce a sample of about 500,000 Active Duty servicemembers--
or one-third of the Active Force. In order to support the
requirements of the report to the President due later on this
year, a sample of Reserve component members will also be
included. This approach will maximize our ability to examine
the impact of these behaviors on subgroups in the military
sample. Given the census of women and the large sample of men,
weighting of results is not planned.
Comparability of Results to Prior Survey
Administrations. RAND will administer the unwanted sexual
contact and sexual harassment survey questions from the 2012
WGRS to a subsample of survey respondents. This will allow them
to assess the effects of survey question wording on assessed
prevalence rates, and will clarify how the new survey relates
to earlier time trend data.
Methods to increase response rates. Finally, RAND will
make recommendations to improve response rates to this and
other DOD surveys.
DOD considers the comparability of previous Defense Manpower Data
Center surveys with the results of the 2014 WGRS of utmost importance.
RAND has also been asked to evaluate and validate DOD's current survey
methodology to identify areas of improvement, if any, for future DOD-
administered surveys.
18. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, you also mentioned in
your testimony that the increase in the number of reports suggests an
increase in confidence in response systems. Last year the DOD Inspector
General (IG) evaluated the handling of 501 sexual assault cases by
Military Criminal Investigative Organizations (MCIO) and found that 56
had significant deficiencies. Of the 56 cases, the MCIOs reopened 31
cases for additional investigative work but determined that for the
remaining 25 cases additional investigative activity was not
practicable due to the amount of time elapsed or based on their
judgment that additional efforts would be useless. What measures has
DOD put in place to ensure the accuracy of these investigations and the
proper investigation of all sexual assault cases by MCIOs?
Ms. Wright. In July 2011, the OIG DOD established the Violent Crime
Division (VCD) as a means of anticipating and meeting DOD's current and
future needs for oversight of sexual assaults and other crimes of
violence. The VCD completed the evaluation you mentioned and they
continue to provide oversight for these reopened investigations as they
are completed to ensure the deficiencies have been resolved to the
maximum extent possible.
The VCD continues to work closely with the MCIOs to oversee their
closed sexual assault investigations by providing a program of regular
and recurring oversight in order to monitor and evaluate investigative
quality and conformance with policy guidance.
In response to Secretary Hagel's August 2013 request to ensure
investigative quality, the OIG DOD will evaluate the adequacy of
``closed sexual assault investigations on a recurring basis.'' As such,
the OIG DOD recently announced the second recurring review of MCIO
sexual assault investigations with adult victims. The case reviews
began in April 2014 and the project will consider a statistically valid
sample of over 500 investigations closed in 2013, for cases opened
since January 1, 2012. The objective of this project is to determine
whether MCIOs completed each investigation as required by guiding DOD,
Military Service, and MCIO policies and procedures.
It is the responsibility of the OIG DOD to issue criminal
investigative oversight policy. As such, in January 2013, the OIG DOD
published DOD Instruction 5505.18, ``Investigation of Adult Sexual
Assault in the Department of Defense,'' which establishes policy,
assigns responsibilities, and provides procedures for the investigation
of adult sexual assault within the DOD. This policy made the MCIOs
solely responsible for thoroughly investigating all sexual assault
allegations of which they become aware, irrespective of severity or
credibility. It also established minimum training requirements for all
MCIO personnel engaged in the conduct of sexual assault investigations.
In February 2014, the OIG DOD published a Directive-Type Memorandum
setting forth department-level policy for the establishment of the
investigative portion of the Special Victim Capability (SVC) required
in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013, which mandates a distinct,
recognizable group of appropriately trained investigators to
investigate allegations of all designated SVC covered offenses. SVC
covered offenses include: allegations of adult sexual assault offenses,
domestic violence involving sexual assault and/or aggravated assault
with grievous bodily harm, and child abuse involving sexual assault
and/or grievous bodily harm.
19. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, the evaluation also found
that there were differences between the MCIOs' policies and gaps in all
of their work. What is DOD doing to ensure that the MCIOs use best
practices in investigating cases of sexual assault?
Ms. Wright. The OIG DOD is conducting a comprehensive review of
current MCIO sexual assault investigation policies, including their
alignment with DOD and Service requirements relative to sexual assault
investigations. The evaluation compares the MCIOs' policies against:
(1) DOD and Military Service level guidance,
(2) each set of MCIO policies to identify gaps between them and to
identify MCIO best practices not yet shared,
(3) industry best practices, and
(4) the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
(CIGIE) Quality Standards for Investigation (QSI).
While CIGIE QSI and law enforcement best practices are not mandated
by DOD, OIG DOD's research identified some of them as useful for
consideration in DOD's sexual assault investigations. The OIG DOD is
also evaluating whether the MCIOs' sexual assault investigation
policies include procedures equivalent to the relevant CIGIE QSIs and
law enforcement industry sexual assault investigative best practices.
The results of this review will not only inform the MCIOs, but be used
by OIG DOD to assess the need for additional DOD level, overarching
sexual assault investigative policy.
20. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, I understand that there
is good research being done on how to identify predators. Is DOD
looking at ways to identify predators before they enter the military?
Ms. Wright. DOD has been consulting with researchers on this topic
for a number of years. Research in the civilian sector has consistently
shown that there is no psychological test or psychometrically sound
screening tool that reliably and accurately differentiates individuals
who have committed sexual crimes from those that have never committed
sexual crimes. In addition, there is no scientifically sound research
that can predict to a quantifiable degree of certainty whether someone
will commit a sexual crime, if there is no prior, documented sex crime
conviction. Prototype screening instruments developed in the civilian
sector demonstrate unacceptably high rates of false positives
(identifying people as potential offenders when they're not) and false
negatives (identifying people as non-offenders when they actually are).
Nevertheless, given the data we've collected since the inception of the
Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Program, we will continue
to investigate whether military sexual offenders have behavioral and/or
history factors that might be used to improve screening efforts.
21. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, I understand that you are
working on a congressionally-mandated report on a comprehensive
approach to dealing with sexual harassment that was due earlier this
year, but it is part of a broader program of implementing equal
opportunity efforts that is not yet complete. When can we expect to see
the report?
Ms. Wright. NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 required a plan to collect
data and information from the Military Services on substantiated
incidents of sexual harassment. We submitted the plan in August 2013.
This month, we will submit to Congress the DOD Report on Substantiated
Incidents of Sexual Harassment in the Armed Forces, resulting from the
data collection plan. This initial report will serve as a baseline for
future sexual harassment data and information collection and reporting,
as we continually work toward zero incidents of sexual harassment in
the DOD workplace.
NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 also required a comprehensive policy on
reporting, preventing, and responding to incidents of sexual
harassment. We are coordinating a directive-type memorandum, with
interim sexual harassment policy guidance to the Services and expect it
to be issued in early summer. Meanwhile, our revised DOD Military Equal
Opportunity (MEO) Instruction, which details sexual harassment policy
guidance, has been updated and is in coordination. We expect to publish
the DOD MEO Instruction this year.
22. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, I understand that
currently sexual harassment fits under the Office of Equal Employment
Opportunity and Diversity. Do you think that this is the most effective
place for it?
Ms. Wright. I do think the current alignment under our Office of
Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity (ODMEO) is most effective.
Relevant laws define sexual harassment as a form of sex
discrimination for DOD civilians and military personnel. Therefore DOD
centralizes policy oversight responsibility for sexual harassment in
the same functional area as is housed discrimination based on other
protected categories defined in law and policy.
To move sexual harassment policy oversight to another office that
currently does not have policy oversight for other types of unlawful
discrimination would create management challenges that could detract
from our current prevention efforts. Under such a construct, DOD would
have to maintain at least two separate offices both performing the same
task of policy oversight for programs to prevent unlawful
discrimination.
As we continue to work to eliminate sexual harassment in DOD, we
are reviewing the roles, responsibilities, and resources of ODMEO in
its sexual harassment policy oversight function.
23. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, I recently held a hearing
about the links between sexual assault, post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD), and suicide in which it was clear that sexual harassment can
also lead to PTSD and other mental health injuries. At the same time, I
understand that predators often start with harassing behavior before
attempting assaults. How can we address it properly if it is not seen
as part and parcel of our approach to addressing sexual assault? Where
and how should we draw the lines?
Ms. Wright. DOD believes that we cannot effectively address sexual
assault without considering the impacts of harassing behaviors and
other risk factors defined by DOD as the continuum of harm. The newly
revised 2014-2016 DOD Sexual Assault Prevention Strategy defines and
explains the relationship between harassing behaviors and sexual
assaults.
Currently, the DOD organizational framework and the Military
Services, with the exception of the Army, handle sexual assault and
sexual harassment under separate programs. However, every Service
acknowledges the continuum of harm in their prevention training and has
taken steps to eliminate the environments that support these
inappropriate behaviors.
Leaders are responsible for creating climates of mutual respect and
diginity. To help leaders better understand the factors at play within
their units, DOD updated the SAPR questions on the DEOMI Equal
Opportunity Climate Survey to assist commanders in identifying damaging
attitudes and behaviors within their units. Conducting a climate
assessment enhances a leader's knowledge about the specific needs of
his or her unit or organization. Commanders must then use this unit-
specific information to develop their approach to eliminate sexual
violence from their ranks. To this end, leaders must employ targeted
interventions, standards, and messaging to address issues unique to
their unit climate.
The 2013 DOD SAPR Strategic Plan tasks the Sexual Assault
Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO), in conjunction with DEOMI, with
``assessing the extent to which the continuum of harm is or should be
addressed in SAPR policy.'' Also, the 2014-2016 DOD Sexual Assault
Prevention Strategy tasks SAPRO to evaluate prevention focus on the
continuum of harm. This recognizes the connection between preventing
sexual assault in terms of the continuum of harm such as sexist jokes,
bullying, sexual harassment, hazing, excessive drinking, and stalking.
The assessment will provide additional insight on DOD's approach to
preventing sexual assaults.
24. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Woodson, two survivors of
military sexual assault recently testified that they were diagnosed
with PTSD as a result of their military sexual trauma, and that their
medical treatment involved overmedication. We have also heard from many
of our wounded warriors that they were overmedicated as part of their
medical treatment. Do you believe that military doctors overuse
medication in the treatment of PTSD, other mental health conditions,
and for pain management?
Dr. Woodson. There is little evidence to suggest that
overmedication of the population of servicemembers is an ongoing
problem. Our most recent analysis, in February 2014, of medications
used for PTSD and other mental health conditions was very reassuring.
The analysis suggests that less than 5 percent of servicemembers take
antidepressants, less than 1 percent take anti-anxiety medication, and
less than 0.5 percent take antipsychotic medication.
Further, DOD has multiple programs and risk mitigation strategies
in place to safeguard the therapeutic use of medication in the
treatment of PTSD, other mental health conditions, and for pain
management.
The culmination of more than 10 years of war and advanced medical
practices and medical evacuation has resulted in unprecedented combat
injury survival rates. However, these factors have also contributed to
significant emotional and physical challenges for many combat injured
warfighters. Unfortunately, many of psychological and physical wounds
of war are chronic conditions whose long-term treatment often requires
both complicated pharmacotherapy and other supportive care. Scientific
evidence that has accrued over the past several decades shows that
appropriately selected and timed medications, or combinations of
medications, can limit the severity and duration of mental illness,
while medication to treat chronic physical conditions (e.g. chronic
pain) is essential to the physical and emotional rigors of
rehabilitation.
DOD has undertaken several actions to mitigate the risk of adverse
outcomes related to the prescribing of pharmaceuticals which include:
The DOD Pharmacy Operations Division (POD) uses the
Pharmacy Data Transaction Service (PDTS), an online centralized
prescription data repository that automatically checks new
prescriptions against the patient's computerized medication
history for possible adverse events or therapeutic duplications
before the new drug is dispensed. In addition, prescriptions
filled at retail, mail order, and MTFs are also screened
against theater prescriptions. PDTS provides a single,
comprehensive patient drug profile for DOD beneficiaries and it
permits DOD to monitor and conduct surveillance for drug usage
patterns of concern. PDTS has helped to avoid more than 171,000
potentially life-threatening drug interactions ensuring our
patients receive medication that is safe and medically
indicated.
When a suspicion of patient drug-seeking behavior is a
concern, the Sole Provider Program is available to providers in
all Services. This program requires periodic reviews of all
prescriptions for controlled substances, and seeks to identify
suspicious patterns of drug use. Should patterns of drug use be
validated or remain of concern, the issuance of prescriptions
can be assigned to a single provider.
Prescribing safeguards include guidelines in clinics
that limit the number of pills dispensed to potentially high-
risk patients, warning flags that appear in electronic drug
dispensing menus which require physician attention, and the MTF
prescription restriction program. We have also increased our
reviews of the circumstances of manual overrides of system
warning flags by physicians.
Pharmacists throughout the MHS provide consumers with
a medication information sheet on each new and renewed
prescription. DOD evaluates for drug-drug interactions on every
prescription filled at mail order, a retail pharmacy or MTF,
ensuring our patients receive safe medications. Additionally,
the Provider and Prescription Program is an integrated program
between medical and pharmacy which focuses on utilization
management of narcotics. Pharmacy identifies high utilizers of
narcotics and refers these beneficiaries to their primary care
medical provider or MTF. The medical contractor or MTF reviews
the profiles to determine if the beneficiary has a medical
condition that supports increase use of narcotics and offers
the appropriate case management or pain management options. A
PDTS warning flag was recently added to advise MTF providers
and pharmacies of restricted patients.
The misuse or abuse of prescription drugs is not consistent with
military service and may be indicative of psychiatric conditions that
require treatment. In order to identify personnel engaged in such
activities all servicemembers are subject to random drug testing for
both licit and illicit substances. Presence of drug metabolites in
urine in the absence of a bona fide prescription or other evidence of
therapeutic use (e.g. anesthesia) is grounds for punitive legal action.
These actions involve due process for the servicemember and nearly
always occur while treatment avenues are pursued. Additional measures
are in place to mitigate risks that may be associated with abuse of
prescribed medications:
In November 2010, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff sent a memorandum to the Under Secretary of Defense for
Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)) describing the new drug
threat to military personnel from prescription drug misuse and
abuse. USD(P&R) concurred and moved forward with an initiative
to add prescription drug monitoring to the panel of testable
drugs within the Military Personnel Drug Abuse Testing Program.
Drug testing has been expanded to identify nearly all
prescription opiates and benzodiazepines. This is the single
most important effort DOD has made in demand reduction for
potentially dangerous medications.
In addition to risk mitigation measures associated with
prescription medication, DOD promulgates evidence-based care guidelines
for pain management and mental health care. For example, the DOD-VA
Clinical Practice Guideline, ``Management of Opioid Therapy for Chronic
Pain'' (2010) describes the critical decision points in the management
of opioid therapy for chronic pain and provides clear and comprehensive
evidence-based recommendations incorporating current information and
practices for practitioners throughout the DOD and VA Health Care
systems (http://www.healthquality.va.gov/cot/). As psychotherapy is the
preferred first-line method of providing mental health care, numerous
working groups and Defense Centers of Excellence within DOD have been
advancing provider training and research of proven psychotherapeutic
techniques.
There are several ongoing research studies addressing polypharmacy
in the MHS. The 2013 Joint Forces Pharmacy Seminar (JFPS), Journal of
the American Pharmacists Association, japha.org SEP/OCT 2013
53:5, includes 18 studies that specifically address different aspects
of polypharmacy in the MHS including improving the ability to monitor
polypharmacy. Research findings are actively translated into
recommendations for clinicians, including the use of effective
medication assisted therapies. DOD-VA scientific and clinical working
groups have revised and created Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) for
several psychiatric illnesses, including Major Depressive Disorder,
Substance Use Disorders, and PTSD. The Assistant Secretary of Defense
for Health Affairs (ASD(HA)) has published specific policy guidance
addressing the safe practice of using medications during psychiatric
treatment, provider training recommendations, and specific provider
documentation and patient informed consent when prescribing
psychotropic medication (Clinical Policy Guidance for Assessment and
Treatment of PTSD, published August 2012); and policy guidance
pertaining to the prescription of antipsychotic medication (Guidance
for Providers Prescribing Atypical Antipsychotic Medication, http://
www.health.mil/libraries/HA--Policies--and--Guidelines/12-003.pdf)
25. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Woodson, what has DOD done to
determine whether military doctors are prescribing too many drugs to
treat these conditions?
Dr. Woodson. DOD has undertaken several actions to mitigate the
risk of adverse outcomes related to the prescribing of pharmaceuticals:
The PDTS, an online centralized prescription data
repository that automatically checks new prescriptions against
the patient's computerized medication history for possible
adverse events or therapeutic duplications before the new drug
is dispensed. In addition, prescriptions filled at retail, mail
order, and MTFs are also screened against theater
prescriptions. PDTS provides a single, comprehensive patient
drug profile for DOD beneficiaries and it permits DOD to
monitor and conduct surveillance for drug usage patterns of
concern. PDTS has helped to avoid more than 171,000 potentially
life-threatening drug interactions ensuring our patients
receive medication that is safe and medically indicated.
When a suspicion of patient drug-seeking behavior is a
concern, the Sole Provider Program is available to providers in
all Services. This program requires periodic reviews of all
prescriptions for controlled substances, and seeks to identify
suspicious patterns of drug use. Should patterns of drug use be
validated or remain of concern, the issuance of prescriptions
can be assigned to a single provider.
Prescribing safeguards include guidelines in clinics
that limit the number of pills dispensed to potentially high-
risk patients, warning flags that appear in electronic drug
dispensing menus which require physician attention, and the MTF
prescription restriction program. We have also increased our
reviews of the circumstances of manual overrides of system
warning flags by physicians.
Pharmacists throughout the MHS provide consumers with
a medication information sheet on each new and renewed
prescription. DOD evaluates for drug-drug interactions on every
prescription filled at mail order, a retail pharmacy or MTF,
ensuring our patients receive safe medications. Additionally,
the Provider and Prescription Program is an integrated program
between medical and pharmacy which focuses on utilization
management of narcotics. Pharmacy identifies high utilizers of
narcotics and refers these beneficiaries to their primary care
medical provider or MTF. The medical contractor or MTF reviews
the profiles to determine if the beneficiary has a medical
condition that supports increased use of narcotics and offers
the appropriate case management or pain management options. A
PDTS warning flag was recently added to advise MTF providers
and pharmacies of restricted patients.
Peer review, part of our credentials verification and
privileging process for individual providers in the MHS direct
care system contains safeguards to ensure that individual
prescribing practices meet the standard of care for safe and
effective medical care the routine clinical quality monitoring
performed by a peer in the same profession and clinical area of
expertise as the provider under review.
26. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, in December, the
President instructed the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs ``to continue their efforts to make substantial
improvements with respect to SAPR, including to the military justice
system'' and to ``report back to [him] with a full-scale review of
their progress by December 1, 2014.'' The President said that he would
consider additional reforms if he didn't see sufficient progress. Have
you been involved in developing plans to comply with the President's
direction?
Ms. Wright. Yes, I have been involved in the planning, and my SAPRO
has been working with representatives from the Army, Air Force, Marine
Corps, Navy, and National Guard to draft a report in accordance with
the President's request. This report will focus on key initiatives on
SAPR from December 2011 to September 2014, and will illustrate DOD's
comprehensive approach to strategy, policy, and programmatic
enhancements. Specifically, the report will contain quantitative and
qualitative measures on both prevention and response efforts, to
include results from surveys on command climate, workplace and gender
relations, and survivor experience, as well as feedback from Service
and National Guard focus groups across rank and gender at CONUS
installations. This report is scheduled for delivery to the President
by December 2014 and will offer examples of best practices, provide a
review of the military justice system, and identify if other reforms
are necessary.
27. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, how does DOD propose to
measure progress and evaluate success in preventing and responding to
sexual assault in the military?
Ms. Wright. The aim of DOD is to reduce, with the ultimate goal to
eliminate, the crime of sexual assault from the Armed Forces. DOD is
committed to preventing sexual assault in the military, and, if these
crimes do occur, to providing victims the care and support they need to
seek justice and heal from these traumatic events. Our biggest
challenge in eliminating sexual assault from the Armed Forces is the
underreporting of the crime. This affects our ability to provide care
to the victim, as well as hinders our ability to prosecute the
offender.
DOD's objective is to establish the conditions within the military
which lower sexual assault prevalence and increase reporting. DOD's
goal is to reduce sexual assault prevalence while increasing the
percentage of victims who report. DOD SAPRO identified two key
overarching measures of effectiveness to assess the success of the SAPR
program:
Reduction in sexual assault prevalence as estimated in
DOD-wide surveys (Defense Manpower Data Center Workplace and
Gender Relations Surveys).
Closing the gap between prevalence estimates and
servicemember victims who report sexual assaults to
authorities.
DOD developed an initial set of metrics to assess the effectiveness
of our programs in prevention, investigation, accountability, and
victim assistance. The metrics include analysis of data trends and data
snapshots. We will continue to refine and develop additional metrics in
the future and report them transparently.
Trends
Metric 1--Reports of Sexual Assault
Metric 2--Military Victim Reports Per 1,000
Servicemembers
Metric 3--Percentage of Sexual Assault Reports for
Incidents Occurring Prior To Service
Metric 4--Voluntary Conversions from Restricted to
Unrestricted Reports
Snapshots
Metric 5--Investigation Length
Metric 6--Full Time SAPR Personnel Certification
Fiscal year 2013 data shows a 50 percent increase in victim reports
of sexual assault when compared to fiscal year 2012. Historically,
reports of sexual assault have increased about 5 percent per year since
2006. We assess this unprecedented increase in reports as consistent
with a growing level of confidence in our response system. This is
supported by an additional metric--there are growing numbers of reports
made by victims about incidents that took place prior to joining the
military. These metrics provide indications that the wide range of SAPR
initiatives are having a positive impact throughout the force, as more
victims are reporting and accessing SAPR support.
28. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Woodson, in January 2013, GAO
issued a report in which they found that ``military health care
providers do not have a consistent understanding of their
responsibilities in caring for sexual assault victims who make
restricted reports of sexual assault. These inconsistencies can put
DOD's restricted reporting option at risk, undermine DOD's efforts to
address sexual assault issues, and erode servicemembers' confidence. As
a consequence, sexual assault victims who want to keep their case
confidential may be reluctant to seek medical care.'' What is DOD doing
to ensure that health care providers understand their responsibilities
to protect the confidentiality of victims who file a restricted report
of sexual assault?
Dr. Woodson. DOD released, DODI 6495.02 ``SAPR Program Procedures''
on March 28, 2013. Enclosures 7, 8 and 10 outline a comprehensive,
standardized policy for compassionate medical response to survivors of
sexual assault, including a requirement that healthcare personnel
receive appropriate training. This policy includes guidance for both
restricted and unrestricted reporting and treating all sexual assault
victims as priority emergencies.
The ASD(HA) issued a memorandum to the Services on April 15, 2013,
to notify the Services about the publication of the revised DOD
Instruction. The memorandum noted the enhancements to guidelines for
provision of health care support for survivors of sexual assault,
including the restricted reporting process. The memorandum noted the
standards for health care and training requirements for health care
personnel who manage both acute and long-term care needs for victims of
sexual assault and for providers who would conduct sexual assault
forensic examinations (SAFEs). In that memorandum, the ASD(HA) also
requested submission of an annual report to include information on the
capability of each MTF to provide SAFEs, and information on agreements
with local civilian providers in cases where there was not SAFE
availability within the MTF. Finally, the ASD(HA) requested that the
Services submit written plans with target dates for implementation to
meet the requirements of the revised DOD Instruction.
DOD received and reviewed the responses from the Services and
determined that Service implementation plans already meet the
requirements of the DODI and also include enhancements to their
training programs for Service certification to perform SAFEs. The
Services report that their training assures that all health care
personnel are aware of restricted reporting requirements. These
training programs also include Service-specific criteria for
certification to perform SAFEs that are consistent with the guidelines
set forth in the U.S. Department of Justice-National Protocol for
Sexual Assault Medical Examinations for Adults and Adolescents. The
Services noted that they are enhancing their training programs to
include a wider variety of experiences in both care of the victim and
courtroom testimony. This includes live examination experiences with
standardized patients or volunteers and observation of mock trials.
In an effort to provide the highest quality of care, the Services
are continuously evaluating and updating training in this area. Each
Service has either already updated its operational polices or will
complete their current updates by the end of fiscal year 2014.
We are monitoring completion of Service program implementation and
issued an additional memorandum on March 27, 2014, that outlines all
elements of the oversight plan and sets dates for submission of
reports. This plan requires an annual update of SAFE provider coverage,
training enhancements, and policy and procedure changes. Additionally,
we monitor program performance on an ongoing basis throughout the year
at the SAPR Integrated Program Team and the Health Affairs Women's
Health Issues Working Group meetings, both of which address health care
related to the response to sexual assault.
combat integration
29. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, the Services are in the
process of integrating women into ground combat roles in compliance
with the 2013 DOD directive that opens all combat roles to women by
January 1, 2016. This directive requires the Services to ensure that
all physical standards are gender neutral. What are you doing in your
role to ensure the Services are complying with this directive?
Ms. Wright. Prior to providing Congress with notification of DOD's
intent to open positions to women in previously closed occupations and
units, I thoroughly review the documentation submitted by the Services,
and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) where applicable, with
particular focus towards compliance with Public Law 103-160, section
543, which requires that qualification for, and continuance in,
occupational career fields be evaluated on the basis of common,
relevant performance standards and not on the basis of gender.
The Services' and SOCOM's current efforts to review and validate
their occupational standards are built upon science and experience to
ensure we continue to maintain our high standards and preserve the
quality of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF). Gender neutral application of
occupational standards will enable us to select those best-qualified
and may reduce non-combat-related injuries for both men and women.
I am also staying apprised of the numerous ongoing studies of
doctrine, organization, training, material, logistics, personnel, and
facilities being led by the Services and SOCOM. In March 2014, members
of my staff went to Fort Stewart, GA, to observe the Army's physical
demands study for infantry and armor.
Lastly, DOD has contracted with RAND to: (1) identify best-practice
methods for development of physical standards; (2) assist me in
reviewing the various methods the Services are using to validate their
occupational standards; and (3) recommend adjustments that reflect
those best-practice methods consistent with the Secretary's guidance.
I will continue to stay engaged as the Services and SOCOM progress
toward identified decision points when they will make final
recommendations to open occupations and positions or request an
exception to policy to keep a position or occupation closed. I will
review any requests for exception prior to it being forwarded to the
Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for
approval.
30. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, in particular, what are
you doing to ensure that the Services are, in fact, producing gender
neutral physical standards?
Ms. Wright. Prior to providing Congress with notification of DOD's
intent to open positions to women in previously closed occupations and
units, I thoroughly review the documentation submitted by the Services,
and SOCOM, where applicable, with particular focus towards compliance
with Public Law 103-160, section 543, which requires that qualification
for and continuance in occupational career fields is evaluated on the
basis of a common, relevant performance standard and not on the basis
of gender.
The Services' and SOCOM's current efforts to review and validate
their occupational standards are built upon science and experience to
ensure we continue to maintain our high standards and preserve the
quality of the AVF. Gender neutral application of occupational
standards will enable us to select those best-qualified and may reduce
non-combat-related injuries for both men and women.
I am also staying apprised of the numerous ongoing studies of
doctrine, organization, training, material, logistics, personnel, and
facilities being led by the Services and SOCOM. In March 2014, members
of my staff were present at Fort Stewart, GA, to observe the Army's
physical demands study for infantry and armor.
Lastly, DOD has contracted with RAND to: (1) identify best-practice
methods for development of physical standards; (2) assist me in
reviewing the various methods the services are using to validate their
occupational standards; and (3) recommend adjustments that reflect
those best-practice methods consistent with the Secretary's guidance.
31. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, is DOD consulting with
outside experts, including those in gender studies and sports
physiology?
Ms. Wright. Yes, each Service and SOCOM are working with various
scientific and research agencies, both inside and external to DOD, to
review and validate occupational standards to ensure they are current,
operationally valid, and are applied on a gender-neutral basis.
Additionally, each Service and SOCOM are conducting thorough
studies and analyses of doctrine, organization, training, material,
logistics, and facilities to ensure deliberate and responsible
implementation. All study results will be used to inform final
recommendations to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the
Secretary of Defense.
32. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, according to a recent
article in the Marine Corps Times, the Marine Corps is prepared to seek
exceptions to the DOD directive. Is it DOD's goal to achieve 100
percent integration of women?
Ms. Wright. DOD's goal is to eliminate all remaining gender-based
barriers to service and to allow servicemembers to serve in any
capacity based on their ability and qualifications. It continues to be
essential to mission effectiveness that every person is fully qualified
to perform their occupation. Further, we owe it to all servicemembers
to put them in positions where they have the highest probability of
success. DOD is committed to removing all barriers that would prevent
service men and women from rising to their highest potential, based on
ability and not constrained by gender-restrictive policies.
To that end, we are proceeding in a measured, deliberate, and
responsible manner to open positions and occupations to women when and
how it makes sense, while preserving unit readiness, cohesion, and the
quality of the AVF.
33. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, what reason would there
be to prevent the most-qualified applicant from competing for a
position regardless of gender?
Ms. Wright. Any eventual recommendation to keep an occupational
specialty or unit closed to women must be personally approved by both
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense.
Exceptions must be narrowly tailored, and based on a rigorous analysis
of factual data regarding the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed
for the position. That being said, DOD is proceeding in a measured,
deliberate, and responsible manner to implement changes that enable
servicemembers to serve in any capacity based on their ability and
qualifications, regardless of gender.
cyber
34. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, the National Commission
on the Structure of the Air Force recently released their findings,
which highlighted the importance of the National Guard and Reserve in
the U.S. cyber mission. Specifically, it noted that the Guard and
Reserve were uniquely positioned, because of their part-time status, to
attract and retain the best and the brightest in the cyber field.
Additionally, the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2014 directed DOD to look at the
integration of the Guard in all its statuses into the cyber workforce.
I have long agreed with this assessment, and introduced the Cyber
Warrior Act which would establish National Guard cyber teams in each
State to leverage this talent pool. What are your visions for the roles
of both the Guard and Reserve in U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) and
within the distinct Service cyber elements?
Ms. Wright. I envision the Guard and Reserve will play a vital role
in DOD's cyber mission by working through Military Services which can
leverage the civilian skill sets of the Guard and Reserve. Moreover,
the dual mission of the Guard and the complementary nature of
reservists help address specific needs, fill gaps, and provide a surge
capability within the Active component.
The Guard and Reserve Force structure is determined by the needs of
the Nation and is organized the same way as the Active-Duty Force
structure. As DOD refines its cybersecurity requirements, develops the
appropriate force structure, and addresses legal and functional issues
concerning the use of the Guard and Reserve components for national
cyber missions, it is clear that the Guard and Reserve will have a role
to play. We continue to work closely with CYBERCOM and the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) as we determine how best to employ the
Reserve component for this critical issue.
35. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, I want to be helpful to
DOD in recruiting the best talent and acquiring the best tools for our
cyber mission. In your opinion, what can Congress do to assist DOD in
this effort?
Ms. Wright. At this time, DOD has a good array of tools for
recruiting the best talent for our cyber mission.
For civilian hires, DOD has available Schedule A hiring authority
to recruit cyber talent. This affords leaders the opportunity to select
qualified candidates without the extended recruitment period associated
with traditional hiring authorities. The Office of Personnel Management
(OPM) has extended DOD's Schedule A hiring authorities for CYBERCOM
until December 31, 2014. Additionally, commanders and hiring officials
can use traditional competitive hiring methods to announce positions on
the OPM-hosted USAJOBS web site.
For military accessions, section 533 of title 10, U.S. Code, was
modified to allow the Military Services to award consecutive service
credit to a person with cyberspace-related experienced or advanced
education for purposes of determining the individual's grade upon
initial appointment as an officer. This authority has been a helpful
recruiting tool when applied to other career fields and, similarly,
will help to increase the inventory of officers with special experience
and training in cyberspace-related fields.
36. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, what do you believe DOD
needs in order to remain on the cutting edge of cyber defense?
Ms. Wright. As DOD continues to build and provide trained and ready
cyber teams, we will leverage expertise from the private sector, the
Reserve component (Guard and Reserve), academia, other Federal agencies
such as DHS, and our allies. This includes any additional authorities
that may be necessary to achieve this objective. Some of my colleagues
are working with you on this task.
For military accessions, section 533 of title 10, U.S. Code, was
recently modified (January 2014) to award commensurate service credit
to a person with cyberspace-related experience or advanced education
for purpose of determining the individual's grade upon appointment as
an officer. This authority has been a helpful recruiting tool when
applied to other career fields, similarly, will help to increase the
inventory of officers with special experience or training in
cyberspace-related fields.
37. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, I've also heard about
DOD's needs in terms of its civilian cyber workforce. What mechanisms
are currently in place for civilian recruitment and retention?
Ms. Wright. DOD has Schedule A Direct Hiring Authority available to
recruit cyber talent. This affords the opportunity for leadership to
select qualified candidates without the extended recruitment period
associated with hiring authorities. OPM has extended DOD's hiring
authority for CYBERCOM until December 31, 2014. Additionally,
commanders and hiring officials can use traditional competitive hiring
methods of announcing positions on the OPM-hosted USAJOBS web site.
38. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, have you considered ways
to leverage the talent pool of servicemembers who are retiring or
leaving the military to encourage them to work as DOD civilian cyber
experts?
Ms. Wright. Yes, we have considered ways to leverage this talent
pool. DOD hires veterans under the 30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans
Program, Veterans Recruitment Appointment, and the Veterans Employment
Opportunities Act of 1998. Veterans make up approximately 48 percent of
the overall on-board DOD appropriated fund civilian workforce, and
veterans made up 53 percent of new DOD hires in the first quarter of
fiscal year 2014.
39. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, do you have plans in
place to compete with the private sector for this talent pool?
Ms. Wright. Yes, we have plans in place. Service component
personnel offices are using the authority to employ various methods and
resources that are approved by OPM to recruit talent from the private
sector by incentivizing employment with DOD. Incentives include hiring
bonuses, superior qualifications, special salary pay, leave accrual,
specialized training, the possibility of foreign overseas duty, and the
job satisfaction derived from participation in operational missions.
40. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, what additional
authorities do you need in order to maintain a high-quality civilian
cyber force?
Ms. Wright. We believe that we have sufficient authorities to
maintain a high-quality civilian cyber force. However, we appreciate
the continued support of Congress and of OPM in permitting DOD to use
the various direct/expedited hiring authorities and incentives that are
necessary for DOD to be recognized as an employer of choice.
41. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, I understand that DOD is
preparing a Cyber Workforce Strategy under the direction of the Chief
Information Officer. However, cyber security is not just an information
technology problem. In today's work, everything from our thermostats to
our water and electric supply is networked. The industrial control
systems that engineers use to monitor and maintain DOD's assets are
also at risk of cyber attack. Could you please update me on the status
of the Cyber Workforce Strategy?
Ms. Wright. DOD released its Cyberspace Workforce Strategy on May
1, 2014. This document reflects key collaboration among the Offices of
the Under Secretaries of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Policy,
and Intelligence, the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Strategic
Command/CYBERCOM, and the Military Services, to include their
associated Reserve components.
42. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, what workforce elements
does this strategy encompass?
Ms. Wright. The strategy addresses the broad spectrum of the
cyberspace workforce. The cyberspace workforce is comprised of
personnel who acquire, build, secure, operate, defend, and protect DOD
cyberspace resources, along with those that conduct related
intelligence activities, and project power in or through cyberspace.
43. Senator Gillibrand. Secretary Wright, are industrial control
system engineers included in this strategy?
Ms. Wright. Yes, the strategy applies to this functional category.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Kay R. Hagan
science, technology, engineering and mathematics civilian personnel
44. Senator Hagan. Secretary Vollrath, in Section 1107 of the NDAA
for Fiscal Year 2014, this committee provided DOD laboratory directors
with a set of personnel management flexibilities that we expect will
allow them to be more competitive in competing with the private sector,
national laboratories, and universities for the highest quality and
most innovative and productive scientists and engineers. What is the
status of the implementation of these authorities and the delegation of
the flexibilities to the laboratory directors? Please provide the
committee with a timeline for the delegation of these flexibilities to
the laboratory directors, as was the intent of the statute.
Mr. Vollrath. Section 1107 of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2014
authorized Scientific and Technical Reinvention Laboratory (STRL)
directors to appoint both qualified candidates possessing a bachelor's
degree and qualified veteran candidates, to covered positions as
defined in section 1107, and established senior scientific technical
manager positions classified above GS-15 of the General Schedule in
each STRL. A Federal Register Notice (FRN) to implement these
authorities is in final coordination. The estimated publication date is
early summer 2014. Once published, STRL directors will be able to
execute these flexibilities.
workforce quality and diversity
45. Senator Hagan. Secretary Vollrath, what new initiatives are you
developing to enhance the quality and diversity of the DOD science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce?
Mr. Vollrath. Enhancing the quality and diversity of DOD's STEM
workforce is important to DOD and aligns with the administration's
Federal 5-Year STEM Education Strategic Plan. (http://
www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/stem--
stratplan--2013.pdf).
To develop and promote a highly competent and diverse STEM
workforce, DOD manages multiple programs offering internship
opportunities from high school through graduate school and beyond.
These programs provide students with meaningful education, training,
and career development opportunities, with particular emphasis on
developing potential candidates for STEM positions in many different
fields. Programs include, but are not limited to, the Science,
Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) scholarship
program, DOD Centralized Apprenticeship Program (DCAP), Student
Training and Academic Recruitment (STAR) Program, and the Pathways
Programs.
The DOD Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory Demonstration
projects are currently using numerous human resources flexibilities to
attract, recruit, and retain a highly-skilled and diverse workforce by
providing competitive salary offers through the use of pay banding, and
rewarding high performers through contribution-based and pay-for-
performance programs. Laboratory demonstration projects have access to
Federal Government hiring processes, and are experimenting with
numerous flexibilities to attract, hire, and retain scientists and
engineers. These flexibilities include Expedited Hiring Authority,
Direct Hire Authority, and the use of interns.
Additionally, as an overarching framework to ensure workforce
quality and diversity, DOD has implemented a comprehensive and
strategic Diversity and Inclusion Plan to encourage and integrate
diversity and inclusion in our enterprise-level human resources
strategies. We have identified specific actions to establish/expand
strategic relationships with key stakeholders, including those focused
on STEM initiatives. Additionally, the laboratories have entered into
partnerships with numerous minority serving institutions of higher
education in a proactive effort to enhance the candidate pool with
applicants from diverse backgrounds.
46. Senator Hagan. Secretary Vollrath, are there specific actions
the committee can take to support you in these efforts?
Mr. Vollrath. We would appreciate your continued support for human
resource flexibilities, such as the direct hiring authorities
authorized in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2014, that enable the Department
to attract, recruit, and retain a highly qualified STEM workforce.
education programs
47. Senator Hagan. Secretary Vollrath, what specific initiatives
have you undertaken to improve the access of our military children in
public schools and DOD-run schools to innovative STEM education
opportunities and high quality programs?
Mr. Vollrath. The Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA)
is implementing a four-pronged strategy to improve access to STEM
education opportunities in DOD-run schools: (1) DODEA is increasing
opportunities for students to take rigorous science and mathematics
courses as part of regular coursework, and in programs that extend
beyond the traditional school day or year; (2) DODEA is developing
sustainable partnerships that engage STEM professionals employed in
school-based and afterschool activities to leverage their expertise;
(3) DODEA is investing in teachers through rigorous sustainable
professional development in STEM education and application of 21st
century teaching methods; and (4) DODEA is providing resources to
military-connected public schools through a competitive grant program
designed to support STEM educational opportunities.
48. Senator Hagan. Secretary Vollrath, what new initiatives or
expanded efforts are being proposed with this budget request for the
committee to consider?
Mr. Vollrath. The DODEA recognizes that a quality STEM education is
based on standards that are rich in content and practice and teacher
preparation and development. To move in this direction and expand our
efforts in STEM, DODEA has adopted the Common Core State Standards for
mathematics (CCSSM) and plans to adopt Next Generation Science
Standards (NGSS). However, implementation of the CCSSM and NGSS will
require major shifts in instructional practices. The required changes
may challenge many teachers due to limited STEM content knowledge,
pedagogical experiences, and/or confidence in conducting hands-on
projects.
To meet this challenge, DODEA is funding a summer STEM professional
development program with the U.S. Naval Academy. Starting this summer,
80 DODEA teachers will be offered the following courses to enhance
their competence in teaching STEM: Basics of Engineering Design; Basics
of Automation; Discrete Mathematics; World of Engineering; World of
Chemistry; World of Earth Science; and World of Life Science.
49. Senator Hagan. Secretary Vollrath, what can this committee do
to support efforts to improve the quality of STEM education being
provided to military children?
Mr. Vollrath. DOD operations and national security depend on having
a diverse STEM-literate talent pool. With that in mind, DOD recognizes
that competency in science and mathematics, including awareness of
engineering careers, gained in grades K-12, forms the foundation of an
educated, capable, and technical future workforce. Congressional focus
has enabled DOD's efforts and progress to date.
With the support of Congress, DOD will endeavor to:
Prioritize the staffing and funding of DOD STEM
initiatives.
Expand the capacity and diversity of the STEM
workforce by promoting the inclusion of underrepresented
minorities and women in STEM fields as well as STEM educator
professions.
Emphasize partnerships between DOD STEM professionals
and the DODEA.
Create opportunities for classroom teachers to work
directly with STEM professionals through internships and
participation in field experiences and STEM-related research.
Utilize STEM professionals to aid in the development
of curricular resources to support STEM.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Richard Blumenthal
department of defense and department of veterans affairs collaboration
50. Senator Blumenthal. Secretary Wright and Secretary Woodson,
although there seems to be some agreement on what a shared or
interoperable electronic medical record should look like, there still
is not one in practice. I understand that one of the challenges to
achieving that goal is the inability of the VA to access the Service
Treatment Record (STR) in a timely manner. What actions are being taken
to improve the disability evaluation timeline?
Ms. Wright and Dr. Woodson. As of January 1, 2014, DOD successfully
implemented the capability to digitize and electronically archive
complete certified STRs in standard formats and to make those STRs
electronically available to approved STR consumers, such as the
Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), upon a servicemember's
separation or discharge.
The DOD STR, which captures a static record of a servicemember's
medical history from his or her period of military service, is
instrumental in providing the healthcare evidence the VBA requires to
establish a Service connection for a disability claim. Today, when a
VBA claims adjudicator initiates a disability benefits claim on behalf
of a newly separated servicemember within VA's automated claims
processing system--the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS)--an
automated request is sent through a secure interface to the DOD's
Health Artifact and Image Management Solution (HAIMS) to query and
electronically retrieve the required STR from the HAIMS repository. DOD
intends to submit a report to Congress on the interoperability
capability established as required by section 713(j) of the NDAA for
Fiscal Year 2014 (P.L. 113-66).
DOD is taking a number of actions to improve timeliness. First, DOD
is maintaining an increased Integrated Disability Evaluation System
(IDES) staff presence (127 percent increase since 2010) to ensure that
sufficient administrative case managers (Physical Evaluation Board
Liaison Officers) are available to manage case load. Additionally, each
Military Department is augmenting personnel required to conduct Medical
and Physical Evaluation Boards. The Army has 21 Reserve component
servicemembers working with the VA Disability Rating Activity Site in
Seattle to assist in the development of IDES case files, which helps VA
reduce the inventory of soldiers awaiting a proposed disability rating.
DOD regularly provides VA with servicemember separation documents to
help expedite the determination of final disability ratings (over
13,000 since May 2013). Finally, DOD is in the process of implementing
a Quality Assurance Plan, that will ensure accuracy and consistency,
therefore reducing the amount of redundant work on case adjudication
and improving timeliness.
These efforts are reducing the benefits gap between military
service pay and disability compensation from 240 to 51 days, and
improving DOD-specific process timeliness to 97 days against a 105-day
goal. Furthermore, in our most recent survey, 83 percent of
servicemembers indicated they were satisfied with the IDES process.
51. Senator Blumenthal. Secretary Wright and Secretary Woodson,
does the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
create unintended challenges to information being passed and reviewed
by the VA to facilitate claims?
Ms. Wright and Dr. Woodson. HIPAA provides for DOD to release to VA
information on separating servicemembers for purposes of benefits
determination. However, it also restricts the ability of a covered
entity, such as the MHS, to release information to a non-covered
entity, such as VBA, to only the minimum necessary to perform the
function, and to disallow access to information of any other non-
separating person whose information is also in the database.
It is also well understood at DOD that direct access to the
pertinent databases, such as for example AHLTA, vastly improve the
response time for VBA to make the necessary benefits determinations.
Under HIPAA, we are not permitted to merely allow VBA unrestricted,
direct access to the databases, because of the opportunity for
accessing information of others who are not separating.
The Defense Health Agency Privacy and Civil Liberties Office has
been informed that the Joint Legacy Viewer (JLV) will be configured to
permit the VBA to only access names entered onto a Master File Index,
and these names are the appropriate individuals for the benefits
determination process. Therefore, although this has been a challenge
for HIPAA compliance and data sharing between DOD and VBA, we believe
that a solution is possible.
52. Senator Blumenthal. Secretary Wright and Secretary Woodson, I
understand that DOD is continuing to partner with the VA to improve
near-term interoperability. The Janus JLV has been deployed at seven
different locations around the Nation in order to ascertain
compatibility between the two systems. How can we get such a system in
operation in Connecticut in order to expedite the processing of claims
for our deserving veterans?
Ms. Wright and Dr. Woodson. In 2013, DOD and VA deployed Janus JLV
to a limited number of users at seven sites, which includes the five VA
Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers and two DOD MTFs. They later expanded
use of JLV at two sites in Anchorage, Alaska: Joint Base Elmendorf-
Richardson Hospital and the Alaska VA Health Care System.
There are plans to expand JLV to 3,500 users by the end of this
year. The approximate 1,000 JLV accounts in DOD will allow DOD
clinicians to be able to view DOD and VA health care data to enhance
health care delivery.
VA will need to determine the split of the approximately 2,500 JLV
users between the VBA and Veterans Health Administration, and which
specific individuals at certain sites will be granted access to JLV.
workforce requirements and shortfalls
53. Senator Blumenthal. Secretary Wright and Secretary Vollrath, in
light of the fiscal year 2015 budget proposal, we will likely see cuts
in the size of our military. As we undertake various efforts to
downsize, DOD will be returning thousands of capable veterans to the
civilian workforce. While transition-assistance programs are provided
by each Service and made available to military personnel awaiting
discharge, I understand that these programs focus on general workforce
skills such as resume-writing, professional dress, and interview
processes. Upon discharge, military servicemen and women tend to either
stay in place or return to their original home of record. However, in
today's more mobile economy, it may make better sense for the veteran
to consider a different location--an industrial cluster more
accommodating to the years of experience they have gained from their
years in service. For instance, a helicopter mechanic with 8 years of
experience working aboard an Army base who is seeking to leave Active
Duty might be especially suited for work at Sikorsky. What mechanisms
are in place to direct or target specific occupational specialties
(such as avionics or intelligence) to existing industrial clusters?
Ms. Wright and Mr. Vollrath. DOD agrees that it makes better sense
for transitioning servicemembers and veterans to focus as much on
different geographic locations when deciding whether to relocate after
separation or retirement, and more on industrial clusters based on the
years of experience they have gained from their military service. The
Transition Goals, Plans, and Success (GPS) curriculum provides our
veterans and transitioning servicemembers with the skills, resources
and tools to make such an informed career decision.
DOD, in collaboration with the VA, DHS, OPM, and the Departments of
Labor, Education, and the U.S. Small Business Administration,
redesigned the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) to better meet the
needs of today's transitioning servicemembers. The bedrock of the
redesigned TAP requires servicemembers to meet certain Career Readiness
Standards (CRS).
CRS are a set of common and specific activities and associated
deliverables that must be achieved to demonstrate appropriate
preparation by servicemembers to transition effectively and pursue
their personal post-separation goals in higher education, career
technical training, or civilian employment. One element of the
Transition GPS curricula is a process for servicemembers to identify
personal interests and leanings that enable transitioning
servicemembers to make informed career decisions.
This also allows transitioning servicemembers to target specific
occupational specialties (such as avionics, automotive, computer
technician) and search for jobs within those existing industrial
clusters nation-wide, by region, State, or zip code.
During TAP, servicemembers can identify where the jobs they desire
are located geographically, as well as identify which industries or
career fields show future growth, status-quo, or decline. This enables
the transitioning servicemember and his/her family to make an informed
post-military employment decision to remain where they currently are
located, return to their home of record, or choose an entirely
different geographic location based on the most viable and robust
employment opportunities.
This information is reinforced when servicemembers attend the
Department of Labor Employment Workshop (DOLEW). The DOLEW curriculum
instructs participants on conducting Labor Market Information (LMI)
research on Department of Labor's American Job Center (AJC) web site
and Careerinfonet.org. Careerinfonet.org contains online tools for
detailed research on occupational trends such as fastest growing, most
openings, and highest paying. The new DOLEW curriculum is far more
robust and interactive than the previous curriculum. Although
servicemembers may produce a general resume at the conclusion of the
DOLEW, the Department of Labor stresses that all resumes should be
tailored to the specific job announcement.
On April 23, 2014, the First Lady announced the administration's
authoritative site for employers and veterans, ebenefits.va.gov. This
site builds on the President's Veterans Job Bank and creates a resume
bank which will be used by Active-Duty servicemembers, transitioning
servicemembers, veterans (from all eras), and eligible family members
seeking employment opportunities.
54. Senator Blumenthal. Secretary Wright and Secretary Vollrath,
how will DOD coordinate with VA and what will be the priorities as we
continue the expected reductions in end strength?
Ms. Wright and Mr. Vollrath. As part of DOD's ongoing efforts to
ensure a successful transition from military to civilian life for
separating servicemembers, DOD collaborates with VA through a number of
formalized efforts. DOD and VA, in collaboration with our interagency
partners from the Departments of Labor, Education, Homeland Security
(Coast Guard), the U.S. Small Business Administration, and OPM
established a permanent governance structure for the TAP as of October
1, 2013. The structure, Executive Council and Senior Steering Group, is
comprised of senior representatives from each interagency that oversee
the TAP redesign. These agencies provide transition assistance to all
eligible transitioning servicemembers, to include those affected by
force shaping and reductions in end strength. The governance allows for
transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness within the TAP through the
collaboration and commitment of all the Federal agencies. It provides
direct contact with all stakeholders to determine priorities to ensure
we meet the needs of our transitioning servicemembers and future
veterans.
Priorities for fiscal year 2014 include the following:
Monitoring fiscal year 2014 end strength reductions
and ensuring appropriate resources are made available to
installations to provide the redesigned TAP and implement
Transition GPS
Establishing a baseline for servicemembers to meet CRS
Implementation of the Military Life Cycle
Strategic Communications
Additionally, DOD has been assisting VA with its benefits claims
backlog by ensuring medical record information it needs to process
disability claims is provided in a expeditious manner. We will continue
to seek ways to make this information available to VA in an electronic
format, rapidly and accurately.
55. Senator Blumenthal. Secretary Wright and Secretary Vollrath,
how does DOD plan on ensuring that every servicemember received
training, education, and credentials needed to successfully transition
to the civilian workforce?
Ms. Wright and Mr. Vollrath. DOD is working several initiatives
along these lines. The Services are conducting pilot programs in the
occupational areas of: aircraft mechanic, automotive mechanic, health
care support, logistics and supply, truck driver, machinist, and
information technology. These pilots represent the combined efforts of
organizations from across the Federal Government, State governments,
industry, education, and trade associations to credit servicemembers
for skills they earned throughout their military careers. Currently,
3,500 servicemembers from 57 military occupational codes are enrolled
in all pilots.
Also, this year DOD is conducting a more in-depth analysis of
combat arms occupational areas and how the associated skills might
better transfer to civilian workforce requirements. Section 551 of NDAA
for Fiscal Year 2012 allows eligible members of the Armed Forces to
participate in job training and employment skills training within 180
days of separation from military service. Under this authority, several
employers are establishing job skills training programs at military
instillations.
We are also launching a Twitter-based application called ``DOD
Skillbridge.'' This application will be used by the private sector to
announce job skills training opportunities for separating
servicemembers on their personal mobile devices and will allow our
troops to make their preferences known to industry and search
previously announced with regard to job opportunities.
Finally, section 542 of NDAA for Fiscal Year 2014 requires the
Services to make available information about credentialing and the
cross-walk of Military Occupational Codes (MOC) to civilian skills to
members of the Armed Forces at every stage of training. The Services
are currently working to implement these requirements.
As a means of ensuring that servicemembers can match up their
qualifications with credentialing programs, the Services are expanding
their Credentialing On-Line (COOL) web sites to increase servicemember
access and credentialing information. The Army and Navy have been
operating COOL sites for years. The Air Force instituted its own COOL
program that is expected to be online by October 1, 2014, and the
Marine Corps is in the process of initiating its COOL program through
the Navy. COOL maps every MOC to its related civilian credentials.
Detailed analysis of the gaps between military training and civilian
credentials requirements are provided for most MOCs. COOL sites also
link to credentialing exam resources. State licensing, which is based
upon a national certification exam such as Emergency Medical
Technician, is also included on COOL and there are links to the
Department of Labor for information on other State licenses available.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Tim Kaine
department of defense unemployment insurance
56. Senator Kaine. Secretary Hale and Secretary Wright, on
Thursday, March 27, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James
Amos, mentioned at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that the
Marine Corps paid approximately $152 million in unemployment insurance
last year. According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS),
between fiscal year 2001 and fiscal year 2012, a total of $9.663
billion in unemployment insurance benefits were paid to former
servicemembers. On average, how much does DOD spend in unemployment
insurance annually? How is this allocated among the Services, and what
is the estimated expenditure per servicemember?
Mr. Hale and Ms. Wright. The table below depicts DOD's expenditures
for Unemployment Compensation for Ex-servicemembers (UCX) over the last
10 fiscal years. It also includes the total average annual expenditure
for DOD as well as for each of the Services over the same period.
Because there is such wide variance in how States maintain and supply
data to DOD on unemployment claims by ex-servicemembers, it is not
currently possible to provide the average expenditure per member.
Furthermore, there is a significant variation by State in the number of
ex-servicemembers receiving unemployment benefits, the number of weeks
ex-servicemembers are entitled to and receive benefits, and the maximum
weekly benefit amount paid, which add additional levels of complexity
to analyzing these expenditures. Past expenditures may not be
reflective of the future given the anticipated increase in separations
due to the reduction in strength.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
57. Senator Kaine. Secretary Hale and Secretary Wright, a recent
DOD report on the pilot program on civilian credentialing found that
the attainment of civilian credentials benefits both the armed services
and the servicemember, with minimal implementation costs (averaging
$285 per participant). How does the amount of funds spent on
unemployment insurance per servicemember compare to the amount of funds
spent on tuition assistance per servicemember? How does the amount of
funds spent on unemployment insurance per servicemember compare with
credentialing efforts per servicemember?
Mr. Hale. Civilian credentialing, tuition assistance, and UCX are
three distinct programs for different purposes.
Obtaining a civilian credential while on Active Duty
can improve the member's skill set, but military specialties
often have inherent skills and responsibilities not required in
the civilian sector. However, civilian credentialing is
recognized outside the military, and if obtained, it can be a
significant asset to the member's employment prospects after
military service. The $285 cost per participant in the DOD
pilot program is misleading as it includes only direct costs;
it does not incorporate preparatory costs such as education and
training fees, management and operational costs (e.g., the
personnel costs to DOD to conduct the pilot), nor living
expenses.
The primary purpose of tuition assistance is to enable
military members to take educational courses towards a degree.
The member directly benefits from the additional education, but
DOD also benefits as individual readiness is enhanced and
retention is bolstered. Military members primarily use tuition
assistance after duty hours, so time away is minimal.
The purpose of UCX is to assist former servicemembers
while they seek employment. UCX costs vary greatly depending on
job availability, the State the ex-servicemember files his/her
claim, and the former member's qualifications, to name a few.
Therefore, comparing the costs of the three programs can be
misleading.
In fiscal year 2013, DOD paid $780 million in unemployment
compensation benefits to ex-servicemembers. Because there is such wide
variance in how States maintain and supply data to DOD on unemployment
claims by ex-servicemembers, it is not currently possible to provide
the average expenditure per member. Furthermore, there is a significant
variation by State in the number of ex-servicemembers receiving
unemployment benefits, the number of weeks ex-servicemembers are
entitled to and receive benefits, and the maximum weekly benefit amount
paid, which adds additional levels of complexity to analyzing these
expenditures. The most reliable estimate is found in an August 2013
study by the Center for Naval Analyses, the ``21st Century Sailor and
Marine: Demographic Profile of Transitioning Sailors.'' The Center for
Naval Analyses concluded that the 2011 the average was approximately
$5,000 per ex-servicemember.
Tuition assistance is an invaluable program used extensively by
Active Duty personnel. Tuition assistance is one of many options
available to servicemembers to further their education. In fiscal year
2013, tuition assistance totaled $540,448,557 for 277,872 Active
component servicemembers (average: $1,945 per servicemember). A profile
of a typical active servicemember utilizing tuition assistance: he/she
takes 3 courses per year while working full time; attend multiple
institutions; have breaks in their program due to deployments and duty
assignment changes; take 7 years to earn an associate's degree; 79
percent take some on-line courses; and they do not immediately seek
employment after earning a degree.
Ms. Wright. Civilian credentialing programs, tuition assistance,
and even UCX are all benefits that assist military personnel in their
transition from military to civilian life. These programs can
complement one another, but they are designed for very distinct
purposes and are not necessarily interchangeable. How they are employed
often is predicated on the individual circumstance of an individual
servicemember or veteran and thus, cost comparisons can be misleading.
Civilian credentialing, as the DOD pilot program has shown, can be
a significant asset to a transitioning member. With the civilian
credential in hand, a military member is able to demonstrate to a
potential civilian employer that his or her military skills in a given
trade directly translate to ones that are instantly recognized and
accepted outside the military. At an average cost of $285 per pilot
program participant, civilian credentialing appears to be very cost
effective, although it must be acknowledged that this average cost
figure includes only the direct cost of the program. It does not
incorporate preparatory costs such as education and training fees,
management and operational costs (e.g., the personnel costs to DOD to
conduct the pilot), or living expenses.
Tuition assistance is an invaluable program used extensively by
members who are furthering their education/training or pursuing a
degree. In fiscal year 2013, tuition assistance costs totaled $540
million for 277,872 Active component members, at the average cost of
$1,945 per member. For servicemembers whose desire upon leaving the
military is to enter a different career field or move up the ladder
into a white collar or professional job, tuition assistance is an
excellent, proven means for them to accomplish these kinds of goals.
Tuition assistance is often the means by which a member is able to
achieve the end state of a Bachelor's degree and a civilian credential,
such as a teacher's license. While tuition assistance does, on average,
carry a higher cost per participant than the civilian credentialing
pilot program, it clearly can result in a much greater benefit to the
transitioning member who leaves the military with a college degree and
the greater earning potential that degree represents.
Civilian credentialing and tuition assistance are benefits
available to personnel during their military service; UCX, on the other
hand, is meant to be used once a member leaves the military and
relocates to a civilian community. Its purpose is to provide some
financial assistance to former members while they seek employment. In
fiscal year 2013, DOD paid out $780 million to reimburse States for the
unemployment compensation benefits paid to former members. Due to the
wide variance in how States maintain data on unemployment claims, it is
not currently possible to provide the average expenditure per member.
However, there is an August 2013 study by the Center for Naval Analyses
(the ``21st Century Sailor and Marine: Demographic Profile of
Transitioning Sailors'') that estimated the 2011 average UCX cost at
approximately $5,000 per year per ex-sailor. Circumstances vary greatly
as to why a former member may need the financial help UCX offers. It
could be that a member utilizes UCX for a short period while he or she
completes his or her job search, or a member may need UCX for a longer
period due to the particular economic conditions in a specific
community (e.g., an unemployment rate that is much higher than the
national average). A member with a family to support may be more apt to
apply for UCX than a single member. No matter what those individual
circumstances may be for eligible individuals, UCX provides a valuable
benefit to veterans as they transition to civilian life.
In conclusion, civilian credentialing, tuition assistance, and UCX
are benefit programs for current or former military members that often
complement one another, but do not necessarily substitute for each
other. To the extent data comparing the average cost per participant is
available, it has been provided above; however, care should be taken to
avoid misinterpreting the data or drawing any conclusion that more
investment in one program will lead to reduced cost in another.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Lindsey Graham
defense commissary subsidies
58. Senator Graham. Secretary Hale, did the administration consider
the full impact of decreased commissary subsidies on the purchasing
power of young military families who can least afford higher grocery
bills?
Mr. Hale. DOD considered the Quadrennial Review of Military
Compensation report, which indicates the buying power of enlisted
members is like that of their civilian counterparts, in deciding to
decrease commissary subsidies. DOD intends to direct the remaining
subsidies to cover the extra costs associated with operating
commissaries overseas so commissary prices for troops stationed
overseas will be comparable to stateside commissary prices. If Cost-of-
Living Allowance reports indicate shortfalls for personnel stationed
overseas, DOD can address the shortfalls.
59. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, with lower commissary
savings, shoppers may choose to get their groceries in local civilian
grocery stores. This kind of change in shopping behavior can also
affect foot traffic at military exchanges whose sales greatly benefit
the morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR) activities on military bases.
How much will foot traffic decrease in the military exchange system if
fewer beneficiaries choose to shop in commissaries?
Ms. Wright. Although difficult to quantify at this point, we do
expect there will be a decrease in foot traffic at the military
exchange main stores and other facilities if fewer beneficiaries choose
to shop in the commissaries.
60. Senator Graham. Secretary Hale, how will DOD make up the lost
funds generated by exchange sales that support critical MWR activities?
