[Senate Hearing 117-967, Part 6]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 117-967, Pt. 6
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION
REQUEST FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL
YEAR 2023 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE
PROGRAM
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
S. 4543
TO AUTHORIZE APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023 FOR MILITARY
ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, FOR MILITARY CON-
STRUCTION, AND FOR DEFENSE ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
ENERGY, TO PRESCRIBE MILITARY PERSONNEL STRENGTHS FOR
SUCH FISCAL YEAR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
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PART 6
PERSONNEL
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APRIL 27, 2022
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Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via: http: //www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
59-848 PDF WASHINGTON : 2025
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COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
JACK REED, Rhode Island, Chairman JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi
KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut TOM COTTON, Arkansas
MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota
TIM KAINE, Virginia JONI ERNST, Iowa
ANGUS S. KING, Jr., Maine THOM TILLIS, North Carolina
ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota
JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia RICK SCOTT, Florida
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
MARK KELLY, Arizona TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama
Elizabeth L. King, Staff Director
John D. Wason, Minority Staff Director
_________________________________________________________________
Subcommittee on Personnel
KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York,
Chair THOM TILLIS, North Carolina
MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
_________________________________________________________________
april 27, 2022
Page
Military and Civilian Personnel Programs......................... 1
Member Statements
Statement of Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand....................... 1
Statement of Senator Thom Tillis................................. 2
Witness Statements
Cisneros, The Honorable Gilbert, Jr., Under Secretary of Defense 3
for Personnel and Readiness.
Brito, Lieutenant General Gary, USA, Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 24
United States Army.
Nowell, Vice Admiral John, USN, Chief of Naval Personnel, United 36
States Navy.
Ottignon, Lieutenant General David, USMC, Deputy Commandant for 50
Manpower and Reserve Affairs, United States Marine Corps.
DeFilippi, Gwendolyn, Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, 58
Personnel and Services, United States Air Force.
Patricia Mulcahy, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Personnel, 77
United States Space Force.
Questions for the Record......................................... 90
(iii)
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION REQUEST FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2023 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM
----------
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2022
United States Senate,
Subcommittee on Personnel,
Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC.
MILITARY AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL PROGRAMS
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:01 p.m., in
room 222, Russell Senate Office Building, Senator Kirsten
Gillibrand (Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding.
Subcommittee Members present: Senators Gillibrand, Warren,
Hirono, Tillis, Hawley, and Tuberville.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND
Senator Gillibrand. Good afternoon, everyone. The
Subcommittee meets today to receive testimony on the military
and civilian personnel programs at the Department of Defense
(DOD) and the military services in review of the
Administration's defense authorization request for fiscal year
2023.
This is the Subcommittee's annual personnel posture hearing
that establishes a foundational record for the committee of the
Department's full range of activities concerning matters
affecting servicemembers, their families, retirees, and the
Department's civilian workforce.
It provides the Department the opportunity to discuss their
personnel policy priorities. For witnesses, welcome. Thank you
for appearing. We will have two panels today.
The first panel consists of officials from the Office of
the Secretary of Defense who cover the full range of military
and civilian personnel programs, the Honorable Gil Cisneros,
Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Ms. V.
Penrod, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and
Reserve Affairs, Dr. David J. Smith, Acting Principal Deputy,
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, and Ms.
Elizabeth B. Foster, Executive Director of Force Resiliency,
Executive Director, Office of Force Resiliency--same thing.
The second panel will include the Senior Personnel Chiefs
of Military Services, Lieutenant General Gary Brito, Deputy
Chief of Staff, G-1, Vice Admiral John B. Nowell, Junior Deputy
Chief of Naval Operations, N-1, and Chief of Naval Personnel,
Lieutenant General David A. Ottignon, Deputy Commandant of the
Marine Corps for Manpower Reserve Affairs, Ms. Gwendolyn R.
DeFilippi, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force for
Manpower Personal Services, and Ms. Patricia Mulcahy, Chief
Human Capital Officer, United States--United Space Force.
Before I continue, I want to recognize Ms. Penrod, who has
appeared before the Subcommittee on a number of occasions, but
for whom this hearing will be her last. She is retiring
imminently, I am told, after more than five decades of service
to the Department of Defense.
This includes 16 years as a senior executive in the Office
of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and 35 years in the Air
Force, as both an enlisted airman and an officer working on
behalf of our servicemembers, their families, and the civilian
workforce who supports them.
Thank you for your service, Ms. Penrod.
[Clapping.]
Senator Gillibrand. At this hearing last year in May, I
began by noting that our country has been in a state of
continuous war for nearly 20 years, and that with the impending
withdrawal of combat troops from Afghanistan we were closing
one chapter and beginning another. In the year since, we have
indeed seen a new chapter unfold with continued resurgence of
great power competition and Vladimir Putin's unjustified,
unprovoked, and unwarranted war on Ukraine.
Coupled with the persistent effects of global pandemic,
increasingly sophisticated cyber and other asymmetric tech
threats, and the disruptive effects of ecological degradation
and changing climate, the need for highly trained and capable
military and civilian workforce within the Department of
Defense and throughout the Federal Government has never been
greater. We must commit to meeting these challenges by
developing, fielding, and maintaining the world's most capable
workforce.
I am going to submit the rest of my statement for the
record, and I turn it over to Senator Tillis.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR THOM TILLIS
Senator Tillis. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Thank you to
the witnesses for being here. Ms. Penrod, given your future
plans, I look forward to your unabridged and unbridled
responses to our questions, but congratulations again. The 2023
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will coincide with
the 50th anniversary of the creation of the All-Volunteer
Force.
But I think it may be more accurate to describe the
military as an all recruited force because it takes a large
amount of resources to attract sufficient numbers of high
quality Americans to military service.
To put it bluntly, I am worried we are now in the early
days of a long term threat to the All-Volunteer Force, a small
and declining number of Americans who are eligible and
interested in military service.
Every single metric tracks the military recruiting
environment is going in the wrong direction. In most cases, we
are seeing the worst numbers in the last two decades. Only 8
percent of young Americans have seriously considered joining
the military. That is the lowest number since the late 90s and
is 50 percent lower than it was during the deadliest days of
the global war on terror.
Perhaps most alarming, today, only 23 percent of Americans
are even eligible to enlist. That is down from 29 percent only
a few years ago. We are fighting a war on two fronts right now.
On the one side, we have a shrinking number of Americans who
meet the minimum qualifications for military service.
On the other side, those who are qualified, have
historically low levels of interest in putting on a uniform.
This two front recruiting war is already affecting our military
readiness. The Army plans to shrink by 12,000 soldiers next
year, not because they want to and not because they were told
to.
The new National Defense Strategy does not call for a
smaller Army. The Army is cutting in strength because there are
simply not enough recruits to go around. The other services are
experiencing similar struggles at varying levels. Ensuring our
military is sufficiently manned is the most important job the
Subcommittee has.
I intend to spend most of today's hearing asking our expert
witnesses what you intend to do and how we can help address
these growing challenges. Thanks again to the witnesses for
appearing before the committee. I look forward to your
testimony.
Madam Chair, I do think we are going to have a vote in the
middle of this. Are we are going to do a tag team so that we
can keep things moving? So excuse us if one of us have to leave
the room momentarily. Thank you.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you very much, Senator Tillis. I
would now like to call on Secretary Cisneros.
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE GILBERT CISNEROS JR., UNDER
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR PERSONNEL AND READINESS
Mr. Cisneros. Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Tillis,
and Members of the Personnel Subcommittee, thank you for the
opportunity to testify before you today. We are here to discuss
the Department's greatest strength, our people.
We are proud to represent the 3.3 million servicemembers
and DOD civilians who defend our Nation every day and their
families who serve alongside them. One of Secretary Austin's
earliest messages to the force made clear that taking care of
people is a National Security imperative.
This Administration has shown both in their words and
actions, that DOD will invest in our greatest strategic
advantage. This commitment is evident in the fiscal year 2023
defense budget request and our personnel policy efforts. While
many personal--personnel priorities are reflected in the budget
request, I will focus my remarks on a few priority areas.
First, recruiting, economic security, support to military
families, Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in
the Military, or IRC, and suicide. To build and maintain our
global competitive advantage, we must recruit quality
applicants in an ever changing landscape. The Department is in
fierce competition for skilled, relevant, and innovative
talent. The labor market, exasperated by the effects of the
pandemic and the military, civilian divide, creates a
challenging recruiting environment.
You will hear from the services later today, but my team
and I are working closely with them to leverage all
authorities, resources, and tools to address these challenges.
The pay raise of 4.6 percent in the budget request will enable
recruiting, will appropriately compensate our workforce, and
support the overall economic security of servicemembers and
their families.
I cannot stress this enough, the economic security of our
servicemembers is critical to readiness, and in total, the
current military compensation and benefits package is fair and
compares favorably with the private sector. To remain
competitive, we must keep pace with private sector wage, or
keep pace with private sector wage growth, which this pay raise
does.
We are addressing rising housing costs by temporarily
adjusting the basic allowance for housing in high cost areas,
and thanks to your leadership, we are implementing the basic
needs allowance with the first payment scheduled to go out in
January 2023.
Our military families are vital to the readiness of our
force. We are broadening employment support to military spouses
by expanding the Military Spouse Employment Partnership Job
Search Portal. We are working with all 50 States to improve
State laws to ease occupational license portability.
Likewise, the Department is addressing access to childcare
by increasing staff hiring, applying the $15 per hour Federal
minimum wage to childcare workers, and providing servicemembers
fee assistance to offset the cost of in-home childcare. Taking
care of our people goes beyond compensation. We must eliminate
sexual assault and harassment to preserve readiness and support
of a resilient and cohesive force.
The entire Department continues to work to implement the
IRC's recommendations. Our budget request of $489 million will
enable us to invest in prevention to eliminate those wrongs. We
are committed to making cultural change at every installation
worldwide to tackle this problem.
We are also steadfast in our commitment to suicide
prevention, and the well-being of servicemembers and their
families, especially in light of the recent incidents involving
those assigned to the USS George Washington. They are tragedies
and we are working to learn more and to ensure the Navy has
every resource they need. We are taking a public health
approach, targeting the various underlying risk factors and
mental health stressors.
We are enhancing protective measures such as social
connections, coping skills and safety, and we are working to
address the shortage of mental health providers, which is a
national--nationwide problem. This includes providing care for
anyone who needs it, whether this is in our direct care system
or using our private sector network. One last issue. I would
like to highlight our efforts in the diversity, equity,
inclusion, and accessibility space.
Enhancing the DEIA [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and
Accessibility] across our Department maximizes our ability to
recruit and retain top talent. Secretary Austin recently
designated me as the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for
the Department. In this role, I will continue to bring about
long term changes and work to support the factors that promote
racial, ethnic, and gender diversity, and inclusion.
I will take steps to ensure our total force has an
opportunity to achieve their professional goals and is a
cohesive and ready force that reflects the diversity of our
Nation. I shared a few of our major initiatives in my remarks
today, but I would like--I would also like to mention an
approaching milestone.
Next year, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
All-Volunteer Force. When this country eliminated the draft, we
did not imagine the success the All-Volunteer Force would have
in creating the most educated, professional, and lethal
military force in history.
As we look to the next 50 years, it is imperative that we
do not take what makes our military unparalleled and unmatched
for granted, our people. Thank you for your continued support
of our servicemembers and their families. We look forward to
your questions.
[The joint prepared statement of The Honorable Gilbert
Cisneros, Ms. Virginia Penrod, Dr. David Smith, and Ms. Beth
Foster follows:]
Joint Prepared Statement by The Honorable Gilbert Cisneros, Ms.
Virginia Penrod, Dr. David Smith, and Ms. Beth Foster
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Tillis, and Members of the
Personnel Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before
you, along with the other leaders of the Office of the Under Secretary
of Defense for Personnel & Readiness (OUSD(P&R)), to discuss the
Department of Defense's greatest strength--our people. We are proud to
represent the 2.3 million Active and Reserve component servicemembers
and over 900 thousand DOD civilians who defend our Nation every day,
not to mention the families who serve alongside them.
In Secretary Austin's earliest Message to the Force and actions
related to addressing sexual assault, he made clear that taking care of
people is not only the right thing to do, but it is imperative for our
national security. While past Administrations and DOD leaders have
acknowledged the importance of the workforce, I believe President
Biden, Secretary Austin, and Deputy Secretary Hicks have truly shown
both in their words and actions that DOD will invest in our greatest
strategic advantage, our people. This commitment is evident throughout
the fiscal year 2023 Defense Budget.
To ensure our national security in both the near and long term,
Secretary Austin identified three overarching ways in which we will
carry out the newly released 2022 National Defense Strategy (NSD)
priorities--integrated deterrence, campaigning, and building enduring
advantage. While these three specific initiatives have different focus
and goals, essential to each is having the right people today and in
the future to carry out our strategic imperatives. To quote Secretary
Austin, ``[s]trategies mean little without the right people to execute
them.'' Therefore, specifically under the umbrella of building enduring
advantage, the Department, with P&R at the forefront, will focus on
investing and building the best future force, strengthening readiness
through resilience, enhancing accountable leadership, and supporting
our servicemembers and their families.
recruiting the right talent
A critical component to building enduring advantage is maintaining
the flow of highly qualified recruits through the accession pipeline.
We must invest in human capital initiatives to compete for, hire,
develop, and retain highly skilled experts in the ever-changing
national talent landscape. However, more so than in the recent past,
the Department is in fierce competition for skilled, relevant and
innovative talent to cultivate a technologically dominant force that is
strategically ready, globally relevant and flexibly sustainable. Given
the tight labor market exacerbated by the residual effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic and general military-civilian disconnect, the
Services are facing a challenging recruiting environment. The size and
quality of the youth market has changed very little in 10 years. Only
23 percent of today's youth are eligible for military service without a
waiver, and only 2 percent are eligible, high-quality, and likely to
serve. Youth propensity has declined over the last several years, from
13 percent in 2018 to 9 percent in 2021. This decline represents
approximately 1 million fewer youth propensed for military service.
Female propensity also declined during the same time period, from 10
percent in 2018 to 5 percent in 2021. It is likely that recruiting
challenges will be present for the foreseeable future.
To address some of these challenges, the Services modified
recruiting and basic training activities, and capitalized on innovative
initiatives to leverage digital and virtual recruiting tools and engage
prospective recruits. Working with the Services, P&R is focused on
overcoming the ever-widening gap between the American people and the
military by bolstering the strategic tools needed to expand outreach
efforts to reach a diverse pool of youth across the Nation. We are
ensuring that the Services have the necessary authorities and tools to
recruit the most qualified cohort of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines
and guardians reflective of our Nation's tremendous talents and
diversity. Additionally, Department leadership has addressed gender
equity across the force from tackling barriers to childcare, heightened
awareness, response, and prosecution of sexual assault/sexual
harassment, and improvements to pregnancy and leave policies. The only
way for us to compete, deter, and win in today's complex global
environment is to find the most innovative and open-minded cadre of
recruits from every part of this great Nation. We are marketing to
those who have not traditionally considered military service as a
career option and reaching out to influencers who may help or support a
young person's decision to join the military. We are also leveraging
other outreach programs as recruiters' access to high schools have
become more difficult over the years. The fiscal year 2023 Defense
Budget reflects the Services' required resources to support these
primary recruiting levers (recruiters, marketing, and bonuses) in order
to help offset the difficult recruiting environment.
As you will hear directly from the Services on their outlook to
meet their current fiscal year recruiting goals for Active and Reserve
components, we believe the fiscal year 2023 Defense Budget, including
the 4.6 percent military pay raise will help address some of the
upcoming challenges. As you heard in testimony last week, ensuring we
have the right number of people, with the right skills and talent, has
the highest attention of Department's senior leadership. We are
committed to not only meeting our military recruiting targets, but also
finding the most qualified and mission ready talent this great Nation
has to offer.
DOD Civilian Workforce
As critical enablers of our warfighters, DOD civilians perform
functions in intelligence, research and development, equipment
maintenance, healthcare, family support, base operating services, and
other activities that directly support the military forces and
readiness. The DOD civilian workforce possesses capabilities,
expertise, and skills that directly impact DOD's worldwide military
operational capabilities. The Department continuously strives to
improve its ability to recruit, retain, develop, and reward the
civilian workforce to support the warfighter and encourage innovative
best practices throughout the armed forces.
One of the Department's biggest civilian workforce challenges is
the competition for talent in innovation and cutting-edge fields that
are in high demand across the public and private sectors, and critical
to the support of DOD's national defense mission. Therefore, the
Department continues to utilize a variety of human capital solutions to
better compete and overcome market demands for these critical skills,
including increased pay and other incentives. To that end, we thank
Congress for providing streamlined direct hiring authority for critical
scientific, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), cyber,
healthcare, and other positions. This is a critical tool to compete
against the private sector by reducing our time-to-hire and allowing us
to target the talent needed in these key areas.
The Department is exploring other options to narrow the talent gap
between defense strategy and emerging technologies, to include
resourcing the innovation workforce by recruiting, up- or reskilling,
and retaining tech-savvy, data-skilled civilian talent, through public-
private partnerships, working with universities, and other
opportunities. We are also proactively growing and developing the
pipeline of future talent and have seen great success in the use of a
variety of internship, scholarship, and fellowship programs managed
both at the enterprise and component levels, such as the Science,
Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) program, the John
S. McCain Strategic Defense Fellows Program, and the National Security
Education Boren Scholarship and Fellowship programs. We must ensure
that strategic workforce planning and human capital management
activities support the Department's need to shape a professional,
agile, and ready civilian workforce.
retaining the right talent
Not only do we have to recruit the right talent, but we need to
retain and invest in our people to meet mission-critical needs now, as
well as emerging mission requirements of the future. However, similar
to recruiting, Services are also facing some retention challenges in
certain high-demand, low-density fields due to a strong economy and
high operational tempo. To address these specific skills challenges, we
continue to use a mix of tailored retention bonuses and non-monetary
incentives to enhance retention and fill military occupational
specialty gaps. Thanks to Congress, we have recent legislative
authorities that allow us to go beyond the traditional up or out
structure, as well as allowing lateral entry of individuals with
certain specialized skills and career intermission programs for
servicemembers who need to step away from Active service to pursue
educational or occupational opportunities or to address personal
priorities. These incentives allow DOD to compete with the private
sector for high-demand and critical talent. Another key retention and
people focus area with the highest attention of the administration, is
ensuring appropriate compensation for our servicemembers and
strengthening the economic security of those who serve and their
families.
Compensation and Economic Security
However, retention of quality talent is bolstered by more than
bonuses and incentives. Ensuring that we are appropriately compensating
our workforce and increasing the overall economic security of
servicemembers and military families is critical to mission readiness.
While we believe that the current military compensation package is fair
and compares favorably with the private sector, in order to remain
competitive, we must keep pace with private-sector wage growth and
inflation. The 4.6 percent across-the-board basic pay raise included in
the fiscal year 2023 Defense Budget request does just that. With low
unemployment and increasing private-sector wages, we have to remain
vigilant to ensure military compensation remains attractive so we can
recruit and retain the force we need.
While the data shows that servicemembers are paid above most of
their civilian counterparts, we also know that individual circumstances
vary and there are those who are struggling to make ends to meet. To
that end, Secretary Austin issued a memorandum in November 2021
announcing Department-wide efforts to strengthen economic security in
the force. The Department recognizes some servicemembers and families
are experiencing economic challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic
and increasingly competitive housing markets. To ease the financial
burden of rising housing costs, we authorized temporary increases in
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rates for 56 Military Housing Areas.
BAH is a fundamental part of the military pay package and BAH rates
must be based on the costs of adequate housing for civilians with
comparable income to members in the same area. The temporary BAH rate
increases were available to servicemembers in areas where the COVID-19
pandemic had a significant impact on rental housing costs until the
updated 2022 BAH rates were put into effect.
We are also grateful to Congress for recent legislation included in
the fiscal year 2022 NDAA authorizing the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA),
which supplements a servicemember's compensation up to 130 percent of
federal poverty guidelines, for those whose household income falls
below this threshold. This primarily affects junior servicemembers with
large families. The Department is currently in the process of
implementing this incentive and the first BNA payments are scheduled to
go out in January 2023, as authorized by Congress.
While additional data collection and analyses are underway to
understand the full scope of the issue, particularly around food
insecurity, the Department is implementing solutions to aid those in
need. With the understanding that a military family's economic security
is critical not only a servicemember's well-being, but to command
climate, mission readiness, and retention, the Military Departments and
Service leadership are educating leaders at all levels of command to
identify and support servicemembers experiencing economic insecurity,
and direct them, and their spouses, to military and community
resources. Department support in this area includes, among other
things: financial assessments and counseling; improved access to and
increased assistance with childcare; education subsidies and employment
support for spouses; and increased access to nutritious and affordable
food options. All these efforts are designed to reduce stigma, increase
financial help seeking behaviors, and increase stability for
servicemembers and families. The Department created a web-based
Economic Security toolkit for commanders and service providers on
Military OneSource to provide military leaders with existing resources
and flexibilities to address housing availability, financial well-
being, and food security. As part of the campaign rollout, the toolkit
was included in a SECDEF memorandum on Strengthening the Economic
Security of the Force on November 17, 2021; included in a Defense.gov
article; provided in a video developed by the Defense Visual
Information Distribution Service; and featured continually on the
Military OneSource website, social media and eNewsletters.
To address many of these issues, we will be working with the White
House to initiate the 14th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation
(QRMC) later this year. This next iteration of the QRMC will serve as
an opportunity to thoroughly review and assess our military
compensation system to strengthen our members' economic security, and
better attract and retain servicemembers and their families.
Likewise, our investments in the civilian workforce focus on the
importance of federal employees as an element of the Department's Total
Force. The 4.6 percent requested pay raise is critical to compete for,
hire, develop, and retain highly skilled experts. The requested
increase allows the Department to achieve and maintain technical and
intellectual superiority, and remain competitive with private industry
in attracting and sustaining a talented workforce.
In conjunction with the requested federal pay increase, the Office
of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a memorandum on January 21, 2022
to Executive departments and agencies, ``Achieving a $15 Per Hour
Minimum Pay Rate for Federal Employees.'' This change will impact over
67,000 federal employees, 57,500 of whom work at DOD. The affected DOD
employees, including many military spouses, are in Nonappropriated Fund
activities, providing valuable contributions as sales clerks, child
care staff, food service workers, laborers, and in many other
occupations serving our DOD communities. The minimum wage increase will
also have a positive impact on DOD Morale, Welfare, and Recreation
programs, allowing installations to attract, hire, and retain a high
quality workforce and positively impact military families. Similarly,
approximately 5,000 child and youth program employees have received a
pay increase. The Department is exploring whether higher wages for the
employees who provide these important services will attract more
caregivers and, as a result, increase capacity for care.
Child Care Access and Expansion
Child care is a workforce enabler and a critical component of the
readiness, efficiency, and retention of the Total Force. Our experience
with COVID-19 also highlighted the importance of child care in
contributing to the well-being and economic security of our families.
Staffing shortfalls decreased the number of children cared for in
installation and community-based programs. Affordable, quality child
care continues to be a challenge facing many DOD families and the
Nation writ large. Child care is among the lowest paid occupations in
the Nation, and child care professionals with a similar education earn
less than those working in different fields, which contributes to the
persistent challenge of recruiting and retaining the workforce needed
to meet the child care needs of our families.
To best support the child care needs of our servicemembers and
civilian workforce, the Department will be investing in construction of
on-base child development centers; expanding fee assistance programs;
extending fee assistance programs to lower income DOD civilian
families; and supporting public-private partnerships to increase child
care capacity in high-demand, low-capacity areas. In October 2021, the
Department adjusted the fee assistance amounts for which families would
qualify, and implemented the $1,500 monthly per child provider rate cap
to match the traditional community-based fee assistance program. This
adjustment increased the amount of fee assistance for which families
are eligible.
The fiscal year 2023 Defense Budget included funding to continue a
pilot program providing servicemembers financial assistance to offset
the cost of in-home child care, such as care provided by nannies. It
also expands The Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood PLUS program
which utilizes the States Quality Rating and Improvement Systems as an
indicator of provider quality, in lieu of national accreditation,
broadening the pool of providers eligible to receive fee assistance on
behalf of military families.
P&R continues to work in collaboration with the Military
Departments on the development and implementation of initiatives aimed
at improving child care availability, addressing child care staffing
challenges, exploring public-private partnerships, identifying
construction requirements, and expanding our child care community-based
fee assistance program. Addressing child care access for all
servicemembers, as well as certain DOD civilians, is another critical
element to building enduring advantage, and the right thing to do to
take care of our people.
Military Spouse Employment
We are especially cognizant of the sacrifice military spouses make
in their careers or education as they move from one duty station to the
next with their servicemember and other dependents. Therefore, DOD
remains committed to providing military spouses with information,
resources, and tools to assist in achieving their educational and
employment goals. The Department's Spouse Education and Career
Opportunities (SECO) program augments the Service's installation based
programming through high quality virtual support. The Department
continues to increase employment opportunities through the broadening
of the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP), with a focus on
critical employment sectors such as information technology, education,
and small businesses. Broadening the MSEP program to include small
businesses in military impacted communities will provide more
employment opportunities for military spouses. As outlined in the
``Strengthening America's Military Families'' report, Federal agencies
have committed to employing military spouses in partnership with the
DOD. Sixteen Federal employers have joined MSEP, increasing employment
opportunities for military spouses in the Federal sector. Military
spouses can find employment opportunities from more than 540 MSEP
employer partners via MSEP jobs portal. MSEP is made up of more than
500 companies, federal agencies, and non-profit organizations that are
committed to recruit, hire, promote, and retain military spouses. To
date, MSEP employer partners have hired more than 220,000 spouses.
In addition, to assist military spouses with starting and
maintaining meaningful employment and careers, the Defense State
Liaison Office works with state legislators in all 50 states to improve
and enhance state laws governing occupational license portability and
reciprocity. Again, Congress helped us in the fiscal year 2020 NDAA,
authorizing DOD to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Council
of State Governments (CSG) to support professions developing inter-
state compacts for licensure. To date, five professions (teaching,
clinical social work, massage therapy, dentistry/dental hygiene, and
cosmetology/barbering) have been provided grants of up to $1 million
each and CSG has started convening advisory groups for each profession
from September 2021--January 2022, and expects all compacts to be ready
by January 2023.
Understanding that military spouses are usually transitory based on
their servicemember's duty location we are addressing the ongoing
challenge of ensuring they are aware of available resources and support
to assist them. As directed by the fiscal year 2022 NDAA, we are
implementing recommendations from the GAO to improve communications
that engage military spouses with career assistance resources. Ensuring
awareness and increasing utilization of resources across the force,
from our youngest spouse to our most seasoned, is crucial to retaining
our servicemembers and their families and ensuring family readiness.
Commissaries
We are aware that the current economic conditions and COVID-19 have
directly impacted our Commissaries. Access to grocery products
worldwide remains a top-priority of the Defense Commissary Agency
(DeCA) which continues to manage amplified supply chain issues, coupled
with inflationary pressures, and increased expenses due to ground
transportation shortfalls and delays. Our DeCA team is working with the
U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) to prioritize shipments to
overseas locations, ensuring product availability for those serving in
OCONUS environments and continues to work with suppliers and
distributors to meet the demand.
Defense Commissaries are DOD's first line of defense for families
in need. Their primary purpose is to provide food security by offering
healthy food at significant savings. The benefit enhances quality of
life and readiness for military servicemembers, their families,
retirees, Medal of Honor recipients, their authorized family members,
and all veterans with a service-connected disability. Additionally, we
continue to create innovative approaches to increase customer
convenience and educate patrons on the value and the savings generated
by using their well-deserved benefit.
COVID-19 Efforts and Way Ahead
Mitigating COVID-19 will continue to be a top priority for the
Department. We will align our activities with the White House, and
federal partners, and our activities will be informed by the best
science and evidence. The Department has met the COVID-19 challenge,
harnessing our resources to provide needed support across the Nation
and to stressed healthcare systems; administering millions of vaccines
to over 90 percent of our servicemembers and millions of beneficiaries
and workers; and procuring personal protective equipment, tests,
therapeutics, and tests on behalf of the Federal Government.
The Department will continue to support vaccination requirements.
Our Force must remain healthy and ready to defend the Nation.
Vaccination against COVID-19 helps us achieve that goal, and will
ensure we remain the most lethal and ready force in the world. This
fiscal year 2023 Defense Budget prioritizes the Department's response
to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing us to be equipped for any future
challenges COVID-19 may present, as well as other biological threats,
to challenge the American people.
As our employees re-enter the workplace, we cannot expect to return
to ``business as usual.'' Throughout the pandemic, we embraced telework
and flexible schedules to achieve new efficiencies, and will continue
to employ successful practices to promote a resilient and productive
workforce.
resilience and accountable leadership
In Secretary Austin's March 4, 2021, Message to the Force, he
specifically called out the need to build resilience and readiness, and
ensure accountable leadership under the broader goal to ``Take Care of
Our People.'' Much of P&R's focus under his leadership has been
addressing these for which the Department has historically fallen
short. Addressing these topics is critical to reflect our values,
maintain cohesive and strong units that are necessary for battlefield
effectiveness, and ensure our overall military readiness and leadership
on the global stage. We continue efforts to address sexual assault and
sexual harassment with an unprecedented level of leadership attention
and resource investment. We are also assessing all obstacles in
creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce at all
ranks--and ensuring accountable leadership that calls out behaviors
that are antithetical to our values and undermine our readiness and
discipline. The fiscal year 2023 Defense budget and current ongoing
efforts reflect these priorities.
Addressing Sexual Assault
Sexual assault is not only a threat to our readiness but completely
contrary to our values. We will not compromise on this issue, as
rebuilding trust with the Force requires us to get this right.
Therefore, the entire Department continues to work collaboratively--
across Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Components, Military
Departments, and the National Guard Bureau to operationalize the
Secretary's implementation guidance for recommendations from the
Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military (IRC).
Sexual assault has a devastating impact not only on our military's
readiness but also individual survivors, and we remain committed to
ensuring that survivors receive recovery care and are able to continue
their military career. In order to bring about significant change, it
is clear the Department must make significant investments both in our
efforts and resources to properly and effectively address sexual
assault in the military. The fiscal year 2023 Defense budget does that.
Implementing the more than 80 IRC recommendations will require
focused sustainment. Many recommendations (Tier 1 and Tier 2) are
already ongoing or will begin in the short-term. Given the multi-
pronged approach by and across every organization and installation
worldwide, our plan reflects a conservative timeline to ensure we do
this right and appropriately address any challenges or obstacles as we
move across the tiers of recommendations. We are now developing IRC
outcome metrics that will track and demonstrate progress implementing
all recommendations, to include:
Reforming military justice to put prosecution decisions
for sexual assault, domestic violence, and other named offenses in the
hands of trained, experienced and independent attorneys who report
outside the command structure, and only to the civilian Secretaries of
the Military Departments. This includes building a career track for
military justice in each of the Services, to enable the development of
a sustained cadre of these specialized prosecutors across the force.
Fielding a full time, specialized prevention workforce in
every Service to address risk and protective factors for sexual assault
and other readiness impacting behaviors such as suicide and domestic
violence.
Revising our response workforce to provide sexual assault
response coordinators and victim advocates with independence and
expertise to foster recovery-oriented support and ensure victims have
the resources they need, including phasing out the reliance on
collateral duty/dual-hatted victim response personnel.
We believe our efforts will restore the trust and faith of our
military, assist victims with recovery, and hold offenders
appropriately accountable. We also want to express our appreciation to
Congress for the sexual assault and sexual harassment prevention and
response legislation included in the fiscal year 2022 NDAA, which
supported the IRC's recommendations and provided us additional
authorities to implement these historic reforms. Now we ask for your
support for the fiscal year 2023 Defense Budget request that will
provide the necessary resources to make these historic changes to
reform military justice, field the specialized prevention workforce,
train and equip response personnel, and empower victims' recovery. As
stated in the report of the Independent Review Commission on Sexual
Assault in the Military, ``Moving the needle on sexual harassment and
assault will require new investments in victim services and
prevention.'' Again, these efforts not only reflect our values, but
they will have a direct impact on improving military readiness and
ensuring the unit cohesion necessary for success on the battlefield.
On-Site Installation Evaluations (OSIEs) are another example of the
unprecedented steps Secretary Austin has taken to eliminate the
presence of harmful behaviors in the military, protect our people and
improve readiness. OSIEs are innovative, global, and recurring
activities to help leaders up and down the chain of command drive data-
driven improvements to their command climates--not only to prevent
sexual assault and harassment but also other harmful behaviors such as
suicide. This initiative expands the Department's renewed emphasis on
the integrated prevention of harmful behaviors. OSIEs also heighten
visibility of risk and protective factors impacting our installations
and improve our chances of detecting and correcting of harmful
behaviors before tragic incidents occur. Finally, OSIEs allow us to
detect best practices and make them common practices, as well as
identify where additional interventions or resources may be needed.
The inaugural OSIEs helped to establish a process, procedures, and
data analyses that can be replicated in subsequent visits. The
evaluations of 20 sites are now complete, and the 2021 OSIE Report
includes findings from the on-site assessment, best practices and
lessons learned, as well as actions the Department should undertake to
improve and enhance our environments. Based on the 2021 OSIEs' helpful
outcomes, Secretary Austin has determined that this effort will
continue biennially.
Suicide Prevention and Mental Health
Every death by suicide is a tragedy and weighs heavily on the
military community. The Department is steadfast in its commitment to
suicide prevention, and the overall well-being of our servicemembers
and their families. Suicide represents a complex interaction of
psychological, biological, and environmental factors that vary among
individuals. Because no two individuals are identical, our efforts seek
to address a range of risk factors and enhance protective factors.
We are committed to addressing this issue, not only because it
affects our missions, but more importantly because we have a moral
responsibility care for people. Our public health approach focuses on
reducing suicide risk for all servicemembers and their families by
targeting the various underlying risk factors (such as relationship,
financial, and mental health stressors), while also enhancing
protective factors (such as social connections, coping skills, and
safety in one's environment).
We are working to enhance holistic, data-driven suicide prevention,
non-clinical policy, oversight, and engagement that address prevention
across populations, and also clinical suicide prevention efforts with
mental/behavioral health services. This approach enables us to address
suicide comprehensively through a public health approach that leverages
best practices, including from the Centers for Disease Control &
Prevention. Our work incorporates community-based prevention efforts
involving military leaders, family, peers, spouses, and chaplains.
One major challenge is the demand for mental health services is
outpacing the supply of mental health professionals nationwide. Mental
health concerns, and demand for mental health care, appear to have been
exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. DOD undertook rapid action to
sustain mental health services, and continued to deliver care in a
virtual environment, establishing Health Protection Condition linked
guidance to standardize mental health operations during the COVID-19
response in order to protect providers, protect patients, and maintain
routine care safely. We are working to develop a staffing model, which
focuses on matching supply to demand, optimizing provider availability
(supply) with the goal of treating 100 percent of Active Duty
servicemembers (demand) in the Direct Care system. To those ends, the
Uniformed Services University for Health Sciences currently offers
three mental health related degree programs: PhD in Clinical
Psychology, PhD in Medical Psychology, and Doctor of Nursing Practice
(DNP) in Psychiatric Mental Health. To mitigate further challenges in
supply, we continue to rely on the civilian network, aiming to provide
care within the access to care standards for appointment wait time.
Pursuant to the fiscal year 2022 NDAA, Secretary Austin directed
the creation of the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review
Committee (SPRIRC) on March 22, 2022. The SPRIRC will conduct a
comprehensive review of the Department's efforts to prevent suicide,
visit multiple installations, and conduct additional information
gathering to strengthen our actions. The Secretary directed the SPRIRC
to seek long-term positive effects across the military. This effort
supports the Department's continued focus on prevention, including
alignment with the recommendations from the Independent Review
Commission on Sexual Assault.
Secretary Austin chose nine installations to ensure each Military
Department is represented, and to increase our understanding of the
needs of various geographies, including geographically isolated and
OCONUS locations like Alaska, acknowledging recent challenges. The
selection process was data-driven, and included feedback from the
Services and the National Guard Bureau. Through this review, we will
leverage outside experts to critically examine how we can improve our
policies and programs to best support our military community. Their
independent recommendations will help inform change across our force to
prevent future tragedies.
The Department has the responsibility to support and protect those
who defend our Country and their families, and we must do everything
possible to prevent suicide in our military community. Towards this
goal, we seek to encourage help-seeking behaviors, eliminate stigma,
and enable access to mental health clinical services for our
servicemembers and their families.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility
DOD has faced challenges in achieving desired diversity across the
Total Force, particularly at leadership levels. Actions taken to date
have not yet translated to the changes we desire. Additional steps are
in progress to make improvements. To continue to improve, DOD is
working to further to understand root causes in areas where we lack
diversity, have measurable desired outcome metrics, maintain
appropriate data to inform and target efforts, ensure environments are
inclusive of all who serve, and have a strong governance structure to
oversee these efforts.
Enhancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA)
across our Department maximizes our ability to recruit and retain top
talent, and DOD strives to ensure DEIA underpins every aspect of our
approach to talent management. To facilitate, inform, and advance
agency progress on issues relating to DEIA, we established the DOD
Equity Team (DET) in April 2021. The DET addressed a broad range of
issues, including the need for increased diversity within the talent
pipeline; challenges pertaining to DEIA data collection, analysis, and
management; and integration of diversity and inclusion curriculum into
leadership development training.
Furthermore, as part of President Biden's efforts, the Department
carried multiple actions corresponding with DEIA-related executive
actions from the White House. In accordance with Executive Order (EO)
13985 and EO 14035, and through the efforts of the DET, the Department
evaluated external-facing programs and, in collaboration with the
Domestic Policy Council, developed the DOD Equity Action Plan. DOD also
looked at its internal practices for DEIA in its workforce culture, and
is developing goals and objectives to advance DEIA. These
accomplishments contributed to DOD's progress in the DEIA space.
While DOD is focused on these DEIA efforts to bring about long-term
changes, the Department will also work to support the individual,
interpersonal, and institutional factors that promote racial, ethnic,
and gender diversity and inclusion in the military and eliminating any
causal factors that prevent diversity or leads to discriminatory
practices. We are taking steps to ensure our servicemembers and DOD
civilian employees have an opportunity to achieve their professional
goals based on merit, remove any barriers that prevent equal
opportunity, and ensure a cohesive and ready force that reflects the
diversity of our Nation.
supporting the successful transition from military
When citizens join our All-Volunteer Force, they offer their lives
for a number of years. In exchange, when they return to civilian life
at the end of their commitment, they should be more competitive in the
economic marketplace. This is the ``social compact,'' and when DOD
lives up to it, through programs like tuition assistance,
credentialing, and SkillBridge, American society reaps the benefits.
About 200,000 servicemembers transition out of the military each year.
The transition from military to civilian life--especially the 365-days
prior to the 365-days post separation--is widely recognized as a
challenging and stressful time for servicemembers and their families.
