[Senate Hearing 115-437]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 10:32 a.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Thad Cochran (chairman) presiding.
Present: Senators Cochran, Collins, Blunt, Daines, Moran,
Durbin, Leahy, Tester, Udall, Schatz, and Baldwin.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
National Guard and Reserve Programs and Readiness
STATEMENT OF GENERAL JOSEPH L. LENGYEL, CHIEF, NATIONAL
GUARD BUREAU
opening statement of senator thad cochran
Senator Cochran. We want to welcome everybody to the
hearing this morning of the Defense Appropriations Committee.
The National Guard and Reserve is the subject of the hearing,
and we welcome our witnesses and those who serve in these
important positions.
Today, we are receiving testimony on the programs and
readiness of the National Guard and Reserve components. We are
very pleased to welcome the Chief of the National Guard Bureau,
General Joseph L. Lengyel; Chief of the Army Reserve,
Lieutenant General Charles D. Luckey; Chief of the Navy
Reserve, Vice Admiral Luke M. McCollum; Commander of Marine
Corps Forces Reserve, Lieutenant General Rex C. McMillian; and
Chief of the Air Force Reserve, Lieutenant General Maryanne
Miller.
Our guardsmen and reserves have been regularly called upon
since 2001 to deploy in support of our Nation's wars abroad and
to protect our citizens at home.
As a result, active duty and reserve components are fully
integrated today more than at any time in this modern era. This
level of integration requires Guard and Reserve units to be
sufficiently manned, trained, and equipped.
We are very proud of our soldiers, seamen, airmen, and
marines, and hope our witnesses will carry this message of
support back to your units.
Your full statements will be included in the record.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Senator Thad Cochran
We want to welcome everybody to the hearing this morning of the
Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. The National Guard and Reserve is
the subject of the hearing, and we welcome our witnesses and those who
serve in these important programs.
Today we are receiving testimony on the programs and readiness of
the National Guard and Reserve Components. We are very pleased to
welcome Chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Joseph L. Lengyel;
Chief of the Army Reserve, Lieutenant General Charles D. Luckey; Chief
of the Navy Reserve, Vice Admiral Luke M. McCollum; Commander of Marine
Corps Forces Reserve, Lieutenant General Rex C. McMillian; and Chief of
the Air Force Reserve, Lieutenant General Maryanne Miller.
Our Guardsmen and Reservists have been regularly called upon since
2001 to deploy in support of our Nation's wars abroad and to protect
our citizens at home. As a result, active duty and reserve component
forces are more fully integrated today than at any time in the modern
era.
This level of integration requires Guard and Reserve units to be
sufficiently manned, trained and equipped.
We are very proud of our part-time soldiers, seamen, airmen and
marines, and hope our witnesses will carry this message of support back
to your units.
Senator Cochran. And I am pleased now to recognize my
friend from Vermont.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR PATRICK J. LEAHY
Senator Leahy. Well, thank you Mr. Chairman.
And I am glad you and Senator Durbin are having this
hearing.
The National Guard and Reserves are very dear to my heart.
And Senator Graham, Lindsey Graham and I, are the co-chairs of
the Senate's National Guard Caucus. And one of the things that
we have found is that at a time when people are polarized, one
thing that brings us together, Republicans and Democrats, is
support of the Guard as our appreciation and commitment to
support the citizen soldiers of the National Guard and
Reserves.
And we are working as you and I am, Mr. Chairman, to
negotiate a bill to keep our Government funded. It is worth
remembering that our decisions here in Congress by how to fund
the Government and national defense directly impacts how both
of our National Guard and Reserve respond to threats at home
and abroad.
They were there to respond to them when I first came to the
Senate, but that response has greatly intensified in the years
I have been here. Not only the response at home on natural
disasters and other areas, but the defense of homeland and
overseas.
General, your son was deployed overseas to a combat area
when the Vermont National Guard was there, flying sorties and
combat missions, and also I will brag more about them later.
But let me put my full statement in the record so we can begin.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Senator Patrick J. Leahy
Thank you, Chairman Cochran and Ranking Member Durbin, for holding
this important hearing on a review of the budget and readiness of the
National Guard and the Reserves.
I can think of few issues in the Senate as bipartisan as the
enthusiastic support for our citizen-soldiers. For over a decade--
longer in some services--the National Guard and Reserves have left
behind the old Cold War model of a strategic reserve meant to
intimidate adversaries with how many units could be called up in the
event of total war. It has instead evolved into an operational reserve,
where men and women hold civilian jobs, but answer the Nation's call to
provide their experience and expertise.
We also know this use will expand, as we enter an era when each of
the Services have begun to plan deployments for Reserve Component units
and individuals in advance because the reduction in the active duty end
strengths means the Nation needs their service more often. This will
maintain high-functioning Reserve Components at a fraction of the cost
of the Active Duty, while also allowing our active force to better be
ready for the major challenges known as full-spectrum operations.
What has not changed enough is how planners and policy-makers in
Washington view the Reserve Components. Even the phrase ``operational
reserve'' is itself only beginning to be widely accepted. When we look
at the benefits provided to service members, the support for families,
and the laws surrounding employment, we see the system designed for the
strategic reserve updated in an ad hoc fashion for the operational
reserve. For example, a Guardsman deployed to a pre-planned operation,
such as in Kosovo, legally does not have access to the same benefits as
an active duty soldier performing the same mission. That needs to
change. And we will need the help of each of you to identify similar
policies and personnel issues that stand in the way of realizing the
potential of an operational reserve.
Senator Cochran. Thank you very much.
Let me begin by recognizing the Chief of our National Guard
Bureau, General Joseph Lengyel. We are proud to have a very
important, hard working, and successful array of witnesses and
leaders today to discuss the budget requests and operational
capabilities of our forces.
And we will start by recognizing the Chief of the National
Guard Bureau, General Joseph Lengyel, for any statement you may
want to make.
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF GENERAL JOSEPH L. LENGYEL
General Lengyel. Thank you, Chairman Cochran, and Vice
Chairman Durbin, and distinguished members of this
subcommittee.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to testify before
you today. And of course, it is great to sit in the line here
with friends in front of the subcommittee.
It is a pleasure to be here today with my fellow Reserve
leaders and I would like to submit my full written statement
for the record.
Although I wear an Air Force uniform, I am honored to
represent the 343,000 citizen soldiers of the Army National
Guard, as well as the 105,000 citizen airmen of our Air
National Guard.
And I would like to thank the families, the communities,
the employers, all who support each and every one of them every
day.
My focus is on our three primary missions, the war fight,
defending and securing our homeland, and building enduring
partnerships. The National Guard is tremendously appreciative
for this committee's support in enabling us to accomplish these
three missions.
This committee's support results in a National Guard that
works seamlessly with its active component counterparts
defending the Nation's interests around the world in every
combat and command.
Since 9/11, the Guard has mobilized nearly 850,000 citizen
soldiers and citizen airmen conducting complex operations
around the globe supporting the war fight.
Here in the homeland, your continued investment supports,
on average, more than 4,000 citizen soldiers and airmen every
day conducting domestic operations. Your National Guard Fighter
Wings are protecting our Nation's skies, including the skies
over the national Capital region, here today through our
aerospace control alert sites.
Our civil support teams are strategically positioned
throughout the United States to protect against weapons of mass
destruction. Our cyber units secure our critical
infrastructure. Soldiers and airmen in our counterdrug programs
detect, interdict, disrupt, and curtail drug trafficking.
And the National Guard Ballistic Missile Defense battalions
defend against intercontinental ballistic missile threats.
On top of all this, this National Guard stands ready to
respond to natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods,
snowstorms, and to assist law enforcement with civil unrest,
missions that the National Guard performs with little or no
notice. When it comes to the homeland, we are always ready and
always there.
Of course, this same investment that facilitates the
National Guard's success in the war fight in the homeland
operations helps build enduring partnerships with
international, Federal, State, local, and Tribal partners.
The National Guard, through the State Partnership Program,
currently partners with 78 nations and will soon be 79 once we
formalize the partnership with Malaysia. This low-cost program
reassures our allies, deters potential aggressors, and
generates partner contributions and coalitions around the
world.
On the Federal, State, and local level our partnerships and
National Guard unique authorities ensure a timely response and
unity of effort during these times of crisis. Our Nation is
currently facing significant and evolving security challenges
both at home and abroad. These challenges are the reason why we
require stable and predictable funding. We cannot accomplish
our missions without the proper resourcing.
This committee's support of manning, training, and
equipping is needed to maintain your National Guard as the
operational reserve of the Army and the Air Force that it has
become.
The same Force that is called upon by the governors in
times of need here in the homeland, support for such things as
full time manning is absolutely critical to produce a ready
National Guard Force for both global and homeland operations.
Continued support for programs such as the State
Partnership Program and Counterdrug Program allow the National
Guard to successfully accomplish the mission America has come
to expect from us.
We continue to work closely with the active Army and the
active Air Force, and the collaborative efforts following the
Air Force and Army commissions that have resulted in a stronger
total Force.
The National Guard is more interchangeable and
interoperable with the Army and the Air Force than ever before.
I would like to offer my sincere appreciation to General
Goldfein, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and General Milley,
Chief of Staff of the Army, for their leadership in this
transformative process.
Again, I am honored to be here today representing the men
and women of the National Guard, and the families and employers
who support them.
I thank you and this Committee for your continued support
and I look forward to your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of General Joseph L. Lengyel
Chairman Cochran, Vice Chairman Durbin, and distinguished members
of the subcommittee, it is a pleasure to be here today with my fellow
National Guard and Reserve Leaders.
Always Ready, Always There . . . this is the motto of America's
National Guard. It embodies the character and spirit of all those who
have served in the National Guard from its founding in 1636 to those
serving today. From militia companies mustering on village greens in
response to Paul Revere's warning, to the ever-evolving and complex
world that we live in today, the National Guard is more resilient,
relevant and ready than ever before.
Since assuming my duties as Chief of the National Guard Bureau last
summer, I have traveled and talked to the men and women of our National
Guard serving in the homeland and abroad. The locations were different
and the missions varied, but what I took away from each encounter was
the pride I felt in our Guard members and the dedication each of them
exhibited in serving their communities, their States and our Nation.
Today's National Guard is the finest we have ever had.
Our security environment is more dynamic and complex and our Nation
places greater reliance on its National Guard. This is why my focus
every day is to ensure we are ready and we have the resources to
accomplish our three core missions--fighting America's wars, securing
the homeland, and building enduring partnerships at the local, State,
Federal and international levels.
warfight
Fighting America's wars and defending our Nation must be our
primary mission. From Brigade Combat Teams deploying on schedule to get
into the fight as fast as air and sea lift can move them, to flying
manned and unmanned platforms anywhere around the world--we are the
primary combat reserve of the Army and the Air Force.
After 9/11, our National Guard began its transition to the
operational force it is today. Since then, Guard members have deployed
more than 850,000 times to locations such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait,
the Balkans, Guantanamo Bay, and the Sinai. Today, we are an
operational force that fights seamlessly with the joint force. With the
implementation of Total Force initiatives with the Army and Air Force,
we are more closely integrated than ever before.
Our interoperability with the joint force will deepen and evolve as
we confront future threats--threats that are now global, emanate from
all domains, and are adaptable and multi-functional in their forms.
Only a well-integrated and well-trained force will keep our Nation safe
and secure our national interests.
On any given day, the National Guard has approximately 18,000
Soldiers and Airmen mobilized in support of combatant command missions
overseas. During my visits with our men and women, I was told time and
again they wanted to do more and they were not tired. I know we can
judiciously increase our deployment numbers to relieve stress on active
duty forces and help them grow readiness to address emerging threats.
homeland
Here in the homeland, the National Guard is the Nation's primary
military crisis response force. We use the experience and capabilities
we gain from combat to respond to threats here at home such as
Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) attacks, large
scale natural disasters, and cyber-attacks.
In order to be more prepared and have the ability to respond
quickly and effectively, the National Guard Bureau initiated an All-
Hazards Support Plan to help state Adjutants General plan and execute
response and recovery operations, and provide the Secretary of Defense
greater awareness of non-Federalized Guard activities.
On average, more than 4,000 Guard members conduct operations here
in the United States on any given day. Whether we are providing
security forces, logistics, communications, emergency medical
assistance, or other types of support to civil authorities, we do it
with speed and proficiency. We also help facilitate a unified response
across local, State and Federal agencies using legal authorities that
permit the Guard to be employed under State or Federal command.
In my first 120 days as Chief of the National Guard Bureau, our
Nation encountered two large-scale disasters, flooding in Louisiana and
Hurricane Matthew on the East Coast. At the height of the record
flooding in Louisiana, approximately 3,000 Guard members supported
civil authorities with water evacuation, search and rescue, and shelter
support. During Hurricane Matthew, over 8,300 Guardsmen and women
worked with our Federal, State and local government agencies and first
responders to support recovery efforts along the eastern seaboard.
Although these events serve as reminders of the devastation that
disasters can wreak on our communities, businesses, and families, I am
inspired by the skill, professionalism, and dedication I witnessed from
our Guard members. I could not be more proud of how seamlessly, and
professionally we augment and integrate our entire emergency response
network. The National Guard is essential to All Hazards recovery and
the resilience of our communities when disaster strikes.
While our combat and homeland response missions are what we do,
building enduring partnerships is an essential part of how we do it. We
accomplish our missions overseas and at home only through the
partnerships we forge at the international, Federal, State and local
levels. The relationships that the Guard develops on a continuing basis
play a critical role in our ability to maintain preparedness and
respond quickly to disasters and emergency events.
building partnerships
On the international level, our State Partnership Program (SPP)
will be 79 nations strong once we formalize our partnership with
Malaysia. The SPP allows us to partner with nations around the globe to
realize mutual understanding, friendship, and security cooperation.
This low-cost, high-leverage program has built enduring partnerships
and bonds of trust with approximately one-third of the nations in the
world--relationships that assure our allies, deter our foes, and
support the transition of many nations from security consumers to
global security providers. This program is a part of the long game. We
build relationships, friendships, and build our future.
On the Federal and State levels, we work with our partners on
matters such as cyber defense; counterdrug; all-hazards planning; CBRN
defense; and emergency response. Close relationships with partners such
as the Department of Homeland Security, including the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, are essential in helping to synchronize Federal,
State, and local efforts and resources when disasters strike. National
Guard partnerships bring a holistic approach to coordination that
promotes unified response efforts and an exchange of information
before, during, and after an event. We build and provide resiliency in
our communities and help our Nation respond, rebuild, and heal from
catastrophes like no other military component.
Across the Nation in hometown America, our Guard members are active
in both Federal and State statuses with programs and services such as
Youth ChalleNGe, Joining Community Forces, and rendering military
funeral honors for veterans. These programs provide critical support to
families and individuals when they need it the most.
Our Nation faces a myriad of challenges. Emerging near-peer
competitors, rising regional powers, and the constant threat of violent
extremist organizations pervade our security environment. Threats
emanate from both State and non-State actors, who often conduct
operations that stop short of direct conflict, yet provoke, disrupt,
and destabilize--both abroad and here at home. Resource challenges
require we make every dollar count.
In response to these challenges, I have established three
priorities I will focus on during my time as Chief of the National
Guard Bureau.
readiness
My first priority is to provide ready forces to the President and
our Governors. Readiness begins with our force structure. I am working
with the Army and Air Force to have a balanced array of combat and
enabling forces that largely mirrors the active component and is
modernized concurrently. We must prepare by providing high-level
collective training opportunities such as Combat Training Center
rotations and Red Flag exercises. Realistic training improves the
readiness of the National Guard and develops leaders that are able to
support joint force requirements.
Readiness also includes plans to replace and upgrade obsolete or
aging National Guard facilities and warfighting equipment. Ensuring
proper training facilities and the latest equipment greatly enhances
the readiness of our force.
army national guard
For the Army National Guard, Total Army readiness continues to be
the top priority. The Nation must ensure all three components of the
Army are trained and interoperable to project land and air power across
all warfighting domains. The Army began its Associated Units pilot
program, a multi-component initiative bringing together capabilities
from the Army, the Army National Guard and Army Reserve. These
partnerships allow our soldiers to train and build readiness together
as a Total Army.
In order to achieve and maintain our readiness, the Army National
Guard is identifying the appropriate levels of end strength, full-time
support, and modernization such as Armored Brigade Combat Teams,
Stryker Brigade Combat Teams and aviation platforms. We are also
reviewing the locations of our Army National Guard Readiness Centers,
some of which are in isolated rural areas, to ensure our stationing
reflects changing U.S. demographics. It will also give us the ability
to respond to emergencies in densely populated areas.
air national guard
The Air National Guard continues to leverage its existing model of
multi-component forces with its associate wings. The Air Force and the
Air National Guard maintain the same standards of operational readiness
and cross-component operational capabilities for daily and surge
operations. Developing 21st Century Guard Airmen, readiness, and
modernization and recapitalization are essential Air Guard efforts.
This past year, National Guard Airmen supported more than 16,120
deployment requirements to 56 countries. At home, we are the primary
force provider to the North American Aerospace Defense Command
protecting America's skies, while continuing to respond to State and
local emergencies when requested. The Air National Guard is always
ready when our Nation calls.
people
My second priority is our people. The well-being of our Soldiers
and Airmen, including support for our families and employers, is the
foundation that underpins our service. We are committed to establishing
a respectful environment that always strives for a diverse force where
all members have the opportunity to reach their military goals. Acts
that demoralize units and degrade readiness, such as sexual assault and
sexual harassment, will never be tolerated. We must ensure all victims
receive our utmost support and care.
The number of Soldiers and Airmen taking their own lives is a
tragedy. Simply put, we can and will do more to prevent suicides. We
will ensure first-line supervisors, battle buddies and wingmen have the
training they need to look out for each and every Soldier and Airman.
We will place great emphasis on mental health programs and provide
resiliency training to units and leaders as we strive to prevent
further suicides in our ranks.
We will also ensure increased awareness of family readiness
programs and employment assistance programs so that families know where
to turn for help. We will do our best to provide our Guard members and
their families more predictability in order to better plan and prepare
for deployments and training obligations. We owe these measures to our
service members and their families for their dedicated service and the
sacrifices they undertake for our Nation.
Employers are critical to the success of the National Guard. Our
employers deserve the same predictability as our service members and
families, particularly if our deployments increase in the future. The
National Guard benefits from our part-time force's civilian skills and
experience, which is a unique strength of the reserve components. In
return, our employers can leverage the military training and experience
our Guardsmen and women take back with them. It is truly a win-win
situation.
innovation
My third priority is innovation. As the character of war and
threats continue to evolve, creative minds are necessary more than
ever. We need to develop imaginative solutions to our most serious
challenges. We must inspire a culture willing to change. While we have
been fighting for the past 15 years, the rest of the world has not
remained idle. Our adversaries have improved their technology and our
technological superiority is waning.
The National Guard will continue to work with our active component
counterparts in high-priority mission sets such as Intelligence,
Surveillance, and Reconnaissance and Remotely Piloted Aircraft. Our
ability to use our civilian-acquired skills and partner with critical
infrastructure owners, government entities, public and private
utilities, and other non-governmental organizations uniquely positions
the National Guard to protect America's critical infrastructure.
Although innovation often relates to technology, we also have to
think about innovation in other ways. We have to leverage our culture,
our skill sets, our authorities, and our way of doing business.
Innovation will help us strengthen our ability to recruit and retain,
forge the most resilient force, implement more efficient processes, and
update obsolete doctrine in order to better protect our States and
Nation.
conclusion
I am proud to serve with each and every member of the National
Guard. Although we have daunting challenges ahead, we will employ our
skills to the fullest and continue to contribute in ways not seen
before. Every Citizen-Soldier and -Airman is indispensable to our
operational force, and we can succeed only through their commitment and
extraordinary talent. We must strive to be more innovative, responsive,
capable, and affordable as we continuously move forward to confront the
challenges ahead.
Thank you for your continued support of the National Guard and
their families.
Senator Cochran. Thank you very much.
We will now hear from the Chief of the Army Reserve,
Lieutenant General Charles D. Luckey.
STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL CHARLES D. LUCKEY,
CHIEF, ARMY RESERVE
General Luckey. Chairman Cochran, Ranking Member Durbin,
distinguished members of the subcommittee.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you this
morning.
It is an awesome honor for me to represent the 200,000
soldiers of America's Army Reserve who are serving today across
20 time zones around the globe. On behalf of them, the
families, and employers of America, the Department of the Army
civilians who support us, I want to thank each of you for your
unwavering sustainment and commitment to this team.
Mr. Chairman, as I enumerate in my posture statement and my
role as the Chief of Army Reserve and Commanding General of the
United States Army Reserve Command, I am attuned to persistent
presence of asymmetric threats of terrorism and radical groups,
as well as the emerging and compelling challenge presented by
our near peer competitors, potential adversaries with the
capability, propensity, and willingness to contest American
military power in all domains. We have not faced these
conditions for over a quarter of a century and the Army Reserve
must take action, along with the rest of our army, to meet the
new and evolving threats.
In this emerging environment, an operational reality with
the lethality and complexity of the battle space presents new
challenges to our army. America's Army Reserve practice of
building rotational readiness in units over time will no longer
suffice.
Rather, I must prepare our units for a full spectrum
operational environment. This includes making ready significant
portions of our team to be able to go fast, in some cases days
or weeks, in order to immediately complement and augment active
component formations that rely on America's Army Reserve to
fight and win on the battlefield on the first day.
In this new threat paradigm, some 300 units of action,
approximately 30,000 soldiers, need to be able to deploy into
harm's way in less than 90 days, many in less than 30.
Moreover, we need to deliver units with the mobility,
survivability, connectivity, and lethality needed to win on the
modern battlefield.
As always, consistent, predictable funding for essential
training, and equipping, and modernization is crucial to that
success. A flexible degree of funding remains critical to the
Army Reserve. It is a superb tool which, in accordance with
your guidance, enables me to procure certain high priority
capabilities that can be used for both combat and as
appropriate domestic response operations. I thank all of you
for your continued support in this regard.
Let there be no doubt that my team's number one priority is
readiness. In fact, as I testify today, America's Army Reserve
is wrapping up the largest crew served weapons gunnery exercise
in its history, Operation Cold Steel at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.
We rapidly accelerated the training and qualification of
master gunners, vehicle crew evaluators, and individual
soldiers while reinvigorating our noncommissioned officer corps
by allowing them to execute their core role in our army
training and leading our soldiers where the lead hits the air.
This is money and time well spent and much needed as we move
into the future.
That said I want to reiterate the message I shared with the
American people on the Army Reserve's 109th birthday this past
Sunday morning in Times Square with the Army's Noncommissioned
Officer of the Year, Josh Moeller and his wife Lisa. Josh, by
the way, is an Army Reserve soldier.
Our team relies on our families, the communities that
support them, the persistent willingness of America's employers
to share their finest talent with us in working the delicate
balance between being ready enough to be relevant, but not so
ready that my soldiers cannot keep good, rewarding civilian
employment. I will never forget that fact.
Mr. Chairman, America's Army Reserve has always met the
challenges of the time. With the committee's help, we will
continue to provide the capabilities, the readiness, live the
example, and exude the ethos that the people of the United
States expect.
We will remain your premiere team of skilled professionals
serving the Nation as both soldiers and engaged civilians
around the globe. It is just who we are.
Thank you and I look forward to your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Lieutenant General Charles D. Luckey
For the past 15 years, the United States has embarked upon a far-
reaching battle to defeat the forces of radical terrorism and bring a
measure of peace and stability to a region that presented a direct
threat to the safety and security of the American people. While this
undertaking focused our time, treasure and attention on
counterinsurgency and counterterrorism, current and potential
adversaries seized the opportunity to study our tactics and invest in
the modernization of their forces and capabilities.
Russia is arguably the best case in point. Having developed, tested
and operationalized significant capabilities across all domains, Russia
has clearly demonstrated its prowess as a global competitor, and its
propensity to unilaterally use military force to achieve its perceived
security objectives. China's emerging capabilities across a variety of
domains, coupled with its own economic objectives, make it a rising
challenge to American security partners in the Western Pacific. Less
capable as a competitor, but arguably more immediately problematic as a
strategic challenge, North Korea's unyielding quest for a road-mobile
intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can reach the United
States with a nuclear warhead raises obvious concerns that could drive
hard choices for America. Iran's funding of terrorism and pursuit of
highly-capable missile technologies can reliably be expected to
continue into the future. Taken together, these developments, combined
with emerging technologies in hypersonics, cyber-strike, artificial
intelligence and digital disruption, create a new and disrupting threat
paradigm for the United States and its allies.
U.S. dominance in positioning, navigation and timing, stealth
technologies, global reach, global command and control (C2), air
supremacy, space operations and all aspects of maritime flexibility
have been the foundational underpinning of America's relative freedom-
of-action in military operations. Indeed, the vast majority of Soldiers
serving today have never experienced a time in which America's status
as the preeminent global military power was open to challenge or
contention. Nor have they been subject to an operating environment in
which large concentrations of U.S. troops, supplies, or C2 nodes could
be strafed; however, U.S. technological supremacy on the battlefield is
a planning assumption we can no longer take for granted--in fact is
quickly eroding. Such an environment demands that America's Army
Reserve be ready to operate in a full-spectrum environment that spans
the continuum from persistent asymmetric warfare against the forces of
radicalism and threat networks to the high-end demands of one or more
peer competitors. We must move quickly to deliver the mobility,
survivability, connectivity and lethality to win on the battlefield of
tomorrow.
America's Army Reserve has always risen to meet the challenges of
our time, evolving from a nascent corps of doctors and nurses, to an
Organized Reserve and, later, a strategic reserve under Federal
control, to what is today an integral and essential element of the
operational Army and a force-provider to the Joint Force. Yet, our
mission remains the same: to provide mission-critical capabilities for
the Army and the Joint Warfighter whenever and wherever they are
needed, anywhere on earth. Our vision for the future is clear. It is to
forge and sustain the most capable, combat-ready and lethal Army
Reserve force in the Nation's history.
state of the army reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the Army's sole, dedicated
Federal Reserve force, providing operational capability and strategic
depth to the Total Army and the Joint Force in support of U.S. national
security interests and Army commitments worldwide. The Army Reserve
comprises nearly twenty percent of the Army's organized units, almost
half its total maneuver support, and a quarter of its mobilization
base-expansion capacity. Its unique status as both a component of the
Army and a singular Command imbues it with the flexibility, agility and
unity of effort needed to respond to any mission at home or abroad,
often with little notice.
Manned, trained and equipped primarily to enable combat formations,
the Army Reserve provides quick access to trained and ready Soldiers
and units and the critical enabling and sustaining capabilities the
Army needs to win. These include key strategic and operational
capabilities such as Petroleum Pipeline and Terminal Operations, Rail
Units, Biological Identification Detachments, Broadcast Operations,
Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations, a variety of Military
Police capabilities, Horizontal and Vertical Construction, as well as
Combat Engineers, Assault Aviation, Logistics, and an array of Medical
Commands and formations.
Engaged globally, the Army Reserve plays an integral role in
America's national defense architecture, meeting high operational tempo
demands, generating forces as required, and providing reliable
capabilities all Combatant Commands. Since 2001, more than 300,000 Army
Reserve Soldiers have been mobilized and deployed to not only Iraq and
Afghanistan but to world-wide missions in support of Theater Security
Cooperation, Foreign Humanitarian Support, Homeland Defense, Defense
Support of Civil Authorities and other military missions at home and
around the world. Today, nearly 15,000 Army Reserve Soldiers are
supporting global combatant command operations, around the world, to
include Civil Affairs missions in the Horn of Africa, deterrence
operations in Kuwait, Military Police operations at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba and Medical Support operations in Honduras. Today's Army Reserve
is the most combat-tested and experienced force in its history.
However, we now need an Army Reserve that is ready to win in an
environment that is growing in lethality and complexity. We must build
an Army Reserve that is a more capable, combat-ready, and lethal force
in the Nation's history.
global environment, readiness and the future force
In 2016, America's Army Reserve continued to meet the current and
evolving threats of our time. In addition to the emergence of near-peer
competitors on the global stage, the rapid technological evolution of
offensive and defensive weapons across all domains presents the
opportunity for adversaries to enhance their capabilities, reach, and
lethality in new ways. For example, low-cost and highly adaptable
technology platforms, like unmanned aerial vehicles systems (UAS), can
threaten exponentially larger and more powerful platforms such as
aircraft carriers. Next-generation cruise missiles, attack submarines,
deep submersibles, space, and cyber capabilities can place all U.S.
Forces within an enemy's reach at any given time. New hypersonic and
electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) weapons and increasingly sophisticated
cyber-actors portend a progressively lethal and disruptive battlespace
at home and abroad, while emerging technologies, such as artificial
intelligence, 3-D printing and human performance modification, will
likely disrupt the battlefield in ways we do not yet understand.
In this evolving global security environment in which both U.S.
technological supremacy and vital national interests are subject to
challenge by states who potentially possess both the means and
proclivity to challenge U.S. dominance in critical areas and non-state
actors who may acquire capabilities to acutely challenge our forces for
discrete attacks, the mandate is clear: increase the readiness of Army
Reserve forces--primarily units with a bias for action--in order to
enable them to deploy and engage on short notice. This focus on
readiness, of both individual Soldiers and action oriented units,
drives the Army Reserve's strategy for manning, training and equipping
its ``fight tonight'' formations and adds credence to the Nation's
deterrence posture.
Readiness is our first priority, and full-spectrum threats demand
full-spectrum readiness. In addition to sustaining the counter-
insurgency and counterterrorism capabilities we have developed, the
Army Reserve must be ready to respond to evolving threats in several
theaters, and be prepared for the warfighting demands of large-scale,
nearly simultaneous contingencies in more than one of them. Should they
materialize, these contingencies would require significant and rapid
mobilization, and require lead formations from America's Army Reserve
to provide technical enabling capabilities crucial to opening,
synchronizing, and sustaining major operations.
In this new threat paradigm, the time-tested model of rotational
readiness will no longer suffice. Our traditional ``patch chart''
approach will not generate the significant surge capacity that such
contingencies--arising quickly with little strategic indications and
warning--will demand. To that end, the Army Reserve must now focus its
training, equipping and manning priorities to meet the challenge of
generating full-spectrum readiness for a Ready Force of some 25,000 to
33,000 Soldiers who are capable of deploying to the fight in a matter
of days and weeks. This work includes having sufficient critical Army
Reserve enabler capabilities and ensuring there are no interoperability
gaps in areas such as mobility, lethality, battlefield communications
and mission command systems.
Building and Sustaining the Ready Force
Work is well-underway at the United States Army Reserve Command at
Fort Bragg, to assess and identify those types of units that will be
most critical to rapidly support the warfighter through the Army
Service Component Commands around the globe, and to win in contested
environments across multiple domains. These units, which include early-
entry/set-the-theater capabilities, are being specifically identified
to ensure that leaders throughout the chain-of-command are cognizant of
potential deployment timelines and, accordingly, steady-state readiness
requirements. These units will be appropriately manned (or capable of
being augmented in days to meet manning requirements), trained and
equipped to meet the timelines driven by the warfighter and will be
maintained at that level until further notice. This Ready Force
construct will enhance unit and Soldier stability, mitigate the
cascading impacts of cross-leveling, and rationalize training,
equipping and modernization strategies. Drafting off of the Army's
Sustainable Readiness model, other units will remain sized, trained,
and postured to protect the Nation and its interests as required, to
include Homeland Defense (HD) and Defense Support of Civil Authorities
(DSCA) missions.