Mr. Hale. The proposed commissary changes would not begin to be
phased in until fiscal year 2015, so DOD does not expect any impact on
exchange sales at least until then. DOD is seeking to quantify the
expected impact of these changes on the shopping patterns of customers
in the commissaries and exchanges, and the extent to which they can be
offset by other changes like the introduction of non-branded items sold
at lower prices. DOD will continue to actively engage the three
Exchange Boards of Directors to ensure commissaries and exchanges are
attractive shopping options, producing the exchange dividends that
continue to help support important MWR activities.
61. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, what will be the impact of
reduced sales on commissary and exchange employees--many of whom are
military spouses and retirees?
Ms. Wright. The commissaries and exchanges will monitor their sales
and make appropriate business decisions. They may have to adjust
operating hours and employee work schedules. DOD values our employees,
many of who are military spouses and retirees, and every effort will be
made to minimize the impact.
62. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, under a new funding plan, do
you believe that some commissaries will eventually close if their sales
volumes diminish so much that they cannot cover their expenses?
Ms. Wright. Commissaries considered remote and isolated will remain
open to support areas where access to a commercial grocery store is
limited, as will overseas commissaries. There are no plans to close any
commissaries in the United States. Customer usage will determine
whether or not any commissaries close in the United States. Savings
currently average 30.5 percent and will decrease. The projected savings
will fluctuate as they do in the commercial sector but we believe they
will be substantial enough to retain customers.
We take the commissary benefit seriously, and we are trying to
mitigate the effects of any changes that may impact our servicemembers
and their families.
63. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, how will the families of
servicemembers who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) or the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition
program be impacted by higher commissary prices that will result from
lower subsidies?
Ms. Wright. Commissaries will have to recover costs which will
decrease customer savings. The savings to servicemembers participating
in the SNAP and WIC programs will also decrease. Consequently,
servicemembers participating in the SNAP and WIC programs who shop in
commissaries will not receive as much in value as they do presently;
however, they should still receive more value than their civilian
counterparts who shop in commercial grocery stores.
unified medical program fiscal year 2015 budget request
64. Senator Graham. Secretary Hale, in the DOD medical budget
request, there is $122 million added for expected TRS participation due
to Obamacare mandates and increases expected from the Supreme Court
ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). When did DOD realize that
Obamacare mandates would increase DOD health care costs?
Mr. Hale. DOD routinely tracks TRS users and costs, so we are able
to identify changes in this program on a monthly and yearly basis. We
speculated that the ACA, and specifically the individual mandate
provision, as well as the DOMA could drive an increase in users and
costs. We did experience a modest increase in TRS participation in
fiscal years 2012 and 2013, although we cannot specifically attribute
that to ACA or DOMA. However, based upon this increasing participation,
we felt it prudent to request reasonable additional funding for the
program beginning in fiscal year 2015. We will track participation and
costs and make appropriate adjustments based upon actual experience.
65. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, the DOD budget request
assumes almost $92 million in savings from health system modernization.
We know there is an effort underway to downsize some military hospitals
and shift beneficiaries' medical care to the private sector. Can you
explain how that would work and how you get that much savings so
quickly?
Dr. Woodson. Our analysis showed that several of our legacy
inpatient facilities are significantly underutilized and this lack of
workload put our military medical providers' currency and skills at
risk. We devised a plan to move these military providers to markets
that would provide more opportunity for them to practice their
specialty, an absolute necessity if they are to be prepared to meet
wartime medical requirements. Although we proposed these moves
primarily to maintain the readiness skills of our providers, a
corollary benefit is that they will see more patients within the MTFs,
so we will not have to pay those costs in the private sector. This will
generate the projected savings.
66. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, do you plan to brief
Congress before you downsize military hospitals?
Dr. Woodson. Yes. Meetings were held with House and Senate Armed
Services Committees staff members on April 11, 2014, and we plan
ongoing communications with Congress regarding this matter.
67. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, can you give me a list of
those facilities that DOD plans to downsize?
Dr. Woodson. The attached table are the interim results of our
resizing analysis.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location Transition Action
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fort Knox, KY............................. Transition to an outpatient-
only Ambulatory Surgery
Center (ASC)
Fort Polk, LA............................. Transition to ambulatory
clinic, maintain holding
beds
Fort Sill, OK............................. Transition to an outpatient-
only ASC, maintain holding
beds
Fort Jackson, SC.......................... Transition to ambulatory
clinic, maintain holding
beds
Fort Riley, KS............................ Transition to birthing
center, outpatient-only ASC
Naval Hospital (NH) Lemoore, CA........... Transition to outpatient-
only ASC, maintain holding
beds
NH Beaufort, SC........................... Transition to outpatient-
only ASC, maintain holding
beds
NH Oak Harbor, WA......................... Transition to birthing
center and outpatient-only
ASC, maintain holding beds
------------------------------------------------------------------------
autism and applied behavioral analysis
68. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, is applied behavior analysis
(ABA) therapy intended for children with developmental disabilities
other than ASD? If so, which developmental disabilities, other than
ASD, benefit from ABA therapy?
Dr. Woodson. ABA for children with developmental disabilities other
than ASD is not clinically indicated or legally supportable.
Developmental disabilities encompass many physical disabilities for
which ABA is never an indicated intervention. All TRICARE beneficiaries
with a developmental disability currently are eligible to receive
robust medical benefits, such as physician services, pharmacotherapy,
speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy; as well as
behavioral interventions when indicated, including psychotherapy and
neuropsychological testing. While ABA is a promising emerging treatment
for ASD, it has been repeatedly determined through comprehensive review
of available evidence by the TRICARE Management Activity (now the DHA),
to not yet meet TRICARE's standards as a proven medical intervention.
There is much less scientific evidence to support the use of ABA for
developmental disabilities other than ASD.
69. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, if DOD offered ABA therapy
to all persons with developmental disabilities, what would be the
estimated additional annual costs to DOD?
Dr. Woodson. DOD estimates roughly $67.4 million in annual costs
for ABA therapy services for beneficiaries with developmental
disabilities.
70. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, if TRICARE coverage is
expanded to provide ABA therapy for all children with developmental
disabilities, will the available supply of ABA therapy providers
accommodate the increased demand for services?
Dr. Woodson. DOD estimates that about 4,300 TRICARE beneficiaries
with developmental disabilities will use ABA services. This will
certainly impact the availability of ABA and would be a significant
resource concern if TRICARE expanded coverage of ABA to all children
with developmental disabilities.
medical benefit expansion and readiness
71. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, during this time of great
fiscal pressure on DOD, how would a large medical benefit expansion, of
any kind, impact the readiness of servicemembers?
Ms. Wright. It depends on the nature, scope, and scale of the
budget expansion. DOD is actively investing in finding better
treatments for combat injuries and, should those investments pay off,
an expansion that would cover those new treatments could greatly
benefit the readiness of servicemembers.
In a very general sense though, as long as budgets remain tight,
the money to offset a medical benefit expansion would have to come from
somewhere. In the short run, operations, maintenance, and procurement
accounts are typical offsets, and these accounts are directly
associated with readiness.
laboratory developed tests
72. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, TRICARE stopped reimbursing
for Laboratory Developed Tests (LDT) on January 1, 2013, and it
resulted in an inequitable benefit in the TRICARE system. Essentially,
patients getting care in military hospitals could get those tests at no
cost, but patients getting civilian healthcare had to pay for those
tests out-of-pocket. What are you doing to resolve this inconsistency?
Dr. Woodson. Health Affairs and the DHA are committed to evaluating
emerging medical treatments and techniques to meet patient needs while
ensuring safety. Therefore, the DHA will initiate a new Laboratory
Developed Tests Demonstration Project to be implemented by summer 2014.
Many LDTs currently available in MTFs will be evaluated under the
demonstration. LDTs approved under the Demonstration Project will be
integrated into the both the purchased care and direct care system
providing more consistency between both systems.
73. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, will TRICARE retroactively
reimburse beneficiaries if they have previously paid for tests that may
be covered in the future?
Dr. Woodson. Beneficiaries who previously paid for LDTs that are
approved and covered under the demonstration may be eligible for
reimbursement. A review will need to be done to determine if the LDT
was medically necessary and appropriate for reimbursement purposes.
Additional details will be published in the Federal Register
demonstration notice.
74. Secretary Woodson, do you believe that TRICARE regulations have
enough flexibility to keep pace with rapid advancements in medical
science and technology that often result in changes in national
standards of care?
Dr. Woodson. The hierarchy of reliable evidence as defined in
regulation serves TRICARE well by using evidence-based guidelines to
assess which treatments and procedures are safe and effective for our
beneficiaries. However, I do see the need for TRICARE to have greater
flexibility to provide reimbursement for drugs, devices, medical
treatments or procedures that result from rapid advancements in medical
science and technology. Currently TRICARE covers participation in
National Cancer Institute sponsored Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III
studies for the prevention and treatment of cancer. Expansion beyond
cancer clinical trials to support the advancement of medical science
will be considered. Also, use of our demonstration authority like the
LDT Demonstration Project offers us an avenue to examine new treatments
and procedures that have not yet met our reliable evidence criteria.
Also our MTFs can be utilized to conduct clinical trials or participate
in registries where the information gathered can inform future benefit
decisions.
tricare for kids
75. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, section 735 of the NDAA for
Fiscal Year 2013 requires DOD to conduct a comprehensive review and
develop a plan to ensure that TRICARE meets the pediatric-specific
needs of military families and protects their access to specialized
services and care settings. How will DOD incorporate input from all
stakeholders--pediatric health care advocacy and professional
organizations, military family advocacy organizations, and military
families--in the plan required by section 735?
Dr. Woodson. To develop the report, as required by section 735 of
the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013, the DHA working group was provided with
information and perspectives on current and proposed changes in TRICARE
pediatric benefits from the following organizations, including:
American Academy of Pediatrics; Autism Speaks; Children's Hospital
Association; Department of Defense Military Family Readiness Council;
Easter Seals; Family Voices; March of Dimes; Maryland Coalition of
Families for Children's Mental Health; Military Special Needs Network;
Military Officers of America Association; National Military Family
Association; and Specialized Training of Military Parents. A meeting
was held in August 2013 with the following advocacy groups who provided
information for consideration in report preparation including: American
Academy of Pediatrics, Autism Speaks, Children's Hospital Association,
Military Officers Association, and Military Special Needs Network.
76. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, does TRICARE use adult-based
assumptions when determining medical necessity of a pediatric health
care intervention, treatment or therapy?
Dr. Woodson. TRICARE is mandated by Congress to deliver safe and
effective medically necessary care. Safe, effective, and medically
necessary care is based on the clinical needs of the beneficiary,
reliable evidence, and medical need, not on assumptions of a specific
age group. Pediatric health care interventions, treatments, and therapy
are based on clinical evidence of safe and effective care.
77. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, what mechanisms are in place
to link military children with special needs with local community
health care resources, like pediatric specialty care providers?
Dr. Woodson. Dependent children with special health care needs are
linked with local community health care resources like pediatric
specialty care providers through coordination of care between the MTFs
and the purchased care network of TRICARE authorized providers. TRICARE
beneficiaries have access to appropriate medical care in MTFs where
specialty care is available or based on referrals to providers in the
community coordinated by regional contractors. The regional contractors
provide monthly network adequacy reports to the TRICARE regional
offices to ensure the networks are able to support the TRICARE
beneficiary medical needs based on contracted ratios. TRICARE networks
include many children's hospitals and pediatric specialty care
providers in each geographic region who provide care to military
children with special needs.
The report to Congress required by the NDAA 2013, section 735,
titled: ``Study on healthcare and related support for children of
members of the Armed Forces'' is being prepared for submission to
Congress by July 2014. One of the elements to be addressed is
mechanisms for linking dependent children with special health care
needs with State and local community resources, including children's
hospitals and providers of pediatric specialty care; which is similar
to question being asked. DOD's report will have a more detailed
discussion on this issue.
children with special needs
78. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, one of the key components of
the Exceptional Family Member Program is assignment coordination to
determine if special needs services are available at a servicemember's
next projected duty assignment. During the assignment process, the
Services are supposed to match a family's special needs requirements
against available services before assigning a servicemember to a new
location. We hear anecdotal reports that the Services have assigned
families to locations where support services aren't available. How do
you plan to address gaps in the assignment coordination process?
Ms. Wright. The Services are required to screen servicemembers'
dependents for medical and special education needs prior to any
accompanied or command sponsored assignment to ensure adequate services
are available at the projected PCS location for those special needs
family members enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program. If
there are specific cases where this is not occurring, I would be glad
to research them to ensure compliance once we have the details.
79. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, children with special health
needs and complex medical conditions require an assortment of
specialized health care and education services. To ensure continuity of
health care and educational services, military families with special
needs children must get ``warm handoffs'' as they transition to new
assignments. How can this transition process be improved to ensure that
these children receive continuous health care and education services at
the sponsor's next duty location?
Ms. Wright. DOD, including the Services, works continuously to
improve and standardize support to military families with special needs
during every phase of military life, including during transition. DOD
policy stipulates that the special medical and educational needs of
family members must be considered during the assignment process. During
the assignment process, the Services review the medical and educational
needs of a servicemember's family members enrolled in the Exceptional
Family Member Program (EFMP). Every reasonable effort is made to ensure
families are stationed in locations at which services to meet their
needs are available, ensuring the assignment also meets the needs of
the Service.
Within the United States, the Individuals with Disabilities Act
(IDEA) requires that services be available to all children with
disabilities. IDEA governs how States and public agencies provide early
intervention, special education, and related services to eligible
infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. The education
of children with disabilities in overseas DODEA schools is also
governed by the IDEA. For families transitioning to overseas
assignments, their special educational needs are reviewed by the DODEA.
To support military families with special needs, EFMP Family
Support Providers offer a warm hand-off for families transitioning to a
new duty station. This warm hand-off includes connecting families to
the EFMP family support provider at the new location. To consistently
document and understand families' needs, DOD has developed the Family
Needs Assessment and Services Plan. DOD has also developed the Inter-
Services Transfer Summary (ISTS) to document family support assistance
received by families transferring between installations not run by
their own Service (e.g., a soldier transferring to or from a Navy run
installation).
tricare reform
80. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, under DOD's TRICARE reform
proposal, what modifications will be needed to TRICARE Managed Care
Support Contracts to implement a new consolidated TRICARE plan?
Dr. Woodson. Contract modifications would be necessary for claims
adjudication, network development, participant fee collection, and
other processes. It is important to note that these modifications would
simplify program administration. We recommended implementing the new
TRICARE Consolidated Health Plan in fiscal year 2016 based on DOD's
internal estimates of the potential costs associated with these
modifications and considered these costs in the overall cost-benefit
evaluation of the proposal. It was determined that the benefits
exceeded the cost of waiting until the next generation of TRICARE
contracts was awarded.
81. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, will there be changes in
requirements for the contractors to build and maintain networks and to
maintain accurate lists of network providers?
Dr. Woodson. No, there will be no change to this requirement.
82. Senator Graham. Secretary Woodson, what resources will remain
in place for the management of complex illnesses or conditions where
coordinated care is needed?
Dr. Woodson. Care coordination should continue to occur through the
patient's relationship with his or her primary care provider, just as
it does now. For example, those participants who choose to receive
their care in a MTF will continue to enjoy the benefits of Patient
Centered Medical Home, a holistic approach to medicine. The
Consolidated TRICARE Health Plan simply removes administrative burdens
that impede the access to care; it does not affect the close patient-
provider relationships that have developed over time.
basic allowance for housing reforms
83. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, how much savings will DOD
realize as a result of the proposal to increase servicemember Basic
Allowance for Housing (BAH) out-of-pocket contribution in fiscal year
2015?
Ms. Wright. DOD estimates that this proposal will provide $391
million in cost savings for fiscal year 2015, and that cost savings
would grow to reach $1.28 billion in fiscal year 2019. These cost
savings include removing renter's insurance from the computation
beginning in 2015 and gradually increasing the out-of-pocket percentage
to 5 percent over 3 years (2015 to 2017).
84. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, if a member lives on base
with their family, will their rent still be covered 100 percent or will
they have to pay 5 percent of the cost?
Ms. Wright. Rental amounts are currently based on the BAH provided
to uniformed members. The amount out-of-pocket that a member may or may
not have to pay to the privatized partner of on-base housing will
depend on changes to project agreements. The Under Secretary of Defense
for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics is currently working with
the Services to assess how best to implement any BAH reductions into
the project rent structures. DOD believes it has the authority under
the Military Housing Privatization Initiative to make the necessary
adjustments.
85. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, is there currently on-base
housing that is vacant or not being utilized by servicemembers?
Ms. Wright. The overall occupancy of military privatized housing is
about 95 percent. About 5 percent of those occupants are ``waterfall,''
or non-uniformed tenants. This occupancy rate for privatized housing is
higher than it had been before privatization.
In privatized projects, members are not assigned to housing. They
may choose to live on base or in town. If there is insufficient demand
from Active Duty military families, then the privatized housing owners
may lease units to a so-called ``waterfall'' of potential tenants.
Active Duty member families have the highest priority for privatized
housing, but depending upon conditions, units can also be rented to
unaccompanied members, DOD civilians, military retirees, and others in
order to maintain occupancy.
86. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, how will this reduction
affect privatized housing companies who receive money from DOD for on-
base housing?
Ms. Wright. The impact to privatized partners will depend on how
the legislation is implemented by the Military Services and their
private partners. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition,
Technology, and Logistics is currently working with the Military
Services to assess how best to implement any BAH reductions into the
project rent structures. DOD believes it has the authority under the
Military Housing Privatization Initiative to make the necessary
adjustments.
troop pay
87. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, how much savings will DOD
realize by capping the pay increase at 1 percent for fiscal year 2015?
Ms. Wright. DOD's proposal to provide a 1.0 percent basic pay
increase for pay grades O-6 and below in lieu of the automatic 1.8
percent increase would save $534 million in fiscal year 2015 and $3.4
billion over fiscal years 2015 to 2019.
88. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, how much savings will DOD
realize by freezing general and flag officer pay?
Ms. Wright. The fiscal year 2015 request includes a 1.0 percent
basic pay raise for pay grade O-6 and below, and seeks a pay freeze for
general and flag officers. While the pay freeze for general and flag
officers provides only limited savings of about $1 million in fiscal
year 2015 and $8 million through fiscal year 2019, the Joint Chiefs
were adamant that if they are asking our young men and women to accept
a slower growth in pay, then the most senior leadership ought to accept
an even lower level.
sunset
89. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, what congressionally-mandated
personnel programs do you believe are no longer useful to
servicemembers and their families that could be cut or modified to
promote a more efficient use of resources?
Ms. Wright. We do not believe that our current portfolio of
military community and family programs requires cuts or legislatively
mandated modifications. Each year comprehensive reviews of these
programs are conducted to ensure that services are not duplicative or
redundant, and that resources are appropriately allocated. Examples of
these types of reviews include those conducted in generating the
Defense Program and Planning Guidance and the DOD Policy and Plans for
Military Family Readiness congressional report, and by the Military
Family Readiness Council. As a result of these efforts, the Office of
the Secretary of Defense and the Services regularly adjust the delivery
of programs to ensure that the unique needs of the military population
continue to be met. When necessary, DOD seeks legislative relief for
congressionally-mandated programs.
assignment of women to combat arms
90. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, if combat arms positions are
opened to women, and if not enough women volunteer for those positions,
will DOD involuntarily assign women to combat arms units?
Ms. Wright. Once positions are open with a single standard for
entry, each Service will follow its respective policies for the
classification and assignment of personnel. These policies will be
applied equally to men and women, consistent with the needs of the
Services, SOCOM, and mission.
It continues to be essential to mission effectiveness that the
person selected for an occupation is fully qualified to perform that
occupation. Further, we owe it to all servicemembers to put them in
positions where they have the highest probability of success. DOD's
goal is to ensure the mission is met with the highest, best-qualified,
and most capable people, regardless of gender. Evaluations will be made
in accordance with our guiding principles.
selective service
91. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, when did DOD last review the
role of the Selective Service System in meeting the wartime
requirements of the Nation?
Ms. Wright. During our 2013 GAO audit, DOD was asked to reevaluate
the mission and military requirements for the Selective Service. We
found that the changes in the world following the end of the Cold War
have revised our mobilization requirements. As such, DOD has no
operational plans that envision mobilization at a level that would
require conscription. However, while there may be no immediate military
necessity, there may be national necessities for continuation of the
Selective Service System.
Since 1974, the United States has relied upon an AVF to meet the
Nation's military requirements. The AVF has performed successfully
everywhere from the Balkans to the Gulf of Arabia, in Operations Desert
Shield/Desert Storm, and in our Nation's longest military engagements
for over 12 years in Iraq and Afghanistan. The current AVF is combat
experienced, highly educated, and diverse. Currently, the AVF is of
adequate size and composition to meet America's security needs.
sexual assault
92. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, does DOD or the Services
require any additional authorities to support victims of sexual
assault?
Ms. Wright. DOD has not identified additional authorities needed to
support victims of sexual assault. Military and civilian leaders are
working to sustain their current level of attention, focus, and
emphasis on the implementation of critical reforms and protections for
victims. DOD efforts to combat sexual assault rely on the continued
implementation of SAPR initiatives and programs, as well as intensified
efforts to educate all servicemembers, frontline commanders, and
leaders on SAPR policies and procedures.
The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2014 included 33 sections related to
sexual assault. Many of the provisions require support to victims, such
as provisions:
Requiring a Special Victims' Counsel program for each
Service.
Requiring a sexual assault nurse examiner per MTF.
Extending the rights afforded by the Crime Victim
Rights Act to victims of offenses under the UCMJ.
Expanding protections against retaliatory personnel
actions for servicemembers who report sexual assaults.
Requiring defense counsel to make requests to
interview victims through trial counsel and permitting victims
to request presence of trial counsel or outside counsel during
interview.
Additionally, we want to thank Congress for supporting victims of
sexual assault by passing NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013, section 576. The
process established by this legislation calls for an independent panel
to study sexual offense reporting, investigation, and prosecution under
military and civilian jurisdictions. This panel is providing a fact-
based investigation of the response and judicial systems for sexual
assault and will provide important recommendations on potential reforms
to the system to support victims of sexual assault.
93. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, does DOD or the Services
require any additional authorities to empower commanders, criminal
investigators, victim advocates, or judge advocates to continue efforts
to combat sexual assault?
Ms. Wright. DOD has not identified additional authorities needed to
empower commanders, criminal investigators, victim advocates, or judge
advocates, as they work to combat sexual assault in the military.
Military and civilian leaders are working to sustain their current
level of attention, focus, and emphasis on the implementation of
critical reforms, which are detailed below. DOD efforts to combat
sexual assault rely on the continued implementation of SAPR initiatives
and programs, as well as intensified efforts to educate all
servicemembers, frontline commanders, and leaders on SAPR policies and
procedures.
DOD is focused on implementing more than 60 provisions of law
included in the past three NDAAs that are related to sexual assault.
Further, each Service is implementing 22 initiatives directed by the
Secretary of Defense to strengthen DOD SAPR programs.
The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2014 included 33 sections related to
sexual assault. Many of the provisions affect military justice, such as
provisions that will:
Require higher level review of any decision by a
commander not to refer a sexual assault case to a general
court-martial;
Give military victims the opportunity to decline to
testify at Article 32 hearings;
Limit the authority of commanders to overturn court-
martial findings and sentences;
Limit jurisdiction for rape and sexual assault
offenses to general courts-martial;
Establish mandatory punitive discharge for sexual
assault and rape convictions; and
Eliminate the 5-year statute of limitations for sexual
assault offenses.
94. Senator Graham. Secretary Wright, who in DOD is responsible to
look at recent legislation from the standpoint of the military member
accused of sexual assault, to ensure that commanders and those who
support them are protecting the constitutional rights of the accused?
Ms. Wright. The preservation of the constitutional rights of
everyone involved in the Military Justice system is of paramount
importance. The Judge Advocates General of the Military Departments and
the Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, who
administer the Military Justice process for their respective Services,
have primary responsibility for this function. Also critical in this
function is the DOD Office of General Counsel.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Kelly Ayotte
special victims counsel
95. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, section 1716 of the NDAA for
Fiscal Year 2014 required the Services to establish the Special
Victims' Counsel Programs to provide independent legal advice for
victims of sexual assault. How is the Special Victims' Counsel Program
going in each of the Services?
Ms. Wright. All Services have implemented their Special Victims'
Counsel programs. The Special Victims' Counsel program forms an
extensive sexual assault victim representation system. Preliminary
assessments of the Services' programs are favorable. They are an
important component of DOD's ongoing efforts to eradicate sexual
assault from the Armed Forces while supporting victims and holding
offender appropriately accountable when such assaults do occur.
96. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, do you think the availability
of Special Victims' Counsels at least partially explains the increase
in reporting we have seen?
Ms. Wright. While we believe the Special Victims' Counsel program
holds great potential for helping victims navigate the military justice
process, we do not believe that the full effects of this program were
seen in the increased reporting that occurred in fiscal year 2013. This
is because only the Air Force had a fully operational Special Victims'
Counsel program in fiscal year 2013. The other three Services deployed
their full programs in fiscal year 2014. DOD will be monitoring
reporting trends and surveying victims in fiscal year 2014 to discern
the impacts of the Special Victims' Counsel program throughout the
Military Services.
DOD believes that we must take a number of actions to help increase
victim confidence, as there is no single silver bullet solution. Our
response requires sustained progress, persistence, and innovation. We
must treat survivors of this crime with sensitivity, privacy, and
responsive support. How we treat current victims will impact future
victims' decisions to report.
A key element of DOD's approach is to increase victim trust and
confidence in our response system so that victims are willing to
report. DOD has implemented a number of programs designed to improve
victim confidence, recognizing that increased victim confidence and
reporting is a bridge to greater victim care and offender
accountability. These reforms are not limited to the creation of
dedicated legal support to victims, but also include reforms to the
military justice system, enhanced access to victim advocacy, and
increased training and awareness for the entire force. Specifically,
these reforms include:
Implementing policy across the Services to provide
commanders with balanced options to eliminate victims'
continued contact with their accused offenders, through
expedited transfers;
Fielding more than 25,000 professionally certified
Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARCs) and Victim
Advocates (VAs), located across the globe;
Developing the DOD Safe Helpline to ensure that
victims have anonymous, worldwide 24/7 crisis support via
online chat, telephone, and texting services;
Requiring investigators and prosecutors to receive
specialized training on how to best support sexual assault
victims and their cases; and
Requiring sexual assault cases to be treated as
medical emergencies in MTFs.
Initial fiscal year 2013 data shows a 50 percent increase in victim
reports of sexual assault when compared to fiscal year 2012. We assess
this increase in reports as consistent with a growing level of
confidence in our response system. This is supported by an additional
metric--there are growing numbers of reports made by victims about
incidents that took place prior to joining the military.
compensation
97. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, please provide specific and
detailed analyses on the financial impact on junior enlisted and junior
officers of the DOD's proposed housing allowance and commissary
changes. How much more will these individuals have to pay as a result
of the proposed commissary changes?
Ms. Wright. Our estimates of the impacts of the proposals on the
monthly compensation of members are in the attached charts.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
98. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, what specific impact will
this have on MWR revenues?
Ms. Wright. We expect the proposed commissary changes could have
some negative impact on MWR activity revenues, both directly and
indirectly. Among the direct impacts, MWR activities might no longer be
able to purchase food from the commissary at cost; higher food costs in
those MWR activities would in turn drive up selling prices and fees. In
addition, reduced commissary foot traffic on base could have a
cascading effect on participation in MWR activities, which in turn
would reduce overall revenue to support the system. The indirect impact
would occur when a possible reduction in commissary foot traffic is in
turn reflected in reduced foot traffic in the exchanges; the resulting
drop in exchange sales would then reduce the exchange dividends that
support MWR programs.
99. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, will some personnel who live
on post have difficulty traveling to off-post grocery stores?
Ms. Wright. The question assumes that no commissary will be
available for those living on bases. There are no plans to close
commissaries. Difficulty traveling to off-installation grocery stores
will vary installation-to-installation depending on distance and
availability of transportation.
100. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, please provide examples, by
rank, of how much junior enlisted servicemembers will not receive for
their housing allowance in more expensive locations.
Ms. Wright. Our estimates of the impacts of the proposals on the
monthly compensation of members are in the attached charts. (See answer
to question 97). The proposed out-of-pocket expense for the BAH
contained in the fiscal year 2015 proposal would vary by pay grade and
dependency status but not by location. The out-of-pocket expense amount
would be computed as a percentage of the national mean housing
allowance for each pay grade and dependency status. The computed, fixed
dollar amount would be applied to the BAH rate for that pay grade and
dependency status for each location. As a result, impact on a member
from this proposal would be the same dollar amount, regardless of
whether the member resides in a high-cost or low-cost housing area.
See answer to question 97.
sexual assault response coordinators for the guard and reserve
101. Senator Ayotte. Mr. Wightman, section 1724 of the NDAA for
Fiscal Year 2014 requires each Service Secretary to ensure timely
access to a SARC for any member of the National Guard or Reserve who is
the victim of a sexual assault. Can you please provide an update on how
DOD is doing in implementing this provision related to SARCs for the
Guard and Reserve?
Mr. Wightman. The DOD SAPRO provides oversight and guidance to the
Services as they implement NDAA for Fiscal Year 2014 provisions. Each
of the Services has addressed providing timely access and support of
SARC services differently that takes into consideration organizational
structure and geographic coverage apart from the military unit. A
summary of the status to providing timely access to SARCs for Reserve
component servicemembers follows:
The National Guard has hired one full-time SARC in
every State and Territory (54 States and Territories), for
servicemembers who are located at the Joint Forces Headquarters
and serve in either Title 32 Active Guard Reserve (AGR),
Technician, or Active Duty Operational Support (ADOS) status.
Every SARC is trained to provide service to both Air and Army
National Guard within the State or Territory. Additionally, the
Air National Guard has placed one airman, who serves on full-
time status, to serve in the SARC role as required within each
Wing. The Army National Guard has one SARC, called the
Collateral SARC, at each Division down to Brigade.
U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) policy requires that a
servicemember victim be linked to the SARC that is located
closest geographically. In addition, the USAR maintains 5
hotlines (1 hotline for each of 4 Regional Support Commands and
1 in Puerto Rico) staffed by 35 full-time Military Technicians
and Active Guard and Reserve SARCs. The hotlines are staffed
24/7. These SARCs offer support on the phone when a victim
calls, and can refer them to local civilian resources in crisis
situations. The hotline numbers, along with the DOD SAFE
Helpline phone number, are prominently posted in unit/drill
areas. The U.S. Army Reserve Command publishes an array of
products listing all five hotline numbers.
Each U.S. Navy Reserve (USNR) unit is required to have
a designated Unit SAPR VA who responds to servicemember
victims. In addition, the USNR provides SAPR response and
services through a Navy Operation Support Center (NOSC) which
is aligned with a Navy region with the Installation SARC
providing services. The contact number for 24/7 SAPR Victim
Advocate (SAPR VA) and SARC services is posted in the NOSC and
is made available via the DOD Safe helpline. Audits are
conducted monthly to ensure posted telephone contacts are
accurate and victims receive immediate support.
All U.S. Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) sites have at
least one trained and appointed Uniformed Victim Advocate (UVA)
assigned to the site to provide in-person response to victims
of sexual violence. All of the sites have MOUs with other SAPR
military and civilian rape crisis centers in their localities.
In addition, the USMCR maintains a 24/7 Sexual Assault Helpline
which provides immediate telephonic crisis response to all
Active Duty and Reserve component marines/sailors assigned to
the 162 Marine Reserve sites throughout the United States
including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The Helpline is
staffed by the SAPR Program Manager, three SARCs, and two
civilian VAs located in New Orleans. Once a report is received,
a referral will be made to the UVA to provide immediate in-
person response. UVAs are required to answer all calls within
15 minutes and to respond in person within 1 hour of
notification. All Marine Reserve locations are mandated to post
the SAPR Helpline as well as the DOD SAFE Helpline throughout
common areas of their facilities.
The U.S. Air Force maintains a civilian SARC at each
of the 11 Host Wings. All Wing SARCs report to the Command SARC
who is located at Robins Air Force Base. Each of the SARCs is
issued a government cell phone and is on call 24/7. These SARC
numbers along with the DOD Safe Helpline are posted in many
locations to ensure airmen are aware of the support.
increase in reporting
102. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, based on the statutory
reforms passed in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2014, as well as the
additional reforms DOD has been implementing, are we seeing an increase
in reporting of sexual assaults in the military?
Ms. Wright. Yes, during fiscal year 2013, there were 5,061 reports
of sexual assault. This figure represents an increase of 50 percent
over fiscal year 2012 numbers. The average annual increase in reports
of sexual assault has been approximately 5 percent since the first full
year of Restricted Reporting in 2006, as compared to a 50 percent
increase in reporting between fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2013. In
addition, there was a substantial increase in the number of reports
made by victims for incidents they experienced prior to joining the
military. In fiscal year 2013, about 10 percent of the 5,061 reports of
sexual assault received from servicemembers were for sexual assaults
that occurred to them prior to entering military service. In past
years' reporting, that figure has never exceeded 4 percent. DOD
believes these reports reflect an increased level of confidence in the
DOD response system and are a sign that victims trust DOD to treat and
support them in their recovery.
Despite increased reporting, sexual assault remains a persistent
challenge. During fiscal year 2014, DOD will intensify its focus on
preventing the crime by implementing the 2014 to 2016 DOD Sexual
Assault Prevention Strategy. Prevention is more than training and
education of individuals. A successful prevention strategy addresses
the entire continuum of harm, shapes the environment, and includes a
wide range of integrated elements targeting accountability, community
involvement, communication, deterrence, incentives, and harm reduction
at every level of military society.
These continuing efforts, plus the reforms passed in the NDAA for
Fiscal Year 2014, are essential elements to reducing the prevalence of
this crime and ensuring, if it does happen, that our response is
professional and comprehensive.
103. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, are we seeing a proportional
increase in unrestricted reporting?
Ms. Wright. No. Proportionally, we had a slightly larger increase
in Restricted Reporting than we did in Unrestricted Reporting. In
fiscal year 2013, there was a 47 percent increase in Unrestricted
Reporting from fiscal year 2012. In comparison, there was a 53 percent
increase in initial Restricted Reports. Of those initial Restricted
Reports, 208 later converted to Unrestricted Reports.
That being said, after accounting for those conversions, the
proportion of Unrestricted Reports to Restricted Reports stayed largely
the same: About three quarters of reports are Unrestricted and a
quarter of reports remained Restricted at the end of fiscal year 2013.
Each year, the proportion of Restricted to Unrestricted Reporting
varies by a percentage point or two, so the small differences between
years shown in the table below aren't meaningful. The parallel lines in
the graph depicted below also demonstrate that the proportion has
stayed largely the same since 2006.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
104. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, are victims feeling more
confident that if they come forward they will receive the support,
protection, and justice they deserve?
Ms. Wright. Yes. DOD assesses the unprecedented increase in reports
received in fiscal year 2013 as consistent with a growing level of
confidence in the DOD response system. This year, a record number of
victims sought assistance and care by making a report. Since 2006, the
average annual increase in reports of sexual assault has been
approximately 5 percent. In fiscal year 2013, reports of sexual assault
increased by 50 percent from fiscal year 2012.
We know that victim choice is a centerpiece of building victim
confidence and our policy follows a victim-empowerment model that
allows victims to determine their reporting options, medical care,
whether to undergo forensic exams, expedited transfer, and legal
assistance. We legally protect victims' privacy through privileged
communications with SARCs, SAPR VAs, mental health providers, and
attorneys that ensure private coordination of care and legal advice.
During fiscal year 2013, DOD implemented numerous advocacy and
victim assistance programs, initiatives, and policy enhancements.
To expand victim rights, the Secretary of Defense directed the
General Counsel to develop a method to incorporate the rights afforded
to victims through the Crime Victims' Rights Act into military justice
practice. The General Counsel was also directed to develop language
that will amend the Manual for Courts-Martial to provide victims of
crime the opportunity to provide input to the post-trial action phase
of courts-martial. DOD also implemented policy for the extended
retention of DOD Forms 2910 and 2911 in cases of Restricted Reports,
when requested by the victim.
To enhance victim protections, the Secretary of Defense directed
the Secretaries of Military Departments to develop and implement policy
allowing the administrative reassignment or transfer of a servicemember
who is accused of committing a sexual offense based on credible report.
Furthermore, the Director of National Intelligence issued new security
clearance guidance that is intended to de-stigmatize mental health
counseling used by sexual assault victims in their recovery. The
Secretary of Defense also directed the Military Departments to improve
overall victim care and trust in the chain of command, to increase
reporting, and to reduce the possibility of ostracizing victims. To do
this, the Military Departments will implement and monitor methods in
forthcoming years to improve victim treatment by their peers, co-
workers, and chains of command. Victim input will be solicited in the
development of these methods.
To improve and expand victim advocacy services, DOD completed the
fielding of the DOD Sexual Assault Advocate Certification Program (D-
SAACP), developed an advanced training course for D-SAACP-certified
SARCs and SAPR VAs, and developed standardized core competencies and
learning objectives for SARCs and SAPR VAs. DOD also sustained and
expanded DOD Safe Helpline services, continued collaborating with
civilian community victim advocates, and continued to provide training
for recovery care coordinators.
We believe this multi-disciplinary approach provides victims with
the support they need, the sensitivity they deserve, and instills the
confidence they need to come forward and get help.
military sexual assault--role of the commanders
105. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, Secretary Woodson, Secretary
Vollrath, and Mr. Wightman, why do you believe it is important to keep
commanders at the center of the military justice system making
disposition decisions?
Ms. Wright, Dr. Woodson, Mr. Vollrath, and Mr. Wightman. DOD is
committed to solving the problem of sexual assault in the military. We
do not believe, however, that removing prosecutorial discretion from
commanders will help DOD prevent or respond to this crime. On the
contrary, removing commanders' prosecutorial discretion would likely
harm prevention efforts. Solving the problem of sexual assault requires
commander involvement.
Senior commanders make profound decisions every day, both in and
out of combat that impact the lives and careers of servicemembers and
their families. They are accountable for mission accomplishment, as
well as the health, welfare, readiness, and discipline of those under
their command. The powers that commanders exercise in the military
justice system are important tools to achieve these goals.
In addition, the independent Response Systems Panel, created by
Congress, recently issued an assessment finding that there was no
evidence that such a change would reduce the incidence of sexual
assault or increase reporting of sexual assaults in the Armed Forces.
Commanders and leaders create the climate in which victims choose
to report. They facilitate the reporting of sexual assaults by gaining
victims' confidence in our response system when they understand these
issues and provide supportive climates. The significant increase in
reports during fiscal year 2013, with commanders making disposition
decisions, suggest that our efforts to combat sexual assault are
starting to increase victim confidence.
general officer retirement pay
106. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, the NDAA for Fiscal Year
2007 made significant changes to the pay authorities of flag officers.
The 2007 legislation provided incentives for senior officers to
continue serving by extending the basic pay table from a cap at 26
years to provide increase in longevity pay out to 40 years of service.
According to a press report in USA Today, using 2011 numbers, this
could result in a four-star officer retiring with 38 years of
experience receiving $84,000 more per year in retirement than
previously allowed (63 percent more). The 2007 changes not only
increased longevity pay for senior officers but also allows senior
officers retiring with 40 years of service to receive 100 percent of
their Active Duty pay. Unlike the cap on annual pay, there is currently
no cap on retired pay for these senior officers. Was the purpose of
this legislation to encourage combat experienced one- and two-star
admirals and generals to continue to serve during a time of war?
Ms. Wright. The legislation, although enacted during a period of
extended conflict, was intended to address the longer-term concern
about general and flag officer retention.
At the time the legislation was enacted, DOD was losing 75 percent
of the general and flag officer corps 3 or more years prior to their
mandatory retirement date. With the exception of cost of living
increases, most O-9s and O-10s were serving for over a decade without
increases in salary or retired pay.
Research published by RAND in 2004 indicated compensation was
inadequate for longer careers and found the opportunity costs of
continued service to lifetime earnings were substantial.
DOD does not object to review of, or recommendations regarding,
retired pay calculations for general and flag officers. However,
because of the complexity of the military retirement system, any
proposal for change should be done in the context of a review of that
system holistically and should, thus, come from the congressionally-
established Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization
Commission (MCRMC).
107. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, do you believe this program
is still necessary given the fact that we have withdrawn from Iraq and
are withdrawing most of our troops from Afghanistan?
Ms. Wright. DOD does not object to review of, or recommendations
regarding, retired pay calculations for general and flag officers.
However, because of the complexity of the military retirement system,
any proposal for change should be done in the context of a review of
that system holistically and should, thus, come from the
congressionally-established MCRMC.
108. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, what is the justification,
if any, for keeping this in place?
Ms. Wright. DOD does not object to review of, or recommendations
regarding, retired pay calculations for general and flag officers.
However, because of the complexity of the military retirement system,
any proposal for change should be done in the context of a review of
that system holistically and should, thus, come from the
congressionally-established MCRMC.
109. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Wright, is DOD recommending the
repeal of this provision? Why or why not?
Ms. Wright. DOD does not object to review of, or recommendations
regarding, retired pay calculations for general and flag officers.
However, because of the complexity of the military retirement system,
any proposal for change should be done in the context of a review of
that system holistically and should, thus, come from the
congressionally-established MCRMC.
change in reimbursement for lab tests
110. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Woodson, on February 27, I joined
several of my colleagues in writing to Secretary Hagel about my serious
concerns with a change in TRICARE's reimbursement policy that excludes
certain LDTs and Molecular Pathology Laboratory tests from coverage and
reimbursement for some TRICARE beneficiaries. These tests include ones
commonly used to test for diseases or conditions that may develop
during pregnancy--for example: cystic fibrosis, Fragile X syndrome, and
spinal muscular atrophy. In the letter, we asked for responses to four
questions and requested that we receive answers no later than March 14.
To date, my office has not yet received a response to that letter. How
soon do you anticipate you will provide a formal written response to
our letter?
Dr. Woodson. The response and answers to the four questions was
signed by Acting USD(P&R) Wright and was mailed on April 11, 2014.
111. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Woodson, regarding the change in
reimbursement, many TRICARE beneficiaries as well as laboratories, said
they were not aware of this change in policy. Did the policy change go
through the regular notice and public comment period?
Dr. Woodson. There has been no change in TRICARE's underlying
coverage policies. In January of 2012, the American Medical Association
(AMA) released an updated laboratory coding section, including codes
that previously could be used to bill for LDT. This was done to provide
greater transparency and insight into what tests were being performed
by laboratories. When these older codes (with tests that ranged from
simple blood panels to extremely complex LDTs) were no longer able to
be used, laboratories began using the new codes, which often specified
a gene sequence to be looked at, or a reaction to a specific therapy.
Many of these codes represent LDTs that have not received Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) approval. In accordance with the Federal
regulations governing the TRICARE program, medical devices, including
LDTs, that require FDA approval or clearance for marketing when such
approval or clearance has not been given are excluded from the TRICARE
program.
112. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Woodson, what stakeholder input and
feedback did TRICARE consider when making the decision to exclude
certain laboratory tests from reimbursement?
Dr. Woodson. TRICARE considered its current statute and regulations
which provide the exclusion for devices (such as laboratory tests) that
lack FDA approval. In accordance with the Federal regulations governing
the TRICARE program, medical devices, including LDTs, that require FDA
approval or clearance for marketing when such approval or clearance has
not been given are excluded by TRICARE. When the new Current Procedural
Terminology (CPT) codes created by the AMA for molecular pathology took
effect on January 1, 2013, TRICARE reviewed these codes and their
corresponding LDTs to see if any had FDA approval. Per Federal
regulation, those LDTs that did not have FDA approval are excluded from
coverage.
113. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Woodson, is there a sufficient
appeals process in place for services that a physician determines are
medically necessary for a specific patient but not covered under
current TRICARE policy?
Dr. Woodson. Yes, TRICARE has a well-established appeals and
hearing process which allows patients to challenge adverse benefit
determinations. The regulations governing the appeal and hearing
procedures may be found at Title 32, Code of Federal Regulations, Part
199.10.
Determinations of medical necessity and the accompanying TRICARE
coverage are made on the basis of medical evidence and diligent review.
It is our number one responsibility to ensure that our patients
receive only safe and effective treatment. Our demonstration project
will allow us to address the immediate issue of existing LDTs. However,
the ongoing development of new tests will present similar issues in the
near future.
114. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Woodson, what authorities do you
currently have that may allow you the flexibility to reinstate
reimbursement for the laboratory tests that TRICARE decided to exclude
from coverage?
Dr. Woodson. Under current Federal regulations (Title 32, Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) 199.4(g)(15)(i)(A)), TRICARE may not cost-
share medical devices, including LDTs under the private sector program,
if the device has not received FDA marketing 510(k) clearance, or
premarket approval. Pursuant to Title 10, United States Code (U.S.C.)
Chapter 55, Section 1092, the Secretary of Defense may initiate a
demonstration project to review non-FDA approved/cleared LDTs for
safety and efficacy.
10 U.S.C. 55 section 1092 establishes that the Secretary of
Defense, in consultation with the other administering Secretaries,
shall conduct studies and demonstration projects on the health care
delivery system of the uniformed services with a view to improving the
quality, efficiency, convenience, and cost-effectiveness of providing
health care services (including dental care services) under this title
to members and former members and their dependents. Such studies and
demonstration projects may include the following:
(A) Alternative methods of payment for health and medical care
services;
(B) Cost-sharing by eligible beneficiaries;
(C) Methods of encouraging efficient and economical delivery of
health and medical care services;
(D) Innovative approaches to delivery and financing of health and
medical care services;
(E) Alternative approaches to reimbursement for the administrative
charges of health care plans; and
(F) Prepayment for medical care services provided to maintain the
health of a defined population.
115. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Woodson, isn't it true that the FDA
recognizes certain tests as either valuable, appropriate, or as a
standard of care, even though they may not necessarily be FDA-approved?
Dr. Woodson. I can only speak of LDTs as it relates to the MHS.
This question would best be answered by the FDA.
assessing programs to help members and veterans with psychological
disorders
116. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Woodson, according to the Institute
of Medicine (IOM), between 2000 and 2011, nearly 1 million
servicemembers or veterans were diagnosed with at least one
psychological disorder either during or after deployment. Almost half
of those diagnosed had multiple disorders.
As the result of a congressional mandate, DOD and VA asked the IOM
to conduct a report on the needs of veterans returning from Iraq and
Afghanistan. The report--``Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan:
Assessment of Readjustment Needs of Veterans, Service Members, and
Their Families,'' was released last year. Recently, the IOM released a
follow-up report titled, ``Preventing Psychological Disorders in
Service Members and Their Families: An Assessment of Programs.''
Earlier this year, the Washington Post reported on the latest IOM
study and noted that the study found that several programs at DOD were,
``not consistently based on evidence . . . [and] are evaluated
infrequently or inadequately.'' The study also found that ``each
military service and the Office of the Secretary of Defense administer
dozens of family-focused prevention programs,'' and that instead ``a
more coordinated, comprehensive, and systematic approach is needed.''
In these studies, the IOM also found that DOD lacks the performance
measures necessary to conduct a systematic evaluation of its early
identification and intervention programs that are tailored to
servicemembers and members of their families who may already have or
may be at risk for developing a psychological disorder. The IOM
recommended that DOD focus on implementing a more ``coordinated,
comprehensive, and systematic approach'' to support prevention programs
across the life cycle of military service. What steps can you take to
ensure DOD is able to coordinate efforts in a more efficient manner so
that prevention and/or early intervention is able to take place and our
veterans, servicemembers, and their families are able to receive the
support they may need?
Dr. Woodson. Significant DOD and VA resources and attention have
been, and continue to be, actively deployed to address issues of
integration, coordination, and quality of care within and across both
agencies. This focus began most intensely in 2010 with the initiation
of the Integrated Mental Health Strategy (IMHS) chartered by the DOD
and VA Health Executive Committee, followed by the development of the
Interagency Task Force (ITF) on Military and Veteran Mental Health
established by Executive order in August 2012, and has continued with
new allocation of efforts. Built upon public health principles, the
IMHS between DOD and VA is comprised of 28 Strategic Actions designed
to strengthen access to clinical services, improve continuity of care
across the Departments, streamline the adoption and implementation of
evidence-based practices, and ensure our mental health providers are
delivering state-of-the-art care.
DOD has furthermore greatly increased access to support needed by
our servicemembers and their families by quadrupling the size of its
mental health operations since September 11, 2001, and the number of
providers has increased by 42 percent since 2005. Nearly 10,000 DOD
mental health providers and 65,000 network providers are currently in
place to treat the force and numerous lines of effort have reduced
stigma associated with mental health care. There were more mental
health visits (2 million) than servicemembers (1.4 million) last year.
Since embedding behavioral health care into line units throughout the
Military Departments, use of mental health services by servicemembers
has doubled and the need for inpatient psychiatric admissions has
declined by 25 percent. Further, sleep and nutrition programs are
seeing success, resulting in lower body mass indexes and other signs of
overall physical health. It is DOD policy that access to mental health
care has parity with the availability and provision of other types of
medical care. Compliance with access standards is continuously
monitored.
- A new appointment for routine care must be available within 7
days. A recent data run suggests that the access performance
for routine appointments in mental health clinics is 6.5 days.
- Urgent appointments must be available within 24 hours and an
emergency appointment must be available on demand. Compliance
with these standards nears 100 percent.
- All mental health and multi-disciplinary clinics have an
established walk-in care process and clinics now encourage
walk-ins as needed to meet servicemembers' needs in the moment.
This practice represents a nationwide best practice for
access--the ability to take walk-ins at the moment of need.
- DOD has also begun tracking minimal effective care levels;
for example, tracking the percentage of people who receive 4
behavioral health visits within 90 days after initial diagnosis
of PTSD or depression. This helps ensure that evidence-based
interventions (therapy, medication, or both) are being pursued.
DOD and VA and other leading professional organizations have been
collaborating on the development of clinical practice guidelines since
the early 1990s. In 2010 the Institute of Medicine identified VA and
DOD as leaders in clinical practice guideline development.
Implementation of these jointly deployed evidence-based clinical
practice guidelines improves care by reducing variation in practice and
systematizing best practices within and between these agencies. Two of
the most recently developed CPGs, now widely in use are the
``Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide (2013)''
and ``Management of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress
Reaction (2010).'' Both of these CPGs provide clear and comprehensive
evidence-based recommendations incorporating current information and
practices for practitioners throughout the DOD and VA Health Care
systems to improve patient outcomes and local management of patients
with suicide related behavior and management of patients diagnosed with
PTSD or ASD and are intended to improve patient outcomes and local
management of patients with one of these diagnoses. Implementation of
common and coordinated training in evidence-based psychotherapies
(EBPs) for psychological health conditions (e.g., from fiscal year 2011
through fiscal year 2013, DOD provided training to over 4,700 staff
members on EBPs and added 78 new EBP trainers/consultants). Measures of
effectiveness of treatment for depression, anxiety, and PTSD are now
required by policy, ``Military Treatment Facility Mental Health
Clinical Outcomes (2013).'' The Army's Behavioral Health Data Portal, a
standardized, mobile, and cost-effective standalone system for outcome
measurement, will be adapted for its best use by all Military
Departments.
Other steps taken to ensure DOD is able to coordinate efforts in a
more efficient manner so that prevention and early intervention are
able to take place are demonstrated by ongoing joint goal-setting and
programmatic efforts such as:
- Completion of a series of joint suicide prevention summits
with national leaders and support professionals engaged in
suicide prevention.
- Execution of two proofs of concept pilots to share mental
health staff during times of need with follow-on
recommendations proposed to the HEC. The PH/TBI WG and the
Credentialing and Privileging work group are implementing
recommendations in response to lessons learned from these pilot
programs.
- Release of two web-based self-help training courses: ``Moving
Forward'' and ``Parenting for Servicemembers, Veterans, and
their Families.'' These courses were developed to enhance
access to and engagement with evidence-based mental health
resources, and are accompanied by companion mobile
applications.
- Dissemination of four required Military Culture Training
modules on the VA Training Management System and the
mhs.health.mil web sites in November 2013. The release of these
modules will increase VA, TRICARE-network, and non-network
provider knowledge about military ethos and its impact on
psychological health and treatment.
Most recently, the Cross-Agency Priority Goal (CAP Goal) on
servicemembers and veterans mental health was announced on March 10,
2014, which will continue over a 3-year period. The CAP Goal is led
jointly by the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the Deputy
Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, together with
senior leaders from DOD, HHS, and the White House policy councils.
Progress on the CAP Goal will be overseen by the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) and the Performance Improvement Council, and CAP Goal
Leaders are required to report quarterly to OMB on their progress under
the CAP Goal.
- The CAP Goal was designed to leverage the successes made by
the VA, DOD, and HHS in implementing the President's Executive
order on improving access to mental health services for
veterans, servicemembers, and their families. Much of this work
has been carried out by the ITF which is currently co-chaired
by the DOD Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
(ASD(HA)); the VA Under Secretary for Health; and the HHS
Administrator for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration. The Task Force will submit its next annual
report to the President in May 2014.
- The ITF is currently overseeing a substantial amount of work
in the mental health space, including much work that ties
directly to the CAP Goal mandate. Based on feedback from the
VA, DOD, and HHS, including senior representatives of the ITF,
the CAP Goal shall be executed within the existing ITF
structure to ensure that we build on the good work that is
ongoing under the current ITF structure, and to avoid
duplication of efforts.
- The ITF will continue to operate, focusing on the
requirements of the Executive order, but beginning in April
2014, the ITF will take on the added responsibility of
implementing the CAP Goal lines of effort. All together, the
combined goals and initiatives of the pre-existing IMHS, the
ITF and CAP Goal will ensure that high-quality care is better
coordinated and delivered in an efficient and effective manner.
117. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Woodson, regarding treatment for
servicemembers with psychological health problems, the IOM found that
challenges still exist at both DOD and VA. Among the areas of concern
noted by IOM are inconsistencies in the availability of care, as well
as a lack of systematic evaluation for treatment programs. How can DOD
work more efficiently with the VA, as well as within your own
Department, to ensure that high-quality care is better coordinated and
delivered in an efficient and effective manner?
Dr. Woodson. Significant DOD and VA resources and attention have
been, and continue to be, actively deployed to address issues of
integration, coordination and quality of care within and across both
agencies. This focus began most intensely in 2010 with the initiation
of the Integrated Mental Health Strategy (IMHS) chartered by the DOD
and VA Health Executive Committee, followed by the development of the
ITF on Military and Veteran Mental Health established by Executive
order in August 2012, and has continued with new allocation of efforts.
Built upon public health principles, the IMHS between DOD and VA is
comprised of 28 Strategic Actions designed to strengthen access to
clinical services, improve continuity of care across the Departments,
streamline the adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices,
and ensure our mental health providers are delivering state-of-the-art
care.
DOD has furthermore greatly increased access to support needed by
our servicemembers and their families by quadrupling the size of its
mental health operations since September 11, 2001, and the number of
providers has increased by 42 percent since 2005. Nearly 10,000 DOD
mental health providers and 65,000 network providers are currently in
place to treat the force and numerous lines of effort have reduced
stigma associated with mental health care. There were more mental
health visits (2 million) than servicemembers (1.4 million) last year.
Since embedding behavioral health care into line units throughout the
Military Departments, use of mental health services by servicemembers
has doubled and the need for inpatient psychiatric admissions has
declined by 25 percent. Further, sleep and nutrition programs are
seeing success, resulting in lower body mass indexes and other signs of
overall physical health. It is DOD policy that access to mental health
care has parity with the availability and provision of other types of
medical care. Compliance with access standards is continuously
monitored.
- A new appointment for routine care must be available within 7
days. A recent data run suggests that the access performance
for routine appointments in mental health clinics is 6.5 days.
- Urgent appointments must be available within 24 hours and an
emergency appointment must be available on demand. Compliance
with these standards nears 100 percent.
- All mental health and multi-disciplinary clinics have an
established walk-in care process and clinics now encourage
walk-ins as needed to meet servicemembers' needs in the moment.
This practice represents a nationwide best practice for
access--the ability to take walk-ins at the moment of need.
- DOD has also begun tracking minimal effective care levels;
for example, tracking the percentage of people who receive four
behavioral health visits within 90 days after initial diagnosis
of PTSD or depression. This helps ensure that evidence-based
interventions (therapy, medication, or both) are being pursued.
DOD and VA and other leading professional organizations have been
collaborating on the development of clinical practice guidelines since
the early 1990s. In 2010 the Institute of Medicine identified VA and
DOD as leaders in clinical practice guideline development.
Implementation of these jointly deployed evidence-based clinical
practice guidelines improves care by reducing variation in practice and
systematizing best practices within and between these agencies. Two of
the most recently developed CPGs, now widely in use are the
``Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide (2013)''
and ``Management of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress
Reaction (2010).'' Both of these CPGs provide clear and comprehensive
evidence-based recommendations incorporating current information and
practices for practitioners throughout the DOD and VA Health Care
systems to improve patient outcomes and local management of patients
with suicide related behavior and management of patients diagnosed with
PTSD or ASD and are intended to improve patient outcomes and local
management of patients with one of these diagnoses. Implementation of
common and coordinated training in evidence-based psychotherapies
(EBPs) for psychological health conditions (e.g., from fiscal year 2011
through fiscal year 2013, DOD provided training to over 4,700 staff
members on EBPs and added 78 new EBP trainers/consultants). Measures of
effectiveness of treatment for depression, anxiety, and PTSD are now
required by policy, ``Military Treatment Facility Mental Health
Clinical Outcomes (2013).'' The Army's Behavioral Health Data Portal, a
standardized, mobile, and cost-effective standalone system for outcome
measurement, will be adapted for its best use by all Military
Departments.
Other steps taken to ensure DOD is able to coordinate efforts in a
more efficient manner so that prevention and early intervention are
able to take place are demonstrated by ongoing joint goal-setting and
programmatic efforts such as:
- Completion of a series of joint suicide prevention summits
with national leaders and support professionals engaged in
suicide prevention.
- Execution of two proofs of concept pilots to share mental
health staff during times of need with follow-on
recommendations proposed to the HEC. The PH/TBI WG and the
Credentialing and Privileging work group are implementing
recommendations in response to lessons learned from these pilot
programs.
- Release of two web-based self-help training courses: ``Moving
Forward'' and ``Parenting for Servicemembers, Veterans, and
their Families.'' These courses were developed to enhance
access to and engagement with evidence-based mental health
resources, and are accompanied by companion mobile
applications.
- Dissemination of four required Military Culture Training
modules on the VA Training Management System and the
mhs.health.mil web sites in November 2013. The release of these
modules will increase VA, TRICARE-network, and non-network
provider knowledge about military ethos and its impact on
psychological health and treatment.
Most recently, the Cross-Agency Priority Goal (CAP Goal) on
servicemembers and veterans mental health was announced on March 10,
2014, which will continue over a 3-year period. The CAP Goal is led
jointly by the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the Deputy
Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, together with
senior leaders from DOD, HHS, and the White House policy councils.
Progress on the goal will be overseen by OMB and the Performance
Improvement Council, and CAP Goal Leaders are required to report
quarterly to OMB on their progress under the CAP Goal.
- The Goal was designed to leverage the successes made by VA,
DOD, and HHS in implementing the President's Executive order on
improving access to mental health services for veterans,
servicemembers, and their families. Much of this work has been
carried out by the ITF which is currently co-chaired by the DOD
ASD(HA); the VA Under Secretary for Health; and the HHS
Administrator for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration. The Task Force will submit its next annual
report to the President in May 2014.
- The ITF is currently overseeing a substantial amount of work
in the mental health space, including much work that ties
directly to the CAP Goal mandate. Based on feedback from the
VA, DOD, and HHS, including senior representatives of the ITF,
the CAP Goal shall be executed within the existing ITF
structure to ensure that we build on the good work that is
ongoing under the current ITF structure, and to avoid
duplication of efforts.
- The ITF will continue to operate, focusing on the
requirements of the Executive order, but beginning in April
2014, the ITF will take on the added responsibility of
implementing the CAP Goal lines of effort. All together, the
combined goals and initiatives of the pre-existing IMHS, the
ITF and CAP Goal will ensure that high-quality care is better
coordinated and delivered in an efficient and effective manner.
unified medical program--fiscal year 2015 budget request
118. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Hale, in DOD's medical budget
request, there is $122 million added for expected TRS participation in
part due to certain ACA mandates. Can you give me more detail about
these expected additional costs to DOD?
Mr. Hale. DOD routinely tracks TRS users and costs, so we are able
to identify changes in this program on a monthly and yearly basis. We
speculated that the ACA, and specifically the individual mandate
provision, as well as the DOMA could drive an increase in users and
costs. We did experience a modest increase in TRS participation in
fiscal years 2012 and 2013, although we cannot specifically attribute
that to ACA or DOMA. However, based upon this increasing participation,
we felt it prudent to request reasonable additional funding for the
program beginning in fiscal year 2015. We will track participation and
costs and make appropriate adjustments based upon actual experience.
Following are high-level explanations of the calculations performed.
Affordable Care Act (ACA)
The DOD fiscal year 2015 President's budget request assumes the TRS
program will be the primary point of entry into the MHS for those
eligible individuals, based on their own healthcare consumer decision
criteria, who wish to comply with the ACA established requirements via
a DOD sponsored program. Based on an analysis of both population and
price, the fiscal year 2015 estimate cost is approximately $71 million.
This analysis projects an increase in enrollment of approximately
27,000 single plans and approximately 14,000 family plans. Projected
cost to DOD is $906 for a single plan and $3,382 for a family plan.
These calculations yield a potential additional cost to DOD of $24
million for single plans and $47 million for family plans.
Repeal Defense of Marriage Act
Similarly, DOD fiscal year 2015 President's budget request assumes
the repeal of DOMA will result in an increase in health care and dental
costs of approximately $50 million. This estimate is the product of two
factors: anticipated eligible beneficiary population growth and
projected average cost per beneficiary. The estimate assumes an
eligible beneficiary population growth of approximately 17,000 and an
average cost per beneficiary $2,941.
119. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Hale, how do they break out?
Mr. Hale. Following are high-level breakout explanations of the
calculations performed.