Tuition Assistance/ SkillBridge/ Credentialing
DOD's Tuition Assistance (TA) program provides servicemembers with
financial assistance to enhance their academic achievement (i.e., earn
a degree or certificate) during their off-duty time, which in turn
improves job performance, promotion potential, self-development,
personal quality of life, and overall readiness. While TA is not
specifically designed in support of the servicemembers' transition out
of the military, it also provides ancillary benefit as an effective
retention tool and supports their potential career after their service.
DOD's Credentialing, Apprenticeships (the United Services Military
Apprenticeship Program--USMAP) and SkillBridge Employment Training
programs exist on the spectrum of how military training, experience,
and skills relate to increased mission readiness and ultimately result
in successful post Active Duty careers. The demand for credentialing
from servicemembers and industry continues to grow. Professional
credentialing is an integral key of the Services' recruiting, in-
service development, promotion, retention, and transition strategies.
SkillBridge allows providers to sponsor a servicemember to participate
in civilian training (certificate or non-traditional courses),
apprenticeship, and internship programs, starting up to six months
before separation.
Transition Assistance Program
Transition Assistance Program (TAP) delivery is a collaborative
effort between DOD and the Military Services, Department of Labor,
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and Small Business Administration;
each with a primary area of responsibility and focus. However, the
program succeeds due to a robust interagency collaboration and
communications strategy that encompasses the four agencies listed
above, and three additional agencies--Department of Homeland Security,
Department of Education, and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Working together, these seven agencies and the Services provide
consistent messaging and ensure collaboration and synchronization in
the delivery of the program.
During TAP, all transitioning servicemembers complete a Military
Occupational Code (MOC) crosswalk. They compare their military skills
to civilian career opportunities and identify any gaps in education and
training that they can then address to enhance civilian employability
and marketability. Many transitioning servicemembers know that they
want to pursue a specific course of education, a certain career field,
or go into business for themselves. Others are undecided and could use
more exploration and assistance in their career search. The MOC
crosswalk is set up to help all transitioning servicemembers refine
their goals.
TAP also addresses transition-related risks and barriers as part of
the initial counseling with a personal self-assessment administered by
the Services. The self-assessment indicates potential risk and levels
of support required. If an assessment indicates the need or desire for
follow-on support, the servicemember is connected via a warm handover
to the appropriate agency or support organization for specialized
assistance targeted the specific needs.
DOD-VA Collaboration
The DOD and VA relationship is stronger now than ever before, as
both Departments leverage shared resources and interconnected processes
to support servicemembers, Veterans and their families. This past year,
we renewed our shared commitment to support publishing a five-year
joint strategic plan focusing on healthcare, benefits and service
delivery, job training, transition, and modernized business practices.
A goal within both Departments is to enhance the transition and
post-separation experience of servicemembers. VA and DOD have
designated the 365-days prior to transition through the 365-days post
transition as the critical transition period. During this period,
collaboration efforts will focus on a comprehensive, timely, and
personalized approach to servicemember transition.
Additionally, a common undercurrent to joint DOD-VA work is the
sharing of data and analytics between Departments. Through a recently
singed DOD-VA Joint Data and Analytics Strategy the path is now set for
VA and DOD to optimize data, and coordinate and share analytics. This
will empower both agencies to make better decisions directly impacting
servicemembers and Veterans.
Finally, The Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization (FEHRM)
office has lead the DOD, VA, and other federal agencies in deploying a
single, common federal electronic health record (EHR). This EHR allows
DOD, VA, and other partners effectively deliver health care and
benefits to more than 28 million eligible beneficiaries by bringing a
common record to patients and providers. As of March 2022, there are
more than 95,000 DOD, VA, and other federal EHR users (doctors, nurses,
etc.) at 66 DOD Commands, three VA sites across 41 states, two U.S.
territories, and one overseas location. More than 4.5 million unique
patients are currently in the federal EHR system. There is recognition
that the federal EHR saves providers time and enables more standard
workflows to support enhanced clinical decision-making and patient
safety. The federal EHR will continue to evolve as experiences with
deploying and using the federal EHR drive lessons learned, best
practices and enhancements moving forward.
conclusion
There is a significant milestone ahead of us--we will be
celebrating 50 years of All-Volunteer Force (AVF) in 2023. When this
country eliminated the draft in 1973, we could not have imagined the
success story of the AVF that has created the most educated,
professional and capable military force in history. The Department has
learned and applied many lessons in the past 50 years. As we look
forward to the next 50, it is imperative that we do not take for
granted what makes our U.S. Military unparalleled and unmatched. It is
the people--the Active, Reserve, National Guard, DOD civilians, and all
of their families who are willing to serve this country. All of us here
today will not forget that as we do our jobs every day.
Thank you for your continued support of our servicemembers and
their families, we look forward to your questions.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary.
Secretary Cisneros, Section 1506 of the 2020 Defense--2022
Defense Bill requires you and the DOD Chief Information Officer
to assess the feasibility and advisability of creating a
national cyber academy to train future civilians and military
personnel for Federal service in cyber information or related
fields throughout the Federal Government.
The assessment must be completed by this fall. Do you
believe that the national cyber academy would help us obtain
for civilian or military service the cyber talent we need to
meet national defense objectives over the next two decades?
While creating a national cyber academy is a long term
enterprise, in the near term, what do you think of creating an
RTC scholarship to serve as a program for civilian students
throughout the Nation, partnering with appropriate colleges and
universities in exchange for a civilian service commitment?
Mr. Cisneros. Thank you for that question, Senator. You
know, cyber is one of the areas that I know all the services,
both on the civilian and the uniformed side, are--as I
mentioned in my remarks, in a competitive, competing for
talent, you know, with the private sector, we need more of
these individuals. We are trying to recruit the best and the
brightest. I have spoken with the Chief Information Officer.
They actually have led on this report. We are there to
support them. But we think anything that we can do that will
bring more people into Government service, hopefully within the
Department of Defense as well--you know, we are looking at all
opportunities and anything that we can do that would kind of
help improve that and make it better.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you. Ms. Foster, the Department
of Military Service has continued to implement the
recommendations of the President's Independent Review
Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military, particularly
those that address prevention, victim care, and command culture
and climate. Most of these recommendations do not require
legislation.
Nevertheless, we expect the Department to implement these
recommendations as quickly as possible within--including within
the Reserve components. Please provide us with an update on the
Department's implementation and the timeline for expected
completion.
Do you expect to implement every one of the IRC's
recommendations, and if not, which are still under review?
Ms. Foster. Senator, thank you so much for that question.
As you know, implementing all 82 IRC recommendations is a
priority of Secretary Austin and all senior leadership at the
Department of Defense. In the interest of time, I would like to
provide a few highlights on the prevention work that we are
doing and the response workforce.
So on the prevention workforce, as you know, one of the key
recommendations of the IRC was to stand up a dedicated and
specialized violence prevention workforce that would look at
addressing not only sexual assault and harassment, but also
suicide, domestic violence, child abuse.
So one of the things that we have done is established the
prevention workforce model, which is essentially the
infrastructure that will support this new workforce, which we
are building from the ground up. When we look at this
workforce, we have to think, where are these personnel going to
be? What special skills will they possess to do their job? What
kind of training and continuing education do they need?
What kind of credentials do they need to ensure that this
is truly a professional and standardized workforce? So that is
what we are doing on the prevention side. On the response side,
we are working really closely with the services to redesign how
we staff resource and professionalize our response workforce so
that we can ensure that our victims are getting all of the care
and support that they need.
That includes things like eliminating collateral duties so
they can focus exclusively on this work. It means looking at
taking this out of the chain of command so that there is no
bias in the process. We are working very closely with the
services on developing those workforce studies right now that
will allow us to implement this.
I am happy to provide you additional information about
other recommendations or your staff at another time.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you very much. Dr. Smith, the
Personnel Subcommittee recently held a hearing on suicide
prevention and behavioral health issues. At that hearing, we
heard from both DOD and outside expert witnesses about the
shortage of behavioral health providers in DOD and in the
Nation as a whole.
We continue to see increasing suicide rates in the
services, and we hear from constituents about problems
accessing behavioral health care, both for servicemembers and
their families. This has become particularly acute during the
pandemic. Dr. Smith, what can be done to increase access to
behavioral health care?
What is DOD doing now and planning on doing in the future
to address the shortage of behavioral health care needed by our
military personnel and their families? We also continue to hear
that some of--some do not avail themselves of behavioral health
services because of the stigma attached seeking that type of
health care. What is being done and what can be--more can be
done to reduce stigma of seeking behavioral health?
Mr. Smith. Thank you, Senator Gillibrand, for that
question.
[Technical problems.]
Mr. Smith.--we are also adding psychiatric PAs, along with
nurse practitioners and licensed mental health counselors,
family and marriage therapists. We have also started reviewing
all initial appointments to make sure that we are matching the
needs of the individual to the right level of provider to make
sure that they are not mismatched once they make their first
appointment.
We have also, as I think you are aware, significantly
increased total behavioral health and have a goal to increase
another 63,500 visits over the next year. Now, tele-behavioral
health is truly contingent on the consent of the individual and
that the provider thinks that is the right modality.
But we think that that is going to help increase
availability. I will point out that most of our Military
Treatment Facilities (MTFs) meet the access to care standards
that we have set. Actually, internally, we have a standard of
15 days. Most are aware of the 28 day, but on average, across
the system, we are running at about 13.6 days.
But there are clearly exceptions that occur on a monthly
basis at various locations, and that is part of where we hope
the staffing model will help on that. You mentioned the issue
of stigma. We are working with PNR and the rest of the
Department to look at all of our instructions to make sure that
we review them and remove any stigmatizing language that may be
in them.
I hope the fact that there is an increasing demand signal
for behavioral health is an indication that some of our efforts
are actually working. But I might defer to some of my other
colleagues to see if there are additional issues to add to
that.
Mr. Cisneros. Senator, I will just add on the stigma. That
is something that we have really been focusing on.
The Deputy Secretary holds the DWC, the Deputy Workforce
Council, where this has definitely been a topic that has come
up for discussion, where, you know, we are trying to convince
Commanders and everyone not to overreact when somebody comes up
with a problem that--[technical problems]--says, you know, hey,
I need help, I need support. That is not a reason to take away
their security clearance.
So we have been discussing this all. All the services are
on board. It is something that we are working towards to really
kind of get it out there to really just destigmatize it and
really mean what we say, is like mental health is health, and
that people should have the support to come forward when they
need to discuss their mental health.
Senator Tillis. Thank you, Senator Gillibrand. Again, thank
you all for being here. Ms. Foster, and Secretary Cisneros and
I spoke about this in my office yesterday, with the IRC
recommend--the implementation, you know, originally it was a
shorter timeline, and Senator Gillibrand was gracious to have a
two year implementation timeline. But in each of the service
lines, this is going to be a complex process.
I know, Secretary Cisneros, I believe you said that you
would be having a program office, or a program plan more or
less put in place over the next month or so. It is less of a
question and more of an encouragement that as you get that plan
together, I think it would be important to report back to this
committee your progress and any of the milestones that are
slipping to the right and the reasons why, so that we don't
have to be reactive when you come before the committee and
report that maybe you have ran into a few challenges for making
the timeline, and then what more we can do to potentially
facilitate any of the problems or challenges you may be running
into.
Ms. Foster. Senator, absolutely. We would be more than
happy to engage with you on this. As you said, it is quite
complex. We are implementing 82 recommendations that cover sort
of the full spectrum of the Department. But I think what we
have done is we have built accountability and evaluation into
the process to ensure precisely what you describe that we don't
fall off track.
One of the ways in which we have done that is we are
building an Outcome Metrics Evaluation Report, which will allow
the Department to track progress on each of those
recommendations, recognizing that for some of those
recommendations, there is--you know, it is not just done, not
done. There are many data points along the way.
What we are doing with that report is that will then come
forward to the Deputy's Workforce Council, which is chaired by
the Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Vice Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff.
That will come forward to that group on a quarterly basis.
And anywhere that we are falling behind, anywhere where it
looks like we are off track, that gives the senior leadership
of the Department an opportunity to engage with all of the
services and say, hey, what is happening here? Why aren't we
making progress?
Do you need additional resources? Do you need additional
authorities? I think we would welcome having that conversation
with Congress as well. You have been critical partners for us
on this, and so we would like to continue that conversation.
Senator Tillis. Thank you. Secretary Cisneros, the DOD
Equity Action Plan that was issued a few weeks ago. Can you
give me an idea of what specific programs or actions are going
to follow as a result of that action plan?
Mr. Cisneros. Thank you for that, Senator. Look, I think
that we want to ensure that everybody has opportunity,
regardless of their sexual--gender, the color of their skin,
that they are able to given an opportunity within the
Department of Defense to achieve and to succeed, and also to do
this within our DOD schools as well, to celebrate the diversity
of our families, of our servicemembers and their families that
serve in the Department of Defense to make sure that we
celebrate the many cultures that make up the Department.
But our equity plan is really about making sure that there
is opportunity for those that want it and to go out there and
going to work to achieve it, and really creating that
environment where we celebrate the diversity of our force and
that we are getting out there to ensure that we know a diverse
and integrated force is going to be stronger warfighting.
Senator Tillis. I understand the objection--objective. I
think it is laudable. But I am getting more into the
implementation. I mean, would--could we foresee quotas, or I
mean, how exactly would you implement this?
Mr. Cisneros. No, sir. We have no quotas. There is no idea
or thought of quotas. Again, when I say it is about creating
opportunity to make sure that everybody has a fair shake and
that everybody is given the same opportunity to succeed. That
is really what we are going after, and that is what I have
always talked about what diversity is. Diversity is about
creating opportunity, and that is what I am working towards
within the Department of Defense as we move forward with this.
Senator Tillis. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Smith. I had this
discussion with Secretary Cisneros in my office yesterday. I
think we have got an inherent conflict when we talk about
removing the stigma. On the one hand, we are rightfully asking
men and women to come forward, seek help and provision care to
them.
On the other hand, and you have heard me state my concern
for some of the inflows of potential recruits, you have a
potential recruit come in who may have at some point in time
prior to seeking a career in the armed services have behavioral
health challenges, maybe anxiety or been administered drugs. It
is my understanding right now that is a disqualifying event. Is
that true?
Mr. Smith. Thank you for the question, Senator. It depends
on--[technical problems]--we certainly allow folks who have had
issues in the past, into the services. If they are on
medications, we require, in certain areas--[technical
problems]--on those medications. But I can certainly provide
for the record more detail.
Senator Tillis. Yes, I would appreciate that. I just, you
know, I am just wanting to make sure we have consistency over
the life cycle, from the point in time somebody is considering
entering the service to the point in time somebody exits and
transitions to veteran status. I think those are just slight
turning of the dial that would be helpful for the overall
challenge that we have with removing the stigma and making sure
people get the treatment that they need.
Mister, or Secretary Cisneros, if I get a chance, I wanted
to go back to a discussion we had about childcare. But we have
two members here. I may have an opportunity in another round.
Senator Warren.
Senator Warren. Thank you very much. So we are here to
discuss the Pentagon's budget request for personnel costs. In
other words, the part of the budget that pays for the people
who make our military run, and some of those people are Federal
employees, but some of those people are contractors.
Now, studies have shown that outsourcing can result in the
Pentagon paying double or even triple what we pay for Federal
employees to do the same job. The Defense Business Board
recommended cutting those contracts to help the Department save
$125 billion. Now, contractors are always going to be part of
our defense workforce. But making good decisions about when to
outsource requires good data.
Secretary Cisneros, your office is required by Federal law
to help track data on the cost of contractors used by the
Pentagon. So let me just start with the basics, how many
contractors work for the Department of Defense?
Mr. Cisneros. Senator, thank you for that. But regrettably,
I do not have that information with me, but I can take that for
the record on the number of contractors that we have on.
Senator Warren. Is it a publicly available piece of
information?
Mr. Cisneros. That I am not sure of, ma'am. I would have to
get back to you on----
Senator Warren. Well, let me put it this way. I can't find
it, and I looked hard on your website. I called people. I tried
to figure this out, and I think that is the problem. The law
explicitly requires your office to develop guidance to track
this information.
I don't know how we can justify the kind of spending the
Pentagon asks for if we don't even know basic things like how
many people we have on contract and make that number publicly
available to all of us. There is no doubt that you are required
to collect it. I would just like to see it and see it reported.
Now, we also know that it can be incredibly expensive when
the Department outsources its work for services like
administrative support, for food services, for deployed troops,
for weapons maintenance, or even for management consulting. The
costs for these have grown enormously over the past 20 years.
So that last year the Department spent $214 billion on
service contracting. One of the big ways that the Department
estimates future costs is through five year spending plans that
lay out expectations for how much different parts of the
Pentagon are going to need in various areas.
So, Secretary Cisneros, how much does the Department expect
to spend on service contracts over the next 5 years?
Mr. Cisneros. Senator, it is my understanding that we don't
project contractor costs the way that we do with our military
and civilian workforce requirements. However, we must take a, I
believe you are right, a total force approach and kind of
looked at contracted services. I can commit that I will take
this concern back to the Comptroller and the COOP to make sure
that it is addressed.
Senator Warren. Well, I appreciate your doing that. You
know, it shouldn't take somebody asking this question. This
should just be part of the planning that is already baked in.
We can't have good planning if we are not looking at long term
costs. I got to say, 5 years doesn't seem like hugely long
term, but at least a start in the right direction.
I think the taxpayers, and those of us who do oversight,
should know how much money the Pentagon expects to spend on
costly areas of the budget. I think this committee should know
that, and I am going to be following up on requests for
information. I appreciate your willingness to bring this
forward.
Look, we have a defense industry where these contractors
have a long history of lining their pockets at taxpayer
expense, and if we are not collecting the data and making smart
decisions, then we are going to just continue to see runaway
spending without more effectiveness in making our military
work. So, thank you very much.
Senator Tillis. Secretary Cisneros, if you are able to
provide that information, I think it would be interesting to
stratify between sort of ongoing long term positions, project
oriented special services, things that are unique to a specific
project or outcome that roll over. I think that is a better way
to look at it because, one, you can understand that we continue
to be contracted. The other one, you can look at whether or not
that is a valid basis for bringing it inside. Senator Hawley.
Senator Hawley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dr. Smith, can I
start with you? Earlier this week, the Veterans Administration
(VA) announced that it would presume service connection for
nine respiratory cancers that were resulting from or
potentially connected to burn pit exposure. This committee, as
you may know, held a hearing on this topic back in March.
Can you give me the DOD's estimate for the number of
individuals who would qualify for the presumption of service,
really the connection? Do you have any sense of that?
Mr. Smith. Thank you for the question. I do not--oh, thank
you, sorry. I do not have an actual number. I know that the
definition is rare, means 6 per 100,000, I believe. But I would
have to come back, and yes, they did. It is nine conditions
related to high particulate matter and----
Senator Hawley. That brings the total, that the VA has now
designated as presumed service connection, to what?
Mr. Smith. Twelve, I believe, relative to particulate
matter. Sinusitis, rhinitis and asthma was also made
presumptive, I want to say, 3 months or so ago.
Senator Hawley. Okay. Could you come back to me on the
numbers such as you--or could you look into that and get back
to me for the record?
Mr. Smith. The idea would be for us to predict what we
think the numbers would be----
Senator Hawley. Yes, given the likely exposure since 2001,
give me some sense of the scope, the universe that we are
looking at here.
Mr. Smith. Yes, sir.
Senator Hawley. Great, thank you. Ms. Penrod, shifting to
you. This committee heard earlier this month testimony relating
to the tragedy of servicemember suicide. I know the Department
has been attentive to this, but the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) has reported a statistically significant increase,
I am sure you know, in Active component suicide from 2015 to
2020. That is true across all of the services. Let me just ask
for your view about why this issue persists, despite DOD's
attempts to address it?
Senator Warren. Senator, I am going to defer to Ms.
Foster----
Senator Hawley. That is fine. Go ahead. Sure, go ahead, Ms.
Foster.
Ms. Foster. Senator, thank you so much for the question,
and let me just say, first off, that these are tragedies that
have absolutely no place in our in our force, and we need to
continue our concerted efforts to get after this. I think the
reason that this issue continues to persist is suicide is the
result of a number of different complex factors, so
psychological, environmental, social, behavioral.
As a result of that, there is no one single fix that we can
have to address this, and, you know, this is not just a problem
within the Department of Defense. It is a problem within the
civilian community as well. But we are taking a public health
approach to urgently get after this issue, and we are doing
that through a few different ways.
One of the ways in which I will highlight is, we are
standing up a dedicated and specialized violence prevention
workforce that is intended to address those risk factors that
we see that exacerbate this issue and enhance some of the
protective factors that are critical to getting after this.
Senator Hawley. Got it. Thank you. That is helpful. What do
you think, in your view, the weak points are in the
Department's current efforts to address this issue?
Ms. Foster. Senator, I think that the science is evolving
rapidly on this issue, and so we are following the emerging
science and data on this, to address this, and taking that
integrated primary prevention and public health approach to
this issue. We absolutely have more work to do, but we are
moving quickly to take these steps.
Senator Hawley. Well, I am sure we will be talking more
about this. I mean, it is a huge problem, as you say. It is
unfortunately a growing problem. It does span both the civilian
and the military worlds, the service worlds, and it is clearly
something that we need to address in both of those contexts.
So, I look forward to working with you more on that. Mr.
Cisneros--Mr. Secretary, if I could just shift you in my
remaining moments here. As you might imagine, I have received a
lot of communication from constituents who are concerned about
military discharges as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine
mandate.
Can you tell me how many servicemembers, within each
individual service and across them, have been discharged as a
result of the vaccine mandate?
Mr. Cisneros. Thank you for that question, Senator. You
know, ensuring that all our servicemembers are ready and able
to deploy and be part of our fighting force is an important
thing, and I know it is important to the Secretary and a
requirement that he has made.
In regards to the number of people that have been
discharged because of the COVID vaccine, I do not have that
exact number with me today, but that is something I can take
back for the record.
Senator Hawley. Great. Thank you very much. Can you also
find out what percentage across and within each service were
issued as a general discharge under honorable conditions rather
than an honorable discharge? Can you find that out for me?
Mr. Cisneros. I can look into that, Senator.
Senator Hawley. Okay, great, and maybe you can tell me
this, how does the Department evaluate the character of the
discharge resulting from the vaccination requirement?
Mr. Cisneros. Well, right now, Senator, those that are
being discharged, if anyone is being discharged because of
refusal to take the vaccine, they are getting a, either it is
an honorable or the next level below that. That was dictated by
the last NDAA that we followed, and so that is what we have
been doing.
Senator Hawley. How do you distinguish, though, between
those two categories?
Mr. Cisneros. That, sir, is up to the services. They
process the discharges. They are the ones who make the decision
on the individual basis as to what is going on and why it is an
honorable or why it is not an honorable discharge.
Senator Hawley. But surely, given that this is a very
widespread issue, and the numbers are pretty large, there are
some uniform criteria, I would think.
Mr. Cisneros. Sir, we have our--we do. We have our policy,
the same policy for waivers and for whether it be medical or
for religious waivers. That has been in place for a while now,
and that is the policy that we have gone to the services and
told them to make sure that they are following these
procedures. You know, with that, I think Ms. Penrod can kind of
give you a little bit more detail on that.
Ms. Penrod. Sir, as with any discharge, a service will look
at the conditions around that discharge. So it is not always
straightforward. It could be other circumstances with an
individual case, and that is why we need to--it would be the
services who would have to answer that, why they would have a
certain number of honorable versus general discharges.
Senator Hawley. But am I right in thinking that when it
comes to this issue, I mean this distinction between an
honorable discharge or the general discharge under honorable
conditions, whereas it relates to COVID-19, there is some set
of uniform criteria that are governing these decisions, right?
I understand that you have to make a case by case evaluation,
but there are a lot of these cases that are presenting the same
basic sets of facts.
Ms. Penrod. Yes, but the services are looking at each case
individually. So they--that is what they do. They review these
cases, and they look at all the circumstances of the cases.
That is not something we would be able to do at our level.
Senator Hawley. Well, I understand that. I am just trying
to get the information. So I understand--listen, I am a lawyer.
I mean, we assess--the courts assess cases on a case by case
basis. That is what litigation means. But you do it according
to a standard rule. You don't just make it up as you go along.
I want to know what the rule is, what the criteria--does that
make sense?
Mr. Cisneros. Yes, sir, and we do. We do have procedures in
place that have been there that govern the waivers, and then,
as far as--too, as far as discharges go, there are procedures
in place and instructions that guide that. That is kind of what
the services are following.
Senator Hawley. Can you give me that information?
Ms. Penrod. Sir, if I may. Sir, so it is really a two-step
process. If it is a religious accommodation, for example. It is
the--up to the Department to determine whether or not that is a
sincerely held belief. In most cases that is being passed. The
individuals that have a religious reason for not having the
vaccine, that is clearly passed.
The next step is, what is the impact to the health and
welfare of the service? Is there a safety issue? That is the
next standard that they look at. For the services, that is the
standard that causes the concern, for the safety and welfare of
the service, and so those are the standards.
Those are clear in policy. The procedures themselves are
different by service, and that is what we are reviewing
currently.
Senator Hawley. Got it. Thank you.
Senator Tuberville. Yes, thank you. I don't have any other
questions since mine has already been asked and answered. But I
will say this, my office--I have got five military bases in my
State.
My office has been overwhelmed with phone calls and
letters, and some of these letters that I read are--I mean,
break your heart about religious and health related problems. I
would say is as Senator Hawley said, you know, we need to get
some kind of relief from this. We need to get somebody some
answers so we can give our people answers because it is all up
in the air.
People don't like their questions not answered, especially
when it is their livelihood. So I would appreciate the same
information you are going to--Secretary, for Senator Hawley,
and so we can pass that on to our constituents. Thank you very
much.
Mr. Cisneros. Thank you. We can provide that, Senator.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you. Both of you have an
opportunity for a second round, if you have more questions. I
am going to just ask one. Just last week, the Army unveiled an
expansive set of new policies aimed to create one of the most
consequential sets of quality of life improvements ever for
military parents, including expanded leave and making it easier
for pregnant soldiers to continue their careers.
This new policy includes a 12 month exemption from onerous
military requirements such as postpartum body composition,
physical fitness testing, postpartum dress uniforms, deferment
from training and deployments, among other things. This new
policy also authorizes up to 42 days of convalescence leave
after pregnancy loss and authorizes parental leave for birth
parents in the Army Reserve and Army National Guard.
Secretary Cisneros and Ms. Penrod, what is your view on
this newly announced Army policy, and when you consider
requiring the other services to adopt a similar policy?
Mr. Cisneros. Senator, I think that when I saw the message
that they were coming out with this, I thought it was great,
and I think it is something that we definitely encourage. You
know, each service is different, each services is trying
different things.
I know the Navy for a while has granted leaves of absence
where servicemembers could take time off, I think up to like 2
years, you know, from Active Duty and then come back after
that. But we are for supporting anything that is going to
allow--you know, improve our quality of life of our
servicemembers and to make it better for them and to make it
more family oriented for them.
Ms. Penrod. Yes, Senator, thank you. What we do is when a
service announces a policy--it is a very generous policy, and
again, we look at the support it provides the family. We will
then--we always work and meet with the other services and look
at, well, how would you do this? You know, what are the
constraints for you to implement the same? As Mr. Cisneros
said, each culture is different.
How would that impact readiness and mission of the service?
So this is something I think that each individual service can
speak to. But yes, when we see a great policy or something that
helps our servicemembers, we absolutely look at how can we
expand that to the other services.
But once we have that information, if it looks like
something that all services can support, we usually do put that
in policy, you know, we will try to put that in policy.
Senator Gillibrand. Great, and just one question for Dr.
Smith. This is something that Senator Tillis and I have worked
on. Last year's NDAA contained a provision requiring
independent analysis of recent changes to the autism care
demonstration program after families and providers reported a
myriad of concerns and disruptions in care.
What is the status of the NASCM analysis? What--will the
analysis be complete before the end of the ACD on January 1,
2024? What will happen to the beneficiary services when the ACD
ends on January 1, 2024?
[Technical problems.]
Mr. Smith.--we at least support, and think is very
reasonable to do. It is supposed to be--we are--we want it to
be done clearly before the end of the demonstration. Relative
to what will happen at the end of the demonstration, that is
still internal discussions, and a decision has not been made on
that. So I hope that answers your question.
Senator Gillibrand. Any additional questions? Go ahead,
Senator Hawley.
Senator Hawley. Just one more. Back to the vaccination
issue. Prior to last year's NDAA, and you referenced the change
in discharge status and decisions that we legislated. Prior to
that enactment, how many servicemembers do you know were
dishonorably discharged because they were unwilling to get the
COVID-19 vaccination?
Mr. Cisneros. Senator, I don't have that number in front of
me right now, and we can get that for the record too. That may
be a better question for the services when the next round as
well.
Senator Hawley. You will get it for me, though?
Mr. Cisneros. I will get it for you.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you. Thank you to our panel. Your
testimony is extremely helpful, and if you want to supplement
it in any way, you have about a week to do so. Thank you so
much. We invite the second panel up. Welcome to our second
panel. I will just invite you in order of your seating. So,
Lieutenant General Brito, you are first. If you would like to
start us off.
STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL GARY BRITO, USA, DEPUTY CHIEF
OF STAFF, G-1 UNITED STATES ARMY
Lieutenant General Brito. Good afternoon, Chairman
Gillibrand, Ranking Member Tillis, distinguished Members of the
Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you
on behalf of the men and women of the United States Army. I
have submitted a statement for the record, and I would like to
highlight a few points from it now. The Army's number one
priority is his people, our soldiers and Army civilians,
families and veterans soldiers for life. Nothing is more
important for our combat readiness.
Our personnel programs and initiatives are focused on
promoting a culture of cohesiveness, dignity, and respect, and
within a safe environment where every individual can advance as
far as their talents and skills and desires will take them.
Talent management initiatives, modernization programs, and
policy are transforming the Army's personnel systems. Ongoing
21st century talent management initiatives and actions help us
attract, acquire, and retain a diverse and talented force from
across the Nation.
Our nearly 280,000 Army civilians are an integral part of
the Army team, providing unmatched talent in critical areas. To
further support them, we have expanded professional development
and educational opportunities, have extended our sharp services
to all Army civilians as well. Personnel readiness--personnel
readiness also means creating an installation and environment
that allows our soldiers and their families to thrive.
The Army is committed to quality of life priorities that
include quality housing, barracks, childcare, youth services,
and meaningful employment for our spouses. Resiliency programs
and initiatives aimed at harmful behaviors and supported by
Congress are critical to help us combat sexual harassment,
sexual assault, and factors that contribute to suicide.
The Army's SHARP and suicide prevention training curriculum
have both been updated. In addition, the Behavioral Health
Pulse tool was fielded the last year to provide leaders
visibility over many facets of behavioral health. Other
initiatives, such as fatality review boards, support from our
cohesive assessment team, improve leader training and more, are
helping to address the issue of suicide across the total Army.
The Army Soldier for Life program continues to support
soldiers, veterans, and their families. The retired soldiers
are important to the Army family. Soldier for Life is working
to ensure that States and territories are aware of inbound
transitioning soldiers and their families. The people of the
United States Army, these men and women who serve our Nation
both in and out of uniform, along with their families, are our
strength and what makes our Army great.
A diverse, talented, strong, healthy, and resilient force
is a most important indicator of our overall combat readiness.
Putting our people first, as a priority and a philosophy, will
continue to drive everything we do and contribute to the
quality of life and combat readiness.
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Tillis, and Members
of the Committee, I thank you for your generous and unwavering
support of our talented soldiers, civilian professionals, and
their families, and I look forward to your questions. Thank
you, ma'am.
[The prepared statement of Lieutenant General Gary Brito
follows:]
Prepared Statement by Lieutenant General Gary Brito
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Tillis, distinguished Members
of this Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you
on behalf of the men and women of the United States Army.
The Army's number one priority is our people--our soldiers, Army
civilians, families, and veteran Soldiers for Life--and their
contribution to combat readiness. All of the Army's personnel programs
and initiatives are focused on taking care of our people. Every
individual can serve honorably and advance professionally, within a
culture that promotes cohesiveness, dignity and respect, within a safe
environment for those serving and their families. There is no better
investment to ensure the readiness of the Army. We continue to focus on
the Army People Strategy's mission and vision to acquire, develop,
employ, and retain the diversity of soldier and civilian talent needed
to achieve Total Army readiness.
taking care of our people
For the Army, ``People First'' means we develop and implement
programs designed to keep our people safe and provide them with the
quality of life they deserve. It also means we foster positive command
climates and a culture that values trust, diversity, and inclusion, and
that we work to reduce harmful behaviors in our ranks.
The People First Task Force
The People First Task Force (PFTF) continues to assess
organizational culture through the employment of the Cohesion
Assessment Team (CAT) in order to further.build.disciplined, cohesive,
lethal, and fit.teams.at brigade and below level. To date, the CAT has
conducted five Active Duty unit assessments and an additional two
survey-only assessments. This intensive in-person assessment team
analyzes existing Army metrics, digital survey results, focus groups,
extensive leader interviews and observations in order to provide
leaders actionable results that empower them to operationalize People
First within their formation. On March 9th, the Under Secretary of the
Army made the decision to institutionalize the capability for the Army
and assigned it within the Training and Doctrine Command. This move
enables the Army to capture lessons learned and incorporate them into
our leadership doctrine.
Equity and Inclusion Efforts
The Army continues to advance the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Annex to the Army People Strategy, which includes five goals, 25
objectives, and 126 action tasks that serve as the core of the Army's
Project Inclusion initiatives and fulfill the Fiscal Year 2020 National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), section 529 mandate for the military
services to develop a diversity and inclusion strategic plan. The
Annex's five goals center on Leader Commitment, Talent Management,
Organizational Structure, Training and Education, and Equitable and
Inclusive Environment.
One of the Army's major initiatives is the Your Voice Matters
listening sessions where the Army sends diversity and inclusion
professionals to installations to discuss race, racism, diversity and
inclusion, and their impact on the force. As of March 28, 2022, the
Army has conducted 204 listening sessions at 28 different locations,
reaching more than 10,000 soldiers and Army civilians.
In accordance with Executive Order 14035, the Army Outreach and
Engagement Strategy and Plan ensures viable collaboration and
partnership with National Special Emphasis and Affinity Groups that
represent underserved communities for access and opportunity in
employment, training, professional development, recruitment and
military service. Annually, the Army has partnered with several Non-
Federal Agencies and has recently renewed its relationship with the
League of United Latin American Citizens. This relationship similar to
other groups will create opportunities for the Army to provide access
and reach an important cohort of talent. These affinity groups are the
foundation by which the Army will attain diversity and inclusion.
The Army has also infused diversity, equity, and inclusion training
into Army Professional Military Education (PME). The Army's Training
and Doctrine Command has updated Military Equal Opportunity training to
include diversity, equity, an inclusion, and the Secretary of the Army
and the Chief of Staff of the Army signed the Officer Diversity Plan on
January 7, 2021. Plans for our enlisted, warrant officer, and civilian
cohorts will be available by the end of fiscal year 2022. These plans
are designed to help the Army attract, acquire, develop, employ, and
retain the diverse talent it needs to fight and win our Nation's wars.
The Army has also assigned a Senior Diversity Advisor to the Secretary
of the Army, in compliance with fiscal year 2021 NDAA, section 913.
Quality of Life Programs
The Army remains committed to providing quality of life programs
that support readiness by providing a positive experience for soldiers
and families, to include: safe, well-maintained family and
unaccompanied housing; quality, affordable childcare, and youth
services programs; and meaningful employment and educational
opportunities for spouses.
The Army continues to execute the Housing Campaign Plan to shape
policies, processes, and procedures at every echelon. Based on our work
with the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) companies
that own and operate Army's privatized housing projects, we have fully
implemented all 18 Tenant rights at our 44 Army installations with
privatized housing, consistent with section 2890 of title 10, United
States Code, and the revised MHPI Tenant Bill of Rights that the
Department issued on August 1, 2021. Our progress implementing the
Tenant Bill of Rights represents a foundational step in the Army's
ongoing efforts to rebuilt trust and ensure a positive living
experience for military members and their families, and increases their
negotiating power with the MHPI companies. We expect to release the
final results of the fiscal year 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey for
Army's privatized housing and government family housing units by early
May 2022, which will help inform plans for near-term and future
improvements to housing, and be considered as part of the performance
criteria for the MHPI companies.
The Army has completed a pilot third-party inspection of 90 percent
(1,879) of Fort Belvoir's 2,078 privatized family homes. At least one
maintenance requirement was identified in 92.7 percent of homes
inspected. The results of this pilot inspection helped inform the
Department of Defense (DoD) Uniform Housing Standard and inspection
requirement that was issued in January 2021. We also have implemented a
Housing Environmental Hazard Response Registry for military members and
their families living in privatized or government-owned or leased
housing, with 507 families registered as of 31 March 2022. This count
is for the Army and sister Services. In addition, the Army has hired
114 additional government personnel to provide increased quality
assurance oversight of our privatized and government-owned housing and
serve as resident advocates. We are currently conducting a manpower
study with an estimated completion date for end of 3rd Quarter, fiscal
year 2022 to assess and determine Army housing personnel requirements
and ensure correct authorizations are determined. Further, in fiscal
year 2022, the Army implemented the Housing Certificate Program for 900
housing professionals to create a highly-skilled, multi-dimensional
workforce recognized as housing management experts by the people they
serve and within the housing industry at large.
Child development center projects are a quality of life investment
priority. We appreciate Congress funding three child development
centers in fiscal year 2021 (in Hawaii and Alaska) and two centers in
fiscal year 2022 (in Kansas and Kentucky). We evaluated the additional
need and locations for child care and are planning for seven child
development center projects by fiscal year 2027--a potential $120
million investment. We are also making significant investment in
facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization to ensure child
development center continuity of service. Additionally, we continue to
invest in Army fee assistance to buy down the cost of off-post care
when on-post care is unavailable or there is an extended wait for care.
Child care staffing continues to be a challenge and we face tremendous
competition with a public labor market, such as warehousing and fast
food, offering higher wages and substantial recruitment benefits
without the requirements related to providing child care. To help with
recruitment and retention, we have increased compensation, are offering
recruitment and retention bonuses adjusted for the cost of living, and
are hosting enterprise-wide virtual hiring events.
There are more than 420,000 Army spouses who play an essential role
in readiness and retention. When spouses are satisfied with their
career, employment options, and overall quality of life, they are
likely to support their soldier's continued service. We continue to
strengthen efforts to support spouse employment including reimbursing
up to $1,000 for professional licensing and certification in a new
state. More than 436 reimbursements have been paid since the inception
of the program in May 2019, totaling more than $177,000. We are also
investing in the Employment Readiness Program to help spouses find and
maintain employment by hiring 31 additional staff across Army
installations. Finally, we continue to work with the DoD to improve
state license reciprocity and professional license compacts.
Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program (SHARP)
The Army continues to prioritize the prevention and response to
sexual harassment and assault. At the direction of the President, on
February 26, 2021, the Secretary of Defense established the 90-Day
Independent Review Commission (IRC) on Sexual Assault in the Military.