At its heart, readiness begins at the Soldier level with deployable
troops who are able to mobilize and deploy quickly in highly capable
units to win the Nation's wars. Individual Readiness is the foundation
of combat power and the decisive edge. It relies on energetic
leadership and execution, the ultimate force multiplier, and depends
upon both the families who support and sustain our Soldiers, and the
employers who enable them to serve the Army and the Nation.
Readiness--Manning, Training, Equipping and Leadership
There are four essential components of Readiness: Manning,
Training, Equipping, and Leadership. They are all critical, and they
are largely interdependent.
Manning is the cornerstone of readiness for America's Army Reserve.
This applies across the force in general and all the more so in quick-
turn deployable units. It begins by positioning force structure in the
right locales to leverage national demographics and emerging trends in
order to capitalize on a mixture of population densities,
predisposition to service, as well as other factors, that set units up
for success in recruiting and retaining talent in an all-volunteer
environment. This also includes re-aligning Full Time Support (FTS)
personnel from lower priority units--from a deployment timeline
perspective--to those units in the Ready Force which are tagged to move
more quickly.
Training is the second component of readiness. To maintain
operational readiness and prepare for current and future threats to our
Nation, the Army Reserve is revamping its collective training strategy,
returning to its expeditionary Army roots, and focusing on mission-
essential tasks. Soldiers and units will not only be proficient in
their warrior tasks and drills, but focused collectively on the unit
and occupational specialties required to win decisively in a complex
and dynamic operational environment. The Army Reserve will train to
Objective T standards, which means that Commanders, at all levels, will
ensure that units achieve participation rates and execute decisive
action training required to meet these new readiness requirements.
Because predictable multi-component integrated training is essential to
building the readiness required to meet short-notice contingency
requirements, the Army Reserve will prioritize resources to ensure
early entry enabler formations participate in Army and Joint training
events that leverage live, constructive, virtual and gaming
capabilities.
Equipping is the third component of readiness, and modernized
equipment ensures that Army Reserve early enablers remain both
interoperable and readily available as a vital component of the
operational force. Equipping requires sustained and predictable funding
to maintain a fully operational Army Reserve. Insufficient funding
widens capability gaps which jeopardize the Army Reserve's ability to
support the Joint Force. Although the Army Reserve represents nearly 20
percent of the Total Army, it received less than 3.4 percent of the
Total Army's equipment procurement budget in fiscal year 2016. Lack of
interoperability puts all Army formations at risk when deployed.
Equipping, funding and fielding should ensure Army Reserve is ready and
interoperable with deploying forces within the timelines expected for
supporting the Army and Joint Force in decisive action operations
against a peer adversary.
Leadership pervades all aspects of readiness, and serves as the
ultimate force multiplier. Leaders are the most effective hedge against
complexity and uncertainty, and a resource that can neither be replaced
by technology nor substituted with weaponry and platforms. The Army
Reserve has combat-seasoned force leaders, at every echelon, who have
led in combat. We will build on that experience and harness it to meet
our Nation's future tactical, operational and strategic objectives. The
Army Reserve will also use its unique position with the private sector
to access talent and develop leaders with advanced technical skills for
use in military formations.
Families and Employers
Readiness is built and sustained by garnering and retaining the
support of both our families and, for America's Army Reserve, the
employers who enable us to serve the Army and the Nation. The reason
for this is as simple as it is self-evident: in a Nation that depends
upon an all-volunteer force for its survival, if you are unable to hold
the support of our families and fellow-citizens, you do not have an
Army. Families who feel embraced, appreciated and integrated in to the
Army Reserve are our key enablers. Similarly, the unwavering support of
employers for Army Reserve Soldiers often determines their ability to
continue to serve the Nation without being forced to choose between a
civilian career or continued service to the people of the United States
as an American Soldier.
Translated into action, this reality requires a coherent and
integrated approach whereby a variety of Family Support programs and
initiatives are leveraged to support Families and sustain a sense of
community and mutual support in spite of the geographic dispersion of
our units and Soldiers who are spread around the world. Sustaining
employer support becomes an even more complex and demanding challenge
when seen in the context of the Army's appropriate reliance upon the
Army Reserve to generate the requisite combat power the nation
requires. Persistent and persuasive engagement with employers and the
communities in which they reside through a variety of outreach tools,
is the key to reminding American businesses of the essential linkage
between their ``patriotism'' and national security. We cannot, and will
not, throttle back on this effort. Our U.S. Army Reserve Ambassadors,
Public-Private Partnership Program and community support initiatives at
the local level are all critical enablers in this push.
By way of example, the Army Reserve maintains an around-the-clock
capability to support our Soldiers and Families. Manning a 24/7 watch
floor, via phone or email, the Fort Family Outreach and Support Center
at Fort Bragg, North Carolina provides a direct conduit to command and
community resources with comprehensive and confidential information,
assistance, and referrals for every aspect of military life. Moreover,
the Army Reserve Volunteer Program promotes and strengthens
volunteerism by uniting community volunteer efforts, enhancing
volunteer career mobility, and establishing volunteer partnerships.
Our Survivor Outreach Services Program maintains a family's
connection with the Army family in times of loss, regardless of a
fallen member's duty status or component. Child and Youth Services
helps geographically dispersed Soldiers and families find affordable
childcare and youth supervision options within local communities. Army
Family Team Building is a readiness training program to educate Army
Families about military life. These and other Family Readiness programs
support more than a quarter of a million dependents in America's Army
Reserve.\1\ They are initiatives that have proven themselves effective
time and again.
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\1\ Army Reserve Family Programs; database available online at:
http://arfp.org/.
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Suicide Prevention
Suicide prevention is the shared responsibility of commanders,
leaders, Soldiers, Family members, and Army civilians at all levels and
our efforts are a key component to personal unit readiness. Ensuring
prompt access to quality care is an essential component of suicide
prevention but we must also reduce risk, and one of the greatest risks
is stigma. In the Army Reserve, we are working to reduce or eliminate
the stigma associated with seeking help for suicidal thoughts or
feelings, and are working to providing supportive environments for
those with emotional and psychological issues. The Army Reserve is
diligent in raising awareness of the many tools and resources available
to increase individual resiliency and eliminate the incidences of
suicide. For example, Military OneSouce provides free financial
counselors for military members facing serious financial issues--a key
suicide risk factor. The Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF) Program
helps Soldiers learn resiliency and have the tools to grow through
demanding experiences. The Army Reserve's Fort Family Outreach Support
Center (1-866-345-8248) \2\ provides live assistance for Soldiers and
Families in need, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Army Reserve
is unleashing the power of the team to take care of our teammates and
eliminate suicides within our team.
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\2\ The Fort Family Outreach and Support Center at http://arfp.org/
fortfamily.html or via the Fort Family phone number at 1-866-345-8248
provides live, relevant, and responsive information to support Army
Reserve Soldiers and Families. Available 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, and 365 days a year, it provides unit and community- based
solutions that connects people to people. Assistance is provided during
times of crisis as well as routine assistance for other immediate needs
to help maintain Soldier and family readiness and resiliency. By
pinpointing Families in need and local community resources, the Fort
Family Outreach and Support Center can quickly connect the Soldier and
Family to resources, providing installation-commensurate services in
the geographic location of the crisis. Fort Family Outreach and Support
Center has established a community-based capacity by engaging our
Nation's ``Sea of Goodwill'' to support Soldiers and Families close to
their residence. Simply stated, Fort Family via web or phone connects
Soldiers and Families with the right service at the right time.
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Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention
Sexual harassment and assault are taken seriously across the entire
Army Reserve. The Army Reserve is a family, a close-knit team. Sexual
harassment and assault is an attack on our team, and it is not
tolerated. Just as we would not let anyone hurt our immediate family
members, we will not let anyone harm a member of our Army Reserve team
and our unit readiness. The leaders at all echelons of the Army Reserve
are the shields of trust for each Soldier. We must have high levels of
mutual trust to get after those who would break that bond. As the
shields to our team, the entirety of the Army Reserve is committed to
(1) Protect victims, provide compassionate care, protect their rights
and privacy, and prevent sexual assaults from occurring in the first
place; (2) Report every allegation, ensure that they are thoroughly and
professionally investigated, and take appropriate action based on the
results of those investigations; (3) Create a positive command climate,
and an environment of trust and respect in which every person can
thrive and achieve their full potential; (4) Hold individuals, units,
Commanders and leaders responsible for their actions or inactions; (5)
Fully engage the chain of command, and hold it accountable for
everything that goes on in the unit.
The Army Reserve is fully committed to preventing harassment and
sexual assault,\3\ caring for the victims, and holding those who commit
such egregious acts accountable.
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\3\ The Army Reserve established four full-time Special Victim
Counsel (SVCs) positions, located at each of the four Regional Support
Commands; 42 Troop Program Unit (TPU) SVCs, located at the Army Reserve
General Officer Commands (GOCOMs); and 27 SVCs, located within each
Legal Operation Detachment. The Army Reserve also established 50 full-
time Sexual Assault Response Coordinator/Victim Advocate (SARC/VA)
positions that span the footprint of the Army Reserve. Forty-three of
the 50 SARC/VA positions are currently filled with personnel in a
MILTECH and AGR status. Previously, the Army Reserve maintained five
hotlines listed on the Department of Defense (DoD) Safe Helpline
website, which were accessible for referral through the Helpline
operators. To improve responsiveness, accessibility and breadth of
resources, the Army Reserve consolidated all hotlines under the Fort
Family Outreach and Support Center. The Army Reserve routinely
participates in and hosts forums and panels at all levels of command in
the Army. This includes meetings with the HQDA SHARP Program Office and
the SHARP Academy to improve Army Reserve participation in policy
formulation, training, and future developments. The Army Reserve also
utilizes improved analytics to inform current and future mitigation
efforts. Finally, our adoption of a more aggressive focus and stance on
Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault demonstrated a positive impact in
the force. We are fully committed to maintaining an environment free of
sexual harassment and sexual assault throughout the Army Reserve.
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Shape and Grow the Future Force
Staying current with force structure changes, unit positioning,
leader development, and leveraging emerging technologies, capabilities
and opportunities are key aspects of the agility the Army Reserve will
use to shape and grow the future force.
The positioning of force structure, units and capabilities is a
vital part of developing tomorrow's Army Reserve. Building for the
future means ensuring that America's Army Reserve not only anticipates
and flexes to meet new and emerging force structure requirements, but
that ready units are positioned where future Soldiers are living and
working in their chosen fields. Aligning force structure and unit
locations with trending demographics will also help overcome perennial
recruiting and retention challenges.
Developing agile leaders who can thrive in a full spectrum
environment, are capable of making hard decisions under stress, and can
operate in a complex and potentially digitally-disrupted or austere
environment is a key component of our strategy to shape and grow the
future force.
The Army Reserve's deep connection to the private sector is a
substantial advantage in understanding and exploiting cutting-edge
technology advances and capabilities, such as those in the cyber
domain. For example, we are already positioning structure to support
high tech-focused Department of Defense (DoD) initiatives leveraging
``digital key terrain'' in select locations in the United States, and
seizing on further opportunities to draw upon our civilian skills and
relationships with the private sector to meet critical needs of the
Army.
Finally, infrastructure is also a critical component of generating
readiness. No one installation is ideally suited to providing first-
class training to all formations at all times of the year. Training
platforms--their location, capabilities and limitations--must be
assessed and leveraged in a manner that optimizes their ability to
provide relevant, combat-focused training experiences for Army Reserve
units, and maximizes their ability to increase the combat-readiness of
discrete capable units in the minimum time possible.
Resourcing and Sequestration
Consistent funding is critical to current and future readiness.
Without predicable funding, the Army Reserve, along with all components
of the Total Army, will have difficulty meeting the operational
capability requirements of the Army and Combatant Commands in a full
spectrum environment. When the Budget Control Act of 2011 caps return
in fiscal year 2018, the Army Reserve will incur significant risk in
training, facility restoration and modernization, and equipping and
modernization programs vital to generating the readiness necessary to
win our Nation's wars.
Military Construction (MILCON) funding is necessary to restore
critical aging and decaying infrastructure and replace facilities that
can no longer be economically sustained. Army Reserve Training Centers
are essential readiness platforms enabling home station training and
generating individual and collective readiness within and among units.
Under current MILCON funding levels, the Army Reserve is taking
significant risk to readiness in the ability to sustain, restore, and
modernize enduring facilities that are necessary to execute the Army's
training strategy.
As with training and facilities investments, equipping the force
requires predictable and sustained funding to achieve full spectrum
operational readiness. Current funding levels require continued
reliance on less modern or interoperable equipment. Additionally, the
combination of aging equipment and constrained depot maintenance
funding drives higher levels of risk to unit readiness and the
operational force. If the threat of sequestration is not eliminated,
training for decisive action will be at high risk.
Areas of high risk for the Army Reserve include Mission Command
Systems. Specific capability shortfalls include battle command systems,
tactical radios and satellite transport platforms. The velocity of
technological change continues to outpace the Army's procurement and
modernization strategy.
Since 2013, as the Army Reserve's share of base modernization
funding decreased, the importance of the National Guard and Reserve
Equipping Appropriation (NGREA) has increased, accounting for 26
percent of the Army Reserve's total procurement funding. The Army
Reserve is grateful for the support Congress has provided through
NGREA.
america's army reserve: capable. ready. lethal.
America's Army Reserve is a capable, ready, and lethal team
providing critical capabilities to Army Service Component Commands and
all Combatant Commands. Although the threats to America are dynamic and
ever increasing, the Army Reserve remains a highly effective and
responsive force for the nation. As it has since its founding in 1908
as the Medical Reserve Corps, today's Army Reserve--anchored in
civilian employment and local communities across the nation, and highly
trained and educated in 148 different military career fields--stands
ready to serve the Nation at home and abroad. America's Army Reserve--a
force of technically and highly skilled Soldiers, leaders, and units:
Capable. Ready. Lethal.
Senator Cochran. Thank you very much, General.
We now will hear from the Chief of the Naval Reserve, Vice
Admiral Luke M. McCollum.
Good morning, Admiral, welcome.
STATEMENT OF VICE ADMIRAL LUKE M. MCCOLLUM, CHIEF, NAVY
RESERVE
Admiral McCollum. Good morning, Chairman Cochran, and
certainly Ranking Member Durbin, and distinguished members of
the subcommittee.
It is my honor to be here this morning on behalf of my
fellow Reserve Chiefs and Guard Chiefs to talk about the state
of the Navy Reserve.
It is a distinct honor to report about our Nation's
fighting men and women who selflessly contribute to national
defense.
First, I am proud to have with me this morning the Navy
Reserve Force Master Chief, C. J. Mitchell, sitting to my left.
And I think we can all appreciate those of us who have
advisors, how they help us, and guide us, and mentor us in this
vast responsibility that we have and my tribute to him.
The Navy Reserve is the busiest it has ever been and since
September 11, 2001 a force of 58,000 sailors has executed over
79,000 individual mobilizations to active duty in support of
combat operations around the globe.
They have left their civilian jobs and families for up to a
year or more to join the joint fight. In addition to these
individual mobilizations and on any given day approximately 20
percent of the force is performing operational support to the
fleet around the globe.
As we sit here this morning, naval reserves are proudly
serving in every geographic combatant command worldwide
conducting the full spectrum of operations.
Consider Navy Reserve Coastal Riverine units are currently
conducting high value escort missions off the Horn of Africa.
Multiple Navy Reserve squadrons from the Maritime Support Wing
are flying fixed and rotary wing missions in the South China
Sea.
Navy Reservists are deployed to Central America supporting
the counternarcotics trade and counter-illicit trafficking
mission.
And finally, mobilized reservists continue to extensively
serve in the Middle East in support of the fight against
extremists.
Our Navy Reserve sailors expertly accomplish all of this
while skillfully balancing with their families and their
employers as they manage their military careers. While the Navy
Reserve remains mindful of its character to preserve a
strategic capability, the operational demands that I have just
mentioned show no sign of letting up. This is occurring as our
primary enabler, which is our RPN (Reserve Personnel, Navy)
funding and has been unpredictable and diminishing.
As a result, the Navy Reserve supports about 31 percent of
the actual demand our combatant commanders ask of us. Your
continued support in ensuring the RPN remains robust,
consistent, and predictable is critical to maintaining Force
readiness and accomplishing the Navy Reserve's Mission.
The Navy Reserve's equipment, specifically our aging
aircraft fleet, is facing obsolescence challenges and rapidly
approaching the end of its designed service life. Sixteen years
of hardened use has accelerated this effect.
In order to ensure high levels of safety, interoperability,
and readiness aircraft recapitalization in our strike fighter,
logistics, and maritime patrol squadrons remains Navy Reserve's
top equipping priority. And modernizing the Navy Reserve's
aviation will allow the Navy to continue to capture the
valuable training and expertise of Navy pilots, aircrew, and
support personnel who choose to transition from active duty to
the Reserve component.
While the challenges ahead of us are significant, I could
not be more proud of the Navy Reserve force. Every time I set
foot in one of our 123 Reserve Operational Centers around the
country, I come away impressed and encouraged at the motivation
and the morale of our personnel.
Our dedicated Navy Reservists who take great pride in their
service to our country. And their unique civilian skill sets
they bring to the battlefield are certainly invaluable to the
total Force.
On behalf of the Navy and the Navy Reserve, I thank the
members of the committee for your support, and I look forward
to answering your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Vice Admiral Luke M. McCollum
Chairman Cochran, Ranking Member Durbin, and distinguished Members
of the Subcommittee, as Chief of Navy Reserve it is my distinct honor
to report to you on the state of the Nation's Navy Reserve and its
sailors. Navy Reserve proudly provides properly trained and equipped
sailors to the Navy, Marine Corps, and Joint Force. As an essential
component of the Navy, the Navy Reserve provides operational capability
and surge capacity, both overseas and at home, across the full spectrum
of naval missions.
Navy Reserve is comprised of 58,000 citizen sailors from every
State and territory. Since 2001, these dedicated men and women have
mobilized over 79,000 times to every theater of operations, including
5,755 personnel in fiscal year 2016. This morning, in addition to
individual mobilizations, Navy Reserve has over 12,000 sailors
performing Operational Support directly to the fleet around the globe;
approximately 20 percent of the force.
In 2016, the Navy Reserve continued its century-long tradition of
supporting Navy, Marine Corps and Joint Operations in superb fashion,
including the most recent conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and against
violent extremists. Furthermore, in order to keep pace with improving
technology and pivot to confront new and emerging threats, a strategic
``deep dive'' into the structure and organization of the future Navy
Reserve has begun. The resulting Strategic Campaign will be underpinned
by lines of effort (LOEs) clearly articulated in the Navy's Design for
Maintaining Maritime Superiority. Meanwhile, Navy Reserve will continue
to do what it does best--combating the complex network of threats that
the nation faces across multiple domains.
On behalf of the Navy Reserve, I would like to extend my sincere
gratitude for your continued support.
force structure
Today's force structure is the result of Navy's imperative to
optimize the interoperability and operational effectiveness of the Navy
Reserve. As a direct result of the Navy Reserve's force structure
realignment, most Reserve sailors now routinely work and train
alongside their Active Component (AC) counterparts. Due to the high
levels of personnel and mission readiness attained as a result of this
synergy, Reserve sailors are able to provide a rapid response to calls
for support, often on a moment's notice. Additionally, where
appropriate, Reserve Component (RC) hardware units are aligned and
integrated with AC unit training and deployment cycles. These RC units,
comprised of military professionals with extensive operational
experience, act as force multipliers through mission augmentation and
provide surge capacity where and when needed. This is one of the most
cost-efficient and mission-effective models available across all
reserve components today.
Commander Navy Reserve Forces Command (CNFRC) operates six region
headquarters (Reserve Component Commands (RCCs)) and 123 Navy
Operational Support Centers (NOSCs). Located in all 50 States as well
as Puerto Rico and Guam, these facilities collectively serve over 1,400
RC units. NOSCs reside both on and off DoD installations as a mix of
stand-alone facilities, Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Centers, and joint
Armed Forces Reserve Centers.
Commander Naval Air Forces Reserve (CNAFR) is comprised of three
air wings, two Joint Reserve Bases (JRBs) and one Naval Air Facility
(NAF): Fleet Logistics Support Wing (FLSW) and Tactical Support Wing
(TSW) at Naval Air Station (NAS) JRB Fort Worth, TX, Maritime Support
Wing (MSW) at NAS North Island, CA, NAS JRB Fort Worth, TX, NAS JRB New
Orleans, LA and NAF Washington, D.C. In addition to these standalone
commands, the Navy Reserve operates multiple Squadron Augment Units
(SAU) which directly support various AC Navy squadrons around the
country. In all, the Navy Reserve owns and flies approximately 150
aircraft across the force.
current operations
The Navy routinely responds to combatant commander requirements
with tailored Reserve units and personnel. This force structure
provides integration options ranging from the mobilization of an entire
unit to the activation of a single Individual Augmentee (IA) sailor.
This model delivers the increased flexibility and depth needed for the
Total Force to face the dynamic nature of the global security
environment. As of March 31st, 2017, 3,018 Reserve sailors were
mobilized, 1,576 Reserve sailors were preparing to mobilize, and 343
were de-mobilizing. These sailors are involved in operations directly
supporting Central Command (CENTCOM), Southern Command (SOUTHCOM),
Africa Command (AFRICOM), and European Command (EUCOM). These
individual mobilizations are in addition to the Operational Support
that Navy Reserve units provide to combatant commanders on a daily
basis in the Expeditionary Warfare, Naval Air Warfare, Fleet Air
Logistics, Cyber Warfare, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and Shipyard
Maintenance domains.
Navy Reserve Operational Support missions are broad, diverse, and
critical to the mission of each of the geographic combatant commands.
For example: In the continental United States, Navy Reserve Coastal
Riverine Squadrons (CRS)--specifically CRS 1, CRS 11, CRS 8, and CRS
10--form the backbone of the Navy's High Value Unit (HVU) escort
mission. These units conducted 622 HVU Escort missions in fiscal year
2016, and have conducted 151 to date this fiscal year, providing afloat
escort security for Navy vessels at strategic ports. Outside of the
Continental United States a rotating team of CRS personnel (69 sailors
strong) conduct HVU operations at Djibouti, Africa. Additionally,
rotating CRS personnel based out of Bahrain continue to support
Embarked Security Team (EST) operations, providing maritime security
for port visits, underway replenishments, and chokepoint transits in
the Middle East.
In the Southern hemisphere, Navy Reserve forces provide timely
support to every SOUTHCOM sponsored Humanitarian Assistance exercise,
and contribute thousands of man hours to operational and exercise
intelligence, medical, and logistics in support of SOUTHCOM's efforts
to be the region's preferred security partner. At Joint Interagency
Task Force South (JIATF-South), Navy Reservists serve an integral role
in the Counter Drug/Counter Narcoterrorism (CD/CNT) detection and
monitoring mission. At Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay (JTF-GTMO) Navy
Reserve manpower contributions to medical, intelligence, legal and
Chaplain support services are critical to the mission. In Central
America, Navy Reservists provide 40 percent of the Force Protection and
Information Technology manning requirements at the OCONUS Cooperative
Security Location in Comalapa, El Salvador, where deployed P-3C
aircraft conduct the Counter Illicit Trafficking (CIT) mission. The
Navy Reserve is a significant force multiplier in SOUTHCOM's continuing
effort to encourage strength and unity of purpose between the U.S. and
our regional partner nations.
In the Pacific, the Reserve Maritime Support Wing (MSW) is
supporting Pacific Command (PACOM) objectives to advance stability and
security in a volatile region. Specifically, Navy Reserve P-3C
squadrons are deployed and flying maritime patrol and reconnaissance
missions alongside their sister AC patrol squadrons. This operational
deployment of RC capacity has eased the workload of AC units, helping
facilitate the transition of the Navy's Maritime Patrol and
Reconnaissance Force from the legacy P-3C to the new P-8A aircraft.
Meanwhile, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 85 is deployed and
flying missions in support of Special Operations Command, Pacific
(SOCPAC). HSC-85 flies the HH-60H, and is the Navy's only rotary wing
squadron solely dedicated to supporting the mission of Naval Special
Warfare.
Around the globe, Navy Reserve's Fleet Logistics Support Wing
(FLSW) provides 100 percent of the Navy's intra-theater air logistics
capability. FLSW aircraft and flight crews are essential to sustaining
maritime operations, transporting naval personnel and priority cargo to
forward deployed units throughout the world. In fiscal year 2016, FLSW
transported more than 115,000 naval personnel and nearly 22 million
pounds of cargo in support of Fleet operations while maintaining 24/7/
365 C-40A and C-130T support in the CENTCOM, PACOM, and EUCOM AOR's.
Additionally, the Naval Information Force Reserve (NAVIFORES), which
comprises 15 percent of the uniformed Navy Reserve, provided over
470,000 man-days of operational support over the course of fiscal year
2016, a 10 percent increase over fiscal year 2015. The command filled
over 76 percent of the total Navy Information Warfare Community
Individual Augmentation requirement, providing support in 11 different
countries and afloat.
new & expanding missions
The volatile, complex and ambiguous nature of the threats facing
the nation demand a Navy that can generate forces and capabilities with
the agility and adaptability to respond efficiently and effectively.
Specifically, Navy Reserve is expanding in three key emerging mission
sets: Cyber warfare, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Surge
Maintenance Units (SurgeMain).
As the cyber warfare threat continues to grow, the Navy Reserve is
growing its capacity to meet this challenge. The Reserve Information
Warfare Community will grow by over 300 personnel to provide support to
the Cyber Mission Force integration strategy within the Navy Reserve's
authorized strength levels. Moving forward, Commander, U. S. Fleet
Cyber Command will continue to assess requirements for Reserve
integration into Navy's Cyber Mission Force, and the potential for
creating Reserve Cyber Mission Support Units or Detachments.
With reliance on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) continuing to
expand, the Navy Reserve is well positioned to provide remote operator
support, as the planned and periodic operating construct of UAS
operations is a perfect fit for RC sailors. For instance, the Navy
Reserve maintains two Navy Special Warfare SEAL Teams to provide
additional capacity to the AC. In 2015, these teams began adding
unmanned aircraft systems to their mission inventory to meet the
increasing requirement for expeditionary Intelligence, Surveillance and
Reconnaissance (ISR) capability. Reserve sailors provide operational
support to these ISR detachments on a rotational basis.
The MQ-4C Triton, formerly known as Broad Area Maritime
Surveillance UAS, is a maritime UAS that provides real-time ISR over
vast ocean and coastal regions. Twenty percent of the Navy's MQ-4
mission will be supported by over 100 members of the Navy Reserve.
These reservists consist of Full Time Support Reservists (FTS) and
Selected Reservists (SELRES) whose ranks are filled with pilots, naval
flights officers and aviation warfare operators as well as reservists
in various administrative and supportive roles. As a group they will
operate as a SAU, providing valuable stability to the ever growing and
evolving missions in which UAS participate. Navy Reserve SurgeMain
Units are made up of a part-time, flexible, fully qualified maintenance
work force that provides skilled labor vital to Navy shipbuilding.
These teams of RC sailors become a mobilization force when the Navy
needs to ``surge'' its maintenance infrastructure to support fleet
readiness and the Optimized Fleet Response Plan. Over 1,400 SurgeMain
sailors provided over 12,000 man-days of shipyard support in fiscal
year 2016. These units have been instrumental in mitigating risk by
filling capability and manpower gaps created as a result of an
increased shipyard workload and civilian work force attrition. In
addition to providing additional manpower, SurgeMain sailors often
bring new perspectives to problem solving as well as best practices
from their civilian experience at a significant cost savings.
Accordingly, Navy intends to increase its investment in RC SurgeMain
manpower moving forward. Over the next few years, the shipyard
augmentation work force is forecast to grow by 394 billets to 1,856
personnel (within authorized end strength levels), which is a testament
to the success of the SurgeMain program and the skill and dedication of
its sailors.
enablers
Fiscal Predictability
Predictable and dependable funding ensures that Navy Reserve
sailors are able to provide consistent and timely operational support
to the Navy, Marine Corps, and Joint Force. Reserve Personnel, Navy
(RPN) funding is the primary fiscal means with which the Navy Reserve
provides this support. Currently, the RPN account is funded to a level
that enables the Navy Reserve to support 31 percent of operational
demand. Your continued support in ensuring RPN funding remains robust,
consistent, and predictable is a key enabler in maintaining readiness
and accomplishing the Navy Reserve's mission.
Civilian Skills
Many of the civilian skill sets of Reserve sailors add invaluable
expertise and capability to the force. In some cases, RC sailors'
civilian skills have provided exclusive and much needed capabilities in
critical mission areas. Conversely, their military training and
professional development make them more capable leaders in their
civilian communities. Citizens who serve in the Navy Reserve strengthen
the bond with the American public while educating families, employers
and communities about military service.
Whether a tradesman, first responder, executive, or licensed
professional, the Navy has long benefitted from the civilian experience
and maturity of RC sailors. Moving forward, the Navy Reserve is focused
on developing and improving its processes so it can more consistently
leverage these abilities. This unique combination of civilian and
military experience and skills provided by Reserve sailors offers the
diversity of thought and insight which inspires innovation and acts as
a force multiplier.
Military commanders often comment that the value of Reserve
sailors' civilian expertise enhances their unit's mission
effectiveness. As one Joint Task Force Commander noted, ``The
background and contemporary industry knowledge members of the Navy
Reserve bring to my organization cannot be overstated--they bring a
unique set of skills which consistently results in a better solution or
product when they work side-by-side with their active duty
counterparts, government civilians and contractors.''
Talent Management
The Navy Reserve has numerous initiatives underway to retain and
extend the service of thousands of men and women in uniform as they
transition from active duty. This ability to retain their training and
experience is a critical element in managing Navy talent and is vital
to the future health of the Total Force.
Many of Navy's talent management programs fall under the concept of
Continuum of Service (CoS), a transformational approach to personnel
management that provides opportunities for seamless transitions between
the active and reserve components. CoS provides flexible service
options and improves life-work balance, which directly helps RC
sailors. CoS provides both full-time and part-time service
opportunities, depending on the Navy's needs and sailors' own personal
desires. This supports CNO's vision of a seamless Navy Total Force that
is valued for their service, and enables them to volunteer for
meaningful work that supports the Navy mission. Retaining sailors in
the Navy Reserve when they leave active service enhances readiness and
reduces personnel training costs by capitalizing investments made when
serving on active duty and building a Total Force team of trained and
experienced professionals.
Mobile Technology
Mobile access to a myriad of Navy IT systems is a key enabler for
Navy Reserve sailors to maintain mobilization readiness and to perform
their mission requirements, even when not at their assigned command.
Navy Reserve must consolidate and modernize the systems used to enable
and manage readiness, while improving access to those systems. Navy
Reserve has taken a full-spectrum approach and has partnered with
industry to produce creative and advanced IT solutions. Reserve sailors
can now securely conduct business utilizing a mobile application to
access various Navy and Navy Reserve IT systems, a cloud-based pilot to
provide access to office productivity and collaborative tools, and
expanded Navy NOSC hotspot capabilities to optimize the use of personal
devices during drill weekends. Collectively, these solutions reduce the
time and effort required to meet readiness and training requirements.