Affordable Care Act (ACA)
DOD fiscal year 2015 President's budget request assumes the TRS
program will be the primary point of entry into the MHS for those
eligible individuals, based on their own healthcare consumer decision
criteria, who wish to comply with the ACA established requirements via
a DOD sponsored program. Based on an analysis of both population and
price, the fiscal year 2015 estimate cost is approximately $71 million.
This analysis projects an increase in enrollment of approximately
27,000 single plans and approximately 14,000 family plans. Projected
cost to DOD is $906 for a single plan and $3,382 for a family plan.
These calculations yield a potential additional cost to DOD of $24
million for single plans and $47 million for family plans.
Repeal Defense of Marriage Act
Similarly, the DOD fiscal year 2015 President's budget request
assumes the repeal of DOMA will result in an increase in health care
and dental costs of approximately $50 million. This estimate is the
product of two factors: anticipated eligible beneficiary population
growth and projected average cost per beneficiary. The estimate assumes
an eligible beneficiary population growth of approximately 17,000 and
an average cost per beneficiary $2,941.
120. Senator Ayotte. Secretary Hale, when did DOD realize that ACA
mandates would increase DOD healthcare costs?
Mr. Hale. DOD routinely tracks TRS users and costs, so we are able
to identify changes in this program on a monthly and yearly basis. We
speculated that the ACA, and specifically the individual mandate
provision, as well as the DOMA could drive an increase in users and
costs. We did experience a modest increase in TRS participation in
fiscal years 2012 and 2013, although we cannot specifically attribute
that to ACA or DOMA. However, based upon this increasing participation,
we felt it prudent to request reasonable additional funding for the
program beginning in fiscal year 2015. We will track participation and
costs and make appropriate adjustments based upon actual experience.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Roy Blunt
religious freedom in the military
121. Senator Blunt. Secretary Wright, many members of our military
are people who profess a particular religious faith. Their ability to
practice and freely express their faith is vital for their well-being
and morale and essential as a matter of the First Amendment. Do you
agree that a climate of uncertainty regarding a servicemember's ability
to practice or express their faith is harmful for servicemembers?
Ms. Wright. Yes, that is why DOD is preparing additional training
materials to clarify issues regarding the First Amendment right to the
free exercise of religion of all military personnel. We place a high
value of the rights of personnel and their families to observe the
tenets of their religious beliefs and recognize that the free exercise
of religion is an important element of the operational readiness and
well-being of our force.
122. Senator Blunt. Secretary Wright, for the second year in a row,
Congress passed provisions in the NDAA requiring DOD to respect the
conscience rights and religious expression of servicemembers. The NDAA
for Fiscal Year 2014 required implementing of regulations by 90 days
after enactment. That deadline was this week and we still do not have
complete implementing regulations from DOD outlining how DOD will
comply with the provisions outlined in the law. Please provide a status
update.
Ms. Wright. DODI 1300.17, ``Accommodation of Religious Practices
Within the Services,'' was updated January 22, 2014, and DODI 1304.28,
``Guidance for the Appointment of Chaplains for the Military
Departments,'' was updated March 20, 2014. These two Instructions
incorporated applicable portions of the explicit language in the NDAA
for Fiscal Year 2014 protecting the conscience rights and religious
expressions of servicemembers and specifically chaplains.
recent incident at the air force academy regarding religious expression
123. Senator Blunt. Secretary Wright, the Air Force Academy said in
a March 14 press release that their emphasis is on core values and
following DOD policy. Please explain the Air Force's understanding of
DODI 1300.17, which references the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2014
requirement for the DOD to respect a servicemember's expression of
religious beliefs.
Ms. Wright. Consistent with Department of Defense Instruction
(DODI) 1300.17, ``Accommodation of Religious Practices in the DOD
(section 4.a),'' the Air Force protects the rights of its airmen to
observe religious practices in accordance with the tenets of their
respective religions or to observe no religion at all. In accordance
with NDAA 2014, section 533(a), Air Force policy directs commanders to
approve requests for religious accommodation unless they could have an
adverse impact on mission accomplishment, military readiness, unit
cohesion, standards, and discipline (cf. AFI 52-101, 4.1).
In order to incorporate the expanded language of NDAA 2014, as
articulated in the January 22, 2014, update to DODI 1300.17, the Air
Force is reviewing AFI 52-101 and other relevant policies. With regard
to the implementation of NDAA 2014, section 533(b), the protection of
chaplain decisions relating to conscience, moral principles, or
religious beliefs, DODI 1304.28, ``Guidance for the Appointment of
Chaplains,'' was updated on March 20, 2014.
The Air Force is also revising its religious accommodation policies
to reflect the public law and the DODI 1304.28. The revision of AFI 52-
101 will state that no servicemember may require a chaplain to perform
any rite, ritual, or ceremony that is contrary to the conscience, moral
principles, or religious beliefs of the chaplain. Further, the policy
will state that no servicemember may discriminate or take any adverse
personnel action on the basis of the refusal by the chaplain to comply
with a requirement prohibited by public law and the DODI.
Finally, the Air Force Chief of Staff hosted a Religious Freedom
Focus Day on April 28, 2014, in Pentagon City, VA, for Air Force senior
leaders. The event focused on discussion and thorough review of law,
policy, practice, standards, complaints, and education concerning
religious freedoms in the Air Force.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR
2015 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM
----------
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Personnel,
Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC.
TO CONTINUE TO RECEIVE TESTIMONY ON THE ACTIVE, GUARD, RESERVE, AND
CIVILIAN PERSONNEL PROGRAMS
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:56 a.m. in
room SR-222, Russell Senate Office Building, Senator Kirsten E.
Gillibrand (chairwoman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Committee members present: Senators Gillibrand, Hirono,
Kaine, King, Ayotte, and Graham.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, CHAIRWOMAN
Senator Gillibrand. The subcommittee meets today to receive
testimony from the military Services on military and civilian
personnel programs contained in the administration's Defense
Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2015 and the Future Years
Defense Program (FYDP).
Before we begin, I want to acknowledge the services being
held today at Fort Hood, TX. Our thoughts and prayers are with
the victims of the tragedy that occurred there last week and
their families. We send our soldiers, airmen, sailors, and
marines into harm's way, but we do not expect the harm to come
from their brothers and sisters in arms here in America. It is
always shocking and saddening when a tragedy like this happens
at home.
I thank all the witnesses for being here today.
Today we have two panels. The first panel consists of the
uniformed personnel chiefs responsible for military and
civilian personnel matters within the Services. We will discuss
not only their plans and programs for fiscal year 2015, but
specific budget items in furtherance of the subcommittee's
oversight. The markup of the 2015 defense bill is not far away,
and your statements and testimony today are extremely important
as we prepare for the legislative year ahead.
Our witnesses are Lieutenant General Howard B. Bromberg,
U.S. Army, Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1; Vice Admiral William F.
Moran, U.S. Navy, Chief of Naval Personnel, N-1; Lieutenant
General Samuel D. Cox, U.S. Air Force, Deputy Chief of Staff
for Manpower, Personnel and Services, A-1; and Lieutenant
General Robert E. Milstead, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, Deputy
Commandant, Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
The second panel consists of senior enlisted members of the
Services. I will introduce them after the first panel
concludes.
As I stated 2 weeks ago at our hearing with senior
Department of Defense (DOD) leaders, I have grave concerns
about this budget, which DOD submitted at a time of tremendous
challenge and uncertainty for the Nation and the military.
Military personnel funding, including funding for health care
for servicemembers, their families, and retirees, school and
commissary benefits, totals $176.6 billion in the fiscal year
2015 request. While this represents a slight decline over last
year's total, the portion of the total budget devoted to
personnel has risen. In fact, this year's budget supports
36,000 fewer Active Duty servicemembers than last year's.
DOD's budget request contains numerous proposals intended
to slow the growth of personnel costs, which would yield over
$2 billion in savings in fiscal year 2015. These savings have
been reallocated to the operating and modernization accounts. I
hope that today we will learn more about the details of these
proposals. Although we have yet to see all the details, we know
that each proposal will have significant impact in and of
itself. Yet, I am especially concerned about their cumulative
effect on servicemembers, especially on junior members of the
force and their families. As our hearing with DOD revealed, it
will be difficult for many of us to support these proposals.
I hope our witnesses today will tell us why these
compensation proposals are needed, what will have to be cut if
Congress does not support them, and why they cannot wait for
the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization
Commission (MCRMC) to report next February, which is tasked
with looking at these very issues in a comprehensive way. I am
particularly interested in hearing from the senior enlisted
members on the second panel about how these proposals will
impact the enlisted force and what implications they foresee if
we do not make all of these changes.
DOD and the Services continue the process of removing
barriers to service by women, an effort I strongly endorse.
While the Army and Marine Corps are opening positions in
occupations already open to women, the real challenge moving
forward will be opening occupations such as infantry, that are
currently closed. A little more than a year ago, Secretary
Panetta and General Dempsey rescinded the ground combat
exclusion policy and gave the Services and the Special
Operations Command until January 2016 to open all positions to
service by women or to request an exception to keep certain
positions closed. At the time, Secretary Panetta said: ``Our
purpose is to ensure that the mission is carried out by the
best qualified and the most capable servicemembers, regardless
of gender and regardless of creed and beliefs. If members of
our military can meet the qualifications for a job--and let me
be clear, I am not talking about reducing the qualifications
for the job--then they should have the right to serve.'' I
strongly endorse this principle that the best qualified
servicemember, regardless of gender, should be able to compete
for even the most difficult jobs.
I hope that the Services, particularly the Army and Marine
Corps, are taking a deliberate and measured approach to
validating occupational standards. I believe that a
scientifically rigorous process that creates gender-neutral
standards will best serve our military and our servicemembers,
both men and women. I hope our witnesses today can tell us
where they are in implementing the Secretary's directive to
open all military occupations to women, how they are validating
occupational requirements, and whether they believe this will
be done on time.
I remain concerned about sexual assaults in the military. I
was disappointed that despite the support of the majority of my
colleagues, we were not given the opportunity to vote on
passage of my proposal to make sure that decisions to prosecute
serious offenses are made by trained, professional, and
independent lawyers rather than commanders who do not have the
training or perspective to make these decisions. But I have not
given up on making this change that our survivors have told us
will make a difference when it comes to reporting the crime.
I will also continue my efforts to make sure that the
changes that have been legislated are implemented in an
effective manner and will continue to work toward initiatives
to better address this scourge in our military.
Senator Graham?
STATEMENT OF SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM
Senator Graham. Thank you.
I will join with the chairwoman of the subcommittee to
report to the full committee a Personnel Subcommittee markup
that defers to the MCRMC. I think it is very important that we
allow this commission to work and that we not make any
structural changes to personnel until the commission report is
back.
Having said that, personnel costs are about half the budget
of DOD, and there will have to be reforms in retirement. They
just need to be prospective.
We will have to look at the sustainability of TRICARE. On
the Reserve side, I am very much interested in what we can do
to not only manage personnel costs but make sure that our Guard
and Reserve members are benefiting from programs that already
exist like TRICARE. One of the more significant accomplishments
I have been involved in is making TRICARE available to
guardsmen and reservists for a fee and their families. I hope
that is helping with recruiting and retention and readiness.
Before Senator Clinton and I were able to come together on
legislation, guardsmen and reservists were not eligible for
TRICARE. If you were called to Active Duty, you would have to
get out of your network if you had one, and your family would
have to change doctors. When you were demobilized, you would
have to switch back if you had a health care provider. That
created a lot of disconcerting events for families. Now TRICARE
is available to all guardsmen and reservists, and I think that
has been a good step toward readiness.
I am very proud of the reforms that Senator Ayotte and
others have made to the way we report sexual assaults in the
military. We are trying to have the most victim-friendly
reporting system of any jurisdiction in the country. A judge
advocate general (JAG) in the future will be assigned to every
victim. When a commander makes a decision regarding the four
major sexual assault crimes in the military, if the JAG
recommends prosecution and the commander says no, that is
automatically taken up with the Service Chief to review the
case, which I think is a good way to let the commanders know
how seriously we take these allegations. Also, if the commander
and the JAG recommend not to prosecute where there is unanimity
between the lawyer and the commander, that has to be reviewed
by the commander's next chain of command, which I think is
appropriate.
I could not disagree with Senator Gillibrand's solution to
this problem more. She is going to continue. I am certainly
going to continue to stop what I think would be an incredibly
bad thing for the military, to remove commanders from having
responsibility, not just over sexual assaults but about 40
percent of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
I believe we have the finest military in the world and it
is for a reason, because our commanders are responsible for
delivering well-trained, ready troops, and they have to make
incredible decisions of life and death. At the end of the day,
they have the ability. They need the ability to discipline the
force. I never want a situation to occur in the military where
there was a sexual assault or an alleged sexual assault in the
barracks and the commander says that is no longer my problem.
That would be devastating for any unit in the Marine Corps,
Army, Navy, and Air Force. I think those who are in the
military understand exactly what I am saying. I will never give
into that because I think it will destroy that continuity of
command.
Finally, about military justice. No matter who recommends
the case to go forward, I do hope that Members of the Senate
and the House will understand that we have an independent
judicial system, and verdicts are not designed to please me or
anyone else. They are designed to render justice, and I hope we
will respect the integrity of the court-martial system, which
is patterned after the Federal Rules of Evidence, and that when
somebody is tried in the military, that the presumption of
innocence will continue, that the victim will have their say,
that they will have legal advice that will be consistent with
allowing them to come forward, that we are changing the Article
32 process so the victim does not have to be called in the
Article 32 hearing, which I think, working with Senator Boxer,
is a good change. But at the end of the day, everybody accused
of a crime anywhere needs to make sure they have a fair trial.
Thank you very much. I look forward to the hearing.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, Senator Graham.
I now invite your opening statements.
Lieutenant General Bromberg.
STATEMENT OF LTG HOWARD B. BROMBERG, USA, DEPUTY CHIEF OF
STAFF, G-1, U.S. ARMY
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Good morning, Chairwoman
Gillibrand, Senator Graham, distinguished members of this
subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before
you on behalf of America's Army.
As we begin our 13th straight year of war with over 151,000
deployed or forward stationed today, we stand at a pivotal
moment in our history. Due to budgetary reductions, we are
executing an historic drawdown of both our military and
civilian personnel while in an unpredictable global security
environment. It is imperative our drawdown efforts be conducted
in a careful and responsible manner that maintains the highest
quality All-Volunteer Force while ensuring the readiness of our
Army for today and for the future.
Our abilities to meet the challenges of the current and
future operational environment depends upon our efforts to
recruit and retain the All-Volunteer Force. As we draw down the
Army, we continue to bring in high quality men and women into
the force to grow our future leaders or retain the most
talented soldiers with the experience and skills necessary to
meet our future needs. Our recruiting operations will face
greater challenges as a greater percentage of America's youth
become ineligible for military service.
As the Army looks to the future, we must take advantage of
all of America's diverse talents. We are expanding
opportunities for women by opening up previously closed
positions and career paths, while ensuring all soldiers can
meet the required physical and professional standards.
The Army is committed to helping soldiers, veterans, and
families transition to a civilian life, career ready, with
established networks of enablers connecting them with
employment, education, and health care. We recognize these
soldiers as soldiers for life and in many cases want to
encourage their continued service in the Reserve component.
We have made significant strides in this past year
eliminating backlogs in the Integrated Disability Evaluation
System (IDES) and ensuring that soldiers receive the benefits
they deserve. We successfully partnered with the Department of
Veterans Affairs to streamline the disability system and
improve coordination for health care, compensation, and
benefits for our medically separated or retired soldiers.
Response to and prevention of sexual assault and harassment
continue to be the Army's top priority with a goal to change
our culture and reduce and ultimately eliminate this crime from
our ranks. We have implemented an unprecedented number of
programs and policy initiatives designed to improve our sexual
harassment and assault response program, and I am confident
that our efforts are putting the right processes and procedures
in place to ensure a climate of safety, trust, and respect for
every member of the Army family, while enhancing accountability
of every member of the Army team.
Our efforts to increase individual and collective
resilience and improve readiness have made significant strides
in the fight against substance abuse, suicide, and stigma
reduction.
As the Army becomes stronger, your support is essential to
our efforts as we draw down thoughtfully, accurately, and
efficiently while maintaining readiness and caring for all of
the members of the Army team.
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Senator Graham, members of the
subcommittee, thank you for your continued support.
I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of General Bromberg follows:]
Prepared Statement by LTG Howard B. Bromberg, USA
introduction
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Senator Graham, distinguished members of
this subcommittee, I thank you for the opportunity to appear before you
on behalf of America's Army. As the U.S. Army begins its 13th straight
year of war, it also stands at a pivotal moment in history. Throughout
our Nation's history, the United States has drawn down military forces
at the close of every war. Today, however, we are in the process of
rapidly drawing down Army forces before the war is over, while
remaining in an unpredictable global security environment. It is
imperative our drawdown efforts be conducted in a careful and
responsible manner that maintains the highest quality All-Volunteer
Force while ensuring the readiness of our Army for today and 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 selflessly served with courage, and honor. 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.
Thank you for your steadfast commitment to support our personnel
initiatives to ensure the sustainment and well being of our All-
Volunteer Force.
strategic overview
The Army remains engaged in our Nation's longest conflict of more
than 13 years with nearly 1.5 million soldiers having deployed once and
more than half a million having deployed multiple times. Today more
than 66,000 U.S. Army soldiers are deployed to contingency operations,
with nearly 32,000 soldiers supporting operations in Afghanistan. In
addition, there are approximately 85,000 soldiers forward stationed
across the globe in nearly 150 countries worldwide. Our soldiers,
civilian employees, and family members remain the strength of our
Nation.
During this time of uncertain budget and security environments, the
Army must responsibly reduce endstrength while reorganizing into a
force that continues to remain prepared to respond to new threats. To
maintain an All-Volunteer Force of the highest quality soldiers and
achieve our end-strength goal, the Army must balance force shaping
across accessions, retention, promotions, voluntary and involuntary
separations, and natural losses. Consistent with the 2012 Defense
Strategic Guidance, we are in the process of drawing down Active Army
end strength from a wartime high of 570,000 to 490,000--a 14 percent
cut--by the end of fiscal year 2015. Simultaneously, we are expanding
opportunities for women in the Army by opening up previously closed
positions and career paths, while ensuring all soldiers can meet the
required physical and professional standards. We continue to prioritize
the response to and elimination of sexual assault and harassment in the
Army, and through the combined efforts of our military and civilian
leaders at all levels, we're implemented an unprecedented number of
program and policy initiatives to eradicate this crime from our ranks.
Our efforts to enhance individual and collective resilience and improve
readiness also made strides in the fight against substance abuse,
suicide and stigma reduction encouraging all to seek help.
Additionally, we have made significant progress this past year in
eliminating backlogs in the Integrated Disability Evaluation System and
ensuring that soldiers receive the benefits they deserve.
Over the last year, we have increased assistance to our soldiers
who transition from their military careers. This past year, we
successfully partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs to
streamline the disability system and improve coordination for health
care, compensation, and benefits for our medically separated and
retired soldiers. Our All-Volunteer Force deserves a quality
transition, and this year approximately 87,000 soldiers will leave the
Active Army and approximately 57,000 will leave the Reserve component
in pursuit of other endeavors. As they reintegrate into their
communities, we will ensure they are career-ready, with opportunities
to use their skills and experience. As we move forward, our efforts
must remain focused on our most precious resource, our soldiers,
families, civilian employees, and veterans.
drawdown/end strength
Under the provisions of the fiscal year 2015 budget request, the
Total Army will reduce to 980,000 soldiers--450,000 in the Active
component, 335,000 in the Army National Guard (ARNG), and 195,000 in
the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) by fiscal year 2017. At this size and
component mix, the Army will be able to execute the 2012 Defense
Strategic Guidance, but it will be at significant risk. However, under
full sequestration funding levels in fiscal year 2016, the Army will be
required to further reduce endstrength to 420,000 in the Active
component, 315,000 in the ARNG, and 185,000 in the USAR by fiscal year
2019. These projected end strength levels would not enable the Army to
execute the 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance.
There is no single force shaping method among the choice of
accessions, retention and separations that will achieve the Army's end
strength goals, and we will be required to use involuntary separation
measures. Reduction programs will focus both quantitatively on soldier
populations where projected inventories, by grade and skill, exceed
future requirements, and qualitatively by assessing soldiers' potential
for future service. The National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal
Year 2012 and Fiscal Year 2013 provided several authorities to help the
Army shape the force over the drawdown period, along with the
flexibility for application against specific grade and skill
requirements. To date, we've separated 239 retirement eligible
lieutenant colonels and colonels using a Selective Early Retirement
Board, and approximately 1,100 noncommissioned officers using the
Qualitative Separation Program. An Officer Separation Board and
Enhanced Selective Early Retirement Board are currently in session and
will select up to 2,000 captains and majors for separation. While we
will lose some combat-seasoned soldiers through involuntary separation
boards they are required along with reduced accession levels,
competitive selection boards, and precision retention to ensure the
Army will balance the force, achieve end strength goals, and retain our
most talented soldiers for the future.
As the Army implements its drawdown strategy to balance the force
and sustain capability and readiness, we are extremely sensitive to
ensuring that we treat our All-Volunteer Force with dignity and respect
recognizing the service and sacrifices of our soldiers and their
families. While the Army will not be able to achieve sufficient
reductions in end strength through natural losses and normal attrition
alone, the Army's priority remains retaining soldiers with the greatest
potential for continued service while encouraging quality soldiers
transitioning from the Active component to continue to serve in the
Reserve components.
recruiting and retention (officer and enlisted)
Our ability to meet the challenges of the current and future
operational environment depends on our ability to recruit and retain
the All-Volunteer Army. Our recruiting mission is currently at 57,000--
the lowest level possible to maintain readiness. As we drawdown the
Army, we continue to bring high quality men and women into the force to
grow our future leaders while retaining the most talented soldiers with
the experience and skills necessary to meet our future needs. Our
recruiting operations, however, will face greater challenges as the
percentage of America's youth ineligible for military service continues
to grow. In today's environment, fewer than one in four 17- to 24-year-
olds are eligible to serve in the Army.
Despite the current challenges of ongoing conflict, future drawdown
plans, and budgetary constraints, the Active Army and the USAR once
again exceeded their enlisted retention missions in fiscal year 2013.
The ARNG achieved 86 percent of their fiscal year 2013 retention
mission. The Guard is on track to achieve the fiscal year 2014
reenlistment mission due to rejuvenated emphasis on retention by senior
leadership, streamlined retention counseling and other business
processes.
The Active component achieved its fiscal year 2013 recruiting
mission and accessed more than 98 percent high school diploma
graduates, with the lowest number of Armed Forces Qualification Test
Category IV enlistments ever, at just .17 percent. The Army also
achieved over 99 percent of requirements for each Military Occupational
Specialty. In addition, 62.4 percent of recruits scored between 50-99
percent on the Armed Forces Qualification Test, exceeding 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 2013 of 1.2
percent.
Although we are currently on track to achieve the fiscal year 2014
recruiting mission, with the exception of the USAR mission, recruiting
is expected to become increasingly difficult. The primary concern in
recruiting for the USAR is the difficulty in finding prior service
soldiers willing to serve in units that are in remote geographic areas
where vacancies exist. Our strategy to attract prior service soldiers
is to engage those Active component soldiers earlier in the
transitioning process by appealing to their sense of service and valued
contribution through continued service and remaining a ``Soldier for
Life.'' We are changing the paradigm in how we share opportunities
available for Active component soldiers who want to transition to the
Reserve component by allowing recruiters to speak with soldiers 365
days prior to their planned transition date.
The USAR is also placing renewed emphasis on their Employer
Partnership Program to attract soldiers. Employers in the program
(including Fortune 500 companies) offer soldiers interviewing and
hiring preference. The USAR is focusing an advertising campaign (pilot)
on the program in Elwood, IL, the city with the most USAR vacancies, in
an effort to evaluate the program's effectiveness as a recruiting tool.
Employing skilled and experienced soldiers in the USAR and ARNG is
beneficial to the Army as well as soldiers and their families. Our
focus is stressing opportunities for continued benefits, and ensuring
that the soldier remains a valued member of the Army team.
Entering fiscal year 2014, the combined Active and Reserve
components will spend slightly over $528 million in enlistment and
retention incentives (bonuses, loan repayment, and college kickers).
This is a sharp reduction over the last 3 years. In 2012, the Army paid
$1.08 billion in incentives, and in 2013 we paid $838 million. Further,
as a result of prior year success, the percentage of Active 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. At the start of fiscal year 2014, only Military
Occupational Specialties 35P (Signal Intelligence Linguist) and 25S
(Satellite Communications) and selected Ranger and Airborne skills
receive an enlistment bonus for the Active Army. For retention, Special
Operations, Rangers, and Linguists were the primary Military
Occupational Skills that were targeted to receive selective retention
bonuses. A tougher future recruiting environment may require additional
resources for incentives.
Compensation is a critical element in the Army's ability to recruit
and retain a quality All-Volunteer Force. We are extremely grateful for
the high quality care and compensation our Nation has provided to our
soldiers over the last decade. As we continue to examine compensation
reform, it is essential to review and consider the impact of all
proposals on the future of the All-Volunteer Force. The Army supports a
holistic and comprehensive approach that reforms military compensation
in a fair, responsible, and sustainable way. The manner in which we
treat our soldiers and families as we draw down the Army will set the
conditions for our ability to recruit in the future.
army civilian personnel
As the Army evolves, we are undertaking significant changes in the
way we manage and develop our civilian workforce. We must focus on
preserving the most important capabilities of this critical element of
our Total Force. The Army will continue to make investments in talent
management and leadership development of our Civilian Corps as we
resize and reshape to meet future Army requirements.
Similar to their uniformed counterparts, Army civilian employees
are required to demonstrate competence, technical proficiency and
professional values to achieve mission and individual success. Over the
past 3 years, the Army has implemented a number of changes to improve
training, educational and experiential opportunities for the civilian
workforce. Functional training is critical to ensure that Army civilian
employees can successfully perform their assigned duties. Focused
leader development, improvements to the Civilian Education System and
continued maturity of the Senior Enterprise Talent Management Program
are all designed to build a more professional and competency-based
civilian workforce. We have aligned our entire civilian workforce into
31 career programs, which allows all of our civilian employees to see a
clear path and understand the competencies required for career
progression. We are implementing an Army Acculturation Program for
civilian employees new to the Army, which we anticipate will increase
the retention rate of these talented individuals, and we are providing
opportunities for the Army's civilian workforce to benefit the Army's
resiliency building programs.
As the military force is reduced and the Army navigates an era of
funding constraints, we will reduce the Civilian workforce. We are in
the process of drawing down our Civilian workforce from a wartime high
of 285,000 in fiscal year 2010, down to an estimated 263,000 by the end
of fiscal year 2015, with additional reductions projected through
fiscal year 2019. We will use all available workforce shaping tools
such as Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary
Separation Incentive Pay (VSIP) to reduce turbulence in our Civilian
workforce, while retaining the skills we need to meet mission
objectives. The goal is to use Reduction in Force (RIF) as a last
resort. Reductions are linked to changing Army workload priorities,
military missions and available funding. For example, unit
inactivations will drive changes to training, training support and
installation support requirements supported by our civilian personnel.
We will have to adjust in order to continue to invest resources into
higher priority missions. Additionally, to achieve the goal established
by Secretary of Defense to decrease the overhead and administrative
staff in Management Headquarters Activities, the Army will continue to
reduce these staffs. This work began in earnest in 2012 and will
continue over the next 5 years. We must be certain our civilian
workforce drawdown is done responsibly, with deliberate planning, to
ensure we have the best talent possible to meet future challenges.
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. 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 Army's Transition Assistance Program, known as the Army Career
and Alumni Program (ACAP) made tremendous strides this past year to
improve the assistance services provided to transitioning soldiers. The
Army developed a Transition Campaign Plan that provides the blueprint
for Army Transition over fiscal year 2014-2015 and incorporates
``preparation'' for Transition, ``connection'' to meaningful employment
and education opportunities during transition.
To support this expansion of transition services, we hired 65
education advisors, bringing the total number of Army wide transition-
related service providers to nearly 700. We established a new ACAP
center in Kuwait and created 21 regionally-located transition support
teams to assist the USAR and ARNG.
In fiscal year 2013, the Army transitioned 144,000 soldiers under
the new, re-engineered ACAP. This marks the first year the program was
able to record an entire year's worth of data in order to analyze
trends and allocate resources accordingly. Veterans Opportunity to Work
(VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 requirements for all transitioning
soldiers include: receiving preseparation counseling, including
attending two Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Benefits Briefings,
and participating in the Department of Labor Employment Workshop,
unless exempt. Our VOW compliance is rapidly increasing each month as
the program reaches across the Total Force and our additional resources
are fully emplaced.
soldier 2020
As the Army looks to the future and recruiting challenges increase,
we must take advantage of the best talent, without regard to gender. To
ensure the success of our soldiers of 2020 as we expand opportunities
for women, the Army is proceeding with an integrated, incremental, and
scientific approach that preserves unit readiness, cohesion, and
morale. The Army is committed to ensuring all soldiers are provided
full career opportunities to reach their highest potential and enhance
overall Army readiness. This initiative will positively impact
readiness tremendously by allowing men and women to have the same
career opportunities across a broad spectrum of units, positions and
occupations.
Over the last year, the Army opened to women approximately 4,500
positions within 17 Active component Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) and 9
Army Guard BCTs. In November 2013, the Army opened approximately 3,600
13A (Field Artillery Officer) positions in the Active Army and Reserve
component. As of March 10, 2014, women have been assigned to 169
officer and 477 enlisted positions that opened within 26 BCTs. The U.S.
Special Operations Command opened approximately 1,500 positions to
women within select aviation specialties in Special Operations Aviation
Regiment. On January 17, 2014, the Secretary of Defense notified
Congress of the Army's intent to open approximately 33,000 positions in
132 already open occupations to women.
In April 2013, the first female soldiers completed training as
Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Crewmembers, with the best female
graduate scoring 100 percent on all examinations--the highest score to
date for any soldier. Female Field Artillery Officers have been
assigned to MLRS and High Mobility Artillery Rocket System units since
2012, and recently 10 women have been assigned to cannon battalions in
Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). Women are proving themselves in positions
that have been opened to them.
sexual harassment/assault response and prevention (sharp) program
The response to and prevention of sexual assault and harassment are
top Army priorities with a goal to reduce and ultimately eliminate this
crime from our ranks. Through the combined efforts of our military and
civilian leaders at all levels, we've implemented an unprecedented
number of program and policy initiatives designed to improve our Sexual
Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program. These initiatives
are aligned with the Army's five imperatives to: (1) prevent offenders
from committing crimes, provide compassionate care for victims and
protect the rights and privacy of survivors; (2) ensure every
allegation is reported, thoroughly and professionally investigated and
appropriately acted upon; (3) create a positive climate and environment
of trust and respect in which every person can thrive and achieve their
full potential, and continually assess the command climate; (4) hold
every individual unit and organization and every commander
appropriately accountable for their behavior, actions and inactions;
(5) ensure the chain of command is fully engaged and centrally
responsible and accountable for solving the problems of sexual assault
and sexual harassment within our ranks and for restoring trust of our
soldiers, civilians, and families. Some of the key initiatives include
the following:
Changing culture is essential to our success. To
change culture at the lowest level, the Army now requires SHARP
goals and objectives in all officer and noncommissioned officer
(NCO) evaluations; requires Army leaders to assess Command
Climate and requires 360 degree assessments as an additional
tool for raters to conduct developmental dialogue with O-5 and
O-6 level commanders. These three significant changes will
enable leadership at various levels to remain engaged in the
conduct of their subordinates and will improve accountability
throughout the chain of command.
The Army established more stringent screening criteria
and background checks for those serving in positions of
significant trust, including Sexual Assault Response
Coordinators (SARCs), Victim Advocates (VAs), drill sergeants,
Advanced Individual Training platoon sergeants and recruiters.
The new processes and procedures are designed to enhance the
soldiers' professionalism and ensure commanders are actively
selecting those who are best suited for their roles and
responsibilities. To date, we have reassigned or removed 588
soldiers who were not best-suited to serve in these positions
of trust.
The Army enhanced its capability to investigate and
prosecute sexual offenses by establishing a Special Victim
Capability Program which is comprised of 23 special victim
prosecutors, 22 sexual assault investigators and 28 special
victim paralegals at 19 installations worldwide. We've also
trained 105 active duty and more than 120 Reserve judge
advocates through our Special Victim Counsel Program, which was
established in October 2013. We've conducted three live courses
and one distance learning course, each involving about 22 hours
of training, and we have begun to receive extremely positive
feedback from victims.
The Army implemented new policy to ensure that any
final decision to retain a member convicted of a sex offense is
fully informed and determined at the secretariat level. This
same policy also prohibits the overseas assignment or
deployment of any soldier convicted of a sex offense.
In addition to ensuring compliance with the 2013 and 2014 National
Defense Authorization Acts and Secretary of Defense directives, these
initiatives are reinforced at every Professional Military Education
(PME) school that a soldier attends throughout his or her career.
We are seeing the results of our efforts to achieve a cultural
change in the Army. Based on preliminary data, in fiscal year 2013,
there were 2,149 reports of sexual assault, representing an increase of
51 percent over fiscal year 2012 numbers (85 percent were restricted;
15 percent were unrestricted). We believe this unprecedented increase
in reports is due to a growing level of confidence in our response
system and a sign that victims have increased confidence in their chain
of command and in the Army's commitment to treat and care for them.
Our assessment of increased confidence is supported by the fact
that there are a growing number of reports made by victims about
incidents that took place prior to joining the military. For example,
in fiscal year 2013, approximately 5.3 percent of sexual assault
reports from soldiers were for incidents that occurred prior to their
military service. In fiscal year 2012, the reporting of sexual assaults
prior to military service was 2 percent. Additionally, in fiscal year
2013 more than 15 percent of reports were made more than a year after
the assault occurred.
The Army continued its efforts to place full-time military and
civilian SHARP professionals at brigade and equivalent-level units.
During the past year, we hired 174 new Civilian SHARP personnel to
augment military personnel serving in brigade-level SARC/VA positions.
To date, more than 12,800 individuals have been credentialed to serve
as a SHARP professional in accordance with the 2012 National Defense
Authorization Act. Additionally, the Army SHARP Program is in the
process of transitioning from contract-led mobile training teams to
Department of Army Civilian-led mobile training teams. We now have 12
Department of Army civilian trainers assigned and anticipate hiring 34
more this year.
We have realized the need to professionalize our personnel serving
in SHARP positions. To ensure we do so, the Army has piloted a
centralized SHARP Schoolhouse in fiscal year 2014, with the intent of
standing up a permanent schoolhouse at the end of fiscal year 2014 or
beginning of fiscal year 2015. The SHARP Schoolhouse incorporates
instruction from the Army's Criminal Investigation Division, Office of
The Judge Advocate General, Office of The Surgeon General and others,
to better prepare full-time SARCs and VAs for the situations they
typically encounter. The comprehensive 8-week training at the SHARP
schoolhouse develops high quality personnel who can establish and
maintain the confidence and trust of the soldiers they support. The
SHARP Schoolhouse graduated its first class of 32 individuals this
month.
Additionally, we are assessing the efficacy of this year's new
initiatives as well as ones that were previously implemented. Through a
combination of data collection, metrics, and field interactions to
include troop visits, focus groups, inspections, panel discussions and
surveys, we're putting into place the right tools required to
effectively evaluate our efforts.
The Chief of Staff of the Army has led SHARP Senior Leader Summits
with the Army's top officers and noncommissioned officers. In June
2013, the Summit focused on achieving cultural change by reducing, with
a goal toward eliminating, sexual assault from our ranks. The January
2014 Summit served as a follow-up progress report on Commands' efforts,
with a focus on victim advocacy.
I am confident that our efforts are putting the right processes and
procedures in place to ensure a climate of safety, trust, and respect
for every member of the Army family.
the integrated disability evaluation system
In fiscal year 2013, the Army made significant progress across the
IDES by eliminating backlogs at the Medical Evaluation Boards (MEBs)
and the Physical Evaluation Boards (PEBs). To address the backlog, the
Army surged manpower, increased the availability of resources, improved
processes, and clarified policy. We are now meeting timeliness goals
for all stages under Army control while processing approximately 80
percent more cases per year than we did in any year before the
inception of IDES.
We continue to partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
to further improve IDES. As expected, as we reduced the backlogged
cases under Army control, the backlog moved to the VA-controlled
stages. We continue to support the VA as they strive to eliminate their
backlog and meet joint timeliness standards by October 2014. VA is a
great partner, as we work together to improve this system. Moving
forward, it is of key importance that we retain and improve the quality
medical and administrative care afforded our soldiers and veterans as
we improved the timeliness of the IDES process.
One of our significant improvements is the fielding of the IDES
Soldiers' and Commanders' Dashboard in August 2013. The dashboard
compares soldiers' progress through the IDES process against both joint
DOD/VA goals, and the average of others who have moved through the
system over the most current 90-day period. This provides soldiers with
an estimate of when they will transition from the Army allowing them to
better plan for their future.
Since the beginning of fiscal year 2013, the Army has processed
more than 40,500 cases through the Disability Evaluation System. Of the
completed cases, 3 percent returned to duty; 67 percent were separated;
and 30 percent were placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List. As
of January 2014, there were 23,586 soldiers in the IDES process.
In January 2014, 82 percent of all MEB cases were completed within
joint DOD/VA IDES standards, compared to 35 percent in October 2012.
We've had similar success with PEBs, averaging 71 days against a goal
of 90 days.
The surge of cases completed since the beginning of fiscal year
2013 increased the number of Veterans on the Army's Temporary
Disability Retired List (TDRL) from 12,079 at the close of fiscal year
2012 to 17,177 at the close of January 2014. Historically greater than
98 percent of those placed on TDRL do not return to active status. The
Army is working with DOD to see if the current use and structure of the
TDRL best suits the Services requirements. As VA continues to reduce
its backlog we expect we will meet the DOD/VA goal of completing the
IDES process in 295 days.
ready and resilient campaign
The Army implemented the Ready and Resilient (R2) Campaign in March
2013 to build upon the demonstrated inherent strength of our soldiers,
family members, and civilian employees. This effort provides members of
the Army Profession the encouragement, programs, resources, tools and
training to further develop the skills, behaviors and attributes which
help build resiliency and strengthen them personally and
professionally. We have implemented numerous institutional changes that
will yield enduring cultural transformation and create an Army
environment that supports and develops our members to perform at their
optimum level on a daily basis, and enables them to recover and grow
from adversities. By building the resiliency of our people, and
emphasizing the performance triad of sleep, activity and nutrition, we
increase the readiness of our Total Force.
Focus areas in the campaign include: (1) comprehensive resilience
training that develops coping skills and behaviors and increases
capability; (2) education about and the promotion of preventive
measures that encourage self-awareness, deter high-risk behaviors, and
support healthy alternatives that produce positive outcomes; (3)
increased emphasis on leadership involvement, empowerment and
accountability; (4) program capability assessment to appropriately
align support programs and resources; and (5) a scientific process for
measuring success.
During fiscal year 2013, we integrated resilience training into
existing training and deployment requirements. Through our approach to
Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness (CSF2), the Army makes
available hands-on training and online self-assessment and self-
development tools to the members of the Army Team. Soldiers, family
members, and Army civilian employees have access to scientifically-
validated tools to help them build their overall resilience. The CSF2
program has, to-date, trained more than 20,000 Master Resilience
Trainers, to include volunteer Spouse Master Resiliency Trainers. The
Army established 16 Training Centers at installations across the
country to provide resilience expertise tailored to the needs of the
local Army community.
Also in fiscal year 2013, we launched the Commander's Risk
Reduction Dashboard (CRRD) to provide commanders a greater
understanding of high risk behaviors and to aid them in better
identifying ``at-risk'' and ``high-risk'' soldiers. This dashboard
aggregates data from multiple Army databases to enable early, proactive
intervention and assistance. This effort is designed to protect
soldiers before more problems arise and curtail risky behavior.
In fiscal year 2014, we will continue to analyze and assess
existing programs, tools, and training. Based on these results, we will
identify opportunities to restructure Army systems and processes to
better prioritize resources while promoting resilience throughout the
Army.
army suicide reduction
As of March 14, in calendar year 2013, the Army reported 302
potential suicides (245 confirmed and 57 suspected)--an aggregate drop
of 23 in the overall number of suicides as compared to calendar year
2012. Although this shows improvement, we recognize that the suicide
rate in the Army, like the rest of the country, continues to pose a
significant challenge for which there is no easy solution. We believe
this decrease in suicides is an indicator that our resiliency efforts
and increased access to Behavioral Health Services are beginning to
have a positive impact on the force.
The Army continues to employ a comprehensive and multi-faceted
approach to reduce suicides among soldiers, family members, and
civilian employees. We are focusing on overall health and wellness,
increased individual resilience, risk reduction and enhanced individual
and unit readiness. Key components to our approach are: improved leader
awareness of high-risk behavior; increased resilience training; prompt
access for soldiers to quality behavioral health care; and multi-point
screening and documentation of mild Traumatic Brain Injuries and Post-
Traumatic Stress.
Ongoing efforts to strengthen the resilience of our soldiers and
consequently reduce the incidence of suicide include:
Partnering with the National Institute of Mental
Health for the largest behavioral health study ever undertaken
of risk and resilience factors among servicemembers (Army Study
to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (STARRS)).
Embedded behavioral health clinics help soldiers
improve their ability to cope with and mitigate stress related
to relationships, separation, deployments, financial pressures,
work-related issues, etc. This approach is in contrast to a
traditional system of behavioral healthcare in which soldiers
must seek out care from hospital-based providers, embedded
providers work in clinics located where combat soldiers live
and work. Embedded behavioral health services have been
associated with fewer suicide attempts and hospitalizations for
psychiatric conditions.
Continuing the use of ``myPRIME,'' a confidential
online alcohol and substance abuse risk, self-assessment tool
that provides risk assessment and targeted education for
remotely located (Reserve component and deployed) soldiers.
Expanding the random panel for military drug testing
to include commonly abused prescription drugs such as
hydrocodone, hydromorphone, benzodiazepines as well as
synthetic cannabinoids.
Implementing the Community Health Promotion Council as
is an integral part of the commander's resources for
identifying and mitigating root causes that affect soldier,
family member, and civilian employee well-being while
developing the right services and programs available to
increase readiness and resiliency.
We continue to exercise an aggressive training initiative to
increase awareness and understanding of prevention and intervention
skills. To help enable leaders' roles in reducing the incidence of
suicide, we have incorporated suicide prevention and intervention
awareness training into our commander and first sergeant courses. We
developed specialized on-line training for our Suicide Prevention
Program Managers to enhance awareness of programs and available
resources to support suicide prevention activities.
Additional initiatives to combat suicide across the Force include
the ARNG's and USAR's funding of full-time Suicide Prevention Program
Manager positions in each of its 54 States and territories, and across
major commands to advise commanders and facilitate efforts to reduce
risk and prevent suicides. Our Suicide Reduction Working Group provides
a forum for stakeholders, Army-wide, to collaborate on policies,
education and training, services and resources, and ongoing initiatives
that mitigate high risk behaviors and incidents of suicide.
The Army's efforts to reduce the incidence of suicide are embedded
within the comprehensive approach of the Ready and Resilient Campaign.
This approach is designed to strengthen our Army professionals by
enhancing their resiliency and sustaining a supportive environment that
emphasizes early intervention and prevention of suicidal behaviors. We
continue to revise policy as required to promote and increase awareness
of prevention and intervention skills, services, and resources.
army substance abuse program
The Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) is a Commander's program
that emphasizes readiness and personal responsibility. ASAP provides
services to the Active component, USAR, ARNG, veterans, family members,
and Department of Army (DA) civilian personnel and is an integral part
of the Army's Ready and Resilient Campaign. The focus of the ASAP is
prevention, drug testing, early identification of problems,
rehabilitation, and the retention of quality personnel. The Army
recognizes the role substance abuse plays in many high-risk behaviors,
including suicide and sexual assault, and that a healthy, drug-free
force is critical to maintaining a Ready and Resilient Total Army.
Consequently, the Army is responding with comprehensive prevention
initiatives, increased counselor hiring, confidential substance abuse
treatment options, and stigma reduction campaign efforts.
The number of soldiers enrolled for alcohol abuse and dependence
decreased from 10,580 in fiscal year 2012 to 9,625 in fiscal year 2013.
Positive screens for illicit drug use have increased very slightly
(1.16 percent in fiscal year 2012 vs. 1.21 percent in fiscal year
2013). There remains a concern that soldiers are abusing more
prescription medications and using synthetic illicit drugs.
To assist leaders in building and maintaining resilience within
their soldiers, the Army developed ``Strong Choices,'' a standardized
4-hour substance abuse prevention-training package. A primary focus of
the new standardized curricula is to educate leaders in emerging
substance abuse issues and to assist leaders in taking a positive,
proactive approach with their soldiers.
ASAP counselors are vital in counseling and caring for soldiers who
are battling substance abuse. Working closely with soldiers and
commanders, ASAP counselors help to maintain the health and readiness
of our force. As of February 2014, the Army has 398 ASAP counselors
worldwide and is continuing to working to recruit and retain the very
best professionals for this critical mission.
The Confidential Alcohol Treatment and Education Pilot (CATEP)
allows soldiers to confidentially refer themselves for treatment
without command notification if they meet eligibility requirements. In
early 2009, the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 initiated the pilot of
the program. In May 2013, the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff
of the Army approved the CATEP for Army-wide expansion. We are
beginning to see positive results with the number of soldiers enrolled
who most likely would not have sought help without this program.
congressional assistance
As the Army becomes smaller, we will need to work with Congress in
our efforts to draw down and reform military compensation thoughtfully,
accurately and efficiently while maintaining readiness. The continued
support of Congress for competitive civilian and 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.
Support for legislative proposals that will allow the Army greater
flexibility as we drawdown the force is also vital. 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 smaller, balanced force of the
future. 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.
conclusion
People are the Army, and our enduring priority is to preserve the
high quality, All-Volunteer Force--the essential element of our
strength. The nation faces uncertainty and, in the face of such
uncertainty, needs a strong Army that is trained, equipped, and ready.
We must be prepared for the next contingency that calls for the use of
Army forces.
While we transform to a smaller Army, we remain dedicated to
improving readiness, and building resilience in our soldiers, family
members, and civilian employees. The Army cannot sacrifice readiness as
it draws down. We must preserve the health of the force and prevent
breaking faith with the brave men and women who serve our Nation.
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Senator Graham, and members of the
subcommittee, 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 which will
continue to be vital to ensure the future of our Army.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, Lieutenant General.
Next is Vice Admiral Moran.
STATEMENT OF VADM WILLIAM F. MORAN, USN, CHIEF OF NAVAL
PERSONNEL/DEPUTY CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS FOR MANPOWER,
PERSONNEL, TRAINING AND EDUCATION, N-1, U.S. NAVY
Vice Admiral Moran. Good morning, Chairwoman Gillibrand and
Ranking Member Graham and distinguished members of the
subcommittee.
Allow me to add my thanks for what you have done and
continue to do for the welfare of our sailors, Navy civilians,
families, and retirees.
Today, more than one-third of our Navy is underway, a
significant accomplishment given the fiscal challenges we faced
in 2013. As we took on this budget, certainly we understood the
imperative of reducing national debt in order to sustain our
national security. But many of the financial levers we pulled
last year to mitigate operational impacts were simply no longer
available this year. If sequestration were to continue, we
would experience irreversible consequences to our long-term
combat readiness and jeopardize our ability to retain high
quality sailors. As our Chief of Naval Operations (CNO)
recently stated, it would be much tougher to maintain a Navy
where it matters and when it matters.
Right now, sailors from the Bush Strike Group are in the
Arabian Sea. The USS Harry S. Truman is returning after a 9-
month deployment. USS Donald Cook is headed into the Black Sea
to reassure allies and to build partner capacity. As we have
all seen, our men and women forward in the Pacific are
contributing to search efforts along with 26 other nations for
Malaysian Airline flight 370.
All of what American sea power means today and might become
is due to the selfless service of the men and women who make it
so. They stand directly at the center of the budget now before
you.
Every tough choice we made in this budget was in favor of
maintaining quality of service for our sailors. Our objectives
were to maintain and improve manning at sea, retain our best
and brightest sailors, increase the readiness of our sailors
and their families. We owe them the tools, the parts, the
training, and the professional work environment they need to
succeed in their mission. That is what they tell us they need
and that is what this budget delivers. Fortunately, as this
committee has agreed to time and time again, that is what our
people deserve and nothing less. On behalf of them, thank you
for what you have done and continue to do for our Navy and the
security of our Nation.
With that, I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Admiral Moran follows:]
Prepared Statement by VADM William F. Moran, USN
i. introduction
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Graham, and distinguished
members of the subcommittee, I am honored to appear before you to
review Navy manpower, personnel, training, education and family support
programs and priorities for fiscal year 2015.
ii. a ready and capable global navy
Since assuming duties as Chief of Naval Personnel and Deputy Chief
of Naval Operations (Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education) this
past summer, I have had the opportunity to listen to, and learn from,
sailors across the fleet. It is clear that Navy remains an integral
part of our National Military Strategy, especially at maritime
crossroads. Every day our sailors are involved in essential missions
around the globe involving power projection, deterrence, warfighting,
antipiracy, humanitarian aid and disaster relief and peacekeeping. As
our presence in the Asia-Pacific Theater expands, we will fill an
increasingly vital role in this important region of the world.
Maintaining trust with sailors, Navy civilian employees, and their
families, is among my bedrock principles. It is essential that we keep
faith through transparency; and clear, consistent, and well-
communicated policies. As stewards of the greatest naval force in
history, we must balance our force to meet future challenges amid ever-
tightening fiscal constraints; not only in force size and structure,
but in ship-to-shore timing and resource allocation. We must also
provide stability in the lives of sailors, Navy civilians, and
families. By communicating and achieving clear expectations, and
maintaining faith with our people, we expect to retain the force in
whom we have significantly invested.
In support of the Chief of Naval Operations' tenets--Warfighting
First, Operate Forward and Be Ready--I have established three
complementary lines-of-effort--Force Readiness and Manning, Force
Management, and Force Resiliency--aimed at building stability in
policies that reassure our sailors and their families, while continuing
to maintain fleet readiness.
Force Readiness and Manning
We are continuing our efforts to achieve and maintain required
manning and readiness levels by attracting highly qualified men and
women to serve in the most effective and technologically advanced naval
force in history and developing them to provide the tools they need to
succeed. Our success in retaining this high quality work force depends
on our ability to provide world-class quality of service for our
sailors, civilian employees, and their families.
Force Management
We must continue to develop and implement flexible policies that
facilitate delivery of highly-trained and fully-qualified personnel to
fill billets at sea. We are maximizing the potential of Navy's All-
Volunteer Force by continuing to develop a diverse and qualified fleet.
We are also taking deliberate steps to forecast future operating
environments and ensure we are prepared to meet emerging challenges
with the proper force structure. As we assess the size of our future
force structure, we must be prepared to make the necessary adjustments
to properly man the force, balancing the recruitment and retention of
high-quality people to acquire and maintain the skills necessary to
achieve mission success.
Force Resiliency
We continue to focus efforts on improving sailor wholeness and
promoting a culture of respect and total fitness to prevent destructive
behaviors. The 21st century sailor initiative protects Navy families by
promoting healthy, efficient, and professional work environments,
providing world-class support to families, and fulfilling our promise
to prepare sailors transitioning to civilian life. It sustains and
uplifts sailors confronting the stresses of war, prolonged deployments
and an uncertain future. Through effective drug and alcohol abuse
prevention and suicide prevention, Navy has seen a positive inflection
point for nearly every trend tracked in our portfolio over the past
year.
iii. force readiness and manning
We will deliver the right person, with the right skills, to the
right job, at the right time--a metric we call ``Fit.'' We will also
anticipate combatant commander priorities to ensure that we meet the
warfighting needs of our joint and coalition partners.
Recruiting (Enlisted)
Over the past 6 years, we have consistently succeeded in attracting
the Nation's best and brightest to serve in our enlisted ranks. fiscal
year 2013 was a solid recruiting year in which all enlisted programs
exceeded both Department of Defense and Department of the Navy quality
standards. We attribute this success, in large part, to the outstanding
work of our recruiting force applying inclusive diversity recruiting
practices; and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
outreach. Strategic partnerships with STEM-related affinity groups, and
engagements with high school and college students, have increased
awareness of Navy service as a highly desirable career option, inspired
the next generation of technically-capable sailors, and developed
centers of influence that contribute to recruiting efforts. While
enlisted accession quality declined in fiscal year 2013, with 84.6
percent of accessions scoring in the upper 50th percentile on the Armed
Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, compared with 90.2 percent in
fiscal year 2012, we continue to exceed the Department of Defense (DOD)
and Navy minimum quality standards. However, this decline will
effectively reduce the size of the pool of high-quality applicants
increasing the challenge in meeting accession demands. This situation
is exacerbated by the fact that the Reserve component's ability to
access and retain high-quality prior-service sailors is limited by
reductions in Reserve Force structure and end strength.
Navy Enlisted Supply Chain
The Navy Enlisted Accession Supply Chain (NEASC), one of our
highest priority MPT&E investments, will fundamentally change the way
we plan, train and fill sea and shore billets, and will systematically
correct recurring gaps. Street-to-Fleet, as implementation of NEASC is
known, optimizes the processing of sailors from enrollment in the
Delayed Entry Program through Recruit Training Command, and follow-on
basic (A-school) and advanced (C-school) skills training, until they
arrive for duty in the fleet, trained and ready for sea. This
initiative has identified semi-automated methods to positively plan and
track sailor accessions through 921 unique training paths. Initial
results allowed the realignment of 23.3 man-years of training capacity
to address emergent fleet training requirements; and, continued
improvement is expected as this capability matures.
Recruiting (Officer)
We achieved aggregate Active component general officer and medical
officer goals; however, we continue to face challenges in achieving
Reserve component general and medical officer recruiting goals. This
challenge is in part due to the strong active duty retention we
continue to enjoy; but which significantly reduced the prior service
pool from which the Reserve component acquires most of its accessions.
Reserve component officer manning across all health professions is at
92 percent, although we are experiencing significant shortages within
the Medical Corps which is manned at just 75 percent. Reserve component
general officer manning is 101 percent, while shortfalls exist among
the Naval Special Warfare, Aviation Warfare (Pilots and Naval Flight
Officers) and Engineering Duty Officer communities.
The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) seeks applicants with the greatest
potential to become future leaders in the Navy and Marine Corps.
Academic ability and proficiency demonstrated in STEM courses continue
to be key in identifying and selecting the most highly-qualified
candidates who demonstrate strong leadership qualities and moral
character. Since 2009, USNA has promoted outreach through a variety of
public venues including, summer STEM camps and seminars designed to
encourage middle and high school students to value STEM and potential
career opportunities in the naval service. Nearly 69 percent of
midshipmen commissioning as ensigns in the class of 2014 are majoring
in STEM disciplines. Over the past decade, women and minority
representation in the Brigade has steadily increased--presently 22 and
34 percent, respectively. Through national outreach and promoting the
value of a STEM curriculum, USNA will continue to attract the finest
applicants our Nation has to offer to graduate technically competent
leaders for commissioned naval service.
The Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program also
attracts brilliant men and women to serve through undergraduate
education opportunities; which offer scholarships consisting of
tuition, fees, book stipend, uniforms and a monthly subsistence
allowance; along with military training opportunities leading to a
commission as a Navy or Marine Corps officer. Starting with the NROTC
commissioning class of 2013, 65 percent of Navy-option midshipmen are
required to graduate with a technical degree. We exceeded this mandate
by commissioning 71 percent of Navy-option midshipmen with technical
degrees this past year.
Training
Our continuum of training provides sailors with the most relevant
knowledge, skills, and abilities, as quickly as possible, to achieve
optimal knowledge transfer and minimize skill-decay prior to assignment
to the Fleet. Through end-to-end curriculum content-development and
revision, we identify and deliver cost-effective solutions without
sacrificing quality. We also reinforce the knowledge gained throughout
training to maintain quality during and after the training event. With
the introduction of new weapons systems and platforms, we must apply
innovative techniques; such as interactive multimedia, simulators, and
Electronic Performance Support Systems to deliver training without
sacrificing quality.
We have developed a plan to improve timeliness, relevance, and
breadth of technical training. Modularized training optimizes the
initial pipeline and enables continuous training throughout a sailor's
first tour. This approach creates flexibility and allows sailors to
report sooner to their first duty station, armed with the necessary
skills to make an immediate contribution. 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 delays. Pilot programs evaluate the modularized
training concept to ensure training quality remains high along the
continuum.
Traditional Navy warfighting communities increasingly rely on
simulation to conduct training. As fidelity and access increases,
prevalence of this technology is building at Navy schoolhouses,
training commands and in the fleet. Investment in simulation and
simulator training increase training capacity, effectiveness, and
efficiency and reduce wear on platforms and operational equipment;
thereby, minimizing operation maintenance and replacement costs.
Education
Education and training remain a strategic investment in support of
maintaining our fleet's global operational excellence and dominance. We
remain committed to ensuring that Navy education and training provides
sailors with the most relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities; ties
education opportunities to leader development; and supports a career
continuum framework of technical experts, joint warfighters and
strategic leaders, while ensuring that education and training
explicitly links resource allocation for education and training
opportunities to the highest priorities.
Joint Professional Military Education
U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and U.S. Naval War College
(NWC) are essential to our strategic investment in military education
designed to develop a resilient, knowledgeable and adaptable force.
Both institutions develop members of the force for the intellectual
demands they will encounter, but assist in building key relationships
through a diverse mix of students. However, recent fiscal reductions
have severely constrained the ability for NPS and NWC to adequately
fund its educational infrastructure, which could affect JPME
accreditation.
Voluntary Education/Tuition Assistance
Tuition Assistance (TA) is an in-service education support program
that encourages sailors to pursue education as a means of achieving
professional and personal goals. In 2012, Navy re-opened TA to
vocational/technical programs in support of broader initiatives to
expand sailor access to the job market as they transition from Active
service. In 2013, Navy sustained the TA program despite sequestration,
when all other services experienced a period of cessation. Ongoing
fiscal pressure has necessitated additional scrutiny of the TA
investment, resulting in a 25 percent reduction in the level of TA
support sailors receive.
Credentialing and Licensure
Navy Credentialing Opportunities On-Line offers sailors the
opportunity to earn civilian certifications and licenses corresponding
to their Navy ratings, designators, collateral duties, and out-of-
rating assignments. Earning credentials assists sailors in successfully
transitioning into the civilian workforce. Every Navy occupation has at
least one professional credential available and we currently pay for
over 15,000 credentials per year awarded to about 7,500 sailors.
Fleet Manning
We decreased gaps at sea from over 14,000 to just over 9,000 by the
end of fiscal year 2013, and since that time, we have further reduced
it to about 7,000. We expect to narrow the gap to about 5,000 by June
and to fill nearly 95 percent of all enlisted billets at sea by the end
of fiscal year 2014, with close to 90 percent filled by the right
sailor in the proper seniority and possessing the appropriate skill
level and training. Fleet manning improved through increased accessions
in fiscal year 2013 and application of various force management tools
including; voluntary/involuntary distribution, Chief Petty Officer
Early Return to Sea, special and incentive pays applied to critical
skills, and transitioning billets from shore to sea. Improving
Continuum of Service, we recently automated advertisement of
opportunities, qualification verification, and application submission
processes, for experienced Reserve component sailors to transition to
the Active component to fill billets in critically undermanned
communities. The number of individual augmentees (IA) required to
support Global Force Management Allocation Plan requirements is
declining and the Reserve component has assumed most IA requirements,
allowing Active component sailors to fill critical fleet billets. I
anticipate mobilizing 2,650 Reserve sailors by the end of fiscal year
2014.
Retention
We continue to monitor retention behavior closely and expect to
meet aggregate enlisted retention goals in fiscal year 2014. We expect
to begin experiencing retention challenges within some ratings in
specific communities such as; Information Dominance, Special Warfare,
Nuclear Field, Advanced Electronics, and Medical. Targeting junior
enlisted personnel with increased incentives may prove critical for
achieving required retention in fiscal year 2015, and beyond. We must
focus on retaining sailors in the right mix of ratings and pay grades
to position Navy to meet future mission requirements.
Officer continuation remains at historically high levels due to
current economic conditions, coupled with targeted incentive pays and
bonuses, improved mentoring, flexible career options, and increased
emphasis on life-work integration initiatives. Certain officer
inventory shortfalls remain, however, in select Unrestricted Line,
Restricted Line and Staff Corps communities that we will mitigate
through specialized incentives.
iv. force management
We are managing personnel strength to deliver an affordable,
sustainable force that will continue to meet mission needs. By
delivering technical training and advanced education throughout a
career, we will retain high-quality sailors in whom we have invested to
remain operationally effective.
End Strength
The President's fiscal year 2015 budget request supports active end
strength of 323,600, and selected Reserve end strength of 57,300. It
appropriately balances risk, preserves capabilities to meet 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. The budget aligns the Reserve
component with the new Defense Strategy, while retaining capabilities
vital to fulfilling the Reserve component's role in Navy's Total Force
mission. End strength remains relatively stable across the Future Years
Defense Program, reaching approximately 323,200 Active and 58,800
Selected Reserve in fiscal year 2019.
We are continuing efforts to stabilize, balance, and distribute the
force to ensure that sailors are assignable, deployable, and
distributable. Accordingly, manpower programs are focused on
maintaining the right number of sailors to adequately man the fleet and
to ensure that we have the sailors available in the right positions to
accomplish our mission. The programs work to provide the Fleets with
the right Fit and Fill--sailors with the right skills and experience
level to do the most critical sea duty jobs.
Meeting operational and strategic requirements demands that we
properly balance missions and capacities between Active and Reserve
components, and that we have the necessary numbers of officer and
enlisted sailors to man the fleet. Robust Continuum of Service tools,
which enable transitions between components throughout a Navy career,
help us meet dynamic and emerging mission requirements and cultivate an
agile military workforce able to adapt and retrain as necessary.