The Commission conducted an independent, impartial assessment of the
military's policies and programs to prevent and respond to sexual
violence. The IRC made more than 80 recommendations across four lines
of effort: accountability, prevention, climate and culture, and victim
care and support. The DoD and the Army are using a tiered approach to
implementation and many of the Tier 1 and Tier 2 recommendations are
already ongoing or will begin this calendar year. Our initial focus
will be to build on our existing foundations to improve training,
leader development, and program infrastructure. Not only will these
efforts transform the SHARP program, they will transform the Army.
Major undertakings include establishing a full-time prevention
workforce; providing additional independence from the chain of command
for Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARCs) and Victim Advocates;
and eliminating most collateral duty SARCs and Victim Advocates. We
will further professionalize, strengthen, and resource the SHARP
workforce by establishing career development tracks, as well as
improved training for culturally competent victim care for men,
communities of color, LGBTQ+ soldiers, and religious minorities.
Several of the IRC recommendations align with current Army SHARP
initiatives and programs. The Army already provides SARC and Victim
Advocates services to victims of sexual harassment, which the IRC
recommended be a practice extended across all Services. The Army is the
only Service that has a SHARP Academy to train SHARP professionals and
develop standardized training and curriculum materials to educate the
force about sexual harassment and sexual assault within the context of
our core values.
In addition to our efforts to thoughtfully work through the IRC
recommendations to ensure effective execution and competent,
compassionate victim-centric services, we have implemented several
other changes to enhance our support to soldiers, Army civilians, and
family members.
Building on these efforts, the Army is well under way to
implementing the most significant change to military justice in 70
years, as directed in the fiscal year 2022 NDAA, with the establishment
of the new Office of Special Trial Counsel. This office, staffed by
experienced criminal litigators and led by a general officer, will
replace commanders as the disposition authority for all sexual assault,
domestic violence, child abuse, homicide and related offenses.
Complementing these efforts, the Army will establish a criminal
litigation career model increasing our ability to grow, identify, and
staff experienced criminal litigation positions in both the prosecution
and defense.
New Prevention Initiatives
Findings from the IRC on Sexual Assault in the Military
demonstrated a lack of true primary prevention capability within the
DoD. In accordance with the IRC recommendations, the Services are
required to determine the full-time prevention workforce needed to
ensure a dedicated primary prevention capability. To prevent harmful
behaviors, the Army is focusing on upstream approaches, such as
bolstering the social determinants of health and cultivating protective
environments, while connecting individuals with appropriate Army
resources and services.
In accordance with DoD guidance, a dedicated Integrated Prevention
Workforce will implement and evaluate evidence-based primary prevention
activities across the socio-ecological model. Using research from
academia and industry, we intend to establish an ongoing, iterative
process to seek input from internal and external prevention experts on
the Army's prevention system and activities.
The DoD released the report on the findings of the Army's
participation in the Secretary of Defense's On-Site Installation
Evaluation (OSIE) initiative visits on March 31, 2022. The OSIE visits
were conducted from June 2021 to Janurary 2022. The visits were a part
of a pilot of new evaluation process and metrics to improve prevention
efforts.
The OSIE evaluation process is designed to impart a better
understanding of both risk and protective factors on the ground, such
as command climate. Army units selected for the DoD OSIE evaluation
included: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson; Ft. Bliss; Ft. Polk; Germany
(various locations); and Fraser, Michigan (U.S. Army Reserve (USAR)).
The units were selected for site visits based on their policy
compliance self-assessments, Defense Organizational Climate Survey
results, and the ability to effectively address risk for sexual
assault, harassment, suicide, and other harmful behaviors.
The report generally found compliance with sexual assault and
sexual harassment reporting and response requirements, but identified
gaps for some units in prevention capabilities at the ground level to
include elevated protective or risk factors for each unit evaluated. As
a result, U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach, Germany; Fort Polk, Louisiana;
and U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, were identified as
installations with the highest risk factors.
To address issues identified from the report, senior commanders at
each installation are formulating action plans, to include prevention
training, tailored for their locations.
Additionally, the Office of the Secretary of Defense has
recommended follow-up site visits for U.S. Army Garrison Germany
locations to assess implementation of recommendations from the OSIE
site visits. Future OSIE reports will be released on a biennial basis.
In addition, the Secretary of the Army published a directive that
requires all Army leaders at the squad level and above--to include Army
civilians--to receive additional training on newly-published DoD
policies and other information they need to know to effectively execute
their responsibilities with regard to the SHARP Program. The Army SHARP
Academy also revised the Army's SHARP Annual Refresher Training to
better enable unit leaders to deliver the training in small groups. The
Academy is currently revising the Basic Leader's Course SHARP lesson to
include new prevention-focused content. In this way, we enable
soldiers' first-line leaders to help our youngest at-risk soldiers. The
completed lesson is projected for release in 3rd quarter, fiscal year
2022.
Ready and Resilient Program
The Army's Ready and Resilient, or R2, program provides training
and education resources to soldiers, family members, and Army civilians
through the Army's 32 R2 Performance Centers.
Through the R2 program, we establish the foundation for individuals
to build and sustain personal readiness and resilience. Resilience is a
key element in the Army's primary prevention efforts as military and
civilian studies show it is a protective factor against harmful
behaviors.
In addition to the numerous resilience-focused offerings through
our 32 Ready and Resilient Performance Centers (R2PCs) across the Army,
we have conducted multiple pilots of mindfulness training to examine
the effects of mindfulness practice for soldiers, teams, and spouses.
We are developing mindfulness curriculum and implementation plans to
ensure this impactful practice is available to unit commanders and
soldiers throughout our Total Army. Our vision is for mindfulness to
not only be a stand-alone
practice, but also integrated into our current portfolio of
resilience skills. Along these lines, we intend to embed the training
and education into the existing structure provided by the R2PCs. We
will further operationalize mindfulness through integration into PME.
We continue to enhance leader visibility of their soldiers by
expanding access to the Commander's Risk Reduction Toolkit (CRRT). The
toolkit is a web-based application, populated from 26 authoritative
data sources and displays up to 40 risk factors to give Command Teams a
consolidated history of each soldier's personal information and
potential risk. Only Battalion Commanders, Command Sergeants Major,
Company Commanders, and First Sergeants are able to view individual
soldier risk related to Personal Identifying Information and limited
Protected Health Information. This tool provides leaders with a common
operating picture consisting of high-risk event trends with
relationship to operational events. During the past year, we completed
fielding CRRT to the Active Component (AC) and USAR, and began rolling
out the capability to the Army National Guard (ARNG).
Suicide
Despite our increased focus on suicide prevention through clinical
and non-clinical initiatives, we have yet to see the results we hoped
for with regard to preventing these tragic deaths. During the past
year, we continued to experience record high deaths by suicide.
However, we remain undaunted in our efforts to enhance leader
engagement, training, and awareness to mitigate stressors that may lead
someone to choose suicide.
In addition to our efforts to strengthen resilience, enhance leader
visibility, and improve our prevention and intervention capabilities,
we initiated a Vice Chief of Staff of the Army-led chain teach to Army
Commands in 1st quarter, fiscal year 2022. This initiative is designed
to introduce the field to our new public health approach to prevention
of suicide while ensuring consistent implementation across the force,
down to the Army's most junior leaders.
We have also revamped our suicide prevention training, Ask, Care,
Escort (ACE). The curriculum now aligns with DoD Instruction 6490.16
and continues to support the promotion of suicide prevention and
intervention concepts and practices intended to reduce stigma, increase
awareness, and facilitate help-seeking behaviors.
In addition, another tool to help leaders better ``see'' their
soldiers--the Behavioral Health (BH) Pulse Tool--was fielded in 2021 to
provide leaders with visibility of a variety of BH problems, BH
utilization, command climate, social relationships, and risky
behaviors. Developed at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, in
conjunction with psychiatrists from the Office of the Surgeon General,
BH Pulse is a key tool in our efforts to prevent harmful behaviors and
enhance well-being. Also, the Behavioral Health Readiness and Suicide
Risk Reduction Review (R4) Tool is being fielded in April. The R4 tool
provides leaders with practical knowledge for communicating with
soldiers on suicide prevention.
The Army, as well as the DoD, remains committed to understanding
and addressing factors that contribute to suicide. On March 22, 2022,
the Secretary of Defense ordered the creation of an independent panel
to review suicides in the military in accordance with the fiscal year
2022 NDAA, section 738. Per the Secretary of Defense's direction, the
Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee (SPRIRC),
will review relevant suicide prevention and response activities,
immediate actions underway on sexual assault, and the IRC
recommendations on sexual assault in the military. The intent is to
ensure SPRIRC recommendations are synchronized and support ongoing
sexual assault prevention activities and capabilities.
The SPRIRC will visit nine bases, interview soldiers and officials
there, and conduct a confidential survey. Army bases included in the
review are Fort Wainwright and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska;
Camp Humphreys, Korea; and Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The SPRIRC's work
is scheduled to begin in May, and the Committee will file an initial
report to the Secretary of Defense by December 20, 2022. Findings and
recommendations will be provided to Congress by February 18, 2023.
Alcohol and other Substance Use
The Army continues to address the misuse of alcohol and other
substances that often serve as a facilitator to harmful behaviors. We
continue to employ a multidisciplinary, holistic prevention approach to
reduce substance use for our most at-risk population--junior enlisted
males with co-occurring psychological or physical conditions. Also, we
have developed a new awareness campaign: ``Let's Talk: I'm Listening''
that's scheduled for fielding later this year. The campaign emphasizes
the importance of leader engagement and unit cohesion in identifying
and supporting those who may be at risk of binge drinking or self-
medicating through alcohol and prescribed or illicit drugs.
COVID-19
As the Army continues to operate on a global scale in a persistent
COVID environment, our focus remains the readiness and well-being of
our soldiers, civilians, contractors, and their family members. Leaders
at all levels of command remain vigilant, as COVID remains a risk to
the force. We continue to educate our personnel on the criticality of
our vaccination program, and enforce the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention and DoD force health protection measures to ensure we
are ready and able to execute any mission. Currently, 97 percent of the
AC is either fully vaccinated or have received at least one shot. The
ARNG and USAR vaccination deadline is June 30th, and currently sit at
79 percent and 87 percent respectively.
Transition Assistance Program
It is in the Army's and our Nation's best interest to ensure
soldiers transition successfully back into our communities after their
military service. All soldiers are required to begin the transition
process no later than 365 days before the date of their anticipated
transition from Active Duty. The Transition Assistance Program (TAP)
remains available to all veterans for six months after transition, and
to all retirees for life.
According to data from the Department of Labor, in fiscal year
2021, the unemployment rate for all veterans decreased 1 percent from
the fiscal year 2020 high due to COVID-19. As a result of the Army TAP,
the unemployment rate for recently transitioned veterans was 0.9
percent lower than the national and non-veteran rates. Army TAP
efforts, combined with the Nation's low veteran unemployment rate, have
reduced the Army's annual unemployment reimbursement costs from a high
of $514.6 million in fiscal year 2011 to $112.7 million in fiscal year
2021--a 78.1 percent decrease.
As part of the Transition Assistance Program Career Skills Program
(CSP), soldiers have the opportunity to take part in first-class
apprenticeships, on-the-job training, employment skills training, and
internships. During fiscal year 2021, 6,083 soldiers successfully
completed a CSP, and 5,463 (90 percent) were placed into careers
following their CSP training, despite a pandemic that moved most CSP
training for the Army to an online or virtual platform.
Soldier for Life
The Army's Soldier for Life program continues to focus its efforts
on influencing policies, programs, and services that support soldiers,
veterans, and their families, while also conducting community outreach
throughout the country. The program has maintained a consistent
presence with Veteran Service Organizations and Non-Profits during the
pandemic, with increasing engagements in fiscal year 2022, now that
organizations have started to welcome in-person presentations and
visits. Furthermore, the Soldier for Life team has focused on
supporting military spouse employment initiatives. By collaborating
with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Labor,
Soldier for Life is taking steps to help ensure states are aware of
inbound transitioning military personnel and their families prior to
their arrival in their new community. Ensuring that each state has
advanced notice of each inbound soldier and their needs is critical to
a successful transition. In addition, Soldier for Life has also taken
steps to provide support to transitioning soldiers by informing them of
the opportunity to be assigned sponsors, through a VA non-profit
partner, in the communities in which they plan to reside after service.
These sponsors are trained and certified by the VA and can help guide
all soldiers, but especially the most junior, through the challenges
associated with transitioning to civilian life.
the people of the army
The men and women who serve in uniform and as Army civilians
represent the best of our great country. We rely on their skills,
commitment, and character to accomplish the Army's mission to fight and
win our Nation's wars.
The Diversity of the Force
Over the last 14 years, the Army's Enlisted Force has become
racially and ethnically more diverse, with Hispanic soldiers accounting
for the biggest increase in minority representation. The Combat Arms
Outreach program is a targeted effort to attract and commission a
diverse officer talent pool reflective of the Nation we serve and the
soldiers it leads. Combat Arms Outreach Engagement Teams will consist
of diverse company grade and field grade officers from Combat Arms
branches. Teams will conduct engagements at ROTC programs to encourage
cadets to join Combat Arms branches.
For the Total Force Army, White, non-Hispanic representation in the
Enlisted Force has decreased from 60 percent in 2007 to 51 percent in
2021. Meanwhile, Hispanic representation has increased from 11.7
percent to 18.7 percent over the same period. Asian and Pacific
Islanders have also increased as a share of the Enlisted Force from 4
percent in 2007 to 6.3 percent in 2021. Female representation in the
Enlisted Force has increased slightly over the last 14 years. In 2007,
13.4 percent of enlisted soldiers were women, whereas today, 14.8
percent of enlisted soldiers are women. The Army is finalizing its
Enlisted Diversity Plan, which contains initiatives to address
recruiting, developing, and retaining the diverse talent it needs to
address sub-population underrepresentation.
Over the last 14 years, the Officer Corps has also become racially
and ethnically more diverse, with Hispanics and Asians accounting for
the biggest increase in minority representation. White, non-Hispanic
representation in the Officer Corps has decreased from 74 percent in
2007 to 70 percent in 2021. Meanwhile, Hispanic and Asian
representation has increased from 5 percent to 8 percent over the same
period. Non-Hispanic Blacks have declined slightly as a share of the
Officer Corps from 12 percent in 2007 to 11 percent in 2021. There has
also been an increase in females in the Officer Corps over the last 14
years. In 2007, 16.7 percent officers were women, whereas today, 19.8
percent of officers are women. In January 2021, the Army published its
Expanding Diversity in the Officer Corps Plan, which included 25
initiatives to address diversity shortfalls in the Army Officer Corps.
Women in the Army
In 2011, 15.6 percent of soldiers in the Total Army were women.
Today, 18.3 percent of soldiers are women. In addition to comprising an
increased share of the Total Force, women continue to integrate into
infantry, armor, and field artillery military occupational specialties
at the Brigade Combat Team (BCT) level. As of the end of February 2022,
1,172 females were serving in infantry or armor roles within BCTs. BCT
gender integration has progressed steadily, with all 31 BCTs integrated
as of November 2021. The Army integrated its BCTs by cohort to ensure
female soldiers arrive at a unit with at least one same-gendered battle
buddy. Eight BCTs already have more than 50 female infantry and armor
soldiers, and 20 BCTs have a dozen or more female infantry or armor
soldiers. The Army will continue to address female recruitment and
accession challenges to provide women multiple reasons to choose to
serve in the Army. For example, a newly published directive mitigates
two of the top reported causes of female soldier attrition: pregnancy
and parenthood. This forward-leaning policy addressing multiple issues
encountered by soldiers when growing their families, such as fertility
treatments, postpartum body composition, and pregnancy loss, invests in
the wellness and retention of all Army soldiers by normalizing
parenthood for both mothers and fathers across the force.
Army Civilians
Comprising approximately 23 percent of the Total Force, over
287,000 Army civilians form the institutional backbone of the Army and
are an integral part of the Army enterprise, providing mission-
essential support to soldiers around the world. Civilians serve in more
than 500 unique job series in technical, medical, engineering, science,
logistics, finance, and administrative disciplines.
In fiscal year 2021, the Army civilian workforce greatly exceeded
or mirrored the U.S. labor force in representation of individuals with
disabilities and veterans, but had a lower proportion of female
representation. The Army also lagged behind the U.S. workforce in
median age, meaning that Army civilian ranks have a higher proportion
of older employees than the overall working U.S. population.
personnel modernization
The foundation of Army Readiness is Personnel Readiness. Programs,
policies, innovations, and management models are transforming the
Army's Personnel Systems to meet future needs. These changes will
provide our soldiers and civilians with more opportunities to excel;
give our Army the enduring advantage of a transparent, data rich
personnel environment; and improve our ability to compete for and
retain talent.
The Integrated Personnel and Pay System--Army (IPPS-A)
The Integrated Personnel and Pay System--Army (IPPS-A) is the new,
web-based personnel and pay system moving the Army towards 21st century
data management at the enterprise level. Building on strong
foundational priorities of people, modernization, and readiness, it
delivers a secure, comprehensive, and data-rich Human Resources (HR)
talent management system to the Total Force.
More than 2 years ago, the ARNG became the first component to
implement IPPS-A, integrating modern personnel management and data
analytics capabilities across all 54 states and territories. With the
deployment of Release 3 by the end of 2022, all three components will
begin to execute personnel, pay, and talent management functions in
IPPS-A seamlessly across the Total Force. IPPS-A embraces emerging
technologies and aligns with the Army's efforts to build a more
effective and efficient force. With Release 3, the Army will achieve HR
data cleanliness, clearly define authoritative data sources and
services, and facilitate the decommissioning of numerous legacy HR
applications and systems. These are all necessary for creating a data-
rich environment as we continue to set the conditions for migrating all
HR systems to a future cloud-based system. The Army has responded with
agility to the challenges associated with integrating its personnel and
pay systems and will continue to do so going forward.
In support of the Army's effort to modernize Talent Management,
work will continue to expand IPPS-A functionality and add additional
capability through a series of improvements out to 2030 and beyond. Our
HR IT modernization efforts support the talent management system we are
designing to better recruit, retain, and reward the very best personnel
essential to sustaining the All-Volunteer Force. Looking forward, IPPS-
A will integrate the new Army global payroll system with Release 4,
providing a congressionally-mandated fiscal audit capability and
improved talent management functionality.
talent management
The 21st century environment and the critical human experiences of
Multi-Domain Operations will place unprecedented demands on soldiers
and leaders. Continued investment in acquiring, developing, employing,
and retaining talent will keep our Army at the forefront of human
capital development and performance while providing the Nation with a
multi-faceted team that can fight and win in unpredictable conditions.
To maintain our competitive advantage, we must determine the critical
human attributes--among those being technical proficiency--to operate
in this environment. The Army must continue to build a talent
management system capable of acquiring and leveraging critical talent
data--the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and preferences of its
soldiers, balanced with the needs of the Army.
Fiscal Year 2019 NDAA Authorities
With the implementation of the fiscal year 2019 NDAA authorities,
the Army has placed special interest in the advancement of individuals
with specific, high-demand technical skills. The Army is leveraging
these authorities through direct commissioning to bring on candidates
with special skills. Of note, since 2018, 18 Cyber officers, one
Military Intelligence Officer, and one Functional Area 50 (Force
Management) Officer received direct commissions, and another 56
candidates across multiple branches and functional areas are currently
in the appointment process. Additionally, the Army has identified 538
positions that can be used for Brevet promotions on the critical
position list. Since 2020, 84 Officers have been Brevet-promoted and
another 68 are currently in the process of Senate confirmation.
As part of the Army's 21st Century Talent Management System, we
have developed alternatives to promotions based primarily on time in
rank. Officers now have the option to opt-in or opt-out of promotion
consideration. These options give servicemembers more flexibility to
balance their professional, personal, and family priorities, while
ensuring the Army has the right people with the right skills in the
right jobs. Of the 6,874 officers eligible to opt-in to promotion
boards based on date of rank in fiscal year 2021, 2,544 opted-in to be
considered early for promotion, and 167 were selected. In addition, 97
percent (176 of 181) of the officers who applied to opt-out of a
promotion selection board have been approved.
Army Talent Alignment (ATAP)
The ATAP is a decentralized, regulated market-style hiring system
that aligns officers with jobs based on preferences shaped by the
unique knowledge, skills, and behaviors of each officer, as well as the
talents desired by commanders for their available positions. To date,
60,000 officers and warrant officers have been assigned using the
Talent Marketplace. During the most recent marketplace cycle, 69
percent of officers participating in the market obtained a Top 3
preference while 80 percent of officers obtained a Top 10 preference.
Talent markets also enable the Army to experiment with monetary and
non-monetary incentives to fill critical positions and retain talent.
Monetary incentives have included Selective Retention Bonuses,
Assignment Incentive Pay, and Special Duty Assignment Pay to remain
highly competitive among other governmental agencies and private
industry. Non-monetary incentives such as advanced specialty training,
stabilization, credentialing, and broadening assignments are also
available.
While the ``marketplace'' is currently the principal element of
ATAP, gathering data throughout a soldier's career is critical.
Innovations on objective assessments are providing the Army with
valuable information about its people's talents. These assessments--
administered at various stages throughout a career--complement
subjective evaluations to integrate talent data into selection and
assignment practices.
Similar to ATAP, we have begun to implement the Assignment
Satisfaction Key-Enlisted Module (ASK-EM) to support Active Duty
Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs) being considered for Staff Sergeant
(SSG) through Master Sergeant (MSG) assignments. On average, 7,000 to
9,000 NCOs participate in the market each cycle with approximately
30,000 NCOs receiving their assignments through this process each year.
Unlike Assignment Incentive Marketplace 2.0, ASK-EM does not provide
the unit the ability to vote on NCOs. However, we are working to
implement a two-sided market for the MSG and First Sergeant population
once IPPS-A goes live. A pilot of this capability is expected by the
end of fiscal year 2023.
Command Assessment Program (CAP)
The Command Assessment Program (CAP) continues to expand and
improve the Army's ability to select more capable leaders at the
battalion and brigade levels. In November 2021, the Army completed the
third iteration of CAP. Nearly 3,600 leaders at LTC, COL, GS-14, GS-15,
and E-9 levels have assessed through CAP over the last 3 years. CAP has
also expanded to include Acquisition Corps Leaders and Program
Executives, Medical Corps Commanders, Brigade Command Sergeants Major,
Division Chaplains, and candidates from the U.S. Army Reserve and
National Guard, as well as the U.S. Air Force. During CAP, participants
are offered the opportunity to utilize Executive Coaching under the
Army Coaching Program. This program provides professional feedback to
support the development of leaders and their understanding of personal
strengths and weaknesses. When compared to the legacy Command Selection
List system, CAP assesses and identifies leaders who are more
cognitively capable, better written and verbal communicators, more
physically fit, more self-aware, and less likely to exhibit
counterproductive or ineffective leader traits. The Independent Review
Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military recognized CAP as a
promising practice for identifying leaders who are committed to the
well-being of those under their command, as well as screening for
leaders who do not show similar commitment.
While it is too early to draw definitive longitudinal trends,
recent results from the Command Assessment Programs are as follows:
Battalion Commander Assessment Program (BCAP)--To date,
2,178 Army Competitive Category Lieutenant Colonels competed for
battalion-level commands and key staff positions in BCAP. Of those,
1900 (87.2 percent) were found ready for command.
Colonel Command Assessment Program (CCAP)--To date, 603
Army Competitive Category Colonels competed for brigade-level commands
and key staff positions in CCAP. Of those, 511 (84.7 percent) were
found ready for command. The majority of these officers will take
command in the summer of 2022.
Sergeant Major Assessment Program (SMAP)--To date, 334
Sergeants Major competed for brigade-level Command Sergeant Major (CSM)
positions. Of those, 287 (86 percent) were found ready and will fill
approximately 130 brigade-level CSM openings in the near future.
building and maintaining a quality force
Our recruiting and retention efforts for both soldiers and
civilians are focused on building and maintaining a diverse and
talented force from across the Nation.
Recruiting
The Army enlisted 57,606 recruits in the AC, 34,658 recruits in the
ARNG, and 11,690 recruits in the USAR in fiscal year 2021.
As of the end of February, the AC achieved more than 23 percent of
its fiscal year 2022 recruiting mission of 60,000. Recruiting
productivity will remain challenging with the overall low propensity
and shrinking Qualified Military Applicant pool. The Army remains
focused on quality over quantity, continuing to emphasize recruitment
for military occupational specialties that are critical to future force
modernization. The Army has implemented several initiatives to improve
recruiting efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity including
revisions in incentives, accessions policies, and marketing efforts. We
continue to adapt the way we recruit talent into the Army to sustain
the All-Volunteer Force. The Army will modestly reduce its end strength
in fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2023 as we put the force on a
sustainable strategic path. The Regular Army expects to meet an end
strength of 476,000 in fiscal year 2022. At the end of fiscal year
2023, the AC will be at 473,000, the ARNG will be at 336,000 and the
USAR will be at 189,500. Looking at the force and the recruiting
outlook, we are confident we can maintain the quality of recruits we
need at this level as the Army rebalances its portfolio by investing in
modernization, infrastructure, and personnel support programs.
The ARNG achieved more than 29 percent of its fiscal year 2022
recruiting mission of 38,430, as of the end of February. The ARNG will
continue to see an impact to accessions due to COVID-19 restrictions in
some states. With an aggressive emphasis on retention and attrition
management, combined with an improved recruiting strategy, the ARNG
expects to achieve its fiscal year 2022 NDAA end strength of 336,000.
The USAR achieved more than 27 percent of its recruiting mission of
14,650, as of the end of February. The USAR continues to reduce
attrition and increase prior service transfers from the AC and
Individual Ready Reserve as a means to offset accessions shortfalls.
The USAR is not projecting to achieve its fiscal year 2022 NDAA end
strength of 189,500.
Officer Accessions
The Army is on track to recruit and access more than 4,500 AC
officers in fiscal year 2022, with more than 10,000 officers accessed
across all components. All sources of commission are expected to meet
their fiscal year 2022 accessions mission. The Army's primary
commissioning sources (USMA, ROTC, and OCS) continue to advance
processes to match talent and build diversity of race and gender across
all Army officer branches.
Retention
The AC, USAR, and ARNG each achieved their fiscal year 2021
retention missions. Over the last 2 years, the AC retained soldiers at
historical rates. Soldiers were provided a COVID extension option to
provide stability during this turbulent period, which increased
retention rates for soldiers likely to move to a different duty
station. The fiscal year 2021 combined retention rate for eligible
soldiers was approximately 80 percent. The fiscal year 2021 Cohort
combined mission was accomplished at a rate of nearly 99 percent, while
the fiscal year 2022 Cohort retained at a rate of 75 percent. These
retention rates were the highest to date. The fiscal year 2021 in-year
retention rate was an increase of nearly 4 percent over fiscal year
2020 and more than 6 percent over fiscal year 2019. In fiscal year
2022, the AC will accomplish its mission requirements, and is expected
to exceed retention goals by 2,500 retention actions. These retention
achievements support meeting our initial term, mid-term, and career
soldier requirements. Army retention will maintain a competitive edge
with the continued funding to support retention selective retention
bonuses granted by Congress.
The Army saw consistent officer retention in fiscal year 2021,
retaining 90 percent of Army Competitive Category (ACC) captains and 94
percent of ACC majors, which is consistent over the last 4 fiscal
years. Overall, the Army retained 92 percent of all officers and
warrant officers in fiscal year 2021. Approximately 74 percent of
officers are staying at least one year past their initial Active Duty
Service Obligation.
Non-Deployable Personnel
The Army's current non-deployable initiatives have positioned the
Army to be at or near the 5 percent goal for non-deployable personnel.
As of March 1, 2022, the Integrated Disability Evaluation System
(IDES) non-deployable population was 11,477, which is a reduction of
723 cases from last year at the same time. Additionally, the average
processing time (from referral until separation) decreased from 272
days in March 2021 to 210 days in March 2022. We expect the IDES to
remain at these levels--about 1.5 percent of the total Army non-
deployable personnel --throughout the summer and fall. The Army will
continue to work closely with the VA and the DoD to ensure timely
delivery of benefits for our Nation's wounded, ill, and injured
soldiers. Efficient execution of the IDES process is critical to both
readiness and taking care of our soldiers and families.
Recruiting and Retaining Talent in Underrepresented Demographics
The Army is developing a strategy to mitigate the obstacles of a
challenging recruiting environment. This strategy will include
advancement to marketing and media, leveraging community relationships,
increasing connections to underrepresented demographics, and increasing
outreach to previously un-tapped populations, such as college students.
Additionally, in an effort to increase underrepresented demographics
into the more competitive branches within the Army, the Army developed
and implemented the Combat Arms Outreach--Engagement Team (CAO-ET)
Pilot Program. CAO-ET focuses on increasing female and minority cadet
interest in combat arms. This effort seeks to increase the pool of
diverse, talented officers in combat arms career fields to build a
bench of enterprise leaders for the future.
Civilian Workforce Recruiting Efforts
Reducing the time it takes to hire civilian employees remains a key
initiative as the Army continuously strives for a modernized, 21st
century approach to attract, recruit, and hire top civilian talent.
Efforts specifically aimed at expediting the hiring of civilians are
increasing personnel readiness and ensuring talented individuals fill
critical vacancies.
The Army also encouraged the use of Schedule A hiring authority for
Individuals with Disabilities, Veterans' Recruitment Appointment, and
other authorities to build the Army bench with top civilian talent.
The Army has implemented several initiatives as part of a broader
strategy to reduce civilian time-to-hire in support of the former
Secretary of Defense's fiscal year 2025 hiring goal of 45 days. The
Civilian Implementation Plan to the Army People Strategy places
specific emphasis and focus on reducing time to hire to ensure the Army
is competitive for top talent with other employers. A multi-year
strategy to execute tasks supporting the
Civilian Implementation Plan are in progress. These efforts will
assess hiring quality, leverage Office of Personnel Management
resources, and optimize Civilian Human Resources Agency and Command
civilian hiring operations. A key component of this strategy is
decreasing candidate screening time through consistency of initial
forms, fingerprinting, initial background checks, medical evaluations,
drug testing, and suitability determinations, as well as reducing
processing time for security clearances. The time it takes the Army to
fill civilian positions has fluctuated over the past several years as
follows: the fiscal year 2019 hiring time was 90.6 days; the fiscal
year 2020 time was 83.4 days; the fiscal year 2021 time was 86.2 days;
and currently, the fiscal year 2022 hiring time is 90.5 days. As the
Army's multi-year strategy to reduce time to hire matures, we expect to
achieve consistent reductions in the time it takes to hire civilian
personnel.
Marketing
The Army's current marketing efforts focus on acquiring diverse
talent in an environment facing various economic headwinds and
decreased propensity. These headwinds are pushing young adults to seek
stability, security, and safety. In order to attract the talent the
Army requires, we must inform and inspire public awareness of the wide
array of opportunities the Army offers. Marketing remains a key tool to
reaching qualified recruits.
The ad campaign ``What's Your Warrior?'' launched in 2019 to
highlight the breadth and depth of Army careers for Generation Z (Gen
Z) youth. ``What's Your Warrior?'' continues with subsequent campaigns
based on extensive research to help close knowledge, culture, and
relatability gaps with Gen Z. Two campaigns help connect youth with the
Army. First, the Army launched the ``Know Your Army'' Campaign in March
2022, highlighting Army benefits available to youth considering their
personal and professional goals. Second, the newest chapter of the
``What's Your Warrior'' campaign known as ``Passions,'' connects
prospects' passions to opportunities available in the Army. These
marketing campaigns leverage a multi-media mix of traditional and
digital advertising to reach Gen Z recruits and their influencers
across platforms including national broadcast, out-of-home
advertisement, print, websites, and social media.
conclusion
The people of the United States Army--these men and women who serve
our Nation, both in and out of uniform, along with their families--are
our strength and our legacy. Their talents, courage, and commitment
make our Army the greatest in the world. To keep our Army strong, we
must build our force with individuals who embody the best of America,
and we must offer them opportunities to allow both their careers and
families to flourish. A diverse, talented, strong, healthy, and
resilient, force is the most important indicator of our readiness.
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Tillis, Members of this
Committee, I thank you for your generous and unwavering support of our
outstanding soldiers, civilian professionals, and their families.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you so much. Vice Admiral Nowell.
STATEMENT OF VICE ADMIRAL JOHN NOWELL, USN, CHIEF OF NAVAL
PERSONNEL, UNITED STATES NAVY
Vice Admiral Nowell. Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member
Tillis, and distinguished Subcommittee Members, thank you for
the opportunity to appear before you today and to talk to you
as the Navy's Chief of Naval Personnel on our personnel policy
programs and initiatives. It is my distinct pleasure and
privilege to represent the sailors who were on watch 24/7 in
every corner of the globe, above, on, and below the surface of
the seas.
The demands of strategic competition, now more than ever,
require that we remain well ahead of our adversaries who are
persistently challenging our traditional warfighting dominance.
To do this, we must continue to enhance our asymmetric
advantage, our people. We must consistently attract, develop,
and retain the world's most talented and skilled Navy combat
force.
While we remain committed to attracting the best talent our
Nation has to offer, we are beginning to witness an increased
competition for talent. As was mentioned in the first panel,
last month, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent, while
wages continue to grow, resulting in a very strong labor demand
in all markets nationwide.
While we are trending to meet our fiscal year 2022
accession mission at the aggregate level, we will do so by
reducing delay in entry program from historic norms, which will
be challenging to sustain. To remain competitive, we will
continue to leverage our e-talent teams, our large scale
digital recruiting presence with our Forged by the Sea
marketing advertising strategy.
We do reach all zip codes and will continue to not only
leverage this, but also enlistment bonuses in our relentless
effort to attract the diverse and skilled talent that we need.
We continue to invest in trained, resilient, and educated
sailors who can outthink, outdecide, and outfight any potential
adversary.
In particular, we are developing our sailor talent through
initiatives such as Ready Relevant Learning, Warrior Toughness,
and our Culture of Excellence campaign. Ready Relevant Learning
fundamentally changes the way our sailors train, transforming
an industrial era training model into a modern, agile system
with tailored career long learning continuum for each sailor.
Warrior Toughness is a holistic approach to developing the
tools needed for sailors to optimize their performance in even
the most stressful circumstances. Our Culture of Excellence
promotes a force wide environment of respect and resiliency for
our sailors to thrive in the face of personal and professional
adversity.
Driven by the overarching goals of maximizing warfighting
excellence and readiness, the Navy wide campaign is directly
led by the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), who leverages a
Navy leader development framework, which employs a data driven
look across all of our 17 warfighting communities with a
regular drumbeat.
Building upon the retention gains of the last few years, we
are committed to keeping the right talent and experience in the
right pay grades and specialties, while remaining mindful of
the current economic trends and how they influence our sailors'
career decisions. To enhance retention, we continue to optimize
our talent management systems to provide greater flexibility to
sailors in career choice, development training, and
assignments.
Our detailing marketplace assignment policy, which will
replace our existing seashore flow model, offers a wide range
of monetary and non-monetary incentives to sailors primarily in
sea intensive ratings right now to encourage them to serve
longer where we need them most at sea. Commitment to continued
investment in our sailors is necessary to sustain a fleet. We
appreciate your strong support on our compensation to include
vital, special, and incentive pays and bonuses, which now more
than ever, are needed to target specific skills.
Finally, transforming the Navy's internal personnel
business processes remains a top priority to ensure we are
delivering world class HR [Human Resources] services to our
sailors and their families. Again, I think Congress, for your
support there. I remain inspired each and every day by our
sailors. I know that you do, too, and each and every American
can be proud of them and their families. I look forward to your
questions.
[The prepared statement of Vice Admiral John B. Nowell
follows:]
Prepared Statement by Vice Admiral John B. Nowell
introduction
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Tillis, and distinguished
Members of the Personnel Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to
appear before you today to discuss our most important strategic asset,
our people. As stated in the One Navy-Marine Corps Team: Strategic
Guidance from the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval
Operations (CNO) Navigation Plan, sailors remain our competitive
warfighting advantage and are the true source of our naval power. To
maintain our advantage at sea and win in long-term strategic
competition, MyNavy HR continues to implement, evaluate, and improve
our personnel programs and policies to help attract, develop, and
manage the most talented and diverse workforce possible.
attracting talent
MyNavy HR is dedicated to attracting the best talent our Nation has
to offer. We have improved the efficiency of our recruiting
organization through realignment, transformation, workforce
improvements, and policy changes. Our digital Forged by the Sea
marketing and advertising campaign targets diverse high quality
recruits, whose online media consumption has continued to increase.
However, as COVID-19 transitions from a pandemic to endemic, we are
beginning to witness an increased competition for talent. In March
2022, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent while wages continue
to grow. Strong economic conditions in the U.S., like those
characterizing periods of expansions, tend to challenge Navy's ability
to meet recruiting and retention requirements. The COVID-19 recession
had strikingly different economic effects from other U.S. recessions
with marked differences in depth, duration, types of sectors and
workers affected as well as the policy response. While lessons learned
from the endemic are ongoing, we are mindful that insights gleaned from
previous recessions may not shed light on our current recruiting and
retention environment. We consistently monitor economic conditions and
reassess the important role they play in understanding how we
effectively manage our talent. We continue to leverage our competitive
pay and benefits package, talent management initiatives, and MyNavy HR
service delivery in order to meet our recruiting and retention goals.
Enlisted Recruiting
MyNavy HR remains committed to removing barriers to entry and
improving the diversity of our Navy. We are reshaping efforts to better
address underrepresented groups, refining strategies to drill down to
generational interests and behavior, and leveraging a whole-person
concept in all recruiting and accessions efforts. For fiscal year 2021,
MyNavy HR achieved 100 percent enlisted accession mission for the
Active Component (AC) (33,559/33,400) and non-prior service
requirements for the Reserve component (RC) (2,733/2,625). COVID-19
continued to affect our recruiters' ability to leverage in-person
events, reduced access to high school students and in-person traffic to
recruiting stations. As a result, national advertising remains critical
to the mission for awareness and lead generation. MyNavy HR deployed a
cloud-based enterprise Customer Relationship Management (eCRM) Mobile
Application and augmented digital tools to assist recruiters with
virtually engaging future sailors and potential applicants. In addition
to digital initiatives, MyNavy HR continued to leverage enlistment
bonuses and other virtual tools.
The recruiting environment remains challenging to meet the fiscal
year 2022 AC and RC enlisted accession mission of 33,400 and 7,400,
respectively. Youth propensity to serve in the military declined from
13 percent in 2018 to nine percent in 2021. Youth eligibility for
service also remains low, with two percent of the target market being
high academic quality, propensed to serve, and both medically and
legally eligible to serve without a waiver. Competition for this talent
has resulted in MyNavy HR contracting applicants into the Delayed Entry
Program at a slower rate than shipping future sailors to Recruit
Training Command (RTC).
To improve the contract rate and better enable our recruiters, we
are working towards expanding the eligible market and enhancing Navy's
competitiveness. E-Talent Teams were established to engage the market
virtually; driving interest in Navy careers while generating leads for
recruiters to engage. The eCRM system continues to be updated, which
will save recruiters time by minimizing their administrative workload,
allowing them to focus on engaging with potential applicants.