Every Reserve sailor's time must be focused to the greatest possible
extent on the mission and not on administrative overhead.
Employers
The RC relies heavily upon the sacrifice and dedication of local
employers in each member's home State to support the Nation's hundreds
of thousands of reservists. Many companies provide flexible work
options for both drilling and deploying RC service members. Some
companies even go above and beyond what is required by law and continue
to support members of the RC with pay and benefits while they are
activated. For both large and small companies, this sacrifice can be
considerable. Most importantly, supportive employers send a clear
message to RC members that they need not worry about their civilian
jobs while serving their country. The value of this reassuring message
cannot be overstated --an employer's level of cooperation and
encouragement is directly related to the productivity and mission focus
of RC members when they put on the uniform. Employer support is a vital
component of the success of the entire RC, and the Navy Reserve goes to
great lengths to recognize supportive employers every year through
various programs and initiatives.
Medical Professionals
RC sailors must be healthy, fit, mobilization ready and mission
capable. To ensure high levels of medical and dental readiness
throughout the force, Navy Reserve continues to leverage the skills and
experience of the Navy Reserve's Medical Professionals in support of
completion of Periodic Health Assessments (PHAs), immunizations and
dental screenings. These medical personnel contribute to all Reserve
sailor Individual Medical Readiness (IMR) requirements. Drilling
medical personnel, primarily in the Operational Health Support Units
(OHSUs), support RC sailors drilling at the NOSCs on a regular basis on
drill weekends. Additionally, since 2001, over 6,700 Navy Reserve
Medical Professionals and Hospital Corpsmen have been deployed across
the globe in support of combat operations, bringing critical skills
that have directly contributed to the impressive and unprecedented
combat survival rate experienced over the past 16 years of conflict.
resilience and prevention programs
Navy Reserve resilience programs connect with other military and
family programs to promote the mission-ready sailor. Key to this effort
is providing a support network, programs, resources, and training
needed to build life skills and winning in adverse environments.
Building resilience through a culture of wellness--physical, mental,
social and spiritual--will remain one of the Navy Reserve's top
priorities.
Serving as a reservist requires RC sailors to balance many
priorities associated with their civilian jobs, family commitments, and
duties as a part-time sailor. The Navy Reserve utilizes several tools
to help sailors manage the stressors that can accompany this busy
lifestyle. The Navy Reserve's Psychological Health Outreach Program
(PHOP) ensures all Reserve sailors have access to appropriate
psychological healthcare services. Regional PHOP counselors provide
Operational Stress Control (OSC) briefings and behavioral health
screenings to Reserve sailors across the nation. The Resiliency Check-
in tool allows PHOP counselors to provide one-on-one behavioral health
assessments that include on-the-spot initial and follow-up referrals
when needed. This is a proven way to ensure sailors have access to
counseling support from providers who are trained in resiliency methods
to deal with common issues associated with the military lifestyle,
including the stress related to family separation, continuous
deployments, and post-mobilization reintegration.
The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) supports Reserve
sailors and their families through all phases of the deployment cycle.
All deploying sailors participate in Pre-Deployment Health Assessments
(PDHA) and Post-Deployment Health Reassessments (PDHRA). Thanks to
Congress, the language in the fiscal year 2016 NDAA amended the number
of YRRP phases from four (Pre/During/Demobilization/Post) to three
(Before/During/After) which helps to simplify and streamline service
delivery. A key program within the YRRP is the Returning Warrior
Workshop (RWW), which focuses on the reintegration process for service
members and their spouse/family members, and helps identify sailors in
need of follow-on care. 663 service members and an additional 530
spouse/family members attended an RWW in fiscal year 2016. Navy
leadership routinely receives positive feedback on the impact that this
dynamic program has towards the reintegration process. Continued
funding for the YRRP is vital to Navy Reserve's continuum of care.
The Navy Reserve remains committed to eradicating self-destructive
behavior. The Navy's mantra of ``Every Sailor, Every Day'' promotes a
culture that educates, trains, and empowers sailors to identify signs
and trends that are indicative of impending self-destructive behaviors.
Navy Resilience and Suicide Prevention Programs promote community and
embody comprehensive wellness.
The Navy Reserve fosters a climate that is intolerant of sexual
assault. Navy leadership is committed to preventing sexual assault by
training sailors to intervene in unethical situations, while further
improving victim response and care. Navy Reserve sailors are trained
and empowered to intervene and take action to stop behaviors contrary
to the Navy's Core Values and Ethos. Navy Reserve promotes a culture of
dignity and respect for all, and emphasizes the importance of living
with honor, courage and commitment--both on and off duty. To further
DoD's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) efforts, Navy
Reserve recently released guidance to reinforce and clarify proper
handling of SAPR issues unique to Reserve sailors.
The Victims' Legal Counsel (VLC) program provides sexual assault
victims with a dedicated attorney to help explain the investigation and
military justice process, and protect the victim's legal rights and
interests. The Navy Reserve has played an important role in the VLC
program since its inception in August 2013 by consistently filling VLC
billets with Reserve judge advocates. A trusted VLC program made up of
experienced, dedicated judge advocates encourages reporting by giving
victims the confidence that their rights will be protected.
readiness
The Navy Reserve's primary mission is to provide mobilization ready
sailors, available at a moment's notice, to the Navy, Marine Corps, and
Joint Force. Traditionally, the Navy Reserve maintains readiness as a
result of an integrated force structure, enforcement of military
standards, and the operational support that RC sailors routinely
perform. In any given week, nearly 20 percent of the Navy Reserve is
delivering operational support to the Navy and the Joint Force across
the globe. Due to the tight integration with the active force, Navy
Reserve's readiness levels very closely mirror that of the AC.
Equipping the Force
Aircraft recapitalization is without question Navy Reserve's number
one equipping priority and is critical to the Navy Reserve's ability to
provide required operational support to the Naval Aviation Enterprise.
Almost 15 years of increased operational tempo within a constrained
procurement environment has taken a toll on the aircraft and equipment
that RC sailors operate. Navy Reserve's integrated force structure
depends on the ability to quickly and seamlessly assimilate with AC
units to execute the mission. Accordingly, the Navy Reserve depends on
the availability of modern, compatible hardware. As the Navy continues
to prioritize investments in advanced aircraft, weapons systems and
equipment, the total force will ensure that RC procurement is
adequately resourced in these accounts as well. This will ensure that
RC forces maintain high levels of safety, interoperability, and
readiness.
For example, the Fleet Logistics Support Wing (FLSW), made up
entirely of RC sailors, executes the Navy Unique Fleet Essential
Airlift (NUFEA) mission to provide responsive, flexible, and rapidly
deployable air logistics support required to sustain combat operations
at sea. The aircraft that support this mission are the C-40A, C-130T
and C-20G. The C-40As, payload, reliability, cost effectiveness, and
unique ability to transport hazardous cargo and passengers
simultaneously make it the preeminent platform to conduct fleet air
logistics support in all of DoD. Procurement of the C-40A began in 1997
as a replacement for Navy Reserve's fleet of legacy C-9 and C-20G
aircraft. The wartime requirement for the C-40A was assessed to be 23
aircraft; however the risk adjusted inventory objective was determined
to be 17 aircraft. To date, the Navy Reserve has taken possession of 15
C-40As. Furthermore, the Navy's venerable fleet of 23 C-130T aircraft
is aging rapidly. These C-130T aircraft are 23 years old and
maintenance issues are beginning to impact their reliability. In the
not too distant future, the C-130T will require increase maintenance
modifications, upgrades and follow-on recapitalization.
RC strike-fighter aircraft are also in need of recapitalization.
The F-18A+ aircraft being flown by Navy Reserve are some of the oldest
in operation. Significant maintenance and systemic compatibility
limitations negatively impact aircraft availability rates and cause
these squadrons to struggle to meet their strategic and operational
mission. Navy plans to address this shortfall through a ``waterfall''
process in which F/A-18C and eventually F/A-18E/F aircraft are to be
transferred to the RC. This will occur as F-35C and additional F/A-18E/
F aircraft are either procured or available via increased depot
production throughput.
The Navy's surge capacity within the Maritime Patrol and
Reconnaissance Force (MPRF) consists of two RC patrol squadrons that
operate legacy P-3C Orion aircraft. These RC patrol squadrons will be
relied upon for operational capacity and capability to support P-3C
sensor requirements for Combatant Commanders through mid-2023. Due to
current fiscal constraints, there are no plans to fund P-3C sustainment
after the AC patrol squadrons have completed the transition to the P-
8A.
Navy Reserve executes 100 percent of the CONUS High Value Unit
(HVU) escort mission performed by the Coastal Riverine Force within
Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC). The work horse of the HVU
mission is the 34ft Patrol Boat. These boats have a 12 year service
life, and 79 percent of the Reserve boats will exceed their service
life by the end of fiscal year 2019. Continued operation of a normal
34ft patrol boat beyond the 12-year service life requires a
modernization and overhaul service life extension to bring the boat up
to current standards. This extension program takes up to 8 months, with
an associated cost between $600,000 and $800,000 on average per vessel.
To operate a boat past the 12-year service life without the
modernization/overhaul risks catastrophic mechanical and/or mission
failure. The future platform for HVU operations, and NECC operations as
a whole, is the Patrol Boat-X (PB-X) program, which is set to begin
production during fiscal year 2017. In cooperation and coordination
with NECC, Navy Reserve will seek to begin this recapitalization effort
next year.
Facility Investment
As part of the integration and alignment efforts, Navy Reserve
consolidated many of its facilities, closing 23 percent of NOSCs since
2005. Where able, Navy Reserve has partnered with other service
components to relocate NOSCs onto military installations in order to
leverage existing infrastructure and force protection resources. Navy
Reserve has also partnered with other service components to establish
joint reserve facilities. The resulting optimal footprint has allowed
us to make best use of limited military construction and facilities
sustainment funding in order to provide an environment for RC sailors
to maintain their mobilization, training and readiness standards.
As a piece of the Navy's Energy Program for Security and
Independence, the Navy Reserve continues to seek opportunities to gain
energy efficiencies through facilities modernization and new
construction. Navy Reserve military construction projects focus on
building modern, energy-efficient, and technologically up-to-date
facilities. For example, current plans prioritize vacating obsolete
buildings, such as those currently occupied by NOSC Augusta, Georgia
and NOSC Reno, Nevada. Navy Reserve has also prioritized the
modernization and construction of two Joint Reserve Intelligence
Centers. These facilities are ``hubs'' of intelligence expertise that
facilitate direct support to forward deployed warfighters and are a
critical part of the Joint Intelligence Program.
Each year Navy Reserve directs allotted Facilities Sustainment,
Repair and Modernization funds to address the highest priority
modernization and repair projects. However, the funds in any given year
are only sufficient to address a portion of the total facilities
sustainment requirement. Adequate facilities are necessary to keep
Reserve sailors ready to mobilize and deploy forward. Your support
represents an essential investment in the future health and readiness
of Navy Reserve sailors. Stable, predictable funding levels across the
FYDP will allow the Navy Reserve to modernize facilities in the most
effective and expeditious manner.
Military Construction, Naval Reserve (MCNR) investments enable the
Navy Reserve to support the Navy's operational mission and maintain the
readiness of the force. Investments were targeted across the FYDP
toward facilities that directly support operations, such as the
aforementioned intelligence center, and towards relocating old NOSCs
from off-installation to on-installation locations. Navy Reserve
projects remain a priority despite budget constraints and limited
funding for military construction, requesting MCNR funds for four
projects from fiscal year 2017 through fiscal year 2019, and additional
MCNR projects are being considered for inclusion in the upcoming budget
submission. The fiscal year 2017 Request for Additional Appropriations
also includes a request for additional funding to complete construction
of the Fallon NOSC. The Navy will continue to appropriately prioritize
Navy Reserve projects to ensure the most critical mission requirements
are attended to first.
NOSC Security
Navy Reserve has embarked on an initiative to provide armed
security for the 71 NOSCs located outside the confines of a major
military installation. Assisting in this process are 78 SELRES sailors
serving as Master-at-Arms who maintain the NOSC weapons programs and
train select NOSC personnel on Standing Rules for Use of Force and Pre-
Planned Responses. Currently, more than 284 Reserve sailors are
qualified and serving in the NOSC Armed Watch Stander Program. These
sailors provide armed security at their respective facilities during
working hours and on drill weekends.
Additionally, in coordination with Navy Installations Command and
Naval Facilities Engineering Command, the Navy Reserve conducted a
broad Anti-Terrorism Force Protection (ATFP) assessment of all off-
installation NOSCs to identify measures to enhance each facility's
force protection posture. These physical security surveys were
completed in June of 2016.
Fiscal year 2016 funds were obligated to address high priority
security improvements at 14 NOSCs, and additional funds were provided
for Selected Reserve armed security watch standers. Navy Reserve will
continue to enhance physical security at the remaining NOSCs to
mitigate security concerns identified during the ATFP assessments.
Access
The Navy has grown dependent on regular and reliable access to the
RC over the past decade. Under the Presidential Declaration of National
Emergency (DNE), the services and combatant commanders have benefitted
from involuntary access to the RC via Title 10 USC 12302 authority.
When there is no longer a need for an annual DNE, access to the RC
could be constrained under Title 10 USC 12304b authority, which only
provides involuntary access for preplanned missions of units supporting
combatant commander requirements.
conclusion
``Citizen Sailors'' continue to carry on the proud tradition of
supporting the Navy, Marine Corps and Joint Force looking
optimistically to the future in terms of their ability to contribute to
vital national security interests. The broad spectrum of capabilities
they can bring to bear in the fight against burgeoning superpowers and
violent extremists are both effective and efficient. With over 3,000
personnel mobilized around the world and over 12,000 personnel
providing global operational support each week, Navy Reserve sailors
deliver unique skill sets to the battlefield. Driven and dedicated to
serving their country, the men and women of the Navy Reserve have
become a cornerstone in the Navy's Design for Maintaining Maritime
Superiority.
Senator Cochran. Thank you for your testimony.
We will now hear from the Commander of the Marine Corps
Forces Reserve, Lieutenant General Rex C. McMillian.
STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL REX C. MCMILLIAN,
COMMANDER , MARINE CORPS FORCES RESERVE
General McMillian. Chairman Cochran, Ranking Member Durbin,
and distinguished members of the committee.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to
testify on behalf of the Commandant of the Marine Corps about
your Marine Corps Reserve.
I am honored to be here with my fellow Reserve component
service chiefs. With me today are my senior enlisted advisors,
Force Sergeant Major Patrick Kimble and Force Command Chief
Christopher Coates.
I have been at the helm of the Marine Forces Reserve for a
year and a half, and I am pleased to inform you that your
Marine Corps Reserve is thriving. On average, we are at 95
percent manning, and our leadership, morale, and personnel
health of the Force is at unprecedented levels.
I am continually impressed by the professionalism,
competence, dedication, and motivation of our Reserve Marines.
Like their active duty brothers and sisters, they serve
selflessly to protect our Nation while at the same time
balancing their civilian careers and their families. The
strength of the Marine Force Reserves is the talent, skill, and
discipline of our individual Marines and sailors.
I am motivated that the most common question I receive from
your Reserve Marines is, ``When do I get to deploy?'' They
maintain the same mindset as the active component Marines. We
are ready to fight tonight and we are ready to respond to any
mission.
My primary focus remains being combat ready and having
Reserve Marines and units capable of moving, shooting, and
communicating across the battlefield. Reserve Marines are
viewed the same and are expected to respond the same as our
active duty counterparts: on a moment's notice.
We are integrated with the active component as part of the
total force. We are expected to be a force that is fully
complementary, seamless, and an equal teammate to the active
component.
We are manned, trained, and equipped to support Marine
Corps operational requirements across the full range of
military operations. We are 39,000 strong formed into major
commands that comprise a marine, air, and ground taskforce. And
we are unofficially known as the Fourth Marine Expeditionary
Force. As the Commandant of the Marine Corps said, ``We are one
Marine Corps, a total Force Marine Corps.''
To seamlessly integrate with the active component, Marine
Forces Reserve must maintain equipment parity. Shortfalls in
equipment modernization result in less interoperability with
the active component, which slows the pace of operations and
increases risk to your Marines and risk to mission
accomplishment.
Marine Forces Reserve continues to see shortfalls in
modernization, like our most pressing shortfall, the Casey-
130J, which is used for tactical assault support, air-to-air
and ground refueling, and combat logistics support. It is the
major end item which facilitates moving to and across the
battlefield. We should not send our Marines to a fight with
legacy equipment.
Transition to modern equipment requires budget resources.
NGREA (National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account), as you
are all familiar with, is a complement to the presidential
budget. And while we greatly appreciate NGREA, greater spending
flexibility with this funding source would significantly
contribute to the ability of Marine Forces Reserve to modernize
legacy equipment, transition to new systems, improve our
readiness, and better support our young Marines.
We owe it to our Nation's most precious assets, the young
men and women in uniform, to send them into combat with the
most modern equipment available.
With the continued support of congress, Marine Forces
Reserve will continue to serve as a crucial operational
tactical shock absorber to the active component.
I want to leave this distinguished body with two requests.
Number one, we need a predictable and consistent budget. And
number two, we need a flexible NGREA that complements the
budget to assist your Marine Corps Reserve in funding major end
items as defined by law.
I appreciate the opportunity to be here today, and I look
forward to your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Lieutenant General Rex C. McMillian
The United States Marine Corps is the Nation's force-in-readiness.
For approximately 8 percent of the defense budget, your Corps provides
an immensely capable and immediately responsive national security
insurance policy for the American people. When our Nation calls, the
American people expect quick, decisive action from Marines--both the
Active and Reserve Components. All Marines must be disciplined,
focused, and lethal. As the Commandant of the Marine Corps previously
stated, we are one Marine Corps, a Total Force Marine Corps.
Your Reserves have been fully engaged across the Globe over the
past 16 years in theater security cooperation activities and overseas
contingency operations, serving side-by-side with our Active Component.
Organized as a traditional Marine Air-Ground Task Force, Marine
Reservists from each of our major subordinate commands--4th Marine
Division, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, 4th Marine Logistics Group, and
Force Headquarters Group--have made a tremendous impact across a
diverse spectrum of operations in support of every geographic combatant
commander's operational and theater security cooperation requirements
in addition to Service commitments.
I continue to be deeply impressed by the professionalism,
competence, and dedication of our Reserve Marines. Like their Active
Component counterparts, they serve selflessly to protect our great
Nation. I am inspired by the way they balance family responsibilities,
civilian careers, and military service. They do so with humility,
without fanfare, and with a sense of pride and dedication that is
consistent with the great sacrifices of Marines from every generation.
Without a doubt, the success of the Marine Corps hinges on the quality
of our Marines.
Your Marine Corps Reserve is recruited, organized, manned,
equipped, and trained to provide a professionally ready, responsive,
and relevant force as a Marine Corps solution to enable Joint and
Combined operations. Today's force will remain ready to fight and win
across the range of military operations and in all five warfighting
domains--maritime, land, air, cyber, and space. While we remain ready,
I thank you in advance for ensuring your Marine Corps Reserve achieves
competitive readiness levels and equipment modernization.
A Total Force
Over the past year, the Marine Corps Reserve supported each
combatant commander by providing forces focused on theater security
cooperation, crisis response, crisis prevention activities and combat
operations. Marine Forces Reserve has sustained a robust operational
tempo while providing critical capabilities essential in maintaining
national security at the strategic level.
Global deployments, along with participation in Service, Joint, and
Multi-national exercises, develop the desired depth of experience of
the Reserve Force, ensuring the Marine Corps Reserve is relevant, ready
and responsive to meet combatant commanders' requirements for highly
trained general-purpose forces. The performance of our Reserve Forces
in recent Total Force operations demonstrates this fact.
In 2016, more than 612 Reserve Marines mobilized supporting 18
operational requirements in five of the six geographic combatant
commands. Likewise, nearly 5,200 Reservists participated in 34 training
exercises, supporting requirements in 18 countries across the globe.
Additionally, more-than 170 Reserve Marines volunteered to serve as
Individual Augmentees, providing support to nearly every combatant
commander.
During 2017, Marine Forces Reserve continues to support the
combatant commanders by mobilizing an additional 813 Reservists and
providing 4,500 Marines for a multitude of theater-specific exercises
and security cooperation events. These operations and exercises greatly
increase the Reserve Component's interoperability with the Active
Component, Joint Force, and our allies.
Though the necessity to activate Marine Corps Reserve units on a
large scale has decreased in recent years, the demand for the Marine
Corps' unique capabilities has increased. For example, this year we
plan to provide forces for a new emerging security force requirement in
southwest Afghanistan. In addition, for the second year in a row, we
have mobilized and will deploy a task-organized Special Purpose Marine
Air-Ground Task Force to U.S. Southern Command in support of theater
security cooperation objectives. Last year, this formation of ground,
air, and logistical capabilities supported U.S. Government humanitarian
assistance that was provided to Haiti immediately after Hurricane
Matthew.
Marine Forces Reserve continues to provide daily support to
combatant commanders in a wide range of roles that include multi-
lateral exercises, such as African Lion in Morocco, Ulchi Freedom
Guardian in South Korea, and Maple Resolve in Canada. I anticipate
Marine Forces Reserve will continue to deploy and integrate with the
Active Component to meet combatant commander high-priority requirements
through the use of existing mobilization authorities.
In addition to participating in operational requirements across the
globe, Marine Forces Reserve continues to support the Total Force by
dutifully executing the sensitive and crucial mission of providing
casualty assistance to the families of our fallen Marines. Inspector-
Instructor and Reserve Site Support Staffs are geographically
positioned to accomplish the vast majority of Marine Corps casualty
assistance calls and are trained to provide compassionate and thorough
assistance to families. Indeed, the majority of Marine Corps casualty
notifications and follow-on assistance calls to the next of kin are
made by our Marines. During Calendar Year 2016, our Inspector-
Instructor and Reserve Site Support staffs performed 85 percent of the
361 casualty calls performed by the Marine Corps.
There is no responsibility that we treat with higher regard than
the solemn mission of providing casualty assistance. The
professionalism and compassion of our Casualty Assistance Calls
Officers (CACOs) continues well beyond the initial notification. We
ensure that our CACOs are well trained, equipped, and supported by all
levels of command through the combination of in-person and online
training. Once assigned, the CACO serves as the family's central point
of contact and coordinates with funeral homes, government agencies, and
other organizations. They assist family members with planning the
return and final resting place of their Marine; and ensure the filing
of appropriate documents is completed so that the family receives any
veteran benefits to which they are entitled. In many cases, our CACOs
provide a long-lasting bridge between the Marine Corps and the grieving
family.
Additionally, Marine Forces Reserve units and personnel provide
significant support for military funeral honors for our veterans. The
Inspector-Instructor and Reserve Site Support staffs, with augmentation
from additional Reserve Marines, performed more than 19,000 Military
Funeral Honors, which represented 91 percent of all funeral honors
rendered by the Marine Corps during Calendar Year 2016. As with
casualty assistance, we place enormous emphasis on providing timely,
compassionate, and professionally executed military funeral honors.
Finally, Marine Forces Reserve serves as the most wide reaching
link between the Marine Corps and communities across the Nation. We
present the face of the Marine Corps to the majority of the American
public. With Reserve units located across the country, Marine Forces
Reserve is uniquely positioned to interact with the public and
communicate the Marine Corps story to our fellow citizens; most of whom
have little or no contact with the Marine Corps. For example, last year
Marine Forces Reserve personnel and units conducted more than 500 local
and regional public engagement and community relations events across
the country.
predictability
Operationally focused, the Marine Corps Reserve remains an integral
part of the Total Force. We remain manned, trained, and equipped to
seamlessly integrate with and support the Active Component--whether
conducting combat operations, serving within a Special Purpose Marine
Air-Ground Task Force, or assigned as advisors with security
cooperation teams in support of steady-state requirements.
We work to augment, reinforce and sustain the Active Component
across the range of military operations while maintaining Force
readiness to support major contingency operations. We ensure units and
personnel are ready to meet any challenge by employing a Force
Generation Model that rotates Marine Reserve units through a 5-year
Training and Readiness Plan. At any given time, the Force Generation
Model enables the Reserves to provide combat ready units and
detachments, which includes two infantry battalions; artillery, combat
logistics, and multiple aviation capabilities; as well as an assortment
of other forces. In total, a ready bench of more than 3,000 Reserve
Marines and Sailors is prepared to augment and reinforce Active
Component forces in support of a contingency response or as part of a
theater security cooperation mission.
Our Force Generation Model provides a level of predictability for
Force planners and our Reserve Marines, while maintaining the ``train
as we fight'' philosophy. The Model provides our Reservists, their
families, and their employers the ability to plan for upcoming duty
requirements 5 years and beyond. This empowers service members to
achieve the critical balance between family, civilian careers, and
service to our Nation while enabling informed employers to plan for and
manage the temporary absence of valued employees.
The key element in the Force Generation Model is the consistent
integration of Reserve units, detachments, and individuals into
Service, Joint and Multi-lateral exercises, thereby building increasing
interoperability over the plan's 5-year cycle. The units are assessed
through a culminating Integrated Training Exercise during the fourth
year of the training cycle to certify their readiness for use on the
``ready bench'' during the fifth year. Seamless integration with the
Active Component in training exercises is conducted in the United
States and abroad; this training facilitates the Active and Reserve
Components interoperability, thus achieving success with the Total
Force Marine Corps.
personnel
Marines, Sailors and civilians are the foundation of all that we
do. The resources we dedicate to sustaining and developing this
foundation directly contribute to the success of our institution. The
vast majority of the Marine Corps Selected Reserve's authorized end
strength of 38,500 fall under Marine Forces Reserve. The Selected
Reserve is composed of Marines in four categories: Selected Marine
Corps Reserve Units, Active Reserve, Individual Mobilization
Augmentees, and service members in initial training. Embedded with
these Marines are 1,800 Active and Reserve component Sailors who serve
critical roles in the operational and medical readiness of our Reserve
Force. The success of Marine Forces Reserve would not be possible
without the continued support from the U.S. Navy.
In addition to the Marines and Sailors of the Selected Reserve,
Marine Forces Reserve administratively controls approximately 65,000
Marines who serve in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). Marine Forces
Reserve continues to monitor the mobilization viability of these
Marines who have fulfilled their active service commitment and returned
to civilian life. The mobilization potential of the IRR is monitored
through the use of muster events that are conducted at multiple
locations across the country. These muster events are the Marine Corps'
opportunity to physically inspect these Marines to ensure they meet the
requirements for mobilization. These events also provide the
opportunity to address administrative issues, complete mental health
and post-deployment assessments, review Reserve obligations and new
opportunities, meet with prior service recruiters, and reconnect with
fellow Marines. During the past year, Marine Forces Reserve conducted
26 muster events with 6,545 Marines who serve in the IRR.
The Marine Corps Reserve completed its current decrease in end
strength to 38,500 in fiscal year 2016. We will continue to strive to
retain the very best Marines capable of fulfilling our leadership and
operational needs. The option of continued service in the Reserve
Component has become increasingly appealing to young Marines leaving
active duty. Marines approaching the end of their current contracts,
whether Active or Reserve Component, receive counseling on the tangible
and intangible benefits of remaining associated with the Selected
Reserve. We educate each transitioning Active Component Marine on
opportunities for continued service in the Marine Corps Reserve through
the Marine Corps' transition assistance and educational outreach
programs.
Despite reduced authorized end strength, our personnel readiness
has reached record high levels. To sustain this high level of readiness
we have concentrated on improving our personnel administration and
retention programs. Throughout the past year, our Marines have worked
hard to initiate enhancements to our administrative processes and
standard operating procedures.
Additionally, we are improving the timeliness and accuracy of
Reserve pay and entitlement disbursement through the consolidation of
administration at the battalion, squadron, and group levels.
Recruiting and retaining high quality Marines remains essential to
the Marine Corps' reputation as the Nation's force-in-readiness. Marine
Forces Reserve enjoys high affiliation and retention rates enhanced
through incentive programs, such as occupational specialty retraining,
inactive duty travel reimbursement, and bonus payments. These programs
remain essential to ensure we continue to meet authorized end strength
and retain our most talented Marines. Over the past 3 years your
support for these critical programs has helped bolster our overall
personnel end strength to 99 percent of the total requirement with a
grade and Military Occupational Specialty match rate of 85 percent.
This high rate of personnel readiness is not only reflective of the
health of the Force, but directly contributes to our overall
operational readiness. While we fully expect to meet our Selected
Marine Corps Reserve retention and recruiting goals again this year,
continued use of these incentive programs are critical to optimally
align our inventory against our requirements, maintain individual and
unit-level readiness, address shortfalls in staff non-commissioned
officers, and fully rebuild readiness from previous force structure
changes. Your continued support for incentives that promote service in
our Reserve Force will ensure our ability to recruit and retain the
very best service members.
equipment
For the most part, Reserve Component units remain highly
interoperable with their Active Component counterparts due to the
Marine Corps' Total Force approach to equipment fielding and
management. Active and Reserve Component Forces are manned, trained and
equipped to the same standards, facilitating the seamless employment of
Reserve Component Forces to meet combatant commander requirements.
Marine Forces Reserve mission essential equipment readiness levels are
sufficient and capable of supporting all home station training
requirements, as well as current operational deployments.
In the Reserve Component, personnel resources to identify and
conduct maintenance are limited to the small full-time support staffs
at each Reserve Training Center. These staffs are augmented by Reserve
Marines during the monthly drill and annual training periods. Focusing
these limited resources on the combat essential readiness reportable
items constrains routine preventative and corrective maintenance on the
remainder of equipment. Recent modernizations, coupled with the
increase in equipment density and complexity, have compounded this
challenge.
For many years, Marine Forces Reserve has mitigated risk to
maintenance readiness in two ways. First, by continually refining the
Training Allowance, which is the portion of the unit's full Table of
Equipment kept on-hand at the Reserve Training Center. Our goal is to
balance the minimum amount of equipment necessary to effectively
conduct training with the amount of equipment that can reasonably be
maintained within the personnel and fiscal resource constraints.
Second, by leveraging Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) dollars to
pay for mobile maintenance support teams from Marine Corps Logistics
Command to travel to Reserve Training Centers and augment the organic
maintenance capacity. Previous reductions in the availability of these
OCO dollars have caused Marine Forces Reserve to reduce mobile
maintenance support capacity, resulting in a noticeable decrease in the
readiness of non-reportable items. Consequently, this negatively
affects the quality of training that can be conducted by Reserve units.
Congressional support for our amended fiscal year 2017 Operations and
Maintenance, Marine Corps Reserve budget request, both OCO and non-OCO,
is paramount to our continued success in maintaining high equipment
readiness.
The top procurement priorities of Marine Forces Reserve are the KC-
130J Super Hercules and the RQ-21A Blackjack Small Tactical Unmanned
Aircraft System. The Marine Corps Active Component has fully fielded
the KC-130J. However, the remaining 23 Reserve Component aircraft are
not scheduled to be fully fielded until 2027. This extended fielding
timeline forces the Reserve Component to simultaneously operate the KC-
130J and the legacy KC-130T aircraft over the next 10 years. These two
aircraft models have vastly different logistics, maintenance, and
aircrew requirements, resulting in an increased outlay of resources
necessary to maintain the readiness of the Reserve Component squadrons.