Sailors now have the tools to understand their options for rating
conversions and transitioning between components, which ultimately
allows us to retain our most experienced sailors.
Effective Force Management: Navy's effective use of force
management tools aligns personnel levels and force structure while
maintaining a mission-ready fleet. At the close of fiscal year 2013,
Active component end strength was 323,951 (1,251 above authorized end
strength). We took significant strides to improve manning, and many new
sailors will complete initial training and join operational commands
through fiscal year 2015, improving fleet manning and reducing gaps at
sea. We remain committed to maintaining balance across enlisted ratings
and will continue to deliver a mission-ready fleet.
Compensation
We demand much of our sailors and they deserve to be commensurately
compensated. Over the past 12 years, pay raises, elimination of out-of-
pocket housing expenses, TRICARE for Life and enactment of the post-9/
11 GI Bill, have resulted in the most generous total military
compensation package in history. In the current constrained budget
environment, however, reducing personnel costs is essential to
achieving a proper balance with costs for training and equipping the
force. We expect to meet recruiting and retention requirements, despite
slowed growth in regular military compensation, as we continue to
judiciously apply targeted special and incentive pays, including
increased Career Sea Pay to improve manning at sea.
Women in Service
Navy is committed to removing barriers that prevent sailors from
rising to their highest potential by focusing on each person's ability
unconstrained by gender-restrictive policies. Implementing the
Secretary of Defense's rescission of the 1994 Direct Ground Combat
Definition and Assignment Rule, Navy will have no closed occupations,
very few closed positions, and equal professional opportunity in every
officer designator and enlisted rating by January 2016.
Leveraging Diversity
Diversity is a readiness imperative. We value the variety of
characteristics and attributes in our workforce, which serves to
enhance mission readiness. We strive to attract, develop, and retain a
technically proficient workforce; diverse in experience, background,
and ideas; and to promote a culture that harnesses their talents,
imagination, and teamwork. The 2010 U.S. Census projects that, by 2020,
racial/ethnic groups, other than white non-Hispanics, will comprise
over 40 percent of the recruiting market, with increasing minority
representation over time. We will continue to leverage a broad range of
STEM education and outreach programs by which to stimulate interest in,
and attract high-potential eligible candidates from, all constituent
youth markets to operate technologically advanced systems.
v. force resiliency
Established just 8 months ago, Navy's 21st Century Sailor Office
integrates, under one umbrella, the programs that sustain and instill
resilience and fitness in sailors. This includes: equal opportunity,
personal and family readiness, physical readiness, alcohol and
substance abuse prevention, suicide prevention, sexual harassment
prevention, sexual assault prevention and response (SAPR), hazing
prevention, and transition assistance. The 21st Century Sailor Office
provides a focusing lens and overarching policy support to these
critical programs.
Health of the Force
The overall health of the force is good. We remain committed--
through smart, adaptive policies, vibrant programs, and pinpoint
funding streams--to support fit, whole, and resilient sailors and
families, fully empowered to pursue their dreams through service to our
Nation.
We have made important strides in our strategic fleet-manning
posture, resulting in an overall increase of quality of work for our
sailors. Navy's recruit quality remains high and our aggregate
retention is strong, although economic forces create challenges to
retain certain critical skills sets with an appropriate return on
investment. Candid fleet feedback indicates that deployment lengths and
budget uncertainty lead sailors' list of concerns.
Further, Navy remains dedicated to the prevention of suicides and
sexual assault. Concomitant with maintaining world-class warfighting
prowess, there is no higher calling than defending freedom within our
ranks--just as we do throughout the world. While reports of sexual
assault have increased, we believe this is the result of sexual assault
education and awareness initiatives, better understanding of avenues to
report incidents, and earned trust and confidence in a proven support
and response system. Our goal is to prevent any sexual assault,
harassment, and destructive behavior that lead to such crimes in a
continuum of harm. Our comprehensive prevention strategy of enabling
proactive command environments, institutional deterrence, and
appropriate offender accountability, is evidenced by increased
reporting in the past year.
Suicide Prevention and Operational Stress Control
Suicide prevention is an all hands evolution, all the time. With a
motto of ``Every Sailor Every Day,'' Navy's Suicide Prevention Program
promotes psychological, emotional and spiritual wellness, while
reducing barriers that discourage seeking help. A comprehensive four-
prong approach envelopes training, intervention, response, and
reporting, to ensure a support network and skills needed to thrive, not
just survive. Navy Operational Stress Control is the foundation of our
suicide prevention initiatives, supporting the fleet with resources to
navigate the stressors and challenges commonly associated with Navy
life, to help sailors build resilience and maintain personal readiness.
We also funded Operational Stress Control mobile training teams, which
deliver resiliency lessons to ships, squadrons, and submarines before
overseas deployment. We are hiring resiliency counselors to go to sea
alongside extant teams of chaplains, behavioral psychologists and other
medical professionals who proactively assist sailors each day.
In fiscal year 2013, we launched the NavyTHRIVE communications
campaign, focusing on providing sailors, leaders and families with the
tools and knowledge to thrive; the next step in the resilience ladder.
Thrive in your Community, the 2013 Suicide Prevention Month theme,
added a new dimension to NavyTHRIVE by emphasizing the importance of
cohesion and togetherness when dealing with adversity, and served as a
launch pad for year-long engagement at the local command level. The
Thrive During the Holidays campaign continued our NavyTHRIVE effort,
addressing the various components of a physically and psychological
healthy lifestyle to reduce holiday stress.
Yellow Ribbon and Psychological Health Outreach
Since 2008, the Navy Reserve has used two programs to support
Reserve sailors and families, with exceptional success. The Yellow
Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) has provided deployment and
reintegration information and support for Reserve sailors. The YRRP
provides information, referrals and outreach to military members, their
families, employers and immediate support network. The Returning
Warrior Workshop (RWW) is a post-deployment event that facilitates the
reintegration of Reserve sailors with their spouses or designated
individual of their choice. The RWW primarily honors members and
families for their sacrifices and support, and identifies psychological
health issues, providing the opportunity for follow-on services. This
program has been described as a ``best practice'' within the DOD Yellow
Ribbon Reintegration Program and during 115 RWWs conducted which served
14,000 attendees since its inception in 2008.
The Psychological Health Outreach Program (PHOP), also established
in 2008, ensures that Reserve sailors and their families have full
access to psychological health care services including psycho-
educational briefings, Behavioral Health Screenings (BHS), and phone or
email follow-up. In fiscal year 2013, PHOP Outreach Teams conducted 459
Site visits, briefing 36,413 Reserve sailors and family members. They
also served in support of 15 Returning Warrior Workshops and conducted
1,153 BHSs. PHOP Teams contacted 4,760 recently demobilized Reserve
sailors 18,063 times while concurrently following-up with current
clients and commands. As the Reserve component assumes an increased
share of Individual Augmentations, we appreciate Congress' continued
support of these two programs that have become so important to our
Reserve sailors and their families.
Sexual Assault Prevention and Response
Sexual assault continues to challenge our Navy and our Nation. We
have made significant strides in elevating sailor trust and confidence
in command leadership and understanding of the SAPR process, evidenced
by an unprecedented increase in sexual assault reporting. Increased
reporting supports our ability to understand circumstances of sexual
assault, enables continuous improvement in our response, drives our
ability to hold perpetrators appropriately accountable, and allows
implementation of pertinent prevention methodologies. Our continued
world-class, empathetic response to every incident will drive
additional reporting.
Our goal is a culturally aware and educated Total Force, which does
not tolerate, condone, or ignore sexual assault, sexual harassment, or
sexist behaviors. We are utilizing numerous approaches to drive our
ability to prevent and respond to sexual assaults.
To ensure appropriate command climates are being fostered Fleet-
wide, we directed the review of command climate surveys by a
commander's superior, implemented roving barracks patrols to detect and
diffuse potential adverse situations, and augmented our alcohol de-
glamorization campaign by restricting on-base alcohol sales. In fiscal
year 2015, Commander, Naval Installations Command will assign nine new
military SAPR officers to Navy regions for training, education, and
victim support. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has
implemented the Special Victim Capability program to dedicate better-
trained agents to manage sexual assault cases and plans to hire 54
additional agents. We have enhanced pre-trial investigations by
mandating that only judge advocates serve as Article 32 Investigating
Officers for sexual assault cases, and moved Initial Disposition
Authority to officers in the grade of O-6 and above. We have installed
full-time SAPR officers at each four-star fleet commands, all critical
three-star staffs, and our main regional commands to help drive the
necessary cultural change to eliminate sexual assaults. The Deployed
Resiliency Counselor program will field certified clinical counselors
on board deployed aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships to
train SAPR Victim Advocates and counsel sailors on issues that do not
rise to the level of medical diagnoses. The newly-implemented Victims
Legal Counsel program provides an experienced Navy attorney to
represent sailors who report being victims of sexual assault. We
anticipate this initiative will lead to increased reporting, and will
result in victims remaining in the legal process through final
adjudication. We are continuing efforts to establish a metrics-based
evaluation of our progress, and to improve sexual assault prevention
efforts, to include identifying leading indicators that will allow us
to predict destructive behavior at all levels of command.
Command Climate
Creating an inclusive climate in which everyone has an equal
opportunity to reach their highest potential while being treated with
dignity and respect, ultimately leads to organizational effectiveness.
Positive climates; in which to work, live, and train; are directly
related to mission success. Yet providing a positive command climate in
the Navy is not only the commander's responsibility, but the
responsibility of every sailor within that command. Each sailor must
promote good order and discipline to keep work environments free from
destructive behaviors such as discrimination, sexual harassment,
fraternization, and hazing. Every commander is required to conduct a
command climate assessment within 90 days of assuming command, and
annually thereafter. We also enhanced commander accountability by
requiring a face-to-face debrief of the command climate assessment with
the immediate superior in command (ISIC), to include an executive
summary and a corrective actions plan. This provides the ISIC the
opportunity to mentor subordinate commanders, and to take immediate
action to ensure fairness and positive uplifting work environments of
mutual trust and respect.
Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention
Navy Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention programs support enhanced
Fleet, Family, and Personal Readiness through aggressive alcohol abuse
and drug abuse prevention. Between January and April 2013, Alcohol
Detection Devices were deployed as a new tool to prevent irresponsible
alcohol use in all afloat and shore commands, in support of alcohol
abuse prevention program policies.
Navy's policy on drug abuse is ``zero tolerance.'' Substance abuse
puts lives and missions at risk, undercuts unit readiness and morale,
and is inconsistent with Navy's ethos and core values of Honor,
Courage, and Commitment. Detection, deterrence, and prevention are key
elements in combating drug abuse. Frequent random urinalysis is the
most effective means to detect and deter drug abuse, and we have added
synthetic cannabinoids (such as ``Spice'') to the standard drug-testing
panel. Spice detection rates decreased dramatically after this program
began, testifying to the enduring value of ``zero tolerance'' through
regular urinalysis testing.
Physical Fitness and Nutrition
Navy is fully committed to developing and sustaining a ``Culture of
Fitness'' for all sailors. Extensive scientific research shows that
physical fitness and healthy eating reduces the risk of chronic
disease, while increasing physiological and psychological well-being.
Regular physical activity coupled with proper nutrition aids in stress
relief, improves sleep, and increases self-esteem. The 21st century
sailor initiative provides guidance and tools needed to overcome
adversity, maintain resiliency, and thrive. Navy's Physical Readiness
Program has developed the Navy Food Literacy Program, designed to
improve health and wellness of the Navy Community through increasing
food literacy, which is defined as the degree to which people
understand food and process information about food choices. A pilot
study that commenced last month will engage the Navy Nutrition Program,
the Centers for Disease Control, and registered dieticians at five
military treatment facilities to assist sailors and their families.
This pilot is occurring on six naval bases to determine best practices
and methods, with the goal of successfully educating sailors and their
families on the topics of food, health, and sustainability.
We are also piloting the DOD Healthy Base Initiative (HBI) at Naval
Submarine Base New London and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. HBI
supports President Obama's 2011 National Prevention Strategy and is
designed to create an environment which encourages healthy lifestyles
through a set of initiatives borrowed from a wide range of best
practices both within and outside the Department of Defense.
Family Support
Family Support programs are a critical component in enhancing
mission readiness and Navy's 21st century sailor initiative. Family
support programs assist commanding officers, sailors, and their
families to manage the unique demands of the military lifestyle in
concert with a healthy family life. Navy Fleet and Family Support
Center ensure military families are informed, healthy, and resilient
through robust programs to include relocation assistance, non-medical
and family counseling, personal and family life education, personal
financial management services, information and referral services,
deployment assistance, domestic violence prevention and response
services, exceptional family member liaison, emergency family
assistance and transition assistance.
Transition Goals, Plans Success (Transition GPS)
Transition GPS replaced the 20-year-old Transition Assistance
Program. The development and implementation of this initiative to
extend the continuum of care to retirement, and well beyond, was a
collective effort involving all military services. Created by the
Office of the Secretary of Defense, with full participation by the
Department of Veteran's Affairs, Department of Labor, and the Small
Business Administration, Transition GPS increases sailors' abilities to
overcome challenges they may face in pursuit of their chosen civilian
career path. Transition GPS is a reinvestment in our citizen-sailors,
and by providing ready, skilled, and service-oriented workers, we
become a stronger nation.
conclusion
The President's fiscal year 2015 budget request resources critical
programs that will continue to support Navy manpower, personnel,
training, and education. With your continued support and leadership, I
remain confident and optimistic as we shape our Navy to meet current
and emerging requirements, while confronting challenges that lie ahead.
On behalf of the men and women of the U.S. Navy, and their families,
thank you for your sustained commitment and unwavering support.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Next is Lieutenant General Cox.
STATEMENT OF LT. GEN. SAMUEL D. COX, USAF, DEPUTY CHIEF OF
STAFF FOR MANPOWER, PERSONNEL AND SERVICES, A-1, U.S. AIR FORCE
Lieutenant General Cox. Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking
Member Graham, distinguished members of the subcommittee, it is
my honor to appear before you today representing our total
force airmen.
As I look back to when I came into the Air Force 3 decades
ago, we had nearly 600,000 airmen serving on Active Duty during
the height of the Cold War. So much has transpired since that
time. We have evolved into an effective and capable active
force of just 328,000 airmen today.
As I look down the road at the future state of the Air
Force, it will require us to be more efficient and more agile
while getting smaller in order to support the demands of the
21st century Air Force.
The Air Force remains committed to providing the highest
quality airmen to combatant commanders. We have been actively
engaged in combat operations for more than 23 consecutive
years, and our airmen remain at the forefront of today's
conflicts and other contingency operations around the globe.
Serving proudly alongside our sister Services, last year, total
force airmen filled over 900,000 deployment requirements to
over 600 different locations. We are out there and we are
getting the job done. I am extremely proud to be a part of this
team.
Moving forward, given the current environment, the Air
Force will size and shape our force to meet DOD strategic
guidance with a leaner force. To do this, we are using a wide
variety of force management tools which will maximize voluntary
programs first, offer incentives where needed, and employ
involuntary programs when required. As we get smaller, we will
continue to integrate our total force by leveraging the
flexibility of our regular Air Force with our Guard and Reserve
partners, balancing full-time and part-time airmen where and
when it makes sense. Our airmen, a combined team of total force
officers, enlisted and civilians, have and will be the
foundation of the success of our Air Force. As we continue to
meet the budget challenges, it is their commitment, ingenuity,
and hard work that will help us navigate our future. We are
committed to train and equip the highest quality airmen to
ensure our Air Force remains capable of supporting any
contingency around the world and overcoming any future
adversary.
I appreciate your support and concern for our Nation's
great and professional airmen.
I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Lieutenant General Cox follows:]
Prepared Statement by Lt. Gen. Samuel D. Cox, USAF
introduction
Today, the 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 two decades of sustained
conflict, the men and women of your Air Force are as dedicated,
innovative and hard working as ever before. 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 our ability to operate in
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 resources.
The Air Force continues to balance today's missions with tomorrow's
requirements in a constrained budget environment. We are modernizing
how we manage the force and our focus is on deliberately shaping and
sizing the force to meet future mission needs, while also balancing the
likelihood of decreased budgets for the foreseeable future. Our entire
workforce (military, civilian and contractor) must be appropriately
sized to support and execute our piece of the National Defense Strategy
while concurrently considering fiscal realities.
The Department of Defense (DOD) guidance for a leaner force and
anticipated future needs will result in a smaller force, and based on
the Department's guidance, the Air Force, like our sister services,
must become smaller to live within our fiscal constraints. We must
balance our force structure and end strength to preserve readiness and
modernization requirements to meet the Air Force's contribution to
defense strategy given a realistic spending forecast. Therefore, the
Air Force's Total Force will be reduced by as much as 25,000 military
personnel over the next 5 years to meet budget requirements, along with
corresponding aircraft inventory reductions.
contingency operations
Our airmen remain at the forefront of today's conflicts and other
contingency operations around the globe, serving proudly alongside our
joint partners. During calendar year 2013, Total Force airmen filled
over 90,000 deployment requirements to over 600 different locations
supporting a host of named operations including such notable operations
as Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), OEF-HOA (Horn of Africa), and
Operation Noble Eagle (ONE). As a testament to our commitment to
utilizing the Total Force, of the 90,000+ deployments, the Active
component, Reserve component, and Guard component filled approximately
66,000, 7,500, and 16,500 of the requirements, respectively, with Air
Force civilians filling over 700 deployment requirements. In addition,
over 135,000 airmen provided daily support to Combatant Commanders in
their in-garrison missions such as nuclear deterrence, cyber defense,
global mobility, and homeland defense.
Reductions in operations in Afghanistan will influence the Air
Force's overall deployment requirements. However, we anticipate
combatant commander requirements for manned and unmanned Intelligence
Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Personnel Rescue and Recovery,
Fighter/Attack, and Airlift assets will remain high while demand for
the land component force requirements continues to fall specifically in
the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility.
Additionally, CENTCOM and other combatant commanders have capability
requirements each fiscal year that go unfilled due to lack of capacity
in the joint force. The joint force will have to address and prioritize
those requirements against the Service's requirement to provide a ready
force as the drawdown continues.
military and civilian personnel end strength
Budgetary constraints and changes in force structure will lead the
Air Force into reducing Total Force end strength and implementing
increased military Force Management programs and civilian workforce
shaping programs in fiscal year 2015. The Air Force's total military
strength forecast for fiscal year 2015 will be reduced from 503,400 to
483,000. Our Active Duty military end strength will be reduced 16,700,
from 327,600 to 310,900. Our Air Force Reserve (AFR) military end
strength will decrease by 3,300 to 67,100, and Air National Guard (ANG)
military end strength will decrease by 400 to 105,000. Due to funding
and force structure impacts, the Air Force's civilian strength forecast
for fiscal year 2015 will be reduced from 186,026 to 183,328.
military force management
The Air Force's Force Management (FM) program is a tailored multi-
year effort comprised of many programs aimed at managing the long-term
health of the force. Given the current environment, the Air Force must
reduce the size and reshape the force to meet DOD strategic guidance
for a leaner force. To do this, we plan to use a wide variety of FM
tools which Congress has authorized with a focus on maximizing
voluntary programs first, offering incentives where needed, and
involuntary programs only when required. We also realize that as the
Air Force becomes smaller, it is ever more important to retain our
highest performing airmen. Therefore, as we execute our FM programs and
reduce overages, we will focus our programs to support retaining our
best airmen who possess the right balance of skills we need to meet the
Air Force's current and future mission requirements.
In fiscal year 2013, our FM program strategy focused on offering
traditional voluntary FM programs such as Active Duty Service
Commitment (ADSC) and Time in Grade (TIG) waivers, and offering
transfers to the Air Reserve Component (ARC) via Palace Chase. Based on
continued strong retention rates among officer and enlisted
populations, we planned to offer a limited and targeted Temporary Early
Retirement Authority (TERA) in fiscal year 2013, but were unable to
secure funding to execute the program due to sequestration impacts
which took effect during the middle of the fiscal year. There were
several limited involuntary FM programs used in fiscal year 2013, which
included enlisted dates of separation rollbacks and constraints on the
number of first-term airmen eligible for reenlistment; however, we did
not convene any involuntary officer or enlisted FM boards in fiscal
year 2013. As a result, the Air Force began fiscal year 2014
approximately 1,200 airmen over budgeted end strength.
The Air Force would prefer to reduce the force over the Future
Years Defense Program (FYDP) through voluntary measures alone; however,
based on continued high retention rates, anticipated force structure
levels, and end strength reductions beginning in fiscal year 2015, we
will accelerate our FM programs starting in fiscal year 2014. Doing so
will enable us to fund the additional voluntary incentive programs
(Voluntary Separation Pay (VSP) and TERA) needed to meet end strength.
Planned fiscal year 2014 Military FM programs will include the use
of ADSC waivers (officer and enlisted); TIG waivers (officer and
enlisted); PALACE CHASE (officer and enlisted); TERA (officer and
enlisted); Date of Separation Rollback (enlisted only); 8- vs 10-yr
commissioned service for retirement (officer only); Voluntary
Separation Pay VSP (officer and enlisted); and Enhanced Selective Early
Retirement Board (ESERB) (officer only--Colonels and Lieutenant
Colonels in select AFSCs) to support meeting fiscal year 2014 end
strength mandates by the end of the fiscal year.
Projected fiscal year 2015 Military end strength reductions will
require a more aggressive approach in our FM programs, which will lead
the Air Force to continue the use of fiscal year 2014 FM programs in
fiscal year 2015, along with the addition of Quality Force Review
Boards (enlisted); E-4 through E9 Retention Boards (enlisted); Force
Shaping Boards (officer); Reduction in Force Boards (RIF) (officer),
and Enhanced Selective Early Retirement Boards (ESERB) (officer).
civilian force management
The Air Force implemented civilian FM programs following a
concentrated effort in 2010 from the DOD to trim the civilian workforce
by focusing on increasing efficiencies, reducing overhead costs and
eliminating redundant functions, which led to the elimination of 16,500
Department of the Air Force civilian positions in fiscal year 2012.
Starting in fiscal year 2012 the Air Force utilized a multitude of
civilian force management programs which included a temporary hiring
freeze, multiple rounds of Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA)
and Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay (VSIP), as well as aggressive
voluntary reassignments in an effort to decrease the number of surplus
employees created by this reduction. At the start of fiscal year 2013
1,000 surplus employees remained; however, by continuing the use of
voluntary separation programs such as VERA and VSIP, management
reassignment, attrition, and the flexibilities under RIF authorities in
fiscal year 2013, the Air Force voluntarily separated 603 employees,
reassigned 324 employees to other positions and ultimately only
separated 86 employees involuntarily.
The Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 (Pub L. 112-25) directed
across the board cuts in defense spending. with the threat of long-term
budget impacts from BCA through the FYDP, multiplied by the National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013 mandated
``Savings to be Achieved in Civilian Personnel Workforce and Service
Contractor Workforce of the Department of Defense'' and the NDAA for
Fiscal Year 2014 mandate to streamline the DOD management headquarters
staffs beginning in fiscal year 2015 through fiscal year 2019, we have
no choice other than to continue to shrink the size of our civilian
workforce, forcing us to continue civilian FM programs in fiscal year
2014 and beyond. The purpose of the civilian FM programs are to comply
with mandatory funding targets directed by DOD and rebalance the
civilian workforce to ensure mission critical competencies and skills
are in place to meet current and future mission requirements.
In fiscal year 2014, as in past years, we will continue to offer
VERA and VSIP to the maximum extent possible before we implement a RIF.
The first round of VERA/VSIP in fiscal year 2014 targeted residual
fiscal year 2013 surplus employees and employees impacted by the fiscal
year 2014 Civilian Workforce Review. In this round, the Civilian
Personnel Sections (CPSs) conducted 9,330 VERA/VSIP surveys, of which
160 positions were approved with an effective separation date of
February 28, 2014. Further rounds of VERA/VSIP are pending approval by
Air Force leadership. A RIF will only be considered if necessary and as
a last resort. At this time, the Air Force does not plan to furlough
civilians.
transition assistance
Over the last couple of years, the Airman and Family Care Division
has been largely focused on the redesigned Transition Assistance
Program (TAP) to support airmen as they transition to civilian life. In
light of pending end strength reductions and increased FM programs,
continued focused effort is necessary. The Veterans Opportunity to Work
(VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, and Veterans Employment Initiative
(VEI) drove a host of new TAP requirements to expand training and
employment services for Active Duty, Reserve, and Guard members who
will transition from the military to the private sector. VOW/VEI
mandated all airmen separating or retiring from the Air Force must
complete TAP, which includes pre-separation counseling, attendance at a
Department of Labor Employment Workshop (DoLEW), Veterans Affairs (VA)
benefits briefings, and Capstone. Capstone is the documentation that
validates career readiness standards have been met and that the
servicemember is ready to transition to the private sector.
The fiscal year 2014 and 2015 FM programs call for a significant
reduction in Total Force airmen. Those transitioning airmen will be
over and above the 32,000 to 35,000 airmen our Airmen and Family
Readiness Centers (A&FRCs) process through TAP each year (fiscal year
2013 throughput was 33,422). Our A&FRC team is taking additional steps
to help leadership at all levels of the Air Force to ensure all airmen
separating or retiring attend TAP as required. Some initiatives include
increasing the frequency of courses at each installation, increasing
the class size, coordinating with partnering agencies such as the VA
and DoL to brief additional TAP courses as needed, providing the Air
Force community (to include family members) with information about TAP
(includes websites, commander messages, senior leader engagements, etc)
and ensuring A&FRCs contact airmen about signing up for TAP.
recruiting
Accessions are the lifeblood for our force, which compels us to
maintain a strong and experienced recruiter force capable of
understanding and responding to the evolving recruiting environment we
operate within. A successful recruiting program requires us to leverage
a wide variety of recruiting tools in support of our recruiting force,
such as the Initial Enlistment Bonus (IEB) program, a fully resourced
advertising and marketing fund, and an improved information systems
infrastructure to successfully inspire, engage, and recruit the
brightest, most competitive and diverse men and women for service in
America's Air Force. Air Force Recruiting Service (AFRS) has
successfully met the All-Volunteer Force requirements for the past 14
years and is currently positioned to meet both fiscal years 2014 and
2015 recruiting requirements. However, under the current environment
with the strong possibility of long-term, constrained budgets, we fear
it may be impossible to properly resource recruiting efforts in the
future which would strain our ability to meet future accession
requirements as the economy improves.
The Air Force budget for recruiting includes funding for day-to-day
operations, personnel costs, and advertising activities necessary to
the successful accomplishment of the recruiting mission. Due to an
increasingly limited resource environment, budgets for recruiting in
recent years have experienced a steady decline in available funding.
Advertising dollars in particular have been impacted, which has created
inefficiencies and a constrained television advertising campaign.
Specifically, budget actions, such as sequestration in fiscal year
2013, slowed or completely shut down key advertising and marketing
events, to include the Air Force Thunderbird Aerial Demonstration Team,
and delayed our national television campaign for fiscal year 2014,
leading to missed ``key spots'' and diminished purchasing power. This
not only resulted in the absence of Air Force awareness activities in
entire markets, but it also strained relationships within key
communities that recruiters have worked years to foster.
The AFRS depends on the IEB program to produce a sufficient recruit
pool to access requirements for high-demand, low-density career fields
such as battlefield airmen and linguists, and we have successfully
utilized the program to recruit youth into career fields that have been
historically hard to recruit and/or qualify for by awarding a monetary
bonus as an incentive. The Air Force budget for its IEB program in
fiscal year 2015 is $14.2 million. Funding for IEB must continue, as
without the IEB program, the ability to recruit the right requirements
at the right time for these unique demands would be seriously
jeopardized.
AFRS works closely with stakeholders to ensure recruiting funds are
best utilized to carry out a recruiting campaign that meets accession
requirements, but also support priorities and goals set forth in the
Air Force Diversity Strategic Roadmap. These efforts are aimed at
sustaining a robust strategic outreach program that creates
opportunities for recruiting a high quality, diverse talent pool,
reflective of the best of the Nation we serve. The Air Force will
accomplish this by leveraging relationships with DOD and non-DOD
entities to ensure recruitment practices are effectively reaching all
segments of society, and assessing the effectiveness of current
branding and recruitment practices for all demographics/markets to
ascertain actionable steps to increase access and positioning.
retention
The Air Force has continued to experience high retention trends
over the past 10 years, with the officer and enlisted retention trend
remaining very strong in fiscal year 2013. Even with the upcoming
reductions in end strength, there are still critical and emerging
career fields that are experiencing poor retention, low manning and/or
high operational demands (such as battlefield airmen and cyberspace
specialties). Airmen associated with these skills are not targeted in
the fiscal year 2014 FM programs, and there are numerous efforts to
increase career field health. These include, but are not limited to,
Special and Incentive (S&I) and Bonus pays, protections from FM
programs, and increases to accessions, retraining and promotions.
The fiscal year 2014 budget for all S&I 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 (SDAP), Hostile Fire Pay, and
Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus/Pay. The Air Force allocated $232
million of the S&I Pay budget in fiscal year 2014 for Selective
Reenlistment Bonuses (SRBs); however, given a smaller future force, the
Air Force chose to tailor the SRB program to better align with our
fiscal year 2014/2015 FM Programs. In fiscal year 2013, 55 career
fields participated in the SRB program; however, in fiscal year 2014,
only 10 remain eligible, and those remaining are not eligible for
voluntary or involuntary FM programs in fiscal year 2014. These
specialties include our Battlefield Airmen, Intelligence, Surveillance
and Reconnaissance, and Career Enlisted Aviator career fields. Our
fiscal year 2014 Officer and Enlisted Critical Skills Retention Budget
was $11.8 million, focusing on retention of senior noncommissioned
officers and mid-career officers in Special Operations; Battlefield
Airmen, Intelligence, and Contracting specialties.
We expect the fiscal year 2015 budget for all S&I Pay to remain
consistent with fiscal year 2014 budget levels and, although we have
reduced the number of career fields participating in the SRB program,
we intend to only slightly reduce our budget from $232 million to $179
million. This allows us to target our critical needs and transition to
lump sum payments instead of multiple initial and anniversary payments,
which will provide much greater fiscal oversight and efficiency as well
as greater flexibility to target critical retention needs. This is
essential to maintaining high quality airmen in critical career fields
as we come through extremely turbulent times due to end-strength
reductions and an improving economy. SRB investments have shown to
improve retention from 1 to 8 percent per SRB increment, depending on
the reenlistment zone. We continually review and monitor our S&I Pay
programs for impact on recruiting and retention as well as linkage to
FM programs and a constrained budget.
compensation reform
With full Budgetary Control Act Sequestration-level cuts in effect
in fiscal year 2016 and beyond, the Air Force agrees we cannot afford
to sustain the rate of growth in military compensation that we have
experienced over the last decade and continue to maintain readiness and
provide our airmen with the finest training and equipment possible.
However, as we balance quality personnel with readiness requirements,
we must ensure a competitive compensation package to recruit and retain
quality personnel for our future force. Thus, the Air Force, in
conjunction with the Department, is working with the Military
Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission to review
potential compensation system reforms and study the impact on the All-
Volunteer Force.
Department-wide compensation reform is a very difficult task as the
Department is very complex with differing force profiles and different
recruiting and retention needs. The Air Force is a retention-based
force requiring highly qualified, educated and technically experienced
personnel, thus a more senior and experienced force is required to
fulfill our mission. Therefore, we must assess the combined and
compounding impact on recruiting and retention for the All-Volunteer
Force, as well as impact on the retiree population before making
significant changes. The Air Force concurs with the Department that
there is sufficient information available to make recommendations on
key areas of current compensation (other than retirement) to slow the
growth of military pay and benefit costs, starting with the fiscal year
2015 budget, in order to permit a balanced drawdown in defense
spending. For major modifications to the compensation system, we
recommend reviewing the Commission report first to ensure it supports
the sustainment of a highly skilled and capable All-Volunteer force.
quality trained and developed force
A properly trained and developed force is critical to the success
of our Air Force; therefore, we took several measures to mitigate the
challenge of resourcing Professional Military Education (PME) and
functional developmental education requirements. Reductions to officer
PME resulted in prioritizing and selecting joint, sister service,
cyber, nuclear, and lab opportunities over some fellowships and
international programs of study. Despite these reductions, the Air
Force's top performing field grade officers will be provided in-
residence education that ensures they possess the right knowledge to
succeed at the operational and strategic levels and develop into our
leaders of the future.
The Air Force has always valued the Military Tuition Assistance
(MilTA) program as a force enabler affecting recruitment, retention,
and readiness. Higher education is an important component in airman
development since it directly enhances critical thinking skills.
Reduced budgets brought on by sequestration required the Air Force to
conduct a top-to-bottom review of the MilTA program. In order to
sustain this valuable program and ensure airmen are receiving the right
education at the right time, the Air Force instituted management
controls for the use of MilTA. The first was to re-insert the
supervisor into the approval process. This allowed supervisors the
opportunity to get to know their airmen's educational goals and provide
mentoring. Additionally, airmen who have not passed or are overdue for
their Physical Fitness Test, have an Unfavorable Information File, or
have a referral annual performance report are ineligible for MilTA
until these issues are resolved. We believe these controls ensure
airmen are prepared to succeed in their degree program as well as
continue their critical work in the defense of our great nation.
support to airmen and their families
The Air Force remains committed to providing the best support
possible to help build and maintain ready, resilient airmen and
families. Prolonged constrained budgets are becoming a challenge and
our ability to maintain programs at levels funded at higher levels in
previous years will not be possible. Unfortunately, fiscal realities
are forcing us to make difficult decisions where some programs will be
reduced or possibly cut. We fear the inability to sustain some programs
may negatively affect future readiness and unit cohesion. However,
despite these challenges, we continue to prioritize quality airmen and
family support programs directly tied to mission accomplishment. Our
strategy will be to tailor programs and services to meet evolving
demographics and demands where appropriate and capitalize on community
partnerships to advance efficiencies where feasible.
To help mitigate constrained budgets and impact of reduced funding,
the Air Force prioritized its Services programs to place the focus on
resourcing the most valued programs from an enterprise-wide, mission
accomplishment perspective. Capturing our programs in a prioritized
listing resulted in identifying our ``core'', and ``core of core''
programs, to focus our limited resources where they are most needed.
This priority listing receives top leadership attention and
consideration as we navigate fiscal challenges.
Air Force Services continues to advocate funding all ``core''
programs that include: Child and Youth Care, Military Dining
Facilities, Fitness Centers, A&FRC, Youth Programs, Libraries and
Outdoor Recreation. When funding became even tighter, Air Force
narrowed the ``core'' programs down to ``core of core'' programs
(Fitness Centers, Military Dining Facilities, and Child and Youth
Care). Programs such as community activity centers, skill centers,
bowling, and clubs are ranked below the core activities and are the
last to receive appropriated funding consideration.
Regardless of a program's ranking, sequestration had a significant
impact on MWR programs in fiscal year 2013, and we experienced
installation-level program closures and adjusted budgets based on
available funding in an effort to focus our resources where they were
needed most. As we look forward with a sharper focus on declining
budgets and concern about our ability to maintain needed programs, we
will continue to explore innovative means of providing timely and
relevant support to our airmen and families. We expect similar funding
challenges in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, with possibly a continued
impact on airmen and family programs.
Air Force Child and Youth Programs are a critical workforce issue
for our airmen. To support the mission, a collaborative effort between
our child development centers (CDCs), family childcare homes, and
school age programs met the full time childcare needs for over 57,000
children in 2013. Supporting the Total Force is a priority as our
community-based programs served nearly 2,500 children whose families
are not located near an active duty installation. In addition, we
provided over 126,000 hours of weekend childcare for Air Force
reservists and Air National guardsmen to attend their unit drills.
Further, we provided over 37,000 hours of skilled care to our
exceptional family members allowing parents a needed break from the
stressors of caring for a child with special needs. In 2013, we also
expanded our capability by implementing new childcare programs to
assist wounded warriors, families of the fallen, and those with unique
needs due to medical circumstances. These programs provide hourly care
for parents in one of those situations. Care is typically provided in a
family child care home but can be offered in a CDC depending on
availability.
Our Youth Programs continue to provide critical resiliency building
opportunities for older youth across the Total Force. Resiliency
building provides our youth the skills to cope with life challenges and
to help recover following setbacks. The 2013 Air Force Teen Movement
led by the Air Force Youth Programs Teen Council, offered installation-
based programs targeted toward building community connections,
increasing teen participation, providing support during PCS moves, and
offering Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) experiences.
While the final Teen Movement action reports are still being received,
we are on track to exceed our goal of reaching over 3,500 teens with
these targeted programs. Likewise, our Air Force youth camping program
focused on building resilience, fostering leadership skills, and
promoting healthy living behaviors benefitting over 35,000 youth of
Active, Guard, and Reserve members. New for 2013, our Youth Program
members participated in the first ever Military Youth of the Year
competition, an initiative in partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs
of America. Showcasing the stellar achievements of military teens
around the world, Air Force teens were awarded an astonishing five out
of six regional winner awards garnering a combined total of more than
$70,000 in Military Youth of the Year scholarships. In addition,
through another key partnership with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's 4-H Youth Development Program, over 1,000 Air Force youth
participated in the 2013 National Youth Science Day event, and we were
able to reach 20,000 additional youth through partnership with 4-H
county extension agents.
Looking at 2014, our goal is to ensure Air Force Child and Youth
Programs are able to operate in a constrained fiscal environment
without reducing the quality of services provided to our military
families. Some of our installation childcare programs still experience
waiting lists particularly in the younger age groups where community-
based care is very expensive and in many cases not available outside
the gate. Timely availability of childcare spaces remains key to
allowing our programs to operate at their maximum capacity. To achieve
this, we have identified these as ``core'' programs to be appropriately
resourced so our airmen can focus on the mission while knowing their
youngest family members are being cared for in a safe environment.
The Air Force has also spent several years revamping the
Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) to support families with
special needs. These improvements resulted in a 23 percent EFMP
enrollment increase since 2010. Our work will continue to focus on EFMP
to better support accommodations of children with special needs in our
Child and Youth Programs. A further expansion to our EFMP respite
childcare program will be afforded to airmen at approximately 15
additional locations.
integrated disability evaluation system
The purpose of the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES)
is to maintain a fit and vital force. The Air Force utilizes the IDES
to determine if airmen who are ill, injured, or wounded are still fit
for continued military service and quickly returns those who are. If a
member is deemed unfit for continued service, the IDES process ensures
servicemembers receive a VA disability rating and are aware of their
compensation benefits before they transition from military service. The
Air Force continues to work on meeting the Office of the Secretary of
Defense's (OSD) goal of processing airmen through IDES in 295 days.
Currently, the Air Force active component is averaging 321 days
processing time from referral for disability evaluation to the date of
VA benefits decision or return to duty, and current milestone goal is
for 90 percent of cases to meet DOD stage processing goals by June
2014.
In concert with DOD and VA, the Air Force has fielded and tested
electronic, paperless case management solutions, working toward the
eventuality of an enterprise-wide system with full interface capability
with existing personnel data systems. Interim systems in use include
Right Now Technology and Case File Transfer. These systems will allow
the DOD Services and VA to significantly reduce case processing times.
Through the October 2012 reorganization of Physical Evaluation Board
(PEB) under the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) Directorate of Airman
and Family Care, and the September 2013 consolidation of the PEB
activity at JBSA-Randolph, the Air Force plans to continue to seek
efficiencies in manpower allocation, standardization of training, and
enhancement of PEB administration and adjudication by increasing not
only Active Duty support, but full-time Reserve and Guard support as
well. Additionally, we hired a quality assurance specialist in 2013 to
manage and report statistical findings to senior leadership and work
internal and DOD technology solutions designed to further shrink IDES
phase processing averages. Through regular forums with Air Force
leadership, other DOD Services and the VA, we plan to share resources
and feedback to achieve our mutual goals.
In September 2013, the Air Force collocated the Informal PEB and
Formal PEB (FPEB), allowing greater flexibility to respond to the
changing mission needs between the two boards, enhancing consistency of
training and optimizing FPEB Case Manager duties with their integration
into a combined PEB Case Manager Staff. We instituted pre-PEB and post-
PEB quality review measures including pre-screening to shorten
timelines. Additionally, the Office of Airmen's Counsel representing
all airmen in the IDES appeal process relocated to join the FPEB
creating a ``one-stop-shop'' of services for the servicemember and
reducing TDY expenses from 5 days down to 3 days per hearing. Most
recently, we activated a second FPEB and have been able to run up to
eight hearings per day to expedite moving FPEB cases that are over
their IDES phase goal. Concerning manpower, the Air Force has
reallocated eight full-time civilian positions within AFPC and garnered
AFR support to meet PEB mission requirements. Moreover, we continue to
leverage and test a robust suite of information technology to achieve
seamless and paperless DOD-VA case file transfer and conduct formal
hearing through VTC, saving both time and money.
The Air Force is also planning to reduce IDES Transition Phase
processing time through data sharing applications, such as Electronic
Case File Transfer, between Medical Treatment Facilities, the VA, and
Air Force personnel offices. Additionally, PEB Liaison Officers update
servicemember projected departure dates which are sent to Providence VA
Medical Center to assist in timely individual case projections and
closure. Further, the Air Force uses IDES servicemember survey reports
to identify any shortfalls in processing and customer service.
Consolidated feedback undergoes quality assurance review and analysis
during Air Force IDES conferences to identify and address any IDES
process problems or issues.
Collectively, we expect these major improvement strategies and
initiatives to continue the Air Force's improved IDES timeliness.
supporting total force integration
In an era of tighter budgets and unpredictability in national
security platforms and mission sets, it makes imminent sense to get the
most we possibly can out of the resources afforded to us. The past 13
years are a testament to the inherent flexibility of a three-component
force in meeting the demands on our Air Force. We must continue to
leverage the flexibility of our Regular Air Force (RegAF), ANG, and AFR
forces, utilizing full-time and part-time airmen where and when it
makes sense, and providing opportunities to allow our airmen to serve
in a way that works for them. That means identifying and eliminating
barriers to a more efficient use of our people--and we are doing just
that. We are integrating personnel management across the Total Force,
eliminating unnecessary differences in rules and regulations,
integrating management structures to a greater degree, and developing
common platforms for pay and personnel services. The following
initiatives are laying the foundation for greater integration of the
total force, which will help the Air Force meet its requirements more
efficiently going forward:
Air Force Recruiting Information Support System--Total
Force, which will be the primary tool for all RegAF, ANG, and
AFR recruiters worldwide to collect, process, manage, and
analyze all potential enlisted and officer accession data
(projected operability is in fiscal year 2014);
ARC2Mission efforts which will streamline and
integrate all products required for the activation and
deactivation of ARC members to speed orders generation and
access to medical benefits and entitlements pre- and post-
activation periods; and
Career Intermission Pilot Program, which is a one-
time, temporary transition from active duty to the Individual
Ready Reserve for officer and enlisted airmen to meet personal
or professional needs outside the service, providing a
mechanism for return to active duty. The long-term intent of
this program is to retain the valuable experience and training
of top performing airmen that might otherwise be lost by
permanent separation. It provides an avenue to meet the
changing needs of today's servicemembers. This work-life
flexibility initiative will enable the USAF to retain talent,
which reduces cost and adverse impacts on the mission.
Other major programs and efforts include the: Integration of Air
Force Multi-Component Force Support Squadrons (FSS); development and
procurement of an Air Force Integrated Personnel and Pay System (AF-
IPPS); and creation of an Enterprise-wide Total Force Service Center
(TFSC).
integration of multi-component force support squadrons (fss)
To better support our Total Force airmen and commanders, we
continue to move forward with our ``Multi-Component Force Support
Squadron (FSS) Integration'' initiative. The intent is to leverage the
skills of highly experienced RegAF, ANG and AFR members, to achieve a
more capable and efficient organization by maximizing the capabilities
resident in each FSS, while still allowing for component uniqueness
where warranted. This initiative has its roots in a 2010 Secretary of
the Air Force memo (``Integration of Air Force Component Personnel
Management Systems'', 15 Oct 10), directing Total Force personnel
management integration.
Currently, on installations that have more than one component
(Active, Guard, or Reserve), each component is serviced by its own FSS.
For those installations, the intent is to establish a single customer-
focused FSS supporting all airmen and commanders on that installation,
while respecting the specific personnel management needs of all
components. This is truly an integration effort to establish a single
customer-focused FSS.
Because FSS Integration is a substantial initiative, we established
prototypes at three installations (Peterson AFB, March ARB, and Pease
ANGB) as a proof of concept before implementing across the Total Force.
Two prototypes recently achieved Initial Operational Capability and all
three will reach Full Operational Capability by Nov 2014. These actions
are consistent with the National Commission on the Structure of the Air
Force's recommendation to integrate the three components' personnel
management processes. Upon successful proof of concept, we will look to
expand this initiative.
air force integrated personnel and pay system
The Air Force continues to move forward with the AF-IPPS
initiative, which is foundational to institutionalizing our 3-to-1
efforts by providing a common platform for Active Duty, Guard, and
Reserve. This effort integrates personnel and pay systems across the
Total Force to create a more efficient and effective Air Force. AF-IPPS
is a web-based system that will allow our airmen to have 24-hour access
to their personnel and pay record from anywhere in the world.
The Air Force needs modernized Information Technology (IT) systems
to support Total Force processes; our ability to manage military
payroll becomes even more challenging every year. Existing business
processes are inefficient, error prone and costly to operate. Our
payroll systems are decades old and built on obsolete technology. While
our primary Military Personnel Data System is a Total Force system, we
still rely on several other systems for managing ARC personnel. These
component-unique systems reinforce differences in how the Air Force
manages personnel, and causes delays in activating ARC members to
active status and establishing their pay, benefits and entitlements.
AF-IPPS will correct these problems, provide financial auditability,
enable integration at base-level, across the personnel centers and
eliminate the ``split'' between personnel and pay processes
creating an enterprise-wide total force service center
The integration of the Total Force Service Center (TFSC) provides
immediate efficiency to customer service operations. Two important
processes have already been integrated, including duty history and
former spouse determination and others should be integrated by
September 1, 2014. Utilizing existing technology, Air Reserve Personnel
Center (ARPC) and AFPC are able to leverage the legacy Remedy platform
to build Total Force self-service applications including evaluations,
award, decorations, reenlistments, and extensions.
TFSC also provides airmen access to personnel information,
services, and tools via the Internet, e-mail, or telephone. Common
software platforms are enabling greater integration between the two
existing personnel centers and improve continuity of operations in case
of a contingency. All should be available later in fiscal year 2014.
centralization and elimination of duplicate information technology
systems
To better support our Total Force airmen and commanders, we
continue to move forward with efforts to improve the value of our
Information Technology (IT) Portfolio. We are driving down costs by
managing our IT systems through a shared services model, and
transitioning our systems to DOD enterprise data centers. In addition,
we are also studying various capability areas of our Business
Enterprise Architecture to determine where we have IT systems
performing similar business processes. Once identified, we will work
with business owners to reengineer processes and define IT requirements
for Total Force solutions. The Air Force Recruiting Information Support
System referenced previously is a good example of where we have had
success with this strategy.
women in service review
The Air Force is on track to execute the Women in Service Review
high-level implementation plan by the 1 Jan 2016, and we do not
anticipate any obstacles. Air Education and Training Command (AETC), in
coordination with Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), is
currently reviewing a small number of closed Air Force career fields,
including SOF-specific AFSCs, to validate occupationally specific,
operationally relevant, gender-neutral physical performance tests and
standards. The study was funded for $1.2 million in May 2013, with an
estimated completion date of July 2015. Currently there are 7
occupations that remain closed to women (a total of 4,402 positions).
The Air Force has not opened any closed AFSCs to women. The seven
occupations remaining closed to women are: Special Tactics Officer,
Special Operations Weather (officer), Special Operations Weather
(enlisted), Combat Control, Combat Rescue Officer, Pararescue, and
Tactical Air Control Party. The Air Force will open these AFSCs to
women when mandates in the SecDef/CJCS guidance have been met, and
occupational standards have been developed and validated.
diversity
Diversity and inclusion remain a top priority of Air Force senior
leadership. The Air Force recognizes that a diverse force is a military
necessity, and we continue on a strategic path to attract, recruit,
develop and retain a diverse and inclusive workforce of highly
qualified individuals who reflect the rich tapestry of the Nation we
serve. To further these efforts, in March 2013, the Air Force published
their Diversity Strategic Roadmap, which provides guidance to enhance
the diversity and inclusion of the Total Force, as well as track
progress and success toward reaching diversity goals. Additionally, the
Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force co-
hosted the first-ever Diversity Focus Day to inform senior leaders on
diversity efforts to provide senior leaders a snapshot of total force
demographics and capture senior leader guidance on diversity and
inclusion initiatives. These efforts made great strides in
institutionalizing diversity and inclusion across the Air Force.
Results from the 2013 Internal Communication Assessment Group
Diversity survey indicated 75 percent of airmen agreed it is important
for the Air Force to attract, recruit, develop and retain a qualified,
diverse workforce as a way to maintain our edge as a superior military
organization. Furthermore, 86 percent of airmen surveyed believe the
Air Force is doing a good or excellent job creating diversity within
the Total Force.
Focus on Air Force outreach programs remains central to attracting
and recruiting diverse talent. To that end, in partnership with OSD's
Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity (ODMEO), the Air
Force plans, coordinates and oversees national-level diversity outreach
programs supporting our diversity goals and objectives. In 2013, the
Air Force supported a number of national events including the Black
Engineer of the Year Awards, Joint Women's Leadership Symposium and the
Hispanic Engineer National Achievements Award Corporation Conference.
In addition to national-level diversity outreach events, the Air Force
developed a program to encourage base-level sirmen, in partnership with
local recruiters, to develop diversity outreach efforts in their local
communities. In all these engagements, we continue to place emphasis on
education, health, and mentoring in the STEM disciplines.
Finally, the Air Force continues to support the Military Leadership
Diversity Commission (MLDC) report and provided Air Force input to OSD
ODMEO's report to Congress on the status of MLDC recommendations. Of
the 14 service-specific recommendations, the Air Force reported full
implementation on 11 items, including adopting diversity as a core
competency; tracking regional and cultural expertise in order to better
manage personnel and mission-critical skill-sets; and implementing
diversity strategic plans that address all stages of servicemember's
life cycle.
wounded warriors
The Air Force Warrior and Survivor Care office, located at the Air
Staff, is the Air Force Lead in orchestrating a comprehensive effort
that synergizes DOD and Veterans Affairs programs focused on medical
and non-medical care of wounded, ill, and injured servicemembers. This
effort consists of three major working groups: Policy and Oversight,
Comprehensive Plan, and Community of Practice. The innovative results
of these groups include the development of a Lead Coordinator to
facilitate care across the spectrum of care agencies involved, a single
IT system to share data between Services and to the Veterans
Administration without repetition or replication of data, and
overarching policy guidance to synchronize the wounded warrior programs
while allowing flexibility for each Service to work within their
current construct, thus saving resources and eliminating the confusion
inherent in changing programs. Members of the Air Staff, the Office of
the Secretary of the Air Force, Manpower and Reserve Affairs, and AFPC
have provided Air Force standards of practice as benchmarks for the
overall program and were lauded for being visionary in our approach to
wounded warrior care.
The Air Force focuses on offering adaptive sports opportunities
early in an airman's recovery and/or rehabilitation, and they have
proven to facilitate restoration of wellness and enhance members'
ability to function in their personal and family lives. Our actions
include regional sports camps to introduce our recovering airmen and
veterans to a variety of activities that help them recognize their own
abilities despite their illness or injury. These camps are also, in
some instances, the beginning of returning to a social setting and
learning to accept and/or cope with their disability by interacting
with others that have similar challenges. Recovering airmen and
veterans also compete for a place on our Warrior Games team and compete
in Paralympics style competition against other Services and
International wounded warrior teams. Our adaptive sports program is one
of the most successful rehabilitation activities available to our
recovering airmen outside of physical and occupational therapy offered
by the medical community.
In 2013, we doubled our Special Compensation with Assistance for
Activities of Daily Living program recipients. This program provides
additional financial support to caregivers, lessening the impact of
lost wages and other expenses inherent in caring for a seriously
injured or ill airman. Throughout 2013, and continuing into the future,
we will work with DOD and VA through the Interagency Care Coordination
Committee to establish a fluid care plan that will take our airmen from
the point of injury or illness, through their medical and non-medical
care while in the Air Force, and seamlessly into the VA system, using a
single-care plan and eventually an integrated care-management system.
We have equipped our Recovery Care Coordinators with communications
equipment, including cell phones and tablets, that allow them to get
out of their office and engage face-to-face with our airmen and their
families. The needs of our seriously ill or injured are similar to our
combat wounded, therefore our programs are designed to support all in
an equitable manner.
evaluations
All airmen have a responsibility to contribute to a healthy unit or
organizational climate. In order to maintain this environment, all
feedback and evaluation forms have been modified to include
``Organizational Climate,'' when evaluating airmen, and this must be
discussed in all feedback sessions. Given their position and influence,
commanders have an even greater responsibility to not only contribute,
but to create and ensure a healthy organizational climate. The more it
is incorporated into daily activities, the more it becomes a part of
Air Force culture. Ultimately, a healthy unit or organizational climate
is critical to the effectiveness of our Air Force at all levels.
comprehensive airman fitness
Our Air Force continues to make progress in teaching resilience
skills to our Total Force and their families. Continued high operations
tempo at home and abroad, coupled with downsizing the force and budget
cuts, reinforce our need to increase the focus on building strong,
resilient airmen. The Air Force has successfully graduated 641 Master
Resilience Trainers (MRTs). Each trainer learned to facilitate and
train new members on core competency skills using the four domains of
Comprehensive Airman Fitness (CAF); mental, physical, social and
spiritual fitness. MRTs are teaching resilience skills at First-Term
Airmen Centers, Airmen Leadership Schools, and they are training
Resilience Trainer assistants (RTAs) to aid and assist units/squadrons
with building resilience skills. A tailored CAF course has been created
for Air Force Key Spouses, and once trained, Key Spouses may serve as
RTAs to assist commanders with their units, and further assist spouses
with building CAF skills.
CAF is governed by the Air Force Community Action Information Board
(CAIB), chaired by our Air Force assistant Vice Chief of Staff. In
December 2013, the CAIB directed an assessment of increasing the MRT
ratios. As a result of the overwhelming positive feedback received from
members who have received CAF training, we are targeting to train one
MRT per squadron and exploring options to increase the amount of MRTs
from the current ratio of 1 MRT per 1,000 airmen to 1 per 200 airmen.
We believe as we build resilience skills, all airmen will be better
equipped to withstand, recover, and grow in the face of stressors and
changing demands, and ultimately help sustain continuous mission
success.
conclusion
Our airmen and their families continue to be the foundation of the
success of our Air Force. The enduring contributions provided by the
Air Force in joint operations are a direct result of the innovative
spirit that reside 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. As we continue to meet budget challenges, it will be
more important than ever to continue to size and shape the force within
the fiscal constraints to ensure we meet operational demands, while
analyzing inventories against current and future demands. We are
confident, keeping faith with our commitment to train and equip the
highest quality airmen, that our Air Force will remain capable of
overcoming any challenge or adversary.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, Lieutenant General.
Last, Lieutenant General Milstead.
STATEMENT OF LT. GEN. ROBERT E. MILSTEAD, JR., USMC, DEPUTY
COMMANDANT, MANPOWER AND RESERVE AFFAIRS, U.S. MARINE CORPS
Lieutenant General Milstead. Good morning. Chairwoman
Gillibrand, Ranking Member Graham, and distinguished members of
the subcommittee, it is my privilege to appear before you
today.
Before I proceed, though, I would like to briefly address
the shooting last night at Camp Lejeune. What we know so far is
that while on duty at the guard shack, two lance corporals--one
shot the other one in the chest with his M-4. The wounded was
transported to the base hospital and was subsequently
pronounced deceased. The incident is believed to be a negligent
discharge, but it is under investigation by the Naval Criminal
Investigative Service to determine if there is evidence to the
contrary. Once we have further facts, we will provide those to
you and this subcommittee.
I have previously submitted my written statement for the
record, and I look forward to answering your questions.
[The prepared statement of Lieutenant General Milstead
follows:]
Prepared Statement by Lt.Gen. Robert E. Milstead, Jr., USMC
i. introduction
Chairwoman 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.
Since our founding in 1775, marines have answered our Nation's
call, faithfully serving the American people and maintaining a world
class standard of military excellence. 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. Budget austerity presents significant challenges, but
our individual marines are the Corps' most sacred resource, and always
will be.
ii. end strength
As we drawdown the Marine Corps' Active component end strength from
war time levels of 202,000 marines, we have taken deliberate steps to
construct a force that we can afford to operate and sustain in the
emerging fiscal environment. Over the past 3 years, we have undertaken
a series of steps to build our current force plan. In 2010, our Force
Structure Review Group utilized the then Defense Strategic Guidance and
operational plans to determine that the optimum size of the Active
component Marine Corps should be a force of 186,800. The 2012 Defense
Strategic Guidance, which could be supported by the original
constraints of the 2011 Budget Control Act, estimated a force of
182,100 Active component marines. More recently, as we entered into the
Quadrennial Defense Review, we came to the difficult understanding
that, under the threat of continued sequestration or some variant, an
Active-Duty Force of 175,000 marines is what our Nation can afford.
This end strength is purely budget-driven and accepts risk in our
ability to carry out major combat operations.
Our current plan is to achieve a 175,000 end strength by the end of
fiscal year 2017. We are conducting a measured drawdown with a goal to
reduce end strength by no more than 7,500 marines per year. This is to
be accomplished primarily through natural attrition, voluntary
separation, and early 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 is to keep faith with our marines and their
families.
We ended fiscal year 2013 with an end strength of 195,657, achieved
primarily through increased voluntary attrition of junior enlisted
marines as well as through the use of programs such as Voluntary
Separation Pay and Temporary Early Retirement, both of which induced
additional voluntary attrition from the mid-level enlisted and officer
ranks. Our end strength goal for fiscal year 2014 is 188,800 marines,
and will be achieved primarily through reduced accessions combined with
continued emphasis on voluntary attrition.
iii. marine corps reserve
Your Marine Corps Reserve is also undergoing a reduction in
Selected Reserve end strength in order to better align structure with
budget levels. Our plan is to reduce our Selected Reserve end strength
from 39,600 to 38,500 marines by fiscal year 2017. The reductions will
come primarily from the junior enlisted ranks and individual
mobilization augmentees (IMAs). The Reserve component is currently over
manned in its junior enlisted ranks and critically undermanned in its
senior enlisted ranks. Decreasing new accessions will yield a more
balanced Marine Corps Reserve. Given our reduced Active Component
manpower needs over the coming years, the requirement for Reserve IMAs
to mobilize with Active component units is likely to decrease. Overall,
our force shaping measures will leave the Marine Corps with a more
balanced Reserve component able to reinforce the Active component and
serve as an integral part of the Marine Corps Total Force in
accomplishing its assigned mission as an expeditionary force in
readiness.
For fiscal year 2014 and beyond, we continue to refine the use of
incentives and MOS retraining to strengthen unit staffing in
specialties and grades where we remain critically short. In particular,
we have targeted our incentives toward recruiting and retention of
company grade officers, noncommissioned officers (NCO) and staff
noncommissioned officers (SNCO) in our Selected Reserve units. Both
officers transitioning from the Active component and recruiting
officers directly into the Reserve component have been the keys to our
success. The Reserve Officer Commissioning Program has produced a total
of 710 lieutenants for the Marine Corps since its creation in 2006. As
a result, our SMCR ground company grade officer strength has increased
from 21 to 74 percent.
We continue to face challenges in manning our SNCO billets in the
SMCR. As the Active component grew its end strength to 202,000, many of
our junior marines and NCOs left the Reserves for the Active component.
Had they remained in the Reserves, many of those same marines would
have been promoted and filled our SNCOs requirements today. While we
have directed incentives toward retaining our best marines, the SMCR is
still critically short SNCOs. This SNCO shortage will take
approximately 6 years to fix as our post-202,000 accessions reach the
necessary time to be considered for promotion.
iv. recruiting
All recruiting efforts for the Marine Corps (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.
Last fiscal year, we successfully achieved all enlisted and officer
recruiting goals for both the Active and Reserve components. Our
current mission for enlisted marines is 25,000 regulars (Active
component) and 5,523 reservists. We expect to achieve our annual
recruiting `shipping' mission (i.e. new accessions sent to recruit
training) and quality goals, but budget reductions may impact our
contracting efforts and capacity to achieve success in fiscal year
2015. The fiscal year 2015 mission forecast is 28,370 regulars and
5,280 reservists.
Our officer accessions mission for fiscal year 2014 is 1,360 Active
Duty and 150 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 helping to remedy
this shortfall.
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.
v. retention
For fiscal year 2014, the Marine Corps is on track to achieve its
end strength target of 188,800 Active component marines (and
approximately 150 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 continues 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 cyber security technician and counter intelligence specialist.
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 allow us to shape our career force by targeting
critical MOSs and supporting 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. Our civilian
appropriated funded workforce remains the leanest of all services, with
a ratio of 1 civilian to every 10 active duty marines. 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.
Over 95 percent of our civilians work at bases, stations, depots,
and installations across our Nation. Sixty-eight percent are veterans
who have chosen to continue to serve our Nation; of those, 13 percent
are disabled veterans. Our civilian workforce steadfastly continues to
provide vital support to our marines, Reserve marines, their families,
and our wounded, ill, and injured.
This environment of prolonged budgetary uncertainty is increasing
employee stress, morale is declining and, at some point, productivity
will begin to suffer. Although we began right sizing our workforce in
2011, in preparation for these current events, we are still facing
additional civilian reductions of 10 percent or more, which includes
the 20 percent reduction to our Management Headquarters Activities. We
are actively seeking ways to achieve these goals through attrition and
various voluntary workforce-shaping flexibilities; our intent is not to
conduct a reduction in force (RIF). Additional budget reductions will
hit in fiscal year 2015 creating further stress to our workforce, both
in size and in the support our civilians depend on to conduct their
work and improve their skills.