Additionally, MyNavy HR recently expanded waivers for tattoos, age
restrictions, and Armed Forces Qualification Test score requirements.
We also raised the enlistment bonus ceiling to $50,000 and we are
providing $25,000 to all future sailors that ship before July 2022. Our
marketing and advertising strategy continues to focus on the digital
recruiting environment, highlighting real, authentic stories from
actual sailors addressing the barriers, concerns and key motivators to
joining.
Officer Recruiting
Our commissioning programs through the United States Naval Academy
(USNA), Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC), and Officer
Candidate School (OCS) continue to be popular. In fiscal year 2021,
MyNavy HR attained 99 percent of the AC (2,492 of 2,524) and 71 percent
(941 of 1,319) of the RC officer mission. The primary challenge for the
fiscal year 2022 AC and RC officer mission of 2,468 and 1,350,
respectively, is today's incredibly competitive labor market. To
mitigate this challenge and improve opportunities for diverse officer
candidates, MyNavy HR implemented a number of major initiatives:
Junior Officer Diversity Outreach program partners with
Unrestricted Line Officers (URLs) to share their Navy experiences with
college students within underrepresented communities throughout the
country.
Baccalaureate Degree Completion Program provides
financial incentives to college students to complete baccalaureate
degree requirements and attend OCS to earn a commission.
URL In-Service Procurement Program provides an officer
commission pathway for Active Duty enlisted personnel who meet
eligibility criteria.
Additionally, the NROTC Preparatory Program (NPP) continues to
expand NROTC scholarship opportunities by selecting applicants who show
great potential via grades, character, and extra-curricular activities,
but may lack resources available at more advanced high schools. NPP
enhances midshipmen candidates' mental and physical foundations, better
preparing them for success in the NROTC program. In academic year 2019-
2020, the program's second year, 67 midshipmen candidates enrolled in
NPP, of which 49 students successfully completed their prep year and
selected for follow-on NROTC scholarships. During academic year 2020-
2021, 109 midshipmen candidates enrolled and 85 students completed the
program and received follow-on NROTC scholarships. This past fall, NPP
continued to expand the program with 113 midshipmen candidates
enrolled.
Finally, we established Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection
and Training (BOOST) 2.0, which uses available seats at the Naval
Academy Preparatory School (NAPS) to prepare NROTC program applicants.
Upon completing BOOST 2.0, students are assigned to a follow-on NROTC
unit, with a four-year scholarship, to an affiliated school with
demonstrated success in graduating high percentages of diverse
students. A pilot program began in academic year 2021-2022 consisting
of 10 candidates with seven on track to graduate. For academic year
2022-2023 will select an additional 10 additional candidates to attend
NAPS.
talent development
Learning, innovation, and personal and professional development are
part of our naval heritage. To achieve a warfighting advantage, we must
instill continuous learning behaviors in our Navy Total Force. These
behaviors will enable adaptation and improvement, and strengthen our
ability to out-think our competitors. Navy is currently engaged in
initiatives to foster and sustain a high-performance culture that
maximizes individual sailor development and potential in a very
deliberate, enduring, and sailor-focused way. We recognize that
learning is integral to every aspect of a sailor's development and
comes in a variety of forms including formal training and education,
experiential learning and on-the-job training obtained in the operating
forces, self-directed study that taps into an individual's natural
curiosity and personal interests, and mentorship. Investing in the
intellectual capital of the Navy team and instilling a lifelong passion
for continuous learning in sailors will be our foundation as we grow a
decisive force that can out-think and out-fight any challenger to
American interests. This career long learning continuum begins during
initial accession training.
Accession Training
Accessions training is the first step of transforming civilians
into highly skilled, operational, and combat-ready warfighters, while
providing the tools and opportunities for continuous learning and
development. Upon complete removal of Restriction of Movement
operations in December 2021, RTC shifted from an eight to ten week
Basic Military Training (BMT). The 10-week BMT provides additional
Recruit Division Commander training time for focus on reps-and-sets in
core competencies; extended time for recruits to prepare for the
official Physical Fitness Assessment; and the addition of the 4th
Phase/Sailor for Life curriculum, resulting in higher quality and
better trained sailors to the Fleet. When fully implemented, the 10-
week BMT allows for increased focus on firefighting, damage control,
and Auxiliary Security Force qualifications, fully preparing sailors
for duty in the Fleet on day one. MyNavy HR graduated the first
training group of over 800 sailors under the 10-week BMT on March 18,
2022.
Navy continues to instill toughness and resiliency in our sailors
through Warrior Toughness (WT), an evidence-based, holistic,
individualized human performance skillset that strengthens the mental,
physical, and spiritual toughness with a particular emphasis on the
pursuit of peak performance. This skillset is tested throughout the
recruit's time in BMT, where they are able to cultivate success in a
diverse environment, and push themselves to reach new levels of
physical, mental, and spiritual toughness. At the end of the training,
recruits harness tools developed through the WT transformation as they
connect what they have learned at RTC to historical naval events and
prepare to contribute to the mental, physical, and spiritual toughness
of the Fleet. In addition to the WT curriculum, all enlisted sailors
complete Level 0 Familiarization firefighting training at RTC and are
required to complete Level I Basic Ships and Submarines firefighting
training before reporting to their first sea duty assignment. Sailors
trained in firefighting and damage control on day one is a force
multiplier for the warfighting effort and better prepares the Navy to
prevent loss of ships or submarines due to fire and damage.
Navy Virtual Training Environments
Across the career continuum of training, Navy employs a variety of
live, virtual, and constructive training environments to provide
realistic training in a safe, non-operational environment. A good
example of this during the accession phase is the Conning Officer
Virtual Environment (COVE). COVE are ship-handling simulators utilized
at OCS and NROTC units that are preloaded with standardized curricula
that aligns with the officer Professional Core Competencies curriculum
to ensure each student develops the basic essential skills needed to
maneuver a United States Navy Warship. The detailed scenarios embedded
into each unit reinforce the students' seamanship, navigation, and
plotting skills.
Ready Relevant Learning (RRL)
The RRL initiative continues to modernize Navy training and
accelerate delivery methods, supplementing our traditional brick-and-
mortar schoolhouses with modern, multi-media, multi-platform solutions.
RRL delivers the right training, at the right time, and in the right
way by developing a career-long learning continuum (CLLC) for every
sailor, modernizing training to maximize impact and relevance, and
accelerating our processes to bring new training to the Fleet.
Our CLLC has progressed from determining and validating the current
``what'' and ``when'' of existing accession-level training, into
developing CLLCs across a sailor's career to ensure every sailor
receives the right training at the real-world point of need to support
assigned tasking. CLLCs capture all the technical, professional, and
leadership training and applicable qualifications, certifications, and
skillsets established for each rating. It serves as a comprehensive
roadmap for sailors by outlining rating-specific training and
leadership timelines. It also functions as an analytical tool to assess
the master task list for each community's ratings, to help identify
training gaps. Continuums are complete for four ratings: Yeoman (YN),
Yeoman Submarine (YNS), Retail Services Specialist (RS), and
Quartermaster (QM). Continuums for 10 ratings are currently in
development: Operations Specialist (OS), Aviation Maintenance
Administrationman (AZ), Personnel Specialist (PS), Logistics Specialist
(LS), Logistics Specialist Submarine (LSS), Aircrew Survival
Equipmentman (PR), Sonar Technician Surface (STG), Aviation Boatswain's
Mate Launching and Recovery (ABE), Aviation Boatswain's Mate Fuels
(ABF), and Aviation Boatswain's Mate Aircraft Handling (ABH).
Work on the Training Assessment Process is ongoing, solidifying the
Fleet's role in both defining learning and performance requirements and
validating analyses. The Type Commanders (TYCOM), working closely with
MyNavy HR, are identifying metrics to assess the sailor's learning,
performance, and behaviors in the classroom and the Fleet. Metrics
related to the modernized OS course began development in fiscal year
2021. Leveraging the Kirkpatrick Model, these metrics will identify
ways to improve and focus curricula to meet Fleet needs.
Eight ratings are in modernized delivery as of fiscal year 2021:
Intelligence Specialist (IS), OS, QM, RS, PS, YN, YNS, and AZ.
Additionally, 31 ratings are in the content conversion process with
another nine ratings entering content conversion in fiscal year 2022.
Education
Education has long been one of the key strengths of the naval
profession and continues to be of critical importance for our future.
As we stand on the horizon of employing a Fleet with new operating
concepts and evolving capabilities, we need sailors with diverse
backgrounds, experiences, critical thinking skills, and the mental
agility to operate across the spectrum of change that lies ahead. To
accomplish this, we continue to leverage the United States Naval
Community College (USNCC) and our voluntary education programs such as
Tuition Assistance (TA) and the Navy College Program for Afloat College
Education.
Navy successfully completed the first USNCC pilot course offerings
in June 2021, with nearly 600 students from the Navy, Marine Corps, and
Coast Guard completing courses in general education/military history,
nuclear technology, cyber security, and data analytics/intelligence.
Leveraging the degree granting authority provided by Congress in the
Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and in
collaboration with civilian academic institutions, USNCC maximizes
credit earned for servicemembers' technical training and enables
students to earn an associate degree in Naval Science, with a
warfighting-relevant concentration, at no cost to the student. Pilot 2
is underway and will continue through fiscal year 2023 with expanded
enrollment for up to 3,000 Active Duty enlisted sailors, marines, and
coast guardsmen. USNCC recently had 126 students successfully complete
the first direct-taught Naval Studies Certificate course, Naval Ethics
and Leadership. Upon completion of the Naval Studies Certificate
program, these students will continue in one of seven professional
concentration areas: military studies, cyber security and network
administration, nuclear engineering technology, data analytics,
organizational leadership, maritime logistics, and aviation maintenance
technology. Once the USNCC reaches full operating capacity, up to
10,000 students will have the opportunity to participate in one of 15
concentration areas.
Navy voluntary education continues to service sailors' educational
needs through the highly successful TA program and the Navy College
Program for Afloat College Education, which provides sailors the
opportunity to complete courses while deployed at sea. These programs
empower sailors to advance their personal and academic development
through formal education that leads to a high school diploma, formal
certificate, and/or an associate, bachelor's, or master's degree. Since
reframing the TA program to focus on professional qualifications and
warfighting readiness first, the successful completion of TA courses
increased from 91 percent in fiscal year 2019 to nearly 94 percent in
fiscal year 2021.
Navy remains committed to continuous learning as a key warfighting
enabler. Educating current and future leaders is a necessary
investment; it helps to maintain our competitive advantage and enables
us to succeed in long-term strategic competition. We reflect this
commitment in our talent management objectives designed to identify,
encourage, and place our highest-caliber officers in selective
graduate-level programs, thereby enhancing our warfighting capabilities
and building strategic superiority. One example is the requirement that
all URL officers in Year Group 2015 and beyond complete in-residence
graduate education before assuming major command. In-residence
education programs continue to provide the best opportunity to mature
critical strategic thinking skills necessary for Navy leaders today and
into the future. This requirement will ensure our most talented
officers are given the opportunity to take this educational pause to
mature their strategic thinking skills.
Leader Development Continuum
Continuous world-class leader development at all levels is one of
Navy's strategic advantages. The Naval Leadership and Ethics Center
(NLEC) continues to support and build upon the Navy Leader Development
Framework version 3.0 by offering leader development classes from E-4
to O-6. Key topics include self-awareness, ethical foundations, ethical
decision-making, unconscious bias in decision-making, and emotional
survival/toughness. Recently, Navy integrated senior enlisted leaders
who are not assigned to a Command Master Chief billet as participants
in the Senior Leader Course. This allows senior officers and senior
enlisted to confront ethical scenarios they may face together in a
safe, non-attributional classroom environment. Additionally, the
Enlisted Leader Development (ELD) program continues to grow rapidly and
receives extremely positive feedback. As part of the ELD program,
enlisted personnel attend a course commensurate to their paygrade and
explore topics in self-awareness, ethical decision-making, naval
heritage, coaching, and moral courage. In December 2021, Navy began
offering the new Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Leader Development Course,
which will replace the current CPO Indoctrination Course and further
explore leadership topics while helping prepare participants attend the
Senior Enlisted Academy and the Command Master Chief Course.
While many leadership principles have remained unchanged across
many generations, the area of leader development continues to grow
rapidly; the curriculum at NLEC reflects this growth. Core topics of
character development, ethical foundation, and moral courage continue
to be pillars on which all leaders must have a solid footing. Navy
continues to stay current with modern research on mental agility,
growth mindset, unconscious bias, coaching, and self-awareness. Recent
advances in curriculum include topics involving decision science, which
explore the effects of cognitive biases in everyday decision-making. In
these instances, learners are presented real-life case studies, which
they discuss the cognitive biases that may come into play during each
scenario and practice techniques to mitigate these biases. In addition,
the tenets of WT were added to NLEC courses broadly, primarily through
the topic of emotional survival/toughness. This topic focuses on
preparing personnel for the daily challenge of a high-stress position,
as well as the possible experience of a traumatic event and/or major
life change. Discussions center on how to recognize the impacts daily
challenges have on one's thoughts and behaviors and how to mitigate the
impacts on oneself and one's family. The addition of WT, particularly
the idea of sharpening one's mind, body, and soul, has proven to be a
perfect complement to the existing curricula. Additionally, NLEC has
developed a bias mitigation tool designed to give learners a ``nudge''
toward more reflective thinking when making decisions. Furthermore,
Navy is implementing Independent Review Commission (IRC)
recommendations, including leadership development in the areas of
fostering healthy climates to reduce harmful behaviors and ensuring
appropriate leadership response to sexual assault and sexual
harassment.
MyNavy Coaching
MyNavy Coaching is a communication tool that builds and sustains a
coaching culture within the Navy. Coaching is a communication skill
rooted in the core skills of active listening, empathy, and asking
powerful questions. Through MyNavy Coaching, we will increase the
performance and maximize the potential of our sailors to build a
stronger warfighting force built upon personal connections, increased
engagement, empathy, heightened personal awareness, and promotion of a
deeper level of learning. This empowers sailors to take responsibility
for their development and performance. We are implementing MyNavy
Coaching through a peer-to-peer coaching approach and a renewed focus
on Mid-term Counseling.
culture of excellence (coe)
As we attract and develop the Nation's best talent, we must also
continue to promote a culture of respect and resiliency for our sailors
to thrive in the face of personal and professional adversity. COE
continues to be our Navy-wide framework designed to promote signature
healthy behaviors and enhance warfighting excellence by instilling
toughness, trust, and connectedness in sailors. The Navy's holistic COE
Campaign Plan counters destructive behaviors and champions signature
behaviors by focusing on four lines of effort:
Develop Lethal Warfighting Force. RRL delivers the right
training, at the right time, in the right manner, so that sailors are
ready to operate and maintain their equipment at the extreme technical
end of its capability to control the high end of maritime conflict.
Champion Signature Behaviors and Counter Destructive
Behaviors. The ten signature behaviors support the proactive prevention
of destructive behaviors by showing sailors what ``right'' looks like.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Navy actively
includes sailors from all backgrounds and perspectives and harnesses
the creative power of diversity and inclusive leadership, in
accelerating Navy's warfighting advantage, lethality, and operational
readiness.
Governance, Analytics, Assessment and Strategic
Communication. The governance structure of Navy's programs and
strategic communications is continuously evaluated through Flag-level
governance bodies, surveys, and working groups.
The foundation of our culture increases strength and resiliency
across the Fleet and is a combination of encouraging Signature
Behaviors, promoting inclusivity and representation, and training our
sailors to build mental and physical toughness to prepare them for any
challenge. Signature Behaviors call on sailors and civilians to treat
others with respect, take responsibility for their actions, and be
leaders who instill leadership in others. Signature Behaviors help
sailors and civilians avoid making destructive decisions and enable
optimized performance. All COE elements align with the Navy's core
mission of building a more effective and lethal warfighting force. As
we embrace this Culture of Excellence, our Navy will grow stronger and
more capable of winning tomorrow's fight.
Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) & Sexual Harassment
Navy's SAPR program continues to focus on increasing reporting and
decreasing prevalence of sexual assault through primary prevention,
refined response capabilities, treating victims with compassion,
providing quality care, and addressing the barriers uniquely associated
with male reporting of sexual assault. We continue to leverage metrics-
based data to better understand where and why assaults occur, provide a
more robust analytic capability, and ensure research-informed
approaches to prevention programs and policies. We recently embarked on
the third phase of the Department of Defense-mandated Prevention Plan
of Action, a comprehensive approach to understanding the current
environment, determining the scope of the problem, and assessing
organizational factors that drive prevention. We are also incorporating
recommendations from the IRC on Sexual Assault in the Military, using
strategically phased activities to systemically improve prevention,
climate and culture, victim care and support, and accountability
related to sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other harmful
behaviors. This includes addressing gaps in leader training to develop
inclusive cultures that foster healthy command climates, completing a
SAPR Workforce Study to ensure unfettered support to sexual assault
victims, including long-term phasing out of reliance on collateral
duty-dual-hatted victim advocates and Sexual Assault Response
Coordinators, and phased hiring and integration of a primary prevention
workforce that will mobilize needed personnel with the knowledge and
skills for effectively driving primary prevention strategies throughout
the Fleet.
Suicide Prevention
The Navy suicide rate has decreased from 22.1 in 2019, to 19.3 in
2020. While it is too early to determine whether suicide rates will
increase or decrease for Calendar Year 2021, suicide prevention is not
about numbers. Every life lost to suicide is one too many. Suicide
prevention is an all-hands, community effort that starts with a
commitment to total, holistic sailor wellness, including physical and
psychological health, a sense of purpose, and a strong support network.
Encouraging commands to foster environments where sailors can excel,
advance, and ask for help is the first step in preventing suicide.
The entire Navy community must actively uphold a culture that views
seeking help as a sign of strength, fosters resilience, takes action to
prevent stress illness, strengthens protective factors, recognizes risk
factors and warning signs early, and proactively intervenes when a
sailor is experiencing increased stress or a psychological health
crisis. We actively address the interpersonal problems associated with
suicide through updated policies, programs, campaigns, and training.
Key initiatives include:
Expanding the embedded Mental Health Program, Navy
increased the percentage of embedded Mental Health providers in
operational units from 25 percent in 2019 to 36 percent in 2021;
Increasing deck-plate leadership through Expanded
Operational Stress Control (E-OSC) training led by Command Resilience
Teams;
Continuing to offer the Sailor Assistance and Intercept
for Life program that provides rapid assistance, ongoing risk
management, care coordination, and reintegration assistance for
servicemembers identified with a suicide ideation or a suicide attempt;
Providing tailored Gatekeeper training to the key
communities who tend to interact more often with sailors who are at a
heightened risk for suicide; and
Providing gun locks to sailors and family members as part
of our ongoing lethal means safety efforts. Gun locks have been proven
effective towards reduction of suicides by delaying individual's access
to a firearm when they are at risk.
Navy's COE Integrated Primary Prevention strategy focuses on
building toughness and resilience in sailors, their families,
civilians, and Navy Commands. Primary Prevention is implemented through
the Cultural Champion Network and aims to promote healthy relationships
and decision making by enhancing protective factors such as Signature
Behaviors and preventing counter-productive or destructive behaviors.
Additionally, Navy has rolled out the new E-OSC program, a peer-to-peer
program that expands on previous OSC efforts using evidence-based
resilience techniques to teach sailors how to persevere, adapt, and
grow through the challenges they face. Navy has engaged industry
experts to develop surveys to gain insight into the levels of trust and
connectedness Navy-wide and unit specific data. These factors are
proven to help in the reduction of destructive behaviors, assisting in
the overall goal of increased performance, and readiness in the Fleet.
Effects-based DEI
Two years ago, the CNO created Task Force One Navy to analyze and
evaluate issues that detract from Navy readiness, such as racism,
sexism, and other structural and interpersonal biases. The report
recommendations have been incorporated into an enduring framework under
the COE DEI Initiatives. To date, of the original 56 recommendations,
27 have been implemented, 27 are in progress, and two have been
cancelled. These implemented recommendations resulted in:
Increasing advertising funding for underrepresented
communities from 20 to 25 percent.
Coordinating 16 TYCOM adjunct outreach events per year
with underrepresented communities.
Ensuring 50 percent of nominative packages submitted are
from diverse candidates.
Awarding 32 NROTC side-load scholarships to diverse
applicants.
Sending eight RSs to the Paul Mitchell School to improve
ability to cut and style the hair of diverse sailors in the Fleet.
Implementing Naval Horizon virtual essay contest for high
school students to strengthen outreach to K-12 STEM students, leading
to 12,000+ YouTube views and 617 applicants.
Conducting a rigorous study of Non-Judicial Punishment
(NJP) data to statistically determine if discrimination is present in
NJP proceedings.
Partnering with several civilian DEI counterparts to
share DEI best practices, to include a Necessary Conversations Guide
and a Bias Mitigation Tool.
Re-establishing the Office of Women's Policy to focus on
areas of recruitment and retention of servicewomen, which includes
liaising with key stakeholders to include Affinity Groups and the
Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.
These efforts ensure the Navy becomes more inclusive as it becomes
more diverse. Indeed, recent survey data shows these initiatives are
improving the Navy's measures of inclusion. The percentage of Health of
the Force survey respondents agreeing:
``Navy has authentic commitment to inclusion'' increased
from 47 percent in 2019 to 52 percent in 2021.
``Racism is NOT a problem in the Navy'' increased from 28
percent in 2020 to 38 percent in 2021. This metric improved across all
races by five percent or more.
``Sailors who report sexual harassment and/or
discrimination do not have to worry about retaliation'' has increased
from 42 percent in 2020 to 62 percent in 2021.
Assessing diversity trends over the past 15 years, we can
confidently say these efforts and measurements will become increasingly
important into the future as the Navy will become more demographically
diverse. Over the past 15 years:
In the officer community, racial diversity has increased
from 16.7 percent to 23 percent of the population, gender diversity has
increased from 14.8 percent to 20.6 percent, and ethnic diversity has
increased from 5.4 percent to 8.9 percent. Junior enlisted sailors are
more likely to serve under a Division Officer who is female or diverse
than serve under a white male officer (47.3 percent of junior Surface
Warfare Officer are white, non-Hispanic male).
In the enlisted community, racial diversity has increased
from 37 percent to 40 percent of the population, gender diversity has
increased from 14.8 percent to 20.7 percent, and ethnic diversity has
increased from 14 percent to 18.3 percent.
While diversity metrics tend to focus on race, gender, and
ethnicity, Navy leaders always emphasize that it is also about where we
are from, different experiences and career paths, educational
backgrounds, and how we approach and solve problems. Leveraging all
areas of diversity in an inclusive manner is key to making sure that
our Navy sailors and teams can out think, outperform, and out fight any
adversary.
Supporting our Families
Navy families are an integral part of our Navy team and a vital
contributor to mission success. MyNavy HR and our Fleet and Family
Support Centers (FFSC) are committed to delivering better services and
support that are dedicated to the health and well-being of our
families. We have worked diligently to ensure our families are provided
service delivery options that are immediately accessible, whether in
person, virtual or remote locations to include:
Providing relevant, up-to-date services that keep
families informed;
Providing a service delivery model that meets families
where they are;
Implementing improvements to the Exceptional Family
Member Program (EFMP) and establishing a single EFMP headquarters
office at Navy Personnel Command (NPC). The model includes co-locating
program leads from all four EFMP components at NPC (Policy,
Assignments, Family Support, and Identification, Enrollment and
Disenrollment) and consolidating staffing to better meet our families'
needs;
Providing special education attorney support to our
Exceptional Family Member (EFM) sailors and families. To date, over 515
EFMs have received support covering the legal aspects of special
education, resources, the FFSC Toolkit, and Individual Education Plan
support;
Reimbursing spouse licensure fees incurred due to a
permanent change of station (PCS) move for spouses with an average
payment of $399;
Releasing and updating the MyNavy Family mobile
application with input from spouses to identify, consolidate, and
standardize information available into one authoritative source. This
past year we provided updated information on economic food insecurity.
optimizing talent management
To generate an effective fighting force, Navy needs to identify,
develop, and shape sailor performance to meet our current and future
mission objectives. We continue to expand our Talent Marketplace,
creating a modern, flexible, and transparent assignment process that
more effectively balances a sailor's assignment, location, and
advancement opportunity with the Navy's mission and operational needs.
Simultaneously, we are improving the delivery and accessibility of HR
Services to sailors and families. Our goal is to maximize the
efficiencies and value of our services in order to produce more
effective Warfighters and enhance warfighting readiness.
Enlisted Talent Management
In 2016, Navy implemented Billet Based Distribution to efficiently
assign personnel in support of warfighting readiness by matching
sailors to specific billets based on rating, paygrade, and Navy
Enlisted Classification Codes (NEC). Building on this effort, we
continue to develop a more robust talent marketplace focused on
flexible, streamlined, and responsive community and career management.
We are moving towards a talent management approach that prioritizes
individual strengths, skill portfolios, such as proficiency and
experience, and development to align with the Navy's needs.
Navy end strength has shifted from a growth to a sustainment
profile, while continuing to prioritize filling sea duty billets and
retaining the right mix of ratings, paygrades, and skillsets to meet
the mission. We continue to develop a robust marketplace with an eye on
optimizing Fleet readiness, through our efforts to fill priority
requirements with the best-qualified sailors by:
Maximizing reenlistment opportunities for all retention-
eligible sailors and expanding conversion opportunities for sailors to
move from overmanned to undermanned ratings to help balance community
health.
Broadening advancement opportunities for sailors to fill
priority billets via Advance-to-Position (A2P), incentivizing service
in priority or hard-to-fill billets across the Fleet by advancing
sailors who fill them to the next pay grade, while maintaining our
Meritorious Advancement Program (MAP) to spot advance top talent.
Stabilizing the current accession mission to sustain end
strength requirements, as the previously recruited enlisted accessions
are arriving to the Fleet to address apprentice pay band gaps.
Continuing production of optimal by-rating community
health plan to rebalance ratings within 98-102 percent of inventory-to-
Enlisted Programmed Authorizations by the end of any given fiscal year.
Continuing utilization of RC personnel supplementing the
AC workforce. Navy recalled over 200 Reserve sailors to help with the
recruiting mission--training recruits at boot camp and entry-level
schoolhouses--and to fill vacant/gapped sea duty manning requirements
with experienced and technically-proficient sailors.
Continuing to evolve A2P incentives via the distribution
system. The MyNavy Assignment (MNA) system advertises opportunities for
E-4 and E-5 sailors to permanently advance to the next paygrade by
accepting orders to critical sea and high-priority shore-duty billets.
Expanding opportunities for sailors to receive special
and incentive pays, such as Selective Reenlistment Bonuses (SRB) and
Sea Duty Incentive Pay, to help with sea-duty manning.
Maximizing High Year Tenure waiver opportunities for
sailors who want to remain at sea, go to sea, or remain in critical
ratings and NECs.
MyNavy HR continues to leverage A2P, a program that started with 15
advertised billets in October 2019 and has matured to a consistent 75
advertised billets each MNA cycle. As of October 2021, MyNavy HR has
seen over 400 sailors selected for advancement under the program. It
has also expanded to include shore duty positions at RTC, overseas duty
stations, and certain instructor billets. MyNavy HR will evolve the
program to include filling critical billets in operational units. While
Navy Wide Advancement Exams currently remain the primary path for
advancement, accounting for approximately 74 percent of total
advancements, we continue to refine the execution of Meritorious
Advancement, which empowers our Command Triads to identify and reward
high-performing, technically proficient sailors through accelerated
advancement.
In late 2020, MyNavy HR, with the support of Fleet and TYCOMs,
established the Detailing Marketplace Campaign Plan (DMCP) to
fundamentally transform enlisted talent management across the Navy.
This multi-year plan will provide improved structure to address
systemic issues contributing to Fleet gaps and billet mismatches that
limit sailor career planning and flexibility. The campaign plan
established specific goals to improve Fleet manning; enhance incentive
systems; improve career management via skill and expertise-based
promotion and an A2P policy to improve at-sea command flexibility;
improve sailor experience; and integrate personnel policies across
MyNavy HR.
The Detailing Marketplace Assignment Policy (DMAP) represents a
significant unifying line of effort within the DMCP, bringing together
rotation timing and elements of incentives and advancements. At its
core, DMAP replaces long established policy to limit sea duty tours to
60 months with a system of monetary and non-monetary incentives
including A2P, to better man our sea duty commands. The 60-month
limitation is a significant contributor to systemic gaps at sea for
sea-intensive ratings since the limitation is not aligned with the
realities of the billet base and Navy needs. These policy-induced gaps
amplify the already arduous nature of sea duty due to under-manning in
operational units. For ratings under DMAP, Command Advancement to
Position (CA2P) replaces MAP advancement opportunities, allowing
commanding officers to reward top performers with both advancement and
geographic stability via a guaranteed follow-on assignment at the same
unit. In December 2021, we announced implementation of DMAP Phase 1.
DMAP Phase 1 commenced on March 1, 2022 for four sea-intensive ratings.
This represents the first step towards a truly dynamic, sailor focused
Detailing Marketplace that will improve Fleet readiness and enrich
sailors' careers.
In fiscal year 2022, we have shifted our focus towards developing
capabilities linking reenlistment and extension decisions with
assignments and efforts to integrate MNA with the Navy Pay and
Personnel system via the Offer, Accept, Obligate (OAO) policy
initiative. OAO will modify enlisted contract management, making it an
Officer-like model, which amends reenlistment control policy by tying
obligated service to acceptance of orders, and the associated tour
length. Negotiating for assignment indicates intent to reenlist or
extend. Acceptance of assignment will constitute agreement to reenlist/
extend and accept an obligation for the prescribed tour length. Some
exceptions are provided for sailors eligible for SRB; they may reenlist
for longer periods--beyond the tour of duty--to maximize the monetary
benefits received.
In December 2021, we delivered MNA 4.8c, which provides sailors
visibility into rating conversion opportunities and the ability to
apply for specific billets in a different rating. Sailors selected to a
billet are converted to the new rating at the same time. This process
provides more transparency for the sailor, meets the needs of the Navy,
and streamlines the rating conversion process.
Enlisted Retention
Although fiscal year 2022 aggregate end strength requirements are
slightly lower than fiscal year 2021, we continue to retain the right
talent, with the right mix of skills, in the right communities to
ensure we have the personnel needed to maintain our advantage at sea.
Our retention levels exceeded Zone A (0-6 years) forecasts and fell
slightly below levels forecasted in Zones B (6-10 years) and C (10-14
years). While retention behavior shows sailors are choosing to wait
until closer to their End of Active Obligated Service to make a
reenlistment decision, overall retention during fiscal year 2021
remained strong.
Building upon the retention gains of the last few years, Navy
remains committed to retaining the right talent and experience in the
right pay grades and ratings. We remain mindful of current economic
conditions and the potential impact on our ability to retain sailors.
Competition for talent remains high, with continued challenges in the
high-demand and low-density communities of nuclear, information
warfare, and special warfare. The nuclear community in particular
observed a downward trend in retention over the past 2 years in Zone B.
To improve this behavior, the nuclear community adjusted its sea/shore
flow career path to improve alignment between the sea/shore rotation
and Zone B SRB eligibility requirements.
Overall, we continue to use monetary and non-monetary incentives -
bonuses, special duty assignment pays, and high-year tenure waivers -
to keep talented individuals in the Navy.
Officer Talent Management
Competition for officer talent remains significant as we continue
to use every tool to recruit America's top talent into our officer
corps, train them with cutting-edge technology and techniques, and
retain their expertise to preserve our competitive advantage in the
global security environment. MyNavy HR continues to utilize the
expanded authorities of the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act
provided by Congress to enhance our ability to attract and retain a
talented officer corps and includes:
Promotion Merit Reorder permits placement of those
selected for promotion at the top of the list, demonstrating the value
and primacy of merit over time in service. The Secretary of the Navy
has authorized up to 15 percent of those selected for promotion for
merit reorder. We continue to utilize this authority during our Active
Duty promotion selection boards and have expanded the use for our Navy
Reserve promotion selection boards in fiscal year 2021. Additionally,
Navy Reserve promotion selection boards will now consider below zone
officers, starting in fiscal year 2022.
Expanded continuation authority (``Up & Stay'') permits
certain control-grade officers serving in targeted skills to remain on
Active Duty beyond the traditional statutory 30-year Active Duty limit.
Modified career paths provide needed expertise to the Fleet. Boards
selected eleven Captains for continuation to fill shortages in the
Defense/Naval Attache, Acquisition Corps and Judge Advocate General
Corps communities. Additionally, we have conducted six Professional
Flight Instructor (PFI) boards, yielding 53 PFIs slated out of 245
applicants. This career path initiative allows highly-qualified pilots
and naval flight officers to serve continuously as flight instructors
beyond their department head milestone.
Opt-out of promotion board consideration permits officers
to opt-out/defer from a statutory promotion board to complete a career
broadening assignment, advanced education, or a career progression
requirement delayed by one of these assignments (e.g., White House
Fellows, Marshall, Rhodes, or Olmsted Scholars). Navy has approved 42
officers to opt-out of promotion consideration (7 for the fiscal year
2021 promotion cycle, 14 for the fiscal year 2022 promotion cycle and
21 for the fiscal year 2023 promotion cycle).
Expanded officer spot promotion authority continues to
facilitate filling at-sea and operational O-5 and O-6 billets with
officers possessing critical skills such as post-operational or
operational command executive leadership. Two spot promote boards were
convened in fiscal year 2021 to fill 14 O-5 and 22 O-6 billets.
Expanded constructive service credit for initial
accessions allow officers with specific education requirements to be
accessed at senior pay grades for Active Cyber Warfare Engineer and
Engineering Duty Officer as well as Reserve Cryptologic Warfare and
Information Professional competitive categories. MyNavy HR continues to
refine skillset requirements as needs evolve to maximize usage of this
program for qualified potential officer candidates. Currently, Reserve
Cyber Warfare (CW) and Information Professional (IP) Direct Commission
Officers have been accessed through this authority. Out of 58
candidates reviewed for constructive service credit, 34 candidates were
commissioned (9 CW (6 LTs and 3 LTJGs) and 25 IP (3 LTs and 22 LTJGs)).
The MyNavy HR Talent Management Task Force is currently in the
testing phase of the development and implementation of the Navy Command
Leadership Assessment and Selection Program (NCLASP). NCLASP is an
effort to create a more effective process to select the best and the
brightest future Navy leaders with the goal of supplementing the
existing command screening boards and making a good process even more
robust. The current and primary focus is on completing scientifically
valid job analyses to define each community's definitions of leadership
before assessments are integrated into leadership decision making.
Personality and cognitive assessments have been administered for data
collection, program development, and validation. These are standard
assessments utilized in personnel selection programs in both the
military and civilian corporate sector. In the future, the purpose of
these assessments will be to identify leadership strengths and
vulnerabilities related to the job role to aide in smarter, data-driven
talent management.
Navy Command Screen Administrative Selection Boards have been an
efficient process to select future Navy commanders for many years, but
they traditionally rely on information about the candidates that is
limited in nature. Specifically, when officers are selected for
command, an administrative board made up of community-specific leaders
briefly reviews each officer's record of performance and based on that
information the board votes on where the candidate falls within a rank
order of other candidates. This process has been effective, but does
not paint the full picture of the candidate in terms of leadership
attributes and potential. NCLASP is intended to augment the command
qualification process and/or the Administrative Command Screen Board to
provide human factor, data-driven information to inform leadership
decision making and talent management. Navy does not envision this as a
substitute for the screening process, but rather an enhancement to
provide more fidelity into the results and assist in the leadership
selection and slating process.
Naval Special Warfare (NSW) has implemented NCLASP at the O4-O6 and
senior enlisted level, and three additional Navy communities are
participating in NCLASP pilots to include the Explosive Ordnance
Disposal community, Submarine Force, and Surface Forces, with a pilot
for the aviation community that is currently in the early planning
stages for June 2022. The vision for program sustainment is to embed
operational psychology teams within major commands to develop, manage,
and execute NCLASP tailored for the needs and goals of that community,
based on robust scientific rigor, with centralized oversight at NPC to
ensure consistency and effectiveness of the program over time. Lessons
learned from the pilots that have been executed thus far have paved the
way for a comprehensive roll out plan that will tailor the program to
the unique needs of each TYCOM while maintaining the gold standards of
personnel selection science.
It is essential that we place our best talent in leadership roles
that will have the greatest impact on our warfighting imperatives.
NCLASP has the potential to make a substantial positive impact on the
Navy by providing decision makers with a flexible, community-driven
program with new and more pertinent information for selection and
slating. Increasing the likelihood of placing those who have the best
attributes for essential leadership positions and passing on those who
are least suited will ensure that the best leaders are selected for the
right jobs. This will reduce the impact to the Fleet due to misconduct
and toxic leadership, and promoting a culture of leadership that will
produce an even stronger, more lethal Navy.
Officer Retention and Flag Officer Reductions
Although officer continuation remains strong in meeting community
milestone requirements, we are experiencing increased challenges in
several critical communities. As in previous years, retention of
aviation warfare officers in specific type/model/series platforms,
conventional Surface Warfare Officer, submarine officers, and NSW
officers remains challenging. Offering precisely targeted incentive
pays and bonuses, coupled with non-monetary incentives, such as the
Career Intermission Program, Dual Military Spouse Co-location and High
School Senior Stabilization assignment policy, remains essential to
maintaining and improving manning in these mission-essential
specialties.
At the O-6 level, the opportunity for selection to flag officer is
a retention tool that will be further reduced in 2023 as Navy reduces
14 billets in accordance with the reductions mandated in the fiscal
year 2017 NDAA, Navy's support to establish the Space Force, and the
additional billet required for the special prosecutor mandated in the
fiscal year 2022 NDAA. Currently, of all the Services Navy has the
lowest flag officer to O-6 ratio resulting in the lowest opportunity
for selection to O-7. Following these reductions, this ratio will be
even lower. By the end of 2022, Navy will have reduced more than nine
percent of flag officer billets. These disproportionate cuts come at a
high cost to maintaining operational readiness, impede Navy's efforts
in an already challenging operational environment, and run counter to
the demands of the long-term strategic competition the nation faces,
which require more rather than less senior uniformed leadership and
expertise in the dominant physical domain of concern, the maritime
domain.
To the detriment of the Navy enterprise and the Joint Force, the
reduction of one and two star Navy staff positions reduces development
opportunities for junior warfighter flag officers and limits the
enterprise expertise they can only gain outside of warfighting billets,
in areas such as financial management, strategic plans and policy,
strategic warfare, and operations analysis. This expertise is gained
primarily in junior flag officer staff positions. Removing these
eliminates development opportunities used to groom one and two star
admirals for future positions as three and four star admirals.
The reduced number of flag officer billets has resulted in shifting
work to other flag officers and Senior Executives, increasing demands
on executive bandwidth and expanding span of control while forcing the
double and triple hatting of positions. At present, nearly one third of
the Navy's remaining 149 flag officer billets will be double or triple
hatted with some positions having more than a dozen direct reports.
maintaining operational readiness
MyNavy HR continues to focus our energy on ensuring the Fleet is
properly manned. All of our efforts to attract, develop, and manage our
sailors are to build a Navy that can fight and win in long-term
strategic competition.