Our second procurement priority is the RQ-21A Blackjack Small
Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System. The RQ-21A will provide a dedicated
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system capable of
delivering intelligence products directly to the tactical commander in
real time. The program is still in low-rate initial production. The
Active Component began initial procurement in fiscal year 2014 and the
Reserve Component is scheduled to receive its first RQ-21A in fiscal
year 2021.
training
During June 2017, Marine Forces Reserve will conduct its fifth
Service-level Integrated Training Exercise aboard Marine Corps Air-
Ground Combat Center, Twenty-nine Palms, California. This exercise
consists of a two Battalion assessed live-fire and maneuver exercise,
featuring Reserve Component Forces from the Marine Air-Ground Task
Force elements (i.e. command, ground, air, and logistics). The unique
nature of this exercise ensures maximum training benefits for the
ground, aviation, and logistics combat elements under the command of a
regimental headquarters. The Integrated Training Exercise is an
indispensable component of our Training and Readiness Plan by serving
as an annual capstone exercise, the principal mechanism for examining
our training and readiness levels, and assessing our operational
capabilities. Units participate based on future activation potential in
accordance with the Marine Forces Reserve Fiscal Years 2017-2021
Training and Readiness Plan. The Integrated Training Exercise provides
all Marine Air-Ground Task Force elements an opportunity to undergo a
Service-level assessment of core competencies that are essential to
expeditionary, forward-deployed operations. Additionally, individuals
serving on the regimental command element staff receive training that
ensures the ability to augment a Marine Air-Ground Task Force and/or a
Joint staff. In summary, the Integrated Training Exercise improves
combat readiness, efficiency in Total Force integration, and enables
more rapid activation response times at the battalion and squadron
level.
Marine Forces Reserve continues to maximize continental United
States-based training events. In fiscal year 2016, we provided an
exercise force of approximately 2,000 Reserve Component Marines and
Sailors for training opportunities in Exercise Northern Strike.
Northern Strike is a joint, combined-arms, live-fire exercise
emphasizing close air support, joint fire support, and coordinated
maneuver with fires. The exercise also provides highly sought after
amphibious training. Executed aboard Camp Grayling, Michigan, at the
Joint Maneuver Training Center, Northern Strike provides an opportunity
for Reserve Marines to train alongside Army and Michigan Air National
Guard (ANG) forces as well as Canadian forces, under realistic
conditions. Such an exercise ensures our Marines maintain the highest
levels of proficiency and readiness to integrate with the Active
Component for worldwide deployment.
At our Reserve Training Centers, we continue to maximize training
efficiencies by utilizing simulators wherever possible to preserve
fiscal and materiel resources. The Reserve Component Indoor Simulated
Marksmanship Trainers (ISMTs) and other simulation systems safeguard
consistent capabilities across the Total Force by ensuring Reserve
Marines are trained to the same tasks, conditions, and standards as the
Active Component. The ISMTs particularly benefit remote site locations
that are distant from Department of Defense training ranges by
preserving valuable training time during drill weekends.
With our Marines deploying around the globe, we also access and
leverage a variety of other sources for language and culture training,
such as the Marine Corps' Center for Advanced Operational Culture and
Language, the Defense Language Institute, and Regional Language
Centers. These enhanced language and culture learning opportunities
coupled with realistic operational training events strengthen core
competencies and postures Marine Forces Reserve as a ready, relevant,
and responsive force.
facilities
Marine Forces Reserve occupies facilities in 47 States, the
District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. These
facilities include 27 owned and 133 tenant Reserve Training Centers
(RTCs), three family housing sites, one permanent barracks, three
emergency troop housing barracks, and one General Officer Quarters in
New Orleans, Louisiana. Although some RTCs are located on major
Department of Defense bases, most of our centers are located in
regional population centers, ranging from civilian neighborhoods to
industrial and commercial districts. We continue efforts to improve
maintenance and the security of our facilities to ensure the safety of
our Marines and Sailors.
Sixty-six percent of the facilities budget simply sustains the
existing physical plant and meets base operations costs by focusing on
daily support and infrastructure maintenance. Costs of maintaining the
physical plant steadily increase with the age of buildings. We have
improved the overall readiness of our facilities inventory and
corrected some chronic facility deficiencies through Marine Forces
Reserve Facilities Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization (FSRM)
support. There has been a focused and on-going effort to improve
overall anti-terrorism security at all of our centers by working with
our Service partners and the National Guard for joint occupied
facilities. Although we have leveraged additional funding, these
emergent anti-terrorism security requirements have placed added strain
on our already limited budget.
The Marine Corps' Military Construction, Naval Reserve (MCNR)
program focuses on new enduring requirements and recapitalization of
our aging facilities.The construction provided by the annual
authorization of MCNR funding has been an important factor in advancing
the Marine Forces Reserve facilities support mission. Systemic
authoritative engineering analyses have been undertaken in order to
fill gaps in facility condition information. The combined effects of
our targeted consolidation, FSRM, and MCNR programs have steadily
reduced the number of inadequate or substandard Reserve Training
Centers. Continued support for our facilities program will enable
Marine Forces Reserve to improve the physical infrastructure that
supports and reinforces the mission readiness of our units. Moreover,
Marine Forces Reserve continues to pursue opportunities to place
training facilities within existing Department of Defense compounds.
In accordance with national mandates, Marine Forces Reserve
completed energy assessments at our owned sites and continues to
implement the recommendations from those assessments as funds are
available. Priority is given to sites that are the biggest energy users
nationally and specific projects which offer the best return on
investment. Environmental stewardship continues to be a major priority
for Marine Forces Reserve sites and units as we continue to comply with
national, State, and local laws.
health services and behavioral health
Marine leaders have a moral obligation to ensure the health and
welfare of the Nation's Marines from the day they make the commitment
to serve. We also must care for the Sailors under our charge; and the
families of our Sailors and Marines. We take this responsibility
seriously and strive to maintain the trust and confidence of Congress
and the American people by immediately addressing any challenge to our
readiness and finding solutions through our people and readiness
programs.
Between deployments, our Health Services priority is to ensure the
Department of Defense goal of 85 percent Total Force Medically Ready.
During fiscal year 2016, Marine Forces Reserve individual medical and
dental readiness rates were 84.6 percent and 89 percent, respectively.
We strive to improve medical readiness through a robust Post-Deployment
Health Reassessment (PDHRA) Program at Marine Forces Reserve and an
accurate monitoring, identification, and notification of unit-level
actions necessary to attain readiness goals. Additionally, our Health
Services personnel participate in Force Readiness Assistance &
Assessment Program unit inspections; and our PDHRA Program participates
in the Defense Health Agency's electronic audits. These inspections and
audits provide oversight at unit level and the ability to monitor
policy adherence which ultimately affects enterprise-level readiness.
The Reserve Health Readiness Program (RHRP) has greatly increased
overall medical and dental readiness throughout the Force. This program
funds contracted medical and dental specialists to provide services to
units that do not have direct medical or dental support personnel and
are not supported by a military treatment facility. During fiscal year
2016, the RHRP performed 14,918 Periodic Health Assessments; 15,860
Mental Health Assessments; 850 PDHRAs; 163 immunizations; 3,713
laboratory services; 21,536 audio services; and 18,323 dental
procedures. In addition to RHRP, the Marine Corps' comprehensive
behavioral health program addresses issues such as substance abuse
prevention, suicide prevention, combat and operational stress control,
domestic violence, and child abuse prevention.
Marine Forces Reserve continues to conduct Operational Stress
Control and Readiness (OSCAR) training at all levels. The training is
provided during pre-deployment training to service members of units
deploying for more than 90 days, as well as all commands in garrison.
The purpose of this training is to provide the requisite knowledge,
skills, and tools to assist commanders in preventing, identifying, and
managing combat and operational stress concerns as early as possible.
Navy Bureau of Medicine continues to support behavioral health
through various independent contracted programs, such as the PDHRA and
the Psychological Health Outreach Program (PHOP). The PDHRA places an
emphasis on identifying physical, behavioral, and mental health
concerns that may have emerged since returning from deployment. During
Calendar Year 2016, Marine Forces Reserve successfully raised current
completion totals to nearly 36,000 PDHRA screenings and 16,000 Mental
Health Assessments. The PHOP addresses post-deployment behavioral
health concerns and crisis-related interventions through contractors
with various social work-related backgrounds via a wide array of
referral services in the community to include follow-up with service
members. These programs provide a pathway to identify Marines and
Sailors in need of behavioral health assistance, and an avenue to seek
behavioral health assistance.
Signs of operational and combat stress can manifest long after a
service member returns home from deployment. Delayed onset of symptoms
presents particular challenges to Reservists who can be isolated from
vital medical care and the daily support network inherent in Marine
Reserve units. Encouraging Marines to acknowledge and vocalize mental
health issues is a ubiquitous challenge facing our commanders. We
address the stigma associated with mental healthcare through key
programs, such as the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program. Further, we
market all of our behavioral health initiatives and programs through
our Marine Forces Reserve portal website and during key Marine Corps
forums throughout the year. Your continued support of our behavioral
health initiative programs is greatly appreciated.
Marine Forces Reserve Drug Demand Reduction Program (DDRP)
continues to focus on reducing illegal drug use and prescription drug
misuse within the Reserve community. Marine Forces Reserve relies
profoundly on its drug-testing program, which acts as a powerful
deterrent against drug use. Each Reserve unit annually conducts random,
compulsory drug testing that ensures systematic screening of all
Reservists for the presence of drugs. The DDRP staff provides education
and awareness training on the dangers of misusing and abusing
prescription drugs. The staff also provides information to Reservists
on the proper disposal of old, unused, and outdated medications.
Additionally, the DDRP increases leaders' awareness on the dangers of
abusing prescription drugs through annual substance abuse supervisory
level training.
Suicide prevention remains a high priority for the Marine Corps.
Marine Forces Reserve focuses its suicide prevention efforts on six
initiatives: in-theater assessments, PDHRA, PHOP, Care Management
Teams, Marine Intercept Program (MIP), and Unit Marine Awareness and
Prevention Integration Training (UMAPIT). The in-theater assessments
target Reservists who are exhibiting or struggling with clinically-
significant issues during a deployment. These Marines are evaluated by
appropriate medical authorities for possible treatment with follow-up
decisions made prior to the return home. The PDHRA Program specifically
seeks to identify issues that emerge after Reservists have returned
home from deployment. The PHOP secures treatment referrals and provides
essential follow-up treatment and case management for our service
members to receive appropriate behavioral health services. MIP is an
evidence-informed targeted intervention for active duty service
members, including Reservists, who have had an identified suicide
ideation and/or suicide attempt. MIP includes a series of telephonic
voluntary caring contacts in which a PHOP counselor reaches out to the
Reservist and assesses for risk, encourages use of a safety plan,
identifies and addresses any barriers to services. The PHOP counselors
then incorporate these caring contacts into the counseling process.
Lastly, UMAPIT provides annual training based on evidence-informed
practices to raise awareness of common risk factors and warning signs
associated with behavioral health issues. This training also focuses on
building techniques to protect against behavioral health issues,
ensuring that Marines understand their responsibility to fellow
Marines, and limiting the stigma associated with seeking assistance for
suicidal ideations.
Additionally, Reservists and their family members can access Marine
Corps installations' behavioral health programs through Marine Corps
Community Services while they are on active-duty orders. When not on
active-duty orders, Military OneSource provides counseling, resources,
and support to Reserve service members and their families anywhere in
the world. The Marine Corps DSTRESS Line is another resource available
to all Reserve Marines, attached Sailors, and family members regardless
of their activation status. DSTRESS is a 24/7/365, Marine-specific
crisis call and support center, providing phone, chat, and video-
telephone capability for non-medical, short-term, solution-focused
counseling and briefings.
sexual assault prevention & response
Sexual assault is a complex problem that is often interrelated with
other destructive behaviors. Marine Forces Reserve remains focused on
executing solutions to address the continuum of destructive behaviors,
with the goal of preventing sexual assault within our ranks. To
accomplish this goal, Marine Forces Reserve has six full-time employees
who provide supportive services across the geographically-dispersed
force. In addition to the Force-level Sexual Assault Response
Coordinator (SARC), each Major Subordinate Command within Marine Forces
Reserve has a SARC who manages their commanding general's Sexual
Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Program from the headquarters
office in New Orleans. Together with the SARCs, the professional
civilian victim advocate is available to support service members, as
well as civilians who are eligible for SAPR services. Marine Forces
Reserve continues to increase victim services, improve victim response
capabilities, and emphasize prevention.
Additionally, the SAPR staff trains up to 160 new Uniformed Victim
Advocates (UVAs) each year during week-long courses held at the Marine
Corps Support Facility, New Orleans. After being trained and
credentialed through the Department of Defense's Sexual Assault
Advocate Certification Program, UVAs are appointed by their commanders
as Advocates for their respective Reserve Training Centers. Each SARC
provides continuous support and guidance to the geographically-
dispersed Victim Advocates within their MSC. In total, Marine Forces
Reserve's SAPR Program maintains a roster of more than 300 UVAs within
the Reserve Component.
Marine Forces Reserve members can report at any time, and do not
have to wait to be performing active service or be in inactive training
to file their report. If reporting a sexual assault that occurred prior
to or while performing active service or inactive training, the Service
members will be eligible to receive timely access to SAPR advocacy
services from a SARC and a UVA. They also have access to a Victims
Legal Counsel regardless of the duty status of the individual if the
circumstances of the alleged sex-related offense have a nexus to the
military service of the victim.
UVAs respond to service members regardless of their activation
status, as well as adult dependents who make a report of sexual
assault. With the support of their SARC, UVAs screen for potential
safety issues and provide required safety updates, offer ongoing
supportive services and referrals, and maintain a data base of
nationwide resources for victims of sexual assault who may not reside
on or near an installation. The SARCs and UVAs collaborate with
providers who are local to the sites to create a network of support and
response capabilities for the Reserve Component across the Nation.
Another essential aspect of the response protocol is the 24 hours a
day, seven days a week Support Line that is advertised to service
members and their families via written and digital media and during all
SAPR classes and briefs. The Support Line is manned by the professional
SAPR staff members who serve as a readily accessible resource for those
who need anything from immediate assistance to those with questions
about how to make a report. The Marine Forces Reserve actively
publicizes the DoD Safe Helpline that is a crisis support service for
members of the DoD community affected by sexual assault. The DoD Safe
Helpline is available 24/7 worldwide with ``click.call.text'' user
options for anonymous and confidential support.
Our prevention strategy is holistic and integrated with other
programs that support the prevention effort, such as the Equal
Opportunity Program, Family Readiness, and Behavioral Health. Marine
Forces Reserve emphasizes setting the example of discipline and respect
at all levels of command by encouraging a positive, retaliation-free,
command climate. Leadership is encouraged to actively engage with our
Marines and Sailors to learn what we can do to further support a
positive environment that is free from attitudes and behaviors that are
incompatible with our core values. Preventative education continues to
play a role as all non-commissioned officers receive ``Take a Stand''
bystander intervention training and all junior Marines participate in
the ``Step Up'' bystander intervention training each year.
Additionally, our Marines participate in the various events during
Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.
In summary, Marine Forces Reserve is committed to preventing sexual
assault while responding with the highest quality of supportive
services and advocacy to those who need it.
quality of life
We are dedicated to ensuring quality of life support programs are
designed to help all Marines and their families, whether they are
deployed or on the home front. Reserve Marines and their families make
great sacrifices in service to our country and they deserve the very
best support in return. They are dispersed throughout the country and
away from the traditional support systems of our major bases and
stations. Therefore, we strive to ensure awareness of, and access to,
the numerous support programs available for their benefit. Family
Readiness Officers provide the vital link to ensuring support reaches
those who need it.
Marine Forces Reserve tracks the submission of medical service
treatment records to ensure Reserve Component Marines receive timely
access to Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) healthcare services.
Working across 178 reserve sites, we aggressively target our
performance for submission timeliness to ensure our Marines will not be
delayed in their submission of VA benefit claims once they have
separated from the service.
Marine and Family Readiness Programs remain flexible, constantly
adjusting to meet the needs of our Marines and their families. The
result is a ready and resilient Force, well equipped to achieve
success. This heightened state of resiliency is primarily achieved by
providing robust, relevant and standardized training to our unit
commanders, Family Readiness Command Teams, Marines and their families.
Our Marine Corps Family Team Building (MCFTB) program offers non-
clinical primary and secondary preventative education and professional
training to support service members and their families throughout
mission, life, and career events. MCFTB training events are delivered
in person at Marine Corps units across the United States and through
interactive computer based trainings on the MarineNet platform. During
fiscal year 2016, Marine Forces Reserve conducted 256 training events
at which 10,530 Marines and family members received valuable
information to help prepare for upcoming deployments, thrive during a
deployment, and achieve a positive post-deployment reintegration
experience.
A key component to our quality of life and resiliency is the
religious ministry support provided by the 202 Chaplains and Religious
Program Specialists who serve in our ranks; 127 of whom are in Reserve
units, while 75 support the Active Component. Of those, 11 are
mobilized in support of combatant commanders across the globe. This
support includes providing divine services across the spectrum of faith
communities, advising on spiritual and ethical matters, and pastoral
care in a safe, confidential environment. One signature program is the
Chaplain Religious Enrichment Development Operations (CREDO) program.
The Marine Forces Reserve CREDO program provides two transformational
workshops: the Marriage Enrichment Retreat (MER) and the Personal
Resiliency Retreat (PRR). These events equip Marines, Sailors, and
their families with practical relationship and communication tools that
strengthen marriages and individual resilience while on the home front
and during deployments. The PRR curriculum also helps Marines and
Sailors set personal goals, make good decisions, deal with stress, and
live lives with greater purpose and satisfaction. During fiscal year
2016, 12 Marriage Enrichment Retreats were conducted with 288
participants and two Personal Resiliency Retreats were conducted with
27 participants.
The Marine Corps Personal and Professional Development programs
continue to provide training and educational resources to service
members and their families. The Transition Readiness Program implements
a comprehensive transition and employment assistance program for
Marines and their families; the program emphasizes a proactive approach
that will enable Marines to formulate effective post-transition
entrepreneurship, employment, and educational goals. Transition
Readiness is a process that occurs across the Marine for Life Cycle,
not an event that occurs at a single point in time. Additionally, the
Marine For Life Network provides education and awareness briefs to
Reserve Marines and their family members during IRR Mobilization
Exercises, with the intent to link them to employment, education, and
community resources in support of their overall life goals.
Our Semper Fit program continues to be fully engaged in partnering
with our bases and stations to provide quality, results-based education
and conditioning protocols for our Marines and Sailors. The High
Intensity Tactical Training program includes hands-on, science-based
strength and conditioning courses, online physical fitness tools,
mobile applications for service members to access anywhere, recorded
webinars, as well as instruction on injury prevention, nutrition, and
weight management. Our Marines' and Sailors' quality of life is also
enhanced through stress management and esprit de corps activities, such
as unit outings and participation in competitive events. These programs
are crucial to unit cohesion and camaraderie.
The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) is an invaluable
partner with the Marine Corps Unit, Personal, and Family Readiness
Program at every command level. Since its inception during 2010, the
YRRP has held more than 792 training events for more than 37,000
Marines, Sailors, and family members. In fiscal year 2016, 132 YRRP
training events were conducted with 1,509 participants. The YRRP is a
tool for commanders to remain engaged with the challenges and issues
facing Marines, Sailors, and their families. The YRRP continues to
thrive. Marine Forces Reserve, with the assistance of our Marine Corps
Family Team Building staff, has developed innovative methods for
program delivery that are sustainable in any fiscal or deployment
climate. This includes developing webinars that can be delivered
nationally, mail-outs, social media, personalized briefs designed to
meet the individual needs of the service member and family, and working
with the Family Readiness Officers to leverage national and local
resources at no cost to the government.
We remain supportive of Military OneSource, which provides our
Marines, Sailors, and their families with an around-the-clock
information and referral service via toll-free telephone and Internet
resources. Military OneSource provides counseling on subjects such as
parenting, child care, education, finances, legal issues, deployment,
crisis support, and relocation.
Our Marines, Sailors, and their families, who sacrifice so much for
our Nation's defense, should not be asked to sacrifice quality of life.
We will continue to be a faithful advocate for a robust Family
Readiness Program that evolves and adapts to the changing needs of our
Marines, Sailors and their families. The combined effect of these
programs is critical to the readiness and retention of our Marines,
Sailors, and their families, and your continued support is greatly
appreciated.
supporting our wounded, ill, or injured marines and their families
The Marine Corps ensures the availability of full spectrum care to
all wounded, ill, or injured (WII) service members, whether they are
Active or Reserve, through the Wounded Warrior Regiment (WWR). Marines
Forces Reserve ensures Reserve Marines' unique challenges are addressed
through a liaison who provides subject matter expertise and special
coordination with the WWR staff.
The WWR staff includes the Reserve Medical Entitlements
Determinations Section, which maintains specific oversight of all
Reservists' cases requiring medical care for service-incurred and duty-
limiting medical conditions. Reservists facing complex care and
recovery needs have access to WWR's network of 45 Recovery Care
Coordinators who provide one-on-one transition support and resource
identification for WII Reservists and families, who often live long
distances from military installations. The WWR also has medical
advocates at the regimental staff who are available to assist
Reservists in need of medical care coordination and advocacy and has
district injured support coordinators and field support representatives
dispersed throughout the country who coordinate with Reserve units to
ensure we keep faith with all Marines.
Marine Forces Reserve will not forget the sacrifices our Marines
have made for this great Nation; and we will continue to work with the
WWR to establish resources and programs that address the unique and
ongoing needs of our Reserve population.
conclusion
The Marine Corps is our Nation's force-in-readiness and will
continue to be most ready when our Nation is least ready. As part of
the Total Force Marine Corps, Marine Forces Reserve must remain manned,
trained, and equipped to provide forces to the Active Component to
respond across the operational spectrum and in all five warfighting
domains. Although this unstable and increasingly dangerous operating
environment is further complicated by a constrained resource
environment, we must continue current operations, reset our equipment,
and maintain our warfighting readiness while modernizing the force.
Accordingly, we will make pragmatic institutional choices as we balance
our available resources between current commitments and future
readiness requirements. Semper Fidelis!
Senator Cochran. Thank you very much, General McMillian.
We will now hear from the Chief of the Air Force Reserve,
Lieutenant General Maryanne Miller. General.
STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL MARYANNE MILLER, CHIEF,
AIR FORCE RESERVE
General Miller. Chairman Cochran, Vice Chairman Durbin, and
distinguished members of the subcommittee.
Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you today.
I am honored to have with me this morning my Command Chief,
Chief Master Sergeant Ericka Kelly. Together we represent
America's 69,000 Reserve citizen airmen providing daily
operational capability and surge capacity, ensuring airspace
and cyber dominance around the globe.
Today, I will present our current state of readiness,
discuss our integration across our Air Force domains, and
acknowledge a few of our capabilities unique to supporting our
Air Force's operational and strategic demands.
Full spectrum readiness means the right number of airmen
trained, equipped, and ready to accomplish the operational
missions in support of joint efforts around the globe.
The readiness concerns which weigh most in our preparation
for the fight are insufficient manpower, both in full time
support and critical skills, training availability and funding,
weapon system sustainment, and concurrent fielding of aircraft
and equipment.
The last 26 years of continuous operations coupled with
current budgetary constraints has stressed our readiness
levels. They have left us with a smaller force of seasoned
airmen and threatened our ability to reach and sustain full
spectrum readiness.
To continue supporting emerging missions and enduring
operations, I need a slight growth in manpower with
predictable, reliable funding to match resources to our
reservists' availability.
Though our recruiting efforts continue to meet annual
goals, they do mask underlying shortages in both full time
support and critical skills manning. The Air Force Reserves
needs 445 more pilots and 1,500 maintainers.
Because of recruiting challenges, we have had to increase
non-prior service accessions to meet in-strength over the last
3 years. Non-prior service recruits significantly increase our
training costs and stress our ability to maintain full spectrum
readiness.
Prolonged budgetary churn has challenged the Air Force's
ability to sustain war fighting capability, improve readiness,
and modernize the Force.
A year long Continuing Resolution would stifle improvements
in readiness and degrade our ability to sustain any progress
that we have made to date. It would cut crucial funding to our
special tour, and operations and maintenance funds curtailing
critical training and our equipment. Air crew proficiency
training would be limited as well as our key participation in
joint exercises.
A yearlong CR (continuing resolution) would further
decrease aircraft availability, shrink critical commodities,
and weaken our ability to meet the demands of the Air Force.
Modernization recapitalization and military construction
funding are essential to guarantee we remain agile and combat
capable.
The Air Force Reserve leverages the National Guard and
Reserve equipment appropriation to increase our capability and
ensure interoperability in the joint fight. So thank you very
much for your support in that.
We must develop a concurrent fielding and divestment
strategy for the Air Force to ensure operational parity with
the active component and allow for synchronized use of
resources and training.
Reserve citizen airmen are associated in two-thirds of the
Air Force's total force enterprise. We partner across every
MAJCOM, leveraging unit associations in all our Air Force
Reserve core missions.
We also capitalize on our ability to integrate individual
reservists throughout the Department of Defense to enhance
mission execution.
A fiscal year 2016 Air Force reservist performs 4.4 million
man days and filled over 3,200 Air Expeditionary Force
taskings. Today and every day, 6,000 reservists are operating
around the globe.
Air Force Reserve citizen airmen deliver a diverse
capability for our Nation's defense. We have over 8,000
Individual Mobility Augmentees working around the globe,
infusing their civilian experience and their talent into all
Air Force core missions, particularly in space, cyber, and the
intelligence areas. Leveraging their unique civilian experience
adds additional capacity to advance our progress towards the
future fight.
We also leverage existing infrastructure across 58 partner
locations by sharing facilities and equipment with our active
and our joint partners while maintaining only nine host
installations.
Over nearly three decades of being engaged around the
globe, we have successfully adjusted to an operational reserve.
Portions of our Force are stressed, but citizen airmen are
resilient, engaged, and honored to serve.
We require your support for sufficient resources to meet
full spectrum readiness, increased in-strength to support
integrated operations, and an increased budget to buyback the
readiness deficit and modernize our weapon systems.
A stable, predictable budget will ensure your Air Force
Reserve is combat ready at all times.
Thank you for your support of the Air Force Reserve and the
opportunity to represent 69,000 Reserve airmen today.
I look forward to your questions. Thank you.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Lieutenant General Maryanne Miller
Chairman Cochran, Vice-Chairman Durbin, and distinguished members
of this Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to talk with you
today. I am honored to represent America's Reserve Citizen Airmen: men
and women who live and work locally in your represented States, yet
serve globally, providing operational capability and surge capacity
ensuring unrivaled air, space, and cyber dominance.
For 69 years, this Nation has called on the Air Force Reserve (AFR)
to support national security objectives in all types of military and
humanitarian operations around the globe. Today nearly 70,000 Reserve
Airmen are postured to respond to any crisis or contingency when
needed. In fact, there are currently 6,000 Air Force Reservists on
active duty orders operating in air, space, and cyber domains,
supporting overseas contingencies and other stateside operations. In
order to remain viable for todays fight and postured for tomorrows, it
is critical, we not only improve but sustain our readiness and ensure
we integrate into key mission sets to support the joint fight. However,
constrained defense budgets and a lack of fiscal stability stress our
readiness levels and threaten our ability to reach and sustain full-
spectrum readiness. As a critical component of the One Air Force Team
we will not be fully successful without proper and sustainable funding
into the out years.
Today, I am going to affirm our current state of readiness, explain
how we integrate into the joint environment, and describe what makes
the AFR uniquely structured to support operational demands in air,
space, and cyberspace.
state of the air force reserve readiness
Over two decades of continuous operations coupled with decreased
budgets have left us with a smaller force of seasoned airmen and
strained the readiness of our force as we continue to support the
unceasing demand for the operational effects of our airpower and other
critical battle space operations. To help recover from the stress on
our force we must align our manpower concurrently with the active
component based on current and emerging mission requirements to best
support our Nations call. Reserve Citizen Airmen are crucial to meeting
national objectives and combatant commanders' demands. We must continue
to leverage our strengths and always partner with the Active Component
to successfully field new weapon systems, as we have with the F-35 and
KC-46, and support space, cyber, and Intelligence, Surveillance, and
Reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
We define full-spectrum readiness as the right number of Airmen,
trained and equipped to accomplish operational missions in support of
joint forces in both contested and uncontested environments. Critical
skills availability, training resource availability, flying hour
programs, weapons system sustainment, and operational tempo measure our
readiness. Congressional support within these critical areas is needed
to strengthen our readiness. Specifically, my top four concerns are
shortfalls in both full time support and critical skills manning,
maintenance concerns due to operations tempo and aging fleets, ensuring
concurrent fielding of aircraft and equipment and limited budgets under
continuing resolutions.
Manpower
With a force of nearly 70,000, we feel the pressures of the budget
constraints as well as the pull from industry of our most skilled
airmen. Our rated force is currently short 445 pilots and on average,
our flying squadrons are 72 percent manned. As a comparison, the Air
Force, with all three components combined, has approximately 17,000
pilots. A 2016 RAND study, modeled a potentially large growth in hiring
in the airline industry over the next decade, which could require Air
Force to significantly increase retention efforts. A downward trend in
our pilot manning could continue if we don't take measures to recruit
and retain pilots through bonuses and other quality of life programs.
We cannot compete on the same pay scale with commercial industry but we
must continue to leverage other means to retain the quality airmen we
need to get the mission accomplished.
We are beginning to see similar industry dynamics with our
maintenance force. Our full-time maintenance manning is 80 percent,
with a shortfall of 1,500 full-time maintainers. We have been
successful in retaining our traditional reserve maintenance force and
are manned at 100 percent but our shortfall in full time maintainers,
coupled with the unrelenting demand for air power, are contributing to
our decrease in aircraft availability rates and training and support to
all flying operations.
As demands for rapidly evolving space, cyber, and ISR missions
increase, so does the need for increased manpower for these critical
skill sets. Our 11 Reserve space units are aligned with either Air
Combat Command or Space Command supporting space operations globally.
We have over 700 space professional Individual Reserve Augmentees (IMA)
supporting Major Commands, Numbered Air Forces, and Interagency staffs
in 25 different locations around the world. The AFR represents 11
percent of the total force manpower in the cyberspace superiority
portfolio with 14 Cyber Organizations supporting Major Commands and
Combatant Commanders. In fiscal year 2017, we increased our ISR manning
authorizations by 222 to support coverage of full-spectrum ISR
operations. We added one target system analysis squadron and two
intelligence support to cyber mission forces squadrons.