During these challenging times, it is imperative that we continue
to keep faith with our civilian workforce. With additional furloughs
and overall pay insecurity, we risk losing enormously talented and
dedicated professionals. As commitment to Federal service wanes,
military missions will suffer.
vii. 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.
The Marine Corps is working toward completion of a landmark
diversity initiative which centered around four diversity task forces:
Leadership, Mentoring and Accountability; Culture and Leading Change;
Race and Ethnicity; and Women in the Marine Corps. Three-star general
officer executive sponsors provided guidance and oversight of each 12-
15 member task force. The Task Force initiative focused on identifying
vital recommendations in the areas of culture and leadership and to
improving the attraction, development and retention of both women and
minority officers. The task force concept represents a significant
philosophical shift--from ignoring human variations to a quest to
understand them in order to drive actions.
The Marine Corps has established minority officer recruiting and
mentoring as a priority in our recruiting efforts. We acknowledge the
accession and retention of minority officers has been a challenge for
our Corps and are committed to further facilitating the mentoring and
career development of all our officers with emphasis on our minority
officers in order to encourage the retention of our most talented
people.
The Marine Corps aims to emphasize the operational necessity of
diversity by educating marines on how diversity can be a force
multiplier. We also seek diversity through strategic community outreach
and recruit marketing. To ensure continued connectedness with the
Nation, we continue to conduct strategic community outreach and recruit
marketing and ensure quality opportunities for merit-based development
and advancement for all marines.
viii. marine and family programs
To optimize and influence the health and wellness of the 21st
century marine, Marine Total Fitness (MTF) establishes a framework and
methodology for understanding, assessing, and maintaining individual
marine fitness in support of unit combat effectiveness. This holistic
focus includes four cords of fitness: body, mind, spirit, and social.
The goal of MTF is to proactively address the complex issues facing our
marines and their families after more than a decade of persistent
conflict.
Caring for our Families
During Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom
(OEF), a surge occurred in the areas of family programs to mitigate the
impact of stressors due to deployments, enable quick acclimation to the
Corps, build deployment knowledge and skills, and improve access to
care and official information for marines and families to ensure
operational readiness. This action resulted in having a positive impact
on the quality of life of our marines and their families. The 2012
Quality of Life Study indicated a majority of marines received the
training necessary to deal with the stress of deployment and/or combat,
and were satisfied with military support services overall.
Post OIF/OEF, we must ensure our programs and services remain
relevant to the requirements of the Corps. We must be flexible enough
to surge and retract to support future missions and training
requirements. With 47 percent of marines being married and 32 percent
having children, our Family Care and Family Readiness Preparedness
directly supports operational readiness of the Marine Corps.
The Marine Corps ensures the long-term stability of Marine and
Family Programs meets all credentialing and accreditation quality
assurance objectives. We ensure consistency of care across the Marine
Corps, by implementing and training staff to evidence based practices.
Programs will be assessed for ways to more effectively and efficiently
improve delivery of care and services, while strategically
communicating to our marines and families to increase awareness of all
the available resources, support, and services.
Behavioral Health Support
The Behavioral Health Program acts as an integrated service
delivery model that facilitates focus of effort for prevention and
intervention on suicide, substance abuse, combat operational stress,
and family advocacy. When addressing behavioral health care
requirements, we typically see clients with multiple stressors or
conditions.
Even as the Marine Corps moves into a post OIF/OEF environment, we
expect a surge of support needs from marines and families facing a
potential delayed onset of symptoms. To address care requirements, we
have established a memorandum of understanding with Navy Medicine to
enable comprehensive care and have taken action to increase our
community counseling capacity. Over 250 Military Family Life
Consultants have been deployed to provide confidential care in unit or
installations settings and augments existing installation based
behavioral health and resource services. Additionally, through our
Community Counseling Program, we are enhancing our screening and
prevention capabilities, and also increasing access to non-medical
counseling services. Finally, Behavioral Health is implementing the
Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) level prevention capabilities to
provide resources and training for operational commands along with
providing technical assistance across behavioral health initiatives.
Our efforts will continue to ensure that marines seek and are
provided effective care when needed. All marines have a responsibility
to look out for one another and to assist anyone who may need care.
Through programs like Marine Awareness and Prevention Integrated
Training and Operation Stress Control and Readiness, marines receive
the right prevention tools at the right time to provide them with
skills to prevent and mitigate stress injuries in themselves, and their
fellow marines. Additionally, these programs provide commanders support
in building unit strength, resilience, and readiness. Finally, the
Marine Corps is increasing our capabilities to follow-up and monitor
marines identified with suicidal ideation or suicide attempts.
Sustaining the wellness and readiness of marines and their families
remains the top priority of the Marine Corps.
Transition Assistance
As the Marine Corps looks at lowered end strength in the upcoming
years, more of our marines and their families will be making the
transition to civilian life. It is imperative that we ensure that that
they have the right preparation to reach personal goals and effectively
translate their military experiences to a successful civilian life.
Transition is a process, not an event. Beginning at the point of
recruiting, the Marine Corps strives to provide a continuum of tangible
learning or experienced based opportunities to ensure that every marine
is transition ready throughout their career so they can accomplish
their personal or career goals.
The Marine Corps Transition Readiness Seminar is a week-long
program that includes mandatory standardized core curriculum followed
by the choice of one of three additional 2-day tracks that is in line
with their individual future goals and objectives. The Marine Corps has
also put into place pre-separation counseling to help marines translate
their military skills for the civilian workforce.
Our next phase will enhance outreach to those who require localized
support through our Marine for Life Program and its representatives.
Additionally, our Personal and Professional Development Program will
continue to focus on spouse employment, access to education and
professional development courses, and effective management strategies.
The Marine Corps is committed to not only making the best marines, but
that the marine and their families have the tools and resources to
successfully transition and reintegrate back into civilian life.
ix. sexual assault prevention & response
Sexual assault damages lives, corrodes the trust between marines,
degrades unit readiness and morale, and undermines our warfighting
mission. The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Program has
been enhanced to reinforce our training and advocacy efforts, while
holding fast to the fact that one incident of sexual assault is too
many. Our three-phase SAPR Campaign Plan was launched in June 2012 and
continues to guide the phased implementation of large-scale
institutional reform, emphasizes prevention through training, and
directs senior leadership involvement. Potentially a promising result
of the effort, thus far, has been the continued rise in reporting. With
sexual assault being a highly under-reported crime, this increase
appears to reflect an increased level of trust and confidence that
marines have in their immediate commander and overall Marine Corps SAPR
Program.
Commander involvement and constructive dialogue among marines, to
include bystander intervention, will continue to be one of our greatest
weapons against sexual assault. Engaged leadership remains the key to
establishing a culture that is non-permissive to any misconduct or
crime, especially sexual assault. As the Marine Corps continues to
reawaken its sense of tradition and ethics, and reinforce the values
that have made it the finest expeditionary force in history, we will
also continue to strengthen our prevention and victim care efforts and
to ensure that the highest standards of discipline are maintained.
Collectively and persistently, we will ensure that every marine knows
it is his and her inherent duty to step up and step in to stop this
crime.
x. wounded warrior regiment
The Marine Corps' Wounded Warrior Regiment (WWR) continues to
function as a central pillar of our pledge to ``keep faith'' with those
who have served. Whether a marine is wounded in combat, suffering from
a chronic unresolved illness, or injured in a training accident, the
WWR remains committed to providing comprehensive recovery care. For the
Marine Corps, recovery care is not a process. Care coordinated through
the WWR is soundly based upon an authentic relationship between care
providers and the marine and his or her family members. This bond
allows all parties to be vested in a common purpose: to ensure our
Nation's wounded, ill, and injured (WII) marines and their families are
well positioned for their future endeavors.
Since our WWR was established in 2007, thousands of WII marines and
family members have benefitted from this command's care coordination
capabilities. These capabilities include recovery care coordinators to
help WII marines develop and execute Comprehensive Recovery Plans; a
medical section to provide medical subject matter expertise, advocacy,
and liaison to the medical community;; District Injured Support
Coordinators, the Marine Corps' representatives for WII marines in
their civilian communities; the Sergeant Merlin German Wounded Warrior
Call Center and Wounded Warrior Battalion Contact Centers to conduct
outreach to WII marines and receive calls for assistance; and a liaison
to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enhance coordination
between the organizations.
In sum, WII marines and their family members receive customized
support, based upon their assessed needs, from the point of injury or
illness, through rehabilitation, and finally as they return to duty or
reintegrate to their hometowns. Also, the Marine Corps does not utilize
a ``fire and forget'' mentality. Recognizing that most WII marines will
require some level of assistance after they leave the Corps, the WWR
provides a minimum of 90 days post-service support to those previously
supported by a Recovery Care Coordinator. This is accomplished through
our DISCs or case managers at our call center.
Marines and their families, Congress, and the public at large can
be reassured that the Marine Corps, through the WWR, will continue
recovery care in times of war and in peacetime. Irrespective of the
global security environment, recovery care support must be enduring in
view of issues resulting from the current decade of war: catastrophic
injuries requiring massive amounts of acute care, traumatic brain
injury, and psychological health problems. These conditions are not
solved by short-term care and will require continuing services, an
enduring commitment. Just as the Marine Corps is strategically agile,
the WWR will endeavor to expand and contract depending upon future
requirements.
xi. semper fit & exchange services
Semper Fit and Recreation programs align to support the social and
physical well-being of marines and their families, encourage healthy
lifestyles, enhance quality of life, and to amplify the Marine Corps'
focus on mission and readiness. For example, comprehensive strength and
conditioning programs, High Intensity Tactical Training and Aquatic
Maximum Power--Intense Training, serve to optimize physical performance
and combat readiness for all Active Duty and Reserve marines. Another
program, located at eight installations, Operation Adrenaline Rush
(OAR), combines Combat and Operational Stress Control principles with
an outdoor recreation adventure activity to aid in mitigating high risk
behavior for marines who have recently returned from deployment. OAR
assists marines with reintegration by empowering small unit leaders,
maintaining combat readiness, and reinforcing unit cohesion.
The Marine Corps Exchange (MCX) is an important part of the overall
non-monetary benefits package and the Marine Corps mission.
Consistently ranked by marines and families as one of their most valued
benefits, MCX provides not only a value for marines and families when
they shop, but also returns dollars to the Marine Corps community. MCX
success is measured on the program's value and contributions to the
readiness of marines, as well as our ability to provide unparalleled
customer service, premier facilities, and valued goods and services at
a significant savings.
Semper Fit and Recreation and our Exchange system continue to
provide direct support to forward deployed marines through recreation/
fitness/sports equipment and MCX services. Deployed support is one of
the most important services we provide; our robust Exchange, Recreation
and Fitness, Communication, and MCCS Wi-Fi services programs not only
boost and maintain morale, but also help to reduce mission-related
stress. Moving forward we are committed to increasing efficiencies
within our business and support models as part of our culture of
transformation and maintaining relevance to the Marine Corps Mission.
xii. 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, gentlemen.
Lieutenant General Milstead, I know the Marine Corps is
taking a different approach than the other Services, and that
part of your process includes forming what the marines call the
Ground Combat Element Experimental Task Force. This
experimental task force consists of a battalion-sized ground
combat unit and will include a control group of an all-male
squad, with another squad integrated, one-third women, two-
thirds men, and a third squad, two-thirds women, one-third men.
These units will be put through a training and evaluation cycle
that mirrors an infantry's unit predeployment training cycle.
What is the ultimate purpose behind this experimental task
force?
Lieutenant General Milstead. The primary purpose of the
experimental task force is to look at collective standards. We
are going after this in basically four lines of effort, if you
will. The first one is to extend our exception to policy where
we put officers and staff noncommissioned officers in open
Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) down to closed units.
The second one is where we expanded our entry level
training. You are aware that we have had 45 women successfully
complete the infantry training in Infantry Training Battalion
and some more will continue. That has been so successful that
we are expanding that to the other infantry MOSs like machine
guns, mortars. We are going to send them to artillery school.
We are going to put them into armor. Those are individual
standards. Those are individual tasks.
This experimental task force is to get at the collective
tasks, how everybody works together because we do not know what
we do not know. It will be conducted at Camp Lejeune, at
Twentynine Palms, and again up at Bridgeport, and it will
mirror training that we do prior to deployment. The primary
focus is on collective standards vice individual standards.
Senator Gillibrand. The only concern that I had is that
your term, ``control group,'' is being used for the all-male
squad. I wanted to know what you mean by that because the other
two squads with women are being measured against the control
group. Would it not be preferable to have them just actually be
measured against some performance standard, what your goal of
the group to accomplish is?
Lieutenant General Milstead. I believe as they are
evaluated, they will be evaluated by this control group, if you
will. It happens to be all male, as you say, because it comes
from MOSs that we do not have any women in. We have no choice.
Senator Gillibrand. It is a subtle difference. For example,
if you have a control group that the mission is to perform A,
B, and C, the control group should not be judged on do you
perform A, B, and C as if an all-male unit would perform A, B,
and C because if you are creating a standard that is what is
perfectly accomplished, it may well be perfectly accomplished
in a different way or measured against a very different set of
standards, as opposed to just measuring how would an all-male
group accomplish A, B, and C. I guess my point is if your
control group is how an all-male force performs it as opposed
to the actual mission of things you want accomplished, it may
align differently is what I am telling you.
Lieutenant General Milstead. I understand that, and I will
tell you that we are looking to include the women, not preclude
them. They will not be evaluated whether they can do the job
like men do it. They will be evaluated as to whether they can
do the job.
Senator Gillibrand. The job. Correct. That is all I wanted
to ensure.
Lieutenant General Milstead. It will not only be uniform. I
think it is important to emphasize that we have the University
of Pittsburgh. We have the Center for Naval Analyses. We have
the RAND Corporation. We have a number of non-uniform external
agencies that will be involved in the evaluation.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Lieutenant General Bromberg and Vice Admiral Moran, I
understand that the Army and the Navy just recently relieved
soldiers and sailors of positions of trust after various checks
to their records showed they had a disqualifying offense. I am
very grateful that you took the time to do that review and
removed these individuals to improve trust within the system.
Can you tell me if these individuals retired from the
military or whether they were allowed to remain in the
Services? If the latter, what types of positions do they
currently hold?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, ma'am. Thank you for the
question.
Of the individuals removed from those positions, we removed
them for a wide variety of reasons. We went back and looked at
everything for about 10 categories, everything from a previous
domestic violence or sexual assault to maybe a previous driving
while intoxicated from 15 years ago, even down to maybe where
somebody was not suitable for appearance. There is a wide
variety within that number.
Now, the actual numbers will be coming back over because we
have a formal request from Congress to answer those questions.
We will answer those back formally.
I can tell you some of those folks--they are no longer in
that position of trust, and they are back in their primary MOS
if they were maybe detailed in that job. For example, maybe a
recruiter who might have been an artilleryman or an infantryman
before that and maybe they had a DUI 15 to 20 years ago. We
took them out of recruiting, put them back in their primary
MOS. That is an example for you.
Senator Gillibrand. But you will send the full report to
our office once you----
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Oh, yes. We are consolidating
all of that together.
Senator Gillibrand. Exactly what they were removed for.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. There were 10 categories we
looked at, a very detailed scrub of several thousand across the
force. We feel pretty comfortable that that was the right thing
to do, obviously.
Senator Gillibrand. Also, in your prepared statement, you
informed us that the Army implemented a new policy to ensure
that any final decision to retain a member convicted of sexual
offense is fully informed and determined at the Secretary
level. This same policy also prohibits the overseas assignment
or deployment of any soldier convicted of a sexual offense.
Under what circumstances would the Army retain a soldier
convicted of a sexual offense?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. I think that is a case-by-case
answer. But the intent there again is to make sure that we are
fully informed, so if a lower level organization decides to
retain that servicemember, they have to forward that up to the
Secretary's level so we can then review that case and then make
a final decision. In many cases that I have looked at already,
some of these people are already in the process. We are
tracking them very closely. But this gives us full information
to include preventing someone from being assigned overseas. We
will pull them back where we have a larger support network to
do that.
Senator Gillibrand. We do have convicted sexual offenders
retained within the force?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Well, for example, somebody
who is in jail, is incarcerated who may not be full due
processed yet--they are still on our rolls. That counts as
somebody who is convicted. They could be sitting at Fort
Leavenworth.
Senator Gillibrand. They are not just taking a different
job?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. No. These are people that they
have been convicted but because the due process is not finished
yet, they could still be on our rolls. I can guarantee you we
look at every one of those. We track those. We know where they
are at.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you so much.
Senator Graham.
Senator Graham. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
One thing I want to restate is I support the chairwoman's
decision to let the MCRMC in February provide their
recommendations.
On that, the benefit package. About 50 percent of the
military budget is personnel costs. Is that accurate?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Very close, sir.
Lieutenant General Milstead. 64 percent of the Marine Corps
budget.
Senator Graham. Air Force?
Lieutenant General Cox. I am sure that is close.
Vice Admiral Moran. It is very close. Yes, sir.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Sir, 48 percent plus or minus.
Senator Graham. Benefits include pay. Right? Retirement,
medical and dental, commissary, exchange. Any other benefits
that we can think of?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. There are probably several
that are indirect benefits.
Senator Graham. That makes the core group I think of what
we are going to have to be looking at.
Does everybody on the panel agree that any retirement
changes need to be prospective and that we grandfather the
current system enrollees?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, sir. The Army's position
is everybody should be grandfathered.
Vice Admiral Moran. The Navy, same.
Lieutenant General Cox. Same for the Air Force.
Senator Graham. Do any of you envision reducing pay as a
reform?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. No, sir. The Army does not.
Vice Admiral Moran. Not at all.
Lieutenant General Cox. No, sir.
Lieutenant General Milstead. Our Commandant has testified
that he does support the 1 percent vice the 1.8 percent, as
well as--
Senator Graham. That is a pay raise versus a pay cut.
Lieutenant General Milstead. Exactly, and that is my point,
Senator. Nobody is for reducing pay. We are slowing the growth.
Senator Graham. What does an E7 gunnery sergeant in the
Marine Corps make?
Lieutenant General Milstead. I could not answer.
Senator Graham. Well, we have the pay scales. Will somebody
find that? I do not want the public to believe that we are
paying people elaborate salaries because we are not. We are
paying them, I think, a decent salary maybe at best given what
we ask of them.
Housing is another area. Right? If you are assigned to
Washington, DC, and on-base housing is not available, what does
the Army do for that soldier?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. They get a housing allowance.
Senator Graham. Is it 100 percent of the cost?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Pretty close in most areas.
Senator Graham. One of the proposed reforms is to have some
cost sharing there.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, sir.
Senator Graham. Why would you not be allowed housing? Why
would somebody have to go off base? Just not availability?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Just not available. We do not
build enough quarters.
Senator Graham. Is that true in the Marine Corps?
Lieutenant General Milstead. Or by choice. We do not have
sufficient housing for everybody, but a lot of people do live
in town. That 100 percent is based on the average cost, and it
is done by area, as the Senator is well aware. It is your
choice. If you live in the Taj Mahal, your 100 percent of the
average will not cover it as opposed to where you do live.
Senator Graham. Right. We are not going to subsidize a $2
million home, but we are going to pay you the average.
I think one of the proposals is to have some cost sharing.
Is that correct?
Lieutenant General Milstead. It is. It is to take it from
100 percent of the average down to 95 percent of the average.
Senator Graham. What will that mean to the average soldier
here in the DC area? Does anybody know?
Lieutenant General Milstead. I would offer it would depend
on where they live. Again, if they are living within the means
of the 95 percent, some people actually have sufficient delta
between their basic allowance for housing and the rent they are
paying, whereas other people choose to maybe have a larger home
or a more elaborate home. Then they will pay some more.
Senator Graham. From your point of view--each of you very
quickly if you could--if you implemented that change of a 5
percent cost share, reducing it to 95 percent of the average,
is that something the Services could absorb, and is that fair
given our budget problems?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Sir, I think when you look at
it as a hard choice against readiness, I think it is something
that we have to do as we go forward, and I think you have to do
it over time.
Vice Admiral Moran. I would agree with that statement.
Lieutenant General Cox. I would agree with the statement as
well. It is a phased-in approach, not taking effect until 2017.
Lieutenant General Milstead. Again, the Commandant has said
that if we do not arrest the growth of this, that it will
eventually eat into our readiness.
Senator Graham. That is something I am very open-minded to
because you are going to have to affect personnel somehow.
An E7 makes $33,000 to $50,000, depending on how long you
have been in. If you have been in 18 years, it is about
$50,000. That is probably base pay without benefits. It would
be more than that, I am sure.
Regarding TRICARE. Do you all support some type of premium
adjustment over time for TRICARE?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, sir.
Vice Admiral Moran. Yes, sir.
Lieutenant General Cox. Yes, sir.
Lieutenant General Milstead. Yes, sir.
Senator Graham. We have not had a premium adjustment since
1995. Is that correct? Yes, I think it is.
Now we are talking about retired people, and that comes out
of DOD's budget. Right? TRICARE costs for retired personnel
comes out of DOD's budget. When you pay that out, you have less
for the operational Services. Is that correct?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, sir.
Senator Graham. TRICARE is competing against readiness,
modernization, everything else. Is that true in all the
Services?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, sir. All our benefits are
competing against readiness.
Senator Graham. When it comes to sexual assault, I think it
would probably be good sometime down the road to have a hearing
to see if some of these reforms are actually working.
Is the Army going to adopt the Air Force pilot program of
providing a JAG to every victim?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Sir, we have a special victims
capability, which we do have over 105 JAGs trained now to
provide special victims counsels, of which we actually have 52
serving today. Additionally----
Senator Graham. My question is, would every----
Lieutenant General Bromberg. It is available to every
victim today. We have enough. Yes, sir.
Vice Admiral Moran. Yes, sir. We fully implemented that
program this year.
Senator Graham. The Marine Corps?
Lieutenant General Milstead. The Marine Corps has the
Victims Legal Counsel Organization.
Senator Graham. Let us know if you need more JAGs because I
think we are all willing to supply what you need to deal with
this problem.
Back to the Marine Corps and the experiment about
integrating women into combat units. Do other marines,
equivalent to the Marine Corps--the British marines, do they do
this? Do other nations' military services do this? Generally
speaking, what is your initial impression of women going
through the infantry school, the 45 that have come out? Do you
think that we are on to something here that this is an untapped
resource for the Marine Corps, using women in direct combat?
Where do you see this going, General?
Lieutenant General Milstead. To the first part of your
question, the other nations, we are meeting with them. We just
met with the Danes. The Danes are fully integrated, completely
fully integrated and very enthusiastic about it. The British
are not. We are talking to the Australians. We are talking to
the Canadians. We are talking to the Israelis, the Koreans. We
are talking to other nations and seeing what they have done and
looking at the path that it has taken them, how long it has
taken them, and where they have made the mistakes and where
they have not so we can avoid those.
As far as the 45 that have come through, they have been
successful. It is what it is. They have done very well.
Including the women and expanding the opportunity is that,
expanding the opportunity and giving them the opportunity to do
more. It has nothing to do with the fact that we do not have
enough men to fill the ranks. It is to expand opportunity and
allow them to do more. We are very enthusiastic, and we are
optimistic about what we have seen so far.
I will end it the way I started. We do not know what we do
not know, and that is why we are going at this in a very
deliberate, measured, and responsible manner, so that we can
determine that and do it reasonably.
Senator Graham. Thank you.
Senator Gillibrand. Senator Kaine?
Senator Kaine. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Thank you to the witnesses.
Personnel issues raise a whole series of questions.
Thirteen years of war imposes a set of stresses that is really
unique in the history of the Nation because of the length of
the engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have imposed our
own stresses with the budgetary uncertainty that DOD and other
Federal agencies have been under. That does not make it any
easier on your people. I appreciate your service in these
difficult and challenging times.
Since Lieutenant General Milstead has talked a little bit
about the Marine Corps effort with respect to opening MOSs up
to women on gender-neutral requirements, I would like to ask
the other witnesses to talk about it in your own Services. Just
1 year into this new policy, talk about what you are seeing.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, sir. We are very excited
about our program. We think we have a lot of positive things
going on right now. Our program is an incremental, integrated,
and scientific approach to look at that with two foundational
pieces to it.
One, we have cultural studies ongoing right now to look at
how women integrate in organizations where women have not
served before. We constantly survey the units where we have
opened up positions today so we see how the women are
integrating, what is the reaction of the men, what is the
reaction of the females. We constantly assess. We have outside
groups doing that. We are looking at the cultural piece.
Second, we are looking at the physical demands. In the
physical demands piece, we are looking at the 31 most
physically demanding tasks and we are doing this with a very
scientific approach. In fact, right now we have 500 soldiers
involved down at Fort Stewart, GA, and they are looking at
those specific tasks and the scientific measurements of how a
person has to do a task, oxygen intake, certain body movements,
to establish a very gender-neutral standard. Then it is about
that task. How do you accomplish that task?
At the end of the day, we will apply that task in some
easier manner, but it will apply against men and women. We
expect to eliminate men in the future, just as well as it will
bring women in.
We think this is coming together very well. We have opened
up more positions this year. We have just opened up over 33,000
more positions to women across the force, and we will continue
to do that. Now we are starting to look at how do we build the
cadre or the leadership because, like the Marine Corps, we do
not have any serving infantry female officers. How do you build
that and how do you get those people there so you have the
right leadership in place? We are very excited about what we
are doing and we think we are on the right path with this
integrated and scientific approach.
Senator Kaine. Admiral Moran?
Vice Admiral Moran. Yes, Senator, the Navy is practically
entirely open now with the exception of the special forces
SEALs and special boat team crewmembers. That is really up to
Admiral McRaven who is doing the study now with U.S. Special
Operations Command (SOCOM), and whatever they give us is how we
will adopt it.
Our most recent effort here has been women in submarines.
It is very successful. The officer is front and first. We
started there to make sure we had leadership in place before we
would bring in enlisted members of the Service. So over the
last couple of years, we have brought female officers into the
Ohio-class submarine. That has done exceptionally well. Next
year, we are going to start with Virginia-class, the smaller
submarines. We will again bring officers in there. About a year
from now, there is a panel and a task force underway led by
Admiral Ken Perry who is the submarine group commander today
who is bringing recommendations forward to CNO and Secretary of
the Navy, on not when or not if, but how to bring enlisted
females into the submarine force.
As you might imagine, it takes time to train these in the
submarine community. Several of the rates are highly technical.
It takes up to 2 years to train them. We have to bring in
laterally from other communities female enlisted at the chief
petty officer and senior petty officer levels to populate those
ships before we bring in junior enlisted.
That is all going to happen over the next couple of years,
and so we are very positive on it. I think, across the Navy,
the quality of young females in the enlisted force and the
officer force is extremely good, and they are having a lot of
success in those warfare specialties.
Senator Kaine. That is great. Secretary Mabus has spoken
recently about the submarine project and has spoken of it in a
very optimistic way, and I am glad to hear you echo that.
General Cox?
Lieutenant General Cox. Sir, I had the privilege of being
the Commandant of Cadets at the Air Force Academy just a couple
of years ago. If you look back when we first brought women into
the Air Force Academy, it was single digits. When I was there,
a single digit percentage. Now it is over 20 percent. We have
demonstrated that there is absolutely no issue with the
integration of women across the board.
As we have moved forward now into what we have across the
board for the Air Force, there are less than 4,000 billets
between the Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve that are currently
restricted to men. That we are working, along with SOCOM and
Air Force Special Operations Command, to make sure that we have
those gender-neutral standards and we will follow the lead with
that as well. We are well on track to make sure all this is
squared away.
Senator Kaine. Great. Thank you. I think many of the
members of this subcommittee are very focused on this issue and
probably annually we are going to be wanting to get status
reports.
Let me just ask a question. I know, General Cox, the Air
Force has been conducting force shaping and voluntary
separation policies to allow servicemembers to leave before
their service commitment as we are looking at reductions in end
strength. Can any of you provide any updates about force
shaping and voluntary separation policies and how your branches
are approaching those questions?
Lieutenant General Cox. Sir, what we started with is the
commitment from the Chief and the Secretary that we will make
sure that all airmen have 6 months' notification prior to any
kind of involuntary separation and that we would focus on
making sure that it was a voluntary opportunity prior to any
involuntary separation. Right now, we have processed and
approved almost 5,000 voluntary separations, whether it is
temporary early retirement authority, so that 15- to 20-year
authorization or voluntary separation. We are well on our way.
We have all the appropriate authorities to be able to take
advantage of all these programs. I think we are on track to
make sure that is done. Then if there is an involuntary
separation, we give at least 6 months prior to them separating.
Senator Kaine. Others on this question?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, sir. With the magnitude
of the cuts in the Army over this time period, we have reduced
our recruiting and we have also encouraged natural attrition.
But that is not going to be enough. We are going to have to use
involuntary measures. This year we have already conducted one
early retirement board for lieutenant colonels and colonels and
asked 236 of those officers to depart. We are in the process
right now of conducting officer separation boards that will
affect approximately 1,800 captains and majors that will be
asked to leave the Service this year as well. Additionally, we
have also done the same with the senior noncommissioned
officers, asked them to retire early, and we will also go down
all the way to the staff sergeant level. We just cannot get
there to balance our readiness with our future needs without
doing involuntary separations.
Senator Kaine. Madam Chairwoman, my time is up, but could
the other two witnesses answer briefly this question?
Lieutenant General Cox. Senator, we are not doing any
involuntary right now. Our manpower projections through the
FYDP are steady. We do not see the need at this point to do any
involuntary. All of it is through natural attrition.
Lieutenant General Milstead. That is the same with us. Our
measured and gradual glide slope, if you will, is focused
primarily on natural and voluntary measures.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for
those force shaping authorities that you have given us,
measures such as Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA),
Voluntary Separation Pay (VSP), time-in-grade waivers. We are
making use of these, and they are helping us maintain faith as
we draw down.
Senator Kaine. Thank you.
Senator Gillibrand. Senator Ayotte.
Senator Ayotte. I want to thank the chairwoman.
I want to thank all of our witnesses who are here for their
service and leadership for our country.
I just wanted to follow up on this issue of the proposed
benefit changes. Number one, let me add my support for what the
chairwoman and ranking member want to do with regard to the
MCRMC. As I understand it, just to correct the record, just to
make sure it is clear, in fact, in 2012 we did authorize
TRICARE premium increases and as well as pharmacy co-pays in
2013 for Active Duty family members and retirees. Am I wrong on
that on TRICARE?
Lieutenant General Cox. We will have to come back to you,
Senator. I do not know exactly what date it was.
[The information referred to follows:]
Congress permitted small increases in the TRICARE Prime enrollment
fees for working age retirees and some adjustments to retail and mail
order pharmacy co-pays in the fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2013
budget and legislative cycles, but these changes are not enough to
sustain the benefit in the long-term. For example, when TRICARE was
fully implemented in 1996, a working age retiree's family of three who
used civilian care contributed on average roughly 27 percent of the
total cost of its health care. Today, that percentage has dropped to
less than 11 percent. While health care costs have doubled over this
timeframe, a family's out-of-pocket expenses, including enrollment
fees, deductibles, and cost shares, has grown by only 30 to 40 percent.
Senator Ayotte. I think I remember this coming up before
the Senate Armed Services Committee and I have before me the
provisions of the defense authorization. I just want to make
sure that that is understood for the record because I believe
we have already given authority and it has been implemented
with TRICARE premium increases for 2012 for retirees and as
well for pharmacy co-pays in 2013.
One thing that I think is just an overall question that all
of us need to think about--and I mean us collectively as
Congress--is that when we are facing in the overall fiscal
picture that two-thirds of our spending is focused on mandatory
entitlement programs that need significant reforms--and if we
do not address them, ultimately you are going to eat up all
discretionary spending, including defense spending. I
understand why you are asking for it and I understand the
challenges you are facing on a budgetary level with regard to
readiness. However, I see us again asking our men and women in
uniform, who have sacrificed the most, to take these kinds of
cuts first, whether it is to their health care, whether it is
to their housing, whether it is to their commissary.
I think a question we should ask ourselves here in
Congress, is this the right thing to do when we are not willing
to take on some of the bigger, harder questions? Again, we are
putting you in the situation where you have to say to us, our
personnel costs have risen. We all know that the greatest asset
we have in our military are our people.
I am not asking you to answer that. I am just making that
as a statement. I think it is a question for all of us that we
should look in the mirror and answer for ourselves before we
ask our men and women to make these kinds of sacrifices.
But I do have one question that I am very worried about
with regard to these proposals. Regardless, we have the MCRMC.
We are waiting for what they are going to say. That is the
impact on our junior enlisted because it seems to me that if we
are going to increase commissary costs or reduce the percentage
of basic allowance for housing, that the group that could get
hit the most is the junior enlisted because of the amount that
they make. I have asked this in prior panels. But I think it is
important for us to understand what does that do to your
average junior enlisted. I would like to know what diminishes
their pay overall and their package because in terms of what
they make because I think we need to understand that from an
average perspective of a junior enlisted, not that I want to
see any of you more senior members to be put in a position,
given the sacrifices you have made. I am thinking about our
junior enlisted men and women who really make the least amount.
Some of them, unfortunately, have been on food stamps and
things like that, which is shameful. I think this is a
consideration for us. I would like to hear back on that of what
the impact specifically is, how much a junior enlisted on
average makes, what does this do in terms of their take-home.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, ma'am. We will follow up
with specifics on his actual pay.
Senator Gillibrand. That would be great because I think it
is important for all of us to understand that with that
category of individuals in particular.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. If I could, ma'am. We have to
look at it as a holistic package because not all the junior
enlisted are married. We have to look at married people. We
have to look at single people, who are living in the barracks.
We have to put that together so you can understand the whole
thing.
Senator Ayotte. I think that would be great. I just want to
know because we ask a lot from them, and I want to make sure
because they are the ones that make the least.
The one issue I wanted to follow up with Lieutenant General
Milstead. I had the chance to have dinner with the Commandant
recently. As I understand, he is reaching out into the civilian
sector, including to people like Sheryl Sandberg, to say how do
we do a better job of keeping women in the Marine Corps so that
they can go on and serve in more senior leadership positions.
Can you tell us about that? I was very encouraged when I heard
what he is trying to do to keep women in the Marine Corps, not
just enlistment but for the long haul to help lead the Marine
Corps.
Lieutenant General Milstead. We are about a year into a
talent management task force effort that crosses the width and
breadth of the Marine Corps, focused on primarily the officer
ranks. I hesitate to use the word ``diversity,'' but it is
across the entire spectrum.
One of the task forces focuses on women and how do we
retain women because, many of them have to make tough
decisions? Am I going to stay at this or am I going to do the
things that I want to do? I want to be a mother. I want to have
a house. I want to do these things. Can they do both or
whatever? Just talking earlier today with one of our female
colonels, and it came up. Often it is just somebody stopping
and saying, what do I have to do to keep you in the Marine
Corps? What is it you need? What is it we can do?
We are more attuned to this today. I am in my 40th year of
this. It was night and day when I first began. The Commandant
has reached out. It is tough because we have to grow. In
industry, you can bring somebody in laterally, I can bring a
female vice president in. I have to grow a colonel, and that
takes 18 to 19 years. We are working very hard at this.
But I will end with that we have been downsizing over the
past 3 years, and in those 3 years, we have still managed, be
it small, but we have increased our percentage of females
within the U.S. Marine Corps.
Senator Ayotte. I think this is important, and I just want
to make sure that people understand that you are reaching into
the civilian sector to women leaders in the country with a
desire to keep women in leadership in the military. I was very
encouraged by what I heard, the affirmative efforts, that the
Marine Corps is making. I am sure the other Services are trying
to make similar efforts. I thank you for that.
I also very much appreciate what all of you are doing.
I am going to try to submit some questions for the record
with regard to how things are going with the special victims
counsel on the sexual assault issue, which I think has made a
huge step forward in terms of providing support for victims and
of seeing increased reporting of sexual assaults.
I thank you all for being here.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
When you respond to Senator Ayotte's questions on that
specifically, I would be grateful for the response as well
because it is an issue we are going to follow together to make
sure it works as intended.
Senator King.
Senator King. Thank you.
Gentlemen, I apologize for being late. I was meeting with a
deputy secretary of the United Nations trying to make it so you
do not have to do what it is you do any more than necessary.
[Laughter.]
Admiral Moran, the CNO was recently talking about longer
deployments and additions to ship manning in terms of the
budget. We are going to talk about salary and some of the
personnel challenges that you face. But what about the
nonfinancial factors? Are there morale issues in terms of
multiple deployments, longer deployments? Is there a stress
factor on your men and women?
Vice Admiral Moran. Thanks for the question, Senator.
Absolutely. I would say the thing that I hear most back
from sailors out in the fleet is this notion of being very
unpredictable the last several years, 13 years of combat, but
especially the latter half of those 13 years, for the Navy has
been stressful in the sense that we have had back-to-back
deployments, long deployments of carrier strike groups around
the Fifth Fleet, Arabian Gulf area, out in the Pacific. Those
unpredictable moments put a lot of stress on sailors and
families, in particular. When a spouse of a sailor kisses her
husband or says goodbye to his wife and the comment is I will
see you when I see you, it is a pretty good indicator that
there is a sense of unpredictability about when they are going
to see them again coming off deployment.
We have had a lot of extended deployments to deal with
international and national emergencies around the globe. You
think Syria. You think Libya. You think all of those places
where naval forces were in the area and were asked to extend to
participate in providing deterrence or cover for our allies and
friends.
That is driving the discussion about how we can make
deployments more predictable. One way to do that is to go to a
slightly longer deployment schedule but stay committed to that
deployment schedule. In other words, if you are going to sign
up for 8-month deployments, then you better stick to 8-month
deployments. That is what the CNO is referring to in those
longer deployment issues.
Senator King. I will address this question to you, Admiral,
but any of you can chime in. Sequestration raises its ugly head
again in 2016. What are the impacts that you see there in terms
of deployments and other kind of readiness, training, and those
kinds of activities? I will start with you, Admiral, but I
would like to hear from you all.
Vice Admiral Moran. Yes, sir. 2013 was a really tough year
for all of us. In the Navy, we canceled deployments. We delayed
the deployment of the Truman Strike Group. We brought air wings
back and put them down to the tactical hard deck, which is
essentially minimum flying that just keeps them safe as opposed
to proficient. Those over time, the longer you stay at that
level of training for aviators, in particular, there is a cost
on the back end.
Senator King. You do not have to speculate on 2016 because
you experienced it in 2013.
Vice Admiral Moran. Precisely, yes, sir. I think we are
back to something similar to that because the rules under that
law do not allow us to move money around in different colors of
money and pots of money to make up for operational readiness
accounts.
Senator King. It was designed to be stupid and it succeeded
brilliantly.
Vice Admiral Moran. Yes, sir. We felt that pain.
Senator King. You may not want to say that, but I can say
that.
Vice Admiral Moran. I think if we do not see some relief on
sequestration, it is possible that 2016 and beyond could look a
lot like what 2013 did.
Senator King. As a matter of fact, my impression is it may
be worse because in 2013 there were some unused monies, there
were funds that carried over that are not going to be there.
Vice Admiral Moran. In the Navy, that is true, yes, sir. We
have used up the money that we were able to cobble together
from accounts from different years and different colors of
money in 2013 just to make up for some of the operational
impacts.
Senator King. Gentlemen, your view.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Sequestration drives the Army
down to a far lower level than 450,000 that is being discussed
today. That will prevent us from being able to execute----
Senator King. Full sequestration would take you to 420,000.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, sir. It will drive us to
a level that we cannot support the national strategy as written
today. That is our big concern.
To bring it back to your earlier question, sir, if you talk
about longer deployments or more deployments today, we do not
see the demand changing. If the demand for forces stays as high
as it is with a smaller force, our ability to cycle those
forces, give that break time in between, this cumulative effect
is only going to get more challenging. Lump that with decreased
ability to pay for readiness at the same time. It is going to
put us in a really tight situation. It is very untenable for
us.
Senator King. We talk a lot about readiness. Readiness
really involves risk.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, sir, and that is where we
are going to start taking unacceptable risk.
Senator King. Risk equals young men and women's lives.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, sir.
Senator King. General, your thoughts.
Lieutenant General Milstead. Most marines join the Marine
Corps to deploy. That is why they join the U.S. Marine Corps.
They want to deploy. If you take us to sequestration, we have
already said that is going to be 175,000. That is not a
strategy-based number. That is a fiscally-based number. That
will be about a 1:2 dwell. There will be risk, and I will
codify risk in that if we have a major contingency operation
(MCO)--the Marine Corps is going to war--there will be no
dwell. We are all going. We will leave some folks in the back
to----
Senator King. You are all going for the duration.
Lieutenant General Milstead. We are going to war and we
will come home when it is done. That is your 175,000 force in
the Marine Corps under full sequestration under a MCO.
Senator King. General, what is happening in the Air Force?
Lieutenant General Cox. Sir, we lived through this,
obviously. In 2013, 31 fighter squadrons were grounded. We need
to have our entire combat air forces, 80 percent of that has to
be ready in 30 days. We do not have tiered readiness. When you
ground squadrons like that, you cannot meet the MCO that the
general is talking about.
Senator King. Is there not a lag time? If you ground the
squadron and you do not have the training, it is not like you
can just turn it back on in a day. Is that not correct?
Lieutenant General Cox. That is correct.
Senator King. Let me ask a different kind of question
because this is personnel and we are talking about compensation
and those kinds of things. How are you doing on recruiting? Are
you getting the people you need? That is the ultimate test of
whether compensation is adequate. Just very quickly. I am out
of time.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Sir, for this year, we have
met our recruiting goals. We see our challenge in the future
with more people having challenges with meeting our standards,
and then we have to look at the compensation as you go forward
and see how that plays to get this All-Volunteer Force. Today
we are okay. The future is our concern.
Vice Admiral Moran. Recruiting. We just hit our 81st
consecutive month of meeting our goal. But we are seeing our
attainment of that goal later in the month, which means it is
getting harder to meet our goal. That is something we are
tracking very closely.
Senator King. Does your recruiting relate to the economy?
If the economy were stronger, would it be harder?
Vice Admiral Moran. Yes, sir.
Senator King. As the economy hopefully strengthens, that is
going to create issues.
Vice Admiral Moran. Sir, we have to watch both recruiting
and retention. Those two together will give us indicators in
the health of the force going forward.
Senator King. General?
Lieutenant General Cox. Sir, right now we are meeting our
recruiting goals. The same thing with the economy. We will see
in the future. But we just need to make sure we have the right
compensation package for an All-Volunteer Force.
Senator King. Marines?
Lieutenant General Milstead. We have been at war for 13
years, and if a young man walks into a recruiting office today
and signs up, he is going to have to wait 6 to 8 months before
he ships. They still want to join the Marine Corps. We are
doing well.
Senator King. So you, in effect, have a waiting list.
Lieutenant General Milstead. We do. A female will ship a
little sooner, but the young men and women--and it is 99.7
percent tier one, which means high school graduates. The mental
category 3 alphas are around 75 percent. They join the Marine
Corps because they want to join the Marine Corps.
Senator King. It speaks well of your organization, I
believe.
Madam Chairwoman, thank you.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, Senator King.
Thank you all for your testimony. This is extremely vital
and important to the deliberations we will pursue in writing
the next National Defense Authorization Act. Thank you so much.
Senator King. Madam Chairwoman, can I ask one other
question?
Senator Gillibrand. Go ahead.
Senator King. I apologize.
We were talking about lowering the size of the Services. We
hope the Army does not go to 420,000, but it is probably going
to somewhere in the neighborhood of 450,000. I am interested in
what you are doing for people who are leaving. The extent to
which there is out-placement counseling, I want to know if you
have people to help these young people going out into the job
force. I think that is very important because, as the Services
do shrink somewhat, we want to be sure that these young people
have the best opportunity.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, sir. We have a very
robust program, over 700 counselors worldwide to help people
become career-ready. We are meeting the career-ready standards
by the Veterans Opportunity to Work Act. We have great
partnerships across the Nation and globally with large
companies, small companies, to help soldiers transition. We are
in our first full year of all these. We are getting better and
better with compliance. We start 12 months out before a soldier
leaves the Service so they have a full year to start getting
ready. We have great examples of programs that are
credentialing programs. We have over 12,000 people that are
signed up, enrolled in credentialing programs today that give
them a civilian credential for their military occupation. We
have a whole wealth of programs that we think we are supporting
the soldiers with.
Senator King. I presume you all are doing similar kinds of
programs. I just think it is very important, and the
credentialing thing, I would love to work with you on that
because the idea that you have an electrician in the military
and they need an electrician's license in one of the other
States. That ought to be automatic. To the extent we can do
that, that to me would be a very high priority. Thank you.
Thank you very much, gentlemen.
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Senator Gillibrand. We are expecting a vote around 11 a.m.
but I am going to start the next panel, and we will take a
break when the vote starts. The first panel is excused. The
second panel is welcome to come up. Please join us. Please be
seated.
On the second panel, we have the senior enlisted advisors
of the Services: Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond F. Chandler
III, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Michael D. Stevens,
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James A. Cody, and
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Micheal P. Barrett. I now
invite you to present your opening statements. Sergeant Major
Chandler?
STATEMENT OF SMA RAYMOND F. CHANDLER III, U.S. ARMY
Sergeant Major Chandler. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Graham, and
distinguished members of this subcommittee, thanks for the
invitation to speak today. Representing the Army that I love is
a very humbling experience. I appreciate the support this
committee has given over the past several years.
This past year has brought some significant changes to the
Army, including sequestration, a government shutdown,
furloughs, and an accelerated drawdown. As always, the Army
team has risen to the challenge.
In this 13th year of our longest war, more than 35,000
soldiers, as you well know, are still in Afghanistan, and right
now it is about 7 p.m. there and there are several young Army
noncommissioned officers and soldiers who are working with our
Afghan partners to conduct combat operations. Their focus, and
rightly so, is helping the Afghans to get better so they can
defend themselves into the future.
An additional 120,000 soldiers are forward stationed or
deployed in nearly 150 countries.
Finally, lest we forget, more than 5,000 men and women from
the Army have given their lives on behalf of the Nation since
September 11. Their service and sacrifice cannot be forgotten.
But even in the midst of these challenges, our mission has
not changed, which is to prevent conflict, shape the
environment, and when necessary, fight and win our Nation's
wars.
As General Odierno has recently stated, it is essential
that our total Army, Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve, be ready
to accomplish the range of military operations we are directed
to perform. We must also have a range of capabilities postured
in the proper components in order to have a sustainable force
mix both now and into the future.
This year, I have traveled tens of thousands of miles to
visit our soldiers serving in harm's way and dozens of other
locations across this Nation and around the world where
soldiers, families, and our Department of the Army civilians
are assigned. My wife is here with me today who is a travel
partner with me and speaks with their family members and has a
great perspective which she informs me of everywhere we go.
While there, I break bread with our soldiers, engage in
conversations, and answer their questions. I would like to take
this opportunity to share our soldiers' top five concerns over
this past year, but before I begin, you should know that I have
never received a question or comment from anyone on our Army
team about being unwilling or unable to follow through on their
oath of service. They remain committed to do what the Nation
asked of them. They recognize there are many threats on the
horizon, and they want to be ready.
The fifth most common concern is about the state of
readiness of our Army. Our soldiers are concerned about the
availability of the training and equipment that has allowed
them to be successful and victorious over these past 13 years.
They are concerned about the decreasing end strength which may
embolden our potential enemies. I tell them that the current
drawdown is our only course of action to follow through on our
commitment to them, the Army, and the American people, to be
ready when the Nation calls.
The fourth top concern is uncertainty. During the furloughs
of the last summer and the government shutdown in the fall, our
civilians shared their fears about continued employment, and
soldiers and families told me about the ripple effects it has
had on them. That uncertainty and unpredictability has become a
major distraction for our Army. I would like to tell you thanks
for passing the Bipartisan Budget Act which gives us some
measure of predictability and the ability to rebuild readiness
over the next 2 years. However, this is a short-term fix and
sequestration, as you well know, looms in 2016 and beyond.
The third top concern is about indiscipline in our ranks,
including sexual harassment and assault. During every town hall
over the past 2 years, I have told soldiers about the cost of
this threat to our Army, its victims, and ultimately the
American people whom we serve. Over the past 8 months, however,
the soldiers in the audience have been responding more
positively with questions about their responsibility,
suggestions on how the Army can do better, and several
instances of soldiers sharing their experience as a survivor to
educate others. I finish by telling them that there can be no
bystanders in these issues and that as Army professionals, we
have a duty to police our force and ensure every soldier, no
matter what rank or position, is a person of character and
commitment.
Their second top concern includes regulatory changes that
have been ongoing within our Army for the past several years.
These primarily focus around the Army uniform and personal
appearance. Soldiers know the Army is based on discipline and
standards. They ask me how to continue to look and act like an
Army professional. Related to this, I have received questions
about new policies on tattoos, the uniform as they wear it, and
how the Army will evaluate who can serve in a particular
military career field.
Finally, the number one concern of our soldiers relates to
the work of DOD and Congress on the MCRMC. Some of their
concerns seem to come and go. For instance, commissaries has
only recently become a focus of concern. Tuition assistance
last year and TRICARE health coverage for family members. But
the one issue that has never wavered is retirement reform. I
tell soldiers that no one, including our military leaders, our
Senators and Representatives, and the President, has stated
that our current retirement pay will change for those who
currently serve, but that it may, as a part of this commission,
change in the future. I tell them that you and your colleagues
have told us of your decisions and will honor their service and
sacrifice.
As we work collectively on this issue, we must remain aware
that proposed changes not only affect our ability to recruit
future soldiers and their families but also retain our highly
competent and battle-tested soldiers who are integral to our
continued defense superiority. Today, we have the best Army in
the world. We are the best equipped, trained, and led. Although
we may get leaner, we will still be the best Army in the world
in 5 years, in 10 years, and as long as this Nation needs an
Army.
Let me close by saying that as the Sergeant Major of the
Army, the best part of my job is visiting our soldiers,
families, and civilians around the world. Their
professionalism, dedication, and sacrifice they display every
day is the reason our Army is the envy of every other in the
world. I leave our Army knowing that it is in great hands. Our
future is assured because of the brave young men and women who
still come forward today and will into the future saying, send
me, I will defend the American people and our way of life.
Thank you for what you do. I appreciate this opportunity,
and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Sergeant Chandler follows:]
Prepared Statement by SMA Raymond F. Chandler III, USA
introduction
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Graham, distinguished members
of this subcommittee, thank you for the invitation to speak to you on
behalf of the more than 2 million members of our Army team: soldiers,
their family members, and our civilian employees. Representing the
soldiers in the Army that I love has been a humbling experience and I
appreciate the support this committee has given our Army team over the
past 12-plus years and for recognizing and valuing the sacrifice and
service of our remarkable soldiers. As I near my retirement, this will
likely be my last opportunity to appear before you.
I would also like to welcome the new committee members. I
appreciate you taking on the tremendous responsibility and I look
forward to working with you to support our soldiers. Your continuing
support will enable us to improve the quality of life of soldiers
across the force.
background
This past year has brought some significant changes to the Army,
including the impacts of sequestration, the government shutdown, and
the first and second order effects of a drawdown and budget reductions.
After 12-plus years of persistent conflict, Secretary McHugh,
General Odierno, and I are proud of all that our soldiers, family
members, and civilians have accomplished. But our Army is not focused
on our past success, but rather our future.
The Army stands at a pivotal moment due to daunting fiscal
challenges and strategic uncertainty. But even in the midst of these
challenges our mission has not changed--to prevent conflict, shape the
environment and, when necessary, fight and win our Nation's wars. As
General Odierno recently stated, it is essential that our Total Army--
the Active Army, Army National Guard, and U.S. Army Reserve--be ready
to accomplish the range of military operations we are directed to
perform. Our leaders and the American people rightly place their
confidence in our professional competence and character, and they
expect us to succeed. And, we will.
As we transition, we are making changes to our institutions and
processes to ensure that we are maximizing the resources available to
the Army. So we will focus on these five strategic priorities:
1. Adaptive Army Leaders for a complex world;
2. A globally responsive and regionally engaged Army;
3. A ready and modern Army;
4. Soldiers committed to our Army profession; and
5. Maintain the premier All-Volunteer Army.
These also form the basis for the objectives outlined in our 2014
Army Strategic Planning Guidance.
Through these efforts, our All-Volunteer Army will remain the most
highly trained and professional land force in the world. It will have
the capability and capacity to provide expeditionary, decisive land
power to the Joint Force and ready to perform across the range of
military operations in support of Combatant Commanders to defend the
Nation and its interests at home and abroad, both today and against
emerging threats.
Although our Army is looking forward to new challenges, it is
important to remember what we have done and continue to do. We are
entering the 13th years of the longest war in our Nation's history.
Nearly 40,000 soldiers are serving in Afghanistan and an additional
120,000 are either forward stationed or deployed in nearly 150
countries. More than 1.6 million soldiers have deployed during the past
12 years and many have deployed multiple times, some as many as six or
even ten times. More than 5,000 soldiers have given their lives on
behalf of this Nation. This service and sacrifice cannot be forgotten
as we move forward and focus on the challenges on our horizon.
drawdown
All of us in the Army are grateful for the work Congress did on the
fiscal year 2014 authorization and appropriation bills, which give us
the ability to build readiness over time. Our Army had been reduced to
only two brigades rated at T-1 level for deployment. Sequestration
limited funding to train, equip and, in some cases, care for our
soldiers. During that period, our Army leaders at all levels knew we
were accepting some level of risk, so they focused on squad and platoon
level training to maintain some level of readiness. This year's budget
allows us to increase the number of ready brigades.
However, this fix is only short-term. Next fiscal year we again
face sequestration-level funding. Just as last year, that will mean
that our Army will lack flexibility and predictability, and our
soldiers, their families, and our civilians will once again face the
anxiety that comes with uncertainty. We will again face serious
readiness challenges.
To address readiness issues, our Army has accelerated the timeline
to reduce our Active Force from 580,000 to 490,000 soldiers while
reducing our budget--even while still engaged in war, unprecedented in
our history. This reduction is being done in a controlled and
responsible manner over a compressed timeframe to allow the Army to
reduce personnel costs. Those savings can then be used to ensure the
force is both ready and equipped to the highest levels possible.
Achieving the proper balance between readiness, modernization, and end
strength is critical to ensuring the Army is ready for any contingency.
As we continue implementing this drawdown, we will make sure to
continue providing programs that value the service and sacrifices
soldiers and their families have made to the military. Unfortunately,
natural attrition alone will not achieve the Army's reduced end
strength requirements. However, we are committed to assisting soldiers
and their families as they transition to civilian life, and we
encourage continued service in the Army National Guard or Army Reserve.
As our force reduces in size, our organizations will change. Some
of our training posts will see changes in throughput or focus in some
of their courses. We will continue to recruit America's best men and
women, but those numbers will likely be smaller, and as we focus on new
training goals and objectives, some training will expand.
Similarly, we are meeting a directive to reduce the size of our
headquarters staffs across our Army commands, including both civilian
and military members of those teams. We will likely find that many
contracts that have supported our Army over the past 12 years can be
reduced or ended. Soldiers who have been engaged in actively defending
our Nation during that time will return to a garrison environment and
traditional support roles. Things like KP, police calls, post security
and other duties have been part of my Army for as long as I have served
and I firmly believe they help to develop leadership skills, a sense of
good order and discipline, responsibility, safety, and pride in taking
care of living and working environments.
quality of life
The quality of life of our soldiers and their families is
critically important as the Army goes through this period of
transition. Most importantly, the Army must focus on ensuring that we
recruit and retain the smartest, most fit, and most resilient of
America's youth. It is essential to leverage those actions and
incentives that sustain the highest quality All-Volunteer Force in the
face of continuing fiscal pressures and ongoing assessments of benefits
and entitlements.
For example, the Army's Tuition Assistance (TA) program provides
financial assistance for voluntary off-duty education programs in
support of soldiers' professional and personal self-development goals.
This program helps us to achieve the Army's goal of retaining quality
soldiers, enhancing their career professional progression, increasing
the combat readiness of the Army, and eventually assisting soldiers in
their transition from the Army into successful civilian careers. The TA
program supports the leader development imperatives of the Army Leader
Development Strategy and supports Army Strategic Priorities.
During our comprehensive assessment of TA, we evaluated a number of
changes based on their ability to support the intent of the TA program
and compared them to other available programs providing education
benefits. The changes we ultimately implemented not only are consistent
with the purpose of TA but also enhance sustained readiness of the Army
and optimize scarce resources.
As the Army draws down, another important quality of life issue is
successfully reintegrating those soldiers and families separated after
12 years of war. It is important that whatever support we provide has
the greatest impact on sustaining readiness and resilience, so the
timing of resource reductions should take into account this goal.
transition
As we continue to draw down the Army, we understand our duty to
treat soldiers and families not retained with dignity and respect.
Through our Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP), we are fully
committed to the VOW to Hire Heroes Act. In coordination with the
Departments of Labor and Veterans Affairs, we are conducting assistance
training and transition counseling for soldiers beginning no later than
12 months from their transition date to enable soldiers to successfully
transition into civilian society.
ACAP provides transitioning soldiers with the tools and resources
to help make informed career decisions, be competitive in the
workforce, and continue to provide positive contributions to their
community after completing their active duty service. The transition
process is focused on the soldier and managed by commanders through
performance metrics recorded in the automated tracking system of
record, ACAP XXI.
To assist soldiers in making the most of opportunities as they
appear during that period of transition, the Army is exploring policy
changes that provide opportunities for Active component soldiers to
separate if they have secured employment, have been accepted into
higher education, or want to transition to a position in the Army
National Guard or Army Reserve.
Collectively, these programs and other recent changes have helped
the Army reduce the percentage of unemployed soldiers who are veterans
of Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. This lower
rate also reduces the Army's cost for annual Unemployment Compensation
for Ex-servicemembers (UCX), making those monies available to support
personnel, readiness, and modernization needs. Last year, the Army
spent more than $430 million on UCX, and we want to see that amount
substantially decreased.
Another recent Army initiative to support veterans is Soldier For
Life. It is designed to enable soldiers, veterans, and families to
leave military service ``career ready'' and connect to an established
network to find employment, education, and health resources. We know
the value and outstanding capabilities these soldiers can bring to any
organization, and we encourage them to continue to serve our Nation by
instilling Army values, the Warrior ethos, and leadership in businesses
and communities across the Nation.
The Soldier For Life program is a holistic approach to the military
life cycle career of a soldier. The U.S. Army takes care of teammates
by ensuring soldiers start strong, serve strong, and reintegrate strong
so they remain Army Strong even after leaving the Army. The U.S. Army's
strategic imperative of sustaining the Premier All-Volunteer Army is
directly affected by how well our veterans reintegrate back into their
communities.
Soldier for Life works to connect employers to transitioning
soldiers from all Army components: Active Duty, National Guard, and
Reserve. We help employers navigate the Army's reintegration network by
developing lasting relationships and connecting them to transitioning
Army talent.
I've been personally involved with this program over the past year
and know its value. In March, I spoke to an audience of national
healthcare providers at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor to
discuss best practices and gaps in providing behavioral healthcare for
Guard and Reserve soldiers and their families. The following month, I
attended the National Beer Wholesalers Association's legislative
conference in Washington, DC. During my visit, they pledged as an
organization to hire transitioning soldiers and their spouses in their
businesses across the country. Last week, our Soldier for Life office
in Los Angeles laid the groundwork for me to meet with dedicated
individuals from the University of Southern California and the Office
of the Mayor of Los Angeles who are working two separate but
collaborative efforts to help serve the largest population of veterans
in the Nation find employment, homes, and healthcare. This kind of
support occurs across the country--and I want to thank everyone for
reaching out to our Army team.
ready and resilient
As I stated last year, it is critically important for an Army with
less manpower and a smaller budget to maintain peak readiness. The last
12-plus years have challenged our Army. The stress and strain of
multiple deployments can manifest in high risk behavior as soldiers try
to cope with issues and problems without the proper help.
Our efforts this past year to address challenges such as post
traumatic stress, suicide, sexual assault and harassment, hazing, and
reckless behavior are making positive changes in organizational climate
and leadership abilities, while at the same time, maintaining good
order and discipline.
Even after an extraordinary commitment by the Army of time and
money to address suicides, it has been a particularly difficult
problem. However, we may be starting to see some signs that our
investments are beginning to pay off. Our overall number of suicides
across the force has decreased as we continue to work in concert with
Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and cultivate a climate
that supports those who responsibly seek help and those who act,
intervene and are motivated to stand against behaviors that are
contrary to our Army Values. Although we do not have data yet to fully
explain this improvement, we are analyzing our efforts to discover and
reinforce future efforts.
Let me now turn to sexual assault, an issue I known that is very
important to all of you here. Above all else, the Army is an
organization built on and bound by values. Sexual harassment and
assault in all its forms goes against every one of those values. Simply
put, sexual assault is a crime that will not be tolerated. The
overwhelming majority of soldiers and civilians serve honorably and
capably, but we must recognize that the ill-disciplined few jeopardize
the safety of all our people as well as the trust and confidence the
American people have in their Army. For that reason, we have made the
prevention of sexual offenses a top priority.
The Army's SHARP Program seeks to reduce and ultimately eliminate
this crime from our ranks, and to compassionately and rapidly care for
the victims, and we have made excellent progress in implementing it
throughout the Army over the past year. Through the combined efforts of
our military and civilian leaders at all levels, we've implemented
numerous program and policy changes to address this insider threat. I
believe the initiatives are leading to enhanced reporting,
investigating, and prosecution of sexual assault offenses, and
increasing the accountability of leaders. The changes includes revised
policies that focus on constant assessments of command climates,
changes to leader evaluations to ensure their commitment to SHARP
goals, the addition of special legal counsel to support victims, and
the establishment of more stringent screening criteria and background
checks for those serving in positions of trust, including Sexual
Assault Response Counselors and Victim Advocates.
Let me add one final, but important, note. Sexual assault is
antithetical to competent command, and it is important that Army
commanders retain their authority over the disposition of sexual
assault cases. Removal of that authority would make it harder to
respond to the needs of soldiers within the command, especially the
victims. Many of the Army's most difficult problems were solved by
making commanders more accountable, not less. Therefore the Army
opposes efforts to remove commanders from the disposition process.