End Strength
Navy's AC personnel requirements are driven by platform investments
and support capabilities that support the National Defense Strategy and
maintain our warfighting advantage to defend our Nation for decades to
come. We concluded fiscal year 2021 with 347,677 end strength, and are
working to achieve the fiscal year 2022 authorized end strength of
346,920. The President's fiscal year 2023 budget request fully funds
sustainment of Navy's required end strength of 346,300, which is
essential to provide the Fleet with the capabilities to engage in any
long-term strategic competition that threatens our security and way of
life, support our ability to focus on readiness, capabilities,
capacity, and our sailors. Navy's strength comes from the efforts of
the 346,300 Active and 57,700 Reserve sailors and their families. This
request reflects sustainment in military personnel requirements driven
by Navy's force structure along with enabling and support required
capabilities.
Fleet Manning
The number of sailors on operational sea duty in fiscal year 2022
is at the highest level since 2014, and since 2017 Navy has 10,000 more
sailors at sea for all sea duty units. Additionally, we grew our
accessions from 831,000 in fiscal year 2016 to a peak of 840,000 in
fiscal year 2020 to man operational platforms, improving unit readiness
and lethality. Since March 2020, Navy funded 87,600 additional sea
billets and has placed 85,200 more sailors in sea billets. Despite
decreasing Force Structure, Navy will continue to fund more at-sea
requirements to increase manning at sea.
As we continue to optimize our workforce and address shortfalls in
the future, Navy is maximizing our talent and preserving flexibility
and sailor choice by transforming the Navy enlisted advancement and
distribution systems into a market-driven, billet-based talent
management system. Specifically:
Increased enlistment bonuses for new accessions to combat
a challenging recruiting environment and streamlined training pipelines
to deliver a greater percentage of our recruits to sea duty faster. As
of March 4, 2022, 22,342 sailors are in the accession/student
pipelines. We continue to closely monitor their progress to the Fleet,
and Navy has gained significant efficiencies in our supply chain by
reducing overall initial training attrition from 19 percent in fiscal
year 2018 to 11 percent in fiscal year 2021, increasing our ability to
send more trained and ready sailors to the Fleet faster.
Expanded the SRB program targeting retention in critical
skills and paygrades as required.
Implemented sea duty incentive pays and DMAP to better
align sea duty tour lengths with the billet base and available sailors
and increased use of High Year Tenure waivers to retain sailors who
would otherwise be forced to separate if they chose to accept a sea
duty assignment.
Expanded A2P opportunities across the force with focus on
filling on high priority and sea intensive billets.
Implemented senior enlisted optimization to manually
correct misalignments by taking sailor and Navy needs into account to
reassign E7-E9 sailors to billets commensurate with their rank to
ensure the most experienced sailors are aligned to billets that need
their training, leadership, and experience based on real-time fleet
priorities.
We will continue to experience shortfalls in Fleet manning as we
implement new force management levers to address some of the systemic
issues in our current closed-loop military manpower and personnel
system, but we remain committed to investing in manpower and
implementing policies to improve and sustain fleet readiness.
Reserve Activations
In partnership with the Chief of Navy Reserve, we are aligning
Navy's Reserve activation processes with national strategic priorities
and the Navy's force design. We use our RC for critical roles based on
the member's Reserve billet and tailored training rather than as
Individual Augmentees (IA). We developed the adaptive mobilization
construct to accelerate delivery of decisive capability to the fight.
Adaptive Mobilization increases Reserve mobilization throughput by
distributing activation processes across Navy Reserve Activities.
Aligning Reserve mobilizations to Navy's force design rather than IA
requirements, improving activation processing efficiency, and
increasing the standing mobilization readiness of our forces will
contribute to more effective strategic deterrence in competition and a
more lethal Navy in conflict.
mynavy hr service delivery
After attracting, developing, and managing our talent to man the
Fleet, we must provide sailors and their families with better human
resources services delivery. Our transformation efforts continue to
progress by replacing decades' worth of unchanged processes and
outdated technology with a modern, world-class personnel services
delivery system. Although transformation on this scale takes time, in
2021 we made significant progress toward our future state vision.
Throughout fiscal year 2021, we continued to develop and refine the HR
Tiered Service Delivery Model to enable MyNavy Career Center (MNCC) to
better serve sailors.
MyNavy Career Center
In fiscal year 2021, the MyNavy HR MNCC was established as a one-
star command, merging the Pay and Personnel Management Department,
Human Resources Service Center, and Navy Pay and Personnel Support
Center into one organization to better serve sailors and their families
with top-notch customer service for personnel and pay transactions.
Additionally, the Command Pay and Personnel Administrator (CPPA) Pro
Cell was established at the Human Resources Service Center (HRSC) to
assist CPPAs and command triads throughout the Navy by providing
training and information, transparency into pay and personnel
transactions, travel voucher breakdown, and mission critical Government
Travel Charge Card authorizations and assistance with case resolution.
Navy Personnel and Pay (NP2)
Development of the NP2 system, an auditable, cloud-hosted software
suite, enabling Treasury-Direct Disbursement and a single pay source
for all sailors, remains one of our highest transformation priority.
For the first time, NP2 will integrate the Navy's personnel and pay
systems for both the AC and RC and will provide sailors access to
accurate personnel and pay information in one easy-to-use location.
MyNavy HR continues to analyze and modernize every personnel process
with an eye toward efficiency and simplicity. Introducing these new
capabilities is ongoing and we will occasionally experience challenges
as a normal part of such a significant system upgrade. The recent
migration of two of our oldest systems, Navy Enlisted System (NES) and
Officer Personnel Information System (OPINS), gave us real time
information on where workarounds, system patches, and internal
processes done over the years were not properly documented. As a
result, some capabilities were not addressed in the new system, thus
having a negative impact on sailor pay and benefits. However, the
MyNavy HR team was quick to respond as we identified and resolved
issues impacting sailors in the days after the systems transitioned.
Leveraging the lessons learned, we shifted the NP2 program from
calendar-based to an events-based delivery schedule, which allows time
for test and evaluation of a full range of considerations to mitigate
the risk of transition of Navy's personnel and pay processes. We remain
fully committed to delivering NP2 modernization to our sailors and
their families.
MyPCS Mobile continues to provide Sailors Common Access Card-free
mobile access to PCS-related information and resources using their
personal mobile devices with commercial-grade, multi-factor
authentication. Features include a tailored PCS checklist, PCS
Entitlements calculator, the ability to apply for government housing
and childcare, a set of lean orders sailors can view on a mobile
device, and the ability to submit PCS travel vouchers electronically
from a mobile device utilizing an electronic signature. This capability
significantly enhances the PCS experience for our sailors and their
families. Since rollout, over one-million MyPCS accounts have been
created. Before MyPCS, between 25 and 40 percent of PCS travel claims
were rejected and returned back to members. Now, MyPCS has
revolutionized travel claims processing, resulting in no rejections for
claims submitted through MyPCS since the application provides drop-down
menus that prevent a sailor from submitting an incomplete claim. In
February, MyPCS travel voucher started being utilized to submit PCS
travel claims.
conclusion
The Secretary of the Navy and the CNO have established enduring
priorities that center on Empowering Our People and developing a
seasoned team of naval warriors, which we will achieve through our
talent management optimization, education and leadership development
continuum, and cultivating a Culture of Excellence, where everyone is
treated with dignity and respect. We will continue to provide
exceptional service to our sailors and their families by providing a
modernized sailor experience as we transform our legacy personnel and
pay systems, bringing MyNavy HR into the 21st Century. On behalf of the
men and women of the United States Navy and their families, thank you
for your sustained commitment and unwavering support.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you very much, Vice Admiral. Next
is Lieutenant General David Ottignon, Deputy Commandant of the
Marine Corps for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL DAVID OTTIGNON, USMC, DEPUTY
COMMANDANT FOR MANPOWER AND RESERVE AFFAIRS, UNITED STATES
MARINE CORPS
Lieutenant General Ottignon. Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking
Member Tillis, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee,
thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to
discuss your Marines. I have submitted a written statement, so
my opening comments will be brief.
We have to decisively stepped out on a talent management
design and modernization effort to increase the lethality of
your Marine Corps to fight and win when called upon by the
Nation. Talent Management 2030 was released in support of the
Commandant's Force Design Plan. Accomplishing the course force
design will not be possible without highly skilled, mature, and
mentally tough Marines.
The strategic plans are interdependent and foundational to
the success of the Marine Corps. The end product will be a
force that is better equipped to fight and win in an
increasingly high tech, complex operating environment. The
statutory authorities that Congress has granted has streamlined
some of these efforts, and we thank you for your support. Other
initiatives will require more study and take time to implement,
and we remain committed to getting this right.
The way we recruit and retain our focus areas in Talent
Management 2030, and while we are on track to make our
accession goals, this is arguably the most challenging
recruiting year since the inception of the All-Volunteer Force.
Looking forward, we will need to be innovative and adapt to
these challenges and be agile in our approach.
I would like to highlight our commitment to the
implementation of the recommendations from the Independent
Review Commission approved by the Secretary of Defense. Working
closely with the Department of the Navy and the Office of the
Secretary of Defense, we are moving out quickly to establish
the Office of Special Trial Counsel, as well as additive
preventive workforce, and enhance victim care, and support
improvements.
We will continue to keep Congress informed as we make
progress. My final point today is that taking care of Marines
and their family remains paramount.
We continue to invest both in prevention programs to reduce
destructive behaviors across the force, family readiness
programs like parental leave, childcare, spousal employment,
and our gold standard Exceptional Family Member Program, are
essential to the readiness of our force. We know that we
recruit Marines, but we retain the family.
I am proud to represent your Marines, their families, and
our civilian employees, and I look forward to answering your
questions.
[The prepared statement of Lieutenant General David A.
Ottignon follows:]
Prepared Statement by Lieutenant General David A. Ottignon
introduction
Chair Gillibrand, Ranking Member Tillis, and distinguished Members
of the Subcommittee, it is my privilege to appear before you today to
provide an overview of your Marine Corps personnel.
talent management
Background
The Marine Corps has been in the talent management business since
its creation. We have always strived to recruit and retain the best and
brightest of our Nation's youth and have proven very successful at
meeting our recruiting and retention goals with the right marines, in
the right billets, at the right time; and with a force representative
of the American people--a force that is now over 43 percent diverse.
However, our legacy personnel system was designed in the industrial era
with assumptions about human capital which are now superseded by modern
technological advantages of the information age. While improved upon
over the years, this system is not well suited for the cultural and
technological changes of today's world and tomorrow's marines.
Talent Management 2030 (TM2030) describes a fundamental redesign of
this system, empowered by the new statutory authorities provided by
Congress, at a critical juncture for change. We are grateful for the
additional authorities provided by Congress to enable us to better
serve our servicemembers, their families, and our Nation. TM2030
details how the Marine Corps will implement new models for recruiting
and retaining talent, modernize an assignments process consistent with
our warfighting philosophy, introduce new measures to increase career
flexibility, and optimize access to modern digital tools, processes,
and analytics, consistent with industry standards. The vision for
TM2030 is a transparent, collaborative, data-driven, and commander-
focused system to manage and improve talent. It will better focus on
the individual talents of each marine. It will empower marines and
improve transparency, objectivity, and flexibility in their careers.
With a modernized talent management system, we will better harness,
develop, and compete for the unique skills and strengths demanded of
marines.
Like Force Design, TM2030 will be a multi-year effort--a service-
wide strategic design process that we have already begun to execute.
Some of our initiatives were already underway prior to formal
publication of TM2030; some of the new initiatives will require more
time to ensure successful execution. One of our first actions after
publication of TM2030 was to leverage strategic-minded innovators to
think through our talent management issues and provide resource-
informed planning to organizational change. This group reports directly
to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, but is co-located with the
Marine Corps service personnel chief at Manpower & Reserve Affairs in
Quantico for optimal effectiveness. The Talent Management Strategy
Group (TMX) will be the leading organization to challenge orthodoxy and
create an intellectual environment of strategic talent management.
Currently, we have distilled TM2030 goals into three key lines of
effort within the human resource enterprise: (1) Build and retain the
talented force; (2) Manage and develop the talented force, and (3)
Inform and interface with the talented force.
Build and Retain
Improving MOS assignment--We are developing a better, more
predictive, data-driven matching tool that will optimally align
applicant interest, Primary Military Occupational Specialty (PMOS)
skill requirements, and the needs of the Marine Corps. By using our new
Marine Corps Occupational Skills Matching (MCOSM) tool for enlisted
marines and Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT) for marine
officers, we plan to better align a person's interests and talents with
the needs of the service. Potential applications for MCOSM extend
beyond accessions, and we plan to utilize it to assist in PMOS
classifications and career retention. The overarching goal of MCOSM is
to better align marine's interests and skills in order to leverage
talents to improve performance and thus increase their satisfaction
and, ultimately, total Marine Corps retention.
Retention Prediction Network (RPN)--We are currently developing the
RPN, a program used to identify potential recruit's likeliness to join
and continue to serve through their first enlistment and beyond. RPN is
a multi-year collaborative effort established between M&RA and Johns
Hopkins University's Applied Physics that will harness vast quantities
of manpower data in near-real time to provide USMC Leadership with
data-informed talent management decisions. The objective is to provide
a new tool to help ensure we recruit the right individuals to the
Marine Corps, with the right attitude for service, and the known
willingness to see through the challenges of earning the Eagle, Globe,
and Anchor.
Personality screenings--Our Tailored Adaptive Personality
Assessment System (TAPAS) is a tool the Marine Corps is using to help
identify a recruit's potential for service in the Marine Corps. The
Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery provides details on a
person's cognitive aptitude for service, but in the 21st century, we
need more information to capitalize on better analysis, to understand
the force we are recruiting and expecting to confront and defeat our
adversaries. TAPAS will help us better understand the personality and
character attributes of potential marines. This program works in direct
relation with MCOSM and RPN to provide a better and more holistic
perspective on our marines, and the sharing of this data with a
marine's future command team will ultimately provide for a better
informed and aware leadership structure around every American who joins
our Corps.
CCAT is similar to the newly developed TAPAS; it is designed to
assess a marine officer's aptitudes and traits in order to better align
them to PMOS placement at The Basic School. In concert with the other
assessment tools, CCAT will begin to place marines of diverse
backgrounds into occupational specialties across the warfighting
functions of the Marine Corps. The end state of this effort will be a
talented marine placed into a specialty most aligned to their natural
talents and traits, with an expected benefit of rapid growth of skill
and maturity--ultimately resulting in a higher retention of marine
officers of higher skill.
Lateral Entry (Pilot Program)--In TM2030, the Commandant made known
his intent to apply the lateral entry authorities granted to us from
Congress to provide ``an open door for exceptionally talented Americans
who wish to join the Marine Corps, allowing them to laterally enter at
a rank appropriate to their education, experience, and ability.'' Such
an open door would ``be limited and primarily reserved for recruiting
highly qualified applicants in select specialties, not used as a means
to recruit en masse.'' Currently, the Marine Corps is exploring courses
of action to make use of these authorities by offering constructive
service credit to officer candidates who possess graduate-level
education, certifications, and experience in certain high-demand career
fields. Furthermore, the scope and accession model will be open to
prior-service recruitment--capitalizing on those marines that left
service as a non-commissioned officer, earned a degree or gained
extensive experience, ultimately invited back to service as a senior
non-commissioned officer or officer.
Manage and Develop
Talent Marketplace--Our Talent Management Engagement Portal (TMEP)
seeks to modernize the current assignments system with a transparent,
data-based environment that allows marines, commands, and headquarters
elements to collaborate on the assignments process. At full
integration, it will use advanced analytics and artificial intelligence
and machine learning elements to support a market-style assignment
system. It will allow for more informed career decisions throughout a
marine's career with information on billet availability, popularity,
comparative assessments, and other information. Currently, this
information is stored in several separate legacy systems, which limit
transparency and ease of use. TMEP will solve these data management
challenges. Through an agile development approach backed by necessary
resourcing, we will have a fully operational talent marketplace fielded
to the fleet--process. At full integration, it will use advanced
analytics and artificial intelligence and machine learning elements to
support a market-style assignment system. It will allow for more
informed career decisions throughout a marine's career with information
on billet availability, popularity, comparative assessments, and other
information. Currently, this information is stored in several separate
legacy systems, which limit transparency and ease of use. TMEP will
solve these data management challenges. Through an agile development
approach backed by necessary resourcing, we will have a fully
operational talent marketplace fielded to the fleet--process. At full
integration, it will use advanced analytics and artificial intelligence
and machine learning elements to support a market-style assignment
system. It will allow for more informed career decisions throughout a
marine's career with information on billet availability, popularity,
comparative assessments, and other information. Currently, this
information is stored in several separate legacy systems, which limit
transparency and ease of use. TMEP will solve these data management
challenges. Through an agile development approach backed by necessary
resourcing, we will have a fully operational talent marketplace fielded
to the fleet--at speed.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Flexibility--PCS moves, while
essential, are disruptive to marines and their families, impact spousal
employment and child and family education, and can create financial
distress. Since at least 2019, we have worked to reduce PCS moves by
issuing Permanent Change of Assignment (PCA) orders instead--these are
local moves where a marine changes units, but remains in the same
geographic location. Through TM2030, we will seek to further increase
PCS flexibility, balancing it with both the needs of the individual
marine's career and those of the Marine Corps.
360 Degree Leadership Review Program--The goal of this initiative
is to improve leadership effectiveness by identifying blind spots and
areas of improvement for personal growth. It will use an industry-
developed, researched-backed tool that ultimately will help leaders
identify their strengths and weaknesses through honest feedback from
their supervisors, peers, and subordinates. An initial pilot of the
program is scheduled for execution in 2022, with expansion to wider
populations through 2024.
Promotion Opt Out--We appreciate this statutory authority provided
by Congress; we've incorporated it into TM2030 to create or enable
career paths to increase the diversity of experience in our leaders.
This authority allows an officer to opt out of promotion without
penalty, and enable them to complete a broadening assignment, advanced
education, another assignment of significant value to the Marine Corps,
or a career progression requirement delayed by the assignment or
education. This authority will be implemented in our fiscal year 2024
promotion boards, which are executed in this calendar year.
Inform and Interface
IT Systems Modernization. One of the most vital, but often
overlooked, aspect of virtually every Marine Corps' talent management
initiative involves its information technology systems. The systems and
applications the Marine Corps employ now to build and sustain the most
lethal fighting force possible rides on decades-old technology than
spans over 70 disparate applications and databases. Modernizing our IT
portfolio will consist of consolidating these systems into a small
subset of interoperable multi-faceted applications that ride on a
single IT system hosted in the cloud. Cloud migration allows the Marine
Corps to gain IT efficiencies and effectively scale applications,
databases, and services across the enterprise to meet emergent
requirements in a dynamic environment. We have already made great
strides in migrating the Manpower Information Portal (MIP) into a
single cloud hosted IT system that supports 51 applications, 5
services, and 8 databases to facilitate manpower functions and enable
TM2030. The migration of the MIP to cloud services has positioned us to
implement agile development practices to further optimize its human
resource applications. As more systems, services, and databases are
migrated and refactored to cloud based applications, we will be able to
engage in wide ranging optimization and be postured to capitalize on
the promise of artificial intelligence and machine learning. These
sophisticated, cloud-based, mobile-device accessible tools are the norm
in the private sector and the same must be true in the Marine Corps in
the near future.
The ultimate goal is to have modern technology with significantly
increased capabilities to supplement our personal management of
marines' careers. Our monitors will continue to provide marines with
intimate, transparent mentorship, traveling to every major Marine
installation in the world. This ensures that our marines have the most
up-to-date information on policies affecting their assignments and
promotions. It also ensures that every marine who wants to meet with
their monitor has an opportunity to have an in-depth conversation about
their next assignment and their career, often with their family by
their side. This human interaction is crucial to matching our talent to
professionally-rewarding and personally-supportable careers.
AI Implementation--We are modernizing many of our legacy processes
and manpower models used to access and assign marines across the Force.
Our collaboration with Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory to
develop our RPN will enable our recruiters to better prepare future
marines to complete recruit training and their first enlistments.
Several of our legacy manpower models are undergoing a significant
transformation that leverages advanced data analytics to produce our
recurring enlisted and officer staffing goals. Even the legacy process
we use to assign marines to course dates at their PMOS schools is being
explored through our Enhanced Shipping Model. Measuring the impacts of
these initiatives, as well as others, is partially done through our
Exit and Milestone Longitudinal Survey (EMLS). Using EMLS, marines are
solicited to provide feedback on personnel and service satisfaction at
specific milestones in their careers: upon entry, at first and
subsequent reenlistments, when officers receive career designation, in
conjunction with officer promotion selections (O4-O6), and at
separation from a component of service.
Virtual Boards--Our Enlisted Career Retention Boards (ECRBs) strive
to ensure that the Service retains the very best and most qualified
marines in competitive occupational specialties. The Service executed
the ECRB virtually last year during fiscal year 2021, for subsequent
term or career marines seeking reenlistment in fast-filling MOSs. These
boards consist of voting members from throughout the Active Duty force
and virtually from around the globe. In fiscal year 2022, we expanded
the virtual boards to our first-term marines as well. To further
improve our virtual board process, we developed Digital Boardroom 2.0,
a cloud based application that increases the fidelity and accuracy of
the information presented to board members to ensure that the best and
most qualified marines are selected. Digital Board Room 2.0 has the
capability to fully execute virtual selection boards which will enhance
the Marine Corps' ability to execute boards in a distributed fashion
while safeguarding this critical talent management process. The
introduction of virtual boards in no small way increased and further
strengthened our partnership and transparency with the Fleet Marine
Force. This ensures that our senior enlisted leaders have a larger
impact on retaining our most talented marines.
Crowdsourcing--We recently reached out to our marines and solicited
ideas from across the Marine Corps to gain a better understanding of
our marines' personnel policy perspectives. For example, we have asked
for Corps-wide input on what non-monetary incentives would influence
their decision to remain in the Marine Corps. Previous themes have
focused on career development, assignments, leave policies, promotions,
and daily living conditions (barracks, mess halls, etc.). We received
over 700 suggestions and reviewed them for feasibility. Feedback shows
many ideas focus on enhancing marines' opportunities to attend career-
enhancing schools and on expanding PCS flexibility.
recruiting
All Marine Corps recruiting efforts--officer, enlisted, regular,
Reserve, and prior-service--fall under the Marine Corps Recruiting
Command. This is unique amongst the services. Operationally, this
provides us with tremendous flexibility and unity of command,
facilitating efforts to meet accession and end strength requirements.
Last fiscal year, COVID-19 impacted recruiting efforts. Social
distancing requirements limited the capacity at our depots, delayed
shipping activities, closed schools, and canceled community events that
we depend on for personal contacts and outreach. We adjusted to these
challenges by exploring new digital prospecting tools and researching
the market reactions to those endeavors. These actions gave recruiters
the means to operate in a reduced personal contact environment. We made
mission last year; however, fiscal year 2022 has proved to be arguably
the most challenging year in recruiting history. In addition to COVID-
19, the growing disconnect and declining favorable view between the
U.S. population and traditional institutions, labor shortages, high
inflation, and a population of youth who do not see the value of
military service also continue to strain recruiting efforts and place
the Marine Corps' accession mission at risk.
Despite the challenges, the quality of your marines remains
exceptionally high. The Department of Defense requires 90 percent of
enlistees to have a high school diploma or equivalent (Education Tier
1), and 60 percent of enlistees to score in the Mental Groups I-IIIA
(mental aptitude). Last year, the Marine Corps achieved over 99 percent
for Education Tier 1, and over 70 percent for Mental Group I-IIIA. We
expect to exceed DOD standards in fiscal year 2022, despite the
continued environment.
To meet the challenges ahead, we remain committed to assigning our
best marines to recruiting duty. Our recruiters closely reflect the
face of the Nation we recruit, which is a testament to our efforts to
recruit a more diverse force. Approximately 47 percent of our
recruiters have a diverse background, well above our Nation's
demographics as a whole. Our recruiting efforts connect marines with
the communities they represent. We have recruiters assigned to every
zip code in our Nation, and constantly strive to reach all qualified
youth and their influencers - from the most rural of small towns to the
largest of cities.
For future recruiting success, we must continue to adequately fund
both recruiting operations and advertising; we thank Congress for its
support in this goal. Our advertising program is vital to building
awareness of the Marine Corps among high quality, diverse populations
that are increasingly disconnected from military service. A strong
advertising program enables our recruiting command to attract and
recruit the highest quality accession cohorts. Advertising funds repay
many times over, as they produce lower first-term attrition, higher
quality marines, and increased readiness. However, an increasingly
fragmented media environment and media inflation rates approaching 20
percent in many cases have made maintaining program success
exceptionally difficult. To help improve our recruiting challenges, we
ask for Congress' support for expanded authority to modernize our
ability to reach out to prospective recruits with information on
military service.
retention
The essence of Marine Corps talent management is to retain the very
best marines capable of fulfilling our leadership and operational
needs. Overall, we met our retention goals in fiscal year 2021, and are
on track for fiscal year 2022. However, there is a continuous challenge
to keep high-quality marines in the service, especially in the current
competitive civilian job market. We thank this Subcommittee and
Congress for the retention authorities and flexibility you have given
us. We employ many of these authorities and hold others in Reserve
should the need arise.
In general, we believe that military pay is very competitive,
especially once you take into consideration all of the accompanying
benefits such as housing and medical care. Currently, enlisted pay is
in the top 15 percent of comparable pay in the private sector and
officer pay is in the top 23 percent percentile. We appreciate
Congress' passage of the new Basic Needs Allowance to supplement those
junior servicemembers with lower incomes who may have large families or
otherwise are eligible. We are working with OSD to implement this new
NDAA authority. Any other, large across-the-board changes to the pay
should be studied to determine costs and impacts and should be narrowly
tailored to identified areas of need. We continue to collaborate with
the Department of the Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense
on economic insecurity mitigation initiatives.
We are implementing the use of monetary and non-monetary
incentives, modernizing our performance evaluation systems, and
refining the way we match and assign marines to billets. Incentive pay
remains critical to our retention effort, allowing the Marine Corps to
fill hard to retain positions, such as cyber operators, special
operators, and counter intelligence specialists. Selective Reenlistment
Bonuses allow us to shape our career force by targeting critical
military occupational specialties and supporting lateral movement of
marines to these billets.
diversity equity and inclusion
Taking advantage of the wide array of experiences, perspectives,
and talent of our all of marines is necessary to maintain our current
and future warfighting excellence. We are committed to capitalizing on
the knowledge, skills, abilities, performance, and potential of every
marine. Diversity in the Marine Corps is improving. Since 2009, diverse
enlisted accessions have increased from 34 percent to 48 percent, and
diverse officer accessions have increased from 16 percent to 35
percent. Female officers have increased from 8 percent to 15 percent
during this same time period. Females represented in previously
restricted MOS are also on the rise. Last year, 1,101 females were in
previously restricted units; that number is now 1,200. Similarly, 415
women were serving in previously restricted MOS; today that number is
471, including the first woman Reconnaissance Marine. To date, 24
percent of Brigadier Generals and Brigadier General-selects are
diverse, the highest level of diverse representation at that rank in
Marine Corps history. We look forward to seeing this trend continue.
Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan will contribute
to our actions over the next 5 years in the areas of recruiting and
accessions, talent management, education, training, and commandership.
It provides a framework to align a number of efforts, identify new
initiatives, and provide oversight across the Corps for implementation
by commanders at every level.
Outreach and external engagement are an important facet of our
holistic approach to diversity and inclusion. We have steadily
increased our Outreach Program budget from $150,000 in fiscal year 2015
to almost $1 million in fiscal year 2022. This program provides
opportunities for professional development, mentoring, and networking
experiences by fully funding approximately 500 marines to attend 19
national/regional conferences hosted by non-federal entity affinity
groups events throughout the year.
taking care of marines and their families
As we embark on this new strategic landscape, we will not allow for
the real impacts of life and service to our Corps on families to be a
blind-spot; our fighting effectiveness is not just built in unit
training, it is supported and maintained with a marine's support
structure at home and within their communities. The talented force will
have all the markers of the current Marine Corps--marines in
specialties, with specialty skills that contribute to the fighting
effectiveness of our Corps. These talented marines rely on the
institution to provide them, their families, and, often times, their
communities with stability. As mentioned throughout TM2030--talent
management is not just managing exquisite skills--talent management is
also deeply connected to the life a marine builds when not training
with their unit. To that end, we recognize the importance of marine and
family stability and support as a major line-of-effort for successfully
achieving our talent management goals.
Behavioral Health
Sexual Assault Prevention & Response. Sexual assault and sexual
harassment prevention and response are top priorities for the Marine
Corps. The Marine Corps appreciates and remains committed to
implementing the Independent Review Commission's (IRC) recommendations.
We have established plans of actions and milestones for the IRC
recommendations to align with Departmental guidance. We will continue
to collaborate and work with the Department of Navy on execution of our
Marine Corps implementation plans. Full compliance will require
significant resources ($560 million over FYDP for 723 new civilian
employees and 103 military billets). The Marine Corps' overarching
approach to all these plans is to create and maintain a culture that
instills respect and protects the well-being and readiness of every
marine, their family and our civilian workforce.
There are a number of important updates to our sexual assault
prevention efforts. For example, we have changed our training pipeline
for entry level training and professional military education in order
to promote integrated prevention and ensure skill building across the
career. We have also updated our Commander's Course to better prepare
senior leadership to prevent sexual assault once they assume command.
This includes information focused on actionable recommendations for
pre-command leaders and small group discussions facilitated by Marine
Corps mentors and SAPR experts. Commanders set the tone of their unit--
we know how important it is to ensure they are equipped before they
assume command to establish the right command climate--a climate that
encourages marines to look out for one another and report destructive
behaviors and crimes, and that mandates accountability for perpetrators
and enablers. Finally, the Marine Corps has created a SAPR Data
Dashboard which has been released to leaders across the enterprise and
sets us apart in our use of data to inform prevention. The SAPR Data
Dashboard allows SARCs to explore and visualize the data within their
areas of responsibility, comparing across time, demographics,
subordinate commands, and more. This provides SARCs with data analysis
to inform targeted sexual assault prevention initiatives and to
collaborate on data-driven integrated prevention.
Suicide Prevention. Suicide is an enterprise-wide concern that has
lasting harmful effects on marines, families, and the Marine Corps.
Because leadership involvement is critical to preventing crisis,
suicide prevention is a commander's program in the Marine Corps. Every
leader focuses on building connections with each one of their marines
to recognize unhealthy stress responses, promoting an environment in
which mental wellness is prioritized, and utilizing medical providers,
counselors, chaplains, and other health and wellness resources
throughout the Marine Corps.
The Marine Corps' Death by Suicide Review Board continues to
identify key themes and provide actionable information. For example, we
know more than sixty percent of recent death by suicide among marines
involved firearms, so we are focused on lethal means safety
initiatives. We have also learned that relationship distress is
consistently the most common stressor present among those marines who
have died by suicide. As a result, primary prevention efforts have
increased the focus on healthy relationship development.
The importance of force preservation and resiliency cannot be
understated for a ready Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Force
Preservation process is the formalized method used by commanders to
identify individual marine risk factors and apply holistic risk
management measures to improve individual and unit readiness. Every
day, this process assists leaders across the Corps to identify those in
need. To further improve and modernize force preservation, we have
developed an application-based tool that will provide Commanders a
single, standardized platform to enable proactive identification and
assessment of individual marine risk and resiliency factors. With the
implementation of our Command Individual Risk Assessment System
(CIRRAS), this data is transferable between commands so that, as
marines PCS, gaining commands will have a clear picture of the marines
at higher risk, allowing for proactive support from the command.
family support
Parental Leave. No marine should have to choose between service and
having a family. Our Commandant early on made increasing parental leave
a priority. As it stands today, a marine who is the primary caregiver
can take as much as 20 weeks of paid leave through use of multiple
convalescence and other paid leave authorities, and can do so in
flexible increments. We also recently increased secondary caregiver
leave from two weeks to three weeks. Additionally, we are working with
the Department on the recent parental leave expansion authorities in
the fiscal year 2022 NDAA.
Child and Youth Programs. High-quality child care is one of the
many important child and youth programs we offer. It is a readiness
priority for the Marine Corps. COVID-19 and the resulting protocols
continue to significantly impact our child care capacity. Each
installation is impacted differently by COVID-19, and operational
status is based on local command needs and circumstances. Modifications
of daily operations are in place to mitigate social distancing and
operation changes implementing the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention guidelines.
For our Child Development Centers, we currently have waitlists
totaling approximately 1,500 children, primarily at Camp Pendleton,
Hawaii, Quantico, and Camp Lejeune/New River. The waitlists are caused
by a variety of factors, such as a shortage of qualified workers, high
turnover/low pay, and lengthy hiring process. An exacerbating factor is
that, due to COVID-19 apprehension, almost 50 percent of the marine
families on the waitlist who we contact to offer a child care spot,
decline it; they instead decide to remain on the waitlist for a future
spot. We are addressing child care waitlist issues through increased
hiring and a non-competitive child care employee transfer program. We
also offer fee assistance for eligible marines who are geographically
remote, reside more than 15 miles from an installation, or are assigned
to an installation that has a significant wait list. In fiscal year
2021, over almost 1,200 children were enrolled in the fee assistance
program at a total cost of over $4.3 million; the resources provided by
Congress are both appreciated and well utilized.
Spouse Employment. Spouse unemployment is a concern for many Marine
Corps families, and can be an obstacle for financial security and
readiness of that marine. To assist, the Marine Corps hosts job fairs
and provides employment-related referral services, resume and cover
letter writing training, one-on-one career coaching, entrepreneur
business opportunities, and other services. We also utilize the non-
competitive military spouse appointment authority to help spouses
obtain jobs. Recently, we have created a process that makes it easier
for military spouses working in a CDC to transfer to a position at the
CDC at their next duty station. We are also able to reimburse marine
spouses up to $1,000 for state licensure and certification costs
arising from relocation to another state.
conclusion
Your marines are the centerpiece of the Marine Corps--always have
been, always will be. Our highest priority is recruiting, developing,
and retaining elite warriors. We have decisively stepped out on a
talent management design and modernization effort to increase the
lethality of your Marine Corps to fight and win if called upon by the
Nation. Accomplishing the objectives of force design will not be
possible without the right marines to execute it.
The challenges to accomplishing our talent management goals are
many. We must continue to recruit the best of our Nation's youth to
serve and we must do so in an environment that has shown shrinking
propensity and eligibility to serve, exacerbated by COVID-19,
industrial age limitations on recruiter outreach, and rapidly rising
costs of advertising our message of honor, courage, and commitment.
Retention is also proving more or more challenging as the civilian job
market continues to rebound and provide high pay for the exquisite
skills marines possess. These challenges are all the more reason why we
need to reach out to every sector of our diverse Nation for tomorrow's
Marine Corps leaders. At the same time, we also need to ensure the
readiness of our marine families. We know that we recruit marines, but
we retain their families. We must continue to provide the quality
behavioral health, family support, and other family readiness programs
that enable marines to remain in the Marine Corps.
Victory in the competition for talent is a Marine Corps with
improved performance and lethality in combat, and a force that fulfills
our Congressional mandate to be `most ready when the Nation is least
ready,' today and on the battlefields of the future.
I am proud to represent your marines, their families, and our
civilian employees and look forward to answering your questions. Semper
fidelis.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you very much. Now I would like
to hear from Ms. Gwendoline R. DeFilippi, Assistant Deputy
Chief of Staff of the Air Force for Manpower, Personnel and
Services.
STATEMENT OF GWENDOLYN DEFILIPPI, ACTING DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF
FOR MANPOWER, PERSONNEL AND SERVICES, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
Ms. DeFilippi. Chairman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Tillis,
distinguished Members of this Committee, thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you to talk about our airmen and
families. Winning a 21st century fight requires adaptable,
resilient, innovative airmen, comfortable leading and
flourishing as members of a diverse team.
The Air Force will leverage a 21st century tailor of talent
management force development and care solution ecosystem to
develop airmen who can operate and succeed in a complex
environment. Our airmen and families are our greatest
competitive advantage. We buy things, we invest in people.
Over the past year, the Department of the Air Force
continued its focus on providing the absolute best care for our
airmen, guardians, and their families, while taking all steps
necessary to create an inclusive environment where everyone has
the opportunity to reach his or her full potential. The
Department recognizes that despite strong efforts over many
years, we have not made significant, measurable progress in
preventing or reducing the number of sexual assault cases.
We remain committed to efforts to combat sexual assault in
the ranks and are open to piloting research or data informed
prevention strategies that can reduce and eventually eliminate
sexual assault from within our ranks.
This year, the Department of the Air Force began
implementing the Independent Review Commission's
recommendations, increasing our full time response advocates,
adding additional oversight to support victims, and increasing
advocacy and support to sexual harassment victims.
In response to the Department of Defense's concerning
trend--suicide trends, the Department of the Air Force
established prevention priorities for 2022 that align with the
White House strategy for reducing military and veteran suicides
and nest within the prevention strategies established by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While we recognize risk factors for suicide are highly
personal and often a result of interconnected issues, our
analysis supports those leading indicators identified by
experts in the field to include relationship issues, stigma
towards seeking mental health care, and access to lethal means.
We have taken targeted measures to address these areas of
concern. In order to provide support to airmen who may be
hesitant to come forward, the Department of the Air Force
launched online Family Suicide Prevention Training, and we have
trained over 20,000 family members.
Additionally, in order to address access to lethal means,
we are working towards building a culture where safe storage is
commonplace, putting time and distance between an individual in
distress and access to lethal methods such as firearms or
medications. Recognizing a resilient environment for our
families is also important. We strengthen efforts to manage our
childcare programs more effectively while increasing capacity
within the system.
Further, the Department continues to assist airmen,
guardians, and families with multiple solutions to support
financial readiness and opportunities to promote food security
across the force. Thank you for the recent basic needs
allowance legislation to better support the well- being of
those for whom food insecurity may be an issue. The Air Force
is balancing manpower readiness and force modernization amid
tight fiscal demands.
Our end strength demands--our military and strength
reductions in fiscal year 2023 are commensurate with proposed
force structure and divestitures. In order to execute the
planned fiscal year 2023 manpower reductions and not face
involuntary force management actions, the Air Force likely will
end fiscal year 2022 between 1 and 2 percent below the
congressionally mandated in strength.
Although the Department continues to experience high
retention overall, we are seeing challenges in critical
specialty capabilities we need future airmen to have.
Therefore, we have focused on deliberate programs to attract
and retain military and civilian cyber talent as well as other
STEM [scientific, technology, engineering, and mathematics]
areas of expertise. We appreciate the talent management
flexibilities you have provided to assist us in these efforts.
To enhance our talent pool, our United States Air Force
Academy has taken measures to ensure all cadets take courses
with focus on cyber. In addition, through the civilian premier
college intern program, we recruit approximately 500 diverse
students annually who have--and have met our goal that 75
percent hold STEM degrees.