For 16 consecutive years, the AFR has met its recruiting goals and
our retention rate remains at 90 percent, which is a testament to the
dedication and professionalism of our force, yet we know these success
stories mask an underlying stress on the force. High demand Air Force
Specialties are critically stressed and undermanned. Many of our
seasoned personnel, such as pilots, maintainers, space, cyberspace, and
ISR professionals, have chosen to leave the Reserve or transition from
full-time to part-time service for various reasons such as pay and
entitlement disparity, reduced funding, unpredictable budget and high
operations tempo. Our shortages, especially in the Air Reserve
Technician (ART) program, are compounded by Budget Control Act caps,
Continuing Resolutions, and hiring freezes. We are very thankful for
your support in programs such as recruiting, retention, and relocation
(RRR) bonuses that allows us to target continued service for these
individuals.
To effectively grow our force, we must attract, recruit and retain
the highest quality Citizen Airmen. One of our top recruiting
priorities continues to be capturing Airmen transitioning from the
active component. We prefer recruiting prior service members who are
already trained to make immediate use of their capabilities and
minimize training costs. Retaining active duty Airmen results in a
significant cost-savings and brings a wealth of operational familiarity
and mission expertise. However, we are currently experiencing a
downward trend in prior service recruiting. Last year, 38 percent of
our accessions were non-prior service, a 6 percent increase from the
prior year. Non-prior service recruits significantly increase our
training costs and delay readiness.
While retaining pilot experience garners media attention, we must
remember the combat-tested warriors across our other disciplines and
career fields. In order to support the growing demand for space, cyber,
ISR, and other critical Total Force mission areas, we will leverage our
unique Reserve Citizen Airmen civilian sector experience to retain our
competitive edge. Since we are postured through Unit Type Codes, we
have to pull manpower from other areas to stand up emerging missions.
Training and Flying Hours Program
A stable, predictable budget is critical to allow AFR Citizen
Airman the ability to plan their participation for the year. This
permits our people to stay proficient in their civilian career and
qualified in their Air Force Specialty. Funding for Seasoning Training,
Continuation and Proficiency Training, and Flying hours is vital to
maintain our Air Force standards. By leveraging our high experience
levels in the training environment, we minimize cost and set our newest
Airmen up for future success, but we must have continuity in the form
of stable funding to plan our participation.
Our Reserve Seasoning Training Program (STP) funding is critical to
ensure new members are qualified. STP training normally occurs
immediately out of Basic Military Training and Technical School.
Without the availability of these funds at the beginning of every year,
we cannot plan for training. Unpredictability damages the relationship
between our Airmen and their civilian employers and communities, and we
miss training opportunities which ends up delaying personnel readiness.
Training and funding of the flying hour program is crucial to
maintain, rebuild and improve readiness. Air Force Mobility Air Force
(MAF) flying hours are currently funded at 85 percent, with some
platforms funded as low as 68 percent. If the Transportation Working
Capital Fund (TWCF) shrinks, our MAF crews will need more Training,
Test, and Ferry (TTF) or Operations and Maintenance (O&M) funds to
offset training deficiencies. The Combat Air Forces (CAF) flying hour
training program has also been impacted; specifically, Reserve
allocations for formal training have been reduced. Resources and
funding for the flying hour training program are critical to preparing
for combat operations.
Weapon System Sustainment
We require congressional support of our funding requests for our
aircraft fleet and supporting systems, including our fleet
modernization plans. Our weapon system sustainment baseline funding has
been below 80 percent for the past few years. Additional OCO funding
takes our sustainment funding to approximately 85 percent, but the
system is still stressed due to aging fleets, depot modifications,
corrosion and supply issues.
The average age of the Reserve fleet is 9 years older than the
Active Component's fleet. Modernization would help solve our legacy
aircraft supply chain and test equipment issues, so funding of
requested Reserve modernization projects, even in this fiscally
constrained environment, must be a top priority until we can replace
aging systems. Modernization and recapitalization are essential to
ensure the AFR remains combat-ready today and relevant for tomorrow's
fight.
Our current modernization efforts revolve around upgrading legacy
systems to enhance situational awareness and improve combat
effectiveness. While these upgrades ensure we maintain our combat
capability and interoperability with the active component, the Reserve
is not funded nor structured to maintain completely separate weapon
systems or aircraft from our Active Component partners.
We must develop a concurrent mission design series fielding and
divestment strategy for the Air Force. This is vital to ensure
operational parity with Active Duty. We are facing non-current fielding
issues as the F-16 bridges the gap until the F-35 reaches full
operational capability. As the Air Force plans to grow, we must
concurrently field the same mission design series to allow for
synchronized training and resources. Similarly, as the Air Force
divests from aircraft like the HC-130H and converts to J-models, the
Reserve faces a situation where we will be unable to draw trained
pilots and maintainers from the Active Component. As we plan to support
new platforms, like the KC-46, we must focus on mission impact and
ensure installations are sized appropriately. Concurrent fielding and
divestiture increases our operational relevancy, improves our ability
to provide combat-ready forces while making the most efficient use of
our precious resources and dollars.
Infrastructure
Reserve readiness also requires a look at our infrastructure.
Without sufficient military construction funding, our ability to
support mission requirements is limited. The AFR maximizes cost-
effectiveness by sharing facilities and infrastructure with our active
and joint partners rather than exclusively operating our own
facilities. We leverage existing infrastructure at more than 58 partner
installations, while only operating nine host installations. These
shared facilities, such as aircraft hangars and maintenance shops,
include more than 17.1 million square feet of infrastructure. As we
expand into emerging missions and reevaluate legacy requirements, we
see in many cases our infrastructure is not aligned to meet our needs.
Currently, the AFR has identified a $910.0 million military
construction backlog to address recapitalization, modernization and
consolidation opportunities throughout the command. Due to limited
military construction funding across the Future Years Defense Program,
we are increasingly forced to use O&M funding for Facilities,
Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization (FSRM) work to accommodate
mission changes, increase building efficiencies and ensure facilities
meet mission requirements. The AFR has a $1.3 billion backlog for
required FSRM. Our goal is to make every dollar count, and we will
continue to use our Facilities Operational Capabilities and Utilization
Survey program to determine the best use of military construction and
FSRM funding. As we work through the planning and programming for
fiscal year 2018, we will request our priority MILCON projects. With
Congressional support, we can smartly invest in MILCON and apply our
facility savings to fleet modernization and readiness.
integration
Global Vigilance, Reach, and Power
Operations tempo is one of our measures of readiness. Despite the
high operational tempo of the last 25 years, our Airmen guarantee
mission success. During 2016, Reserve Citizen Airmen integrated
seamlessly with our active and joint partners, performing nearly 4.4
million man-days. Air Force Reserve Command was the fourth largest
contributor to combat operations filling more than 3,200 Air
Expeditionary Force tasks. Our professional Airmen provided Global
Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global Power for national security to the
joint forces. The Remotely Piloted Aircraft community collected over
35,000 ISR combat hours. ISR analysts contributed over 240,000 combat
mission hours. 1,500 space professionals supported space operations
worldwide, and 4,000 cyber operators engaged in total force cyber
protection teams ensuring Global Vigilance. Air Mobility operations
ensured Global Reach in over 80 different countries. Reserve crews flew
over 4,000 missions, 7,000 sorties, and 32,000 hours delivering over
36,000 passengers, and over 34,000 tons of cargo. Our fighters,
bombers, and Remotely Piloted Aircraft delivered Global Power by
conducting precision strikes around the world on a daily basis
supporting joint, special operations and coalition forces. As examples,
the Reserve RPA community had over 1,000 kinetic strikes resulting in
over 1,400 enemies killed in action and over 500 enemy high value
targets destroyed while the 44th Fighter Group F-22's flew 161 combat
missions and destroyed over 1,100 targets.
Our daily and continuous operational capability is part of what
makes us a valuable partner for today and for tomorrow. But, as we
fight today, we must shape our force for tomorrow by focusing on
retaining the competitive edge of our resilient Reserve Citizen Airmen
and providing sufficient support for air, space, cyber, and ISR
missions.
Associations
The Reserve has 66 Classic Associations and 10 Active Associations.
We have nine new associations awaiting approval. We've been engaged in
Classic Associations for over 50 years. These associations support
every Major Command providing sustained operations, strategic depth and
surge capacity. Two thirds of the Air Force's Total Force Integration
associations are with the Reserve. Classic Associations maintain about
a 20 percent full-time force dedicated to serving and training the part
time Reservist. They are 100 percent Unit Type Code postured for surge
capability. The Reserve is dedicated to remaining cost-efficient,
maintaining mission effectiveness, and fostering better communication
with our active and joint partners. Building these associations
champions Total Force initiatives and leverages the unique strengths of
each component.
Space
There are over 1,500 integrated Reserve space professionals and
supporting staff in 11 associated units throughout Air Combat Command
and Space Command. High Velocity Analyses support Air Force Reserve
involvement in space operations to meeting the increasing needs of this
expanding mission. The Reserve will grow in intelligence support to
space operations, but future mission requirements will necessitate
increased support to the Space Mission Force and the Ready Space
Program, focusing on protecting satellite communications, offensive and
defensive space control and space aggressor support to the Space
Mission Force.
Cyber
Cyberspace is arguably the most rapidly-evolving and highly
contested domain in the current environment. Our network is constantly
under siege as we protect our information and our people from cyber-
attacks. We must continue building a force that understands how to
protect our networks to ensure mission success. The Reserve has over
3,500 cyber professionals throughout the Combatant and Major Commands.
Under the Reserve Cyber Operations Group, there are seven Classic
Associations to include the Cyber Operations Squadron that integrates
over 100 personnel within Cyber Protection Teams. We plan to grow
Mission Defense Teams, Cyber Command and Control, and Cyber Mission
Forces aligned with the Active Component portfolio. As we develop our
cyberspace technology, we must recruit, leverage the expertise and
training opportunities in the civilian sector that uniquely benefit our
part-time Reservists, and train a force with superior understanding of
this domain.
ISR
The Reserve has aggressively invested in full-spectrum ISR
operations covering support to air, space and cyber domains. Our ISR
capabilities are synchronized with Air Force strategy, responsive to
the Air Force and Joint priorities. We currently have one ISR group
with 11 classic associate units, three added in fiscal year 2017.
Recruiting for ISR is successful at 112 percent of requirements which
results in a backlog in our training pipeline.
uniqueness
People
By preserving our part-time force structure, Reserve Citizen Airmen
remain a superb financial value to the Air Force and the American
taxpayer. The AFR is currently about 79 percent part-time, permitting
us to remain cost-efficient and mission effective. A part-time Reserve
Airman costs less than a Regular Air Force (RegAF) Airman. Over a
career, our cost savings are significant; the 20 year life cycle cost
for a part-time Reserve officer is approximately half of the active
component, with a non-prior service member being even less. Another
cost advantage of the AFR is the ability to capture prior-service RegAF
members wishing to affiliate as a part-time Reservist. The Reserve is
uniquely positioned to retain the Air Force's vast investment in human
capital and maintain cost effective capability against unanticipated
requirements.
The Air Force Reserve provides flexibility through our ability to
adjust reservist participation rates based on demand. Our Selected
Reserve force is made up of roughly 65 percent Traditional Reservist
(TR), Full Time Support (FTS), to include 16 percent Air Reserve
Technicians (ART) and 4 percent Active Guard Reserve, and 10 percent
IMA. We have over 3,000 Civilians and 250 Active Component partners,
part of our FTS cadre, who are 5 percent of our manpower. Our FTS
personnel are responsible for preparation and administration of
policies and regulations to organize, administer, recruit, instruct,
train, or support the Air Force Reserve. Additionally, the Air Force
Reserve has a strategic depth consisting of those members in the
Individual Ready Reserve, Active Duty Retired, Retired Reserve (AFR and
ANG), and Standby Reserve, who the President and Secretary of Defense
may recall when needed. It is this flexibility and capacity which make
the Reserve a unique and critical partner in our Total Force team. We
deliver our diverse portfolio capability and Title 10 status as your
Federal reserve in order to meet the Nation's requirements. It is my
job to assure Reserve readiness, and I guarantee Reserve Citizen Airmen
will remain operationally relevant to the joint fight by ensuring the
right number of Airmen are available, trained properly and equipped
appropriately.
Air Force Reserve TRs voluntarily serve this country and continue
to positively impact your communities. Our Reserve Citizen Airmen
balance their home life, their civilian job and their military
commitment on a daily basis. Training and readiness require dedicated
time, and most hold full time civilian jobs requiring them to
coordinate with their employer and predict time for participation.
Reserve Citizen Airmen leverage a diverse range of civilian careers,
including attorneys, information technology professionals, healthcare
providers, small business owners and corporate executives. These
civilian skills make our Air Force team even stronger.
The Air Force Reserve IMA program exemplifies the Total Force
Enterprise. IMAs provide the flexibility needed to support total force
requirements at a moment's notice. IMAs train with their active duty
counterparts and can easily expand and contract the number of duty days
they work to support the joint force. In today's austere manning
environment, IMAs can surge to help augment active component units who
could otherwise not accomplish their mission. During normal manning
times, IMAs revert to their minimum work schedule of either 22 or 36
days a year, providing a ready force at an extremely low cost. The IMA
program provides exactly the degree of adaptability and reliability the
Air Force needs to economically and reliably continue the Air Force
mission, whether it's at the squadron level or the Combatant Command.
Reserve Citizen Airmen have been in continuous combat operations
for the past 25 years, hindering their time to focus on full-spectrum
readiness items. Some of our Airmen volunteer to deploy on 60-90 day
rotations or 365 day deployed-in-place tours which does not allow
enough dwell time for full spectrum readiness training. Many reservists
volunteer to exceed the desired 1:5 mobilization-to-dwell in order to
meet mission requirements. Deployments and mobilizations are not
decreasing; in fact, a 4 percent increase is projected in fiscal year
2018. The Air Force Reserve is initiating eight six-month Reserve
Component Periods to stabilize mobilization-to-dwell above 1:5 and
dedicate more time at home base for required training and readiness
requirements.
Mission
The Air Force Reserve owns the sole responsibility to execute the
mission of the Hurricane Hunters and Aerial Spray while sharing aerial
firefighting duties with our Air National Guard (ANG) partners. Last
year showed great success. The Hurricane Hunters flew 135 missions with
more than 1,000 hours monitoring weather conditions in support of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Our Aerial Spray crews
dropped 79,000 gallons of pesticides on over 191,000 acres to control
disease and vegetation proliferation. The Reserve collaborated with the
Guard to extinguish 16 raging wildfires, while amassing a total of 64
flight hours and 54 fire retardant drops which dispersed over 1.3
million pounds of retardant. These missions would not get done without
the Air Force Reserve.
The Air Force Reserve owns significant equity, over 25 percent, in
many other missions providing critical support to the joint fight. We
provide 60 percent to Aeromedical Evacuation, 33 percent to Air
Mobility Operations Squadrons, 56 percent of the Airlift Control
Flights, and 100 percent of the C-5 Formal Training Unit. These
missions would have critical failures without the support of Reserve
Citizen Airmen.
In order to care for our Airmen, the Air Reserve Personnel Center
(ARPC) was established. They are responsible for the mobilization of
Air Force Reserve personnel and retired active duty members when
directed. ARPC provides administrative, records maintenance, and
personnel support for over 1.3 million members of the RegAF, ANG, AFR
and retired personnel in all categories. ARPC manages the complex
processes, status dependent, of the Air Reserve Component. ARPC
professionals have experience and training to understand these
complexities and ensure both Guard and Reserve processes are seamlessly
integrated into Air Force operations.
conclusion
The Air Force Reserve will remain an integrated, flexible and
combat-ready force providing accessible and sustainable capabilities as
a viable Air Force Component supporting joint partners and national
security objectives. Ensuring diverse, operational experience enables
us to be a combat-ready force with continuity and depth. The key to our
success in achieving balance between today's fight and tomorrow's
threat is the right equipment, the right manning and stable,
predictable funding. We must continue to build on our readiness and
supporting systems and structures to handle current and future
operational tempos. Armed with the right equipment and infrastructure
we can continue to impact the fight every day. Essential to our future
as a ready force, we must shape our journey to be ready for the next
fight while preserving our strength as an agile, professional,
sustainable, reserve citizen airmen force. Thank you for your
tremendous support of the Air Force Reserve and for the opportunity to
represent your Reserve Citizen Airmen in our discussion today. I look
forward to your questions.
Senator Cochran. Thank you for your testimony.
We now will recognize the distinguished Vice Chair of the
Committee, Senator Durbin of Illinois.
Senator Durbin. Thank you, Chairman Cochran.
My apologies, first, for coming in late. I had an
overlapping committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, upstairs
and I asked and quickly ran down here. But it is no disrespect
to the witnesses or to the committee. I am sorry that the
scheduling caused this.
I would like to ask each of you for the record, and some
have already spoken to this, if you would provide me and the
committee with specifics in terms of the negative impact of a
continuing resolution on your military mission. We are facing
that prospect now and there is no need for it as far as this
subcommittee is concerned.
Under Chairman Cochran's leadership, we have done our job.
We are prepared to pass our budget to complete this fiscal year
and start the debate about next year.
But we are still facing the real prospect of a continuing
resolution, which is a wasteful, counterproductive effort by
this congress.
So if you give us--give me and I will share with the
committee--what you consider to be the top negative impacts on
your mission if we choose the Continuing Resolution route as
opposed to the appropriation route.
[The information follows:]
impacts of continuing resolution
General Joseph L. Lengyel.--A short CR increases uncertainty about
availability of funds, degrades planning fidelity, and reduces the time
to efficiently execute and manage money that is eventually
appropriated. A longer CR would have significantly greater impact. For
example, reserve components receive no National Guard and Reserve
Equipment Account (NGREA) funds under a CR, greatly reducing efficient
program management. The C-130H AMP Increment 1 program to upgrade the
ANG's C-130 fleet is considered a new start in fiscal year 2017, and
therefore under a CR the program does not receive any funding, which
will delay acquisition. Additionally, aircraft depot maintenance would
be curtailed. Depot maintenance schedules are built months or years
ahead, and work stoppages have long-lasting impacts on aircraft
availability and readiness. The fiscal year 2017 appropriation provides
recruiting and retention tools the ANG needs to address shortfalls in
critical mission areas, which have a direct impact on readiness. A CR
will force the Air Force to shut down or reduce personnel training,
which will create backlogs, further stressing mission areas already
short of qualified personnel. The Air Force would cancel a significant
number of Guard Overseas Contingency Operation taskings, creating
operational shortfalls. A year-long CR will keep the ARNG from funding
Cyber Protection Teams ($9.9M) and HMMWV Modernization ($160 million).
The ARNG will curtail or cancel participation in major training
exercises, which would reduce commitments to EUCOM, PACOM and USFK.
Training will be curtailed for the 278th Armored Brigade Combat Team,
56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, and 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team
training in preparation for Combat Training Center (CTC) Rotations in
fiscal year 2018, reversing momentum in building Army Guard readiness
through increased CTC rotations. Furthermore, ARNG Aviation training
quotas will be curtailed, resulting in a less skilled force. The ARNG
will be unable to meet its increased manpower authorization for fiscal
year 2017 without the funding from an fiscal year 2017 appropriation.
Lieutenant General Charles D. Luckey.--Ranking Member Durbin, thank
you for your attention as we work together to find a resolution to
addressing the Army Reserve's (AR) need for consistent and predictable
funding. To date, operating under a CR has had no significant negative
impact to the AR. However, if we continue to operate under a CR, the AR
will experience significant negative impacts, including: ?Reduced
ground OPTEMPO for training readiness to Platoon level; ?Reduced
funding for units to conduct day-to-day training and operations needed
to build readiness; ?Reduced training seats in leader development,
initial skills, and functional training by almost 5,000; ?Reduced
instructor man-days to support the Total Army School Systems (TASS) and
other non-TRADOC training institutions; ?Expanded gap in critical
equipment shortages without National Guard and Reserve Equipment
Appropriation (NGREA) funding, to include training/weapons simulators
for early deployers; and ?Cancellation of one of three Warrior Exercise
(WAREX). The last WAREX 86-02, includes 72 units and approx. 4600
Soldiers in the Training audience. Additionally, under a year-long CR,
any flexibility the Army Reserve would have to reprogram funding within
each Appropriation is prohibited, adding another layer of complexity to
the AR's ability to manage and fund our Soldiers.
Vice Admiral Luke M. McCollum.--An fiscal year 2017 full-year
Continuing Resolution (CR) would have had the greatest effect on the
Reserve Personnel, Navy (RPN) and Procurement Appropriations. RPN is
the primary appropriation by which the Navy Reserve component funds its
daily duties and Fleet support. A full-year CR would have imposed a $66
million shortfall on the RPN appropriation associated with growth in
economic assumptions (such as, the personnel pay raise and Basic
Allowance for Housing) over-and-above fiscal year 2016 funding levels,
which may have forced Navy Reserve to:--Halt Permanent Change of
Station moves--Cancel Navy Reserve Canvasser Recruiter orders--Cancel
Discretionary Active Duty--Special Work (ADSW) orders--Cancel Navy
Operational Support Center, Anti-Terrorism Force Protection ADSW
orders--Cancel Funeral Honors ADSW orders--Cancel 3 Year/265 Recall
orders--Halt Non-Prior-Service Accessions--Halt Bonuses--Cancel Active
Duty for Training (ADT) Special orders--Cancel ADT Schools orders--Halt
New Accession Trainee accessions In regards to procurement, the
Conference Agreement on the fiscal year 2017 Consolidated
Appropriations Act includes two C-40A cargo aircraft for the Navy
Reserve. A year-long CR would have nullified longstanding efforts to
procure these aircraft and restore our capability to the full
requirement. Navy Reserve currently has just 15 of our risk-mitigated
17 C-40A aircraft, which are a critical element of our Navy-Unique
Fleet Essential Aircraft (NUFEA), and represent 100 percent of Navy's
Lift capability.
Lieutenant General Rex C. McMillian.--A continuing resolution would
have created significant challenges to RPMC with a projected $44
million shortfall if no relief from the traditional Continuing
Resolution rules was provided. Reserve training (Annual Trainings and
Drills) would need to be curtailed. Per P&R calculation, RPMC would
require a reduction of 84,000 workdays (43 percent of 4th Quarter
drills).
Senator Durbin. The second question I would like to ask is
one that is controversial. And General McMillian, I am sorry I
need to bring this up, but I think it should be part of the
record of this committee.
Last month we learned that a shockingly large number of
current and former Marines--up to 30,000--have been posting
explicit pictures of female Marines to websites. They call
themselves Marines United. This scandal is deeply disturbing
and it appears that the first arrest of a civilian occurred
this weekend.
We need to honor the service of every person who steps
forward and puts their life on the line for our country.
So what actions are you taking to address it in the Marine
Corps Reserve? What is the impact on morale, which you
described as at unprecedented levels, recruiting, and
retention?
General McMillian. Thank you for the question.
Sir, we are nested underneath the Commandant of the Marine
Corps, and he testified to it previously on what the Marine
Corps writ large is doing to combat Marines United.
In the first point, we are extremely disappointed. It is
not acceptable to be in the Marine Corps and participate in
something as heinous as Marines United. And I can tell you,
Senator that we are deeply committed to rooting that out of the
Marine Corps and we are progressing full speed ahead with that.
On the Reserve side of the Force, and numbers-wise, we have
identified approximately 20 Marines. One of those Marines is
under legal review and then 19 of them are under administrative
review. So out of that 30,000 fortunately the numbers are
fairly low.
Aside from what we are doing institutionally in the Marine
Corps, inside of Marine Forces Reserve, I have directed my
commanders at the Division, the Wing, the MLG, and our Force
Headquarters Group, to get out and visit the Marines and talk
about this upfront, and tell them that it is not acceptable to
participate in something in social media along these lines.
They are either going to get onboard, and get with the
Commandant in rooting this out, and changing the culture of the
Marine Corps or they are going to find another place to work.
It is not acceptable. We are extremely disappointed by it.
I, myself, Senator, am traveling to 160 sites across the
country and talking to all of our Marines, along with my senior
enlisted advisors, Sergeant Major Kimble, Master Chief Coates,
and we are getting that word out, and I think we are being
successful at it. I am confident we will solve this problem,
Senator.
Senator Durbin. General Neller in his statement before the
Senate Armed Services Committee gave a very strong statement,
as I am sure we all felt that he should, but he also spoke
directly to the women in the Marine Corps about the importance
of their service.
So are you and others reaching out to the women in the
Marine Corps Reserve to reiterate this point?
General McMillian. Absolutely, Senator.
We highly value the women in the United States Marine
Corps. We are actively recruiting as hard as we can to bring
more women into the Marine Corps. And we are working as hard as
we can to retain the women in the Marine Corps, and especially
to rebuild their trust and confidence in the United States
Marine Corps.
There is a little bit of good news here. About 6 or 7 years
ago when this subject of sexual assault and sexual harassment
was brought up, it was found out in command surveys that there
was not a lot of confidence to report such things to the
leadership of the Marine Corps.
I am happy to tell you that today that has reversed itself.
When I talk to our women across the Marine Corps, if they have
confidence in reporting sexual assault and sexual harassment,
they are in the affirmative stage. Absolutely. Complete trust
and confidence in the chain of command, and that is not only
verbally to me. That is coming out in anonymous command climate
surveys.
Senator Durbin. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Cochran. The distinguished Senator from Maine.
NATIONWIDE PILOT SHORTAGE
Senator Collins. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
General Miller, you described the nationwide pilot
shortage, which is a major concern for the Maine Air National
Guard, as well as for Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve
units nationwide.
How can Congress help address this very serious problem of
pilot shortages, which ultimately is going to have a serious
impact on our readiness?
General Miller. Thank you for that important question.
When you look at the demographics within the Air Force
Reserve, and I will speak strictly of the Air Force Reserve, we
do not have an issue bringing pilots in from an aspect of new
recruits coming in the door. We are raising that number because
we are not getting the sufficient number coming off of active
duty.
So in response to the pilot shortage, we are increasing
from roughly 80 pilots that we bring in off the street and
train them to 100, and we may need to raise that more. So that
is one thing we are doing.
Our numbers coming off of the active component, which is
where we get 60 percent of our accessions on the pilot force,
are decreasing. It is around 50 percent and the trend is going
lower, which has resulted in why we are increasing our initial
accessions coming off the street in order to make that up.
The active component has an issue with retention. They,
again, do not have a problem bringing in people off the
streets. It is the retention issue.
The pull for the Air Force Reserve is the airlines. The
pull is not for the part time force. When you look at the
number of pilots within the Air Force Reserve, we are 70
percent part-time and 30 percent full-time. Of the 70 percent
part-time, we are 95 percent manned on that part-time force of
pilots. On the full-time side, we are 66 percent manned.
So the pull is from the airlines on that full-time support
piece, which is our challenge. How do we arrest that?
We do that through recruiting, and retention, and
relocation bonuses, which is what we are doing with special
salary rate adjustments. We have an OPM right now and we are
addressing that.
So we are trying through many means of budgets to get after
that full-time support piece. Thank you for your question.
Senator Collins. Thank you.
DUAL-STATUS TECHNICIANS
General Lengyel, I know you and I had a discussion about
this very issue in my office, but I want to switch to a
different issue for you and that is the National Guard's August
2016 Report to Congress on Dual-Status Technicians.
It concluded that the requirement in the fiscal year 2016
NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) that requires one out
of every five Title 32 military technicians to be converted to
Title 5 Federal civilian employees would degrade military
readiness and undermine the vital role that the National Guard
plays in emergency response. And this was the recommendation
based on the input from 54 Adjutant Generals across the
country. And as you know, there has been a slight extension for
that conversation to October this year.
But subsequently, we also had a December 2016 report from
DOD (Department of Defense) that recommended the conversion of
about 5 percent of dual-status technicians rather than 20
percent.
Do you think that the 20 percent figure is too high?
And second, how can Congress ensure that if there are some
appropriate conversions to Title 5 employees, that we are not
undermining DOD's, or the National Guard's, readiness and
ability to participate in local and State emergency response?
General Lengyel. Yes, Senator. Thank you for that question.
It has been an important topic amongst the Adjutant
Generals in the States for the past 2 years.
The short answer is I think that 20 percent conversion to
Title 5 would degrade readiness. I think that there are three
things involved in the legislation.
Currently, our technicians are required to have both a
military job to go along with their technician job, and this
bill separates that. You no longer are required to maintain
your military membership.
And so, it is important that in the conversion that people
who are actually ultimately decided to convert to Title 5 are
not those people in billets that would deploy with our war
fighting units to go to war because we want the best, most
highly skilled, full-time employees to deploy to war.
The second concern I have is that the full timers are also
military members who are also there to operate in domestic
response capabilities. So if they no longer have a military
position, the Adjutant Generals are concerned that they would
not have access to them to respond for floods or other domestic
response capabilities. And that is a valid concern.
And the third concern is that they are concerned about
losing the authority, direction, and control over them as they
become not State employees, but now Federal Title 5 employees.
And so thanks to this committee for allowing me to delegate to
them, authority to have direction and control over them. That
has helped to some degree.
So yes, I think 20 percent is too high. I do concur with
the recent December report from the National Guard or from the
OSD (Office of the Secretary of Defense) that suggested a lower
number. And I think that we need to get through this and get
past it. There is some number that can be converted with
minimal impact to readiness. I do not believe that number is 20
percent.
Senator Collins. Thank you very much. I hope that this is
an area that we can correct.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Cochran. Thank you, Senator.
The Senator from Vermont, Senator Leahy.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GUARD AND RESERVE AND EMPLOYERS
Senator Leahy. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
As I said, my earlier full statement to be placed as part
of the record.
Senator Cochran. So ordered.
Senator Leahy. In this Committee, we have discussed many
times the value of employing individuals serving in the Guard
or Reserve based on the skills and respect that they bring to
that job. Many employers have enthusiastically embraced the
benefit.
But with the reserves becoming more engaged in operations
and the increased training that is required, we tend to remove
some of the employers' prime benefit.
Are there increased stressors, do you find any of you, in
the relationship between employers and those who are in the
Guard and Reserve? Anybody want to try it?
General Luckey. Senator, if I may just jump in for a
second.
As I said earlier, as a soldier responsible for 200,000
other soldiers in maintaining the support of families and
employers across the Nation, I am acutely aware of--and as I
said, I think, in my statement--and very much honor the balance
between being ready enough to be relevant, but not so ready
that my soldiers cannot keep meaningful, high quality civilian
employment.
I would just share with you, Senator, that not only is this
a subject that I keep a close eye on but, in fact, have
actually designed a program to chase, if you will, the facts of
this. Getting a better understanding as a leader in America's
Army Reserve, what is the breakpoint, if you will, from a
sustaining readiness perspective that I can expect out of my
soldiers in terms of time away from their civilian jobs?
As I look at the Ready Force Construct, and I alluded to
this a little bit in my opening statement, the Ready Force X
Construct of America's Army Reserve. Part of what we are
looking at is what is the stress point?
There are certain units or certain capabilities that are
too difficult to retain or remain at a very high state of
readiness in order to meet the war fighter's requirements. I am
very seized with this notion based on the acquired skills of
Army Reserve soldiers.
We started, as you well know, Senator, in 1908 leveraging
the extant medical capability inside the civilian sector of
America to bring that to the Army, and looking at opportunities
to do that in other domains as well.
Senator Leahy. But you understand my concern. I can see a
lot of benefits from your training. I can also see the concerns
of employers who say, ``Okay. The great benefits, but I may
lose you for 3 months or 4 months.'' And I assume that you are
monitoring that very carefully.