The Army's goal in all of these efforts is to facilitate a culture
change that will result in a positive command climate where the
behaviors and attitudes that lead to sexual offenses are rare and
victims feel free to report without fear of reprisal. Most important in
development of trust is our commitment to soldiers and the
accountability of leaders at all levels.
wounded, injured, and ill
This past year also saw significant progress in our care for
wounded, ill, or injured soldiers, and organizational changes that
underscore that positive trend. Overall, the Warrior Transition Units
(WTU)/Community Based Warrior Transition Units (CBWTU) population
continues to decline as there are fewer soldiers entering these units
and more soldiers departing, fewer deployments, fewer MEDEVACs, and
fewer Reserve Component mobilizations. As of February 3, 2014, the
population of wounded, ill, or injured soldiers assigned or attached to
WTUs and CBWTUs was 6,988, the lowest level since the fall of 2007.
Force structure changes within the Warrior Care and Transition
Program (WCTP) reflect a decreasing WTU population while retaining
scalability in order to meet the Army's future needs. To be sure, WTU
force structure changes are not related to budget cuts, sequestration,
or furlough. These changes will improve the care and transition of
soldiers through standardization, increased span of control, better
access to resources on installations, and reduction of unnecessary
delays in care.
We also continue to improve the process with the Integrated
Disability Evaluation System (IDES). In fiscal year 2013 the Army made
tremendous progress across the IDES by significantly reducing backlogs
at the Medical Evaluation Boards (MEBs).
Last year the Army made a concerted effort to eliminate the backlog
of IDES cases at every stage under its control, thereby processing
approximately 80 percent more cases than we had done in any previous
year. Since the beginning of fiscal year 2013, the Army processed over
34,000 cases. During the same period, more than 29,000 soldiers either
separated from the military or were found fit and returned to duty.
We are now meeting timeliness goals for all stages we control. The
Army is continuing to collaborate with our VA partners to speed up IDES
processing while ensuring soldiers receive the benefits they have
earned and deserve.
closing
Throughout this past year, while continuing the fight, drawing down
our force, and working within fiscal constraints, our soldiers have
continued to demonstrate their professionalism in several key ways. The
expansion of entitlements and benefits to same-sex spouses has gone
almost unnoticed by most soldiers. This professionalism is also
highlighted in our ongoing campaign to ensure every soldier understands
how their competence, character and commitment underpin the American
public's trust and respect for the Army.
In closing, I want to recognize the amazing work being done every
day by our Army Team. As the Sergeant Major of the Army, one of the
best parts of my job is visiting our soldiers, families, and civilians
across the world. The professionalism, dedication, and sacrifice they
display every day is the reason our Army is the envy of every other in
the world. Today, our soldiers are the best-trained, best-manned, best-
equipped, and best-led force in our history.
Tomorrow we will be smaller and we may be leaner, but we will
continue to be the best-trained, best-manned, best-equipped, and best-
led force in our history.
Ten years from now, we will continue to be best, and I feel
confident in making that statement because I know we will continue to
have your support. Thank you for what you do.
I appreciate this opportunity to speak before you and tell our
story. I welcome your questions at this time. Thank you and Army
Strong.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you, Sergeant Major.
Before we hear from Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Michael Stevens, we are going to go vote. It should probably
take me no more than 10 minutes to go there and come back. We
will resume in 10 minutes. Thank you. [Recess.]
Thank you, gentlemen.
Our next speaker, I am pleased to present Master Chief
Petty Officer of the Navy Michael Stevens.
STATEMENT OF MCPON MICHAEL D. STEVENS, U.S. NAVY
Chief Petty Officer Stevens. Good morning, Chairwoman
Gillibrand, Ranking Member Graham, and distinguished members of
this subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to share with
you my thoughts on the tone of our Navy's enlisted force. The
support that each of you have provided to our men and women in
uniform has had an incredible impact on their quality of life
and quality of work which, in turn, produces a healthy quality
of service. Each of these elements are vital to our Navy's
force and set the tone for effective warfighting and sustained
operational readiness.
Today as we sit here, 108 of our 288 deployable ships are
underway. More than 323,000 Active Duty sailors and 61,000
Reserves are projecting U.S. naval sea power and forward
presence worldwide. Over the past 18 months, I visited with
thousands of these sailors who continue to stand the watch for
the United States of America every day. I have also observed
firsthand the quality of life our sailors and their families
enjoy. I have also witnessed the many challenges they face.
Areas that concern me with respect to the tone of the force
include, but are not limited to, alcohol abuse, sexual assault,
suicide, domestic violence, and potential impacts with regard
to pay and benefits.
I understand the reasoning and the necessity in balancing
our authorized military spending, and I agree it is vitally
important that we balance quality of work with quality of life
so that we can provide our sailors and families with the best
quality of service. After all, our slice of the pie is only so
big.
The Navy has been asked to slow growth, to look at those
things which could be scaled back with regard to pay and
benefits, and this we have done. In testimony earlier this year
before the House Appropriations Subcommittee, I mentioned one
of the greatest weapons systems we can provide the U.S. Navy is
unit morale. I made that comment with emphasis because I am
concerned with the potential intensity in which slowing of
growth may occur. Although I understand there may always be a
little fat to trim, as I look into the future, I believe we are
dangerously close to cutting into muscle, and we simply cannot
afford to cut into bone. We cannot afford to cut into the
weapon system I just mentioned.
I am also concerned that this year's budget may become the
new standard. My sailors ask me ``will this become the new
norm?'' We must provide the same level of care and commitment
that we expect our sailors to offer their country. Our military
family and support programs should not--I repeat should not--
become a casualty of budgetary uncertainty. The CNO and I
understand nothing comes second to combat readiness, and we are
committed to preserving our people and our free programs to the
fullest extent possible. Under the current fiscal constraints,
budget uncertainty will likely continue to place emotional and
economic strain on our sailors and their families.
As we navigate through these challenges, I have no doubt
that you will do your very best to ensure our sailors and their
families have what is necessary to carry out our Navy's
mission. The current fiscal situation, I will be perfectly
clear with you, is not a topic I intend to sell our sailors. I
will, however, find a way to explain this to them because I am
committed to giving them nothing less than the truth. Together,
we will manage, work through, and solve these difficult
challenges.
On behalf of our sailors and their families serving around
the world, I sincerely thank you for your continued support,
and I look forward to taking your questions.
[The prepared statement of Chief Petty Officer Stevens
follows:]
Prepared Statement by MCPON Michael D. Stevens, USN
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Graham, and distinguished
members of this subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to address
you today. As the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, I am honored
to represent more than 380,000 Active and Reserve sailors in the U.S.
Navy. During the past 18 months, I have visited tens of thousands of
sailors and their families in the United States and overseas. Today, I
am prepared to deliver you a summary of the quality of life that
sustains our sailors and their families.
overall quality of life
In today's Navy, quality of life is high overall; however, today's
sailor is concerned about the many quality of life issues that carry a
burden of uncertainty, especially in the current fiscal environment.
Chief among these concerns are:
Potential Pay and Benefit changes;
Family Programs and Support Services; and
Predictability with Respect to Deployments.
As I navigate through the various commands and units of our Force,
I am always inspired by their work ethic and dedication, and I am
honored to serve with and represent these amazing men and women--your
sailors. I have no doubt that these issues of concern will be addressed
with the utmost regard for their well-being.
your navy
The Navy understands that a budgetary reformation is fast-
approaching, and we are working hard to implement policies that will
meet end strength controls and planned budget execution. Such budgetary
decisions will continue to be carefully monitored for impacts to fit,
fill, and tone, the health of the Force. Navy Active and Reserve
components continue efforts to stabilize, balance, and distribute the
Force to ensure that sailors are assignable, deployable, and
distributable in support of the Chief of Naval Operations' (CNO)
tenets: Warfighting First, Operate Forward, and Be Ready.
The overall health of the Force is ``good,'' and morale is
reasonably high; however, we continue to closely monitor the tone of
the Force and personnel readiness. Areas by which we measure these
controls include:
Physical, mental, family and financial stress;
Morale, alcohol and substance abuse;
Misconduct; and
Recruiting, Retention, Operations Tempo, Personnel
Tempo, safety, training, and manning (Personnel Readiness).
Additionally, and in order to secure a healthy balance in quality
of life and work, the Navy is committed to a two part obligation that
we call ``quality of service'':
1. To ensure sailors receive the finest training and equipment
possible so they can deploy ready to accomplish their mission and
return home safely, and
2. To ensure they and their families are properly compensated and
cared for.
recruiting
To ensure the Navy is prepared to meet future operational
requirements, the Force must recruit sailors in the right combination
of ratings (jobs). For fiscal year 2014, through January 2014, the Navy
met numerical goals with a total of 10,443 accessions. Because quality
of life and service are fundamental features to recruiting new sailors,
we hold an obligation to provide sailors with the best equipment and
training possible. From the time a sailor steps into basic training, we
begin to develop and mold them into a leader who is prepared to serve
and sustain the Force. Recruiting efforts are supplemented by an
element of job security that extends into a career-long training
continuum that will enhance a sailor's personal and professional
development. As we work with Congress, we hope to continue to provide
the necessary tools to recruit the right sailors, with the right
skills, in order to meet current and future mission requirements.
retention
Officer and enlisted inventory gaps remain in several critical
specialties where operational tempo is high or pay disparities exist
between the military and the private sector. Targeted special pays have
a strong impact on reenlistments. Selective Reenlistment Bonuses
(SRBs), in particular, are essential to retaining personnel in critical
skills, such as the Nuclear Field, Information Dominance, and Special
Warfare ratings. We continue to use SRBs as a quality of life
initiative to address these shortages, and we appreciate your
continuing support for these important incentives.
end strength
As of January 2014, our total Force is 323,561 Active Duty and
61,499 Reserve. This is on track with Navy's fiscal year 2015 budget
submission of 323,600 Active and 57,300 Reserve. We are focused on
maintaining the right number of sailors to adequately man the fleet and
to ensure sailors are in the right positions to accomplish our
operational commitments. We strive to provide the fleet with the right
fit and fill--assigning sailors with the right skills and experience
level to perform and fill the most critical sea duty jobs.
As the Navy has had to adapt to an ever-changing fiscal
environment, I have watched our sailors continue to complete their
missions with a dedicated, goal-oriented approach. I have seen the
evidence of their hard work and been a witness to their determination.
They are indeed, the driving Force of our Navy.
women in submarines
Retention of women in the Navy has been historically challenging.
Averages for female submarine officer retention will not be well known
until fiscal year 2019 when the first several year groups of female
submarine officers are making decisions on whether to serve as a
Department Head.
Naval Sea Systems Command recently conducted a habitability study
that examined design modifications for: (1) enlisted female sailors/
officer integration on all submarine platforms; and (2) officer female
integration on Virginia-; and Los Angeles-class SSNs. The study
revealed that ship design modifications will be required for enlisted
female sailors' integration on all classes of submarines. Study
assessments also indicate that there are no obstacles for female
officer integration on Virginia-class SSNs supporting Navy's goal to
provide equal career opportunities for women to the greatest extent
possible.
The Navy intends to integrate female officers aboard two Virginia-
class submarines starting in fiscal year 2015; and, as publically
announced in January 2013, the Navy intends to assign enlisted women to
Virginia-class submarines. Although enlisted women have not yet been
assigned in submarines, a task force was established last year to
coordinate and synchronize these efforts.
housing
Family housing and single sailor housing is a crucial element in
supporting Navy readiness and quality of life. By providing sailors and
their families the opportunity for suitable, affordable, and safe
environments in the community, whether privatized or Navy-owned, we are
ensuring a critical component to the overall well-being of sailors and
their families. Thanks to the support of this committee and Members of
Congress, we have improved, and continue to improve the housing
available to our sailors and their families.
In fiscal year 2013, the Navy renovated a total of 28 barracks at
11 bases, and in fiscal year 2014 we will prioritize renovations to
ensure units meet health and safety standards. However, to resource
critical warfighting requirements, Navy has taken risk in our shore
infrastructure and we have found ourselves with a significant number of
unaccompanied housing buildings in ``inadequate condition.'' It is
critically important that we fully fund efforts in this area.
family support programs
The Navy has extended strong resources to our Navy families,
providing our sailors with the reassurance that their families are
being supported. This allows our sailors to effectively focus on the
mission at hand with peace of mind. Fleet and Family Support Centers
offer a number of personnel and family support programs to reduce life
stressors throughout the training and deployment cycles. Family Support
Programs provide support to military members and their families whether
the member deploys as part of a unit or individually. In addition,
military members and their families may contact the Department of
Defense sponsored Military OneSource program for confidential
assistance and comprehensive information or materials on a variety of
military life topics. Military OneSource, available worldwide 24/7/365
by telephone or online for both Active Duty and Reserve members,
provided more than 885,000 services to military and family members in
fiscal year 2013.
Navy Ombudsmen and Family Readiness Groups (FRG) are other
essential components in our efforts to foster effective relationships
between family members and commands. Ombudsmen function as an
intermediary between commands and families to better prepare both
sailors and their families for the challenges associated with training
and deployment. Ombudsmen also serve as liaisons between commands and
families on a wide range of issues including pay and compensation,
deployment schedules, child care, housing, et cetera. They keep the
command informed regarding the overall health, morale, and welfare of
command families.
For our Reserve sailors, the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program
(YRRP) and the Psychological Health Outreach Program (PHOP) have been
tremendously successful in caring for servicemembers and their families
before, during, and following deployment. The YRRP provides Reserve
sailors and their families with information, services, referral, and
proactive outreach opportunities via informational events and
activities. PHOP services include psycho-educational briefings,
behavioral health screenings, and phone/email follow-up to ensure
sailors have received the information, resources, and services they
need to enhance their state of wellness and readiness.
It is imperative that in today's fiscal environment, we protect
these programs and services that promote a thriving and healthy family
unit, and, in essence, the viability of our Force.
navy child and youth programs
Navy Child and Youth Programs (CYP) deliver services that help meet
mission requirements and reinforce strong military families through
activities that promote cognitive, social, emotional, and physical
development of children from ages infant through twelfth grade. Navy
CYP also provides School Liaison Officers to support the transition
needs of school-aged children and families by facilitating
communication with local school authorities on the impacts of a
military lifestyle on children. The Navy remains dedicated to ensuring
our sailors and their families are provided with adequate choices based
on their respective needs and/or requests.
sailor and family readiness
Deployments are a necessary part of Navy life, and as we have
deployed our Forces throughout times of peace and conflict, it is
imperative that we never underestimate the incredible strain that
deployments impose on our sailors and their families. The stresses
associated with being a part of a Navy family have significant impact
on the overall readiness of the unit, the readiness of the individual
sailor, and the readiness of their families.
One stressor that I briefly addressed above is the unpredictability
of deployments. It is understood that real world events coupled with
the strain of maintaining material readiness are factors that
contribute to uncertain deployment schedules.
Once a deployment assignment is delivered to the command, along
with a predicted timeline, personnel are made responsible for properly
preparing themselves and their families. They immediately begin to make
important life decisions via their family care plans, automobile
arrangements, household goods placement, financial accounts, and many
other facets of their personal lives. When a change in length of a
deployment or a delay in deployment is announced, it results in a
significant strain on the morale of the Force which, in turn,
negatively impacts quality of work. I believe it is paramount that the
Navy is provided with adequate capacity, or the proper manning, to
support mission demands and ensure deployment predictability to the
largest extent possible.
Sailors choose military service for many different reasons: loyalty
to country, family and service tradition, and dedication are all
undoubtedly significant factors. Sailors also recognize that with this
commitment, comes great opportunity. I appreciate Congress' historical
support of pay and benefit increases and quality of life initiatives
that have sustained our Navy.
In past years, Congress has provided the Navy with competitive pay,
allowances, housing, support programs, and educational opportunities
that support sailor and family readiness; this support helps to explain
why many sailors and their families decide to ``Stay Navy.'' It is my
hope that we can continue to work together to ensure that investments
in quality of life and in quality of work combine to produce a quality
of service that helps the Navy continue to attract and retain high
quality sailors.
continuum of care
Health care is extremely important to mission readiness and is
incredibly appealing for the recruiting and retention of our sailors
and families. I am often made aware of our sailors' families' future
concerns in regards to health care. As we improve the process by which
we provide for the health needs of our sailors and families, I believe
we should also direct attention toward severely injured sailors. We
must apply the same level of attention to those who return from
deployments whose medical needs may not be immediately apparent.
We have continued to encourage leaders to be vigilant for
servicemembers who may be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
or Traumatic Brain Injury, and to encourage those afflicted with these
conditions to seek help. We must also be able to provide care and
support to address the physical and psychological toll that multiple
deployments have on our sailors and their families. The Navy continues
to work hard to dispel the stigma often associated with mental
healthcare.
Recently, Navy has embedded mental health providers in primary care
settings and operational units in order to identify and manage issues
before they manifest as psychological problems. Navy Medicine continues
to provide timely and comprehensive physical and mental health care for
sailors, marines, and their families throughout the training and
deployment cycle.
21st century sailor and marine
Navy's 21st Century Sailor Office was established in June 2013 and
is responsible for integrating Navy's efforts in equal opportunity,
sailor personal and family readiness, physical readiness, alcohol and
substance abuse prevention, suicide prevention, sexual harassment
prevention, sexual assault prevention and response (SAPR), hazing
prevention, and transition assistance. The 21st Century Sailor Office
captures all these programs under one umbrella and provides top level
attention and support to ensure critical resilience programs continue
to grow and thrive. We provide resources to our sailors and families to
ensure they can take the challenges of a military lifestyle in stride.
sexual assault prevention and response
Sexual assault is a crime and is counter to our core values. It
directly impacts operational readiness and unit cohesion and I have
aggressively challenged enlisted leadership to impose a daily influence
on their sailors that is consistent with ensuring every sailor is
treated with dignity and respect. By identifying the disrupting factors
that contribute to sexual assault, such as alcohol abuse and poor
command climate, we may better focus on ways in which the Navy should
implement improvements to our leadership training. Leadership
development programs will better prepare leaders for efforts to keep
their sailors safe and further shape a proper command climate.
Because many victims and offenders are junior sailors, our training
is targeted to those Sailors, and we actively support peer groups such
as Coalition of Sailors Against Destructive Decisions (CSADD) who
train, mentor and sponsor awareness-raising events for fellow junior
Sailors. We are also working to create a culturally-aware, educated,
Total Force environment intolerant of sexual assault, supported by a
well-defined prevention, reporting, investigation, military justice,
and victim advocacy program. The Navy is committed to reducing sexual
assault with the goal of eliminating it from within our ranks.
In compliance with Department of Defense (DOD)initiatives and the
guidance from the DOD and Department of the Navy Sexual Assault
Prevention Response Offices (SAPRO), the Navy follows and supports the
five lines of effort for eliminating sexual assault:
1. Prevention;
2. Investigation;
3. Accountability;
4. Advocacy and Victim Assistance; and
5. Program Assessment.
Tailored SAPR training has been given to all Officers and Chief
Petty Officers focusing on leadership's role in setting the correct
tone and climate to prevent and eliminate sexual assaults. All E-6 and
below sailors receive training that focuses on sailor responsibility
for positive changes in their command and in their Navy, with emphasis
on bystander intervention and responsible decisionmaking.
We will continue to use a metrics-based approach to evaluate our
progress, and improve our prevention efforts.
safe harbor & wounded warriors
We provide a lifetime of individually tailored assistance designed
to optimize recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration of sailors and
coastguardsmen. Navy Safe Harbor is the Navy's sole organization for
coordinating the non-medical care of all seriously wounded, ill, or
injured sailors, coastguardsmen, and their families.
Non-medical care management support includes, but is not limited
to, support services for TBI/PTSD, pay/personnel issues, invitational
travel orders, lodging/housing adaptation, child/youth programs,
transportation needs, legal/guardianship issues, education/training
benefits, commissary/exchange access, respite care and transition
assistance. Safe Harbor enrollment includes sailors with combat-related
wounds or injuries, those from shipboard accidents, and off duty
accidents, and serious medical and psychological conditions, such as
cancer and severe PTSD.
100 percent of Wounded Warrior enrollees are briefed by the Safe
Harbor program on child care as part of their portfolio of support
services available to them. If a Wounded Warrior requires child care,
installation child care programs adapt to accommodate the individual
family's needs. All Wounded Warriors have priority access into all Navy
Child and Youth Programs. We continue to strive to improve the
continuum of care and explore all avenues that may more effectively
meet the needs of our severely injured sailors and their families.
suicide prevention
Suicide prevention in the Navy is an all hands evolution, all of
the time. The Navy Suicide Prevention Program manages policy and
programs to help sailors live life fully, promote psychological and
emotional wellness, and reduce barriers that discourage seeking help. A
comprehensive four-prong approach includes training, intervention,
response, and reporting to ensure we're providing all Navy personnel
the support network and skills needed to thrive, not just survive.
The Operational Stress Control (OSC) program is the foundation of
the training effort, supporting the fleet with resources to navigate
the stressors and challenges commonly associated with Navy life to help
sailors build resilience and maintain readiness--a major tenet of the
Chief of Naval Operations' Sailing Directions.
We encourage proactive measures that sailors, leaders, commands and
families can take to mitigate stressors before they become crises,
while identifying those who may be reacting to stress and need
assistance. While our efforts focus on actions ``left of the event,''
post-vention is a critical component of our program, providing
psychological first-aid support to commands that have experienced a
suicide tragedy.
The NavyTHRIVE communications campaign was launched last year,
focusing on providing sailors, leaders, and families with the tools and
knowledge to thrive; the next step in the resilience ladder. ``Thrive
in your Community'', the 2013 Suicide Prevention Month theme, added a
new dimension to NavyTHRIVE by emphasizing the importance of cohesion
and togetherness when dealing with adversity. The Thrive During the
Holidays campaign addressed the various components of a physically and
psychologically healthy lifestyle to reduce holiday stress.
Beginning January 1, 2014, Navy commands are now required to
complete Operational Stress Control skills training within 6 months of
deployment. This provides units tools to build sailor resilience and
command readiness.
transition assistance program/transition goals, plans, and success
Transition Goals, Plans, and Success (GPS) replaced the 20-year-old
Transition Assistance Program (TAP). The development and implementation
of this initiative to extend the continuum of care to retirement, and
well beyond, was a collective effort involving all Military Services.
Created by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, with full
participation by the Department of Veteran's Affairs, Department of
Labor, and the Small Business Administration, Transition GPS increases
sailors' abilities to overcome challenges they may face in pursuit of
their chosen civilian career path. Transition GPS is a reinvestment in
our citizen-sailors, and by providing ready, skilled, and service-
oriented workers, we become a stronger Nation.
The Navy Transition Assistance Program is currently executing a
strategic shift that vastly increases the resources, training, and
professional assistance to those personnel who are transitioning out of
the service. This program is focused on a common set of life skills and
then tailored to an individual's plan for a civilian job, higher
education, or entrepreneurship. It is important, as we assist our
personnel in a life transition, that we ensure they are receiving the
information and opportunities that better assist them as they shift
into civilian life.
conclusion
Today's sailor is perceptive, intelligent, and devoted to our
country. I am confident that these outstanding men and women will
continue to ensure the strength, power and worldwide presence of our
Force. As a result, your Navy will continue to play a pivotal role in
worldwide security. Sailors and their families endure the challenges of
multiple deployments and household moves all over the world. They miss
anniversaries, births of children, funerals, and countless holidays,
all while balancing the struggles of operational demands and putting
life and limb at risk in service to the Nation.
It is my hope that the decisions of Congress will continue to
ensure that our sailors' pay and benefits remain competitive to sustain
the All-Volunteer Force, today and into the future. Such efforts, once
executed, will enable us to continue to provide a quality of service
commensurate to the sacrifices our sailors and families make daily.
On behalf of the men and women of the U.S. Navy and the families
who so faithfully support them, I sincerely thank you.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James A. Cody.
STATEMENT OF CMSAF JAMES A. CODY, U.S. AIR FORCE
Sergeant Major Cody. Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member
Graham, although I know he had to step out, and certainly
distinguished members of the subcommittee, I thank you for this
opportunity to speak with you today. It is my absolute honor to
be here with my fellow Service senior enlisted advisors as we
represent the fine men and women who serve our great Nation. I
sincerely appreciate the opportunity to share with you the
concerns of not just the enlisted force but the 690,000 total
force airmen and their families serving in the Active Duty, the
Air National Guard, the Air Force Reserve, and our civilian
workforce.
America's airmen continue to generate the greatest Air
Force the world has ever known. They are innovative, dedicated,
and passionate men and women who understand freedom does not
come without a cost. It must be fought for and won.
Throughout the last 20-plus years of sustained operations,
they have continued to dominate in the multidimensional
battlefield of air, space, and cyber space. They have never
wavered from their commitment to serve our Nation, and they
have continuously demonstrated our core values of integrity
first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.
Even as they confront one challenge after another, this
past year our Air Force has faced challenges on multiple
fronts. We pushed through a period of sequestration, which
forced us to stand down flying squadrons, furlough civilians,
limit morale, welfare, and recreation services, and reduce and
in some cases eliminate important education and training
opportunities. We have endured a government shutdown and
significant uncertainty in turn with respect to mission
capability, compensation, and the meaning of service in the
world's greatest Air Force. There is no question the past year
has been extremely stressful on all members of our Air Force.
This year brings continued stress and continued uncertainty
as we move toward a new normal operational tempo and fiscal
reality. We are currently taking action to significantly reduce
the size of the Air Force by more than 16,000 airmen who have
proudly dedicated their lives in service of our great Nation.
Our airmen continue to move forward without answers to many
questions on future compensation and benefits. While these
actions and compensation reforms are absolutely necessary to
ensure critical modernization and to restore force readiness,
the combined impact brings continued uncertainty and stress on
our airmen.
Transparency and communication amongst our airmen and
families will be critical as we move forward. We cannot forget
that our Air Force is powered by people, airmen who clearly
give us the advantage.
Throughout the past year, I have traveled to multiple bases
to visit tens of thousands of airmen and their families, and I
can tell you candidly the challenges and continued uncertainty
are not lost on the force. However, regardless of the
uncertainty, you will be proud to know the first concern of our
airmen is mission accomplishment. They are truly doing amazing
work around the world every day.
In 2013 alone, U.S. airmen flew over 27,000 intelligence,
surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, removing 1,500 enemy
combatants from the fight. They flew more than 27,000 air
support air sorties, launched 8 national security space
missions, dropped 11 million pounds of combat-enabling
sustainment to coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan,
and airlifted 5,133 wounded soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines,
and injured civilians around the globe. Additionally, they
maintained a continued presence of nearly 23,000 airmen in the
U.S. Central Command region and supported combatant commanders
in all corners of the globe with more than 217,000 airmen.
Tragically, the commitment to preserve freedom comes at a
cost. In 2013, we lost 176 young men and women who proudly
answered the call to serve. Today, we have more than 3,000
wounded warrior airmen enrolled in our recovery care program,
240 of those airmen still serving on Active Duty. Our airmen
have faced and overcome challenges at every turn and continue
to serve honorably and proudly in defense of our Nation. They
count on your leadership to ensure they can continue to win the
fight for America.
Our Air Force families are also a critical component of our
success. My wife, Athena, who joins me today has visited with
thousands of these families over the last year, and I would
tell you she has witnessed firsthand their passion and
commitment to support their member who serves. The commitment
to our Nation is not lost on any of them, but we cannot forget
who generates us every day. They serve alongside each and every
one of us. They see loved ones deployed to war zones and
foreign countries. Their faith and support is critical to our
airmen and enable the force to focus and maintain a dedicated
mission accomplishment. Our airmen and families are our most
important resource.
We must remain committed to fostering a culture of dignity
and respect and to ensuring an environment where all airmen
have the opportunity to excel. In order for airmen to continue
to serve as leaders and warriors for America, we must also
remain focused on recruiting, retaining, training, developing,
and supporting a world-class All-Volunteer Force.
I thank you for your continued support, and I look forward
to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Sergeant Cody follows:]
Prepared Statement by CMSAF James A. Cody, USAF
introduction
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Graham, members of the
subcommittee, thank you for your continued support and commitment to
the men and women who serve in our military. It is my absolute honor to
join my fellow service senior enlisted advisors as we represent those
men and women who have raised their right hand in dedication to their
nation.
America's airmen continue to generate the greatest Air Force the
world has ever known. They are innovative, dedicated, and passionate
men and women who understand freedom does not come without a cost; it
must be fought for, and won. Throughout the last 20 plus years of
sustained operations, they have continued to dominate in a multi-
dimensional battlefield of air, space and cyberspace. They have never
wavered from their commitment to serve our Nation, and they have
continuously demonstrated our core values of Integrity First, Service
Before Self and Excellence in All We Do. In order for airmen to
continue to serve as leaders and warriors for America, the Air Force
must remain focused on recruiting, retaining, training, developing, and
supporting a world-class, All-Volunteer Force.
force management
The Air Force faces a significant challenge over the next several
years as we move toward a new normal of operational tempo and fiscal
constraints. We must significantly reduce the Total Force end strength
from 503,400 to 483,000 proud airmen to meet DOD strategic guidance for
a leaner force. Our Active Duty military end strength will drop 16,700,
from 327,600 to 308,800. Our Air Force Reserve military end strength
will decrease by 3,300 to 66,500, and Air National Guard military end
strength will decrease by 400 to 103,600. To reach these numbers, we
are instituting multiple voluntary and involuntary programs that have
been structured in a logical, deliberate and responsible manner, with
voluntary programs available first. These programs are not quick fixes,
but rather a tailored effort comprised of many initiatives aimed at
managing the long-term health of the force along a continuum of
service. They are necessary to facilitate critical modernization and
restore force readiness. The capabilities and credibility of our Air
Force to meet our core missions are essential to national defense, and
these efforts support that end.
We recognize how difficult these actions are on our airmen and the
importance of transparency during this process. Air Force senior
leaders announced the programs as early as possible to ensure airmen
and their families had time to plan for their future. All airmen have
been individually notified of their vulnerability for voluntary and
involuntary force management programs. We also understand the
importance of communication and support for our airmen and their
families. Through a deliberate communication effort, supervisors down
to the unit level understand they must stay well versed on the
different force management initiatives and how they affect their team.
We are committed to sitting down with each individual airman to talk
through options and refer them to support agencies as appropriate. As
we push forward through the turbulent road ahead, our commitment to our
fellow airmen and their families will assuredly serve as the fabric
that holds us together.
transition assistance
As we manage the reductions to end strength, we must continue to
focus on support for our airmen transitioning to the civilian sector.
The Airman and Family Care Division has been largely focused on the re-
designed Transition Assistance Program (TAP), which includes pre-
separation counseling, attendance at a Department of Labor Employment
Workshop, Veterans Affairs benefits briefings, and a Capstone that
validates career readiness standards have been met and that the
servicemember is ready to transition to the private sector.
The number of airmen transitioning as a result of the force
management programs will be over and above the 32,000 to 35,000 airmen
our Airmen and Family Readiness Centers (A&FRCs) process each year
(fiscal year 2013 throughput was 33,422). Our A&FRC team is taking
additional steps to ensure all airmen separating or retiring attend
TAP. Some initiatives include increasing the frequency of courses at
each installation, increasing the class size, coordinating with
partnering agencies to brief additional TAP courses as needed,
providing the Air Force community (to include family members)
information about TAP and contacting airmen to sign them up for TAP.
recruiting and retention
The Air Force Recruiting Service (AFRS) has successfully met All-
Volunteer Force requirements for the past 14 years and is currently
positioned to meet both fiscal year 2014 and fiscal year 2015
requirements. This fiscal year, over 11,000 of America's young men and
women have completed or are currently attending Air Force Basic
Military Training (BMT). Additionally, there are approximately 9,000
recruits already contracted to attend BMT. AFRS has placed the right
airmen into the right jobs and at the right time to fill the Initial
Skills Training pipeline with the number of airmen necessary to meet
career field requirements across the Air Force. Despite a shrinking
pool of age-qualified youth, a decreased propensity to serve in the
military and reduced budgets, we continue to recruit the best and
brightest our Nation has to offer. Currently, 99 percent of our
recruits are high school diploma graduates and 18 percent have at least
15 semester hours of college. This punctuates the Air Force commitment
to produce a high-quality enlisted corps capable of meeting the
challenges of today and tomorrow.
During these unprecedented budgetary times, it is imperative we
continue to invest in programs that attract the high-quality applicants
the Air Force requires to meet evolving career field needs. The Air
Force budget for recruiting includes funding for day-to-day operations,
personnel costs, and advertising activities necessary to accomplish the
recruiting mission. In recent years, recruiting budgets have seen a
steady decline in available funding. Fewer advertising dollars have
created inefficiencies that have evaporated Air Force awareness
activities in entire markets. A critical component of our recruiting
success is .built on a foundation of strong community relationships
that take years to cultivate.
The Air Force has continued to experience high retention trends
over the past 10 years, with the enlisted retention trend remaining
very strong in fiscal year 2013. Even with the upcoming reductions in
end strength, there are still critical and emerging career fields,
including battlefield and cyberspace airmen, that are experiencing poor
retention, low manning and/or high operational demands. To offset this
challenge, airmen associated with these skills are not targeted in the
fiscal year 2014 force management programs, and there are numerous
efforts to increase career field health. These include Special and
Incentive (S&I) and Bonus pays, protections from force management
programs, and increases to accessions, retraining and promotions.
Enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses continue to be effective means to
maintain positive recruitment and retention levels for critical skill
career fields. The Initial Enlistment Bonus (IEB), Selective
Reenlistment Bonus (SRB), Critical Skill Retention Bonus (CSRB), and
the Air National Guard Incentive Program are all effective and
measurable retention tools that have successfully encouraged airmen to
stay and/or retrain into career fields with high demand requirements.
compensation reform
The compensation of our servicemembers has risen significantly over
the last decade. As a result, we've recruited and retained quality
airmen who continue to power the world's greatest Air Force. These
airmen are not overcompensated; they have earned every dollar. However,
in light of projected constraints on future defense spending, including
sequestration-level cuts fiscal year 2016 and beyond, we must slow the
growth of military compensation in order to avoid deeper reductions to
force structure, readiness, and modernization efforts critical to
support the warfighter and national defense.
The Air Force, in conjunction with the Department of Defense, is
supportive of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization
Commission in its review of potential compensation system reforms and
study the impact on the All-Volunteer Force. The Air Force concurs that
there is sufficient information available to make recommendations on
key areas of current compensation (other than retirement) to slow the
growth of military pay and benefit costs, starting with the fiscal year
2015 budget, in order to permit a balanced drawdown in defense
spending. For major modifications to the compensation system, we
recommend reviewing the Commission report first to ensure it supports
the sustainment of a highly skilled and capable All-Volunteer Force.
deliberate development of airmen
The deliberate development of our airmen remains a top priority. It
is absolutely critical if we are to ensure the force remains prepared
to meet current requirements and the challenges we will undoubtedly
face in the future. Investment in education, training, and experience
are essential to meeting the demands of the combatant commanders our
airmen serve around the world; the success of yoAir Force is clearly
attributed to how well these airmen are prepared to handle the tasks
those commanders need them to execute. We will continue to assess what
commanders require of Joint Force warrior airmen and ensure we have the
plans and policies in place to meet current and future expectations.
enlisted professional military education
In fiscal year 2013, we took several steps to ensure we deliver
enlisted airmen the highest quality professional military education,
while simultaneously mitigating the challenges of the current fiscal
environment. We began the first online facilitated distance learning
Chiefs Leadership Course, a 1-year intensive education initiative for
all new Chief Master Sergeants to strengthen their leadership and
management skills as they take on critical roles in our Air Force.
Additionally, we entered the first stages of a blended learning
approach to SNCO and NCO Professional Military Education. The blended
approach delivers the most current and relevant education in an online,
learner-centric format followed by a shorter in-residence learning
experience, which expands on current knowledge through group dynamics
and problem solving. In December 2013, 36 senior noncommissioned
officers graduated from the first blended learning SNCO Academy course.
The overwhelming sentiment from the experience proved the course was
challenging and rewarding with extended opportunities for dialogue and
leadership reflection.
airmen education opportunities
The Air Force has the most educated enlisted force in the world.
Every airman entering service is automatically enrolled in an associate
of applied science degree program through the Community College of the
Air Force (CCAF). Since April 25, 1977, CCAF has awarded more than
427,000 degrees that correspond to each member's career field. Many
view the CCAF degree as the start of their path toward higher
education. Currently, more than 22,000 enlisted airmen have bachelor's
degrees or higher and 26 have earned a doctorate degree.
Air University's Associate-to-Baccalaureate Cooperative is helping
airmen who have completed CCAF degrees apply those credits toward a
bachelor's degree. This program has grown to encompass 55 civilian
university partners offering 200 bachelor's degree programs. Over
23,000 airmen have participated and 1,735 bachelor's degrees have been
awarded through this program alone. Additionally, 46 of these graduates
have become commissioned officers.
We are also focused on professional credentialing to broaden the
development of our airmen. The Airframe and Power-Plant licensing
program is one of several credentialing and licensing initiatives that
codify the training and experience for over 75,000 aircraft
maintainers, enabling them to earn the Federal Aviation
Administration's mechanic license. CCAF is currently engaged in
developing credentialing and licensing pilot programs and policies that
support the White House Veterans Employment Initiative, the DOD
Credentialing and Licensing Task Force, and the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, section 558 mandate. We are
convinced that opportunities like these directly increase Air Force
recruitment and retention as well as enhance our airmen's professional
capabilities. Our focused efforts result in highly capable airmen ready
to contribute to our Nation's defense and equipped for professional
life outside of the Air Force. We continue to explore new programs that
enhance our ability to educate the force, being keenly aware of the
associated costs and need to seek efficiencies.
The Military Tuition Assistance (MilTA) program is a force
multiplier that not only affects recruitment, retention, and readiness,
but leads to greater critical thinking skills across the enlisted
force. In order to sustain this valuable program within the fiscal
environment and ensure airmen are receiving the right education at the
right time, the Air Force instituted management controls for the use of
MilTA. The first was to re-insert the supervisor into the approval
process. This allowed supervisors the opportunity to get to know their
airmen's educational goals and provide mentoring. Additionally, airmen
who have not passed or are overdue for their Physical Fitness Test,
have an Unfavorable Information File, or have a referral annual
performance report are ineligible for MilTA until these issues are
resolved. We believe these controls ensure airmen are prepared to
succeed in their degree program as well as continue their critical work
in the defense of our great nation. Our focused efforts result in
highly capable airmen ready to contribute to our Nation's defense and
equipped for professional life outside of the Air Force.
developmental special duties
We continue to make deliberate development decisions throughout an
airman's career with regards to promotions and assignments, and are
actively identifying ways to ensure we have the right airman, at the
right place in his or her career, at the right time for our Air Force.
In calendar year 2013 we formalized 10 Developmental Special Duties
that directly impact the growth of our enlisted force and provide the
broader experience airmen need to succeed in different roles throughout
their careers. Airmen throughout the force are nominated for these
positions based on their previous experience and future potential. In
November 2013, we selected approximately 1,100 staff sergeants,
technical sergeants, and master sergeants to serve as Military Training
Instructors, Recruiters, USAF Honor Guardsmen, First Sergeants,
Professional Military Education Instructors, Career Assistance
Advisors, Technical Training Instructors, USAFA Military Trainers,
Military Training Leaders, and Airman and Family Readiness Center NCOs.
These airmen were nominated by their MAJCOM leadership and selected
from a pool of approximately 7,500 nominees. They are some of our best
airmen--the first to be hand-picked for these roles under the new
process and will now be in a position to leverage their proven
performance across the force.
airman comprehensive assessment
A critical aspect of deliberate development is quality,
comprehensive feedback that guides airmen toward established goals. In
the coming months we will introduce the Airman Comprehensive Assessment
(ACA) that facilitates a deep, meaningful conversation between
supervisors and the airmen they lead. It includes a self-assessment, a
detailed evaluation of current performance, and specific questions
geared toward airmen-centered feedback. The form will ensure airmen
understand their critical role in organizational climate, as well as
Air Force culture, support of the mission, and individual readiness and
resiliency.
caring for airmen and families
Caring for airmen and their families is about maintaining the
source of airpower. Our airmen are the engine that keeps the force
moving, and we rely on them to meet any challenge and overcome any
obstacle. The hallmark of our success has always been, and will remain,
our people. Unfortunately, in the current fiscal environment, we must
make tough decisions to include reducing or cutting some programs. To
help mitigate the impact of reduced funding, the Air Force prioritized
its programs to resource those most valued from an enterprise-wide,
mission accomplishment perspective. As we move forward and our force
changes, we must adapt our programs and services to ensure we meet the
needs of today's airmen and their families.
sexual assualt prevention and response
Last summer, the Air Force established a multi-functional Air Force
Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office--a directorate-level
organization, led by a general officer whom reports directly to the Air
Force Vice Chief of Staff. This office leads a robust focus on sexual
assault prevention, advocacy, investigation, accountability and
assessment and enables the Air Force to better synchronize with the
Department of Defense lines of effort. As a result, the Air Force has
been able to provide broader, more comprehensive victim support. The
Air Force has also benchmarked a Special Victim's Counsel Program. It
is through this program that victims of sexual assault have personal,
direct access to an attorney representing only their interests in the
judicial process as well as advocating for them in any collateral
discipline issues and assisting them in any case issues whenever
necessary. Additionally, ``Every Airman Counts'' is an initiative that
our Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, General Larry O. Spencer launched as
a forum to promote airman-to-airman dialogue related to Sexual Assault
and provide the opportunity for airmen to provide suggestions to senior
leaders. Furthermore, the Air Force hired d trained Air Force Office of
Special Investigations agents for the exclusive purpose of
investigating sexual assaults. The Air Force team has already conducted
focus groups with 1,400 airmen, including 30 sexual assault survivors,
male and female, at 14 installations worldwide and obtained valuable
insight from the junior airmen, all levels of leadership, and survivors
of sexual assault. Lastly, the Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and
Response Office works jointly with its Department of Defense
counterparts to streamline future survey efforts, to include a 100
percent transition to the Defense Equal Opportunity Climate Survey. We
are committed to taking every step possible to eliminate sexual assault
within our ranks and instill confidence and care in the process.
care for wounded warriors
Our combat wounded and our seriously injured and ill airmen and
their families are a top priority. They continue to willingly sacrifice
day-in and day-out to serve our Nation; their resilience and
perseverance when the effects of war forever alter their lives is
simply astounding. We match their commitment through a lifelong promise
to provide them the care and support they need, and so rightfully
deserve. The Air Force has built a Recovery Care program for these
airmen that focuses on the full continuum of care--recovery,
rehabilitation, and transition.
By strategically placing Recovery Care Coordinators in 43 locations
around the world, the airmen and their families receive face-to-face,
individualized service and support when and where they need it. Our
commitment is unwavering whether our wounded, ill, or injured airmen
are returning to active service or transitioning to civilian life. The
Recovery Care Coordinators also support the families and caregivers of
our airmen by identifying needs, connecting with support groups, and
working to ease the burden brought on by their current circumstance.
Along with our Recovery Care Coordinators, the Air Force provides
non-medical care managers who act as fiduciary agents on behalf of the
recovering airman and as advocates for the recovering airman and his or
her family with other government and non-governmental agencies. They
work with recovery care coordinators, medical care providers,
chaplains, commanders and other providers as a single Recovery Team
that meet the needs of our wounded, ill, and injured and their
families.
post-traumatic stress disorder
As might be expected with fewer deployments, the Air Force has seen
a slight drop in newly diagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
cases between 2011 and 2012. Our data is not yet complete from 2013,
but we expect the slight reductions to continue. Our overall rate has
remained relatively low, and our current rate for newly diagnosed PTSD
is under 0.4 percent. Historically we have retained approximately 75
percent of our airmen diagnosed with PTSD.
The Air Force remains committed to helping our airmen through
improving early symptom recognition and offering evidence-based
treatments. We continue to screen our airmen for PTSD symptoms at set
points in the deployment cycle, to include screening through Pre- and
Post-Deployment Health Assessment and Reassessment, and provide
training to help counter the stresses on our airmen with each
deployment. Our airmen in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Security
Forces, Medical, and Transportation career fields are at higher risk of
developing PTSD and receive additional education and training on how to
recognize symptoms of PTSD along with available treatment and
supportive resources. The Deployment Transition Center (DTC), Ramstein,
Germany, continues to support airmen in our high-risk careers with 2
days of training and reconstitution time before returning home. A 2010
study showed airmen who participated in the DTC reported at least a 6
percent lower rate of post-traumatic symptoms, problematic alcohol use
and interpersonal conflict after having attended the program as
compared to a control-group of deployed airmen who did not participate.
Two follow oil studies. are being conducted to measure the continued
effectiveness of the DTC. We continue to collaborate with the
Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs to advance research on
prevention and treatment of combat related injuries, including PTSD.
traumatic brain injury
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) rates in the Air Force remain very
low. However, we are expanding our efforts to ensure our airmen seek
medical care for mild traumatic brain injury, or concussion, in any
setting. The vast majority ofTBI cases in the Air Force are from
nondeployment related injuries. We identify deployed individuals with
continued TBI symptoms upon return home through the Post Deployment
Health Assessment, with referral as appropriate. The Defense Centers of
Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury and
Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center continue to serve as valuable
partners in facilitating a combined effort between all Services, the
Department of Veterans Affairs and civilian subject matter experts to
develop clinical practice guidelines for our primary care providers.
Our efforts are closely coordinated with the other Services through our
TBI Quad Service Working Group to make sure we incorporate the latest
in TBI research into clinical practice. The National Intrepid Center of
Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury serves
as a premier referral center for those deployment-related cases with
more significant symptoms.
suicide prevention
Suicide prevention remains a high priority for Air Force leadership
at every level. Our prevention program is an integrated network of
measures focused on reducing suicide through community support,
education, early identification and treatment of those at risk. The
program was designed with 11 overlapping elements to enhance the
capacity of the Air Force to recognize and respond to airmen in
distress. We are encouraged that the number of suicides among Active
Duty airmen declined between 2012 and 2013. However, we know one loss
is too many, which drives us to place significant focus and resources
toward eliminating suicides in our force.
We are committed to strengthening and improving our program. Some
recent suicide prevention initiatives include live training for all
installation suicide prevention program managers and Department of
Defense Suicide Event Report Point of Contacts, release of the revised
Air Force Guide to Suicide Risk Assessment, Management, and Treatment
for mental health providers and staff, and efforts to expand the Air
Force's strategic communication plan for suicide prevention and
promoting the Wingman Culture.
health promotion
The Air Force is committed to promoting a healthy, fit, resilient,
and productive force. Our Health Promotion target areas include Tobacco
Free Living, Nutritional Fitness, Physical Activity, and Healthy
Weight. Consistent with our warfighting mission, our airmen have rates
of obesity and physical activity that compare quite favorably with the
civilian population. Smoking has seen a steady decline; our current
smoking prevalence of 14 percent is lower than the national average of
18 percent. In the current fiscal climate, we are committed to
implementing low-cost, high-reach policy and environmental
interventions that promote healthy living as the default choice and
social norm.
child and youth development programs
The Air Force has continued our commitment to deliver readily
available, affordable, and quality childcare programs for our airmen
and their families. These programs ensure our airmen are able to focus
on the mission while knowing their youngest family members are cared
for through quality Child & Youth programs. In fiscal year 2013 we
delivered high quality child care programs to 58,000 children.
In addition to brick and mortar facilities, our Air Force Expanded
Child Care program provides assistance in a home-based setting for
airmen who need care during unusual shifts, extended duty hours, and
drill weekends. This type of care is mission-critical particularly in
those locations where community-based care options are both few and
costly. Through programs like Extended Duty Care, Missile Care,
Supplemental Care, and Returning Home Care, the Air Force is able to
provide a wide range of support to our Active and Reserve component
families. We expanded this capability in fiscal year 2013 by
implementing new childcare programs to assist wounded warriors,
families of the fallen and those with unique needs due to medical
circumstances.
Additionally, our Air Force Youth Programs have taken a
comprehensive approach to resiliency by integrating elements of
resilience concepts throughout the experiences we provide to youth. We
recognize the importance of providing meaningful opportunities during
the out-of-school hours which can be peak times for ``at risk''
behavior, particularly in light of reduced school district and
community service budgets. Our Youth Programs had 642,000 enrollments
in a variety of fitness and health, deployment support, resiliency
building, academic enrichment and community service activities offered
to Total Force youth around the world. The Air Force Teen Council
continues to offer advocacy opportunities and leadership skills while
helping our teens strengthen their personal resiliency and contribute
to the larger Air Force community. The newly implemented quarterly Teen
Movement Projects have created a network of involved teens at each
installation. New for 2013, our Youth Program members participated in
the first ever Military Youth of the Year competition, an initiative in
partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Showcasing the
stellar achievements of military teens around the world, Air Force
teens were awarded an astonishing five out of six regional awards
garnering a combined total of more than $70,000 in Military Youth of
the Year scholarships.In addition, through another key partnership with
the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 4-H Youth Development Program,
over 1,000 Air Force youth participated in the 2013 National Youth
Science Day event and we were able to reach 14,000 additional youth
through partnership with 4-H county extension agents.
family support
The Air Force continues to bolster its communication to family
members through the Key Spouse Program. The program designates one
volunteer family member in each unit to disseminate information from
installation leaders to other unit family members. This builds a
greater sense of community, especially when families are separated by
deployments.
Additionally, the Air Force is making steady progress in support of
Air Force dependents attending public, private, DOD Dependent Schools,
home, and virtual schools. Civilian (or Military designee) school
liaisons and staff at our Airman & Family Readiness Centers provide
support to base leaders and families through advocacy with local and
state school administration and school boards. Forty-six States and the
District of Columbia have passed legislation to establish an Interstate
Compact on educational opportunity for military children in State and
local school districts. The Interstate Compact ensures military
children are not negatively impacted in school by their families'
service to the Nation. It provides educational solutions on class
placement, records transfer, graduation requirements, immunizations,
and exit testing, as well as allows late entry to extra-curricular
activities and sports teams. The work done to ensure our families are
not penalized as they move around the world is an important factor for
our airmen and their families.
About 50 percent of Air Force spouses seek employment with each
military move, making spouse employment a consistent challenge. In many
cases spouse employment constitutes almost half of an Air Force
family's income. As I travel and meet with airmen and their families,
the struggle to find spouse employment is often a topic of
conversation; it is very much on our airmen's minds. They have
benefited from your support and White House efforts to help military
spouses enjoy consistent and productive careers despite relatively
frequent relocation.
Unemployment compensation for spouses of servicemembers continues
to be critical to Air Force families. Support for unemployment
compensation acknowledges military spouses need reasonable time and
resources necessary to find suitable employment or meet licensing or
credentialing requirements each time they move. We look forward to all
States properly compensating spouses that move because of their
military obligation.
Our Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) provides targeted
assistance to airmen who have family members with special needs. In
fiscal year 2013, we continued strengthening this program to provide
our families with access to greater resources that will assist them in
effectively balancing mission requirements with family care
responsibilities. We have 35 full-time family support coordinators at
Air Force installations with 175 EFMP enrollees or higher. In fiscal
year 2011, Respite Child Care was launched at seven locations to
provide support to parents of exceptional family members. The program
is now in 64 locations and has provided over 37,000 hours of skilled
respite care allowing parents a needed break from the stressors of
caring for a child with special needs. Through the generous support of
the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 100 accessible childcare
playgrounds and community nature parks are in various stages of design
and construction and will support family members with special needs.
conclusion
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Graham, members of the
subcommittee, thank you again for this opportunity to represent the
incredible airmen and their families through this testimony. This past
year has been extremely turbulent and stressful on those serving in our
Air Force. All members--Active Duty, Air National Guard, Air Force
Reserve, and civilian airmen--have endured significant uncertainty and
churn with respect to mission capability, compensation, and in some
cases the very meaning of service in our Air Force. The budget
challenges we face have not been lost on our force. We've stood down
flying squadrons, furloughed civilians, and seen our readiness levels
significantly decline; yet you would be proud to know the first concern
of our airmen is mission accomplishment. Our airmen are truly doing
amazing work around the world every day, from delivering relief to
typhoon stricken regions in the Philippines to supporting combatant
commanders from all comers of the globe. They continue to serve
honorably and proudly in defense of our Nation.
Our Air Force families are also a critical component to our
success. These men and women serve alongside the servicemember by
taking care of the home front while we employ and enable airpower
around the world. They stand strong while loved ones deploy to war
zones in foreign countries. Their faith and support is critical to our
airmen and enable the focus and dedication our complex missions
require. Thank you again for your continued support for our brave
airmen and their supportive families.
Senator Gillibrand. Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
Micheal P. Barrett.
STATEMENT OF SGTMAJMC MICHEAL P. BARRETT, U.S. MARINE CORPS
Sergeant Major Barrett. Chairwoman Gillibrand, Senator
Kaine, good afternoon. This is my fourth opportunity to address
Congress and discuss important quality of life issues,
personnel issues, and our commitment to our marines and their
families. It is my privilege to appear before you today.
The last 12 years have been most challenging. We are
profoundly grateful for your fidelity and support.
As you are well aware, the global environment is not
getting any nicer. Clever enemies are searching for windows of
vulnerability and to exploit our liberties and our security.
With the fiscal constraints we are enduring, we must, more than
ever, stay committed to our recruiting and our retention, and
making marines. Our warfighter readiness, being most ready when
our Nation is least ready. Care for our wounded, ill, and
injured, and our family care programs, preserving strong
families. Transition readiness, returning quality citizens
after their selfless service. Combating social ills,
prevention, accountability, treatment, and resiliency.
Maintaining our facilities, sustainment, restoration, and
modernization for our billions of dollars worth of
infrastructure.
Today, I report more than 37,000 marines are forward
deployed, forward engaged, shaping, training, and deterring
aggression around the globe, supporting all 6 geographic
combatant commanders. We are providing our Nation the
capability to contain crisis, fill the gap, or hold the line.
We may be done with Afghanistan this year, but those that we
have been fighting are not done with us.
At our core, the Marine Corps is the Nation's crisis
response force, and fulfilling this role is our top priority.
We have met and continue to meet our obligations in current
conflicts, emerging crises, and steady state operations. To
that point and most recently, your marines' efforts have saved
lives, provided much needed relief, and evacuated over 19,000
victims ravaged by Typhoon Haiyan. Our special purpose marine
air ground task force crisis response successfully executed a
non-combat evacuation operation in South Sudan and provided
reinforcements to other U.S. embassies. We have participated in
hundreds of theater security cooperation activities with the
armed forces of more than 50 partner nations. The 13th, 22nd,
and 31st Marine Expeditionary Units are afloat, and they stand
ready as a rapid response force capability providing stability
in their area of responsibility. We continue to stand alongside
the Afghan National Security Forces engaged in combat,
conducting counter-insurgency and security force assistance
advisory missions.
Marines can face America's adversaries on the front line or
respond to any emerging crisis because of the care and support
we provide our families on the homefront. With the progress
that we have made in our warfighting capabilities and marine
family readiness programs over this past decade-plus and as we
draw to move to a post-Operation Enduring Freedom environment,
the Corps remains committed to building the most ready force
our Nation can afford, balanced across our pillars of
readiness: high quality people, unit readiness, the capability
and capacity to meet the combatant command requirements, the
infrastructure sustainment, and equipment modernization.
We are proud of our reputation for frugality and remain a
best value for our country's defense. In these times of budget
austerity, you can hold high expectations for your Marine Corps
to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.
The Marine Corps will continue to meet the needs of the
combatant commanders as a strategically mobile force optimized
for forward presence and be the crisis response force of choice
for our leadership. We may have less, but it does not mean we
will be doing less nor will we do it any less than best.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.
[The prepared statement of Sergeant Barrett follows:]
Prepared Statement by SgtMajMC Micheal P. Barrett, USMC
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Graham and distinguished
members of this subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to provide
you an update on the Marine Corps' commitment to our marines and their
families.
The Marine Corps has and will continue to stand ready to face any
challenges that need to be conquered to complete our Nation's missions.
We remain a forward-deployed, forward-engaged force. The Marine Corps
is continuing to shape, train, and deter aggression. We are responding
to every crisis, conflict, and contingency around the globe. The Marine
Corps does this by being prepared--ready and standing at the door of
chaos with the tools, the people, and the training necessary to do the
Nation's bidding and providing our Nation's leaders with the time and
decision space that they require.
update on marine corps around the world
The Marine Corps is involved across the world--Afghanistan, the
Pacific, and U.S. Embassies. I would like to take a moment and
highlight just a few of the great things our men and women in the
Marine Corps have been doing to accomplish this Nation's missions
around the world.
The Marine Corps was part of the U.S. Government
humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in the
Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan that impacted more
than 4.2 million people across 36 provinces. The Marine Corps
and Navy were able to be in the Philippines within hours of the
Philippine Government asking for international aid. During
``Operation Damayan'', the Marine Corps was able to provide
search-and-rescue sorties; transport aid workers; clear roads;
evacuate 540 American citizens, 18,767 Philippine citizens, and
301 nationals from other countries; and deliver 2,005 tons of
relief supplies.
Over the last year, the Special-Purpose Marine Air-
Ground Task Force Crisis Response has been busy in non-
combatant evacuation operations (NEOs) such as in South Sudan
and providing reinforcement to U.S. Embassies when needed as in
the case of Libya.
In Afghanistan, the Marine Corps Security Force
Assistance Advisory Teams (SFAATs) (first deployed in 2012)
have continually advised and assisted operations alongside
Afghan National Security Forces. Additionally, the Marine Corps
continues to conduct counterinsurgency (COIN) operations
throughout the country.
The 31st and 13th Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs)
have been afloat as a forward-deployed, rapid-response force
capability providing stability in their area of operational
responsibility.
Throughout the year, the Marine Corps participated in
hundreds of Theater Security Cooperation activities with the
Armed Forces of more than 50 partner nations supporting all six
combatant commands .
The U.S. Marine Corps spearheaded a maritime domain
awareness demonstration at the Philippine Coast Guard
Headquarters as part of the first Philippine-U.S. initiative to
enhance Philippine security and defense capabilities in January
2014.
Whether it is deploying to Afghanistan, assisting in humanitarian
relief efforts in the Philippines, or working with less due to
sequestration and government shutdown; the Marine Corps has not
faltered in its operational readiness or commitment to the task at
hand. The Marine Corps remains committed to being the most ready force
our Nation can afford.
Recently, the Commandant of the Marine Corps and I have led an
effort to ``reawaken the soul of the Corps'' in order to remind and
reconfirm who we are, what we do and what America expects from her
marines. This reawakening will impact our programs to ensure that
quality of life is at the levels our marines and their families
deserve. As we draw down in Afghanistan and move toward our role as
crisis-response, force-in-readiness, we are laser focused in areas of
discipline, faithfulness, self-excellence, and developing committed
engaged leaders. The challenge in our efforts is the fiscal burden and
the uncertainty over the next few years.
Sequestration and fiscal constraints, global engagements, force
shaping, and many other environmental conditions impose challenges and
opportunities. In fiscal year 2015 and beyond, we are beginning to
realize the effects of budget cuts. As our landscape changes,
regardless of the funds available every dollar must yield positive
return and contribute to the readiness of the Marine Corps. We will
continue to monitor readiness across our Five Pillars of Readiness:
High Quality People, Unit Readiness, Capability and capacity to Meet
the Combatant Command Requirements, Infrastructure Sustainment, and
Equipment Modernization. To protect our readiness under current funding
levels, we can only do this at the cost of infrastructure sustainment
and equipment modernization, as well as, assessing the various programs
and resources we provide to marines and their families and where
savings can be realized. The decisions were carefully made for the
current fiscal climate to still meet the needs of the Marine Corps, but
over time degradation to facility sustainment, restoration and
modernization and unnecessary negative impacts to the force and our
families will ultimately suffer.
End Strength
As we drawdown the Marine Corps' Active component end strength from
war time levels of 202,000 marines, we have taken deliberate steps to
construct a force that we can afford to operate and sustain in the
emerging fiscal environment. Over the past 3 years, we have undertaken
a series of steps to build our current force plan. In 2010, our Force
Structure Review Group utilized the Defense Strategic Guidance and
operational plans to determine that the optimum size of the Active
component Marine Corps should be a force of 186,800. Under the
constraints of the 2011 Budget Control Act, we estimated that a force
of 182,100 Active component marines was realistic. More recently, as we
entered into the Quadrennial Defense Review, we came to the difficult
understanding that, under the threat of continued sequestration or some
variant, an Active-Duty Force of 175,000 marines is what our Nation can
afford. This end strength is purely budget-driven and accepts risk in
our ability to carry out major combat operations.
Our current plan is to achieve a 175,000 end strength by the end of
fiscal year 2017. We are conducting a measured drawdown with a goal to
reduce end strength by no more than 7,500 marines per year. This is to
be accomplished primarily through natural attrition, voluntary
separation, early retirement authorities, and limited use of
involuntary separations. 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.
We ended fiscal year 2013 with an end strength of 195,657, achieved
primarily through increased voluntary attrition of junior enlisted
marines as well as through the use of programs such as Voluntary
Separation Pay and Temporary Early Retirement, both of which induced
additional voluntary attrition from the mid-level enlisted ranks. Our
end strength goal for fiscal year 2014 is 188,800 marines, 167,823 of
whom are enlisted, and will be achieved primarily through reduced
accessions, selective reenlistment, and a continued emphasis on
voluntary attrition.
Marine Corps Reserve
Your Marine Corps Reserve is also undergoing a reduction in
Selected Reserve end strength in order to better align structure with
budget levels. Our plan is to reduce our Selected Reserve end strength
from 39,600 to 38,500 marines by fiscal year 2017. The reductions will
come primarily from the junior enlisted ranks and individual
mobilization augmentees (IMAs). The Reserve component is currently over
manned in its junior enlisted ranks and critically undermanned in its
senior enlisted ranks. Decreasing new accessions will yield a more
balanced Marine Corps Reserve. Given our reduced Active Component
manpower needs over the coming years, the requirement for Reserve IMAs
to mobilize with Active component units is likely to decrease. Overall,
our force shaping measures will leave the Marine Corps with a more
balanced Reserve component able to reinforce the Active component and
serve as an integral part of the Marine Corps Total Force in
accomplishing its assigned mission as an expeditionary force in
readiness.