We understand it is equally important to execute retention
programs for these critical skills, so we continue to utilize
different career and developmental flexibilities as well as
targeted monetary incentives in an effort to retain this
talent. The Air Force achieved its fiscal year 2021 recruiting
goals, and we hope to do so again in fiscal year 2022. But we
may miss a goal based on increased competition for talent, as
well as continued decline in propensity and eligibility of
young Americans.
In conclusion, success against a peer threat demands we
maintain asymmetric advantage in the quality, education, and
training of our airmen, and we are investing accordingly. We
have made progress, but the Air Force still has work to do
before we have an environment that allows all airmen and their
families to reach their full potential.
We continue to pursue every practical solution that moves
us closer to making this environment a reality, and we look
forward to continuing to partner with Congress in our endeavors
to do so.
I thank you for your continued support of your Department
of the Air Force and your airmen, both military and civilian,
and the families who support them. Thank you, and I look
forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Gwendolyn R. DeFilippi
follows:]
Prepared Statement by Ms. Gwendolyn R. DeFilippi
introduction
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Tillis, distinguished Members
of this Committee, thank you for your continued support and for the
opportunity to appear before you today. America's Air and Space
professionals remain steadfast in providing Global Vigilance, Reach,
and Power to protect and defend our Nation.
The Nation's security challenges as outlined in the National
Defense Strategy are growing at a rapid pace and it is clear our Air
Force must accelerate the changes needed to successfully meet those
challenges or face losing. Winning a 21st century fight will require
adaptable, resilient, innovative airmen comfortable leading and
flourishing as members of a team capable of easily delivering results
in a dynamic operating environment. We as an Air Force are fully
focused on this imperative and recognize our airmen and their families
form the essential foundation for our ability to change and meet those
future challenges.
Current world events remind us that the only constant is change,
and it is imperative our Air and Space Forces and their families remain
ready and resilient at all times. Pandemic recovery continues to force
us to address new challenges with supply chains, rising inflation and
the ``Great Resignation'' phenomena creating critical staffing
shortages in industries such as mental health and child care. As we
continue mitigation of these concerns, we are working hard to ensure
every airman has every opportunity to reach their full potential.
Through all the challenges, the Air Force continues to accomplish
our assigned missions and our airmen continue to shine. We are
developing the Air Force we need to defend our Nation and managing the
talent we have to help unleash the full power of the world's greatest
Air Force.
It should be noted the United States Air Force (USAF) continues to
provide much of the member and family support efforts for the overall
Department. In discussing all of our support and family related
programs, we are providing support to both airmen and guardians. This
approach allows the Space Force to remain a lean, operationally-focused
service.
helping airmen reach their full potential
Our airmen, guardians and families are our greatest competitive
advantage. We buy things, we invest in people. Over the past year, the
Department of the Air Force (DAF) continued its focus on providing the
absolute best care for our airmen and their families, while taking all
steps necessary to create an inclusive environment where every airman
has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Combatting Sexual Assault & Sexual Harassment
Sexual assault and sexual harassment are crimes and their impact
undermine our force lethality, readiness, and mission success. It is
part of a continuum of harm that too often begins with sexual
harassment, which must also be priority if we are to maintain the
ready, diverse, and lethal force necessary to defend our Nation. The
DAF recognizes that despite strong efforts over many years, we have not
made significant, measurable progress in preventing or reducing the
prevalence of sexual assault or sexual harassment. We have more work to
do. We remain focused and persistent in our efforts to combat this
continuum of harm in the ranks using effective, research-informed
prevention strategies and ensuring comprehensive support and response
for sexual assault and sexual harassment victims.
Sexual assault reporting across the DAF has steadily increased
since 2010. Between 2019 and 2020, our sexual assault reports from
servicemembers rose slightly from 1388 to 1390 for incidents occurring
during military service.
The 90-Day Independent Review Commission (IRC) directed fundamental
changes to prevention of and response to sexual assault and sexual
harassment. The DAF has begun implementing the IRC's recommendations in
alignment with Department of Defense (DOD) guidance. We are increasing
our full- time advocates to strengthen the response workforce that must
be place to ensure critical support and care of victims; we are
developing a plan to ensure an independent reporting structure for our
Sexual Assault and Response Coordinator (SARC)s outside of the chain of
command to provide independent oversight and empowerment to support
victims while maintaining direct access to Commanders; and we are
enabling sexual harassment victims to access victim advocacy support
from Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) advocates.
Additionally, we are implementing the Safe-to-Report policy throughout
the DAF. Directed by Congress and originally developed by the United
States Air Force Academy (USAFA, this policy removes barriers to
reporting by eliminating punishment for minor collateral misconduct,
like underage drinking or fraternization. We are also an active
participant in the DOD's Catch a Serial Offender program that
identifies serial offenders of sexual assault via anonymous reporting
of sexual assault. As of February 2022, the DAF was able to identify 18
matches through this program; two reports converted to unrestricted
reports.
Further, the DAF is addressing environmental factors of climate and
culture, such as sexist attitudes and beliefs that are associated with
increased risk of sexual harassment and sexual assaults. The Sexual
Communication and Consent and Wingman Intervention Trainings address
attitudes and beliefs that promote a healthy culture and climate. In
July 2020, the Secretary of the Air Force requested the formation of an
Interpersonal Violence Task Force to examine the Department of the
Air Force's ability to keep airmen and guardians safe once they had
experienced interpersonal violence, This request was, in part,
triggered by tragedies involving U.S. servicemembers, including the
murders of Airman First Class Natasha Aposhian at Grand Forks Air Force
Base and Specialist Vanessa Guillen at Fort Hood. The Interpersonal
Violence (IPV) Task Force Final Report, published in November 2021,
laying out recommendations addressing environmental factors of climate
and culture, such as sexist attitudes and beliefs that are associated
with increased risk of sexual harassment and sexual assaults. We are
conducting a study to provide additional insight from the Interpersonal
Violence Taskforce data to inform future prevention activities. Our
goal is to create trust in both our response and support services,
flexibility for victims to access the care and support they want and
need through a warm hand-off approach that strengthens coordination
across our Family Advocacy and SAPR programs, as well as in our
accountability programs in order to eliminate any gap between reporting
and prevalence, while trying to reduce both to zero overall. Until that
time, we have work to do.
The Task Force designed and administered an anonymous, online
survey to Department of the Air Force personnel-- Regular Air Force and
Space Force, Guard, Reserves, and civilians--over a six-week period
during fall 2020. Survey items addressed whether respondents
experienced any of 81 behaviors across what is commonly known as the
``continuum of harm'' in the 2 years preceding the survey. The Task
Force also conducted focus groups and collected qualitative feedback
via online questionnaires from DAF personnel who were interested in
offering more detailed feedback regarding their experiences with
interpersonal violence. According to the report, analysis showed that
many victims do not report the behaviors, or when they do, they do not
believe anything will be done. The report also highlights most victims
were not satisfied with support service agencies. The Task Force made
three major recommendations based on its findings, which the DAF is
currently working on implementing and ensuring our MAJCOMs are a well.
In response to the findings in the report, the DAF Special Victims'
Counsel Program instituted a pilot program to expand legal services and
representation available to airmen and guardians who have experienced
interpersonal violence. Additionally, the DAF is taking steps to
institutionalize a ``warm hand off,'' or ``No Wrong Door'' policy, to
address sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment and stalking.
This concept ensures anyone seeking help receives a warm hand off
between helping agencies as the right support and guidance within our
organization is determined. Supportive service agencies will also
ensure victims and their families have support from initial reporting
through resolution and post-care. The Secretary of Defense's
Independent Review Commission (IRC) on Sexual Assault in the Military,
which stood up after the DAF Interpersonal Violence Task Force,
incorporated many of the findings and recommendations of the Task Force
into its final report. Our goal is to create trust in both our response
and support services, flexibility for victims to access the care and
support they want and need through a warm hand-off approach that
strengthens coordination across our Family Advocacy and SAPR programs,
as well as in our accountability programs in order to eliminate any gap
between reporting and prevalence, while trying to reduce both to zero
overall.
Our Air Force Academy sexual assault reporting was consistent from
academic year (AY) 2016-2017 to 2017-2018 with 23 reports each year
involving actively-enrolled cadets as either the victim or the subject,
but rose to 40 reports in academic year 2018-2019, 41 reports academic
year 2019-2020, and 55 reports academic year 2020-2021. We have yet to
attribute any causality to this increase, but the initiation of the
``Teal Ropes'' Cadet program and a ``Safe To Report'' policy change are
based on evidence-informed best and promising practices to reduce
barriers to reporting. In academic year 2021-2022, the ``Safe To
Report'' policy was cited by 22 cadets as an influence on their
decision to report. We continue efforts to monitor and reduce incidents
at the USAFA and across the force.
Our overall DAF strategy is focused on prevention, response, and
accountability. Our prevention framework includes using assessment
tools to identify risk and protective factors for our population,
addressing negative attitudes and beliefs that can lead to an
environment that tolerates unethical behavior, designing actions to
mitigate key sexual assault risk factors while promoting protective
factors, and designing ways to equip leaders at all levels to foster
protective factors and reduce risk factors, growing Wingmen
intervention skills, and promoting positive unit culture to eradicate
sexual assault.
Our prevention efforts feature several ongoing training
initiatives. The Sexual Communication and Consent (SCC) Program, an
innovative, evidence-informed sexual assault prevention training
developed specifically for delivery during Basic Military Training
(BMT), includes both universal and tailored content. Over 8,000
trainees went through the SCC Program Pilot between September 2019 and
April 2020. After completion, the trainees increased knowledge of
sexual assault by 4.4 percent, knowledge of consent by 1.8 percent, and
self-efficacy to resist sexual assault by 6.8 percent. We also saw
desired decreases: date rape myth attitudes decreased by -4.2 percent,
dating risk behaviors by -3.9 percent, and social risk behaviors by -
4.5 percent.
The SCC curriculum was revised based on the 2019-2020 pilot, and
over 1,200 BMT trainees completed the revised, tablet-based training.
After the training, the trainees showed a 9.3 percent increase in
knowledge of sexual assault, a 4.2 percent increase in consent
knowledge and an 8.5 percent increase in self-efficacy to resist sexual
assault. Additionally risky dating behaviors decreased 10 percent. The
study also found the training appeared to reach sexual assault
survivors and potential victims with content that might reduce their
future risk for victimization while improving knowledge and attitudes
that could prevent harmful behaviors among potential perpetrators. The
USAFA is building on these BMT initiatives and initiated a three-year
pilot study that just began with the class of 2025.
The DAF also requires annual, Air Force-wide training consisting of
three components: Bystander Intervention Training, Wingman Intervention
Training, and Total Force Sexual Assault and Prevention Training.
Bystander Intervention Training provides foundational concepts of safe
and desired bystander behavior to all airmen and guardians across the
total force. Wingman Intervention Training in Technical School and at
the First Term Airman Center targets the most at-risk age group
population for sexual assault. The Total Force Sexual Assault
Prevention and Response Training is updated annually to ensure
continual engagement on this critical issue.
The On Site Installation Evaluation (OSIE) began as a part of
Secretary Austin's Immediate Actions to Address Sexual Assault and
Harassment. The DAF supported the efforts to review policy compliance
and the OSIE. The OSIE concluded with recommendations to revise and
develop policies to support a dedicated primary prevention workforce,
institutionalize OSIEs, issue prevention policy, ensure leaders at OSIE
sites enhance authentic engagement and responsiveness to the military
community's needs, reinforce healthy climates, define the local
prevention system, enhance military community engagement and help-
seeking, and address compliance deficiencies. The DAF continues to
support OSD in efforts to address the recommendations. We have a
dedicated prevention workforce and dedicated prevention policy. We are
enhancing our prevention workforce to meet new and emerging
requirements. The workforce is focused on data informed prevention
activities aimed at reducing interpersonal and self-directed violence.
DAF plans to incorporate recommendations in DAFI 90-5001 and implement
yearly compliance reporting.
As part of the DAF's ongoing prevention efforts and IRC
recommendations, we established 175 dedicated, installation-level,
prevention experts focused on support and activities to specifically
address the prevention of all forms of interpersonal and self-directed
violence, address local risk factors, and enhance protective factors of
our airmen and guardians. Beginning in 2022, and also part of the IRC
recommendations, the DAF is expanding the prevention workforce by
adding 227 full-time dedicated prevention professionals; they will be
onboard by the end 2023. We anticipate recruiting for 103 positions
beginning in the summer of 2022 and 124 positions in the summer of
2023.
Department of the Air Force response programs include Sexual
Assault Response Coordinators, Special Victim Advocates, restricted and
unrestricted reporting processes, and medical care for victims.
The DAF is implementing the fiscal year 2022 NDAA requirements to
establish an independent Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC) to
oversee the investigation of and prosecution of sexual assault and
other victim-based offenses. We are close to a proposed organizational
structure, to include identification of personnel and resourcing
requirements for the OSTC construct. We are working aggressively and on
track to fulfill all first-year Congressional reporting requirements
during the OSTC program stand up. In addition to the implementation of
the OSTC, the DAF is partnering with OSD to maximize overlap of IRC
implementation and other NDAA provisions involving military justice. We
are using the authorities granted in the NDAA and contemplated by the
IRC to address sexual harassment by actively utilizing the new Article
134, UCMJ, offense in investigations and prosecutions of sexual
harassment and educating the force on its punitive nature.
Moreover, we are working toward developing a dedicated sexual
harassment investigation function that will enable effective,
independent investigations in accordance with the NDAA and IRC
recommendations. Finally, we've updated our military leave program to
provide non-chargeable time off to victims of sexual assault to assist
with their recovery. Moreover, we continue to train and educate
commanders as well as update policies to enhance victim notification,
consultation and input during the military justice process.
Suicide Prevention
In 2020, the DOD Active Component suicide rate was 28.7 per 100K;
DAF Active Component suicide rate was 24.3 per 100K. After controlling
for differences in age and sex, the Active Component and National Guard
(27 per 100,000) suicide rates are comparable to US population rates,
while the Reserve rate (21.7) is lower. The largest demographic of 2020
DAF suicides are single men, between the ages of 23-30, and in the rank
of E1-E4, who use die by suicide using a firearm. Data through quarter
four of 2021 shows the DAF Active Component suicide counts have reduced
and are now consistent with pre-2019 levels, as published by the
Defense Suicide Prevention Office. We anticipate the 2021 DOD Annual
Suicide Report release in Sep of 2022 and will be able to complete a
more thorough analysis of 2021 suicide trends upon receipt of the
report.
Death by firearm is the most common means of DAF suicide (over 70
percent since 2015, 61 percent for calendar year 2020) for personnel
living in the Continental United States (CONUS) and over 90 percent of
DAF suicide deaths occur in the U.S., making firearms by far the most
prevalent method for suicide in the DAF (this pattern is similar to the
national population as well). The overwhelming majority of firearms
used in DAF CONUS suicides are personally owned. Death by asphyxiation
is the most common means of DAF suicide when personnel are located
outside of the Continental United States (OCONUS). The stark difference
between firearm and asphyxiation methods of suicide-deaths based upon
location are likely due to the fact that personally-owned firearms are
generally not permitted for OCONUS DAF personnel (varies by location
and type of firearm).
Over 60 percent of the airmen who died by suicide in the DAF had
access to some form of lethal means in their household. Data from 2020
reveals that less than 15 percent of these members had their lethal
means safely stored in a manner consistent with the ``Go SLO'' (Safes,
Locks, or Outside the home) recommendations consistent with the DAF
lethal means safety effort - Time-Based Prevention. Clearly more work
is needed in this area, which is why lethal means safety is a DAF
suicide prevention priority. Between 2020 and 2021, we distributed over
202,000 gun locks along with educational and training materials on safe
storage options. In March 2022, the Department of Air Force launched a
lethal means safety comprehensive implementation and evaluation plan.
The Time-Based Prevention initiative is intended to eliminate the
hazard of firearms and other lethal means being readily available when
an airman or guardian is in distress. Continuing the ``Go SLO''
campaign will help build a culture where safe storage is commonplace,
reducing immediacy of access to firearms for those in distress and
preventing firearm accidents for Air and Space families.
Male airmen have a 3.3 times greater risk of dying by suicide
compared to female airmen and guardians. In addition, younger airmen
and guardians are more likely to die by suicide than older personnel.
airmen and guardians 30 years or younger are at higher risk of dying by
suicide than those over 30. In the U.S. population, the rate of suicide
deaths among non-Hispanic Whites is more than twice the suicide rate of
Blacks, Asians, or Hispanic Whites. Due to low counts, ethnicity rates
cannot be calculated for DAF in any detail, however general trends
suggest that Hispanic/Latino/a/x are less likely to die by suicide than
those who identify as not-Hispanic/Latino/a/x or those who decline to
respond. There is no difference in suicide rates between white and
black airmen. Asians and All Other Races/Mixed Race are at increased
odds of dying by suicide compared with other racial categories. While
it may appear that race and ethnicity are significant risk factors for
suicide-death in the DAF, it is important to recognize that there are
insufficient numbers at this time to make predictions of risk based on
race or ethnic category. This should remain an emphasis of
investigation as more data becomes available.
Once gender and age are taken into account, suicide risk does not
significantly differ by Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC). The AFSCs with
the highest number of suicide deaths generally are the largest AFSCs
and AFSCs that are disproportionately filled with young men. Between
2015 and 2020, the Aerospace Maintenance and Security Forces
populations were 64 percent males 30 and under, whereas the rest of the
DAF career fields were only 44 percent men of this age. This population
variance is reflected in slightly higher suicide deaths in those career
fields.
Relationship issues are the leading risk factor for suicide deaths;
consistently over 40 percent of deaths by suicide were of individuals
who experienced relationship issues. Additionally, between 20-30
percent of decedents experienced problems in more than one of the
following areas: relationships, legal trouble, financial issues,
administrative problems, and workplace issues. There is still a gap
between identifying someone at risk and taking effective action to
intervene or refer for help.
In the spring of 2020, the DAF provided tools and lessons to help
maintain social connections during the pandemic. These tools included
our first-ever suicide prevention training for family members. This
training provides greater awareness about resources and programs
available and equips family members to identify warning signs and act
as another sensor in our detection and prevention methods. Since
implementation in late calendar year 2020, more than 20,000 family
members have connected to the site and completed the training. Over
6.5k who connected to the site stayed to earn a certificate of training
completion. Eighty-five percent of those who visited the site indicated
being more likely to intervene with someone in distress.
Airmen and guardians (AD, Reserve, and Guard) under investigation
for Uniformed Code of Military Justice violations are at increased risk
for suicide death. Between 2017 and 2021, 11 percent of airmen and
guardians who died by suicide were accused of, or had been found to
have perpetrated interpersonal violence within a year of their death.
For these reasons, the Air Force is continuing its application of the
Limited Privilege Suicide Prevention Program, ensuring that airmen
under investigation have confidentiality with mental health providers
such that they don't see their prosecution as a barrier to accessing
the care they need, particularly during the height of a stressful
investigation.
Emotional abuse was the leading type of interpersonal violence
experienced by airmen and guardians across the Total Force who
attempted or died by suicide. Between 2017 and 2021, 15 percent of
those who attempted suicide experienced one or more forms of
interpersonal violence within a year of their attempt. Females are more
likely to attempt suicide due to higher reports/incidences of
interpersonal violence within their gender.
Most airmen who attempt or die by suicide have no recent deployment
history. In examining suicide deaths between 2016 and 16 September
2021, 2 percent of decedents were currently deployed and 4 percent of
decedents had deployed less than 3 months prior to their death. Among
attempts in this same timeframe, 3 percent of airmen and guardians were
currently deployed and 3 percent of airmen and guardians had deployed
less than three months prior to their attempt. The average yearly total
force airmen and guardian deployment rate is 18 percent.
Between 2016 and 2021, 31 percent of DAF airmen that attempted
suicide had a documented Invisible Wound (IW); categorized as
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI),
and/or Major Depression. Of those who had a documented IW, 85 percent
received medical or mental health care (in-patient or out-patient) in
the 90 days before their attempt (66 percent received medical and
mental health care, 10 percent received only medical care, and 9
percent received only mental health care). Eighteen percent of DAF
airmen and guardians that died by suicide between 2016 and 2021 had a
documented IW. Seventy-three percent of suicide deaths that had a
documented IW received medical or mental health care (in-patient or
out-patient) in the 90 days before their death. Forty-eight percent
received both medical and mental health care, 14 percent received only
medical care, and 11 percent received only mental health care.
To combat suicide trends, the DAF established prevention priorities
for 2022 that align with the White House Strategy for reducing Military
and Veteran Suicides. These priorities build upon prevention strategies
tied to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Building
Connections, Detecting Risk, Promoting Protective Environments, and
Equipping our airmen and families to mitigate risk and build
resilience.
Our first priority is focusing on time-based prevention; increasing
safe storage by encouraging ``going SLO'' and building time and space
between personnel in distress and access to lethal means, helping to
prevent accidents. Our second priority is engaging, empowering and
equipping families. We will continue our efforts to engage and equip
spouses and family members in resilience and prevention activities. Our
third prevention priority is reducing stigma and barriers to accessing
care. As an extension of our communications and marketing messaging
about resilience and prevention tools and resources, this renewed
emphasis will be focused on positive outcomes that result from
accessing the care already available.
Our fourth priority is to address upstream risk and protective
factors. Nationally-recognized experts, with published seminal
research, have partnered with our team to create group-strength and
peer-to-peer networking content that has proven impact. Incorporating
these facets into our resiliency training will have a far-upstream
effect on both resilience and well-being of our force, which will then
impact suicide prevention, affecting our airmen and guardians long
before distress manifests into negative behaviors.
Last, we want to emphasize data sharing, evaluation and research.
Accelerating the identification and dissemination of those programs
that are truly effective, combined with sharing data on these efforts
with the field, will amplify our results. In addition, we will use
rigorous evaluation of our existing programs to assess implementation
and effectiveness of all major resilience and prevention efforts in
order to drive program improvements. We'll establish priorities using
program self-assessment results, suicide analysis board results, and
latest research within a continuous process improvement framework.
The DAF's True North program continues to support mission readiness
by providing commanders resources and guidance to empower assigned
personnel to seek assistance from embedded Mental Health providers and
Religious Support Teams. Access to mental and religious support teams
within a unit builds trust and confidence in help-seeking actions for
unit members. Under the True North initiative, mental and spiritual
support teams are permanently embedded in the highest need units at 16
bases, all Air Support Operations, Rescue, and HQ OSI units. These True
North support teams work with unit leadership to positively influence
airman and family well-being, increase resilience, and decrease
negative outcomes such as suicide, sexual assault, domestic violence,
workplace violence and child maltreatment while improving mission
readiness and optimizing human performance.
On March 22, 2022, the Secretary of Defense released a memo
establishing the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review
Committee (SPRIRC) to identify actionable improvements. Secretary
Austin approved 9 installations as the initial designated locations for
review. DAF installations include Nellis AFB, Nevada; Joint Base
Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; and Eielson AFB, Alaska. The SPRIRC will
visit these installations and conduct focus groups, individual
interviews, and a confidential survey of the servicemembers. The Under
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness will issue further
guidance including SPRIRC members, charter, and timeline of events. The
SPRIRC work will begin by mid-May and installation visits will begin by
August 2022. The DAF will assist in every way possible at our three
locations to ensure full compliance with the SPRIRC and to communicate
all we do to help airmen and guardians with their mental health and
well-being.
Resiliency
The DAF has a robust Resiliency Program, with 32 agencies providing
services to help our members and families thrive in their personal and
professional lives. Resources are available to help with physical,
mental, social, and spiritual needs including, but not limited to, the
Chaplain Corps, Mental Health, Airman & Family Readiness Centers,
Employee Assistance Program, Deployment Transition Center, Sexual
Assault Response Coordinators and Morale, Welfare and Recreation
Programs. The Air Force is committed to forming solid partnerships with
supporting organizations based on individual installation needs and
expanding support options to bolster all pillars of resilience for our
airmen, guardians and their families.
Although the DAF has a large number of agencies providing
resiliency services, these offerings are often not connected, making it
more difficult for members and their families to get the continuum of
care needed quickly. Based on recommendations from the IRC, we have
brought together the 32 agencies to develop a ``Warm Handoff'' approach
strategy. The ``Warm Handoff'' approach will ensure individuals seeking
assistance are referred to the appropriate services through a warm
hand-off. In support of the ``Warm Handoff'' approach, we are building
training and resources for leaders at all levels, command teams, and
service providers (medical and non-medical) to standardize the process
for conducting a warm hand-off (i.e., person-to-person referral).
We improved the community action planning process to help our
installation/MAJCOM community action personnel provide the resilience
programs and services that airmen/guardians and their families need.
HAF worked with RAND to streamline the Getting to Outcomes (GTO)
process and tools for community action planning, along with a new
guide, training videos, and resources to assist the field use the GTO
process more effectively and efficiently.
The DAF is also evolving the Resiliency Skills Training and the
Master Resiliency Training programs to enhance resiliency and
psychological well-being across the enterprise. We are collaborating
with Air University to evolve these programs to in two areas--impact
and implementation. These programs will provide our resiliency
workforce with skills need to enhance protective factors and skills for
dealing with adversity. In addition, the programs will prepare the
resiliency workforce to provide airmen, guardians and their families
with additional skills in forming and enhancing peer-to-peer
relationships.
Additionally, our airmen, guardians, and family members must be
provided with the tools and techniques to help them adapt to changing
conditions and prepare for, withstand, and rapidly recover from stress,
disruption, or adversity. The DAF Integrated Resilience approach is
helping to bring about a renewed understanding and approach towards an
integrated care and support system of care approach across the DAF that
addresses well-being, quality of life issues, diversity and inclusion
actions, resilience activities, personal and professional development,
and clinical and non-clinical intervention and response. Through the
DAF Community Action Team and Senior Leader engagements, four key
themes of connections matter; there is no wrong door; placement and
access builds trust; and accountability, innovation, flexibility, and
continuous evaluation are being addressed. Furthermore, the DAF
continues to aggressively pursue effective and innovative solutions to
move us closer to making an environment where airmen, guardians, and
family members can reach their full potential a reality. The Department
is aware of the link between sexual assault and sexual harassment
retention risk and therefore investing in implementation of IRC
recommendations will also serve to support climates that are safe,
inclusive and respectful and will ultimately help with retention across
the force.
family care
While we recruit to the individual airmen, we retain families. The
DAF is committed to designing solutions that take care of our military
families including improvements to child and youth program capacity,
military spouse support, and family stability.
Exceptional Family Member Program
The DAF remains committed to continued improvement of our
Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP), positively impacting 55,000
family members and 36,000 total force members enrolled in the program.
We are approximately 60 percent complete in our multi-year,
transformational journey, to modernize the program. Key accomplishments
include centralization of resources; staffing and manning studies; and
automation initiatives.
The DAF established the EFMP Central Cell at the Air Force
Personnel Center in June 2020. The EFMP Central Cell integrates multi-
disciplinary support subject matter experts in medical, assignments,
special education, and legal matters. The Cell has on its team a
special education attorney as well as a special education specialist
provided to assist our families and school liaisons. Additionally, we
added a TRICARE Liaison, Respite Care Coordinator and additional
medical and assignment personnel to better facilitate centralized
travel screening.
Additionally, in August 2021, we implemented an automated Case
Management system through which families apply for family member travel
screening. The online application replaces several complex multi- page
forms with intuitive, easy-to-navigate software focused on the user
experience. Families are no longer required to submit a new application
with each Permanent Change of Station, and servicemembers can track
their case via the platform dashboard and follow up as needed.
Additionally, the online application through DAF Family Vector is
accessible via username and password versus Common Access Card,
allowing family members to access and complete this digital application
together with the servicemember.
The centralized travel screening process facilitates collaborative
case reviews, consistent decisions, and an unbiased, comprehensive view
of care availability. Our medical provider team review each case
utilizing the families' electronic medical records, and insurance claim
information from the central cell, resulting in minimal or no
appointments as civilian medical records are no longer required. The
Central Cell contacts families if additional medical documentation is
required. Finally, a Healthcare Benefits Analyst reviews all potential
travel disapproval determinations to assess whether alternative care
solutions are available. If such care is available and the member is
moving between regions, the Cell coordinates care between TRICARE
regions. If disapproved, families have an appeals process; Assignment
Navigators assist families' locally when medical and/or educational
care is unavailable at the gaining base.
The DAF also continues to improve EFMP families' access to support
for their special needs family members at installations. Presently, 105
Airman & Family Readiness Center Exceptional Family Member Program
Family Support Coordinators are spread across 82 installations, working
to enhance the quality of life of special needs families.
Further, DAF EFMP Medical Offices at installation Medical Treatment
Facilities provide 83 primary-duty Special Needs Coordinators and 78
primary-duty Special Needs Technicians to assist families locally with
EFMP enrollment, PCS, and disenrollment concerns.
The DAF remains engaged with the DOD Office of Special Needs on
implementing respite care services and looks forward to full
implementation of standardization efforts by the end of fiscal year
2024.
Child and Youth Programs
Available, affordable, quality child care programs support families
and enable our members to focus on the mission. In 2021, the DAF
provided child care for over 43,816 children at installation child
development programs. However, at some installations, the local demand
for this type of care exceeds program capacity making alternative
sources of care critical. Our network of Family Child Care homes offer
additional care solutions and community-based fee assistance helps
support families on a wait list for on-base care or not living near an
installation. In fiscal year 2021, 5,581 children were served through
the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood program with $17.6 million
in fee assistance.
The pandemic negatively impacted unmet demand and the wait time for
on base child care due to local health conditions, availability of
staff, quarantine requirements, and social distancing guidelines. The
pandemic challenges illustrated that we must find innovative ways to
expand capacity and improve access to child care for airmen and
guardians in addition to advocating for resources to fund child care
facility requirements. As of the beginning of April 2022, 5,042
children 5 years of age and under had an unmet on-base child care need
with more than half of these children located at ten of 74
installations. The average wait time to satisfy the demand was 128
days.
The Air Force is making every effort to reduce the unmet demand and
provide childcare to those who need it. However, it is important to
note that unmet demand is defined as requests for on-base child care,
either an on-base Child Development Center or an on-base Family Child
Care home. Many of the 5,042 have alternative child care available and
in use, to include those matched through DAF subsidized care via the
Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) fee assistance
program. Many families prefer to have child care on-base and sign up
for it by identifying a date care is needed. While that request shows
up as unmet demand, it is not always accurate nor does it imply there
are 5,042 children who do not have any child care. Based on data
collection being accomplished during sign-up and requests, there are
327 children being serviced temporarily via a military childcare
facility and 338 serviced temporarily through a community-based child
care provider via MCCYN. This leaves 4,377 children without an
alternative Air Force-facilitated child care solution while on the wait
list. This is the capacity shortfall number we particularly focus on in
our various efforts. It includes 1,625 children cared for at home with
a parent; 991 in the care of family, friends, or a nanny; and 843 in a
family-identified community based childcare program. Nine hundred and
eighteen of the 5,042 indicated they cannot find a childcare
alternative or did not indicate how their child would be cared for
while on the wait list.
The DAF is addressing the availability and delivery of Child and
Youth Programs with targeted efforts to maximize child care options,
expand child care capacity, and leverage customer feedback in
determining emerging and ongoing needs. We have a robust communication
strategy with online resources that educates supervisors and family
members about available care solution options and how to access them.
To increase child care options and spaces, we developed targeted
recruitment and retention incentives for Family Child Care providers
used at 68 installations. Although the pandemic environment challenged
our ability to increase the number of Family Child Care homes, we have
been able to retain an average of 300 homes to support hourly and full-
time care, 24/7 child care, and other specialized care for our Air and
Space families. The DAF Child and Youth Programs Business Management
System is currently being rolled out across the enterprise in 2022.
This management tool will improve program operations and facilitate
communication between the program and parents. This cloud-based data
management system enables the Department to access real-time data to
effectively utilize critical child care space requirements, improved
wait list monitoring and establish improved enterprise decision support
on resourcing for child and youth programs.
Improvements in human resources processes have positively impacted
Child and Youth Programs by reducing on-boarding time and facilitating
employee transfers. To retain trained staff, we implemented a non-
appropriated fund employee transfer assistance program that enables
transfer of employment from one DAF location to another, eliminating
the requirement to apply for employment after a relocation. In
addition, in response to staffing challenges, we are offering a robust
Recruitment, Retention, and Special Employee Recognition Program for
non-appropriated Child and Youth Program staff members at all
installations.
Five of our top DAF child development center military construction
projects - Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas; Joint Base San Antonio-
Lackland, Texas; Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Wright
Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; and Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United
Kingdom were authorized and approved in fiscal year 2022 and should be
awarded in the coming months. The DAF continues to dedicate
appropriations for child development center planning and design to
military construction projects that address facility shortfalls. The
Department has issued planning and design funds for child development
centers at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Wright Patterson Air Force
Base, Hanscom Air Force Base, Scott Air Force Base, Luke Air Force
Base, Barksdale Air Force Base and Mountain Home Air Force Base; the
child development center projects at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph
and Wright Patterson Air Force Base will be ready for award in fiscal
year 2023 should funds become available. In addition, seven minor
construction expansion projects to increase capacity through addition
of classrooms or alteration of existing space are currently in planning
with execution projected for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. The seven
addition/alteration projects are for child development centers at Joint
Base San Antonio-Lackland, Joint Base Charleston, Minot Air Force Base,
Whiteman Air Force Base, Laughlin Air Force Base, Vandenberg Space
Force Base, and Peterson Space Force Base.
Spouse Employment
Spouse employment is a critical element impacting family
resilience, financial readiness, quality of life, retention, and
mission success. Permanent Change of Station moves may negatively
impact a military spouse's ability to achieve his or her own career
goals and aspirations, often leading to reduced employment
opportunities or underemployment. The DOD and DAF spouse employment
programs provide a robust system of support to help military spouses
find meaningful employment and connect with available resources. The
DAF continues to engage with states on improving spouse employment
opportunities and advocating for improved professional license
portability or pursuing interstate compacts. In 2020, the DAF released
results of the ``Supporting our Military Families'' initiative which
assesses each state's efforts to support military spouse licensure
portability and links military quality of life factors to the strategic
basing process. This initiative shifts the strategy from expediting
individual state licensing through legislation to encouraging a
``universal approach'' to licensing and interstate compacts. Results
show positive trends, driving many states to look for ways to remove
barriers and make portability easier for military spouses.
Additionally, the DAF reimburses up to $1000 for re-licensing/re-
certification costs resulting from a Permanent Change of Station move
for spouses of military members.
The DAF utilizes several approaches to recruit and appoint military
spouses. The non-competitive military spouse appointment authority has
provided the Air Force with the ability to hire approximately 2590
military spouses from fiscal year 2019 to March 2022. This authority is
one of many authorities by which a military spouse could be employed
with. Additionally, the DOD Military Spouse Preference program provides
federal employment hiring preference for spouses relocating due to a
military member's Permanent Change of Station move. Spouses exercise
their preference by applying for job vacancy announcements of their
choosing. Spouses who are best qualified may be appointed to a federal
position over non-military spouse candidates. Employment may be
permanent, temporary or term limited. Additionally, the DOD has
authorized a pilot program at some foreign overseas locations to permit
spouses to exercise their authority up to 30 days in advance of their
arrival in order to further increase their opportunity to obtain
employment. The DAF launched the 18-month pilot in February 2021.
The DAF is fully engaged in ensuring our members and their families
have awareness and access to care solutions through a Care Solutions
Communication Plan. The plan's objectives are to maximize awareness and
effectiveness of the support available. We remain engaged at all levels
to communicate and deliver Care Solutions that help airmen, guardians
and their families reach maximum performance potential.
Compensation and Food Insecurity
It is important to note that in the context of the DOD, the term
food insecurity is not synonymous with hunger; rather, the term is
defined more broadly to also include access to healthy food options.
Through unit First Sergeants, the DAF was able to confirm that food
insecurity may be a challenge for small portion of our junior ranks,
younger families and single income families. We use a number of
different available resources to ensure the well-being of airmen,
guardians and families who need assistance.
First Sergeants and Airmen & Family Readiness Centers assist with
referrals to programs such as: USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP), the Federal Subsistence Supplemental Allowance program
(for members overseas where SNAP benefits are unavailable), and the AF
Aid Society (who has expanded the availability of food security related
grants and loans). We also offer financial readiness training, free
access to personal financial counseling and spouse employment support.
Additionally, the DAF is working with DOD to implement new policy
supporting the fiscal year 2022 NDAA new Basic Needs Allowance
legislation. This will provide supplemental income for military members
and dependents whose gross household income falls below 130 percent of
federal poverty guidelines. The allowance will end once members' income
rises above established threshold.
Although the DAF determined that food insecurity has not
significantly impacted our recruiting or retention efforts; taking care
of our people is a top priority for the Department. The DAF continues
to support airmen, guardians and families with of multiple solutions to
support financial readiness and opportunities to promote food security
across the force.
A recent study conducted by OSD found that military compensation
was very robust, grows quickly and compares favorably with the private
sector. For example, the report states that a single, 18-year old, high
school graduate who enlists earns $43,500 (annual rate) beginning in
the very first month of service. However, the DAF acknowledges that
compensation is a key factor in recruiting an All-Volunteer Force as
well as a way to retain top talent so we are look forward to deeper
dialogue on this issue to ensure we have all the tools necessary to
take care of the needs of our airman and their families.
the force we need
As the world around us continues to inject uncertainty and rapid
change, the Air Force is focused on maintaining readiness today while
building the Air Force we need for tomorrow's high-end fight. A fresh
look at the foundational competencies and skills we will need to deter
and defeat our pacing threats show us that we are on track. We are
appreciative for your support and realize that continued Congressional
support is paramount as we seek to balance tight fiscal demands with an
increasing appetite for digitization and force modernization. Our end
strength targets reflect this balancing act between readiness and
modernization and resourcing future capabilities to compete and win in
the high-end fight, both today and tomorrow.
End Strength
The United States Air Force end strength is tied to force structure
and our ability to rapidly transition to a wartime posture against a
peer competitor. It is necessary to divest or end programs not fully
aligned with the National Defense Strategy in order to fund accelerated
change in critical operational capabilities and functions required to
protect the United States' ability to deter conflict and project power
against pacing challenges. Our military end strength reductions in
fiscal year 2023 are commensurate with proposed force structure and
divestitures. Smaller end strength in fiscal year 2023 features 6,020
Total Air Force military manpower reductions from fiscal year 2022 to
divest, terminate, or restructure programs with limited utility.
Reductions include the legacy missions of Airborne Warning and Control
System, Tactical Air Control Parties, Combat Rescue Helicopter (HH-60),
F-22, KC-10, F-15 C/D, and Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar
System along with continued divestiture of military medical manpower.
Additionally, the fiscal year 2023 President's Budget includes
reduction in the number of unencumbered Individual Mobilization
Augmentees for the Air Force Reserve and a small increase for the Air
National Guard to support the F-35 mission.
Military medical manpower reductions are a continuation of the Air
Force Defense Health Program (DHP) reductions in overall medical
wartime requirements. They started in the fiscal year 2020 PB as part
of the DOD reduction. Based on demands for pandemic support and
congressional concerns over the level of military medical manpower
associated with health care delivery, the requested initial decrease of
947 AF medical end strength was delayed from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal
year 2023. Further delays could impact operational Air Force missions.