General Luckey. Yes, sir. Absolutely.
Admiral McCollum. Senator, if I could add on to
specifically that comment as well, the Navy Reserve.
Having that awareness about it and investing in those
relationships, we know that a reservist is at his or her best
when they are in a good spot with their employer and with their
military boss, and I might add the family, of course.
And so we have actually invested in events that ask our
employers to come and gather, and we take them to the fleet
areas.
Senator Leahy. I think that is very, very important.
One other area, and General Lengyel, I will ask this of
you. We have the Family Assistance Center contract changes.
There is a lot of frustration in that, certainly in my State of
Vermont. And I know you were there just last week particularly
related to the pay reductions for Family Assistance Center
employees and I know you are looking into that.
What should we expect?
General Lengyel. Yes, Senator. Thank you for the question.
Supporting our families and our employers is fundamental to
supporting our service members and the operational force that
we have.
So I would tell you that we have had a transition, as you
know, from a vendor who runs this contract for us for our
Family Assistance Centers in the States. And this new contract
and new vendor has established pay rates to pay their
employees, which is up to them. And it is up to them to do it
in accordance with the Contract Services Act. And the pay rates
are less than the previous contract.
So my biggest concern, Senator, is that the families
actually receive the assistance that they need. This contract
is less than 2 months old, so we are monitoring very, very
closely to make sure that the services that we bought and paid
for in this contract actually get to the family member
services.
Senator Leahy. My time is up, but I will ask my staff to
keep in touch with yours. I am not saying Vermont is a
microcosm of the world.
General Lengyel. No, it is an issue, Senator.
Senator Leahy. But with some of the concerns we are
hearing, I will pass them on to you.
General Lengyel. Thank you, Senator.
We are aware and we are working to make sure that they are
being paid in accordance with all the laws and contracting
rules. Thank you.
Senator Leahy. I apologize for the weather you had while
you were in Vermont.
General Lengyel. It was still great. It is a great place,
sir.
Senator Cochran. Thank you, Senator Leahy.
Senator Leahy. Thank you.
Senator Cochran. May I recognize the Senator from Kansas,
Jerry Moran.
ATEAM
Senator Moran. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much.
Gentlemen, Ma'am, thank you for your presence, and your
service, and leadership to others who serve.
General Lengyel, let me begin with you; nice to see you
again.
We have in Kansas; the Kansas National Guard has an
Advanced Turbine Engine Maintenance team known as the ATEAM. It
services the Abram Tank, the engine and it does so for our Army
as well as those foreign countries that use that tank.
I wanted to have you tell me, based upon what we spend in
this program, your evaluation of its value. Is it important
that we continue to utilize ATEAM to keep us prepared and
ready?
General Lengyel. Yes, sir. Thank you for this question. And
thank you for the work that the Kansas National Guard does, not
only just with turbine engines, but in many other things.
I believe there is value in the ATEAM in Kansas. I believe
that it is efficient in terms of what it costs to actually
remanufacture an engine. It is something that the Army Materiel
Command should relook at.
So we have asked the Commander of Army Materiel Command to
relook at this facility, and the numbers involved, and the
amount of money that we are able to, perhaps, save by using
this facility in Kansas.
So we have sent a letter to General Perna and asked him to
reconsider and keep this additional Army engine capability, to
keep it alive.
Senator Moran. And is there a consequence, in your view, to
readiness, getting that tank back into the battlefield in the
absence of this efficient way to repair?
General Lengyel. Well, Senator, I suppose there could be. I
think what AMC has decided it was excess to capacity for what
they needed to keep their tanks ready.
In the event we needed a surge of this kind of capacity, it
provides an additional capacity to remanufacture these engines,
which could have readiness impacts longer term.
KANSAS INTEL FUSION CENTER
Senator Moran. Let me ask a question on a topic that you
and I have visited about before, the Kansas Intel Fusion
Center.
My question today is I know that steps are being taken by
creating this planning team to determine how we can remove
barriers and improve collaboration, and to potentially alter
the statutory and resource framework of an Intel Fusion Center.
With the contributions that those Fusion Centers make, I am
interested in hearing your perspective on the advisability of
Federal resourcing of the Fusion Center.
General Lengyel. Yes, Senator.
So because of the recent discussion we have had with regard
to the Intel Fusion Center in Kansas, I think that model is an
innovative model. And I think it provides a unique opportunity
to share intelligence across public, private, academia, and
military sectors.
So I have established a team at the National Guard Bureau
that is looking across all of the fusion centers. As you may
know, we have many of them across the Nation. None of them
really look the same.
So I have asked this team to come together, of which there
are members from the Kansas National Guard actually on the
team, to look at these things. To make sure that we have the
right policies and funding mechanisms in place, to make sure
that we get maximum benefit from sharing of the intelligence
across the whole of Government--public, private, and the whole
of the Nation opportunity--to keep our Nation safe.
Senator Moran. Do you see Federal resources as a
possibility or something that you would find advisable?
General Lengyel. I suspect that part of it is federally
funded right now.
And so, I suspect that as we look at this to determine what
the right mix of Federal and other funding is to make this
work. That is why I established the team, to look and make sure
that we do it correctly.
STATUS OF C-40A'S
Senator Moran. Thank you very much, General.
Let me see if I can get one more question in to the Marine
Corps. Sir, the fiscal year 2017 Budget Amendment included two
C-40A's for the Marine Corps Reserve.
Could you please tell me, tell the committee, the state of
your current fleet that the C-40A's will replace? And why those
aircraft are important?
General McMillian. Yes, sir. Thank you for the question.
The aircraft that the C-40's would replace are the C-9's.
They are hard down. They have been deemed--and my information
is not current as of this morning and probably a couple of days
old--but they were deemed not safe to fly and to continue with
that program.
So we need that replacement. We need that C-40. It was in
the active duty component. It is being transferred over to the
reserve component where we will man that up and fly that.
And you know what that aircraft will be used for is the
movement of personnel and logistics throughout CONUS and
OCONUS, and we are gapped in that capability right now. We need
to recapitalize on it, sir.
Senator Moran. Thank you.
Ma'am, I had a question for you, but I will submit it in
writing. Thank you.
Senator Cochran. The time of the Senator has expired.
The distinguished Senator from Montana, Senator Tester. You
are recognized.
Senator Tester. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
I want to thank you all for your service and equally as
important, the people you represent. Thank you very, very much.
You can smoke them if you have them. My questions are all
for General Lengyel.
[Laughter.]
CONVERSION TO T5
Senator Tester. General, I want to go back to a question
that Senator Collins had about the conversion to T5 status.
And I guess the first question is you talked about a 5
percent coming out of DOD. Is that your recommendation on that?
General Lengyel. So my recommendation, Senator, is as low a
number as we can get. I see very little value in increasing
readiness based on converting even a smaller number than 5
percent.
Senator Tester. Okay.
General Lengyel. I think that it is an art, not a science
in terms of exact impacts on readiness.
Senator Tester. So I got it. And this came out of the NDAA.
And so, why? It does not make any sense to me. Why was this
done? I know it is probably a better question for McCain or
Reed because it was done the bipartisan way.
But can you give me any insight as to why it was bumped to
20 percent?
General Lengyel. Well, sir, I think that the 20 percent
number came from----
On our manning documents, there are a perceived number of
administrative positions in nature. Which, at some point,
somebody thought were coded and that was approximately 20
percent.
Senator Tester. Yes.
General Lengyel. But as we have looked at it--and we look
at our manning documents and the functions that these people
provide--we find that, in many cases, they are directly related
to our readiness and to our war fight mission.
So 20 percent, to me, is not a good number.
EQUIPMENT SHARING AGREEMENTS
Senator Tester. Well, we do have a bill to fix this and I
would encourage all of us to jump onboard. It is a bill
Senators Perdue, and Manchin, and Senator Collins is on it, I
am on it, and others.
So hopefully we can get this fixed because we do not want
to jeopardize your readiness. It is critically important, I
believe, for the country.
I want to talk a little bit about the RED HORSE units. We
have two that share resources, the 219th and 819th, they are an
associated unit. We rely upon the 819th; the Guard unit that
relies on the 819th for their equipment.
What I need you to do, General, is take a look at the
equipment sharing plans for the associated units, and I know we
cannot treat all the units the same.
For instance, sharing an F-22 that would be rarely
activated by a governor is not the same as sharing construction
equipment. And that is actually, that construction equipment
would be called on by the governor for a variety of tasks
including snow removal, or feeding cattle, or whatever it might
be.
So the question I have is how can we improve the equipment
sharing agreements between the active duty and the Guard?
General Lengyel. Well, Senator, I think that at one point
there was a Memorandum of Understanding between the Active Duty
unit there and the National Guard unit.
That has expired, and we are in the process right now of
trying to facilitate the renewal of that agreement so that the
equipment is ready, and everybody understands that they will
use it. So I think that is being worked right now.
Senator Tester. One of the things that I would like to see
is that the 219th get its own equipment. It would improve their
mission dramatically, I believe.
And so, are there any plans that you are aware of with any
kind of timeline that could make that happen?
General Lengyel. Sir, there are no specific plans that I am
aware of at this point to get the 219th their own separate set
of equipment, but I will ask the Air Force.
Senator Tester. Get back to me.
General Lengyel. And I will. Yes, sir.
Senator Tester. That would be great, if you could.
As you know, benefit parity between the reserve and the
active components, in particular, high profile. I believe, and
I think most people believe that active duty deployment should
count the same when it comes to benefits no matter what.
And so have you taken any steps to take care of this
inequity? We have done some things at this level. We have not
got them across the finish line yet, but I was wondering if
there is anything you can do administratively?
General Lengyel. Yes, sir. Well, thank you very much.
And I fully support, as I believe the rest of my members
here with me today, support the parity of benefits for our
members when they are deployed with our active duty
counterparts.
Specifically, the 12304b initiative to fix those benefits
and make them equal in benefit would be huge, not only for our
members, but for our retention, for our morale, and for the
maintaining of this operational force that we are going to
have. That is the first thing.
The second thing is we have all been involved regularly and
routinely with duty status reform efforts ongoing inside the
Pentagon. And we are all pretty much in agreement that the OSD
Report, and the way we have gone about that, has done a lot to
normalize and minimize disparity in pay and benefits for
reservists and National Guard members, in particular, while
they are doing their duty.
Senator Tester. Thank you, General.
I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman.
General Lengyel. Thank you, sir.
Senator Cochran. The time of the Senator has expired.
The distinguished Senator from Missouri.
Senator Blunt. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Well, General Lengyel, it may seem like night to you since
you are getting all the questions and I think you are going to
get two or three from me. We may give somebody else a chance to
check their mics here in a minute.
About three of my questions are just your response. I
understand what you would like me to do and if you can get that
down, we will be fine.
One is Whiteman Air Force Base, we were disappointed
recently that we did not get the reserve unit there. Did not
get on the list where we would hope to be with F-35's.
I think part of that is flying space and the National Guard
controls the cannon airspace near Fort Leonard Wood. There will
be an effort made to combine that airspace, the airspace that
Whiteman uses.
It will be important that the National Guard work with us
on that. The Army is prepared to work at the Fort with us on
that.
And I think when it comes to your attention, just if you
will take a real look at it based on the fact that we would
have to clearly understand that you and the Army units at Fort
Leonard Wood both had the artillery space you needed, but could
work out a way to expand that airspace a little bit for
Whiteman. So now that we have that on the record.
The other thing is Rosecrans where you know, I think every
year, some number close to 20 of our allied countries send
people there to work with the National Guard unit on the use of
C-130's.
In past years, there was no specific appropriation there,
and it was hard to plan, and hard to know what you were going
to be doing. I know you personally involved yourself in that,
and I believe there will be a designated line item in the
fiscal year 2018 budget.
Is that right or tell me what you think is the case?
General Lengyel. Yes, sir. I am very well aware that weapon
school at Rosencrans has done great work. And the Air National
Guard has gone to great steps to normalize the funding, so that
there is predictable and long term training available there for
the weapons school.
SUICIDES IN NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE
Senator Blunt. And this is a question that I am going to
come to you with first, but anybody else who would like to have
a comment in on that, I would be glad to hear that comment.
We all know that continued suicide issues are a real
problem in the military, and they are also a real problem in
the National Guard and Reserve units.
I was surprised when I recently saw that the highest
suicide rates of all the components were 60 percent National
Guard suicides were coming from guardsmen who had never been
deployed.
Would you talk about that specifically? And what we are
doing to try to create more of a support base for people
serving in the Guard?
And then, if we have a little time, I would be glad for
anybody else that would like to talk about how our reserve
people that move in and out of active duty are maybe more
stressed by that even than the full-time force.
But General.
General Lengyel. Yes, Senator. Thank you for that question.
There is no issue probably more frustrating to me than the
high level of suicides that we experience in the National
Guard, particularly the Army National Guard, which has the
highest rate per 100,000 of any of the service components.
We do know a lot about the factors that contribute to it.
It is relationships. It is financial. It is stress. It is
transitions.
So what we are trying to do in the National Guard is
normalize the psychological health providers that we can get
into the units, not only on the Air side, which has a very
good, very low comparatively so suicide rate to the Army.
But then transition them to all Title 5 civilians. Right
now they are a mix of Title 5's, contractors, and Dual-Status
Technicians.
This, we believe, will allow us to better resource and
regionally support the psychological and health benefits that
these people can get along the way.
But at the bottom line, Senator, this is not something that
any glossy, tri-fold program is going to fix. This is something
that requires leadership involvement. It requires a culture of
people reaching out to ask for help when they need it.
You may also know that 50 percent of the people who commit
suicide have never declared or sought help in any sense; 50
percent, half. So we are trying to get to the people who
realize it is okay to ask for help and get them not only the
military capabilities we have to give them, but those in the
communities from which they live.
So it is a big challenge for us, and all of us are working
on it every day, and I think about it a lot in the National
Guard.
General Luckey. Senator, if I could jump in real quick.
What I would say to sort of echo what General Lengyel just
said. I think what we are seeing is--to me, this is like safety
from a cultural perspective. Part of this is getting into the
DNA, if you will, of Army Reserve culture. This notion you have
to take care and keep an eye on your buddy.
And I am particularly and acutely concerned, as you
mentioned. You alluded to it earlier, Senator, about financial
stress that may be unique, to some extent, to the reserve
components.
The one thing I would tell you, and this is a positive
note--and I want to be careful to not be overly Pollyannaish
about this trend--but what I am seeing inside America's Army
Reserve is more self-reporting through a number of different
conduits where soldiers are able to reach out and get help;
more self-reporting, if you will, of potential thoughts or
idealization of potentially doing something harmful to
themselves, and a significant decline in actual suicides.
That tells me that there may be a diminishment in the
amount of stigma that may have previously been attached to
soldiers coming forward and self-reporting.
So I regard this as a positive development.
Senator Blunt. Mr. Chairman, I know I am out of time. If
the other three panelists would take that for the record, I
would like to read your response on that as well.
Thank you, Chairman.
Senator Cochran. Thank you, Senator.
The Senator from New Mexico, Senator Udall.
AIRCRAFT FOR AIR NATIONAL GUARD
Senator Udall. Thank you very much, Chairman Cochran.
I really appreciate it.
General Lengyel, one of the Air National Guard's capstone
principles was to allocate at least one unit equipped wing and
flying squadron in each of the 54 States and territories.
Currently of the 50 States, four do not own their aircraft,
including New Mexico, which only owns one RC-26 aircraft.
Is there a plan in place to ensure New Mexico will be unit
equipped with a sustainable and viable mission in the near
future?
General Lengyel. Senator, I think that as the Air Force has
gotten smaller, it has been much more difficult and impossible,
in fact, to keep units equipped in every State.
We have found ways to leverage the superb skills of our
airmen in all of our States, vis-a-vis associations as we have
at the 150th Special Operations Wing in New Mexico, as we have
done, and we have airmen around the world.
But it is not something that, I think, I would want to tell
you that we have a plan to put units equipped in every State.
CV-22 MISSIONS FOR THE NATIONAL GUARD
Senator Udall. Now, you mentioned the 150th Special
Operations Wing. That Wing has been very successful in CV-22
missions at the 58th Special Operations, and currently
possesses a substantial portion of operations, and maintenance
personnel, and experience.
Have there been any discussions to assign this particular
mission to the Guard?
General Lengyel. As always, Senator, the National Guard
brings the capacity as all the reserve components do to harvest
that experience of our active component folks as they
transition. And we have done that in the Special Operations
community, particularly the CV-22.
So there are always ongoing discussions with Air Force
Special Op commands and the United States Air Force to maximize
the utilization. And where possible, make sure that we have the
ability and the Reserve component to catch those skills and not
waste those training dollars that we have for these warriors.
RESOURCES AT HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE
Senator Udall. Great. Thank you.
General, you stated that a well-integrated and well-trained
force will keep our Nation safe and secure, our national
interest. Holloman Air Force Base is preparing to gain a
temporary F-16 FTU this summer to assist with pilot training
and the shortage the Air Force is experiencing right now.
During the recent discussion with General Robertson, the
Commander of the Air Education and Training Command, he
welcomed the inclusion of the new New Mexico Air Guardsmen to
the F-16 mission at Holloman. And the Guard can support
approximately 100 maintenance positions and another 50 in
support operations.
If the Guard were given authority to increase its in-
strength, would you look at placing those resources in New
Mexico to support the important mission at Holloman?
General Lengyel. Senator, yes. I think that the National
Guard always works with the service components to maximize the
total utilization of the Force.
If we do have resources, and they are sustainable over
time, we would gladly work with the Air Force to see where
those resources could best be placed.
DIUX
Senator Udall. Great. Thank you.
And General, in your opening statement, you identify
innovation as one of your top priorities. I completely agree
and believe New Mexico has the resources to assist in moving
that vision forward as we continue to face threats from our
near peer adversaries and look for ways to counter these
threats.
The Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, or DIUx, appears
to be one of the most beneficial approaches. And I have been
advocating greater involvement for New Mexico and the DIUx
program giving our Department of Energy national security labs
and military assets.
Can I get a commitment from you to visit New Mexico, and
look at the capabilities within the State, and present this
information to the Office of the Secretary of Defense?
General Lengyel. Yes, sir. You can. Absolutely. Thank you
for your support of innovation in the military. We need it.
Senator Udall. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Cochran. Thank you, Senator, for your contribution.
Next is the distinguished Senator from Montana.
Senator Daines.
CYBER VULNERABILITIES IN STATES
Senator Daines. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And thank you all for appearing before this Committee
today.
I am the son of a Marine from the 50th Rifle Company from
Billings, Montana. So while not a veteran myself, I tell you, I
got raised right.
Since September 11, the National Guard and Reserve
components have increasingly assumed an operational role within
the total force, which augments and supports military
operations worldwide.
And to be an effective operational reserve, each of our
service components must have the right people, the right
training, and the right resources to be ready when called upon.
To that end, I believe it is prudent that we leverage the
unique skills and expertise that our citizen soldiers bring to
make the force more versatile. And I am so proud, truly, of
that citizen force, having spent a lot of time with them
personally and professionally back home in Montana.
For example, cyber security professionals are in high
demand--I was in the technology business for 12 years, the
cloud computing business--in high demand in every State across
the country, and they have tremendous potential to add value to
the National Guard with their domestic operations.
To attract and retain quality talent, however, we must
ensure our policies take care of the folks in uniform as well
as their families.
Earlier this month, an Army National Guard Colonel gave
very insightful testimony before another senate committee on
the Guard's unique ability to partner with civic leaders and
private industry under Title 32 authority to protect critical
infrastructure across his State.
Where the DOD clearly has the most advanced cyber
capability within the Federal Government, Title 32 seems like a
natural conduit to extend that knowledge and expertise to the
State and to the local levels.
In fact, in my view the notion of adding cyber security to
the Guard's Essential 10 Core Capabilities seems like common
sense for 2017.
General Lengyel, would you agree that there are cyber
vulnerabilities in every State that present appealing targets
to our Nation's adversaries?
General Lengyel. Yes, Senator. Actually, I would.
Senator Daines. And would you agree that these adversaries
are not bound to the statutory and regulatory limits that
preclude our Title 10 teams, cyber teams, from accessing State,
local, or private networks?
General Lengyel. Yes, sir. I agree with that.
Senator Daines. Thank you, General.
It seems evident to me that there is a clear national
interest for building defensive cyber capability in every State
under the authority of the Adjutant General.
I want to shift gears and talk for a moment about this cost
benefit analysis that came up a little bit earlier. There are
two objectives to effective leadership. It boils down to
mission accomplishment and troop welfare.
The Adjutant Generals overwhelmingly feel that converting
Dual-Status Military Technicians to Title 5 Federal employees
will have a negative impact on their ability to respond to
domestic emergencies. I am hearing that clearly from my team
back home.
Proponents argue that the conversion will save money and
improve employee rights; though the exact savings and the
improvements remain a bit unclear. I think it is prudent to
iron out these details before we move forward.
As my colleagues, Senators Collins and Tester have said
regarding Dual-Status Military Technicians, I do have concerns
about the Guard's domestic response mission. We have talked
percentages.
General, have you conducted a true cost benefit analysis on
this?
General Lengyel. On the conversion?
Senator Daines. Yes, from Title 32 to Title 5.
General Lengyel. No, Senator. I have not done a direct cost
benefit.
I had assumed that from one kind of technician to another
kind of technician is the costs of that additional thing is
about neutral.
The impact on the States, we have thought a lot about that,
the impact on the ability to do the domestic mission and how it
impacts readiness. We have thought a lot about that. But I
cannot tell you that I have done a cost analysis of the
transition itself.
Senator Daines. We would be happy to work with you to see
if that might help provide additional clarity, perhaps, in that
decisionmaking process.
But I think we will need some further dialogue on that.
General Lengyel. Yes, sir.
Senator Daines. I know our folks back home would continue
to enjoy that dialogue.
General Lengyel. Thank you.
Senator Daines. I want to shift to 30 soldiers from the
Army Reserve of the 672nd Engineer Company called the
``Renegades'' in Missoula. They returned from a deployment in
Kuwait in Operation Spartan Shield; kudos to those men and
women for their incredibly hard work.
General, I understand that under the Ready Reserve concept,
the Army Reserve would be able to deploy up to 30,000 soldiers
in less than 90 days.
General Luckey, can you explain how the Ready Reserve
concept is nested within the needs of the active component and
improves the readiness of an operational reserve?
General Luckey. Thank you for the question, Senator. I will
be very brief because I know the time has expired.
I would just tell you that part of the analytics that we
have put into the Ready Force X constructs are what need to
happen very quickly to support the war fighters in primarily
two different potential contested theaters of operation.
I would just tell you the analytics show me that within 30
days about 13,000 American soldiers in America's Army Reserve
in key enabling capabilities have to be able to be deployed
into harm's way.
I do not want to advertise that this Force is ready to
fight tonight. That is where we have to go. It is a force and
function for a lot of activity inside America's Army Reserve to
make sure that we tailor and we prioritize effort to make sure
we can meet the demands of the war fighter in very short order.
Senator Daines. Thank you, General. Appreciate it.
General Luckey. Yes, sir.
Senator Cochran. Thank you, Senator.
We have a vote that has begun, according to our signal
light up there on the wall, a vote in the Senate. So we are
going to have to suspend our hearing, and I have to go vote
over in the Capitol.
We do have one or two Senators who want to ask some
questions of this panel, and I am going to call on the
indulgence of our panel to wait on Senator Baldwin, or any
other Senator of the Committee, who wants to come ask questions
while you are here.
So I am going to go vote, and I will come right back. So do
not leave. That is the whole thing.
[Laughter.]
General Lengyel. We will stay right here, sir.
Senator Baldwin [presiding]. Greetings. Thank you for
staying. I appreciate it.
I will be brief with my questions.
General Luckey, I was fortunate to be here when you were
giving your opening statement. I appreciated the recognition
that you gave to Operation Cold Steel where my home State is
hosting 1,000 Army Reserve soldiers at Fort McCoy.
I wanted to ask you a little bit more about how you see
Fort McCoy fitting into the need to increase readiness
particularly as you mentioned in your testimony by training
Fight Tonight formations.
Given Fort McCoy's capabilities and the Department of
Defense-wide focus on readiness, I would like you to outline
what your plan is to, number one, maximize the training
throughput at the installation. And not only the Army Reserve,
but also other components and services.
And secondly, to invest in Fort McCoy's capabilities to
ensure soldiers are ready for future threats and mission
demands. What resources will you need to achieve that plan?
General Luckey. Senator, thanks very much for the question.
Just to let you know, first of all, if I may, that what we
are getting out of Operation Cold Steel is actually in any
given day, there are probably 1,000 soldiers going through
training.
But in the aggregate over the last 6 weeks--and I have been
up there three times in the last month to see how things are
going--we will have trained well over 2,300 to 2,500 soldiers
in gunnery skills, vehicle crew evaluation teams, master
gunners, not to mention the much wider swath of impact that it
has had on noncommissioned officer corps for America's Army
Reserve.
So I appreciate very much the capacity and the capability
that Fort McCoy offers us. As you well know, it is one of our
premiere installations and certainly one that I pay very close
attention to in the Army Reserve.
As far as maximizing throughput going forward, Senator,
what I would tell you is part of what I have challenged all of
the platform forts, if you will, that fall under span of
control. I have asked each one of the garrison commanders to
help talk me through how do we optimize those platforms for
certain units of action?
Fort McCoy has the benefit, frankly, of being one of my
most expansive range complexes in the Army Reserve. It also
affords me an opportunity to maneuver formations.
So I am cautiously optimistic that there will be the
ability at Fort McCoy--unlike some other installations that
fall under my command--to leverage that capability as we look
at bringing, if you will, more complex formations that have to
be at a very high level of readiness very quickly for Fort
McCoy to train.
I do not want to commit to you today, Senator, exactly what
I plan to do at Fort McCoy next week or next year, but I can
tell you that I have been extraordinarily impressed with the
team that is there that has supported Operation Cold Steel. And
I have every intention of continuing to leverage that
installation as we move into the future in a more aggressive
fashion.
Senator Baldwin. Well, I look forward to a continuing
dialogue on that. And I have another question for both you
General, and General Lengyel.
I want to discuss your modernization programs and
shortfalls, and specifically for the tactical wheeled vehicles.
I read with concern in the most recent National Guard and
Reserve Equipment Report, which noted the Guard's challenge in
recapitalizing FMTV's, which are, by the way, approaching 17
years of service life. And the Army Reserve's shortage of
JLTV's, which are not planned to be fielded until 2024, even
though 64 percent of the vehicles they are meant to replace do
not meet minimum Force protection standards that keep our
troops safe.
So if both of you could please talk a little bit more about
your modernization strategies for Tactical Wheeled Vehicles,
including your goals for and the challenges to achieving the
right fleet mix.
General Luckey. I will be very quick because I want to give
time to General Lengyel.
But I will just say from the Army Reserve perspective, I
have taken a very hard look at the initial formations and
forces that have to deploy very quickly into combat, what would
be the minimum acceptable requirement in terms of number of
JLTV platforms that those formations may need to have to have
the survivability and mobility that they would need to be able
to participate actively in combat.
General Lengyel. Senator, I think the same thing. We are
looking at modernizing our fleet as well and if you do not have
the appropriate protection for our service members, that would
be a problem.
So I would like to take that for the record, and give you a
more specific answer on the numbers, and the transition
timelines that we could get.
[The information follows:]
tactical vehicles
The National Guard is grateful for Congress' recognition of the
continuing requirement for Truck modernization. Modernization remains a
high priority that addresses requirements both at home and abroad as
part of the Total Force. The Army National Guard modernizes its
equipment as part of the Army's overall modernization strategy. As
such, the rate of modernization of our wheeled vehicle fleet is
determined by Total Army requirements, and not just Army National Guard
priorities. As the Army Guard provides input to the Army's
modernization strategy, our focus is to continue to modernize our Light
Tactical Vehicles while procuring crew protection kits for medium and
heavy vehicles. The Army National Guard's Light Tactical Fleet
modernization is on schedule and we are working with the Army to
develop a fielding plan for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. The Army
National Guard continues to divest our older, non-armor capable FMTV
models, procure armored crew protection kits for our newer FMTVs,
procure or recapitalize select heavy vehicle variants, and continue to
work with the Army to develop the long-term replacement for our medium
and heavy tactical wheeled vehicle platforms.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
Senator Baldwin. I appreciate that. We will allow that to
be a question for the record. I do have several others for
other members of the panel, but I am not going to keep you any
longer.
Seeing no other Senators to ask questions, I am going to
announce that senators may submit additional written questions,
and we would request that you respond to them within a
reasonable time.
[The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but
were submitted to the Department for response subsequent to the
hearing:]
Questions Submitted to General Joseph L. Lengyel
Questions Submitted by Senator Thad Cochran
deactivation of national guard brigades
Question. Over the past few years, there has been discussion about
the total acceptable number of Active and Guard Brigade Combat Teams.
For example, it had been suggested by the Army that the 155th Armored
Brigade Combat Team of the Mississippi Army National Guard--which ranks
as one of the most capable and technologically modernized brigades
within the National Guard--might be divested. What is the current
discussion among senior leaders in the Pentagon about number of Army
National Guard Brigade Combat Teams, given that Congress has halted the
Guard's manpower draw-down?
Answer. Currently, the Army National Guard has 27 Brigade Combat
Teams. The 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team is scheduled to inactivate
in September 2017, bringing the total number down to 26. The Army
National Guard has requested that Headquarters, Department of the Army
retain all 27 Brigade Combat Teams and is awaiting a decision on that
request. Now that Congress has halted the manpower draw down, The Army
National Guard has the end-strength to maintain 27 Brigade Combat
Teams. Keeping an additional Brigade Combat team will provide added
flexibility and operational depth to the Total Army to meet the
challenges of emerging threats around the world. Presently, there is no
discussion among senior Army leaders to increase the number of Brigade
Combat Teams in the Army National Guard above 27.
enterprise fleet management
Question. The Air Force Air Mobility Command recently introduced a
draft proposal to begin rotating C-17 aircraft among Active Duty,
Reserve and Guard bases. While the intent of this proposal may be
admirable, the Enterprise Fleet Management plan has raised significant
concerns among C-17 Wing Commanders in the Air Guard about how it will
affect the aircraft ownership culture in the Guard's maintenance and
pilot community. Do you believe that there may be unintended
consequences to expanding the Enterprise Fleet Management Plan to Guard
units? Do you have a recommendation on how these issues should be
addressed?
Answer. The Air National Guard (ANG) shares your concern regarding
the AMC Commander's proposal to swap higher Equivalent Flying Hour
(EFH) aircraft for lower time ANG aircraft for the purpose of extending
the service life of the C-17, in addition to other fleets. Detailed
analysis of the Enterprise Fleet Management plan by the ANG staff is
on-going to ensure it meets Air Force end goals of recapitalization,
without negatively affecting ANG readiness. The ANG, the AF Reserve
Command, and several units (including the 172nd Airlift Wing at
Jackson) have offered several alternatives to the original AMC proposal
and we look forward to continued discussions to provide support for the
AMC mission.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Lamar Alexander
guard technician title 32 conversion
Question. How will readiness be impacted within the National Guard
with the implementation of the Title 32 conversion to Tile V? What are
the specific benefits of this conversion for the National Guard?