For fiscal year 2014 and beyond, we continue to refine the use of
incentives and MOS retraining to strengthen unit staffing in
specialties and grades where we remain critically short. In particular,
we have targeted our incentives toward recruiting and retention of
noncommissioned officers (NCO) and staff noncommissioned officers
(SNCO) in our Selected Reserve units.
We continue to face challenges in manning our SNCO billets in the
SMCR. As the Active component grew its end strength to 202,000, many of
our junior marines and NCOs left the Reserves for the Active component.
Had they remained in the Reserves, many of those same marines would
have been promoted and filled our SNCOs requirements today. While we
have directed incentives toward retaining our best marines, the SMCR is
still critically short SNCOs. This SNCO shortage will take
approximately 6 years to fix as our post-202,000 accessions reach the
necessary time to be considered for promotion.
Recruiting
All recruiting efforts for the Marine Corps (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.
Last fiscal year, we successfully achieved all enlisted recruiting
goals for both the Active and Reserve components. Our current mission
for enlisted marines is 25,000 regulars (Active component) and 5,523
reservists. We expect to achieve our annual recruiting `shipping'
mission (i.e. new accessions sent to recruit training) and quality
goals, but budget reductions may impact our contracting efforts and
capacity to achieve success in fiscal year 2015. The fiscal year 2015
mission forecast is 28,370 regulars and 5,280 reservists.
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.
Retention
For fiscal year 2014, the Marine Corps is on track to achieve its
end strength target of 188,800 Active component marines (and
approximately 150 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 continues 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 cyber security technician and counter intelligence specialist.
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.
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.
While the Marine Corps' enlisted ranks are quite diverse from the
standpoint of race and ethnicity, we understand there is a need to
broaden opportunities for women. Efforts are underway to further
integrate both female enlisted marines and officers into the Air Ground
Task Force. Regardless of race, ethnicity and gender, when our enlisted
marines look at their officers and see themselves reflected among them,
their level of commitment, their aspirations and their performance can
be impacted in a positive manner. Thus, the Marine Corps has
established increased diversity in officer recruiting as a priority in
our recruiting efforts.
marine corps maintaining quality of life in current fiscal environment
Regardless of the decisions that are made regarding the budget, the
Marine Corps remains acutely aware of the critical relationship between
quality of life and Marine Corps readiness. Marines can face the enemy
on the frontline, because of the care and support we provide on the
home front. Our commitment to the Marine is during their entire
lifecycle, from boot camp through separation or retirement, and beyond.
The Marine Corps will continually ensure the long-term stability of
Marine and Family Programs by using evidence-based practices; ensuring
our programs meet all credentialing and accreditation to ensure
consistency of care across the Marine Corps; continually assessing our
programs; and ensuring that we are strategically communicating to our
marines and families so they are aware of all resources available to
them.
As we continue to draw-down our efforts in Afghanistan and reduce
our end strength to 175,000, we remain committed to a continuum of care
by ensuring family readiness and care; supporting families of the
fallen; caring for our wounded, ill, and injured; providing behavioral
health services; assisting our marines transition to being successful
civilians; and continuing to make improvements to infrastructure and
facilities. In the current and upcoming fiscal years, we remain
committed to our mission.
The future of Marine and Family and Quality of Life in the Marine
Corps will not be served by ``the way it's always been'' mentality or
returning to pre-combat environments. With changing demographics,
mission, and environment at hand, the Marine Corps will continue to be
good stewards of our resources, always be taking and making
assessments, and improve our efforts where we can for those we serve.
reawakening the soul of the corps through preventing sexual assault
The Marine Corps continues to take steps to eradicate sexual
assault among our ranks. Sexual assault is a shameful and disgusting
crime that has no place in the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps three-
phase Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Campaign Plan
(Strike, Implement and Sustain) outlines our efforts to reduce, with a
goal to eliminate, sexual assaults. Since its inception in June 2012,
the Marine Corps has addressed sexual assault in multiple areas by
driving a tremendous infusion of training, restructuring our oversight
organizations, and assisting senior leadership efforts. Our SAPR
efforts thus far have seen a continued rise in reporting. In fiscal
year 2013, reports of sexual assault in the Marine Corps increased by
86 percent, continuing a trend started in fiscal year 2012, which saw a
31 percent reporting increase. In addition, 20 percent of all fiscal
year 2013 reports were made for incidents that occurred prior to the
victim joining the Corps; 17 percent were made for incidents that took
place over 1 year ago. With sexual assault being an under-reported
crime, we believe that these trends speak directly to the trust and
confidence that marines have in their immediate commanders and the
overall Marine Corps program. These encouraging developments suggest
that our efforts are working to increase awareness of SAPR resources
and to establish a healthy environment of respect and dignity where
victims feel confident in coming forward. As we speak to our marines
about their commitment to being guardians of our Core Values, part of
that is to continue strengthening our victim care programs and offender
accountability. Now that Phase I is completed, Phase II is designed to
continue our positive trends ensuring the sustainment of the energy and
momentum of the Campaign Plan, while further implementing large-scale
institutional reform, emphasizing prevention through training, and
having more deliberate involvement by our senior leaders.
To date, we have put in place initiatives including a General
Officers SAPR Symposium, SAPR training at Sergeants Major Symposium,
Command Team Training, ``Take a Stand'' for noncommissioned officers,
and ``All-Hands'' training. We have also customized Corps-wide SAPR
training programs according to the rank and level of responsibility of
marines. Additional SAPR initiatives include the development of Sexual
Assault Response Teams (SARTs), new Command Climate Surveys, and
mandated credentialing requirements and continuing education in
advocacy for all SAPR personnel.
Between fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2013, the Marine Corps has
seen an increase in reporting with a corresponding increase in
prosecutions for sexual assault. In anticipation of this increased
caseload of more complex prosecutions, the Campaign Plan also
restructured our entire legal community to ensure we have the right
assets to prosecute these complex cases. New Regional Trial Counsel
(RTC) offices provide consolidated resources, including experienced
field-grade complex trial counsel (CTC), a civilian highly qualified
expert (HQE) in sexual assault prosecution, embedded investigators, a
legal administrator, and support staff. The RTC can pull from these
resources to assign the right counsel, on the right case, in the right
location.
In addition to the restructuring of the legal community, on January
1, 2014, the Marine Corps' Victims' Legal Counsel Organization (VLCO)
became fully operational. The VLCO provides legal representation to all
victims of sexual assault, and also to victims of other crimes. The new
VLCO, along with our continued SAPR efforts, show that engaged,
committed leadership remains the key as we reawaken the Corps sense of
tradition and ethics, and reinforce the values that make us America's
expeditious force in readiness.
reawakening the soul of the corps through prevention, treatment, and
resiliency
The Marine Corps firmly believes that readiness of the Corps is a
direct result of maintaining individual marine fitness. The Marine
Total Fitness (MTF) concept is a holistic model focused on fitness of
body, mind, spirit, and social relationships. This framework for
holistic development is supported by a unified approach to improve
resiliency and through engagements across the force. This approach will
improve performance of marines, their leaders, and their families. .
An important component of MTF is to proactively address the complex
issues facing our marines and their families after over a decade of
persistent conflict. Even as the Marine Corps moves into a post
Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom environment, there
will be a significant need of services to support marines and families
facing a potential delayed onset of symptoms, which requires diligence
in prevention and early intervention. To address these needs, the
Behavioral Health Program acts as an integrated service delivery model
that facilitates the collaborative efforts and resources of all
behavioral health elements including Family Advocacy, Substance Abuse,
and Community Counseling, which includes Combat Operational Stress
Control and Suicide Prevention. Our mental health surge capacity is
based on implementing strong strategies for commanders and installation
staff, and investing in evidence-based practices and delivery
methodology. The purpose of the surge is to enhance mission readiness
and welfare of marines and their families, by providing capacity for
rapid identification of behavioral health issues and for expediting
referrals to resources and assistance, which also promotes the
resilience of our marines and their families
Part of reawakening the Corps is to continue to stress that all
marines have a responsibility to look out for one another and to assist
anyone who might be struggling. Our Marine Awareness and Prevention
Integrated Training (MAPIT), that is beginning to be implemented in
fiscal year 2014, will train the entire force on behavioral health
issues. The MAPIT initiative will provide education and skill-based
peer-to-peer training consistently across a Marine's career. MAPIT, in
conjunction with our more selective training program, Operation Stress
Control and Readiness (OSCAR), use other evidence-informed prevention
tools to deliver the right prevention tools to the right marines at the
right time. These include giving marines the skills to prevent and
mitigate stress injuries in themselves and their fellow marines, as
well as, giving commanders support in building unit strength,
resilience, and readiness. Additionally, the DSTRESS line continues to
provide anonymous, 24/7 counseling services to any marine, attached
sailor, or family member. Enhanced resilience, achieved through
training and improved physical, spiritual, social, and psychological
fitness, can mitigate post-traumatic stress, affect incidents of
undesirable and destructive social behaviors, and lead to greater
likelihood for future good health.
Behavioral Health Programs are now focused on prioritizing services
to target marines and improve our program capacity at the installation
and unit level through enhanced professionalization of our workforce,
accreditation oversight of the programs, and surge capacity to address
access to care issues. One component of this approach has been to
substantially increase the number of trained behavioral health
personnel available to provide non-medical counseling services and
treatment. The result has been to develop community counseling
capabilities to improve screening, prevention, and counseling services
through our Community Counseling Program at installations.
Additionally, we have expanded Military and Family Life Consultant
Program (MFLC) to provide confidential care in a unit or installation
setting. In fiscal year 2014, Behavioral Health will be implementing
the Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) Prevention Program, which aims to
improve the implementation, fidelity, and evaluation of behavioral
health prevention initiatives across the operating forces.
reawakening the soul of the corps through transitioning marines into
quality citizens
As our priorities shift from wartime requirements to post OEF, a
key focus is on marines transitioning out of the Marine Corps.
Transitioning Marines need the right preparation to reach personal
goals and effectively translate their military experience to a
successful civilian life. Transition is a process, not an event.
Beginning at recruitment, the Marine Corps strives to ensure that we
are providing a continuum of tangible learning, training, or
experiences that makes every Marine transition ready throughout their
career.
The Marine Corps Transition Readiness Seminar (TRS) must be
completed by marines within 12 months of separation or within 24 months
of retirement, but no later than 180 days prior to separation or
retirement. TRS is a week-long program that includes a mandatory
standardized core curriculum including briefings from Veteran Affairs
and Department of Labor and an introduction to their choice of
entrepreneurship, career and technical training, or higher education.
After TRS, interested marines attend one of three additional 2-day
tracks that are in line with their future goals and objectives subject
to their ability to meet Career Readiness Standards: (1) College/
Education/University delivered by Marine Corps staff; (2) Career/
Technical Training delivered by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
staff; or (3) Entrepreneurship delivered by the Small Business
Administration. Additionally, the Marine Corps involves leadership in
the transition process through Capstone, where the separating Marine
sits with the Commander or the commander's representatives no less than
90 days before separation to verify the Marine has met career readiness
standards. In calendar year 2014, the Marine Corps will incorporate a
life cycle approach to transition preparation that will allow marines
to meet Career Readiness Standards well in advance of the Transition
Readiness Seminar.
With the significant reduction in end strength of the Marine Corps
over the next few years, it is vital that our commitment to our marines
includes adequate preparation to leave the Marine Corps with all the
resources and advantages to be able to translate being a marine to
civilian life.
reawakening the soul of the corps through preserving strong families
During Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom,
Marine and family programs increased support to family programs to
reduce the impact of stressors; enable quick acclimation to the Corps;
build deployment knowledge and skills; and improve access to care and
official information for marines and families to ensure operational
readiness. We have seen that increasing support to these programs has
had a positive impact on quality of life. In support of strong
families, the 2012 Quality of Life Study found significant increase in
satisfaction in three life domains: Residence, Income, and Standard of
Living, and in marines relationships with their children. Findings from
the 2012 Quality of Life Study specific to Marine and family programs
indicated a majority having the training necessary to deal with the
stress of deployment and/or combat, and being satisfied with military
support services overall.
The Unit, Personal and Family Readiness Program and Marine Corps
Family Team Building Program are both designed to strengthen and
fortify marines and their families. Our civilian family readiness
officers are an asset in ensuring marines and their families receive
official communications, readiness and deployment support, information
and referral services for support services and volunteer management.
With our shift in wartime requirements and volume of previous years'
investments into various family readiness requirements, we are postured
to continue priority support to operating forces units and universal
access to all for information and referral services. Specifically, the
Marine Corps is continuing to leverage technology, such as eMarine for
communication with over 285,000 subscribers, as well as other training
and support webinars. Since implemented in April 2013, over 14,000
registered users have participated in Marine Corps Family Team Building
online courses, which include courses on stress management, anger
management, and emergency preparedness. The Marine Corps will continue
to tap into this technology and others to provide resources for our
deployed and returning marines and families.
Our Family Care programs provide programs that support the care and
development of Marine Corps children from birth to their teens. Through
our Children, Youth and Teen Programs (CYTP), the Marine Corps has
served 33,621 children, youth, and teens in fiscal year 2013.
We have more than 11,000 family members with special needs. In
fiscal year 2013, 405,000 hours of respite care was reimbursed under
the Exceptional Family Member Respite Care Reimbursement Program. This
program provides respite care benefit for those marines whose family
members have moderate to severe special needs. Our Exceptional Family
Member Program coordinators will continue to work to partner with
local, State, and private organizations to help marines and their
families access the care and support they require.
reawakening the soul of the corps through caring for our families of
our fallen
The Marine Corps Casualty Assistance Program remains committed to
ensuring the families of our fallen marines are treated with the utmost
compassion, dignity, and honor. The loss of a Marine is always
difficult, especially for the family and we are always seeking to
improve survivor assistance. Caring for the families of our fallen is
not just an immediate challenge, but one that is long term. The Marine
Corps Long-Term Assistance Program is a permanent resource for the next
of kin, ensuring they receive sustained quality assistance from the
Marine Corps.
The Marine Corps Casualty Assistance Program is a 24 hour-per-day
operation manned by marines and civilian marines trained in casualty
reporting, notification, and assistance procedures. Our Casualty
Assistance Calls Officers (CACOs) are responsible for notifying next-
of-kin, assisting them with burial arrangements; applying for benefits
and entitlements, obtaining reports of investigations, as well as
assisting Survivors in contacting benevolent and philanthropic
organizations. Our CACOs go through an initial training program
followed up with continual training and assistance when needed. Shortly
after the funeral, families are connected to representatives from the
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). This nationally
recognized provider, at no cost and available 24/7, provides our
families a full range of support, crisis intervention, casework as well
as, grief and trauma support.
reawakening the soul of the corps through care for our wounded, ill and
injured
The Wounded Warrior Regiment (WWR) continues to function as a
central pillar of the Marine Corps' pledge to ``keep faith'' with those
who have served. Whether a marine is wounded in combat, suffering from
a chronic unresolved illness, or injured in a training accident, the
WWR stands ready to provide recovery care. For the Marine Corps,
recovery care is not a process. Care coordinated through the WWR is
soundly based upon an authentic relationship between staff and the
marine and his or her family members. This bond allows all parties to
be vested in a common purpose: ensuring the WII marine and their family
members smoothly and successfully meet their identified goals.
Ensuring Wounded, Ill and Injured (WII) Marines' Future Success
History confirms that the majority of WII marines who receive care
from the WWR will not return to duty. Knowing this, it is a paramount
goal of the WWR to help WII marines reintegrate to their communities
with the confidence to focus on their abilities and fully recognize
that their best days are still to come.
Following injury and case review, a WII marine's path to success
typically begins with a Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA). The
Marine Corps' Recovery Care Coordinators (RCCs) are assigned to WII
marines (based upon case acuity) and are responsible for conducting
initial and ongoing CNAs which are used to develop the Marine's
Comprehensive Recovery Plan (CRP). Once the Marine's CRP is established
with identified actions, the RCC begins coordination with all internal
and external stakeholders to help the marine and family realize their
goals. At any given time, there are approximately 1,000 marines (along
with their family members) receiving the support of an RCC.
A significant part of the CRP is employment and education support.
To address this need, the WWR has a Transition Cell. Transition Cell
Specialists, located at WWR Headquarters and Wounded Warrior Battalions
at Camp Pendleton, CA and Camp Lejeune, NC, work with WII marines and
families to assist them with the development of their career and
education plans. Utilizing career assessment tools and leveraging the
resources of Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E)
counselors, marines along with their WWR Transition Specialists,
develop a plan to reach their career goals. Types of WWR transition
assistance include: career exploration (employment, education,
training, and entrepreneurship), resume development, education
applications, interview skills, and coordinating Federal internships.
The WWR does not utilize a ``fire and forget'' mentality. We
recognize that most recently-transitioned WII marines will require some
degree of continuing assistance. To address this requirement, the WWR
continues to employ District Injured Support Coordinators at various
sites (aligned with Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Integrated
Services Networks) around the country to provide face-to-face
assistance when required. DISCs provide a multitude of services to
include 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.
Additionally, a key component of the WWR's transition assistance
includes the provision of 90 days of post-service support to bridge the
gap in services between DOD and VA during a WII Marine's transition.
Focused areas of support include: Combat Related Special Compensation,
Concurrent Receipt Disability Pay, housing, VA benefits, employment and
education referrals, family support, and follow-on medical care
(TRICARE, VA Healthcare). More than 1,800 marines have received or are
currently receiving post-service support.
Outreach and Staying Connected
The Sergeant Merlin German Wounded Warrior Call Center is not a
typical call center in purpose or function. It is an outreach and
contact center that actively maintains contact with and tracks an
assigned population of WII Active, Reserve, Retired and Veteran Marines
throughout their life. It includes two Contact Centers at the Wounded
Warrior Battalions (Camp Pendleton and Camp Lejeune), which track
active duty WII marines who are recovering with their parent commands.
While the Call Center averages 9,500 outreach calls per month to Purple
Heart recipients, marines on the Temporary Disability Retirement List
and marine veterans, it also allows the Marine Corps great flexibility
to focus on specific emergent at-risk populations. For example, during
natural disasters, such as last year's floods in Colorado or the
tornados in Oklahoma, the Call Center conducted outreach to WII marines
and families in those surrounding areas to provide information on
relief efforts, emergency shelters, and food bank locations.
The Call Center also serves as the WWR's center of activity for
social media and rapid action polls. The social media capability
(Facebook, Twitter, and mobile app) enables the continual flow of
relevant care information to WII marines and families and the polls
allow the Regiment to gain important feedback for program improvement.
Future of the WWR: Care Continues
Marines and their family members, Congress, and the public at large
can be reassured that the Marine Corps, through the WWR, will continue
recovery care in times of war and in peacetime. Irrespective of the
global security environment, recovery care support must be enduring in
view of issues resulting from the current decade of war: catastrophic
injuries requiring massive amounts of acute care, traumatic brain
injury, and psychological health problems. These conditions are not
solved by short-term care and will require continuing services, an
enduring commitment. Just as the Marine Corps is strategically agile
and flexible, the WWR will endeavor to expand and contract depending
upon requirements. The WWR will always stand ready to support marines
who sacrifice for our Nation.
reawakening the soul of the corps through caring for our marines in the
fight
Deployed support is one of the most important services we provide.
Our Exchange, Recreation, Fitness, and Communication services boost
morale and reduce mission-related stress.
Exchange. Ongoing missions in Afghanistan include the
operation of a Direct Operation Exchanges Tactical (DOX-T) at
Camp Leatherneck, one Tactical Field Exchange at Living Support
Area 13, and numerous Warfighter Express Services Teams (WEST)
operating out of Camp Leatherneck. We also have two Marine
Corps Exchange (MCX) Mobile Tactical Field Exchange (MTFE)
Trailers, which can serve as fully functional retail stores.
Equipped with a diesel generator, the MTFE can operate on site
for up to 72 hours and can provide indefinite operations when
accompanied with a resupply container and connected to
municipal power. The trailer can be used to support tactical
field exercises, disaster relief, and special events requiring
retail support. The MTFEs are road-ready and are based at Camp
Pendleton and Camp Lejeune.
Recreation and Fitness. We provide sports,
recreational, and fitness equipment to units throughout Helmand
Province. This transportable equipment includes sports/
recreation cooler kits filled with sports gear and board games,
electronic game kits, Theater-in-a-Box kits, and functional
fitness equipment for use in austere environments. Reading
materials, both electronic and paperback, are also distributed.
Our award-winning libraries provide online tools for research,
recreation, and professional development. Several libraries
offer private webcam meetings so families can stay connected
with their deployed marines.
Communication. Morale satellite services are available
to deployed marines. We have delivered 13 small satellite
communications systems to units in Afghanistan. Each system has
two phones that provide 6,000 free minutes per month and five
laptops that allow internet browsing, social networking, and
chat/video capabilities to deployed marines.
MCCS Amenity Wi-Fi Solution. The Marine Corps
Community Services Amenity Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) Solution
program acquires, deploys, administers, and supports Wi-Fi
capability at no-cost to marines and families. This morale and
welfare initiative helps families stay in contact while
separated from their marines. Wi-Fi is conveniently located on
19 installations and 250 facilities such as, temporary lodging
facilities, exchange food courts, libraries, education centers,
child and youth centers, clubs, and wounded warrior program
facilities.
Marine Corps Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) activities
support the readiness, resiliency and retention goals of marines.
Semper Fit and Recreation programs align to support the social and
physical well-being of marines and sailors, to encourage healthy
lifestyles and enhance quality of life and to amplify the Marine Corps'
focus on mission and readiness. The comprehensive strength and
conditioning programs, High Intensity Tactical Training (HITT) and
Aquatic Maximum Power--Intense Training (AMP-IT), serve to optimize
physical performance and combat readiness for all Active Duty and
Reserve marines. In 2013, ``For the Leathernecks'', a social recreation
event, reached over 20,000 single marines, many of which recently
returned from a deployment or training exercise. These shows enrich
esprit de corps and unit cohesion to support the 21st century sailor
and marine, and Marine Corps Total Fitness strategies. Semper Fit and
Recreation expanded Operation Adrenaline Rush (OAR), which has reached
over 8,000 marines since the pilot program began in fiscal year 2012,
to 8 installations last year. OAR assists marines in reintegration
after deployment by maintaining combat readiness, and reinforcing unit
cohesion through high adventure outdoor activities like white water
rafting, paintball, or rock climbing.
The Marine Corps resale system is also pleased to support the
physical and financial health of marines, sailors, and their families.
Through a variety of programs related to the Secretary of the Navy's
21st Century Sailor and Marine initiative, our resale system supports
physical health. The Commandant recently issued a memorandum regarding
alcohol sales. It instructs all Marine Marts adjacent to barracks to
remove distilled spirits. Additionally, the memo limits alcohol sales
times to 8:00 AM thru 10:00 PM, and dedicated floor space to no more
than 10 percent of the total retail space. Another significant step to
support 21st Century Sailor and Marine came in 2012 when MCX instituted
tobacco price parity. This effort complements the initiatives that
Semper Fit has taken in training and education of tobacco cessation.
Further, MCX offers tobacco cessation items at cost for patrons as part
of our value program, ``Xtreme Value.'' This program supports the
financial readiness of marines and their families and offers items such
as diapers, formula, baby food, bread, and milk at cost. Additionally,
MCX offers a variety of both branded and private label products from
clothing to cosmetics to electronics to toys to home furnishings to
serve as a ``one stop shop'' for marines and families. Our Xtreme Value
program offers the brands and products important to our customers at
the best price possible. MCX is committed to supporting initiatives
like the White House's Joining Forces Initiative to employ veterans and
family members. As a member of the Military Spouse Employment
Partnership Program, MCX helps to provide jobs to military family
members who may be worried about finding a job at their next duty
station. Currently, nearly 30 percent of MCX employees are military
family members.
reawakening the soul of the corps
During a time in which we, as a nation, have been continuously
engaged in 12 years of fighting, we are doing so with a voluntary
force. No other time in our country's young history have we fought this
long. Less than half a percent of Americans voluntarily wear the
uniform of one of our Military Services. These men and women have
chosen to put on the cloth intuitively knowing the joy and sense of
purpose that only comes through great challenges and subordination at a
cause greater than themselves. These men and women--our neighbors,
brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and loved ones--know what it
means to keep company with the finest men and women in a world under
the toughest conditions. Living their lives right and to the fullest,
while providing a vital function to society. Their sacrifices ensure
the safety of not just communities, but the Nation, our lifestyle, and
our liberties.
A statement often attributed to our first Commander in Chief,
perfectly sums up what this Nation is facing when it comes to their
military, which I would like to leave with you today. ``The willingness
with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter
how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive
veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our Nation.'' I
say this to you today to reiterate that your decisions now will have an
impact that will go well beyond these conflicts and the current men and
women voluntarily serving. Uncertainty in whether they will be able to
continue a career in the military due to drawdown; what services and
resources will be available to them and their families when serving;
and what will happen to any retirement when they get out----all are
having an impact on our current force and the young men and women that
will be considering serving in the future. We cannot jeopardize our
liberty.
Senator Gillibrand. Thanks to each of you.
DOD has proposed a number of compensation and benefit-
related proposals, although we have not seen the full details.
They are basically a 1 percent pay raise for most military
personnel rather than the 1.8 percent that would take effect
under current law, 1-year pay freeze for general and flag
officers, and a slight reduction in the growth of housing
allowances over time. Essentially, servicemembers would pay 5
percent of their housing costs out of pocket. A phased
reduction by $1 billion of the annual direct subsidy provided
by military commissaries, down from the current subsidy of $1.4
billion. An increase in TRICARE enrollment fees and pharmacy
co-pays and consolidation of the TRICARE health programs.
Secretary Hagel testified a few weeks ago that the savings
from these proposals would be reallocated to address readiness
and modernization shortfalls. As I said in my opening
statement, these proposals will be difficult for many of us on
this subcommittee to support. I am particularly concerned that
we are not waiting for the MCRMC, which is tasked with taking a
comprehensive look at these benefits.
This is for each of you to answer as you see fit. What will
the impact of the changes be on our servicemembers, especially
our lower enlisted troops and families? What are you currently
hearing from the enlisted ranks? What are the biggest concerns
about these cuts? How important is the commissary benefit, in
particular, to our most junior servicemembers? Is there another
way to deal with the commissaries? Will the enactment of these
proposals harm recruiting and retention?
Sergeant Major Chandler. Yes, ma'am. You wanted to spend
some time with commissaries. To be quite honest, the
commissaries have not been in the narrative until just
recently, comparatively speaking to, for instance, retirement
reform. There is a bit of conversation. I will tell you, like I
said in my oral statement, it is not the most important issue
from soldiers. We do hear more from family members. A lot of it
was, in our case anyway, the publication called the ``Army
Times'' which ran an article that said that there would be the
closing of commissaries. That has never been the intention. I
am sure that the Chief of Staff of the Army has already spoken
to that fact for the Army.
Obviously, there is going to be an impact for everyone,
including our junior servicemembers, if we do roll back the
cost savings from on average 30 percent to, say, 20 percent. It
is going to have an impact, and cumulatively each one of these
things will have an impact on our soldiers and families. I
think that is fairly obvious.
Our concern is there are things within the Defense Exchange
Commissionary Agency (DECA), legislative issues and also policy
issues, that I believe we can find some efficiencies which may
offset some of the reduction in cost savings. For instance, the
ability to use or sell generic items are a challenge. We cannot
do that in the commissary. If I am a young soldier and I choose
to go the commissary and the only thing I can buy is Green
Giant or Hunt's brands, but I can go to Walmart and get Great
Value and that is 30 cents less for a can of corn than it is in
the commissary, there is a perception in some places where the
value is not as high as we say in the commissary.
Each of us sits on the DECA board of directors. There is a
strategy in place to do a holistic review and to make some
legislative proposals which will free up their ability to
actually create a business model. I think many of us may not
understand that the commissary is not in competition with
anyone. You have to recognize how do you draw the folks that
you serve into the commissary. I think one of those is to offer
items which may be generics which generate the similar cost
savings.
I think we have some work to do, both legislatively and
policy-wise. I understand because for the Army, this is truly
about readiness. We pay about $400 million into the commissary
to sustain the benefit, and that is $400 million we can apply
to some other readiness need because frankly, for the Army, the
most important thing is to have ready soldiers to do what we
need to do and not send someone in harm's way untrained. You
have to find that balance. We are in that position where we
have to look at everything to find the savings we need.
Chief Petty Officer Stevens. Senator, I think it is
important that we first understand that the decisions to slow
growth is not something, if we were given a choice, that we
want to do. Given the fact that the slice of the pie is only so
big, this is what we must do in order to maintain readiness. We
are making some tough decisions and tough recommendations with
regard to slowing of growth.
How will that impact our people? I think it is fair to say
that if, or when, it is all said and done, that their buying
power will not be as good tomorrow as it is today. It will have
some impact on their quality of life.
We also recognize that there will have to be some slowing
of growth in quality of life so we can hopefully recapitalize
those monies into what we call quality of work areas because
our sailors want to have a good quality of work. They want the
people, the parts, the training, the things that they need day-
to-day to do their job. In order for the Navy to be able to
provide that to them, there is going to have to be some offset
somewhere. We recognize that that is difficult, but we owe it
to them to make sure that they have a good quality of life, a
good quality of work, and in turn, they and their families will
have, we hope, a positive and good quality of service.
I have been asked many times, how do you think it will
affect retention and enlistment? What I say is I do not know
because every generation of sailor has their own reason for
serving. Much of it is the same, but generation-to-generation
there are some differences. Will it have a negative impact on
recruiting and retention? It might, but I could not say that
because I do not know. Will it have a positive impact? Probably
not. It may stay the same. It may get a little bit worse, but
it certainly is not going to increase retention or increase
enlistment. We are going to have to shoulder that with our
recruiting commands and with command leadership to encourage
our people to come in and to stay.
I agree with what Sergeant Major Chandler said with the
commissaries. His comments are something that we have all
talked about, and I can speak for myself when I say that I
agree exactly with what he said on commissaries.
Sergeant Major Barrett. I will not belabor exactly both
remarks that the Sergeant Major of the Army and the Master
Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) have said.
Ma'am, to go right to the very heart of your question,
first of all, marines do not run around talking about what is
on their mind in compensation, benefits, or retirement
modernization. That is not on their minds. As I walk around and
talk to the thousands of audiences, they want to know into
whose neck do we put a boot to next. They want to know about
what new equipment are we getting. Are we continuing to
modernize? Just because the budget sucks, does that mean we are
not going to get any more gear? Are we going to stay ahead of
our competitors?
The other thing they always ask about is they want to know
about training. We are a force that has a bias for action, and
we are a happy lot when we are deployed. Idle hands are not
good in the Marine Corps. Keep us out there forward deployed
just like our moniker tells us that is where we need to be.
That is what is on their mind actually.
I will tell you promotion and retention and money does
eventually come up, but it is not in the top three. It is
normally four, five, six, or seven.
To get to the point about what the Sergeant Major and the
MCPON already said, if we do not get a hold of slowing the
growth, if we do not pay a little bit more attention to the
health care that we so generously have received, wonderful
packages--in my 33 years, I have never seen this level of
quality of life ever. We have never had it so good. I say that
point because if we do not get a hold of slowing the growth, we
will become an entitlements-based, a health care provider-based
Marine Corps and not a warfighting organization. If we do not
step back and take a look at a 1 percent pay, that makes sense
because our quality of life is good. Hey, you know what? Out-
of-pocket? You know what? I truly believe it will raise
discipline and it will raise it because you will have better
spending habits. You will not be so wasteful.
I do believe in the one TRICARE model because there will be
savings, and there will be less administrative burden on those
who have to perform all those things.
Should there be some type of subsidy reduction to the
commissary? Well, you already heard the Sergeant Major of the
Army talk about it. I am sure there is a better model out
there, but in the grand scheme of things, if we do not get a
hold of this, it is going to impact our warfighting capability.
It is going to impact our investment for the next challenge.
Like I said, we might be done in Afghanistan, the people we
are fighting, but they are not done with us, and we need to be
more prepared for what is around the corner.
Sergeant Major Cody. Ma'am, I think first I would set the
stage for my comments because I certainly agree with all my
fellow Service senior enlisted advisors, and believe me, we all
do talk about this collectively as we think about the impacts.
I want to be real clear that our airmen are not overpaid.
This discussion we are having about compensation in the
military is not because we feel they are overpaid. They have
earned everything that they receive today, all service men and
women and their families have. They have sacrificed for what
they served for.
I fully support our budget because at the end of the day, I
would tell you if you want the real feedback from our airmen
and their families of what they want, they do not want to have
a conversation about compensation. They just want you to give
us more money so we do not have to. That is the clear text if
you want to hear what they would say.
When Athena meets with their families, they are a little
bit more vocal about this than the great men and women that
actually put the uniform on only because they understand the
commitment to serve and everything that you had articulated.
They are going to fight in their Nation's war. They will go
regardless. That is what makes them so special.
Make no mistake about it. This has impact. But we have to
do it. We have to slow the growth. It has to be constrained
somehow.
I will throw some demographics so you can put it in
perspective. For our Air Force, about 70 percent of them have
served 13 or less years. That is important to note because this
is their whole life. 70 percent of our force. When you think
about it, about 50 percent of our entire force is married with
children or is single with a child. That is important too when
you talk about compensation and how you think about these
things.
Just to throw a demographic at you so you will know, an
average E-6 makes about $54,000 a year. That includes their
basic allowance for substance, their housing, and their basic
pay. Then you can take that all the way down to an E-1, which
is about $23,000 a year. That is important to put in the
spectrum of their lifestyle.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you.
Senator Kaine.
Senator Kaine. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Thank you for your testimony. Thank God for our enlisted.
It is what we have asked you to do for the last 13 years. You
have done it with a great spirit. But it is unlike anything,
really, that we have had a precedent for in the country, and
that means there are consequences to it, some of which we know,
some of which we do not. But we have to be good stewards in
meeting the consequences.
I wanted to ask you a question. I think Senator King asked
a question of the first panel when I was gone about
credentialing of folks in service for their skills as they
obtain them. This is something I am really interested in. I
worry about the unemployment rate of the Iraq and Afghanistan
era veteran, particularly the enlisted. Officers with college
degrees have a little bit easier time. Some enlisteds have
degrees, but generally the enlisted unemployment rate is the
one that is a little bit higher.
I continue to believe that part of the way we get at the
unemployment rate is to get people credentialed for the skills
they attain when they attain them with a credential that a
civilian hiring officer understands. Recognizing that that
civilian hiring officer--there is only a 1 percent chance that
individual would have been in the military. I think we
appreciate military service but often may not understand what
it is that somebody brings to the table in terms of technical
skill or leadership skill.
Programs like the Soldier for Life program in the Army and
others--and I know different branches are tackling it in
different ways--that are trying to make sure that people get
these civilian credentials are important.
I would like to hear you talk about efforts within your
branches on this or more broadly, the unemployment issues that
are faced by enlisted servicemembers departing into a tough job
market. Especially as we are drawing down in force, more will
be departing, and we want to make sure that they get traction
right away in a civilian workforce. Offer thoughts on that
challenge, please.
Chief Petty Officer Stevens. Senator, for the Navy, we have
what is called Credentialing Opportunities Online (COOL)
program. It is where you can go and sign up and begin to take
advantage of these credentials that the civilian world offers
and provides the Navy. You would take your skill set that you
have. My example would be as an aviation structural mechanic.
There are certain certifications that you need to do work on
aircraft in the civilian world. You could go to this COOL
program and you could begin the sign-up process and start to
get your hours that you need and the signatures that you need
and eventually get this credential. It transfers over into the
civilian world, and we have had that in place for a while.
We also recently implemented a process where a sailor, with
the permission of their commanding officer prior to separation,
if they know they are going to get out, can go to a vocational
or trade school and start working on the certificates that they
may need to work in that civilian sector job that would be
equivalent to what they are doing in the Navy.
So that, in conjunction with our Transition Assistance
Program, as well as the CNO and I have talked about with our
tuition assistance, when we look at how we can best use that,
we want to encourage our sailors to take college classes that
equate to what their job is in the Navy so that it not only
makes them better at their job in the Navy but also makes them
more competitive, should they decide to get out of the Navy at
some point.
We have some good programs in place, and I am happy with
them. I believe we will continue to work on them.
Sergeant Major Barrett. In addition, we have a transition
readiness seminar, and we have touch points along the way. As a
matter of fact, every young marine--the rank of lance
corporal--is required to do this Marine Corps Institute course.
It is an online course, and it is called Leading Marines.
Attached to that course is a course called Your Readiness, and
it was developed by our personal and professional development
personnel that work at our Marine Corps University. That course
teaches you how to start preparing yourself to leave the
Service if that is what it is you decide to do.
Then we have touch points along the way in the lifecycle of
a marine, and as we get closer towards whether or not we are
going to decide to stay in the uniform or get out of the
uniform, within a 12-month period, you will go to a transition
readiness seminar where you will have core training. The core
training is conducted by those from the Department of Labor,
from the Small Business Administration, and from the VA. As a
matter of fact, the Troop Talent Act made credentialing a part
of the core training that is given to every single marine
before they leave. That way they can present and address what
credentials they have that are equivalent to what is going on
in the outside world.
Also, part of that course is they have the career technical
training track which assists marines with the certifications.
Along with that, you have pathway training. You are going to
decide whether you are going to go get a job when you get out
of the Service, or if you want to go to college, or you want to
get vocational tech or entrepreneurialship. Well, you got an
opportunity now to go down that particular path you want to go
down, and they will prepare you. You have personal and
professional developing counselors that you can meet with
before, during, or after all this training to ensure that you
are completely set up for being prepared for when you decide to
take off the uniform.
Sergeant Major Chandler. Senator, I think all of our
approaches are very similar. We have different programs within
the Army and the Navy and the Marine Corps. Speaking for the
Army, we put a lot of focus on the same program, COOL program.
A success story for us is what we have going on at Joint
Base Lewis-McChord in the State of Washington where we have
partnered with trade unions. With the commitment of the soldier
actually before they leave the Service, the union will have a
job for them when they leave the Service. We have done a lot of
work in pipefitting, in plumbing, in HVAC. We are expanding
that at other installations, really trying to leverage both the
community college and vocational and technical schools, along
with the unions, to try and help young men and women who may
not have made the decision to go back to college, that they can
find a skill with the guarantee of employment upon graduation.
In the Army's case, I think that is a part of the
credentialing.
Senator Kaine. Thank you very much.
Sergeant Major Cody. I would only add we also do the
credentialing online, but what we do a little unique in the Air
Force too is we have what is called the Community College of
the Air Force, and every career field is lined up to be able to
earn a 2-year degree, technical degree associated with that
career field. They can do that within their first enlistment.
That means they do walk out with a tangible that we have
already done the work to show that. We also have a partner
program where they can take that with just over 50
universities. It is an associate to bachelor program where they
give them full credit and they walk as a junior into that
college, and they can continue to pursue their under graduate
degree. So, again, it helps. We have the credentialing
programs. We are also working to make sure they have that
ability to walk out with at least a 2-year degree and then
potentially a 4-year degree.
Senator Kaine. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Senator Gillibrand. Senator King?
Senator King. Thank you.
Each of you heard the chair list the personnel changes. As
you well know what they are, the 1 percent, commissaries. Do
each of you support that proposal?
Sergeant Major Barrett. The Marine Corps does, sir.
Chief Petty Officer Stevens. Yes, sir, the Navy does.
Sergeant Major Chandler. The Army does, sir.
Sergeant Major Cody. The Air Force does, sir.
Senator King. Thank you. I think it is important.
Sergeant Major, your answer to Senator Kaine's question is
one of the best answers I have ever heard to any question since
I have been here. You were crisp and really, I thought,
captured the essence of the dilemma.
Nobody here wants to vote to cut pay or do anything else.
The problem is we are in a zero sum world. The testimony we had
from DOD 2 weeks ago was that this is a $2.1 billion a year
proposition, $30 billion over 5 years, and that money will come
right out of readiness if we do not make these changes. Is that
your understanding?
Sergeant Major Barrett. It absolutely will. Not only that,
we are going to also have to start taking risk in
infrastructure sustainment, facilities sustainment,
restoration, and modernization, furniture, fixture, equipment,
personnel support equipment. We do not want to go back to where
we were in the 1990s and 2000s when we had to find $2.8 billion
because we were living in poor facilities. We do not want to go
back to those days.
Senator King. Sergeant Major?
Sergeant Major Chandler. Yes, sir. At the end of the day, I
do not like this and it is a challenge. But it is what is
necessary. We have to make sure as an Army that at the end of
the day, the one thing we have to make sure, that our soldiers
are trained and ready to answer what the Nation is going to ask
us to do is going to trump the rest of the things we are going
to do.
We have the same challenges as the Marine Corps. We have
these beautiful facilities that Base Realignment and Closure
2005 round gave us. They are now going to be transitioning into
the sustainment phase of their lifecycle. We made tremendous
investments in modernization. We have to cut a lot of those
programs or push them to the right so that we can build
sustained readiness in the Army.
A day lost of readiness of training is usually going to
take you 2 days to gain it back. We have had a readiness
deficit in the Army. Obviously, the Bipartisan Budget Agreement
has given us some very limited--2 years is not a lot of time to
rebuild some level of readiness, but in 2016, again with
sequestration, we go right back in the tank. The only way to
provide a ready force is to find those and make those difficult
decisions that have to be made in order to get our soldiers,
sailors, airmen, and marines trained.
Senator King. I hope if we have to make those decisions,
you will stand behind us.
Sergeant Major Chandler. Yes, sir.
Senator King. As far as 2016, I think it is really
important to realize that what we have is a breathing space,
not a solution, and that it is incumbent upon us to be thinking
about 2016 and how we mitigate the impacts of the sequester now
rather than waiting until it hits us about a year and a half
from now. I look forward to working with you.
Let me change the subject for a minute. We hear the term
``keeping faith'' with our troops and ``keeping faith'' with
the people that are joining up. What does a young recruit
understand about what they are signing up for? Do they think
about retirement? Do they understand? Are they told? Is there
anything in writing about what the benefits are?
Myself, I feel that once somebody is in the Service, they
have earned what they are entitled to and that any changes we
should make should be prospective for people that have not yet
signed up. If we had made some of those changes in the early
1990s, we would be bearing the benefits of them now instead of
trying to make them midstream. Talk to me about what a recruit
thinks about when they are signing that paper.
Sergeant Major Chandler. I can only speak for my own
experience when I was 19 years old and joined the Army, and I
was not thinking about compensation. I was actually thinking
about going to Germany and being a tanker for a couple years
and then leaving the Army and coming back to Massachusetts
where I grew up.
Senator King. My condolences on that. [Laughter.]
Sergeant Major Chandler. Well, sir, you know. [Laughter.]
We provide information to soldiers. They get a lot of
information. They will get pamphlets. They will get brochures.
Their recruiter will talk to them about the benefits of
service.
Now, if you take into fact that an average 19-year-old
male--they are really not thinking, I think, in a long-term
beyond ``what do I need to do in order to be able to get out of
here and go do something else?'' We have some limited education
on finances while they are in basic training, and we have
opportunities for soldiers to learn about investments and so on
while they are at their first duty location. There is a level
of education about what you have earned. That is the best I
have for you right now.
Senator King. I want to get other thoughts. Is there a
problem of recruiters making representations that are not in
the documents? Is that an issue, Sergeant Major?
Sergeant Major Barrett. Sir, we tell our recruiters,
whatever you do when you go out there on the street with all
those wonderful skills you have just been taught, do not think
like a recruiter because the second you start thinking like a
recruiter, you are going to try to qualify them. That is the
wrong way to go about it. What you want to do is you just want
to go out there and talk about it.
I made some notes while the Sergeant Major of the Army was
talking. You know, 0.4 percent of the Nation wears the cloth of
one of these Services right here. This has been told to me time
and time again when I have met with young marines. They do not
want an easy life. They want to be tougher people. It is about
pride of belonging and being part of something bigger than
self. I hear that more than I hear anything else when I talk to
a young person who, for the first time, was handed the eagle
globe and anchor in their dirty little hands, and they grab
that thing and they hold it tight. You see the tears just
running down their face. They have just transformed. They just
became part of that 0.4 percent of the Nation that is willing
to put it on the line. That is what they talk about, the young
people.
Chief Petty Officer Stevens. I would say that there are
many different reasons why young men and women enlist, but
primarily that reason is a call to service. They think about,
to some degree, the benefits, the pay, those sorts of things,
but it is really about service more than anything else.
I was in San Antonio, TX, at the hospital corps school not
too long ago, and I thought I would ask a group of young men
and women that were sitting in the room that question, and I
was really surprised by the response. I said to them, how many
of you, when you enlisted, thought that maybe you would make
the Navy your career? Two-thirds of their hands went up.
I look back to the time I came in--I will say it, 1983. If
I had been asked that same question and you would have raised
your hand, you would have probably been laughed at because most
of us that came in then were just thinking 4 years and we are
out.
There is a little bit of a different thought process. I can
just speak for this generation because I never asked that
question to the two generations before me. It really is about a
call to service more than anything else. But we should not
misunderstand the fact that they do appreciate the benefits
that they earn.
Senator King. Thank you very much, gentlemen. You honor us
by your presence here today. I appreciate it.
Senator Gillibrand. Senator Hirono.
Senator Hirono. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
I add my thanks to all of you for testifying and for your
service.
It is good to know that the men and women who enlist and
who want to serve our country do so out of patriotism and a
deep sense of wanting to make a difference in what they do. We
all realize it is just a small percentage of our population who
answers that call. I like to think that we all do our part to
make a difference, but the men and women who do serve need to
be treated fairly. I know that that is what you are all about.
I have a question for Master Chief Stevens. I understand
that the Navy already evaluates its servicemembers on whether
they foster an environment or atmosphere of acceptance and
inclusion per your Equal Employment Opportunity policy. I would
like your opinion on adding the criteria to evaluate an
individual's ability and efforts at maintaining a command
climate which will not tolerate or condone hazing, sexual
harassment, sexual assault, and ensures all members of the unit
are treated with dignity and respect.
Chief Petty Officer Stevens. Senator, thank you for the
question.
The section of our evaluation performance that you
mentioned where talk about command climate and command culture
really does fold in what you just mentioned. We expect our
leaders at every level to foster the very environment that you
talk about, and they are graded on that. The expectations are
that they do create that culture within the organization. We
believe that everybody deserves an opportunity or actually that
we should set the conditions where everybody has the
opportunity to be successful and that everybody is treated with
dignity and respect.
We also recognize that we have work to do, and we are and
have been and will continue to work on this very hard. But it
is a part of our performance evaluation. You cannot be a
commander out there and not foster a climate where people are
treated with dignity and respect and expect that command to be
successful. The success of that command is a large part of what
they are evaluated on.
Senator Hirono. The Navy already does that in its
evaluations and for promotions and other decisions with respect
to the individual. Do the other Services also use the command
climate surveys or questionnaires for those purposes? Would
anyone else like to respond?
Sergeant Major Chandler. Yes, ma'am. We have a similar
approach to the Navy, whether it is at the individual level
through an evaluation report or through a unit level activity
called a command climate survey that not only does the
commander get those results, but now, as an Army, we have made
that a requirement for the senior commander above the unit that
has gotten the command climate survey to, in fact, be out-
briefed on those results also. They set up an action plan from
there.
Senator Hirono. Do these surveys or these evaluations, are
they made part of the commander's files, personnel files?
Sergeant Major Chandler. From an Army perspective, the
individual evaluation, whether that is an E5 sergeant all the
way up to the Sergeant Major of the Army like myself--those
evaluations are a part of their official record. That applies
to our officer population through their officer evaluation
report.
The command climate survey has to be maintained on file for
a certain specific period of time. It is really, from my
perspective, the relationship between the senior commander and
that commander who had gone through the survey to determine
what is the plan of action to either improve or strengthen
where the unit has reported there may have been some weaknesses
or limitations within the chain of command.
Sergeant Major Barrett. In the Marine Corps, ma'am, yes.
First of all, the commanding officer is singularly responsible
for everything that happens and fails to happen inside that
unit. His or her sergeant major is responsible for the command
climate. In the Marine Corps, you have the Defense Equal
Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI), and every single one
of the DEOMI command climates will be seen by the next level
chain above that commanding officer. The Commandant of the
Marine Corps also has a command climate survey that is also
done that the next commander will see exactly how well or how
poorly that you are doing inside the command.
Sergeant Major Cody. The Air Force, ma'am, is a part. The
actual evaluation part is part of the initial feedback and
follow-on feedback and in the report. They are monitored, and
the survey itself is used up and down. Everybody has visibility
to that. Anybody that reports goes back to that report, and if
you fell into that report, meaning your activities influenced
it, it will then be documented in your official record.
Senator Hirono. Your surveys do cover the command climate
with regard to areas such as sexual harassment, hazing. The
factors or the areas that I mentioned.
Sergeant Major Cody. Yes, ma'am.
Sergeant Major Barrett. Yes, ma'am.
Sergeant Major Chandler. There is a series of standard
questions that all of the Services have to have in every
survey, and then the commander has a choice of other questions
that they can insert for their specific need. We all have a
group of questions that are standardized that must be answered
across the force, and they look at equal opportunity, sexual
assault, command climate, those types of issues.
Senator Hirono. Do those surveys undergo changes over time?
Sergeant Major Cody. Yes, ma'am, they do.
Senator Hirono. Are they updated?
Sergeant Major Cody. They are. They are updated based on,
in some cases, changes in the law of things that we need to
consider. They are also updated based on the needs of the
Services of things that we are seeing that we need to continue.
Senator Hirono. Madam Chairwoman, I would like to request
that all of our Services send to our subcommittee the latest of
standard surveys and any modifications that are made to the
surveys.
Senator Gillibrand. If you could distribute that to each of
the offices, that would be wonderful. Thank you.
[The information referred to follows:]
Sergeant Major Chandler. The Army uses a survey produced by
the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) to
assess command climate. The survey is entitled DEOMI
Organizational Climate Survey (DEOCS). The Army is currently
working with DEOMI to append an Army specific module which will
include 25 additional questions in four broad areas (work
environment stress, unit resilience, quality of leadership, and
well-being.)
The DEOCS as used by the Army and the Army specific module
will be provided, as requested.
[Deleted.]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chief Petty Officer Stevens. Enclosed is a sample Defense
Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) Organizational
Climate Survey, which is provided to each of the Armed Forces
by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel
and Readiness. The survey measures climate factors associated
with equal opportunity and equal employment opportunity
programs, organizational effectiveness, discrimination/sexual
harassment, and sexual assault prevention and response.
Commanders may add up to 10 locally-developed questions and
5 short-answer questions to their survey, to assist in
targeting specific areas of interest within the command. Since
locally developed questions vary throughout the Navy, it would
not be feasible to provide copies of every survey modified at
the local command. As an alternative, I have also enclosed a
copy of the Sample of Locally Developed Questions List.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Sergeant Major Cody. The attached Defense Equal Opportunity
Climate Survey (DEOCS) version 4.0 is the latest standard
command climate survey used in the U.S. Air Force. It is my
understanding that all Services are using the same survey.
Commanders can add up to 10 locally-developed questions and 5-
short answer questions to the survey, helping them target
specific areas of concern (see placeholder for questions 96 to
110 on attached survey). Headquarters Air Force also has the
capability of adding up to 10 locally developed questions to
the survey to address seasonal Air Force-wide concerns. Any
additional survey modifications must be requested and approved
by the DEOMI (i.e., Defense Equal Opportunity Management
Institute) Equal Opportunity Management Institute.
Attachment:
1. DEOCS Survey 4.0 [Deleted.]
Sergeant Major Barrett.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Hirono. I only have a little bit of time left, but
I want to focus on the educational opportunities for our
soldiers. The post-9/11 GI Bill has been an outstanding
program. Many have taken advantage of this program. My question
is do any of you provide an assessment of how the program is
performing? Do you track student success, school performance,
where the 9/11 GI benefits are used?
Chief Petty Officer Stevens. Senator, if I could answer
that question because I would like to use a personal example.
My son, Shane Stevens, enlisted in the Navy and he did 4 years
as a cryptological technician. During that 4 years, he used the
Tuition Assistance (TA) program, and he received his bachelor's
degree. Then he decided to separate from the Navy, and he went
to the University of Florida or actually Florida State. He
would probably kill me if I said University of Florida, but
Florida State University where he used the post-9/11 GI Bill
and received his master's degree while he was there and then
subsequently went on to get hired by a very good company doing
the same work that he did in the Navy. When I watched him go
through that entire process with the education benefits that
not just the Navy but that the military provides our young men
and women, I saw it work firsthand and it worked very well for
him.
Senator Hirono. There have been some concerns particularly
about for-profit colleges and universities that target veterans
for high loan amounts and all that. I hope that there is a way
that we can better track the experiences of our veterans.
Is my time up? I am not sure.
Senator Gillibrand. Your time has expired.
Senator Hirono. Thank you. I could keep going.
Senator Gillibrand. We all could.
Senator Hirono. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you all for your testimony. This
has been invaluable in the deliberations we have to undergo in
order to write the next national defense authorization bill. I
am very grateful for your service and for your leadership and
being a voice for the men and women who serve under each of
you. Thank you very much. We are now adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 12:15 p.m., the subcommittee adjourned.]
[Questions for the record with answers supplied follow:]
Questions Submitted by Senator Richard Blumenthal
workforce requirements and shortfalls
1. Senator Blumenthal. Lieutenant General Bromberg, Vice Admiral
Moran, Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, a
recurring theme I have heard from industrial leaders in Connecticut is
that they are having trouble finding and recruiting a capable
workforce. Our aerospace industry is a critical one--one that must be
retained as a national security asset. I am also concerned with recent
increases in the unemployment rate for veterans. According to the
fiscal year 2015 budget proposal, there will be cuts in the size of our
military. The Department of Defense (DOD) will return thousands of
capable veterans to the civilian workforce. While each Service
maintains its own transition-assistance programs to be made available
to military personnel awaiting discharge, I understand that these
programs focus on general workforce skills such as resume writing,
professional dress, and interview processes. Please provide a summary
of what is covered within each Services' transition assistance program.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. The Army is committed to supporting
our soldiers at all phases of the Soldier Life Cycle--initial entry,
career service, transition, and retirement. The department's Soldier
for Life program aids Army senior leaders fulfill this commitment by
connecting soldiers to employment, education, health care, and retiree
information and resources.
All soldiers who serve 180 days or more on Active Duty in the Army
are required by law and policy to complete training consisting of pre-
separation counseling, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Benefit
Briefings, the Department of Labor (DOL) Employment Workshop,
Individual Transition Plan (ITP), Military Occupational Specialty (MOS)
Crosswalk-Gap Analysis, VA eBenefits registration, DOL Gold Card, 12-
month post-service budget, continuum of military service opportunity
counseling (Active component), Individual Assessment Tool, and job
application package or job offer letter. If supported by their ITP,
eligible soldiers can also complete a Career Track (education,
technical, vocational, or entrepreneurial) and, if needed, complete the
capstone event with a warm-handover to VA or DOL. Together, the
Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) and Career Readiness Standards (CRS)
prepare a soldier to transition from Active Duty.
Beyond the training required by law and policy, soldiers may
participate in career skills programs such as apprenticeship,
credentialing, on-the-job training, job shadowing, and internship
programs with national and international corporations and trade unions.
With respect to assessing higher education opportunities, more than 500
master level counselors and a 24/7 Virtual Counseling Center are
available to support transitioning soldiers in this endeavor.
Vice Admiral Moran. The Navy Transition Assistance Program (TAP)
offers:
a DOL Employment Workshop that provides information on
resume building, job search techniques, and interview skills;
a VA briefing on veterans' benefits;
Navy briefings on post-military budgeting; and
translation of military skills, training, and experience toward
a civilian occupation;
Individual training-tracks in assessing higher
education and obtaining technical training to help meet future
career goals and facilitate access to individual counseling
services; and
a Small Business Administration course that provides
individual training in developing entrepreneurial skills.
CRS, used to measure and assess each sailor's preparedness for
transition, are reviewed at a Capstone Event approximately 90 days
before separation, and may lead to referral for additional or remedial
training, and a warm handover to partner agencies (e.g., VA, DOL), for
sailors in need of additional assistance.
Approximately 90 percent of sailors who have attended TAP agreed,
or strongly agreed, that the program was beneficial in helping them
gain information and skills needed to better plan for transition.
In addition to delivery of TAP, the Navy refers sailors looking for
employment and prospective employers to the Veterans Employment Center
(VEC). The VEC is the Federal Government's single authoritative
internet source for connecting transitioning servicemembers, veterans,
and their families to career opportunities. The VEC allows employers to
post job opportunities that will be visible to, and searchable by, job
seekers, and to search servicemember profiles by keyword and/or
geographic location.
Lieutenant General Cox. TAP is a partnership between DOD, DOL, and
VA.
The overall goal is to provide separating/retiring servicemembers/
families the information, skills, and resources needed for a successful
transition to the civilian sector. TAP provides civilian career
development, personal and financial wellness, and life skills to all
separating/retiring airmen. Air Force is delivering transition services
as a comprehensive, mandatory program that includes pre-separation
counseling, a military-to-civilian skills review, VA benefits
briefings, financial planning support, job search skills building, and
an individual transition plan preparation which will aide in a
successful transition into a career ready civilian. Air Force TAP
features a 5-day workshop with further optional training tracks (Higher
Education, Technical Training, and Entrepreneurship taught by the Small
Business Administration) in addition to extensive one-on-one
counseling. Air Force promotes preparation for separation or retirement
to be inclusive of the family. Spouses are encouraged to participate
with the airman in all facets of the TAP. In summary, TAP provides
civilian career development, personal and financial wellness, and life
skills to all separating/retiring airmen.
Lieutenant General Milstead. Our Marine Corps Transition Readiness
Seminar (TRS) is a week-long program that includes a mandatory
standardized core curriculum (taught primarily by VA and DoL trainers)
and introduction to four well-defined military-to-civilian pathways to
be selected by the marine. Our marines also have the option to attend
one of three additional 2-day tracks outside of TRS for more a detailed
hands-on/in-depth application to assist with their individual elective
pathway choices: (1) College/Education/University facilitated by Marine
Corps personnel; (2) Career/Technical Training facilitated by Veterans
Affairs staff; or (3) Entrepreneurship facilitated by the Small
Business Administration.
2. Senator Blumenthal. Lieutenant General Bromberg, Vice Admiral
Moran, Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, upon
discharge, I understand that most military servicemen and women tend to
either stay in place or return to their original home of record.
However, in today's more mobile economy, it may make better sense for
the veteran to consider a different location--an industrial cluster
more accommodating to the years of experience they have gained from
their years in service. For instance, a helicopter mechanic with 8
years of experience working aboard an Army base who is seeking to leave
Active Duty might be especially suited for work at Sikorsky. What
mechanisms are in place to direct or target military personnel
possessing specific occupational specialties, such as avionics or
intelligence, to seek higher-level education or employment at existing
industrial clusters better pertaining to their respective specialty?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Through the Army TAP, soldiers conduct
a MOS Crosswalk which translates military skills, training, and
experience to those skills recognized in the civilian sector and
identifies gaps in their training or experience. Soldiers then may
participate in career skills programs such as apprenticeship,
credentialing, on-the-job training, job shadowing, and internship
programs with national and international corporations, and trade unions
to mitigate identified gaps. These programs afford soldiers the
flexibility to transfer to other locations for a variety of reasons.
Vice Admiral Moran. As a member begins the transition process, they
are introduced to a wealth of information through a DOL Occupational
Information Network (O*NET) website. Servicemembers can enter their
military occupation, credentials, and experience into O*NET, which:
directs them to States/municipalities with available
employment opportunities aligned with their specific skills and
chosen career path;
identifies required or recommended qualifications; and
provides the typical/average salary, based on the
particular position.
Lieutenant General Cox. The Air Force Credentialing On-Line (COOL)
program, which will come online on 1 Oct 14, has an interface with the
DOL O*Net to identify not only credentials tied to the airmen's Air
Force jobs but to provide information on hot careers/employment trends
at both the national and State levels. This includes a focus on areas
of the United States that are expected to see an increase or decrease
in job opportunities for various careers. It also provides information
on required education for specific careers, median national and State
salaries, and a job bank and list of job openings for each career. Base
education counselors then advise airmen on educational programs that
meet the airmen's career goals and help them determine the best program
to meet their needs. This information, along with what is provided on
COOL, helps airmen make informed decisions on what career to pursue and
where they should relocate post-service.
Lieutenant General Milstead. Our marines experience multi-layered
exposure and informational support that complements their elective
pursuit of higher education or employment in various occupational
domains. They are introduced to apprenticeship and credentialing
programs in initial training and throughout their occupational
specialty career. These build on the marketability of their specific
skills in the geographic areas that offer the greatest opportunities
for those skills. Through our TRS, marines are introduced to advisors,
guidance, and resources that can identify geographic locales and
industry centers; DOL Employment Workshops; and utility of resource
tools such as O*NET that offer employment opportunities and directions
in various fields. Finally, each and every marine meets with his or her
commanding officer, culminating their transition readiness preparation
and counseling relative to their unique skills and choices of future
pursuits. Because each marine is ``Once a Marine, Always a Marine,''
our Marine Corps offers connectivity to opportunities across their
Marine For Life cycle, beyond their service, as veteran marines.
3. Senator Blumenthal. Lieutenant General Bromberg, Vice Admiral
Moran, Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, how do
the individual Services ensure that every servicemember receives
training, education, and credentials needed to successfully transition
to the civilian workforce?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. The Army requires all transitioning
soldiers who have a minimum of 180 days of continuous Active Duty at
the time of their transition to enroll in the Army Career and Alumni
Program (ACAP). 12 months prior to transition, each servicemember is
counseled by his or her chain of command on the mandatory transition
requirements and the options available for a successful post-service
transition. Commanders track transitioning soldiers as they progress
through various programs, ensuring they have sufficient time to take
full advantage of these services. By starting well before transition,
soldiers can take full advantage of all ACAP services without
interfering with duty requirements.