In order to execute the planned fiscal year 2023 manpower
reductions and not face involuntary force management actions, the Air
Force likely will end fiscal year 2022 1-2 percent below the
congressionally mandated end strength.
We thank you for your continued favorable Congressional support of
the fiscal year 2023 President's Budget request to ensure the USAF can
access the talent we need to compete in a world defined by ambiguity,
rapid change, and great power competition.
Recruiting Goals
The Air Force achieved its fiscal year 2021 Recruiting Goals of
26,656 regular component Enlisted (100 percent of goal) and regular
Officers of 4,318 (100 percent of goal). We also met our Air National
Guard combined Officer and Enlisted goal by recruiting 9,428 Guard
members (109 percent of goal), and our Reserve combined Officer and
Enlisted goal of 8,856 (104 percent percent of goal). Although the Air
Force is challenged in maintaining a robust Delayed Entry Program
membership, we are capable of reaching our fiscal year 2022 recruiting
goals of 26,201 regular Enlisted and 4,111 regular Officers. We
continue to see upward progress in our Active Duty processing and
Delayed Entry Program but lag behind the number of new applicants we
need to feel comfortable about meeting recruiting goals in fiscal year
2023 and beyond. Additionally, projections remain lower than the
necessary applicants needed to meet the Air National Guard combined
Officer and Enlisted goal of 9,199; and the Reserve combined Officer
and Enlisted goal of 8,200.
The Air Force is keenly aware of a growing competition for talent
and expect the recruiting environment to become even more challenging.
Today only 29 percent of 17 - 24 year old men and women in the United
States are eligible to serve in the military and only one in eight have
a propensity to serve. Additionally, the percentage of young Americans
interested in joining the military is trending downward: a 2 percent
drop from 13 percent to 11 percent in the last few years; a reduction
of over two million candidates. Within this eligible population, the
DAF seeks to increase our pool of diverse candidates and reach the best
and brightest from across our Nation while making sure every eligible
member who wants to serve has the opportunity.
To enhance our diversity we focused on increasing our female
applicant pool within officer accession sources, setting an initial
target to achieve growth in female applicants to 30 percent percent. We
surpassed that goal at the USAFA for the class of 2025, and 32.5
percent percent of the entering class were women. Last year's
graduating class was more than 29.4 percent female, a 0.4 percent
increase from 2020. Within our Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)
program, we raised our fiscal year 2024 applicant pool to 30 percent
female, with 25.2 percent female representation in the most recent
commissioning class (fiscal year 2021), a 3 percent increase since
fiscal year 2016. Our fiscal year 2021 Officer Training School (OTS)
Active Duty Air Force Line commissions were 19.2 percent female, a 2.5
percent increase since 2016. OTS additionally commissions Air Reserve
Component Line officers, with fiscal year 2021 female representation of
19.8 percent percent, up 3 percent from fiscal year 2016, and conducts
officer training for all Total Force Direct Commissions, with fiscal
year 2021 female representation of 48 percent, up 3 percent from fiscal
year 2016. The high participation of women in many of the medical
career fields drives the large female ratio in this non-line accessions
group.'' Finally, we launched ``Inspire Ops'', a STEM-based, aviation-
focused, motivation and mentorship program designed to increase
diversity and mitigate the pilot shortage across rated career fields.
The program pairs high school students involved in youth aviation and
STEM with students nominated by USAFA and Air
Force ROTC. Events encompass a wide range of engagements from
strategic partnerships with national level aviation and youth
organizations to supporting base level and local community youth
outreach. From fiscal year 2021 leading into fiscal year 2022, we
executed 95 events, reached 1.2 million individuals, engaged 280,000
candidates, and increased audience by 6,500 on social media.
With a diverse pool of applicants it's imperative to have a talent
management system to put airmen in a position to succeed while also
improving diversity in under-represented career fields. In 2022, the
DAF increased its focus on the Air Force Work Interest Navigator (AF-
WIN) Survey tool designed to match enlisted recruits with Air Force
career fields based on their own unique interests and skills. AF-WIN is
a web-based tool that presents a series of questions to airmen on
functional communities, job contexts and work activities. It uses an
algorithm to create a customized career fit report on more than 130
enlisted Air Force careers tailored to the recruit's interests.
Recruiters use the survey results for enhanced job counseling to
provide more resources and information on career paths to potential
recruits to help increase diversity in under-represented careers,
improve job satisfaction, and retention efforts. Additionally, we
expanded our job matching window, providing opportunities up to 5
months in the future (previously, we only made jobs available about 60-
90 days in advance), with the goal of encouraging and placing recruits
in the right job. Due to pandemic-related lockdowns, reduced interest
in our target age range (18-24) and changes in medical processing, our
job match window has reduced to a little over 30 days.
The Air Force is committed to improving how we recruit tomorrow's
airmen. An assessment of recruiting squadron procedures and
environmental challenges determined that the aggregate effects of 2
years of COVID (limited or no access to schools and lack of public
engagement) atrophied significantly the required skills recruiters need
to successfully communicate and sell the Air Force. Currently 62
percent of Active Duty recruiters have never recruited in a non-COVID
environment. Toward the beginning of 2022, the DAF implemented an
aggressive training plan to address training deficits and increase
community presence. We are investing in a multi-year effort allowing
the Regular Component year-round recruiting operations in order to meet
Total Force accessions goals. Additionally, we have ongoing Total Force
marketing improvements focused on underrepresented populations,
academic institutions and untapped geographic regions. We are marketing
to Minority Serving Institutions and affinity-based professional
organizations. We are using data provided by the DoD Joint Advertising
Market Research & Studies (JAMRS) to implement a market segmentation
approach at zip code level to recruit from growth and untapped
potential areas to support greater diversity. Finally, we are working
on screening methods to enhance our ability to prevent entry of those
accessions who associate with supremacist, extremist, and criminal gang
groups.
Finally, the DAF is leveraging predictive tests to ensure that
applicants are compatible with serving. This compatibility includes
assessing the risk of disciplinary and counterproductive workplace
behaviors in potential recruits that might negatively impact well-
being, morale and mission effectiveness. To do this, we administer the
Tailored Adaptive Personality Assessment System to all recruits. This
test identifies and measures an applicant's suitability and adjustment
potential for life in the military with ongoing research and
development to improve its utility.
Retention
While recruiting remains an imperative for the DAF, retention of
our agile and ready force is equally essential. Even as the DAF is
experiencing unprecedented high retention in some areas, there are
areas which continue to experience retention challenges. In an effort
to help alleviate these challenges, the DAF continues to offer targeted
monetary incentives. For Active component enlisted skills, the DAF has
programed $197 million for the fiscal year 2022 Selective Retention
Bonus program, which, when approved, targets critical capabilities in
enlisted Air Force and Space Force Specialty Codes with low manning
percentages, low retention, and/or high training costs, such as special
warfare, aircraft maintenance, cyber, and intelligence, surveillance,
and reconnaissance.
The Aviation Bonus (AvB) is strategic talent-management tool
tailored annually through our Business Case Model and specifically
designed to retain the proper number of experienced aviators in order
to improve readiness and maintain lethality of the force. The AvB
program is very cost effective means of talent management when compared
to the costs and time needed to replace very experienced aviators.
The fiscal year 2022 AvB Business Case Model factored manning
levels (current and forecast), retention trends (current and trend),
cost and time to replace experienced aviators as well as career field
health stressors such as very aggressive airline hiring trends,
economic recovery, projected Field Grade Officer (FGO) shortages in
fiscal year 2025, aircraft onboarding and divestitures, major aircraft
upgrades, Company Grade Officer and FGO manning imbalances, and
absorption challenges brought on by increased pilot product to
determine program construct. The analysis identified all manned piloted
platforms as our top priorities for retention incentives followed
closely by Remotely Piloted Aircraft pilots, Air Battle Managers and
Combat System Officers. With a budget of $205.7 million, the Active
component fiscal year 2022 AvB offers both short-term (defined as 3
years minimum) and long- term (defined as 5 years or more) contracts
options and incentivizes long-term contracts with increased annual
amounts and larger lump sum payments in the longer term contract
categories.
We will continue to modify these annual programs to decisively and
deliberately shape the rated force while practicing fiscal
responsibility.
Force Management
Although DAF retention remains higher than years past, likely due
to the lingering effects of the pandemic and economy, we are starting
to see balance and stabilization. In fiscal year 2021 the DAF
experienced the highest retention rate amongst officers in 20 years and
the enlisted force experienced the second highest in 20 years, after
fiscal year 2020. Although high retention has helped the DAF maintain
immediate readiness levels, we ended fiscal year 2021 approximately
1,159 over our authorized end strength and started fiscal year 2022 at
334,634. We continue to focus our attention on balancing high retention
while sustaining the force overtime leaving enough headspace to access
the talent we need year after year. Additionally, we have continued to
draw down the Voluntary Retired Return to Active Duty and the Voluntary
Limited Period of Active Duty accessions programs given our high
retention levels. We are monitoring retention closely to manage impacts
to future readiness levels. We are preparing for fiscal year 2023 and
the possibility of continued high retention, recognizing we may need
additional flexibility. We want to remain agile as we look to the
future, knowing we need to preserve our ability to recruit and retain
new talent.
managing talent
The Air Force's Talent Management systems continue to transform in
order to fully support the National Defense Strategy and DOD guidance,
develop inclusive leaders of competence and character, and produce the
talent we need for the future high-end fight. Most DAF talent
management initiatives are directed towards a system that empowers all
airmen (military and civilian) to reach their full potential within a
framework that increases agility, improves responsiveness, empowers
performance, and provides transparency and simplicity. This framework
is centered on defining and knowing what we value, measuring those key
items, and incentivizing and rewarding those who demonstrate and excel
at the valued qualities.
Innovation Workforce
The USAF is continuously finding new ways to improve our capacity
to find, support, and nurture the innovation and Cyber workforce that
ultimately supports the warfighter and encourages innovative best
practices. We are currently working on how to best align and create
developmental pathways for airmen with innovative skills, both military
and civilian, within their current communities but also across
functional communities. Innovators partnering with experts in leading
technology will be critical to building multi-capable airmen. The DAF
is exploring efficient ways to identify people with critical
operational talent, including cyber, technology and STEM arenas.
Leadership must be ready to support and enhance innovators willing to
step into these roles.
Air Force Talent Management Initiatives
The Air Force is committed to transforming the way we develop,
promote, and retain our officer corps in order to successfully carry
out the National Defense Strategy. To meet that task, we must have a
force which can adapt, innovate, and demonstrate agility in dealing
with today's complex security environment
We have continued our focus on improving the flexibilities of our
workforce and appreciate the additional authorities allowed in the
fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. We are exploring
implementation of many of those authorities as well as expanding on
authorities from recent year NDAAs. I am excited to announce the Air
Force's recent expansion of the Career Intermission Program for our
military members to step away from their Active Duty commitment without
any impact to their career advancement opportunities or
competitiveness. Using the authority from the fiscal year 2022 NDAA, we
recently announced that effective December 27th, 2021, airmen will now
experience a 1-to-1 payback option for months served in Career
Intermission instead of the legacy 2-to-1 payback by month. There may
be specific situations in which one- year participation will still
require a two-year commitment upon a member's return, such as a PCS-
based Active Duty Service Commitment or ADSCs totaling less than 12
months. At the end of 2021, 12 Officers and 33 enlisted servicemembers
are participating in the program.
We have also continued our focus on improving the flexibilities of
our workforce and appreciate the additional authorities allowed in the
fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. We are exploring
implementation of many of those authorities as well as expanding on
authorities from recent year NDAAs. I am pleased to report 2021 was the
first full-year the Air Force used merit-based reordering of officers
selected for promotion. This new talent management authority allows for
promotion acceleration based on performance-based potential while still
enabling increased experience and development in order to foster a more
lethal and ready force. Additionally, the Air Force implemented the new
policy allowing officers to opt- out of selection board consideration
in late 2021. This option affords our workforce more personal control
of their own career management, satisfying individual balance of
mission fulfilment and flexibility for personal desires, without
risking non-selection in-the-promotion zone or involuntary separation.
To date, the Air Force has approved all nine promotion opt-out packages
presented to the Secretary of the Air Force.
Additionally, we have shifted our entire military performance
evaluation system to a modern 21st century IT application. This sets
the conditions for the Air Force to accelerate enhancing our broader
feedback and performance report systems. These are the systems our
airmen rely on as the framework to document performance and develop
leader behaviors within our ranks. With the transition, we augment our
focus on describing the results airmen delivered with assessments of
airman leadership qualities. That is, we augmented what we value in
airmen performance to include assessments of how airmen behave and
demonstrate competency in doing so. Last month we transitioned all
airmen to use the airman leadership qualities in performance feedback
and in the coming months of 2022, we will transition our performance
assessment, or the military evaluation, to also be based on these same
airman leadership qualities. As part of this transition, we are
updating performance reports to ensure leaders are accountable for
their unit climates. In the future, our new performance evaluation
system will support more agile transitions in data- based talent
management approaches.
This new competency-based, data-first approach to talent management
ensures we align our values with the behaviors and performance
assessments in our evaluation programs. This is crucial as these
evaluations are central to selecting our best airmen for promotion,
career advancement development, critical command and senior enlisted
leader duties, joint and interagency duties, and so the many other
developmental assignments vital to maintaining our competitive edge as
an Air Force.
Finally, the Air Force is exploring how to implement military
commander and key leader assessments that augment the current command
screening boards, prior to command selection. We have a short-term beta
test under development that will inform a future permanent and
sustainable approach to robust the information considered during
selection for command. Our beta test has integrated three new
components alongside the traditional record of performance review.
These new components include use of a 360-degree feedback survey and
assessment of derailing behaviors. In the future, we will pilot in-
person cognitive and non-cognitive assessments, an interview by an
operational psychologist, as well as peer and subordinate feedback.
These new approaches will ensure we consider the whole-person view of
strength areas or growth areas of officers selected for command.
Additionally, as part of our commitment to development, we will observe
and coach officers who participate in these additional assessments to
identify gaps or concerns in their ability to understand, grow, and
learn the strengths and weaknesses in their ability to lead.
The Air Force is actively re-examining how we develop airmen over
the continuum of their careers and aligning that development to the
behaviors we value in our airman leadership qualities, for formal and
informal leaders. This emphasis on development and alignment with our
values will result in new officer selection processes for the Air
Force, ensuring our leaders have the highest levels of character and
competence, as well as identifying behaviors requiring adjustment
before taking on command and leadership roles.
Civilian Talent Management
The DAF values the talent and skills our civilian workforce brings
to the fight and fully recognize that Air and Space Force missions
cannot succeed without them. The DAF Civilian Strategic Human Capital
Plan provides the strategic direction for managing the workforce around
three over-arching human capital objectives: 1) deliver talent; 2)
Maximize Employee Performance; 3) Enhance and Transform Civilian Human
Resources. These objectives are supported by a number of human capital
strategies and initiatives designed to increase effectiveness and
foster a high performing and engaged culture that leverages the
diversity and talent within the civilian workforce.
An important component of our civilian talent management efforts is
focused on the cyber workforce. The DOD cyber workforce comprises
military, civilian, and contractor personnel who build, secure,
operate, defend, and protect DOD and U.S. cyberspace resources; conduct
related intelligence activities; enable future operations; and project
power in or through cyberspace. The Office of the DoD Chief Information
Officer initiated the Cyber Excepted Service (CES) personnel system to
support the employment of a highly skilled cyber workforce and the 2018
Cyber Strategy goal to mature the implementation of the CES personnel
system across the DOD. CES is designed for civilian employees engaged
in, or in support of, certain cyber- related missions and activities
(i.e. IT management, artificial intelligence, computer science,
computer operations and software engineering). Additionally, CES uses
both competitive (Title 5) and excepted (Title 10) service authorities
to enhance workforce talent management. Most civilian employees are
hired through the competitive service; however, the Office of Personnel
Management provides excepted service hiring authorities to fill special
positions or to fill positions in unusual or special circumstances.
DAF's participation in the two-phased implementation resulted in
USCYBERCOM and other DAF cyber supporting units being included in the
CES. In March 2019, the USCYBERCOM Commander testified before the House
Armed Services Committee that the average time to hire cyber workforce
professionals before the CES was 111 days; however, with the
implementation of the CES, the average time to hire was reduced to
approximately 44 days. Currently, DAF has over 550 positions under CES
with 8200 being civilian cyber professionals.
Civilian Short-Term Experiential Program
The DAF has numerous civilian education and development
opportunities. Many of these require geographic mobility; however, our
Racial Disparity Review indicated that the expectation for geographic
mobility could be a barrier to women and some minorities. In response,
the DAF is piloting a new short-term civilian development opportunity
called the Civilian Short-Term Experiential Program (CSTEP). The
purpose of CSTEP is to allow selectees to 1) Develop cross-functional
leadership competencies through a short-term experiential assignment
that does not require long term mobility; 2) Enhance development of
self, others, and organizations; 3) Gain breadth of experience in a
different role; and 4) Gain access senior leader mentorship. CSTEP's
pilot period is expected to start in Academic Year 2023. The new
program selection board will identify the first slate of candidates in
Spring 2022, alongside the rest of the existing opportunities
associated with the DAF Civilian Development Education Portfolio such
as in-residence intermediate and senior developmental education, full-
time bachelor and/or master degree programs, et cetera.
We are also excited at the progress we've made in managing our
civilian talent, most notably in our hiring timeliness by leveraging
special hiring and compensation authorities The DAF has dropped average
days of hiring from 114 days in 2019 to 82.5 days in 2021. This is much
needed progress, but still not where we would like to be, and we
continue to work on hiring timeliness. Additionally, the DAF is
investing in human resource capacity by continuously evaluating our
current processes and systems, seeking opportunities to streamline .
For example, the Air Force Materiel Command refined its existing
centralized selection and hiring process, moving recruitment
responsibility for entry-level, developmental positions to Centralized
Hiring Cells in an effort to increase diversity across the field while
improving employment timelines. Approximately 2,000 developmental
positions will be filled annually through Centralized Selection Cells
at each AFMC center. In addition, AFMC has also made concerted efforts
to improve new employee on- boarding and acculturation, leveraging the
USAF Connect mobile application (Apple Store) (Google Play), a digital
new employee handbook and diverse technologies to ensure new employees
are able to get in the office, on the network, trained and be mission-
effective on day one.
The DAF instituted the Premier College Intern Program (PCIP) in
2018 with several goals. First, recruit 500 post-secondary students for
internships annually under Direct Hire Authority, Section 1102 of
National Defense Authorization Act. Second, make the program more STEM
focused. Third, non-competitively place graduating PCIP interns into a
permanent position or Palace Acquire/Copper Capstone (PAQ) entry level
position. Today, between 450-500 PCIP students graduate into our formal
intern training programs; since 2018, 1,885 PCIPs have been hired and
the DAF currently has 496 PCIPs on board. As of Sep 2021, the retention
rate of PCIP interns is 81 percent. In addition, DAF has 1600 PAQ
interns in 2022.
The Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART)
Scholarship-for-Service Program, part of the DOD science, technology,
engineering and mathematics portfolio, provides STEM students with the
tools needed to pursue higher education and begin or continue rewarding
careers with the DAF. Since its inception in 2006, the DAF has
sponsored 1,186 SMART scholars with 855 DAF-sponsored scholars
completing bachelors, masters, or doctoral STEM degrees and being
outplaced from the SMART program as DAF STEM civilian professionals.
During this time, the DAF has been able to fulfill critical STEM gaps
across the DAF in organizations such as the Air Force Sustainment
Center, Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Life Cycle Management
Center, Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Air Force Test Center,
National Air & Space Intelligence Center, and the Air Force Studies
Analysis & Assessments Office. The SMART scholars the DAF has selected
the past 2 years were selected to ensure the DAF has a STEM workforce
trained and developed in those critical National Defense Emerging
Technology areas for the DAF to include, but not limited to, artificial
intelligence, autonomy, hypersonics, 5G, quantum, microelectronics,
space technology, biotechnology, advanced computing, and integrated
sensing and cyber. In 2021, the DAF sponsored 116 SMART scholars.
We also developed a program to allow individuals that become
medically disqualified at BMT a second opportunity to serve. The
``DRIVE'' Program is a newly established program that provides
medically disqualified candidates an opportunity to enter the DAF
civilian service. DRIVE is a Total Force talent recruiting initiative
which benefits the entire Air Force. Using special appointing
authorities such as direct hire, the DAF is able to match candidates to
hiring needs. Since August 2020, the initiative has already
successfully placed seven candidates in diverse career fields such as
civil engineering, public affairs, and cyber security.
The DAF continues to identify new initiatives and advocate for
effective hiring and retention authorities to secure mission critical
civilian talent. We recently obtained a temporary direct hire authority
as well as a temporary qualification waiver for our 2181 series pilots
and simulator operators, recognizing the dated qualification standards
which specify significant cockpit flying hours do not adequately
address changes in technology that allow for civilian flight
instruction to be accomplished in a simulator. DAF continues to work
with DOD, the Services and with the Office of Personnel Management to
ensure updated qualification and classification standards for both our
2181 pilots and simulator operators, as well as our 2152 Air Traffic
Controllers.
We are continuing to demonstrate the Air Force's commitment to
fielding innovative talent management programs that deliver on our goal
of developing the airmen and civilians of tomorrow. Our efforts are
ensuring we prioritize talent management innovations that deliver
experiences and programs that reinforce the USAF as an attractive
career choice for our airmen and their families. This is directly
connected to ensuring we retain the absolute best airmen we need for
our Air Force to continue to deliver our mission delivering our
Nation's defense.
Diversity & Inclusion
Diversity and Inclusion are force multipliers and warfighting
imperatives. The DAF must be able to draw from the best and brightest
talent across our Nation to recruit, develop and retain a force
comprised of the diverse backgrounds, experience, and skillsets
The DAF's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA)
Strategy focuses on four key areas to further diversity and inclusion
efforts. First, the DAF is working to align diversity, equity,
inclusion and accessibility to the Department's operational missions.
Second, we are focused on leadership engagement and accountability with
quantifiable results. Third, we are championing a culture of inclusion
by establishing education and training throughout personnel lifecycles.
Finally, the DAF is institutionalizing DEIA principles through best
practices, analysis and feedback into policy.
Further, we continue to operationalize diversity and inclusion to
better recruit and retain top talent. On March 8, 2022, the DAF
announced the Caregiver provision for separation. This provision allows
either member of a DAF military-to-military Active Duty couple to apply
for voluntary separation after the birth or adoption of a child. This
important provision provides further flexibility for airmen to
potentially remain on Active Duty and also gives both parents more time
to understand what is required to balance a family and career before
making a decision to separate. To provide further support during the
process, the DAF offers the option for members to use MyVector, a
creative and innovative online mentoring system available for new
parents, to find mentors that can provide support and guidance as they
navigate service and family. In addition, as you are aware, the fiscal
year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorized 14 days
of bereavement leave for servicemembers upon the death of certain
family members. We are working in close partnership with OSD to update
policy, ensuring our members can use this critical new entitlement.
Digital Transformation
The Air Force continues to make strides transforming a portfolio of
outdated systems that consume our airman's time, energy and flexibility
when handling their Human Resource business affairs. We are now
beginning to really provide our airmen with cutting edge cloud based
technologies that drastically improves their experience, enhances data
protection, and opens the opportunity for mobile access; however, there
is much more to do. We need our airman to have the ability to remain
mission focused, and are ensuring they have a streamlined end-to-end
experience with this much needed upgrade. Your continued support in our
Digital Transformation efforts are appreciated.
conclusion
Resilient and ready airmen and guardians, both military and
civilian, are the bedrock of the Department of the Air Force's
readiness and lethality. These professionals are evolving to compete,
deter, and win with unmatched power in the air, space, and cyber
domains. Our ability to remain competitive as an employer of choice is
reliant upon prioritizing and resourcing what is most important. We
look forward to continuing to partner with Congress in our endeavors to
protect and defend our great Nation. We thank you for your continued
support of your Department of the Air Force--those in uniform, our
civilian professionals, and the families who support them.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you. Ms. Patricia Mulcahy, Chief
Human Capital Officer, United States Space Force.
STATEMENT OF PATRICIA MULCAHY, DEPUTY CHIEF OF SPACE OPERATIONS
FOR PERSONNEL, UNITED STATES SPACE FORCE
Ms. Mulcahy. Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Tillis,
distinguished Members of the Committee, thank you for the
leadership and support you have provided to the United States
Space Force, our guardians, and their families. It is a
privilege to come before you today alongside my service
colleagues.
The cornerstone of our Space Force is our people. We are
purposefully building a service of guardians capable of
securing the space domain, integrating deterrence, and enabling
the joint war fight today and into the future. To attract,
recruit, and develop this talent we need, we crafted and
published the Guardian Ideal, our human capital strategic plan.
Our approach is grounded in our values of character, above all,
connections through unity, commitment to the profession, and
the courage to be bold.
The Guardian Ideal modernizes our approach to recruitment
and retention, fosters connection among guardians, puts a focus
on enabling a digital force, and integrates wellness and
resiliency. With our small numbers, we believe it vital to
strengthen the diverse teams comprised of both uniformed and
civilian guardians with a tailored talent management approach.
We are competing for talent with the well-paid and dynamic
space industry.
Part of our vision to grow and sustain our Active and
Reserve force is by creating a new space component that
provides greater flexibility for our guardians and commanders
in the field. This approach could ensure our members do not
have to choose between their military careers and their
personal lives by encouraging continued participation.
The space component would extend the continuum of service,
enable us to recruit and retain the exquisite, highly technical
force we need in an efficient and effective and fiscally sound
manner. Implementation would be a groundbreaking approach to
military human capital management and build a component that
improves warfighting readiness with a consistent, coherent
means to employ the force.
Over the past 2 years, we secured a number of wins for our
Nation. I am proud of the more than 13,500 military and
civilian guardians who joined our ranks from the Air Force, the
Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps, as well as from across
America. We launched recruiting initiatives to ensure we are
competitive for the STEM talent we need.
We instituted improved interview questions to help us
determine the best fit for our future guardians and to reach
into a more diverse applicant pool. We have finalized our
foundational warfighting competencies that capture what all
guardians will bring to the team, and we have developed
occupational competencies for all of our uniform space power
disciplines.
We are using a boot camp approach to training software
coders, resulting in increased digital fluency and positive
impacts to mission accomplishment. We are developing a
performance appraisal system with a more continuous evaluation
approach that captures the inputs of subordinates, peers, and
superiors to provide a more comprehensive and timely picture of
guardian performance contributions and alignment to our values.
We are appreciative of the existing military compensation
package, but with such a small, highly specialized technical
force, we often struggle to compete with the high salaries
commanded in the private sector.
The Space Force needs a compensation package that not only
recognizes the service of guardians and their families but
provides the incentives necessary to recruit and retain these
highly sought after professionals. To that end, we are
carefully reviewing all current incentive authorities and
exploring innovative ways to retain talent, especially of our
experienced noncommissioned officers.
We recognize that attracting and retaining talent is not
about compensation alone. It is also about providing a sense of
purpose and an inclusive culture. We are actively engaging and
involving guardians at every step in creating and building our
culture that recognizes the value and contributions of all
guardians, military and civilian.
We believe that our unique culture and mission, with a new
space component construct, combined with quality of life
programs and a well-structured compensation package, will allow
us to attract and retain the guardian talent we need.
Although I am pleased with the progress we have made, we
have much work to do in this third year of building our Space
Force. We will continue to focus on our innovative approaches
to talent management, developing leaders and warfighters, and
we count on the support of Congress to develop and field this
new component that will capitalize on the diverse talent of our
Nation's guardians to secure America's interests in space and
enable joint operations.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Patricia Mulcahy follows:]
Prepared Statement by Ms. Patricia Mulcahy
introduction
Chairwoman Gillibrand, Ranking Member Tillis, Distinguished Members
of this Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before this
committee. As the Nation's newest military Service, it is exciting to
come before you today to discuss the progress our guardians have made
to build and manage a force capable of defending our Nation's vital
interest in the space domain.
the force we need
The United States Space Force (USSF) operates in a unique and
dynamic personnel environment. In September 2021, the Space Force
released the Guardian Ideal which outlines our innovative approach to
talent management of our military and civilians from accession through
development and combines aspirations with actions and milestones. Our
objective is to build and develop a highly-skilled, unified, and
inclusive force capable of operating in the complex space domain. We
intend to have a more holistic approach to talent management,
incorporating work-life balance, family support, resiliency, training,
education and individualized development into the Guardian Ideal. Part
of this holistic approach includes the integration of our Reserve Space
Professionals.
Even as we continue building the Space Force, the needs of the
Nation dictate that we are operationally capable of deterring conflict
and defending our Nation's interests immediately and boldly. This
demand cannot wait for us to finish building the force. To this end, we
continue developing the training, systems and experiences necessary to
be the digital force required in today's fight. At the same time, we
are enhancing our end strength through new accessions to include inter-
service transfers, exploring lateral entry opportunities, and taking
advantage of civilian personnel systems and authorities to increase our
civilian personnel capacity.
space component
The ability to attract, recruit, and retain high caliber talent in
the Space Force is essential to the success of our service. The Space
Component provides us an opportunity to grow and sustain the force by
creating a new component consisting of full- and part-time members,
eliminating the distinctions found in the traditional regular/Reserve
construct, making it easier for guardians to serve and providing
greater flexibility to commanders.
We are competing for talent with the high-paying space industry.
The Space Component extends the continuum of service, enabling us to
recruit and retain the exquisite, highly-technical force we need, in an
efficient, effective, and fiscally sound manner, while decreasing
overall bureaucracy. We have one chance to get this right. The Space
Force is at an early stage of development where we could implement this
ground-breaking approach to military human capital management and build
a component that improves warfighting readiness with a consistent,
coherent means to employ the force.
We realize that Congressional authorities and authorizations are
necessary to achieve these goals and we are appreciative of your
continued support.
diversity and inclusion
Operationalizing Diversity and Inclusion is critical to Space Force
talent management. Space Force continued efforts to support the General
Officer Inspire, which is an initiative that the Chief of Space
Operations co-signed with the Chief of Staff of the Air Force that
proactively seeks and develops youth. The objective is to have USSF
senior leaders engage with youth and youth influencers from
underrepresented groups in order to increase our diversity in the rated
career fields as well as the broader Air and Space Force. We recently
stood up a Cultural Management Working Group, a cross-functional team
of guardians. Through a collaborative effort, this team identifies
forward-looking approaches and best practices to foster a culture in
which Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility principles are
optimized, supports continuous improvement, and promotes a safe and
respectful workplace. The desired outcomes are to enhance our talent
acquisition efforts to promote a workforce that reflects the diverse
population of the United States, including those from underserved
communities and to improve retention among both military and civilian
guardians to meet the National Security goals and objectives.
end strength
The Department's FY22 Active Duty military end strength request for
337,620 included 8,400 for Space Force. This increases our end strength
by 1,966 due to anticipated mission transfers from the Air Force, Army
and Navy. In FY23, the military end strength requests will be separated
and Space Force will have its own appropriation; with projected growth
from 8,400 to 8,600. To meet this goal, the Space Force will continue
to manage military personnel inventory to support mission requirements
and we appreciate the Congressional support.
recruiting
The competitive market for STEM talent creates a significant
challenge to attracting and recruiting individuals with those unique
capabilities into the Space Force. The Department of the Air Force,
through Air Force Recruiting Service, has met Space Force recruiting
goals to acquire exceptional talent for STEM and cyber-related
disciplines for this complex mission set. While we have been successful
to date, the recruiting landscape is dynamic; there is a high demand
for talent in these technical communities, across the Department of
Defense, U.S. Government, and industry.
Our recruitment initiatives are focused on expanding the pool of
potential STEM applicants through partnerships with colleges,
universities, and organizations that produce diverse STEM capable
personnel. The Space Force University Partnership Program (UPP) offers
the opportunity for a strategic partnership with the nation's top
universities possessing high academic standards, nationally-ranked STEM
degree programs, world-renowned space-related research and established
Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) detachments. Additionally, the
UPP schools' interests align with USSF's long-term science and
technology priorities. The UPP's goal is to develop a diverse, highly
capable workforce and advance strategic focus areas of the USSF and to
pursue critical science and technology topics that are important to the
USSF. This program creates opportunities for advanced academic degrees
as well as workforce and leadership development for USSF Guardians. The
UPP provides a broad range of scholarship, internship and mentorship
opportunities for university students and ROTC cadets with the goal of
recruiting and developing diverse officer, enlisted, and civilian
guardians with a particular focus on STEM.
While we focus on STEM talent as a whole, we cannot afford to
overlook individuals with those attributes consistent with guardian
values. To ensure we right size our applicant pool and select future
guardians from the most diverse talent possible, we have instituted a
national selection process that casts a wider talent net. Additionally,
we have implemented interviews, diverse selection panels, and
behavioral assessments to expand the tools used for a holistic approach
to selecting future guardians. These newly implemented guardian
selection efforts facilitate our ability to select the best fit
guardians from the broadest reach.
The Space Force is working with the Department of Defense and
Department of the Air Force stakeholders to mitigate potential barriers
to service from members of underrepresented groups. We are conducting a
comprehensive review of accessions policy and will review all career
field entry requirements and assessments to identify opportunities to
expand the pool of potential applicants from underrepresented groups.
Equally important to recruiting exceptional talent is the ability
to retain the talent we have, and to engage and compensate our
workforce in a manner that encourages retention. Our guardians who
transferred from another Service are still under a two-year service
commitment, so we do not yet have retention data unique to the Space
Force. We expect to see a normal attrition rate, but can adjust our
initial accessions, prior-service accessions, and any normal workforce
shaping tools as we see fluctuations in those retention patterns.
managing talent
The Space Force is taking a fresh approach to talent management in
order to build an organizational culture that emboldens guardians to
produce innovative outcomes to secure American interests in space and
contribute our unique expertise in joint operations. Our Talent
Management Office (TMO) is leading the implementation of the guardian
Ideal, the Space Force's Human Capital Plan in a multi-pronged
approach. First, through building a competency based requirement system
and inventorying all competencies and levels of mastery for each
guardian, the TMO can make informed and connected development and
assignment decisions, which leads to greater guardian involvement in
their careers and greater mission accomplishment. Additionally, we are
developing a new performance appraisal system to focus more on
contribution to the team and mission, which include multi-sourced input
from all team members, and provide a continuous assessment as opposed
to one time a year. We are tying this competency framework back to the
Guardian Commitment, the foundation of the Space Force, built upon our
values of character, connection, commitment, and courage.
We expect leaders at every level to take bold, data-driven, and
risk-informed actions, while making full use of their team's diverse
abilities to overcome challenges to accomplish our mission as set forth
in the National Defense Strategy and in line with Congressional intent.
development
The Space Force will shift from managing people within prescribed
career fields, to managing positions based on the competencies and
experiences needed to succeed. We are completing work on a
comprehensive competency framework that addresses not just occupational
skills, but also those attributes necessary to succeed as a part of an
inclusive and high-performing team. As part of managing talent we will
include O-6s in Talent Marketplace this year bringing all guardians,
officer and enlisted, (O-6 and below as well as E-9 and below) into the
same talent management tool for development and assignments. The
inclusion of the guardian's voice enables transparent choice
architecture across the enterprise to meet both personal strengths and
Service needs.
performance evaluation
Our performance appraisal system is in development and our vision
is to shift from an annual to a continuous 360 approach that will
capture the inputs of subordinates, peers, and superiors. This provides
a more complete and timely picture of how a guardian is performing and
growing over time to include while working outside their assigned team.
The appraisal system will be an important component of an enhanced
approach toward assessing promotion potential and readiness. Current
approaches rely almost exclusively on the informed opinion of our
senior leaders within strict timelines and percentage constraints. This
is a good approach, but we now have access to improved tools that will
provide more data that speaks to potential more objectively and
consistently across the entire force. Various talent management boards
will benefit with the inclusion of data derived from behavioral
assessments and the results of situation-based testing that evaluates
members based on how they perform in challenging situations they may
encounter in the next higher grade or position of increased
responsibility. The scientific studies in these areas show these tools
better predict who will succeed at the next level and also the
individuals we need to develop further before they are ready for the
next rank. This deliberate approach toward individualized development
will enhance guardians both personally and professionally.
We are actively and thoughtfully instituting policy and process
changes to bring us into closer alignment to the future state described
in the Guardian Ideal. For example, for non-commissioned officer
promotions, we have eliminated promotion testing, stratifications, and
forced distribution. Additionally, the Space Force has included
personal preference into officer and enlisted development teams (DTs).
This has been accomplished using MyVector, a web-based mentoring
network, as a data collection tool where guardians can provide their
personal preferences, as well as personal considerations, into the
system to ensure the talent management board members are cognizant and
make talent management decisions that include the guardian's voice and
competencies. Developmental processes follow the promotion boards to
place new selects into appropriate positions commensurate with the new
selected grade.
We also intend to evolve the performance appraisal collection
platform to capture information on work place environment to identify
work climate issues in a timely manner so we can investigate and, if
necessary, intervene before potential issues become problems. This is a
vital component of the physically and psychologically safe environment
that we owe all of our guardians, both civilian and military.
The USSF will continue to implement recommendations from the
Secretary of Defense's Independent Review Commission. These
recommendations hold leaders and servicemembers appropriately
accountable for problematic behaviors but also sets the precedent and
expectation to engage in positive behaviors that benefit the unit as a
whole. Leaders at all levels are being educated on prevention
strategies and delivering informed prevention messages which prepares
our guardians to positively impact the overall culture. This focus on
core values and engaged leadership will enable guardians to be
successful as they are evaluated and held accountable for prevention
activities.
pay and compensation
The Space Force is dedicated to ensuring that all guardians are
appropriately compensated for their service. Military compensation must
be designed to meet the financial needs of guardians and their families
and make the Space Force competitive in the market for highly qualified
talent. On the whole, we believe that the current military compensation
system is generous and accomplishes these goals.
Total compensation, includes basic pay, the Basic Allowance for
Housing (BAH), the Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS), health care
benefits, retirement benefits, the tax advantage of pays like BAH and
BAS, special and incentive pays and bonuses, and many other benefits.
This network of pays, allowance, and other benefits compares favorably
with private industry and civilian employment.
Increases to basic pay, the foundation of military compensation,
are based upon the Employment Cost Index. We believe this is the
correct measure for across-the-board increases to the basic pay table.
Other indexes, like the Consumer Price Index, capture costs that are
already accounted for in allowances like BAH, BAS, and COLA.
While the Space Force believes that across-the-board increases to
the basic pay table should continue to take into account ECI, we also
believe there is an opportunity to explore more targeted increases to
the basic pay table at noncommissioned officer ranks in order to ensure
retention of these highly skilled leaders.