Answer. Positions to be converted include those which are
administrative in nature and can be performed by a civilian during
regular work hours. Military essential positions, those most closely
tied to unit readiness, are not being converted. However, rapid
response during times of disaster may require some state Adjutants
General to rethink how they employ their first responding Soldiers.
Also, converted Dual Status Technician positions will no longer have
the requirement to maintain uniformed status possibly resulting in some
traditional (part-time) Guard positions being vacated until they can be
replaced. These changes could result in several challenges. First, it
may result in some initial personnel turbulence associated with the
status change. Second, it would impact some technicians' retirement
date. Dual status technicians who already received military retirement
extensions who convert to a title 5 civilian position would face an
immediate military retirement or military separation action. Third, it
will likely result in fewer full-time personnel available to respond
immediately to in-state disasters, but part-time personnel would still
be available for call-up. Overall, the fewer dual status technicians we
convert the better. The National Guard Bureau sees benefit in
maintaining the dual status technician program to best provide the
flexibility and responsiveness the 54 States, territories and the
District of Columbia need during times of disaster and emergency.
national guard training
Question. Do you feel that the operational tempo of the National
Guard, particularly the Army National Guard, under the Army's guidance
of ``Objective T'' and ``Decision Point 58'' will have an impact and
long term effects on retention and strength?
Answer. The purpose of Objective T is to objectively and accurately
evaluate, assess, record, and report training proficiency. While
Objective T will impact how the Army National Guard measures readiness,
it will have no direct effect on retention. Implementation of Decision
Point 58 will increase the operational tempo in Army National Guard
Armor Brigade Combat Teams and Stryker Brigade Combat Teams. Beginning
in fiscal year 2019, the Army will need these units to generate and
sustain higher levels of readiness as well as reduce post mobilization
timelines. Decision Point 58 units will go from being deployable every
5 years, to a more rapid 4 year cycle, a change that will require
additional training days. The additional training days increase the
speed a unit builds proficiency, ultimately enhancing contingency
readiness. The true impact of this increased training requirement and
operational tempo on retention and strength is unknown at this time,
but measures are in place to improve predictability, transparency, and
understanding for Soldiers, families, and employers impacted by
Decision Point 58.
military family readiness programs
Question. What impact has centralized contracting had regarding the
support of Military Family Readiness programs with the National Guard?
Answer. Centralized contracting of support services for the Army
National Guard's portfolio of Child, Youth and Family Programs has
improved program oversight, standardized and improved reporting and
reduced overall program cost. Prior to 2012, support services were
provided by Family Assistance Centers and the Child & Youth Program in
all 54 States, Territories and the District of Colombia via a state-
level contract (47) or a master cooperative agreement (7). Prior to
centralization, service delivery consistency was challenging to manage
and service expectations varied from state-to-state, yielding fifty-
four different ways of doing business. However, Family Readiness
Support Assistance services had already been operating successfully
since its inception in 2008 under a centralized contract, modeling
consistent standards of performance and reporting on improved
visibility, oversight and use of Federal funds. In order to address the
inconsistent delivery via other programs like the Family Assistance
Centers that were still decentralized, the National Guard Bureau Office
of the Principle Assistant Responsible for Contracting (NGBOPARC)
continued to further implement acquisition reforms. By centralizing
more acquisitions at the national level, the National Guard Bureau and
the State Family Programs were better positioned to meet the Department
of Defense and Army program reporting requirements and accreditation
requirements of the Department of Defense Instruction 1342.22.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Susan M. Collins
air national guard readiness/flight simulators
Question. The 101st Air Refueling Wind in Bangor, Maine, the
``MAINEiacs,'' has long been a workhorse for the Air Force. Last year,
the Wing processed twice as many gallons of fuel as the average Air
National Guard refueling Wing, which illustrates its incredible
productivity as well as the strategic location of the Wing. The Wing
has also been deploying aircrew, aircraft maintainers, and support
airmen at very high rates--the highest ever last year in fact with 30
percent of the force deploying. One of the persistent challenges for
the Wing in maintaining this high ops tempo has been the absence of a
flight simulator, which often means members are traveling out-of-state
for simulator training, which further strains available operational
training time. What can be done to effectively sustain and maintain
readiness of workhorse units like the 101st in Bangor?
Answer. Following 15 years of supporting contingency operations,
Air National Guard (ANG) units face a steady operational tempo similar
to that of the active Air Force. The budget request has been calibrated
to relieve pressure on readiness to include additional fulltime
maintenance personnel, resources to reduce the AF pilot crisis, and
additional recruiters to maintain end-strength to improve manning in
hard-to-fill positions. A key component of the ANG plan to address
stress on the force is to maintain a complete and qualified force. This
is critical to sustaining readiness in today's high operations tempo
era, and that is why we are emphasizing the importance of recruiting
and retention. Increased recruiting and retention funds will help us to
retain existing personnel and recruit replacements as personnel
complete service obligations and retire. Likewise, increased civilian
and military pay raises and Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund
will support retention. Air Mobility Command continues to explore
options for the relocation of KC-135 simulators as the KC-46 comes on
line. The ANG is an active participant in that process and all ANG KC-
135 locations are being considered. To ensure the KC-135 remains viable
for years to come, the ANG has requested additional funds for
sustainment of the ANG KC-135 fleet. Requested increases in upgraded
communications infrastructure, facilities construction, support
vehicles and support equipment will ensure that our ANG airmen and
technicians have adequate support to do their jobs efficiently and
effectively.
state partnership program
Question. With the assistance of the Maine National Guard through
the State Partnership Program, Montenegro has worked hard to reform its
military and to strengthen the rule of law to come into compliance with
NATO requirements. The Senate has ratified Montenegro's membership in
NATO, and it is expected to join NATO later this year, which will
promote stability in the Balkans and increase American and European
security. So I am particularly proud of the work that the Maine Guard
has done with its partner nation over the past decade. How do you think
the Guard could further utilize the State Partnership Program to build
relationships and improve our national security at home and abroad?
Answer. The State Partnership Program (SPP) is now an established
foundation for enhancing security cooperation relationships around the
globe. After nearly a quarter century, the SPP has grown from 13
initial partnerships with former Soviet Union Republics to 73
partnerships today that encompass all six geographical combatant
commands (CCMDs). At the core of the program's success is the ability
to develop and sustain enduring relationships. State Partnership
Program events are planned in coordination with the respective CCMDs to
address specific security cooperation objectives aligned with the
Ambassadors' Integrated Country Strategies. The program is capable of
providing a full spectrum of military capabilities, plus other civil-
military capabilities unique to the National Guard's dual role not
found in the active component to include emergency/disaster response,
border, port, and aviation security, and counternarcotic trafficking.
The program matches a state's National Guard with a partner country,
promoting enduring and mutually beneficial security relationships with
allies and other friendly nations. A simultaneous and also mutually
beneficial outcome of SPP is the positive impact of one-on-one
friendships and life-long lessons learned among the uniformed men and
women of the National Guard and their SPP counterparts from the
hundreds of events conducted each year. The State Partnership Program
is designed as a sustainable and enduring key security cooperation
enabler for the combatant commanders' tool kit offering a whole-of-
government approach to partnerships by integrating defense, economic,
social, and educational programs.
gao report on sexual assault prevention
Question. A February 2017 GAO report identified a few shortfalls in
the Army National Guard's and the Army Reserve's sexual assault
prevention program staffing, budgeting, and investigation timeliness.
Does the Army's reserve components have a plan and resources in place
to fully address the concerns identified by GAO?
Answer. The National Guard has begun to take planning steps to
improve the ARNG Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Prevention
Program throughout the 54 States, Territories and the District of
Columbia (hereinafter referred to as the States) based on GAO
recommendations. However, consistent resourcing is a problem. The
following outlines our plans in response to the GAO report
recommendations and associated obstacles: STAFF STRUCTURE GAO
recommended the Secretary of the Army, in coordination with the Chiefs
of the National Guard Bureau and Army Reserves, evaluate staffing
approaches. We are addressing the staffing structure; however, the
National Guard has a limited fulltime force and the majority of our
Soldiers are traditional (part time). The ARNG has 108 full-time Sexual
Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) positions to include
11 Active Guard Reserves, 90 Federal Technicians (81 dual status and 9
non-dual status) and 7 vacancies. This equates to one sexual assault
response coordinator and one victim advocate per state. These positions
are required by Congress in accordance with NDAA 2012, but are unfunded
requirements for the ARNG. BUDGET GUIDANCE GAO stated, ``The Guard has
developed budget guidance on the use of funds but has not effectively
communicated it to the program staff . . . '' The Army National Guard
SHARP Program Office disseminates and includes the ARNG SHARP Program
Budget Guidance and discussion during the monthly telephone conference
and maintains and updates budget ``frequently asked questions'' on a
central website, Guard Knowledge Online. ARNG INVESTIGATION TIMELINES
(OCI) The current timelines for processing OCI investigation have
improved with the average case in fiscal year 2017 taking less than 5
months to complete, however, NGB acknowledges this process is still too
slow. Prior to the establishment of OCI, the National Guard lacked the
capability to administratively investigate sexual assault incidents.
The National Guard does not have a Military Criminal Investigation
Office (Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID), Air Force Office of
Special Investigations, etc.) to investigate sexual assault. Therefore,
the National Guard Bureau established OCI to fill the gaps of reported
cases lacking jurisdiction, authority, and resolution. The OCI has been
instrumental to ensure the National Guard can investigate sexual
assault crimes in accordance with H.R. 4310 Sec. 573(a) and hold
offenders accountable through administrative measures. To date the OCI
has investigated over 250 reports of sexual assault. The exponential
increase in requests for investigations has stretched NGB's pool of
trained investigators, which are on temporary duty. OCI has no
permanent full time investigators. Investigators generally serve on
temporary active duty orders for no more than 3 years or 1095 days
because otherwise they count against end strength limitations in 10 USC
115(i). This has been a key problem in reducing the backlog as the
program is constantly recruiting and training personnel. The National
Guard Bureau is not resourced to meet the demand for OCI
investigations. OCI currently operates on year-to-year funding it
receives through OSD out of an appropriation provided for Special
Victim Counsel Program and Capabilities, which is not specific to OCI.
This funding was intended to support OCI as a temporary measure until
the Services could program for continued funding. The Services have not
funded OCI through the DoD programing process. The current method of
resourcing has proven unpredictable which impacts the staffing and
investigation timelines. The National Guard Bureau will continue to
work with the Services to establish and direct program resources in
order to secure programed funding for OCI to consistently and
effectively adjudicate these types of cases.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Patrick J. Leahy
associated unit program
Question. We are over a year into the Army's Associated Unit
Program where active component and Army National Guard units pilot a
closer relationship, including matching readiness standards. I am proud
that the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the Vermont Army
National Guard is associated with the 10th Mountain Division. General
Lengyel, what are some of the lessons we have already learned about how
to resource and support Associated Units differently than our existing
model for the National Guard?
Answer. The most significant lesson learned thus far is the
importance of understanding and finalizing program requirements in
advance of the Program Objective Memorandum build. The Pilot was not a
recognized requirement prior to the fiscal year 2019-2023 POM
submission, and as a result, based on leadership priorities, we are
leveraging man-day and other resources from other programs to provide
funding for fiscal year 2017-2018. As our units continue to integrate
with their associated counterparts, we are gaining an understanding of
the additional resources the program will need and we are attempting to
establish a baseline of requirements. The most consistent request we
have established is for the additional full time support associated
with managing increased administrative and coordinating tasks. As we
prepare the initial Annual report to the Army (October 2017), we will
identify lessons learned, readiness benefits, and resource
requirements.
mental health
Question. Vermont is home to the VA's National Center for Post-
traumatic Stress Disorder, and one thing we have come to understand
through their educational work is that mental healthcare is an aspect
of physical healthcare. In particular, good mental healthcare practices
before, during, and after a deployment can decrease the amount of post-
traumatic stress. However, in rural America in particular, mental
healthcare is difficult to obtain, and in all of America, mental health
providers are not treated the same as physical health providers by
insurers or our culture. How are you working to change the perception
that mental healthcare is something that only applies to some, possibly
broken, individuals? What policy and legislative changes can improve
access and availability for Guard and Reserve members, particularly in
rural areas?
Answer. In the National Guard, we invest in the health and wellness
of our service members and their families. We agree that mental health
and physical health are inextricably linked. We further believe good
mental health is dependent on the availability of care, the quality of
care and a positive culture related to seeking care. We are working on
improving the care seeking culture through a variety of ways. The first
is an effort to place over 300 full-time mental health professionals in
Army National Guard (ARNG) and Air National Guard (ANG) units. As
service members become accustomed to interacting with embedded
providers, their comfort level increases. Chaplains are also an
important avenue for service members to seek help. There are 84 full-
time chaplains available for confidential assistance. Psychological
health education such as Ask, Care, Escort--Suicide Intervention (ACE-
SI), promotes open dialogue among service members and providers;
focused training of key staff members and leaders using the Applied
Suicide Intervention Skills Trained (ASIST) program increases their
awareness that psychological health translates to personnel and unit
readiness. Lowering the access barriers to both TRICARE's Reserve
Select program and to the VA system would improve the chances Soldiers
would seek care. Expanding telehealth provisions to allow for National
Guard and Reserve members and families to participate in tele-
behavioral health services across state lines, regardless of status,
would be helpful. The use of technology can directly benefit
geographically disperse members by eliminating long drives and lack of
rural mental health professionals. Allowing National Guard Directors of
Psychological Health (DPH)s and Behavioral Health Officers (BHO)s to
provide direct treatment to members in limited circumstances--e.g.,
scenarios in which they do not otherwise have adequate access to a
licensed provider, or if determined to meet certain thresholds for
risk, would be helpful. Presently, healthcare providers are only
authorized to assess and refer during weekend drill periods and annual
training. Allowing direct treatment of the most vulnerable members of
the NG would fill a current gap in services and increase overall unit
readiness. --The ARNG would be able to better provide adequate DPH
services across all 54 States and territories if the program were fully
funded. Current funding levels provide for about half of the 157
validated positions. Even with full funding, provider to patient ratios
on the ARNG side are 1:2000 compared to 1:1200 for the ANG.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Jon Tester
red horse equipment
Question. The 219th RED HORSE currently shares equipment with the
819th RED HORSE as an associated unit, but the equipment is owned by
the 819th. Relying upon the 819th for the equipment--especially when
the Governor calls on the 219th to help with snowstorms or floods--
presents needless obstacles. When will the new equipment sharing MOU
between the two units be finalized and put in place? How can we improve
the equipment sharing agreements that are used between active duty
units and the National Guard, especially for the types of high-use
items like vehicles, heavy machinery, and construction equipment that
might be used for emergency response? When will the 219th REDHORSE
receive its own equipment?
Answer. The 219 RHS Commander expects to complete the new equipment
sharing MOA by the end of June 2017. Equipment sharing agreements for
Defense Support to Civil Authorities are negotiated between the state
and the affected Regular Air Force unit. The National Guard Bureau will
continue to engage with the states and the Air Force to ensure these
agreements preserve access for emergency response. Currently, there are
no Air Force initiatives or plans for 219th RHS to own its own heavy
equipment.. The Air Force will not approve additional vehicles or heavy
equipment for the 219 RHS due to the Classic Association between the
219/819 RHS.
military construction for montana air guard
Question. We have previously communicated about a military
construction project at the Montana Air Guard to construct a new
aircraft apron. The existing apron is undersized by approximately 50
percent. In your response, you stated that the project was a priority.
When will the new aircraft apron be completed? What can Congress do to
get this project prioritized appropriately so it can be funded in
fiscal year 2018?
Answer. The apron MILCON project has been identified in the ANG
FYDP to construct approximately 28,000 square yards of aircraft apron
at Great Falls, MT. In approximately 12 months, the project will be
design complete at which time it will be included in the ANG MILCON
Unfunded Priority List. It will then compete against other requirements
for incorporation into the ANG Current Mission MILCON Program.
c-130 modernization
Question. I'm proud to have worked hard with members of this
Committee to ensure that critical avionics upgrades in the Air Force's
C-130 fleet are on schedule. However, we now need to pursue engine
upgrades that would give the C-130Hs many of the same capabilities as
the C-130Js at much less cost to the taxpayer than purchasing new
aircraft. Those modernizations should be fully funded by Congress this
year. However, I am concerned about the priority of modernizations in
relation to Montana. What is the future of the C-130 fleet and how will
the Air Guard balance the need to modernize the C-130H versus
recapitalizing the newer C-130J models? More specifically, when will
Montana's C-130 fleet receive the modernizations?
Answer. The Current C-130J Program of Record procures 135 combat
delivery C-130Js. Although the Approved Program Baseline allows for an
additional 20 aircraft to be procured, there are currently no plans to
procure additional aircraft or recapitalize additional ANG units. The
ANG C-130H fleet will rely on modernization to maintain combat
effectiveness. Avionics Modernization Program (AMP): The most immediate
modernization effort for the C-130Hs is the Avionics Modernization
Program (AMP) 1 program which is planned for installations between June
and December 2019. Currently, the 120 AW at Great Falls, MT is planned
for the install between November and December 2019. AMP Increment 2 was
funded in the fiscal year 2017 omnibus appropriations and installations
are planned between fiscal year 2021-fiscal year 2028 (detailed
timeline TBD) Propulsion Systems Upgrades: The Air Force initiated a
two-step Operational Utility Evaluation in October 2016 to understand
the operational effectiveness, suitability, and affordability of
propulsion system upgrades in combination. This evaluation will inform
C-130H propulsion system modification decisions in future Air Force
budgets. To date, four proposed C-130H propulsion system enhancements
have been individually-tested.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Brian Schatz
199th fighter squadron of the hawaii air national guard
Question. This questions concerns the 199th Fighter Squadron of the
Hawaii Air National Guard. Our F-22 pilots and maintainers are out
every day in support of joint operations, including the counter-ISIL
campaign. They stand alert to protect Hawaii and are ready to respond
to contingencies in the Asia Pacific. You'll agree that having this
high-end capability deep in the Pacific gives DoD a lot of options.
There is concern in the fact that the squadron has just 18 jets
compared with 21 jets in every other squadron. We need to ensure we're
putting them in the best position to do their job. Do you support
rounding out the full squadron? Do I have your commitment that you will
explore opportunities to right-size the squadron in the future so it
can continue to perform well?
Answer. The Air National Guard is committed to working with the
Combatant Command, PACAF, and the lead command for the F-22, ACC, in
order to explore all options regarding the number of aircraft assigned
to the 199th Fighter Squadron. With an overall F-22 fleet size of 186
Total Aircraft Inventory (TAI), all stakeholders continue to fully
assess the mission risk when attempting to increase one unit at the
expense of decreasing another. Their collective understanding of the
Combat Air Forces recapitalization and basing strategy
interdependencies will be essential as we approach fiscal year 2019 POM
and fiscal year 2020 planning choices.
space control squadrons
Question. The Hawaii Air National Guard is on a short list to stand
up a Space Control Squadron. Hawaii is the best location for this
squadron: there is great line-of-sight to see objects in the sky we
need to see. We have close ties with PACAF, PACOM, their associated
intelligence, operations, and command and control centers, as well as
local expertise in the engineering and space fields. We have a proven
track record with supporting Air Force Space Command. We have C-17s
available to rapidly deploy the squadron anywhere it needs to go. And
after the 201 Combat Communications Group and 293 Combat Communications
Squadron were deactivated last year, we have airmen with the technical
expertise to draw on to support this mission. In my view, this should
be an easy decision. Where are you in the decisionmaking process? When
can we expect an announcement?
Answer. I certainly recognize the contributions and important role
the men and women in the Hawaii Air National Guard provide in Homeland
Defense and support to our Combatant Commanders. To ensure we can fully
meet the Space Control Mission requirements levied by the Air Force,
the ANG, in collaboration with HQ Air Force and Space Command, is in
the process of conducting an enterprise wide evaluation of potential
space mission locations. This evaluation will include an analysis of
the most suitable units and locations among all 54 States and
territories, which certainly includes evaluation of Hawaii locations.
This process will likely reach a conclusion by the end of fiscal year
2017 at which time you can expect an announcement.
cyber threats
Question. I am concerned about the resources we have available to
defend Hawaii's critical infrastructure against potential cyber
threats. The Hawaii National Guard has a Computer Network Defense team
that is made up of mostly full-time IT personnel, but it would not be
prudent to put these individuals on State Active Duty for any length of
time due to their full-time requirements. Do you see an increase in
Cyber Protection Teams for Hawaii, either in the Air or Army National
Guard?
Answer. At this time, we do not see any increase in Cyber
Protection Teams (CPTs). The Army National Guard (ARNG) is requesting
11 previously-approved CPTs be added to the Cyber Mission Force, of
which none are slated for Hawaii. The Air National Guard (ANG) has 12
Cyberspace Operations Squadrons (COS) providing two full-time CPTs to
the Cyber Mission Force. None of the ANG COSs are located in Hawaii.
However, we do have the Emergency Management Assistance Compacts (EMAC)
which states, can leverage for assets they do not have. This includes
access to CPTs in other states such as Washington and California.
state partnership program
Question. Many National Guard units have rich relationships with
countries in Europe, often as part of the State Partnership Program.
The relationships have been cultivated over time and offer a unique
look into their culture and way of life, to include concerns about
Russia's recent aggression from both a citizenry and military scope.
These in-roads could offer the European Reassurance Initiative
rotational units launching points for their exercises, enhancing
operations with our NATO partners. How are we using these units to
support the European Reassurance Initiative? How are these National
Guard units working with Active Duty units to support the reassurance
mission?
Answer. Units from the National Guard, joined with their State
Partnership Program (SPP) counterparts, were among the first military
units to deploy in support of the multinational exercise Operation
Atlantic Resolve (OAR). OAR's design is to assure our strategic
partners and allies while at the same time deterring potentially
destabilizing actions from Russia. National Guard participation in
major U.S. European Command (EUCOM) exercises such as Saber Strike,
Combined Resolve, and Noble Partner has also contributed to a
stabilizing presence. As this multinational cooperation matures in size
and frequency in response to an evolving environment, opportunities for
specific capabilities will emerge. For example, the cyber domain has
become more relevant for EUCOM in the wake of Russia's cyber-attacks
targeted toward western institutions. Maryland's 175th Cyber Wing,
together with EUCOM's Cyber Branch, has nurtured an exemplary
relationship with its counterparts at the Estonian Cyber Defense League
(CDL) for countering threats in the region. Additionally, units from
Oklahoma's 45th Infantry Division are involved in the Joint
Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, training Ukrainian military units
to become a more professional and NATO-interoperable force.
tanker fleet recapitalization
Question. Our KC-135 pilots play an important role supporting
strategic refueling operations for the joint force. Hawaii is a major
cross-roads for a number of operations around the globe, and
subsequently these pilots are called upon often. Do I have your
commitment that as you're working with the Air Force to recapitalize
the tanker fleet, you'll advocate for bringing the newest aircraft to
Hawaii?
Answer. The ANG is an active participant in the Air Force's
Strategic Basing process and I am confident that the candidate base
evaluations for the remaining basing decisions for the KC-46, which
include PACAF units, will fully account for the unique aspects that a
unit in Hawaii would offer.
preventative maintenance contracts
Question. The National Guard built a Low Observable Composite
Repair Facility at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in 2012 to support
the F-22 squadron. It cost $25.8 million. The building in its current
state is having sustainment problems because it did not include a
preventative maintenance contract. In general, does the National Guard
not include preventative maintenance contracts for its major
facilities? If not, why is that and does that not drive up SRM costs
that the individual State National Guard units have to absorb?
Answer. NGB provides 75 percent and states provide 25 percent of
the funding for maintenance of ANG real property through cooperative
agreements, which include preventive maintenance. It is then the
responsibility of the state to maintain the real property. Large
repairs are paid for by NGB through an SRM reimbursement.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Tammy Baldwin
tactical wheeled vehicle (twv) fleets
Question. What is the model mix of the Reserve and Guard TWV
fleets? What is the average age of each model mix and what are the
shortages by model mix?
Answer. There are three main categories for the Tactical Wheeled
Vehicle (TWV) Fleet: Light, Medium, and Heavy vehicles. Each category
is then broken into subcategories. The expected lifecycle of the truck
fleet is 20-25 years. The Light category covers the High Mobility
Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) fleet with an average age of 13.3
years. There are four subcategories, which includes ambulance, weapons
platform, missile, and utility HMMWVs. ARNG has a shortage of 159
missile vehicles and 308 utility vehicles. The Medium category consists
the Family of Medium Tactical Wheeled Vehicles (FMTVs), 2.5-ton Light
Medium Tactical Vehicles (LMTVs) and 5-ton (Medium Tactical Vehicles
(MTVs). The medium fleet has an average age of 8.2 years. The ARNG has
no shortages in the Medium Category. The Heavy category contains heavy-
duty vehicles of multiple platforms, including Heavy Expanded Mobility
Tactical Truck (HEMTT) tractors, fuel transporters, wreckers, Heavy
Equipment Transporters (HET), Palletized Loading Systems (PLS), Load
Handling Systems (LHS), and 20-ton dump trucks. The heavy truck fleet
has an average age of 11.1 years. The ARNG has a shortfall of 60 20-ton
dump trucks, all other subcategories are at 100 percent equipment on
hand.
f-35 basing
Question. General Lengyel, I'm extremely proud of the men and women
of the 115th Fighter Wing located at Truax Air National Guard Base in
Madison, Wisconsin. Next week, I will attend the Northern Lightning
Exercises, organized by the 115th, to observe U.S. Air Force F-35A's--
along with F-22's from Langley Air Force Base--participate in an
operationally realistic, scenario-based, full-spectrum, and high-end
training exercise. The 128th Air Refueling Wing from Milwaukee will
also play a critical role. Finally, the ranges that comprise the Volk
Field Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC), which is only 50 miles
away from Truax, put the base in the unique position of being the only
Reserve Component base with the capabilities needed to perform the
entire F-35 mission at a single site. From your perspective, how do the
unique combined capabilities of the 115th Fighter Wing, Truax, Volk
CRTC, and the 128th fit into the Air National Guard mission? And how do
those capabilities make Truax a particularly well-suited candidate to
be one of the next operational locations of the F-35A (Ops 5-6)?
Answer. The combination of mobility and combat aircraft along with
the Volk CRTC makes the Wisconsin Air National Guard uniquely
positioned to provide essential training opportunities and help ensure
our Airmen remain operationally ready to provide capability whenever
they are needed. Consolidated training opportunities, such as Northern
Lightning, are critical to preparing units for the full spectrum of
global challenges. The F-35 is a key component to enhance the lethality
and effectiveness of our force against high-end competitors as well as
a broad range of potential threats. As one of the five final candidate
bases announced by the Secretary of the Air Force, the 115th Fighter
Wing at Truax Field is clearly well-suited for the F-35. I am confident
that the Air Force's Strategic Basing Process will account for the
particular strengths Truax presents during its site survey next month
and look forward to the announcement of the final basing decision.
______
Questions Submitted to Lieutenant General Charles D. Luckey
Questions Submitted by Senator Susan M. Collins
gao report on sexual assault prevention
Question. A February 2017 GAO report identified a few shortfalls in
the Army National Guard's and the Army Reserve's sexual assault
prevention program staffing, budgeting, and investigation timeliness.
Does the Army's reserve components have a plan and resources in place
to fully address the concerns identified by GAO?
Answer. The United States Army Reserve Command (USARC) has
identified significant manning shortfalls within its Sexual Harassment
Assault Response Prevention (SHARP) program that are unique to the Army
Reserve due to the nature of its mission, structure, and geographical
dispersion. Staffing requirements were developed for active component
units that do not address our unique challenges and requirements. As a
result of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit, my staff is
working with all Army Reserve units to develop a manning concept that
addresses each organization's issues and requirements. My staff will
then use that data to develop a staffing concept that best supports
Army Reserve Soldiers. At the completion of our analysis, we will work
with Headquarters, Department of the Army to formalize requirements and
authorizations to support this structure. In regards to budget
management, USARC SHARP has developed budget guidance, which will be
provided to commands at their annual training in August. The Army
Reserve first received funding for the SHARP program in 2016, and we
will continue to work with commanders to ensure that their requirements
for funding are addressed. Formal budgetary guidance to subordinate
commands will be provided to ensure the efficient use of program funds.
Additionally, we have streamlined the process for Line of Duty
processing to ensure that victims who require medical assistance are
not hindered in their recovery by delays in processing. There is now a
three step process that streamlines the flow of information, while
better protecting the confidential records of our Soldiers.
balancing readiness with retention of citizen soldiers
Question. How can the Army Reserve best balance the readiness and
operational needs of the total force strategy with the recruitment and
retention problems that frequent deployments and time away from
civilian lives can cause?
Answer. The Army Reserve (AR), in close coordination with
Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA) and United States Forces
Command (FORSCOM), provides predictability to Soldiers, units, and
Families by maintaining sustainable unit-level support to meet current
operational requirements, while improving readiness throughout the
force. To increase the efficiency of the planning cycle, operational
requirements are forecasted over a 4-year window aimed at providing
sufficient notification to units and personnel as they incrementally
improve readiness. This enables leaders to execute mission essential
training, align resources, and manage personnel requirements, thereby
providing the requested capabilities consistent with the deployment
time line. The risk of maintaining higher unit readiness to meet
emerging operational demands requires additional participation and
commitment by all unit members. This causes friction and stress within
the unit and the Soldier's family, as well as uncertainty for the
civilian employer. All these factors culminate as recruitment and
retention challenges. To mitigate this, the Army Reserve utilizes
several initiatives, incentive programs, and policies to support the
needs of the force. The Army Reserve uses the following programs and
incentives to promote readiness and support retention and recruiting
efforts: Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) is a
congressionally-mandated, Department of Defense (DoD)-wide effort to
promote the well-being of National Guard and Reserve members, their
families, and communities by connecting them with resources throughout
the deployment cycle. YRRP events connect Soldiers and their Families/
designated representatives to resources and support before, during, and
after deployments. Strong Bonds is a Chaplain-led relationships and
skills training. It targets single Soldiers, couples, and families.
Strong Bonds enhances unit and individual readiness by building Soldier
and family relationships, readiness, and resiliency. Comprehensive
Soldier Family Fitness (CSF2) was established by the Army to increase
the resilience and enhance the performance of the Army Family--
Soldiers, DA Civilians, and their Family members. The program places
emphasis on ways to sustain personal readiness and enhance performance
by learning coping skills. Lodging-In-Kind (LIK) is covered in DoD
Instruction 1225.9. This DoD policy provide Reserve component personnel
who travel more than 50 miles from their residence to perform active
duty or inactive duty training with billeting to the same extent as
Active component members traveling under orders away from their
permanent duty station. The Selective Reserve Incentive Program (SRIP)
is designed to assist the AR in meeting the leadership's end strength,
readiness and force balancing objectives. It provides recruiting and
retention incentives to assist in filling critical shortages.