Army transition efforts encompass multiple programs focusing on
training, education, and credentials needed to successfully transition
to the civilian workforce: VOW; CRS; Career Skills Program (CSP); and
DOD Transition Goals, Plans, and Success (GPS) for the Total Force
(Active and Reserve components); and COOL.
Under the CSP, soldiers have the opportunity to enroll in
apprenticeship, credentialing, on-the-job training, job shadowing, and/
or internship programs with national and international corporations and
trade unions.
Also, there are two career tracks incorporated into a soldier's
individual transition plan if training and education are one of their
post service goals. With respect to training, the vocational/technical
career track as part of the TAP offers soldiers the opportunity to
develop or enhance their skills in a chosen field. Similar to the
vocational/technical track, the accessing higher education career track
pairs transitioning soldiers with certified education counselors so
soldiers can make informed decisions about selecting the right academic
institution and degree program of study to meet their needs.
Additionally, the Soldier for Life program aids Army senior leaders
to support transitioning soldiers by connecting them to employment,
education, health care, and retiree information and resources.
Vice Admiral Moran. Navy promotes education and credentialing
opportunities at all stages of a sailor's service. Through education
opportunities, including TAP, the Navy College Program for Afloat
College Education and education voucher programs, sailors are
encouraged to earn Navy-relevant degrees to enrich their career, and
position them for successful transition to post-service employment.
Sailors are also encouraged to obtain civilian licenses and credentials
by leveraging TAP, COOL, and the United Services Military Apprentice
Program (USMAP). Through these programs, Navy funds over 15,000
civilian licenses and credentials awarded to over 7,000 sailors per
year.
TAP enables sailors to acquire additional knowledge and skills
training for civilian credentials. The program funds Active Duty
tuition costs of courses taken in an off-duty status at a college,
university, or vocational/technical institution. TAP funds clock hour
programs, which provide vocational education opportunities that enhance
skills in technical career fields, and benefit sailors upon their
eventual return to the private sector.
COOL aids the transition from military service, enhancing the
ability of veterans to translate their military training and experience
to civilian jobs. The program informs sailors on what civilian
credentials relate to their ratings, designators, and collateral
duties/out of rate assignments, and how to obtain the credentials. It
also lets sailors know how to fill gaps between Navy training and
experience, and civilian credentialing requirements. These credentials
may be required by law, or by prospective employers for entry into
employment, and can lead to higher pay or improved prospects for
promotion.
USMAP provides sailors a vehicle to have their supervised practice
observed and documented, via the DOL, allowing them the opportunity to
achieve civilian apprenticeship requirements while on Active Duty. Many
State licenses or industry credentials require this documentation as an
apprentice, and USMAP affords them the opportunity.
Through these combined efforts, Navy has led the way in helping
sailors attain occupational certifications and degrees that benefit
both the servicemember and the Navy.
Lieutenant General Cox. Many of our initial training/technical
schools provide civilian credentials upon graduation, such as several
jobs in the IT career field. Thus, many airmen start their Air Force
careers with a credential in hand. The Community College of the Air
Force integrates civilian credentials into programs and awards semester
hour credit toward degree completion. In addition, the Air Force will
be launching its COOL program on 1 Oct 14. COOL provides detailed
analysis of Air Force jobs and the various credentials that relate to
them. The training for each enlisted career field is analyzed and
matched with the most appropriate civilian credentials, for which COOL
provides information on training, requirements, and related
information. In addition, COOL and other voluntary education programs/
counseling are being integrated into the Air Force Military Life Cycle
through which airmen will be advised, at key touch points in their Air
Force careers, on education, training, and credentialing programs
available to them.
Lieutenant General Milstead. As directed by our 35th Commandant's
Planning Guidance and in alignment with the VOW to Hire Veterans Act,
our Marine Corps transition assistance has been significantly revised
and improved. The Marine Corps ensures that transitioning marines
receive all mandatory VOW Act services, including pre-separation
counseling, DOL employment workshop, and the VA benefits briefs I and
II during our TRS. We concurrently guide marines in their
accomplishment of corresponding CRSs. Marines must complete the TRS
within 12 months of separation or within 24 months of retirement, but
no later than 180 days prior to their separation or retirement.
The Marine Corps has recently joined the Navy COOL program that
helps marines find information on certifications and licenses related
to their MOSs. COOL explains how marines can meet civilian
certification and license requirements and provides links to numerous
resources to help get them started. The COOL site is both a search tool
and information source. Marines can find information on a specific
credential by searching by MOS or by name of a specific credential or
agency. Marines can also find general information on credentials and
licenses, and on resources to help cover credentialing costs or work on
an education plan. Currently, this program is in a soft rollout mode,
with 10 MOSs available. Each month, 10 or more MOSs will be added to
the site.
reserve component
4. Senator Blumenthal. Lieutenant General Bromberg, Lieutenant
General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, the Services have an
obligation to ensure that Reserve and National Guard components are
able to maintain both their commitments to their national security
missions as well as to their local communities, jobs, and families. I
am increasingly aware of the problems plaguing our Reserve component
due to homelessness and joblessness. As we continue to withdraw and
demobilize the Reserve Forces, what is the plan for the overall
stewardship of our military Reserve component to prevent these
problems?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Transition from deployed service for
Reserve component soldiers requires planning throughout a soldier's
career. To this end, the Army provides soldiers assistance in creating
an individual transition plan. These plans are executed in conjunction
with unit training, supported through Army Force Generation and the
Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP).
Six months prior to Reserve component soldiers' transitions, the
Army conducts workshops, briefings, and required counseling. Available
individual training courses for transitioning soldiers are: financial
preparedness; new career preparation; knowledge, skills, and abilities
assessment; translating military to civilian skills; interview
techniques; dress for success; evaluate and negotiate job offers; and
continuing education. The Army also offers training, certification,
credentialing, and licensing programs in partnership with industry and
trade organizations. Soldiers with pending disability determinations
complete the disabled transition assistance, as necessary. The Army
also offers various services for 6 months following transition,
including support with employment searches, job fairs, and seminars on
starting a new business.
To ensure success for transitioning soldiers, commanders are
responsible for ensuring soldiers begin transition education and
assistance no later than 12 months prior to separation. If a soldier's
leadership does not provide the time to begin the transition process,
soldiers should exercise their chain of command's open door policy, in
order to address their issue.
Ultimately, Army leaders are charged with the responsibility of
setting a command climate where soldiers know they are valued and are
career and/or education ready as they transition to civilian life.
Lieutenant General Cox. The Air Force takes the health and well-
being of all our members very seriously. There are many resources
available to assist our members with personal and family preparedness
such as Airman and Family Readiness (A&FR), Military OneSource, and the
Air Force Reserve Wingman Toolkit, as well as the Air National Guard
Ready54. These programs are there to assist members and families with
identifying and clarifying needs, to determine appropriate forms of
assistance, and to provide linkage to appropriate national, State, and
local resources.
With regard to homelessness, that is a greater issue with those who
are no longer in the Service and would be better answered by the VA. As
far as joblessness, the Office of the Secretary of Defense has put into
place programs such as the Transition GPS, Yellow Ribbon and
Reintegration Program, Employer Support Guard Reserve, and Hero2Hired
to assist Reserve component members with transitions and civilian
employment. In efforts to ensure the health of the Force before,
during, and after deployment, the Air National Guard is focusing on
resilience training and messaging under the construct of the Air Force
Comprehensive Airmen Fitness and the Total Force Fitness Framework. The
Air Force goal is to raise awareness as well as an understanding of
community resources and how to access them, making it easier for
members to seek help early for employment, finances, and/or homeless
concerns.
Additionally, A&FR provides support to members and families in
achieving short- and long-term employment, education/training, and
career goals. Employment skills counseling (including resume writing,
interviewing, and negotiation) is provided to members to help prepare
for local and long-distance job searches and resources for self-
employment, small business, and entrepreneurial efforts. The Reserve
component ensures services are available to all personnel in accordance
with host/tenant agreements and to those geographically separated. A&FR
personnel are also trained to provide basic financial management and as
part of the Joining Community Forces efforts. A&FR personnel are
working to build community capacity leveraging all available resources
within a State to support military members and their families.
Lieutenant General Milstead. Our marines train and prepare for
their transition readiness across the continuum of their service. They
learn to translate their warfighting skills into marketable civilian
skills and employment opportunities through academic pursuits and the
use of apprenticeships and credentialing. All of our marines, Active
and Reserve, receive all mandatory VOW to Hire Veterans Act transition
requirements. They also receive support in achieving their individual
CRSs through our TRS. Meeting with their commanding officers before
their transition, each marine verifies their training and preparedness
for a successful return to our communities. Our daily stewardship of
our fellow marines, as a Total Force, is that which defines us as
marines--the exercise of the tenets of our ethos of Keeping Faith and
Once a Marine, Always a Marine. We return quality citizens to our
Nation as Marines For Life, and our Corps welcomes and offers continued
connectivity to education and employment services and opportunities to
our fellow marine veterans.
Recognizing that Reserve marines face reintegration concerns in
addition to those of transition, the Marine Corps uses the Yellow
Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) and its suite of resources and
information to address the challenges of returning to families,
friends, communities, and employers. Marines and their families
participate in YRRP events before, during, and after deployments to
learn about benefits, entitlements, community resources, and support
networks to their local area.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Mazie K. Hirono
incorporating command climate surveys
5. Senator Hirono. Lieutenant General Bromberg, General Moran,
Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, how could
command climate surveys be best used for command selection boards and
promotion boards to make sure that we are promoting and placing the
right people in command?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Currently, the command climate survey
is used as a leadership development tool. Commanders must be afforded
the opportunity to learn and further develop their leadership skills
based on the results of command climate surveys. This tool offers
commanders at lieutenant colonel and colonel-levels and their raters a
perspective of their own leadership styles and effectiveness from the
points of view of subordinates, peers, and superiors. The results of
these assessments are used to identify leadership characteristics and
to facilitate counseling, correction, and improvement of weaknesses, as
well as reinforcement of leadership strengths. The results of such
assessments must be treated with confidentiality to ensure honest and
accurate input. A promotion or command selection board may have a
difficult time putting the results of a command climate survey (a non-
attribution opinion poll in essence) into a fair context.
Any single climate survey won't identify trends and, when taken in
the first 30 to 60 days of command, may be more influenced by the
previous commander. The commander's initial command climate survey
(DEOCS) is just one part of the climate assessment and should be used
as the basis to identify improvement or decline within subsequent
assessments. This history of survey results, along with other climate
assessment tools, can be used by raters and senior raters on evaluation
reports which require rating officials to assess how the rated soldier
meets the commitments of fostering climates of dignity and on adhering
to the principles of the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and
Prevention (SHARP) program in their daily activities. This assessment
on the soldier's evaluations report communicates to promotion and
selection boards the result of climate surveys in context with other
assessment tools over a period of time.
Vice Admiral Moran. In August 2013, I directed, via change to my
instruction on the Navy Performance Evaluation System, that reporting
seniors use command climate surveys to rate/comment on efforts by
individual members on the quality of results in fostering a command and
workplace environment conducive to the growth and development of
personnel. Rating officials are required to include this rating/comment
in fitness reports and evaluations on commanding officers, executive
officers, command master chiefs, department heads, division officers,
chief petty officers, and leading petty officers who are responsible
for assigned personnel. Since these fitness reports and evaluations are
part of a member's Official Military Personnel File, the results of
command climate surveys are now an element in command and promotion/
advancement selection board deliberations.
Lieutenant General Cox. Command selection and promotion boards
determine the most qualified persons to command and serve in the next
higher grade. The boards review each officer's evaluations,
decorations, and training reports, scoring each record on its own
merit. Organizational climate surveys, and more importantly, the
officer's actions to cultivate a climate of dignity and respect are
performance factors discussed and documented during mandatory feedback
sessions. At the end of the evaluation period, the officer's
performance is described on the performance report and incorporated
into the officer's permanent record. Though neither the climate surveys
nor the feedback forms become part of the permanent record, the
officer's performance with respect to the unit climate and feedback
sessions is reflected in the evaluations for command selection and
promotion boards to consider. This is the most appropriate use of
climate surveys and feedbacks, as it permits the officer to take
assertive action to enhance their unit's climate and job performance.
Lieutenant General Milstead. Command climate survey data can best
be used in command screening boards (non-statutory) to enhance
situational awareness of Corps-wide issues in an effort to
appropriately assign commanders that will be effective in setting the
appropriate environment. Due to the statutory and regulatory
constraints on officer promotion boards, 10 U.S.C. 615 and DODI 1320.14
respectively, the results of command climate surveys are not permitted
into officer promotion boards for consideration as they do not
constitute part of the official record. Further, any such material, if
deemed to have merit for submission into the boardroom, requires
Service Secretary approval.
6. Senator Hirono. Lieutenant General Bromberg, General Moran,
Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, what is your
opinion on how command climate surveys can be better used to improve
the environment of a unit, as well as debriefing the crew and the
commander about the results, to foster a culture of dignity and
respect?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Command climate surveys are one
important component of a command climate assessment. The surveys help
commanders establish and maintain a positive command climate which in
turn fosters a culture of dignity and respect. The surveys cover a
range of topics including discrimination, sexual harassment, hazing,
and quality of leadership. The results of the surveys highlight areas
of concern that commanders can act upon. After receiving survey
results, commanders can use other tools to provide depth and clarity,
such as interviews, focus groups, and staff assistance visits.
Debriefing the soldiers under their command allows the soldiers to
better understand any issues confronting their unit and to give a voice
for potential solutions.
Vice Admiral Moran. The Defense Equal Opportunity Management
Institute (DEOMI) Organizational Climate Survey (DEOCS) is a
commander's management tool that allows them to proactively assess
critical organizational climate dimensions. Each commander is able to
tailor a total of 15 questions, 10 locally developed and 5 short answer
questions unique to their own command to assess their individual
command climates.
Navy uses the DEOCS, along with focus groups/interviews,
observations, and review of records/reports as part of the command
climate assessment process. Upon completion of an assessment, results
improve the overall unit when commanders share these findings with
their personnel, with a great deal of transparency. By doing so, the
commander is creating an environment where his or her personnel
realizes that command leadership have heard their concerns and takes
this feedback seriously; creating unity and fostering respect and
dignity within the command.
Additionally, Navy policy directs commanders to conduct a face-to-
face debrief with their Immediate Superior in Command on the results of
command climate assessment. This process provides the Immediate
Superior in Command an opportunity to mentor the commander. Effective
July 31, 2013, the Immediate Superior in Command now automatically
receives a copy of the subordinate's command climate survey results.
Lieutenant General Cox. The results from a command climate survey
can be used to improve the environment of the unit by making the
process as transparent as possible for unit members, ensuring a public
commitment from the commander to make needed improvements. Comparing
initial assessment results with what is obtained 1 year later would
show the commander and the organization any progress that was made,
motivating individuals towards continued efforts in optimizing their
climate. Recognizing that command climate is impacted by a span of
human relations factors and ensuring those who advise commanders on
their climate are adequately trained and equipped to respond to issues
identified through the survey, would enhance the survey process
significantly.
Lieutenant General Milstead. Command climate surveys are management
tools for commanders to proactively assess critical organizational
climate dimensions that can impact the organization's mission. They set
requirements and oversight measures to ensure appropriate actions
address the concerns of unit members is appropriate. In September 2013,
enhanced oversight measures were implemented for all command climate
surveys. Today, all Marine Corps command climate surveys require
commanders to develop action plans to address deficiencies identified
in the report. All action plans must be approved by the commander's
next higher level leadership. This process ensures responsibility and
accountability for all levels of leadership. With regards to debriefing
members of the command, the Marine Corps will require commanders to
brief their unit members on the results of their assessments along with
the plan of action once it has been approved by the next higher level
leadership. This policy change will help to ensure members of the
command receive necessary feedback enhancing a greater sense of trust
in leadership and commitment to the organization.
officer performance reports and officer fitness reports
7. Senator Hirono. Lieutenant General Bromberg, General Moran,
Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, does your
respective Service have the ability to ascertain and record whether or
not a servicemember promotes an atmosphere free of sexual harassment,
sexual assault, and hazing?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, Army senior leaders are confident
that good leadership is critical to any solution and is paramount in
creating a climate free from sexual assault, sexual harassment, and
hazing. To assess our leaders, the Army utilizes the DEOCS. This survey
helps to provide a complete perspective of the organizational
effectiveness and readiness of units. Company commanders conduct
organizational climate assessments 30 days and 6 months after taking
command, then annually thereafter. All other command levels must
conduct assessments within 60 days of assuming command and annually
thereafter. After the commanders receive the results of their command
climate assessments, they are required to complete a debrief with the
next higher level commander and develop command action plans to address
the areas of concern noted by the assessments.
Additionally, the Army now requires new elements in the Officer
Evaluation Reports (OER) and Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) Evaluation
Reports (NCOER). As of September 2013, rating officials must assess
officers and NCOs on how the rated soldier meets the commitments of
fostering climates of dignity and respect and on adhering to the
principles of the SHARP program in their daily activities.
Vice Admiral Moran. Yes, the Navy has measures in place that
provide the ability to ascertain and record whether or not a
servicemember promotes an atmosphere free of sexual harassment, sexual
assault, and hazing. As of August 2013, sailors are accountable on
every evaluation or fitness report for contributions to Command or
Organizational Climate/Equal Opportunity and Military Bearing/
Character. To achieve high marks in these areas, sailors must
demonstrate how they have cultivated or maintained command climates
where discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault, hazing, and
other inappropriate conduct is not tolerated; where all personnel are
treated with dignity and respect; and where professionalism is the
norm.
Lieutenant General Cox. On January 1, 2014, our Air Force
implemented policy charging all airmen with the responsibility to
cultivate a positive climate of dignity and respect, free of sexual
harassment, sexual assault, hazing, and other acts and conditions
detrimental to good order and discipline. Additionally, our Air Force
utilizes tools like the climate survey and numerous internal agencies,
including the Sexual Assault and Response Coordinator, the Inspector
General, the Equal Opportunity Office, Security Forces, and the chain
of command, for airmen to report incidents of adverse behavior or toxic
environments. Once reported to an agency or identified in the survey,
commanders are required to assess the information and take appropriate
action, including investigating, prosecuting, and annotation in the
offender's permanent record.
Further, our policy requires discussion and documentation of
organizational climate during every airman's mandatory feedback
session. Also, supervisors at every level are to consider subordinate's
actions to promote a climate of dignity and respect when completing the
airman's performance evaluation which will become part of the airman's
permanent record.
Lieutenant General Milstead. Yes. Each marine's reporting senior
officer completes a fitness report at least annually that evaluates the
marine's ability to carry out his or her mission, which, for officers,
includes establishing and maintaining a command climate that is
intolerant of misconduct (such as sexual harassment and hazing) and
criminal behavior (such as sexual assault). The fitness report
considers an officer's performance across a variety of parameters that
contribute to command climate: mission accomplishment, individual
character, leadership, and intellect. The leadership section (Section
F) in particular evaluates an officer's ability to set an example;
communicate effectively; provide direction; and develop, lead, and
ensure the well-being of subordinates. It also allows reporting seniors
and reviewing officers to comment on each of the SAPR Lines of Effort.
In addition, the Commandant of the Marine Corps approved in April
2014 an addendum to the SAPR Campaign Plan that directs an update to
the Performance Evaluation System Manual to reflect an evaluation of
the commander's ability to set a command climate that is non-permissive
of misconduct, especially sexual assault. We are currently in the
planning stages of this initiative.
The Marine Corps is committed to holding officers accountable for
command climate, and we have provided our senior officers with the
tools to continually (not just once a year) ascertain that their
subordinate officers are performing as expected in terms of sexual
assault prevention and response. For example, results of the DEOMI and
the internal Commandant of the Marine Corps command climate surveys--
which are conducted when a new commanding officer assumes command and
at least annually thereafter--are reported up the chain of command. The
chain of command also is notified of each report of a sexual assault
within subordinate units. Senior officers are continually and
proactively ensuring that all servicemembers are doing all they can, as
best they can to create a respectful, safe Corps for each and every
marine.
8. Senator Hirono. Lieutenant General Bromberg, General Moran,
Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, what is your
opinion on adding criteria to evaluate an individual's ability and
efforts in maintaining a command climate which will not tolerate or
condone hazing, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and ensures all
members of the unit are treated with dignity and respect?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Army senior leaders are confident that
good leadership is critical to any solution and is paramount in
creating a climate free from sexual assault, sexual harassment, and
hazing. To this end, we have implemented changes to the evaluation
process to ensure leader accountability for creating positive command
climates, which ensures leaders take action to eliminate behaviors and
attitudes that may lead to sexual harassment and sexual assault.
The Army now requires new elements in the OERs and NCOERs. As of
September 2013, rating officials must assess officers and NCOs on how
the rated soldier meets the commitments of fostering climates of
dignity and respect and on adhering to the principles of the SHARP
program in their daily activities.
Vice Admiral Moran. The Navy fully supports adding criteria to
evaluate an individual's ability and efforts in maintaining a command
climate which will not tolerate or condone hazing, sexual harassment,
sexual assault, and ensures all members of the unit are treated with
dignity and respect. A change was announced to the Navy performance
evaluation system on August 28, 2013. Every sailor is accountable on
every evaluation or fitness report for contributions to Command or
Organizational Climate/Equal Opportunity and Military Bearing/
Character. These changes are viewed as complementary and synchronized
with the command climate survey outcomes provided to commanding
officers and immediate superiors in command. To achieve high marks in
these areas, sailors must demonstrate how they have cultivated or
maintained command climates where improper discrimination of any kind,
sexual harassment, sexual assault, hazing, and other inappropriate
conduct is not tolerated; where all hands are treated with dignity and
respect; and where professionalism is the norm.
Lieutenant General Cox. It has always been the duty of every airman
to positively contribute to a healthy organizational climate by being a
good wingman, adhering to, and enforcing standards, not allowing any
action that is harmful to the good order and discipline of the unit,
not tolerating sexual assault and harassment or any type of
discrimination, and of course, building an environment based on a
foundation of dignity and respect. In January of this year, we
implemented policy to hold all airmen responsible to maintain a climate
of dignity and respect. During mandatory feedback sessions, supervisors
at every level are to discuss and document subordinates' actions to
promote and maintain a positive organizational climate and to consider
those actions when preparing evaluations. Additionally, we enacted
policy to specifically hold commanders accountable for cultivating an
environment of dignity and respect within their units. These policy
modifications reinforce our responsibility for organizational climate
and ensures it is discussed during feedback and considered on every
airman's evaluation.
Lieutenant General Milstead. In April 2014, the Commandant of the
Marine Corps approved an addendum to the Marine Corps SAPR Campaign
Plan that directs our Performance Evaluation System Order be updated to
reflect an evaluation of a commander's ability to set a command climate
that is non-permissive of misconduct and especially the crime of sexual
assault. The Commandant of the Marine Corps has directed, in this
rewrite in particular, a specific directed comment within the
commander's fitness report that can be discussed in detail within
multiple subsections of the fitness report ranking system. Because this
information is briefed to a board (promotion, selection, et cetera), it
is incumbent upon members of the board to address future command
potential and implications for continued future service. We expect this
task to be completed this year.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Lindsey Graham
freezing general and flag officer pay
9. Senator Graham. Sergeant Major Chandler, Master Chief Petty
Officer Stevens, Chief Master Sergeant Cody, and Sergeant Major
Barrett, what effect do you think freezing general and flag officer pay
will have on morale?
Sergeant Major Chandler. The 1-year pay freeze for general and flag
officers will have negligible effect on the morale of the force. Aside
from this affected population, overall, the majority of the force will
be receiving the 1 percent pay increase as part of the attempt to slow
the growth of military compensation costs and return critical funds
needed for sustaining training, readiness, and modernization.
Chief Petty Officer Stevens. It is my perception that freezing
general and flag officer pay could have a negative impact on the morale
of the force. More specifically, it could foster uncertainty and create
a precedent for future pay freezes affecting the rest of the force.
This in turn could have a negative effect on morale, recruiting, and
retention. It is also possible that much of the force will recognize
such a freeze as a symbol that our most senior leaders are sharing some
of the pain felt by the troops, on whom any other reductions or cuts
tend to have a more significant effect.
Sergeant Major Cody. I feel airmen will see this as their senior
leaders leading from the front. If airmen are going to receive smaller
pay raises in fiscal year 2015, then it is good to see our general
officers ensuring they are not exempt and in fact not even receiving a
pay raise in fiscal year 2015.
Sergeant Major Barrett. I believe that a pay freeze for general and
flag officers in 2015 will send a positive message to all
servicemembers that the general and flag officer community is doing its
part in this austere budget environment.
However, I do have concerns as to how long this freeze may
continue. Our general and flag officers carry a tremendous work load
and shoulder immense responsibility. In order to maintain the high
quality of general and flag officers that currently fill our ranks,
measures must be implemented now to ensure this freeze is temporary.
Not doing so could de-incentivize future leaders from inspiring to take
on such responsibilities.
pay and benefit budget proposals
10. Senator Graham. Sergeant Major Chandler, Master Chief Petty
Officer Stevens, Chief Master Sergeant Cody, and Sergeant Major
Barrett, the President's budget includes proposals to slow the growth
of base pay; to reduce basic housing allowances by 5 percent; to reduce
average commissary savings from 30 percent to 10 to 15 percent; and to
implement new and higher TRICARE fees and co-pays. If adopted, what
would be the impact of the President's proposals on compensation and
benefit changes to the long-term sustainability of the All-Volunteer
Enlisted Force?
Sergeant Major Chandler. The Army supports a holistic and
comprehensive approach that reforms military compensation in a fair,
responsible, and sustainable way. Changes to military compensation
included in the fiscal year 2015 budget request--which include slowing
the growth of housing allowances, reducing the annual direct subsidy
provided to military commissaries, and simplifying and modernizing our
TRICARE health insurance program--are important first steps that
generate savings while retaining competitive benefits. These savings
will be invested in readiness and modernization.
Chief Petty Officer Stevens. In comparing military compensation to
the civilian work force, it is likely the Navy will remain a
competitive option for those interested in joining the All-Volunteer
Enlisted Force.
In 2012, the average E5, with less than 6 years of service, earned
$52,000 annually--including basic pay, basic allowance for housing, and
basic allowance for subsistence but not including special and incentive
pays or savings from commissary and TRICARE--which equaled the median
U.S. household income.
Under the President's budget, sailors will continue to receive a
discount when using the commissary, and medical care will remain free
for Active Duty members. Even by slowing the growth of basic pay,
reducing the average commissary savings, and implementing new and
higher TRICARE fees, Navy may likely remain an attractive employment
option.
There are many factors that effect a sailor's decisions about
joining and remaining in the Navy; including service to country, pay
and compensation, retirement, education, family obligations, and
civilian employment opportunities. History has shown that each
generation will ebb and flow with the economy's changes, and while our
current sailors are braced for impact, they are not excited about them.
Sailors understand these changes are necessary to sustain our Navy, and
our Navy's future generations. The reality is it will be very difficult
to predict how these pay and compensation changes will affect our
sailors; we don't know how these changes will impact the retention and
recruitment of our All-Volunteer Enlisted Force.
I am, however, certain of this: changes to pay and compensation
will not likely have a positive effect on our current Force. More than
likely, these changes will have some degree of a negative impact, but
there is always a possibility the changes could have no impact at all,
especially for newly enlisted sailors who have not yet had to
experience any sort of change.
It is understood that Navy assumes risk with these budgetary
changes, and while they are necessary to better-balance sailors' needs,
they will also ensure our Navy remains forward and ready--where it
matters, when it matters.
Sergeant Major Cody. The Air Force continues to experience strong
retention, which demands force management programs to keep the force
within the fiscal year 2015 President's budget end strength. However,
we continue to also experience manning and retention problems in
certain career fields, such as cyber, intelligence, Special Operations
Forces, and battlefield airmen, and thus investment in special and
incentives pays is essential to retain airmen with the proper skill and
experience levels to protect warfighting capability. As we move forward
with these necessary compensation reforms, we will continue to monitor
recruiting and retention trends and employ special and incentive pays,
as needed. Ensuring our airmen have the best training and equipment is
critical to our readiness and also impacts retention. As the Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs stated on the record, ``today's readiness problem
will become tomorrow's retention problem.''
Sergeant Major Barrett. The compensation proposals put forward by
the President slow the growth in military compensation in order to
strike a balance between personnel costs, training, and modernization
that protects readiness. This balance will preserve the quality of our
All-Volunteer Force while ensuring readiness to execute the President's
Defense Strategic Guidance. Our ability to recruit and retain the best
of American youth into the military is paramount to sustaining the All-
Volunteer Force. We closely monitor our recruiting and retention
numbers. If they begin to deteriorate, then these proposals can be
reversed. Basic pay raises and housing allowances are foundational
elements of pay that are reviewed annually to ensure our military pay
is where it needs to be.
11. Senator Graham. Sergeant Major Chandler, Master Chief Petty
Officer Stevens, Chief Master Sergeant Cody, and Sergeant Major
Barrett, what will be the impact on purchasing power of young enlisted
members (E-1 to E-4) and their families if the President's proposals
become law?
Sergeant Major Chandler. Since 2000, military pay has outpaced
inflation by approximate 18 percent and while we cannot accurately
predict future inflation, slowing the growth of military pay raises
will have an impact on the purchasing power of servicemembers. However,
we are confident that if the proposal becomes law, the pay of young
enlisted members will still exceed the pay of 90 percent of private
sector workers of similar age and education level for many years.
Chief Petty Officer Stevens. Compensation and impact will vary
according to occupation, pace of promotion (i.e., in the early years of
military service, servicemembers promote frequently and enjoy pay
raises), number of dependents, pay grade, years of service and duty
location, as well as commissary and TRICARE utilization rates. Tables
below illustrate the estimated future purchasing power for two sailors,
a married E-2 with less than 2 years of service, in San Diego; and a
married E-4 with one child and 3 to 4 years of service in Norfolk. Both
assume 100 percent of grocery shopping is done at a commissary and
average TRICARE utilization. While no sailor will experience a decrease
in pay and allowances, estimated purchasing power will decrease to
about 95 percent of current values by fiscal year 2019, should all
fiscal year 2015 reforms be fully implemented. In fiscal year 2015,
over 98 percent of current purchasing power would be retained. It is
also important to note individual servicemembers would continue to see
increases in purchasing power as they received promotions and increased
in years of service, but those purchasing power increases would be
slower than they would have been under current policies.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Sergeant Major Cody. All of our airmen's purchasing power could be
impacted with these reforms as we are slowing the growth of increases
to basic pay and basic allowance for housing, thus it is important for
our airmen to make informed and prudent financial decisions. An E-3
with dependents made $43,000 in direct pay (basic pay, basic allowance
for housing, and basic allowance for subsistence) in 2013. In 10 years,
the same E-3's salary is projected to grow to $58,000. Under the new
proposals, it will still grow to $56,000. Additionally, in 2001 the
U.S. median annual household income was $42,000. This equated to the
direct pay of an average E7. Today, the median annual household income
is $52,000, roughly what an average E-5 makes in a year. I would also
note that all airmen still have rate protection with regard to the
basic allowance for housing. Concerning reductions in commissary
savings, Defense Commissary Agency should strive for efficiencies to
lower costs and perhaps changes in law could allow commissaries to
function more like exchanges.
Below is an estimate on the impact of the President's budget for
fiscal year 2015 reforms on an E-3/E-4 with and without dependents.
Without the President's budget for fiscal year 2015 proposals, we
expect the basic pay, basic allowance for housing, and basic allowance
for subsistence of an E-3 without dependents to grow from $3,265/month
today to $3,502/month in 2017, an increase of $237/month. By including
the President's budget for fiscal year 2015 proposals for basic
allowance for housing and TRICARE, the actual pay of an E-3 without
dependents would only grow to $3,429/month in 2017, still an increase
of $164/month. Furthermore, assuming the E-3 shops in the commissary 80
percent of the time, the member would realize $67/month less in
commissary savings by 2017. Thus, even with the $140/month reductions
from the President's budget for fiscal year 2015 reforms, the E-3
without dependents would still see an effective pay increase of $97/
month by 2017.
Similarly for an E-3 with dependents, we expect the basic pay,
basic allowance for housing, and basic allowance for subsistence of an
E-3 without dependents to grow from $3,563/month today to $3,839/month
in 2017, an increase of $276/month. By including the President's budget
for fiscal year 2015 proposals for basic allowance for housing and
TRICARE, the actual pay of an E-3 with dependents would only grow to
$3,739/month in 2017, still an increase of $176/month. Furthermore,
assuming the E-3 shops in the commissary 80 percent of the time, the
member would realize $124/month less in commissary savings by 2017.
Thus, even with the $224/month reductions from the President's budget
for fiscal year 2015 reforms, the E-3 with dependents would still see
an effective pay increase of $52/month by 2017.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Sergeant Major Barrett. If the President's phased-in compensation
proposals become law, marines will still continue to see an increase in
their direct pay on their Leave and Earnings Statement every year.
Overall, marines will continue to receive a pay and benefits package
that compares very favorably to private-sector compensation. For
example:
A Marine lance corporal (pay grade E-3) with military dependents
made approximately $43,000 in direct pay (basic pay, housing, and food
allowances) in 2013. In 10 years, his annual direct pay is projected to
grow to approximately $58,000. If President's proposals are adopted,
his annual direct pay will grow to approximately $56,000.
It is noteworthy that 75 percent of enlisted marines in the pay
grades E-1 through E-4 have no military dependents; of the 25 percent
with military dependents, the average number of dependents is 1.4.
integrated disability evaluation system
12. Senator Graham. Lieutenant General Bromberg, data from the end
of February 2014 show numerous unresolved Integrated Disability
Evaluation System (IDES) cases where servicemembers were on Active Duty
in the disability evaluation system anywhere from 488 days to 1,287
days. What is the Army doing to resolve this problem?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Of the 15,718 Active component
soldiers enrolled in IDES as of 4 May 2014, 542 (3.4 percent) have been
enrolled in IDES more than 500 days. Of these cases, only 135 (.08
percent) have not been approved; the remainder involve soldiers
transitioning from the Army or waiting for VA benefits.
The significant disparity in the age of some cases is attributed to
the unique nature of each case. The Army strives to treat every soldier
fairly as they move through the DES process. Some soldiers develop
complications after entering the DES process, but rather than
administratively restarting their case to make statistics look better,
the Army often keeps the soldier enrolled to ensure constant visibility
of the case. Soldiers also impact their own timelines based upon the
due process rights they exercise. The Army will never interfere with a
soldier's right to due process and affords soldiers every regulatory
and statutory element of due process required, regardless of the impact
on timeliness. The joint DOD/VA metrics properly allow for the special
circumstances described above by measuring the percentage of cases
meeting established timelines. We believe we will be processing cases
on all soldiers within DOD goals by March 2015.
temporary disability retired list
13. Senator Graham. Lieutenant General Bromberg, Vice Admiral
Moran, Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, the
Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) is a list of servicemembers
found to be unfit for military duty because of a physical disability
that may be permanent. Servicemembers can remain on this list for up to
5 years. At any point during that time, they may be retired for
permanent disability, separated with severance pay, or returned to
Active Duty. What percentage of your servicemembers on the TDRL
actually return to Active Duty?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Fewer than 1 percent of the soldiers
removed from the TDRL in the past 12 months were found fit and were
eligible to return to Active Duty. Specifically, 22 of 2968 (0.07
percent) were found fit. Of those 22, only 13 actually returned to the
Force, representing .04 percent of those removed from TDRL.
Vice Admiral Moran. For fiscal years 2012 through 2013, no
servicemembers on the TDRL who were subsequently found physically fit
returned to Active Duty.
Lieutenant General Cox. The IDES disability quarterly and annual
reviews present Military Department performance based on data submitted
by the Military Departments. These reports show the current rate of
airmen on the TDRL who are returned to Active Duty is less than 1
percent.
Lieutenant General Milstead. On average, only two marines return to
Active Duty each year from the TDRL, or about .06 percent (.0006) of
the total TDRL population. To date in fiscal year 2014, no marines have
returned to Active Duty.
14. Senator Graham. Lieutenant General Bromberg, Vice Admiral
Moran, Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, is it
time to reevaluate the need for the TDRL?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. Yes, the Army believes it is time to
reevaluate the need for the TDRL with the intent to eliminate the TDRL
process, given that only approximately 1 percent of soldiers who are
placed on TDRL are later found fit and eligible to return to Active
Duty, and many of them opt not to do so.
Vice Admiral Moran. Yes, it would be appropriate to reevaluate the
TDRL program as it currently exists in order to validate the TDRL
program supports the fair and timely processing of our wounded, ill,
and injured marines and sailors within a modernized Disability
Evaluation System. Historically, being on the TDRL also arguably limits
members' ability to move forward with their lives, often leading to a
greater sense of confusion and uncertainty and contributing to overall
dissatisfaction. Each Service has the mechanisms within their accession
programs to consider previously unfitting conditions and, if
appropriate, return the veteran to Active Duty. This means the original
intent of the TDRL program can be fulfilled via other existing programs
and policies for those few who seek return to Active Duty from a
separated or retired status. At a minimum, we concur with
recommendation from the DOD Recovering Warrior Task Force in their
2012-2013 Annual Report to eliminate the TDRL. Experience across all
Services over many decades shows the TDRL program does not achieve its
intended purposes, is expensive, and is difficult to operate. Given the
low number of temporary retirees who return to the military, and the
high proportion who eventually become eligible to receive permanent
military disability retirement benefits, Congress may wish to consider
cessation of this program.
Lieutenant General Cox. Yes, reevaluation of the TDRL is needed
and, in January 2014, we began doing so. Following recommendations from
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report,* our Air Force
Warrior Care Policy team is championing a deep dive analysis of TDRL
legislations, policies, and procedures. Their analysis is on track to
conclude by the end of this year. Under the guidance of the Under
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Warrior Care Policy led a task force of senior
leaders from the VA, Military Departments, Joint Staff, and the Office
of the Secretary of Defense to consider specific ways to improve the
DOD disability process.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
* GA0-09-189, Military Disability Retirement, Closer Monitoring
Would Improve the Temporary Retirement Process, April 2009 and the
April 2013 TDRL Air Force Audit Report (F2013-0007-040000)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lieutenant General Milstead. Yes, it is a good time to reevaluate
the need for the TDRL, as the return to Active Duty rates are extremely
small. The TDRL program is very resource-intensive to manage and very
inconvenient for the marine veteran in regard to travel and
reexamination requirements. We need to better leverage more local and
convenient VA facilities and/or contractors vice making these veterans
travel hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles to military medical
facilities for their reexaminations. Ceasing TDRL altogether may result
in some veterans receiving permanent disability retirement and they and
their family members receiving lifetime medical benefits who would not
be eligible under current constructs, so a thorough cost-benefit
analysis should be part of this evaluation.
mental health care
15. Senator Graham. Lieutenant General Bromberg, Vice Admiral
Moran, Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, what
efforts are you making to destigmatize mental health care in your
Service?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. The Army is decreasing the stigma
associated with seeking behavioral health care through the continued
establishment of its Behavioral Health Service Line. This effort has
standardized our behavioral health system of care to identify, prevent,
treat, and track behavioral health issues affecting soldiers and
beneficiaries.
Soldiers and family members are accessing behavioral health care
much more frequently than at any time in the past, and far more are
accessing outpatient behavioral health services to receive care earlier
and more frequently. The number of behavioral health encounters across
the Army increased from 991,655 in fiscal year 2007 to 1,899,660 in
fiscal year 2013, a 91.5 percent increase. In addition, soldiers
required approximately 25,000 fewer inpatient psychiatric bed-days over
the same time period. These improved outcomes drive increased
acceptability of the value of behavioral health care, driving down
stigma, resulting in more soldiers willing to engage in an episode of
care.
Through efforts such as the establishment of Embedded Behavioral
Health clinics in brigade footprints or by placing behavioral health
providers in schools on Army installations, the Army continues to take
steps to make care more accessible to its beneficiaries. Army Medicine
believes that it is more successfully linking those who need behavioral
health care with those who can provide it, and the increased
utilization is a reflection of this.
Vice Admiral Moran. Mental health providers are now integrated into
a variety of operational units. These embedded assets work to maintain
the psychological health of their units from within, and by virtue of
their close working relationship with the operational forces, they are
able to normalize the provision of care and create a culture that
encourages seeking help in order to foster resilience and recovery.
Similarly, the Behavioral Health Integration Program (BHIP) integrates
behavioral health providers into the primary care setting. By
addressing mental health concerns in this environment, the stigma
associated with seeking mental health care can be decreased and the
benefits of care can be enhanced.
One new initiative we are launching is the Deployed Resiliency
Counselors (DRC). These Fleet and Family Support Center counselors will
be initially assigned aboard our aircraft carriers and large deck
amphibious assault ships. These civilian licensed counselors will be
deployed to support our sailors and improve resilience. Much like the
BHIP, expanding availability of counseling services to settings other
than traditional mental health should continue to reduce negative
perceptions and related barriers to care.
When Active Duty servicemembers receive mental health care,
providers follow the presumption that they are not to notify a
servicemember's commander unless this presumption is overcome by
specific circumstances. These exceptions to confidentiality relate
specifically to risk of harm to self or others, or to the
servicemember's performance of duty. Even when information must be
disclosed to a commander, providers are required to disclose the
minimum amount of information necessary to satisfy the purpose of the
disclosure (DOD Instruction 6490.08).
Strategic health communications are a vital part of Navy's Suicide
Prevention Program to encourage help-seeking behavior as a sign of
strength and to counter prevailing negative perceptions regarding
mental health and stress-related issues. Messaging campaigns are used
to promote comprehensive wellness, empower self-efficacy, build
community support, and champion bystander intervention; thereby,
addressing the entire stress continuum. Ongoing messaging, such as ACT
(Ask-Care-Treat), has proven effective in helping bystanders identify
and intervene when sailors experience crises. Other recent messaging
campaigns, such as NavyTHRIVE, promote comprehensive wellness and a
sense-of-community to encourage healthy stress navigation before crises
occur. Our branded communications portfolio includes products suicide
prevention coordinators employ at the deck plate, e.g., LifeLink
Newsletter, as well as a robust social media and online presence that
help drive daily conversation among commands and families about stress
navigation and prevention. Additionally, the program leads Navy's
annual Suicide Prevention Month, using the month of September, each
year, as an opportunity to launch the following year's ongoing
communications themes to promote engagement at the deck plate.
The Operational Stress Control program is the foundation of Navy
efforts to build and maintain resilience in sailors and commands. We
encourage proactive measures that sailors, leaders, and families can
take to mitigate stressors before they become crises, while identifying
those who may be reacting to stress and who need assistance. Beginning
this year, Navy has required commands to complete Operational Stress
Control skills-training within 6 months of deployment. Navy Mobile
Training Teams travel to commands around the world facilitating unit
training in small groups, providing venues for extensive dialogue with
command leadership to build sailor resilience and unit readiness.
Lieutenant General Cox. The Air Force works diligently to reduce
barriers to mental health care wherever it can, to include reducing the
perception of stigma. Many of our programs and training include anti-
stigma messages. Examples include initial and annual suicide prevention
training, Frontline Supervisor Training, and semiannual Wingman Day
materials. The published Air Force Strategic Communication Plan
includes Public Service Announcements, media reporting guidelines,
leadership talking points, and post-suicide guidance for commanders,
all of which emphasize the importance of early help-seeking. In
addition, the Air Force's Limited Privilege Suicide Prevention Program
affords increased confidentiality for airmen under investigation while
they are seeking mental health care. Stigma is difficult to measure,
but we have a number of indications that it is reducing. For example,
the biennial Community Assessment Survey shows positive trends on
responses to questions about mental health stigma. The number of mental
health visits to Air Force clinics is gradually increasing, indicating
the majority of airmen are not being hindered by potential concerns
with stigma. We know from studies of Air Force mental health patients
voluntarily seeking care, that only a small minority had negative
career impact and airmen seeking care and staying in the Service serves
as a positive example reinforcing that behavior for other airmen. As a
concrete example, we know that approximately 75 percent of airmen
diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder are retained in the
Service. Many airmen and family members make the decision to seek care
in dedicated mental health clinics, but lower stigma options are
available such as the Behavioral Health Optimization Program, where
mental health providers are integrated into primary care clinics.
Lieutenant General Milstead. Outreach is our main effort to
destigmatize mental/behavioral health care. Our strategic communication
efforts include messaging that asking for help is a sign of strength,
not weakness. The Marine Corps has bolstered these efforts through the
implementation of BH360, a bi-monthly newsletter, and Marine Awareness
and Prevention Integrated Training (MAPIT). BH360 provides actionable
behavioral health information to general officers, Senior Executive
Service leaders, commanders, and senior enlisted. This publication
assists in setting a positive command climate by informing leaders of
the programs available and reinforcing our message, that encourages
those in need to seek help and for our leaders to support/promote this
help-seeking behavior. Our destigmatizing message is interwoven
throughout the MAPIT curriculum and increases personnel and unit
readiness through dissemination of standardized behavioral health
information and training related to common risk and protective factors
across the behavioral health continuum.
In addition, both Never Leave a Marine Behind (NLMB) suicide
prevention training and Operational Stress Control and Readiness
(OSCAR) training combat stigmas by leveraging peer support to normalize
help-seeking behavior. NLMB and is mandatory training for all of our
marines and attached sailors and seeks to dispel misperceptions that
seeking behavioral health care will jeopardize a military career. OSCAR
training provides skills and tools to identify and mitigate negative
stress reactions. OSCAR Teams act as sensors for the commander by
noticing small changes in behavior and taking action early before
stress becomes a medical issue. By changing social norms and common
beliefs, OSCAR Team Members help reduce stigma associated with
behavioral health treatment, which improves referral, rapid case
identification, and treatment.
The Marine Corps also supports multiple stigma reduction DOD
working groups. The charter of these groups is to develop and improve
policies that impact barriers to seeking help for behavior health
issues.
16. Senator Graham. Lieutenant General Bromberg, Vice Admiral
Moran, Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, how is
your Service making servicemembers and their families more resilient to
the unique stressors they face every day?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. In March 2013, the Army implemented
the Ready and Resilient Campaign as a platform to address the
resiliency needs of the Force. This initiative connects resilience to
readiness, as the individual and collective resilience of team members
and the team can either favorably or adversely impact mission
readiness. The Army's approach focuses on building the personal
resilience of its members as an enabler to achieving enhanced
performance; resulting in increased readiness of the member, their
unit, and the Total Army. This outcome will be achieved through
deliberate processes that will produce an enduring cultural change and
yield an Army environment that supports and develops its members to
perform at their optimum level on a daily basis, and enables them to
recover and grow from adversities.
Vice Admiral Moran. Navy has a full spectrum of programs to prepare
sailors and families to face the unique challenges of a military
lifestyle, maintain force resiliency, and reinforce unit readiness.
They are critical to mission readiness and the Navy's 21st century
sailor initiative by assisting commanding officers, sailors, and their
families manage the demands of military life. Whether it is programs
that assist with relocation of duty stations, stress management,
prevention of sexual assault and domestic violence, developing personal
skills, emergency preparedness, how to get a job in the civilian
community, enjoy surroundings, or enhance physical condition, the Navy
provides access to tools ashore and when deployed to build and sustain
resiliency throughout and after Active Duty. Some specific examples
include:
- The Operational Stress Control Program is the foundation of
Navy efforts to build and maintain resilience in our sailors
and commands. It facilitates understanding of operational and
personal stress, promotes awareness of available resources, and
provides practical mitigation tools. The program encourages
proactive measures designed to mitigate stressors before they
become crises, facilitate the early recognition of potential
problems, reduce stigma associated with seeking psychological
care, encourage prompt treatment, and enhance the professional
empathy of leaders. This year, Navy has begun requiring
commands to complete Operational Stress Control skills training
within 6 months of deployment. Navy Mobile Training Teams
travel to commands around the world facilitating unit training
in small groups providing venues for extensive dialogue with
command leadership to build sailor resilience and unit
readiness.
- Our Suicide Prevention Program promotes bystander
intervention as a critical element of sailors taking care of
sailors while our consistent messaging of ACT (Ask-Care-Treat)
has proven to be effective in identifying sailors that need
assistance before minor stressors become major crises.
While our efforts focus on actions left of the event, post-vention
is a critical component of providing psychological first-aid support to
commands that have experienced stressful operations or events, such as:
- In fiscal year 2013, the NavyTHRIVE communications campaign
was launched, focusing on providing sailors, leaders, and
families with the tools to empower individuals to not only take
advantage of support networks, but promote personal growth
through self-sustainment and community. The 2013 Suicide
Prevention Month theme, Thrive In Your Community, focused on
emphasizing the importance of cohesion and togetherness when
dealing with adversity. NavyTHRIVE will continue through this
fiscal year, focusing on supporting sailors through transition
periods.
- We are assigning DRCs aboard our aircraft carriers and large
deck amphibious assault ships. The civilian licensed clinicians
will work with ships' medical officers, chaplains, and
leadership in support of our sailors. Of the initial 21
planned, 10 have been selected to serve on U.S. and overseas-
based ships. DRCs can provide early intervention and counseling
to minimize the need for more intensive behavioral health
treatment. Counseling and support services provided by the DRCs
are preventive in nature, aimed at addressing life challenges,
such as adjustment to deployments, separation from friends and
family, relationship and family issues, and other challenges to
military life. The DRCs are also fully trained to provide an
extra layer of support to any victims of sexual assault and
domestic violence, ensuring that there are no gaps in support
services. DRCs will also provide psycho-educational training on
topics like suicide prevention, stress reduction, and substance
abuse prevention.
- To support our wounded warriors and their families, our Navy
Wounded Warrior-Safe Harbor (NWW) program coordinates the non-
medical care of seriously wounded, ill, and injured sailors,
coastguardsman, and their families. NWW's goal is to return
sailors to Active Duty and, when not possible, work
collaboratively with Federal and nongovernmental agencies,
including the VA, and State and local organizations, to ensure
successful reintegration of sailors back into their
communities. NWW extends support beyond separation or
retirement from the Navy through the Anchor Program, a
partnership with the Navy Reserve and Navy retiree volunteers
who provide mentorship support during reintegration to the
community.
- The Navy offers a wide array of fitness and recreational
activities to sailors and family members that assist with their
physical and mental well-being. Even during deployments, ship-
board personnel have access to fitness equipment and
recreational gear to assist with confronting the rigors of
deployment.
Lieutenant General Cox. The Air Force has adopted and is promoting
a holistic approach to teach and educate Air Force personnel and their
family members Comprehensive Airman Fitness (CAF). CAF's mission is to
build, promote, and sustain a thriving and resilient community living
healthy lifestyles by practicing positive mental, physical, social, and
spiritual fitness. The Air Force is teaching Master Resilience Trainers
(MRT) skills and tools that can help individuals cope and potentially
thrive through life stressors. In turn, MRTs are teaching and
facilitating resilient skill events to Air Force personnel and family
members, thus creating a resilient culture of airmen taking care of
airmen.
Lieutenant General Milstead. The Marine Corps has implemented
numerous programs to address resiliency. In particular, our Community
Counseling and Prevention (CCP) program specifically addresses
behavioral health risk factors impacting our marines and their
families. The program leverages the subject matter expertise of
Community Counseling, Suicide Prevention and Response, and Combat and
Operational Stress Control (COSC). Primary efforts are focused on
enhancing protective factors of individual marines and their families
with short-term, solution-focused care and case management. In
addition, we instituted a Marine Expeditionary Forces (MEF) prevention
capability that provides prevention capabilities to the MEFs and Major
Subordinate Commands to oversee execution of all behavioral health
prevention education initiatives. Complementing this effort, our
Military Family Life Consultant Program, comprised of 262 licensed
counselors embedded in 120 units, provides dedicated personnel to
identify need; increase awareness, outreach, and referral; and also
provide limited counseling. Training programs, such as OSCAR and NLMB,
offer skills to prevent/mitigate stress injuries, additionally the
DSTRESS Line provides a direct 24-hours-a-day link for marines to speak
to `one of their own' about everyday stress or heavier life burdens.
Due to the overwhelming positive response received from marines
regarding OSCAR training, there was a high demand from family members
for the Marine Corps to provide similar trainings specific to their
needs and stress. Conquering Stress with Strength (a.k.a. COSC for
Families) is a workshop that helps apply practical techniques to manage
personal stress responses and to apply problem-solving methods to
action in situations involving high-risk behaviors. This workshop is a
family-focused workshop that addresses managing reactions to high
stress situations. It is scheduled for release summer 2014.
The Marine Corps also provides family readiness officers to the
battalions and squadrons that provide an information and referral
source for unit members.
17. Senator Graham. Lieutenant General Bromberg, Vice Admiral
Moran, Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, does
your Service have enough behavioral health providers (psychiatrists,
psychologists, social workers, mental health nurses, mental health
nurse practitioners, and other licensed mental health providers) to
ensure that servicemembers and their families can get timely mental
health care when they need it? Please provide a table that shows your
total requirements, authorizations, and current end strengths.
Lieutenant General Bromberg. As of 31 March 2014, the Army had
5,275 behavioral health providers. The Army's current requirement is
5,665 personnel, including professional providers and behavioral health
technicians. This number represents all missions that behavioral health
providers support, to include research, education, and prevention, as
well as clinical service delivery. We expect that the requirements for
providers will evolve as the needs of Army beneficiaries change.
Specific to clinical service delivery, the Behavioral Health
Service Line Matrix resourcing tool reflects a provider requirement
(psychiatrist, psychologist, and social worker only) of 1,793, and an
on-hand number of approximately 1,902 providers documenting clinical
care. The most recent analysis of workload data indicates a requirement
for 2,029 providers, resulting in a current shortfall of 127 providers.
U.S. Army Medical Command currently has 352 open hiring actions
covering vacant positions for psychiatrists, psychologists, social
workers, behavioral health nurses, behavioral health nurse
practitioners, and behavioral health technicians/counselors.
See tables below.
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Vice Admiral Moran. No, we are currently experiencing shortages
among psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers. Section 714(a)
of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 required
the Military Departments to increase the number of authorizations for
mental health professionals by 25 percent. Accordingly, Navy has
increased authorizations over the past 4 years in several mental health
specialties, such as social workers and clinical psychologists, but all
of these positions are not yet encumbered.
The following tables provide authorizations and current end
strengths as of March 31, 2014.
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Mental health requirements are currently under a review and
revalidation process through the Tri-service Mental Health DOD/VA
committee utilizing the Psychological Health Risk-Adjusted Model for
Staffing model. The validation of mental health requirements is a tri-
service initiative that is ongoing.
Lieutenant General Cox. Current manning strength is adequate to
meet the general mental health needs of airmen. We have filled
approximately 97 percent of our authorized positions in mental health.
Access to care data indicates the majority of patients receive care
within access to care standards. Our recruiting and retention
incentives helped psychologists reach a 94 percent manning level.
Currently, a gap exists for generic mental health nurses; we are
actively recruiting and training both generic and advanced practice
psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioners. Finally, in spite of
a nationwide shortage, 92 percent of our psychiatrist authorizations
are filled. However, due to a national shortage of mental health
providers, especially child psychologists and psychiatrists, access to
certain services varies by location. For this reason, the Air Force's
Exceptional Family Member Program seeks to assure assignment of airmen
with special needs family members only to locations where necessary
services are readily available. The table showing requirements,
authorizations, and current end strength is shown below.
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Lieutenant General Milstead. The Marine Corps depends on the Navy
for our health care providers. However, the Marine Corps has recently
established community counseling services on installations worldwide to
increase access to care and assist marines and their families in
navigating the many support resources available. We also have 113
community counselors who are licensed clinical providers, credentialed
by the Marine Corps Credentialing Review Board, and provide evidence-
based client screening tools, assessments, and short-term, non-medical
counseling; clinical case management to improve coordination of
referrals to medical treatment facilities and specialty care
appointments; and short-term, non-medical, counseling interventions for
marines who have experienced military sexual trauma.
See table below.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
18. Senator Graham. Lieutenant General Bromberg, Vice Admiral
Moran, Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, do the
Services need additional legislative authority to improve incentives
for recruitment and retention of mental health professionals?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. In reference to the recruitment and
retention of military mental health professionals, section 335 of title
37 (Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services-Special bonus and
incentive pay authorities for officers in health professions) provides
sufficient authorities for both accession and retention bonuses of
mental health providers, assuming adequate funding. Additionally, the
Army has developed training pipelines for all of our officer skills
sets through the use of the Health Professions Scholarship Program and
the Fayetteville State Cooperative Program.
To assist the Army's efforts to recruit and retain critical
civilian mental health professions, including psychologists and social
worker, an extension of the direct hire appointment authority under
title 5, subpart, section 337.202, for a 1-year period would allow the
Army to immediately fill 164 critical positions. Additionally, direct
hire appointment authority for a 3-year fiscal period beginning October
1, 2014, would allow the Army to hire 265 behavioral health positions
per year to replace anticipated losses based on our voluntary loss rate
to the U.S. Army Medical Command.
Vice Admiral Moran. We do not need additional authorities at this
time, although extension of current health professions special and
incentive pays, included in the administration's official legislative
package, is imperative. We continue to evaluate the effectiveness of
these authorities as we transition to the consolidated special and
incentive pays enacted in the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2008. If additional or enhanced authorities are deemed
necessary, we will include them in a future Defense Authorization
Request.
Lieutenant General Cox. Additional legislative authority is not
required by the Air Force at this time. The Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Health Affairs sets pay rates for Active Duty health
professionals on an annual basis. Current incentives authorized under
37 U.S.C. Chapter 5 are sufficient to recruit and retain the qualified
mental health professionals needed at this time.
Lieutenant General Milstead. The Marine Corps relies on the Navy
for its mental health providers. We know that recruitment and retention
of qualified mental health personnel pose a challenge. There are some
regions where maintaining an adequate pool of one or another mental
health skill set is problematic. Improving incentives would certainly
help to improve manning goals, however, monetary compensation is not
the only issue facing their recruitment and retention.
opening positions to women in services
19. Senator Graham. Lieutenant General Bromberg, Vice Admiral
Moran, Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, who is
the approval authority for opening positions to women in your Service
to Special Operations Forces? Is it the Service or U.S. Special
Operations Command (SOCOM)?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. The Secretary of Defense is the
approval authority for opening positions to women in Special Operation
Forces. The Army and SOCOM are working together in a collaborative,
coordinated manner regarding closed positions, units, and occupations
within Special Operations. The Commander, SOCOM, submits all
recommendations through the Army Chief of Staff and Secretary of the
Army for concurrence of all requests to open U.S. Army SOCOM positions,
units, and occupations prior to forwarding the request to the Secretary
of Defense as the approval authority.
Vice Admiral Moran. In reaching the decision to rescind the 1994
Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule, the Secretary of
Defense endorsed the unanimous advice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
which set forth the guiding principles, goals, and milestones to the
successful integration of women in the remaining restricted
occupational fields. That guidance recognized the unique relationship
SOCOM maintains with the Services in understanding the operational
environment and operational requirements needed to execute SOCOM
missions. Specifically, the Chairman required ``the Services and SOCOM
to proceed in a deliberate, measured, and responsible way to assign
women to currently closed MOSs as the physical and operational
assessments are completed.''
To ensure the efficient integration of women in closed MOSs and
units, the Services and SOCOM work collaboratively to proceed in a
deliberate, measured, and responsible way to assign women. When a
decision is made to notify Congress regarding DOD's intent to open a
position, it is a Department-level decision informed by input from the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Services, the Military Department
Secretaries, SOCOM, and the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel
and Readiness.
Lieutenant General Cox. The Secretary of Defense is the approval
authority for the Services to open direct ground combat positions to
women.
Lieutenant General Milstead. To ensure the efficient integration of
women in closed MOSs and units, the Services and SOCOM work
collaboratively to proceed in a deliberate, measured, and responsible
way to assign women. When a decision is made to notify Congress
regarding DOD's intent to open a position, it is a Department-level
decision informed by input from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the
Services, the Military Department Secretaries, SOCOM, and the Under
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
20. Senator Graham. Lieutenant General Bromberg, Vice Admiral
Moran, Lieutenant General Cox, and Lieutenant General Milstead, what is
your understanding of your Service and SOCOM's respective roles in the
decision?
Lieutenant General Bromberg. The Army and SOCOM are working
together in a collaborative, coordinated manner regarding closed
positions, units, and occupations within Special Operations. The
Commander, SOCOM submits all recommendations through the Army Chief of
Staff and Secretary of the Army for concurrence of all requests to open
U.S. Army Special Operations Command positions, units, and occupations
prior to forwarding the request to the Secretary of Defense as the
approval authority.
Vice Admiral Moran. Before recommending opening positions, Navy
will work in parallel to submit a coordinated Service and SOCOM
recommendation through the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Special
Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict) for notification on Special Warfare/
Special Operations specialties. It will require synchronization by both
parties as recommendations are inter-dependent and aimed at ensuring
that the opening of occupations aligns with Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff guiding principles.
Lieutenant General Cox. Our Service and SOCOM are working together
to ensure SOCOM's operational requirements and Air Force equities are
fully captured in our recommendations to the Secretary of Defense to
open our remaining male-only ground combat positions to women.
Completing the standards validation studies and determining the timing
to open the positions requires close coordination between the Air Force
and SOCOM.
Lieutenant General Milstead. In reaching the decision to rescind
the 1994 Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule, the
Secretary of Defense endorsed the unanimous advice of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, which set forth the guiding principles, goals, and milestones
to the successful integration of women in remaining restricted
occupational fields. That guidance recognized the unique relationship
SOCOM maintains with the Services in understanding the operational
environment and operational requirements needed to execute SOCOM
missions. Specifically, the Chairman required ``the Services and SOCOM
to proceed in a deliberate, measured, and responsible way to assign
women to currently closed MOSs as the physical and operational
assessments are completed.''
To ensure the efficient integration and assignment of women in
previously closed MOSs and units, the Services and SOCOM will work
collaboratively and proceed in a deliberate, measured, and responsible
way to assign women.
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