Incentives are implemented in those situations where other less costly
methods have proven inadequate in supporting unit and occupational
skill staffing requirements.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Patrick J. Leahy
mental health
Question. Vermont is home to the VA's National Center for Post-
traumatic Stress Disorder, and one thing we have come to understand
through their educational work is that mental healthcare is an aspect
of physical healthcare. In particular, good mental healthcare practices
before, during, and after a deployment can decrease the amount of post-
traumatic stress. However, in rural America in particular, mental
healthcare is difficult to obtain, and in all of America, mental health
providers are not treated the same as physical health providers by
insurers or our culture. How are you working to change the perception
that mental healthcare is something that only applies to some, possibly
broken, individuals? What policy and legislative changes can improve
access and availability for Guard and Reserve members, particularly in
rural areas?
Answer. The Army Reserve is continually working to reduce the
stigma associated with behavioral health at both the total population
level and the individual level. We are addressing the lack of knowledge
surrounding mental health conditions within our community by defining
behavioral health as a treatable condition. We mandate unit training on
a variety of behavioral health issues, which encourages open dialogue
without persecution or repercussion. The Army Reserve has focused
efforts on decreasing stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs by equating
mental health problems to physical injuries that require medical
attention and can be treated successfully. We fully support the
individual's right to privacy and implement practices that focus on
fair and equal treatment for service members that ensure they receive
appropriate care. Our Army Reserve Psychological Health Program (PHP)
assists commands in determining individualized care for their Soldiers.
They can facilitate care coordination at the command or individual
level. The Army Reserve PHP also provides training, consultations and
outreach in times of crises. The Army Reserve recognizes that stigma
remains a challenge. While many of these programs and initiatives work
on reducing stigma and shifting perceptions of mental health problems,
we are working toward a comprehensive strategy to reach the goal of
eliminating the stigma entirely. No change in policy or legislation is
needed at this time. Rural access to care is more challenging due to
the limited amount of behavioral healthcare providers in the community.
In rural areas, Soldiers options are limited. Additional capabilities
are being reviewed to address this disparity, such as telehealth.
Currently, each member of the Selected Reserve receives a comprehensive
medical readiness health and dental assessment in accordance with
section 10206 of title 10, United States Code. Additionally, DoDI
6490.12, Mental Health Assessments for Service Members Deployed in
Connection with a Contingency Operation, requires a person-to-person
mental health assessment for each member. The continuation of
behavioral care coverage outside these policies is an ongoing challenge
since it often requires the Soldier to have their own medical insurance
coverage.
army reserve in rural new england
Question. Lt. Gen. Luckey, New England is an area of the country
underrepresented among recruit classes in recent decades, Army-wide.
How do you intend to ensure geographic diversity among soldiers in the
Army Reserve particularly with regards to soldiers from New England,
while balancing responsible use of taxpayer dollars when it comes to
positioning force structure duty or drill locations? Are there laws or
policies need to be reviewed to make it easier for soldiers of the Army
Reserve to serve even when geographically remote from their unit?
Answer. The United States Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) is
better qualified to answer recruiting issues because they are
responsible for manning both the Active Army and the Army Reserve (AR)
throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, and at U.S. facilities in Germany and Asia. The Office
of the Chief of Army Reserve (OCAR) G-1 is responsible for developing
and retaining the correct skills, knowledge, and expertise to align
with the Army's strategic goals and operational requirements in support
of the National Military Strategy. The Army Reserve has units in the
following New England states: CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, and VT. The fill rate
of the six States combined is 97 percent. Of the six New England
states, only VT has a fill rate below 80 percent. The majority of the
units in VT are engineer, transportation and medical units. [NOTE: Fill
rate = Assigned/Authorized.] Currently, the AR has policies and
programs that are designed to attract Soldiers to low density units,
such as those in VT. For example, Inactive Duty Training (IDT) travel
allows Soldiers who travel more than 150 miles from their unit to be
reimbursed up to $300 to reduce out of pocket travel expense. In
addition, the Lodging-In-Kind (LIK) program provides Reserve component
personnel who travel more than 50 miles from their residence to perform
active duty or inactive duty training with billeting to the same extent
as Active component members traveling under orders away from their
permanent duty station. Finally, the Selective Reserve Incentive
Program (SRIP) provides recruiting and retention incentives to assist
in filling critical shortages in those situations where other less
costly methods have proven inadequate in supporting unit and
occupational skill staffing requirements.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Tammy Baldwin
fort mccoy cold weather training
Question. General Luckey, please provide an update on Fort McCoy's
cold weather training program, including any efforts to pursue official
TRADOC approval and certification of the cold weather course, which I
understand is required for Soldiers to receive qualification for
attendance. What impact would such official TRADOC sign-off have on
increasing year-round training throughput?
Answer. In 2017, Fort McCoy held three Cold Weather Operations
Courses (CWOC) and trained 42 Soldiers. The eleven-day program of
instruction (POI) included cold weather familiarization training,
winter warfare tactics, risk management, winter survival, and life
saving techniques. The CWOC POI was developed in coordination with the
US Army Alaska (USARAK), Northern Warfare Training Center (NWTC), the
TRADOC proponent for cold weather training. The Fort McCoy CWOC POI
follows the NWTC Cold Weather Leader Course (CWLC) POI. To ensure we
conduct our cold weather training in a manner consistent with NWTC, all
the instructors participated in NWTC training. We are also working with
NWTC, to audit the conduct of Fort McCoy's CWOC to provide feedback for
future courses. This POI supports our strategic vision for a
significant capability increase for reserve component units to plan and
execute a wider range of demanding training in cold regions. Currently,
only NWTC conducts TRADOC-accredited Cold Weather Leaders Course
training, but it is not an Additional Skill Identifier (ASI) producing
course. The NWTC Commandant retains the authority to modify the POI to
meet evolving USARAK mission requirements. While TRADOC accreditation
at Fort McCoy could be beneficial, we do not see a lack of
accreditation impacting current throughput or quality of training;
however, we will work with NWTC and TRADOC to obtain visibility in the
Army Training Requirements and Resources System (ATRRS). For fiscal
year 2018, Fort McCoy will double its CWOC staff to four instructors
and has scheduled five courses: 8-19 JAN 2018, 22 JAN-2 FEB 2018, 5-16
FEB 2018, 20 FEB-3 MAR 2018, and 5-16 MAR 2018. We anticipate filling
the courses to capacity. Fort McCoy also has the flexibility to support
cold weather exercises. The instructors will advise and assist unit
cold weather training. We are staffing a request through the chain of
command to the Department of the Army G4 to re-designate Fort McCoy
from Climate Zone V to Zone VII for Common Table of Allowances (CTA)
50-900 purposes. Fort Drum, NY, with similar weather conditions at
approximately the same latitude, requested and received the same
climate zone re-designation in 2015. This will allow our Central Issue
Facility (CIF) to request and issue more appropriate individual extreme
cold weather equipment, such as vapor barrier boots, arctic mittens,
and face masks. Currently, we have limited amounts of critical extreme
cold weather clothing, which can only be issued on a temporary basis to
support our growing demand. Historically, Fort McCoy has supported
significant collective cold weather training; however, in the last
decade, the preponderance of training from DEC-MAR has focused on
individual and crew qualifications or indoor simulations. Fort McCoy
has the capacity to host Combat Support Training Program, Exportable
Combat Training Center, and Operation Cold Steel gunnery exercises, as
well as platoon and company collective live fire exercises to increase
force readiness based on Foundational Component of Training 3
requirements.
tactical wheeled vehicle (twv) fleets
Question. What is the model mix of the Reserve and Guard TWV
fleets? What is the average age of each model mix and what are the
shortages by model mix?
Answer. The Army Reserve Tactical Wheeled Vehicle (TWV) Fleet
consists of Heavy, Medium, and Light Tactical Wheeled vehicles. The
fleet includes ten Heavy Tactical Vehicle variants, with the Medium and
Light fleets consisting of seven models each. On the aggregate, each
fleet category averages 10 years of age. Based on current documented
requirements, shortages across all fleets are insignificant. However,
the Army Reserve is concerned with emerging compatibility gaps as
modern platforms enter the Army inventory. For example, the
introduction of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) to the Army
inventory in fiscal year 2019 represents mobility and force protection
upgrades over the legacy High Mobility Multipurpose Vehicle (HMMWV)
fleet. Based on the Army's resourcing priorities, Army Reserve projects
a Light Tactical Vehicle modernization gap through fiscal year 2025.
______
Questions Submitted to Lieutenant General Maryanne Miller
Questions Submitted by Senator Patrick J. Leahy
Question. Vermont is home to the VA's National Center for Post-
traumatic Stress Disorder, and one thing we have come to understand
through their educational work is that mental healthcare is an aspect
of physical healthcare. In particular, good mental healthcare practices
before, during, and after a deployment can decrease the amount of post-
traumatic stress. However, in rural America in particular, mental
healthcare is difficult to obtain, and in all of America, mental health
providers are not treated the same as physical health providers by
insurers or our culture. How are you working to change the perception
that mental healthcare is something that only applies to some, possibly
broken, individuals? What policy and legislative changes can improve
access and availability for Guard and Reserve members, particularly in
rural areas?
Answer. For a number of years, the Air Force has had a global
campaign to decrease the stigma and encourage normalization of mental
health as part of the dimensions of wellness (which also include
physical, social, and spiritual health). Promotion of Wingman Day
activities, resilience, and Comprehensive Airman Fitness programs
remove mental health from a ``medical'' problem to an area addressed
and promoted by commanders as a normal part of preventative health and
readiness. When Reserve Component members are placed in an active duty
status, they are eligible for TriCare mental health services or the
Behavioral Health Optimization Program (BHOP) through the local
military treatment facility or deployed medical unit, along with Family
Advocacy and all other support programs available to Regular Air Force
members. Though traditional, or part-time, Reserve Component members,
are not eligible for active duty benefits, there are other resources
available to serve them: (1) Military Family Life Consultants (MFLCs)
are licensed contract counselors who work outside of the military
treatment facilities to provide anonymous and confidence assistance to
all military members (include Reserve Component) in problem solving
issues resulting from deployment, reunions, reintegration, and/or other
times of change. They also provide financial counseling. (2) Directors
of Psychological Health (DPH) are licensed clinical civilian social
workers assigned to Reserve units and were authorized under the
National Defense Authorization Act 2012, Sec 703. DPH's provide non-
clinical services to reservists and their families during unit training
assemblies or during the week to include training and education,
consultations and referrals, needs assessments, suicide prevention,
resiliency building, crisis intervention and command advisement on
psychological and mental health issues. (3) Air Force Reserve Command
Psychological Health Advocacy Program (PHAP). The PHAP Team, through
telephone calls and/or site visits, provides psychological health
referral services to AFRC Reservists and their families to include
referral information, follow-up of services rendered, provide outreach
services at all AFRC Yellow Ribbon events and assistance to AFRC
installation leaders with mental health issues within three regions in
the U.S. and Guam. The PHAP Team is not authorized to counsel,
diagnose, or treat any person requesting assistance. (4) Invisible
Wounds of War Initiative (IWW). This year-old initiative is the result
of surveys and interviews completed with military members diagnosed
with PTSD and TBI. The major gaps and barriers identified by this
research in the medical, personal, and judiciary arenas prompted an
effort to overhaul how care is given to members with brain illnesses to
streamline processes and increase access. The Reserve Component has a
special working group as part of the initiative to ensure Reserve-
specific issues are addressed. Most important is that policy and
funding changes must reflect a cultural shift away from only treatment
focus and toward one that also includes mental health education and
awareness. As noted above, brain illness (depression, anxiety, PTSD,
TBI, etc) must be an integrated component of medical health. Mental
health on a broader scale must be approached as a normal component of a
healthy lifestyle, just as with diet or exercise. Mental health is not
a disease set, it is a fundamental part of our own wellness.
Legislation could to be written to formally desegregate mental/brain
health from medical health in prevention initiatives, awareness
campaigns, insurance legislation, education of all varieties of medical
professions (in collaboration with the varying disciplines' governing
boards), and in the allocation of grants for health workers in rural
areas. One possibility is to expand, fund, and staff the Public Health
Service to include Rural Area/Regional mental health teams (provider,
nurse, admin) to educate, assess and serve all individuals in a rural
area ( which will include many Reservists). To ensure a pool of the
most capable and qualified mental health professionals for Reserve
members, both in out-patient and in-patient environments, providers
need to be compensated appropriately for their work by both employers
and insurance companies. Expand the resources for Telehealth and make
this a normal benefit of being in the Reserve Component, not a
condition of active duty service or status (similar to the DPH).
employer support
Question. We often discuss the value of employing an individual
serving in the Guard or Reserve based on the skills and perspective
they bring to the job. Many employers have enthusiastically embraced
that benefit, but with the reserves becoming more often engaged in
operations and the increased training that brings, we are inadvertently
removing employers' prime benefit. Are there increased stresses in the
relationship between employers and their citizen-warriors? In the era
of the operational reserve, what benefits associated with hiring a
member of the Guard or Reserve are most desirable to employers?
Answer. The last 26 years of continuous operations has increased
the need for the citizen-warriors of the Air Force Reserve (AFR) to
serve our country. Defending our Nation comes with a price which is
shared by all, to include our AFR members, their families and their
employers. Despite this challenge (compounded further by on-going
fiscal constraints), we have been able to maintain many great
relationships with employers of our Airmen. However, some employers do
have concerns about the amount of time AFR members are required to
perform their military duties. To address this, we have made additional
efforts to meet with industry leaders, especially the airlines, to
identify and work towards an amicable solution to reduce stress and
meet the needs of all parties. Our intent is to improve communication
between employee and employer and identify opportunities to minimize
confusion/frustration. In particular, AFR commanders must remain
vigilant to the potential hardships of employers when approving short
notice orders for military duty. Each commander knows the importance of
considering the impact on the employer and whether the training must be
accomplished during peak work cycles within various industries and
employment sectors. AFR leaders at all levels must continue to maintain
the balance between mission, civilian employer, and family for each
Airman in order to better sustain a healthy operational reserve. Our
members are proud of their service and dedicated to defending our
Nation while at the same time, are loyal and committed to the
objectives of their civilian employers. Employers understand the value
of these unique character traits which military members bring to the
job as well as the technical expertise and ability to solve problems
under difficult circumstances. They know that when they hire members of
the AFR, they are receiving the benefit of an employee who understands
the importance of leadership, teamwork, discipline and sacrifice. This
is why, despite the demands of military service over the last 26 years,
employers will continue to hire and work with AFR citizen-warriors and
welcome them into their organizations.
______
Questions Submitted to Vice Admiral Luke M. McCollum
Questions Submitted by Senator Patrick J. Leahy
mental health
Question. Vermont is home to the VA's National Center for Post-
traumatic Stress Disorder, and one thing we have come to understand
through their educational work is that mental healthcare is an aspect
of physical healthcare. In particular, good mental healthcare practices
before, during, and after a deployment can decrease the amount of post-
traumatic stress. However, in rural America in particular, mental
healthcare is difficult to obtain, and in all of America, mental health
providers are not treated the same as physical health providers by
insurers or our culture. How are you working to change the perception
that mental healthcare is something that only applies to some, possibly
broken, individuals? What policy and legislative changes can improve
access and availability for Guard and Reserve members, particularly in
rural areas?
Answer. Navy views mental health on an overall wellness spectrum,
with the goal of decreasing stigma through changing perceptions of
mental health from the disease model, to one of prevention and
wellness, by encouraging service members to seek help when concerns are
more manageable. Active programs with this established goal include:
--Caregiver Occupational Stress Control (OSC) that involves clinical
caregiver training, peer-support, and unit assessments,
--Mind Body Medicine (improving mental fitness, resilience and self-
care),
--Special Psychiatric Rapid Intervention Team (disaster mental health
response),
--Embedded Operational Mental Health (embedding mental health into
operational platforms),
--Fleet and Marine-wide OSC training (routine training in OSC at the
deckplate), and
--The Behavioral Health Integration Program embeds mental health
providers in primary care clinics, providing resources to
Sailors, Marines, and their families who may not have a mental
health diagnosis, but struggle with medical, occupational,
social, or family challenges.
The Navy's Psychological Health Outreach Program (PHOP) ensures
that the Reserve component and their families have access to mental
health services. PHOP reaches out to Reserve Sailors from the beginning
of their military career through discharge or retirement, creating a
safety net for Reservists who may have otherwise ``fallen through the
cracks.'' Services include: command consultations, psycho-educational
briefings, behavioral health screenings, and 24/7 phone/email on-call
services to ensure clients receive needed resources and services. PHOP
providers are located across the United States--stationed at Navy
Operational Support Centers and Marine Force Reserve Units. PHOP staff
work closely with Reserve Commands to ensure all Reservists, including
those in rural areas, receive outreach. We are grateful for the
congressional support that has been bestowed upon us as explore
innovative healthcare technologies in support of improving access for
service members in remote areas and to address their unique healthcare
needs.
employer support
Question. We often discuss the value of employing an individual
serving in the Guard or Reserve based on the skills and perspective
they bring to the job. Many employers have enthusiastically embraced
that benefit, but with the reserves becoming more often engaged in
operations and the increased training that brings, we are inadvertently
removing employers' prime benefit. Are there increased stresses in the
relationship between employers and their citizen-warriors? In the era
of the operational reserve, what benefits associated with hiring a
member of the Guard or Reserve are most desirable to employers?
Answer. The stressors involved in the relationship between
employers and Citizen-Sailors increase when a Sailor enters the
mobilization continuum. Multiple mobilizations can add to the stress
involved between Sailors and their employers. Since the 9/11 attacks,
over 14,000 Sailors have mobilized at least twice, with almost 4,000
mobilizing three or more times. As ongoing operations continue, more
Sailors will fall into the aforementioned categories. Employers are
stressed in the management of staff to support their Sailor's
mobilizations, particularly smaller employers. Upon return from
mobilization, Sailors experience stress as they go through the re-
integration process with their civilian employers and families. The key
to reducing stress on both parties is following the established
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act (USERRA) timelines;
specifically the notification of mobilization orders, anticipated
return from orders and subsequent return to the civilian workplace. In
2010, across DoD, the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR)
office handled 3,202 ombudsman level mediation cases between reservists
and their employers. In 2016, this number dropped to 1,554, roughly a
50 percent reduction. Although this can possibly be attributed to the
overall reduction of reservist mobilizations over time, better
communication between service members and employers, along with
improved USERRA understanding, has contributed greatly to easing the
stresses between the two. Citizen-Sailors bring varied and unique skill
sets to the civilian workforce which makes them coveted by employers.
The following are just a few of the traits Sailors provide to civilian
employers:
--Leadership--Sailors are trained and immersed in a culture of
leadership, understanding how to lead and support employer
goals and missions.
--Perspective/Diversity--Sailors are exposed to a global perspective
and can incorporate this perspective into the civilian
workforce. They have experience with working and succeeding in
a diverse workforce.
--Responsibility--In their military service, Sailors are given high
levels of responsibility very early on. This is rare commodity
amongst their civilian peers.
--Professionalism--A Sailor's honor, courage and commitment to the
organization's mission can be relied upon by the employer to
get the job done. A Sailor comes from a culture of integrity
which will spread throughout the company.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Brian Schatz
additional rotc units
Question. I am an advocate of establishing a Navy ROTC unit in
Hawaii. Multiculturalism, diversity, and critical languages: these are
some of the strengths the people of Hawaii bring to the Navy Reserve. I
know the decision to stand up additional ROTC units rests largely with
the Navy, and it comes down to what funding is available. Can you offer
thoughts on how a Navy ROTC unit in Hawaii would add value to the Navy
and Navy Reserve?
Answer. The authority to establish and maintain an additional Naval
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (NROTC) unit is at the discretion of
the Secretary of the Navy. Significant factors that influence the
decision are available funding, personnel resources, and officer
accession requirements. Currently, the NROTC program provides funding
and personnel resources to sustain 77 host units throughout the United
States and has sufficient capacity to meet present and future officer
accession requirements. The strengths that you list for universities
located in Hawaii are important characteristics that the NROTC program
values in colleges and universities; however, the current profile of
NROTC host units is replete with colleges and universities with similar
characteristics. Specifically, the NROTC program's 77 host units and
their cross-town affiliations are geographically dispersed at 93 public
and 73 private institutions, associated with 7 of the 8 Ivy League
institutions, and located at 23 of the top 30 Best National
Universities and 7 of the top 10 Historically Black Colleges and
Universities as listed in the 2017 Edition of the U.S. News and World
Report. The NROTC program leverages its colleges and universities to
provide a variety of academic majors, enhance diversity of thought, and
furnish the Navy with academically proficient, morally sound, and
physically fit active duty officers. To ensure existing host units
continue to exhibit characteristics beneficial to their respective
Services, the Department of Defense reissued Department of Defense
Instruction 1215.08, signed January 19, 2017, directing the Secretaries
of the Military Departments to develop Service-specific performance
measures and criteria to assess host units annually. As clarification
for future inquiries, the NROTC program commissions only active duty
officers into the Navy. Therefore, any NROTC unit expansion would not
affect the Navy Reserve. If colleges and universities in Hawaii desire
to host an NROTC unit, the first step in the process is for the college
or university to submit an NROTC host unit application to Naval Service
Training Command. Should the Navy and Marine Corps mission demonstrate
a need for future NROTC unit growth, the Navy will review and assess
the over 180 universities and colleges with NROTC unit applications on
file. Meanwhile, students graduating from Hawaii colleges and
universities, who seek a Navy commission, may submit an application to
the Navy's Officer Candidate School.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Tammy Baldwin
force protection upgrades at navy facilities
Question. In response to the 2015 attacks on a military recruiting
office and a Navy Operational Support Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee,
in which Wisconsin native Marine Sergeant Carson Holmquist was
tragically killed, I introduced the Military Facilities Force
Protection Act to upgrade the physical security of military facilities.
Recent appropriations bills included funding for these enhancements and
required the Department of Defense to report on completed and planned
actions and the funding needed for those actions. Please provide an
update on completed and planned force protection upgrades, both
physical and operational, at U.S. Navy Reserve facilities in Wisconsin.
Answer. The Navy is implementing several physical security and
force protection upgrades at the three Navy Operational Support Centers
(NOSCs) in Wisconsin. NOSC Milwaukee: A facilities project to upgrade
the physical security and force protection for NOSC Milwaukee was
awarded December 2016 and is expected to be complete in the summer of
2018. The estimated cost for NOSC Milwaukee upgrades is $1.8M. The
project will install window film, replace doors, windows and hardware,
perimeter fence improvements and install an electronic security system.
NOSC Madison and NOSC Green Bay: The planning and design efforts for
physical security and force protection upgrade projects at NOSC Madison
and NOSC Green Bay will begin soon enabling Command Navy Installations
Command (CNIC) to award those projects in fiscal year 2018. Operational
Force Protection upgrades: The Navy has implemented mass warning and
notification capabilities and DoD trained and qualified armed watch
standers at all 71 off-installation NOSC facilities nationwide. This
includes all NOSCs in Wisconsin.
______
Questions Submitted to Lieutenant General Rex C. McMillian
Questions Submitted by Senator Patrick J. Leahy
mental health
Question. Vermont is home to the VA's National Center for Post-
traumatic Stress Disorder, and one thing we have come to understand
through their educational work is that mental healthcare is an aspect
of physical healthcare. In particular, good mental healthcare practices
before, during, and after a deployment can decrease the amount of post-
traumatic stress. However, in rural America in particular, mental
healthcare is difficult to obtain, and in all of America, mental health
providers are not treated the same as physical health providers by
insurers or our culture. How are you working to change the perception
that mental healthcare is something that only applies to some, possibly
broken, individuals? What policy and legislative changes can improve
access and availability for Guard and Reserve members, particularly in
rural areas?
Answer. Mental Illness is still stigmatized and needs to be looked
at in the following construct: Just like other illnesses, Mental
Illness is a multifactorial entity with various biopsychosocial-
contributing factors. By pulling back the veil and encouraging the
involvement of a support network The Marine Corps has taken steps
through the past few years to reduce the stigma of seeking mental
health help. One of the key phrases utilized in Operational Stress
Control and Readiness (OSCAR) training is ``it's ok not to be ok.''
Additionally, through the leadership panel portion of OSCAR training,
leaders provide either personal testimonial or speak to the importance
of seeking help and how the command stands behind those who seek it.
Marines are encouraged to seek help without fear of repercussions.
Marine Corps Commanders are trained to recognize that there are a
number of different factors that contribute to the health and well
being of their Marines. Just as mental illness is multifactorial, so is
our method of treating it. Through a holistic approach leveraging the
combined strengths of the Marine Corps Community Services, the Marine
Forces Reserve Psychological Health Outreach Program (PHOP), the
Chaplain Corps and Health Support Services we provide the Marine and
their family with a full spectrum of options and care. Throughout this
process, we emphasize that just as no one needs to feel ``shame'' for
contracting any other illness (viral, bacterial, cardiovascular,
cancer, etc.), the illnesses categorized as mental/behavioral health,
are to be addressed and treated openly and aggressively without any
stigma. This treatment involves all spectrum of care, from medical (MD,
nursing), Psychiatric and psychological, to LPC/LCSW, to spiritual-
existential (meaning) moral dimensions (Chaplains and Religious Program
Specialists). We actively promote available resources, and encourage
our Marines and families to get the help they need. The Marine Corps'
commitment to healthcare is evident through health assessments,
counseling, family support services, and treatment. We encourage
service members to ask for help, train our providers to provide the
best care possible, and ensure crucial resources/programs are
available. We also work hard to make sure our Marines and our Marine
family members have access to support and mental health services.
Taking care of their psychological welfare is a critical part of the
overall health of our Corps. The fiscal year 2015 NDAA mandates Mental
Health Assessment (MHA) completion once during each 180-day period
during which a member is deployed (ending January 1, 2019). Coupled
with the PDHRA done 90-180 days after deployment return (DoDI 6490.03,
DD 2900) and the expected summer implementation of the MHA component on
the Annual Periodic Health Assessment (DoDI 6200.06, DD Form 3024),
access to identification and treatment of mental health issues has
increased for the Reserve components. Marine Forces Reserve is greatly
dependent upon the Reserve Health Readiness Program (RHRP) to complete
timely MHAs. When MHAs are completed within the required timeframe
mandated by fiscal year 2015 NDAA and DoDI 6490.03, Marines have a
greater chance of being diagnosed, referred and authorized to receive
follow up care. Currently MARFORRES is operating under a $5.4 million
budget; however, this funding has proved insufficient. Over a 2 month
period, a lack of funding resulted in the cancellation of 20 mental
health assessment events, impeding timely assessment and treatment of
thousands of Marines. The purpose of the assessment is the early
identification of mental health symptoms and conditions, to include
identifying individuals at risk for suicide and post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), suicidal tendencies, as well as other behavioral and
mental health conditions that require referral for additional care. If
left unidentified, undiagnosed, or untreated, mental health issues can
adversely affect individual and unit readiness as well as the safety of
the service member and of those with whom he/she interacts including
the unit, family, and community. The PHOP Resiliency Check-in (RCI) has
been very successful due to the confidential nature of the screening/
assessment and enabled us to work preventively to identify risk factors
and provide preventive resources. The RCI is a comprehensive process
completed by PHOP in which the reservists are assessed, resourced/
referred, and receive follow-up from the same staff member. This
continuity of care has proven more successful than programs or
screenings in which one provider completes the assessment such as the
MHA and then the PHOP staff follow-up to resource the reservists and
ensures treatment follow through. The networking our staff do to
connect reservists to providers in their local communities has been
very beneficial to the reservists in rural areas.
employer support
Question. We often discuss the value of employing an individual
serving in the Guard or Reserve based on the skills and perspective
they bring to the job. Many employers have enthusiastically embraced
that benefit, but with the reserves becoming more often engaged in
operations and the increased training that brings, we are inadvertently
removing employers' prime benefit. Are there increased stresses in the
relationship between employers and their citizen-warriors? In the era
of the operational reserve, what benefits associated with hiring a
member of the Guard or Reserve are most desirable to employers?
Answer. Stresses occur between employers and citizen warriors at
the individual level when service members are called to active duty and
employers have to adjust work schedules, hire additional employees, or
assimilate reservists back into employment following their completion
of duty. Therefore, the short answer is, ``Yes.'' However, these
stresses are reduced through advance notification by service members,
continued communication by service members while they are away from the
employer, and the involvement of Employer Support of the Guard and
Reserve (ESGR). ESGR educates both employers and service members about
their rights and responsibilities under the Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). They also provide
information and resources that mitigate the challenges employers and
service members face as they make transitions to and from periods of
active service. The current trend of stressors between employers and
their citizen warriors is going down. This is evidenced by the number
of USERRA inquiries made by both employers and service members and
cases assigned to ESGR ombudsman. There were 34,612 USERRA-related
inquires made in 2010 as compared to 15,155 made in 2016. There were
3,202 cases assigned to ombudsman for mediation in 2010 compared to
1,554 in 2016. In terms of percentages, that is about a 50 percent
reduction in inquires and complaints from employers and service members
over the last 6 years. While this trend has been impacted by the
overall reduction in reserve component deployments since 2010, further
indicators show a strengthening of the employer and service member
relationship. ESGR's Patriot Awards program recognizes supervisors who
go above and beyond to support their service member employees; the last
5-year average has remained steady at approximately 10,600 Patriots
Awards presented each year despite the reduction in deployments. ESGR
also saw a 5-year-high 3,064 nominations for the Secretary of Defense
Employer Support Freedom Award this year. When putting the employer and
service member relationship into perspective in relation to the total
number of reserve component members serving today, the raw numbers
demonstrate a fairly low level of stress across the workforce. Out of
the total 880,000 reserve component members who are employed, the
15,551 inquiries made to ESGR this past year represents an extremely
small percentage (1.7 percent) of instances where stresses rose to the
level of a query from the employer or service member. We often hear
from employers about the qualities our citizen warriors bring to the
workforce. In addition to some of the very tangible benefits to
employers, such as the variety of tax credits that can reduce their
Federal business tax liabilities, employers value the character traits
our service members bring to the workplace. ESGR has compiled some of
this feedback into a listing of the top reasons employers hire reserve
component service members:
--GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Reserve component employees have experiences
that directly relate to current world events.
--PUNCTUALITY: Reserve component employees know the value of being on
time, every time.
--POSITIVE IMAGE: Reserve component employees understand a
professional appearance is a must.
--CALM UNDER PRESSURE: Reserve component employees are resilient and
know how to handle stress, both on and off the job.
--CAN-DO ATTITUDE: Reserve component employees possess critical
skills and understand that challenges can be overcome.
--PHYSICAL CONDITIONING: Reserve component employees are in top
physical condition, resilient, and drug-free.
--UNDERSTAND DIVERSITY: Reserve component employees succeed in a very
diverse workplace.
--RESPONSIBILITY: Reserve component employees know how to make
decisions and take responsibility for meeting objectives.
--PROFESSIONALISM: Reserve component employees have a high degree of
integrity, an air of self-respect, and a sense of honor.
--LEADERSHIP: Reserve component employees are excellent leaders and
outstanding followers: loyal, dedicated, and highly motivated.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Baldwin. The Defense Subcommittee will reconvene on
Wednesday, May 3 at 10:30 a.m. to receive testimony from the
Deputy Secretary of Defense on the topic of Defense Innovation
and Research.
I appreciate all of you for your assistance to the
Committee.
And with that, the subcommittee stands in recess.
[Whereupon, at 11:59 a.m., Wednesday, April 26, the
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene at 10:30 a.m.,
Wednesday, May 3.]