Recent surveys have indicated food insecurity concerns at the most
junior ranks. Congress acted to address these concerns with the Basic
Needs Allowance in the FY21 NDAA. The Space Force is looking forward to
implementing this pay, and is working with the Department of Defense
and sister Service partners to develop enduring solutions to concerns
over the adequacy of military compensation. While we believe that
military compensation is adequate and competitive in the aggregate, we
see an opportunity for targeted change.
permanent change of station
The Space Force assignments process supports our talent management
philosophy in alignment with operational mission requirements. We value
gaining competencies through development as well as contribution to the
team and mission rather than moving. We have far fewer geographic
locations compared to other services, and there are more career
development opportunities in a single geographic location providing
greater stability for the guardian, their families and their units. In
many instances, there are multiple development possibilities at the
guardian's current assignment location where Permanent Change of
Assignments (PCA) (no move) are executed versus Permanent Change of
Station (PCS), which allow for heightened stability for families
through more stable spouse employment and military child education,
amongst other issues
Since the creation of the Space Force, the average stateside tour
length for guardian officers has been approximately 36 months and for
enlisted guardians it has been approximately 40 months. There will be
some cases where this timing will be shorter than expected because we
have prioritized moving guardians from their Air Force assignment to
one in the Space Force. As a small force, we want to target most of our
moves in the July timeframe to support retention and family
considerations such as school and career transfers for military spouses
and children.
united states air force support
As a growing Service, and one that must remain lean, agile, and
mission-focused, we are grateful to have the continued support of the
United States Air Force and the Department of the Air Force across a
wide range of personnel and family support activities and programs.
Interpersonal violence, sexual assault prevention and response, suicide
prevention, resiliency, and family care are all areas in which the Air
Force maintains the lead role and are vital to the wellbeing and
retention of guardians. The Department of the Air Force has also taken
the lead role in diversity and inclusion initiatives. As we continue to
grow, some of these functions will transfer to the Space Force,
however, many of them will remain with the Air Force and the Department
of the Air Force. We are truly a one-team-one fight organization, and
we are grateful for the continued efforts of all members of our team.
conclusion
Guardians are the heart of the Space Force. In order to achieve
mission success, we must create an environment that fosters their
success and recognizes their value, both as individuals and as members
of a team. We must develop each guardian according to their individual
capabilities and desires within the context of Space Force
requirements. We must provide inclusive leadership that encourages
growth. We must provide guardians the tools, digital and otherwise,
necessary to accomplish the mission. We must provide an environment in
which they and their families feel safe and supported against any
internal threat, an environment where they can thrive. We must ensure
that we are doing right by our guardians and their families. All of
this, of course, requires your support, and funding. We thank you for
your continued support for our Space Force, its uniformed and civilian
guardians, and their families.
Senator Gillibrand. Thank you all for your testimony. I
would like to start with, Ms. Mulcahy, about the Space Force.
Can you tell me what your complement is currently? How many
civilian personnel and how many military personnel you have,
and what is your goal?
Ms. Mulcahy. Yes, absolutely. Thanks for that question,
Madame Chairwoman. Today we have 7,051 military guardians, and
we have 7,875 civilians. We will plus up a little bit on the
civilians, too, next year, and by the end of September, we
should be at 8,400. We are still gaining some units from within
the Department.
So, for instance, in fiscal year 2023, the Space
Development Agency will come from OSD into the Space Force, and
we anticipate being as high as 8,600 military in fiscal year
2023.
Senator Gillibrand. Is it difficult for you to retain the
best talent because of things like lack of salary competition
to vis-a-vis the Facebooks and the Googles of the world?
Ms. Mulcahy. Yes. Thanks for that question, Chairwoman. Our
concern right now is that all of our military guardians, when
they came over, took a two year service commitment, and those
start to come up in the September, October timeframe of this
year.
So we are staying connected to our guardians, and we so far
don't hear or see the numbers different than when we were part
of the Air Force and managing our space operators. But we are
concerned because we know that the space industry is very
lucrative and that is where a lot our Non Commissioned Officers
(NCOs) go.
Senator Gillibrand. You don't have a designated service
academy, so do you receive cadets and graduates from all the
service academies? What is the general break out of that?
Ms. Mulcahy. Thanks for that question too. The last--and
this will be year three that we will have cadets come from the
United States Air Force Academy. The numbers have been, this
year we are planning 102. Last year, they were 106. So just
about that number. The first year there were 96. This year will
be the first year that will have two midshipmen come from the
Naval Academy.
In working with the Army, it will probably be next year
where we will have our first cadets come from the Army.
Senator Gillibrand. From the West--from West Point?
Ms. Mulcahy. From West Point.
Senator Gillibrand. I ask this because our first panel, we
asked about the cyber academy. One of the things that Senator
Tillis and I and members of the Intel committee have worked on
is the cyber academy for the civilian workforce. Since
obviously recruiting the top cyber digital talent, the best
mathematicians in the world is a tough order. But we have
something like 40,000 to 60,000 open cyber and digital
positions in the Federal Government today that we cannot fill.
Looking at our long term goals, we believe that creating a
national cyber academy, a four year degree for civilian
workforce, for the Federal Government would be the appropriate
next step to fill spaces within CIA [Central Intelligence
Agency], NSA [National Security Agency], NGA, Treasury,
Commerce, but also Space Force.
So I would like to know your thoughts on whether a national
cyber academy would be useful to you to recruit at least your
civilian personnel, but I could see creating coursework
specifically designed for Space Force personnel, both military
and civilian. I would like your thoughts on whether we should
try to create that in this year's NDAA.
Ms. Mulcahy. Yes. Thank you for asking that, chairwoman.
Absolutely, we are on the hunt for cyber talent. I know in
particular, our Air Force Academy has really increased in their
curriculum what we are doing in cyber and cybersecurity.
In our university partnership program, we specifically have
looked at universities that not only meet what we are looking
for in space research and space talent, but also digital and
cybersecurity. The idea of an academy that would specifically
be targeted for civilians, I think is a really interesting one
and certainly would help us in the Space Force. As I gave you
the numbers were about a 50 percent military, 50 percent
civilian.
Senator Gillibrand. Yes, that is what I----
Ms. Mulcahy. So I think that could be--yes, ma'am----
Senator Gillibrand. That is what I thought. The other
reason I suggest this is because we are going to use the
current partners we have in the--in academia that we already
partner with through one of the NSA programs, as well as two
other programs, one is a DOD program, and the other one is a
National Science Foundation Program.
These are very small programs where they will use existing
relationships with schools like MIT [Massachusetts Institute of
Technology] or Stanford to basically have an ROTC [Reserve
Officer Training Corps] style educational relationship. So you
can be trained at these private institutions, but in exchange
for your tuition, you will serve 5 years. Is that something
that would be useful to the Space Force?
Ms. Mulcahy. I think, absolutely, Chairwoman. We, with the
help of the Air Force, have established four year scholarships
at some 11 institutions, 2 that you mentioned in particular MIT
and Stanford, and others that, again, will produce the kind of
talent that we are looking for in the Space Force. So I think
that could be very helpful, for the civilian side as well.
Senator Gillibrand. Grateful. I would like you to perhaps
collaborate with the work that Secretary Cisneros has been
tasked to do with Chief Information Officer in Section 56 of
the 2022 Defense Bill to opine on the benefits of the National
Cyber Academy to train future civilian and military personnel.
I would like you to submit to that review your views in writing
so that they have the benefit of your thinking on how this
could be of use to Space Force needs in the future.
I have questions for each of the witnesses today that I
will submit for the record that you can answer by letter,
because I have to go vote now. I will let Senator Tillis ask
his questions and close this hearing. I just want to thank you
for your extraordinary service and for all you are doing for
our men and women who are serving so bravely.
Without your leadership and your absolute attention to
their needs and their education and their well-being, we would
not have the amazing force that we have today. So, thank you
very much. Senator Tillis.
Senator Tillis. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you all for
being here. I have a general question for all the witnesses,
and then I have got a few service line specific questions. I am
curious, Senator Hawley asked this of Secretary Cisneros, and
General Ottignon, you and I talked about it yesterday, can you
just go down the line and tell me the number of people who have
been separated as a result of their refusal to get the vaccine,
and if you have the information or even just can speculate,
occupational codes or series that have been most affected?
Lieutenant General Ottignon. Thank you, Ranking Member
Tillis. Sure, I have those numbers. If you want, I can submit
them for the record or I can give them to you very quickly.
Senator Tillis. Just real quick.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. We have separated 1,968
marines. Seventy-one percent of those were given a general
discharge. Twenty-eight percent were given an honorable
discharge. That is total force between Active and Reserve. I
don't have the exact number of--by Military Occupational
Specialty (MOS) specialty. I can provide that for the record.
But what I can tell you is, I watch that very closely. I can
tell you there are no operational impacts across the force for
readiness.
There is no one community that has signaled an inference
where a leadership, an NCO, or a young, enlisted Marine is not
present because of that. I think it is important to note that
97 percent of the force is vaccinated. The other part of the
force that is not vaccinated, a large portion of that is in our
enlisted training pipeline that is moving through the system.
The Administration catches up behind it.
So I think it is just important to note that as we go
through this process, we would want every Marine to get a
vaccination. We think readiness is paramount. The Marine Corps
is a 9-1-1 force as you charge us in law, and so it is
important for us to recognize that health and safety, the
Government's compelling interest here is so very high for
readiness and for health and safety of the force, and these
numbers--I wish every one of these young marines would have a
vaccination.
As I mentioned to you before, the Commandant has offered an
enlistment code for anyone that is discharged, the ability to
return to service. If for some reason down the road here, they
recognized that they would want to come back in, there is an
opportunity for that Marine to do that.
Senator Tillis. Thank you. General Brito.
Lieutenant General Brito. Thank you. Thank you, Ranking
Member Tillis. We have 345 soldiers that have been discharged
today for refusal to get their mandatory vaccine. Of those 345
soldiers, 9 have received honorable discharges. The remaining
36 have received general and under honorable conditions. I
would like to know, similar to my Marine counterpart, 98
percent of our force has been vaccinated.
We do continue to look strongly in conjunction with the
Religious Freedom Act to ensure that no soldiers rights are
being violated. As mentioned in the panel earlier today, look
at the safety, health, and welfare of the unit, individual, and
the operations that he or she may be supporting as well.
Senator Tillis. Well, thank you, General. Has the Army also
taken the position that the Marines have, that if a separated
servicemember has buyer's remorse, wants to come back, that
they are welcomed back?
Lieutenant General Brito. We will certainly look at them,
sir, within the context of the law to allow them to, through
the legal process, look at the content--the contents of the
discharge, but yes. I would like to note that a thorough,
deliberative process is conducted with a soldier both in the
staff and counseling before he or she does make that decision.
Senator Tillis. Okay. Admiral Nowell.
Vice Admiral Nowell. Sir, thank you. As of the 21st of
April, the Navy has approved 798 separations based on COVID
vaccine refusal. All of those, the characterization has been
honorable. The way that we designed the process to get to a
fully immunized force as quickly and as equitably as possible
really provided that path. But we, like the other services,
believe that vaccination remains the most effective way to
protect the force.
There have been no impacts to talent management. But I will
tell you, as General Ottignon, General Brito have mentioned, we
don't want to lose a single sailor to, you know, to this. So we
continue to beat the drum on vaccinations, and we are pretty
proud that about 99 percent of the Active component is
vaccinated, sir.
Senator Tillis. Thank you. Ms. DeFilippi.
Ms. DeFilippi. Thank you. Today, 287 airmen have separated
from the Air Force. Of those, 281 have separated under general
and under other honorable conditions, one entry level and five
honorable. Like the other services, we are sitting at about 98
percent vaccination rate. The remaining servicemembers are
going through the process of having their request for
accommodation adjudicated.
The Air Force remains focused on ensuring that we are
deployable at any point in time, and so we too are interested
in making sure that those that separated solely for the reason
of a vaccine are able to re-enlist if they are able to comply
with their vaccination requirements. Thank you.
Senator Tillis. Thank you. Ms. Mulcahy.
Ms. Mulcahy. Yes, thank you for that question, Ranking
Member Tillis. We have not separated any guardians from the
Space Force at this time. We too also enjoy a high 98.2 percent
vaccination rate.
We, too, if we were to separate someone solely for the
reasons of refusing the vaccine, would consider them if they
would take it to come back into our ranks. I must also echo
that this is absolutely a readiness issue, as well as it is
just a health and safety issue as well.
Senator Tillis. Thank you. General Brito, does it seem
reasonable--it doesn't seem reasonable to me, I don't know,
maybe for various reasons, reasonable for you that only two
soldiers can meet the criteria for religious accommodation out
of thousands of requests?
Lieutenant General Brito. Senator Tillis, I would like to
mention that we do have an extremely deliberate process to
review both the medical and religious exemptions for COVID
exemptions. For medical, again starts at the usual level, the
field level, and all the way up to the chain of command.
Any exceptions are monitored through our Surgeon General.
For our religious exemptions, the same again, a trained--a very
deliberate process, starting with a unit level leadership all
up to the highest level if necessary, for exemptions, and
definitely in an adherence with the law of the Religious
Freedoms Act as well.
Reasonable or not, I can say that we do have a very
deliberate process to make sure the decision is equitable to
the soldier in accordance with his or her rights and law, and
in accordance with the health and safety of the unit and the
unit that they support.
Senator Tillis. Well, it is similar to a question from
Senator Halley. It would be helpful if we could get just the
guidelines or the rules that you go through to document that
process. I think that would be helpful.
Lieutenant General Brito. I certainly will, Senator.
Senator Tillis. Ms. DeFilippi, of the airmen and guardians
who were separated, how many were already in the process of
separation or planning to retire?
Ms. DeFilippi. I will need to take that for the record and
come back to you.
Senator Tillis. I was curious just to see how much that is
adjusted for that being the likely outcome for some number. I
mean, but to a person, you are saying that the numbers are not
one--that the reduction in numbers should not affect readiness,
that the lack of vaccine could have an impact on readiness. Am
I hearing that right from all of you, just head shake?
Ms. DeFilippi. Yes.
Senator Tillis. Thank you. General Ottignon--I am sorry, I
always flip the consonants. Can you talk a little bit about the
Talent Management 2030? I know that the Force Design 2030 plan
has gotten a lot of attention. You and I talked about a bit
about this on our call yesterday, but could you talk a little
bit about it? I am also curious whether or not you have the
programs and authorities required to execute?
Lieutenant General Ottignon. Senator Tillis, thank you for
that question. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, the Talent
Management 2030 was in concert with the overall Force Design of
2030 that General Berger issued to the force.
It is unique in a sense that we recognize that in all
domain, an ability to sense and make sense, an ability to
operate forward, inside a weapon exclusion zone, have the
ability to be a standing force, provide capabilities that the
Marine Corps would need for the future fight, would have to
look a little differently in the way we look and recruit and
retain our talent.
That is really where the Commandant kind of moved out. It
recognized three big pieces to this. That we knew we were going
to have to build and retain the right force. We knew we were
going to have to manage it differently.
We know that today's talent, today's Marines, we were
trying to find--we are trying to find ways to create that
ability to have the transparency and options available to
Marines to manage their career so that their opportunities are
present when they need them in order to return on the
investment to us later in the enlistment.
Then finally, it really was a call to arms that we needed
to inform and interface with our Marines, and it would require
modernization of our IT systems. So it was pretty--it is a very
comprehensive outlay of things that the Commandant has
directed.
There are two or three things in there, I think, that are
evolutionary or revolutionary in a sense, that are a different
way to approach, that get a lot of attention. I think in the
media. The Commandant has opined that we are going to have to
look at how we mature the force. Where does that return on the
investment occur?
Either is it upfront and enlistment or can I get more out
of a young man or woman, because the amount of money and time
that goes into the education and exquisite talents that we
think we need? The other one was an opportunity to look at how
do we go after, as the chairwoman remarked, about some of the
all domain type of skill sets that we wanted.
Could lateral entry, for example, where a marine has the
ability to move within the Marine Corps or an ability to come
in and an opportunity to the service, where we recognize that
the authorities already given to us by Congress, that allows us
to assign that individual after they have gone through recruit
training or officer--attending school, the opportunity to the
level into the job, let's say into cyber, what have you.
This seems to have some momentum. We have internships with
local universities. We have 18 students that will participate
in cyber units within the Marine Corps, and we have 20
midshipmen from the Naval Academy that will spend their summer
with us. So there is some growth in there.
All of these things to say, Senator, is that this program
recognizes the need to raise our bar in order to meet the
challenges of what we think is going to be a highly complex
environment that we are going to have to fight in.
Senator Tillis. Thank you. Ms. DeFilippi, the Air Force has
undertaking several initiatives to improve the quality of your
Exceptional Family Members Program. That is something that I
have worked with on Senator Gillibrand for several years now on
this Subcommittee. Can you describe the central assignments of
the Air Force, what they are utilizing now?
Ms. DeFilippi. Thank you very much. We are very proud of
the work that we have done to take what was a very--a very much
a failing program and move it to one that is on the path to
being successful and helpful to individuals.
What we have done over the past 18 months or so is to take
the burden off the members, so whereas they had to do 90
percent of the work to ensure that their exceptional family
members could be cared for, the Air Force, through our central
cell now does most of the work related to ensuring that
families are placed in positions--in assignments that can
support their needs.
We have done that by using automation to ensure that family
members can enter information one time and build on that
instead of recreating the file each and every time. Also by co-
locating the specialties that are required to make decisions
about how appropriate assignments are for families in the same
workspace so that they can collaborate with each other to get
to the right outcome.
We would be happy to provide additional details if you so
desire. Thank you.
Senator Tillis. Thank you. I think that that is an area
that is a good practice. It is something that we will continue
to look at the other service lines to continue to build on
that. But I do think it is a best practice that has a lot of
potential to be replicated.
Ms. Mulcahy, you know, you recruit the servicemember and
then you retain the family. Can you talk a little bit about
what the--the Space Force is doing, particularly for military
spouse employment and family support?
Ms. Mulcahy. Yes. Thank you so much, Senator Tillis, for
that question. Two things that we are doing is, when it comes
to our--all of the STEM positions that we have in the Space
Force, in our civilian complement, we have quite a bit of
direct hiring authority. What we do is communicate to our
spouses that if they have their resumes in USA Job, when these
positions come open because they are a direct higher authority
and we are in contact with our guardians, we will just push the
opportunity to them.
This is a new program for us. It is probably just under 60
days now and we have already had two use--successful use cases
with our small force. We are very excited about this and moving
out further on it. On the other end, on more of the career end,
with what we have learned over these last 2 years of being in
COVID, we think that there is more opportunity to maximize
certainly telework, but also remote assignments for folks and
use of remote work.
We are very deliberately looking at what positions for a
Guard--the military member, to be going between about seven
different installations and where perhaps there are
opportunities that the family member could stay in the position
and work towards a career by working remotely.
So those are two parts of where we are very focused. We
know that, again, we recruit a guardian, but we definitely
retain the family, and so we are focused on anything and
everything that we can do to help our great family members.
Senator Tillis. I think not only in terms of doing right by
those who are serving and their family members, but when we get
this right, whether it is exceptional family members, making
sure that we have employment opportunities for spouses, this
develops a--and General Ottignon, it wasn't lost on me, what
you were talking about with what you are doing with maybe
extending assignments and reducing PCSs.
I mean, these are all things that can change what some
people would conceive of when they enter into the armed
services. More friendly, family friendly, more opportunities
for occupations and careers for work members.
We are working on some of the--or following closely some of
the work we are trying to do with State PACs to allow licensing
and certifications moving across State lines more efficiently.
All of those things I think are useful tools for the issue that
I brought up in my opening comments. We have got headwinds in
terms of recruiting. These are the sorts of things that can
help make your jobs a lot easier.
When you are the last person in committee and the chair
gives you the authority to call the committee, I mean, you
could talk forever. I am sure the staff are hoping I don't talk
anymore, but I really do appreciate you all being here.
But this process--committees are good, but I hope, and I
think I speak for Senator Gillibrand, as we are moving through
the NDAA process, as we are looking at more work that we can
do, please be sure you are in touch with the committee staff
and our officers so that we can do everything we can to make
your job easier. Thank you all for being here. The committee is
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:32 p.m., the Subcommittee adjourned.]
[Questions for the record with answers supplied follow:]
Questions Submitted by Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand
end strength and recruiting
All of the services report increasing difficulty in meeting
recruiting targets, with the Army's end strength request coming in
12,000 less than last year. Traditionally, recruiting challenges are a
function of the labor market and supply and demand. Increasing supply
is not simply a function of increasing propensity to serve, though that
is important. We must also increase the number of 17 to 24 year olds
who are eligible to serve in today's military, while ensuring the force
we recruit is the force we need over the next 20 to 30 years, with
entrance standards appropriate to the times.
1. Senator Gillibrand. Lieutenant General Brito, Vice Admiral
Nowell, Ms. DeFilippi, Lieutenant General Ottignon, Ms. Mulcahy, how do
we expand eligibility for military service to recruit the force we need
today, tomorrow, and 20 years from now, rather than force we needed
decades ago?
Lieutenant General Brito. Expanding eligibility for military
service is essential to recruiting the force of today, tomorrow, and 20
years from now. Obesity, medical/physical concerns, and mental health
concerns all stand as persistent challenges to expanding the pool of
qualified military applicants. The Army is experimenting with a number
of pilot programs and initiatives to increase propensity, maintain
quality and help the Army bring in and retain the best talent.
Recently, the Army has stood up a special Accessions/Recruiting Tiger
Team to examine the challenges the Army faces and to develop innovative
near- and long-term recommendations to meet recruiting goals and ensure
the future success of the All-Volunteer Force.
Vice Admiral Nowell. Navy fully supports working with the Office of
Secretary of Defense and the other Services to explore expanding the
eligibility standards of military service. We are dedicated to ensuring
that all eligibility standards align with the current and future needs
of the Navy and that all enlistees meet those standards morally,
mentally, and physically.
Ms. DeFilippi. The DAF has several ongoing initiatives looking to
expand the eligibility of those we recruit into the force to ensure we
have the force needed today, tomorrow, and many years from now. In the
immediate term, we are reviewing our policies to ensure they reflect
current societal norms and our strength assessment during applicant
processing at MEPS based on barrier analysis outcomes. This includes
our policies on tattoos, hair, and appearance. Another initiative in
support of growing our Cyber force is establishing a presence at summer
youth camps and programs to foster excitement about coding among
tomorrow's airmen. Being present at programs at the Middle School
levels, is enhancing awareness of military career opportunities and
inspiring youth at an earlier point in a student's career.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. Recruiting has been more challenging
over the last 2 years than perhaps at any time since the creation of
the All-Volunteer Force. This is due to many factors. COVID-19 impacted
recruiting efforts due to social distancing requirements, limited
capacity at our recruit depots, delayed shipping activities, closed
schools, and canceled community events that we depend on for personal
contacts and outreach. In addition, the growing disconnect and
declining favorable view between the U.S. population and traditional
institutions, labor shortages, high inflation, and a population of
youth who do not see the value of military service also continue to
strain recruiting efforts and place the Marine Corps' accession mission
at risk. Only a small percentage of our Nation's youth are eligible to
serve in the first place; many are not eligible due to legal and
medical disqualifiers. To continue to make our recruiting mission, we
must continue to fund recruiting advertising, as well as special pays
and incentives for enlistment. We must also give the Services the same
modern tools used by private industry to reach out and find potential
recruits who may be interested in service. We in the public eye must
also continue to highlight the virtues and importance of military
service to our Nation. We cannot--and will not--lower our standards in
order to make mission.
Ms. Mulcahy. The DAF has several ongoing initiatives looking to
expand the eligibility of those we recruit into the force to ensure we
have the force needed today, tomorrow, and many years from now. In the
immediate term, we are reviewing our policies to ensure they reflect
current societal norms and our strength assessment during applicant
processing at Military Enlisted Processing Station (MEPS) based on
barrier analysis outcomes. This includes our policies on tattoos, hair,
and appearance. Another initiative in support of growing our Cyber
force is establishing a presence at summer youth camps and programs to
foster excitement about coding among tomorrow's airmen and guardians.
Being present at programs at the Middle School levels, is enhancing
awareness of military career opportunities and inspiring youth at an
earlier point in a student's career.
2. Senator Gillibrand. Lieutenant General Brito, Vice Admiral
Nowell, Ms. DeFilippi, Lieutenant General Ottignon, Ms. Mulcahy, should
we rely more on non-cognitive predictive assessments, including the
military's own Tailored Adaptive Personality Assessment System (TAPAS),
and less on traditional cognitive testing methods such as the Armed
Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)?
Lieutenant General Brito. The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude
Battery, or the ASVAB, remains a reliable assessment for determining an
individual's suitability for military service. Assessments like the
Tailored Adaptive Personality Assessment System, or TAPAS, augment and
compliment the Army's current testing processes by identifying the
traits that position an individual for success as a Soldier. We support
the continued use of both tests; as it enables the Army to identify
quality recruits who will succeed as soldiers.
Vice Admiral Nowell. The Tailored Adaptive Personality Assessment
System (TAPAS) is a non-cognitive assessment test developed for use in
the selection and classification of military recruits in conjunction
with the cognitive ASVAB test. While it is expected that TAPAS will
provide improvements in selection and classification when used in
conjunction with the cognitive ASVAB, Navy is still evaluating the
validity of TAPAS. If proven, TAPAS would be used along with the ASVAB
to provide the Navy with an improved ability to predict each sailor's
future success.
Ms. DeFilippi. The Air Force has found that pairing both tools
together along with the recruiter's assessment allows for a more
comprehensive review of the whole person. Currently, TAPAS and
Predictive Success Models are not in use for all Air Force Specialty
Codes (AFSC), but we are working to expand these assessments into more
AFSCs in order to provide a better data capture to guide changes.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. There is a growing body of research
that shows that non-cognitive information drawn from predictive
assessments (e.g., TAPAS, interest-matching, etc.) has the potential to
add to the value of a cognitive test such as the ASVAB. The Marine
Corps is exploring the use of these non-cognitive assessments. For
example, the Marine Corps is conducting analysis and evaluating TAPAS's
utility for accession and classification decisions. The ASVAB is used
not only for accession criteria but also as a predictor of success
within a Marine's Primary Military Occupational Specialty (PMOS).
TAPAS, or another instrument capable of measuring non-cognitive and
affective factors, may provide utility for us in the future to open the
aperture to a larger pool of applicants for specific PMOSs beyond what
the ASVAB can do.
We are also looking to collect and utilize non-cognitive
information from an applicant's interest profile. Using an interest-
matching tool, we can determine which PMOSs within the Marine Corps
align best with an applicant's interests. The Marine Corps is
developing a tool, similar to a Navy tool, which helps align an
applicant's interest to a PMOS within the Marine Corps. This tool is
anticipated to help with both recruitment and retention and should be
ready to pilot in the near future.
We are also reviewing the feasibility and applicability of elements
of the ASVAB that we do not currently use. For example, there are tests
designed to measure fluid intelligence, spatial ability, working
memory, perceptual speed, as well as complex reasoning that can be
added or that are currently in development.
The overall goal of all of our efforts is to better assess talent
along the continuum from recruitment to retirement, using attributes
that can be measured, tracked, developed, trained, and analyzed.
Ms. Mulcahy. The Space Force has found that pairing both tools
together along with the recruiter's assessment allows for a more
comprehensive review of the whole person. Currently, TAPAS and
Predictive Success Models are not in use for all Air Force Specialty
Codes (AFSC), but we are working to expand these assessments into more
AFSCs in order to provide a better data capture to guide changes.
3. Senator Gillibrand. Lieutenant General Brito, Vice Admiral
Nowell, Ms. DeFilippi, Lieutenant General Ottignon, Ms. Mulcahy, how do
we address the shrinking geographic diversity of the force--which in my
view is partly responsible for the recruiting challenges the services
face today.
Lieutenant General Brito. Shrinking geographic diversity is a
challenge to recruiting that influences public awareness and
perceptions of the Army and the propensity to serve. To address this
challenge, we are distributing our recruiting force geographically with
consideration to female recruiter distribution, language skills, and
location demographics in areas we are looking to expand. By
establishing a greater presence across a wider geographic area, the
Army will build greater awareness and ensure the force remains
representative of the population at large.
Vice Admiral Nowell. Navy's robust Marketing & Advertising (M&A)
strategy includes a national M&A campaign, Forged by the Sea, which
reaches the target demographic and generates leads from all zip codes.
Digital media focused, the strategy relies heavily on digital and
social media, virtual tools, and online events to communicate to the
market. Additionally, Navy established E-Talent teams to focus on
digital prospecting and lead efficiency management. Navy continues to
explore new virtual platforms to connect with potential recruits.
About the Forged by the Sea campaign:
Digital media overcomes geographic boundaries and helps
reach both rural and urban audiences.
The decision to forego broadcast advertising and focus
solely on digital media was based on the target market's media
consumption habits.
The shift to all digital paid media allows Navy to
measure, optimize and attribute 100 percent of the M&A investment,
focusing on channels/content that offers the highest return and value.
Navy Content is available via most social media platforms
(YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Reddit) and
Navy.com. The content authentically represent diverse lifestyles and
cultures within Navy (inclusive of racial, ethnic, religious and gender
diversity) to ensure relevance and dispel myths, combat prejudice and
bias.
In order to reach potential applicants via more conventional
methods, Navy continues to occupy more than 900 recruiting stations;
deliver school presentations; conduct Navy Promotional Days, Fleet
Weeks, and Navy Weeks; and send direct mail, emails, phone calls, and
text messages. The location of Navy Recruiting stations is based on
regular in-depth market analysis that explores population density,
education quality, labor market trends, and historical propensity.
Ms. DeFilippi. In order to account for geographic diversity, the
Air Force Recruiting Service (AFRS) tracks enlistees' zip codes. The
AFRS is using this information along with joint military advertising,
market research, and additional studies to identify areas in which to
increase an Air Force recruiting presence. While we have seen a marked
increase in diversity of recruits this fiscal year for the USAF and
initial recruits for the USSF, AFRS will continue to expand outreach
and advertisements efforts to attract a diverse talent pool.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. The Marine Corps is already a diverse
service, and we are always looking to find the best talent in our
Nation from everywhere in our Nation. We have recruiters assigned to
every zip code in the U.S. --from the most urban to most rural in order
to take advantage and grow geographic diversity. The demographic makeup
of our recruiting force is even more diverse, which is a testament to
our efforts to recruit a more diverse force by connecting Marines with
the communities they represent. We support a whole of government
approach to message influencers and increase access to youth about
military service in order to further expand the market. Directed
Department of Education support to make contact information available,
funding of the Joint Advertising Market Research and Studies (JAMRS)
program for strategic community engagement campaigns, direct ASVAB
testing, expanding our ability to market to prospective recruits, and
incentives for schools/states for students selecting military service,
will have positive impacts on recruiting across the joint force.
Ms. Mulcahy. Recruiting efforts in the Space Force are coordinated
through the Air Force Recruiting Service (AFRS). In order to account
for geographic diversity, the AFRS tracks enlistees' zip codes. The
AFRS is using this information along with joint military advertising,
market research, and additional studies to identify areas in which to
increase an Air and Space Force recruiting presence. While we have seen
a marked increase in diversity of recruits this Fiscal Year for the
USAF and initial recruits for the USSF, AFRS will continue to expand
outreach and advertisements efforts to attract a diverse talent pool.
suicide prevention
Last month, this Subcommittee held a hearing on suicide prevention
in the armed forces. In addition to hearing from the Department
directly on its efforts to prevent suicide among servicemembers, we
also heard from outside organizations and a parent whose son, a staff
sergeant in the Army, tragically died by suicide. We also received many
helpful suggestions for the Department to improve its efforts in
suicide prevention. Chief among these suggestions was addressing the
root causes of suicidal behavior, including relationship stress, and
limiting access to lethal means.
4. Senator Gillibrand. Vice Admiral Nowell, just last week, we
received disturbing reports that there were three suicides in the
previous nine days of sailors assigned to the USS George Washington,
and that two of the three involved firearms. What is the Navy doing to
ensure that access to lethal means is limited for those experiencing
suicidal distress?
Vice Admiral Nowell. Navy policy provides commanders and health
professional's guidance on reducing access to lethal means through the
voluntary storage of privately owned firearms. Commanding officers and
health professionals may inquire about, collect and record information
about a servicemember's privately owned firearms, ammunition or other
weapons if the commanding officer or health professional has reasonable
grounds to believe the servicemember is at risk for suicide or causing
harm to others. Sailors may voluntarily surrender their privately owned
firearm for safe storage during times of stress.
5. Senator Gillibrand. Lieutenant General Brito, Vice Admiral
Nowell, Ms. DeFilippi, Lieutenant General Ottignon, Ms. Mulcahy, what
are your services doing to improve suicide prevention, and how are you
coordinating with each other to insure you are learning best practices
in suicide prevention?
Lieutenant General Brito. The Army is committed to finding
solutions aimed at tackling suicide through its prevention programs. We
are implementing a public health approach focused on new, comprehensive
and integrated policies. Gen Joseph M. Martin, Vice Chief of Staff of
the Army, led a chain teach initiative to all senior commanders on 29
Nov 2021. He directed them to implement the chain teach within their
commands down to the most junior soldier in teams and squads to ensure
consistent implementation of the Army Suicide Program across the force.
The training includes information on how to recognize signs of
individuals struggling with their mental health, knowledge of available
help-seeking resources, and ensuring Soldiers feel connected and know
they matter. In addition, the Army developed unit and senior commander
handbooks to serve as guides for implementation of the Suicide
Prevention program. The Army is enhancing suicide prevention training
across all components, and expanding telehealth/behavioral health care.
We're also incorporating financial literacy into professional military
education for all ranks and offering the Financial Readiness Program to
all Soldiers. Army efforts such as Military and Family Life Counselors
provided through DOD Military Community and Family Policy, Marriage
retreats and services offered by Army Community Service are geared
towards helping Soldiers cultivate healthy relationships, while efforts
such as the Army Sponsorship Program, Single Soldier Retreats, and
Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program help address well-
being and morale issues of single and unaccompanied Soldiers. These
programs are geared to help Soldiers, civilians, and Family members
better cope with life stressors. We coordinate with our sister Services
through the Department of Defense Suicide Prevention Office monthly
working group, and quarterly Suicide Prevention General Officer
Steering Committee. In addition, we share best practices/lessons
learned during the Deputy's Workforce Council.
Vice Admiral Nowell. Navy's suicide prevention efforts aim to
encourage positive help-seeking behaviors, eliminate stigma, and
increase visibility and access to critical resources. Navy monitors
suicide-related data to identify emerging trends and inform targeted
prevention strategies. Initiatives include:
Cultural Champion Network (an interdisciplinary network
at each command designed to create an integrated support system).
Expanded Operational Stress Control (leverages Command
Resiliency Teams and deckplate leadership to provide more accessible,
collaborative resources and real-time assessments of unit culture to
promote healthy command climates and mitigate risks).
Lethal Means Safety Plan (gun lock distribution,
voluntary storage during times of stress, securing firearms at home
messaging).
Training, Education and Awareness (preparing sailors to
navigate stress and choose life successfully).
Piloting ``Get Better Together'' through the Chaplains
Religious Enrichment Development Operation, a relationship enrichment
retreat designed to equip Navy Service Members and their romantic
partners with strategies to adaptively manage stressors and serving as
a primary prevention intervention for psychological distress related to
suicide risk, alcohol and substance abuse, and intimate partner
violence.
There are multiple opportunities for the Services to collaborate
with the Defense Suicide Prevention Office. Two options are outlined
within policy with mandatory participation. This includes the Suicide
Prevention General Officer Steering Committee (SPGOSC) and the Suicide
Prevention and Risk Reduction Committee (SPARRC). The SPGOSC, composed
of senior executive leaders and general/flag officers from across the
Department, leads the Department's suicide prevention efforts. This
governance body addresses present and future suicide prevention needs
by employing data-driven, evidence-informed practices that have DOD-
wide applicability. Complementing the SPGOSC, the SPARRC is an action-
officer level committee responsible for the coordinated implementation
of the guidance provided by the SPGOSC. In addition, the SPARRC offers
an opportunity for collaboration, communication, and documentation of
promising suicide prevention practices across DOD.
Collaboration across the Department also includes specialty working
groups created through the SPGOSC that ensure collaboration across
specific topics such as program evaluation, lethal means safety,
stigmatizing language, or barriers to care.
Ms. DeFilippi. Suicide prevention is a DAF top priority and we must
do more to stop the tragic loss of airmen and guardians to this
preventable manner of death. The DAF sets annual ``Prevention
Priorities'' to address program gaps and foster innovation. Annual
prevention priorities have become a continuous quality improvement
function of the DAF suicide prevention strategic approach and have
yielded tangible program enhancements.
In addition to the prevention priorities, the DAF leverages
partnerships with academia and industry to design, implement, and
evaluate prevention innovations in an ongoing basis. The Community
Action Team and Community Action Board comprise the action arm of the
prevention system and are used to elevate prevention best practices
from the installation, MAJCOM and HAF levels allowing us to learn from
innovators within our community. Examples of our current partnerships
include our Wingman Connect program with the University of Rochester,
Airman's Edge with Ohio State University, and our Virtual Reality
Suicide Prevention Training with Florida State University and industry
partner Moth & Flame. The DAF actively recruits partners and works with
the Military Suicide Research Consortium for program funding. Beginning
in FY23, our new internal prevention research funding will allow us to
expand partnerships even further.
Finally, the DAF uses the DOD's Suicide Prevention and Risk
Reduction Committee and Suicide Prevention General Officer Steering
Committee to coordinate efforts with other Services and the Defense
Suicide Prevention Office. Through these forums, the DAF has shared
several of our promising prevention programs and learned from others to
improve and coordinate suicide prevention efforts.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. Suicide is an enterprise-wide concern
that has lasting harmful effects on Marines, families, and the Marine
Corps. We coordinate with DoD and the other Services daily. We
regularly engage with Navy mental health services to increase access to
care and seamless transitions between services.
Because leadership involvement is critical to preventing crisis,
suicide prevention is a commander's program in the Marine Corps. Every
leader focuses on building connections with their Marines in order to
recognize signs of distress. They promote an environment in which
mental wellness is prioritized and utilizing medical providers,
counselors, chaplains, and other health and wellness resources is
encouraged.
The Marine Corps' Death by Suicide Review Board continues to
identify key themes and provide actionable information. For example, we
know more than sixty percent of recent deaths by suicide among Marines
involved firearms, so we are focused on lethal means safety
initiatives. We have also learned that relationship distress is
consistently the most common stressor present among those Marines who
have died by suicide. As a result, primary prevention efforts have
increased the focus on healthy relationship development at entry level
training and throughout the lifecycle of a Marine's career.
The importance of force preservation and resiliency cannot be
overstated for a ready Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Force
Preservation process is the formalized method used by commanders to
identify individual Marine risk factors and apply holistic risk
management measures to improve individual and unit readiness. Every
day, this process assists leaders across the Corps to identify those in
need. To further improve and modernize force preservation, we have
developed a secure application-based tool that will provide commanders
a single, standardized platform to enable proactive identification and
assessment of individual Marine risk and resiliency factors. With the
implementation of our Command Individual Risk Assessment System
(CIRRAS), this data is transferable between commands so that, as
Marines PCS, gaining commands will have a clear picture of the Marines
at risk for harmful behaviors or negative outcomes, allowing for
proactive support from the command.
Ms. Mulcahy. Suicide prevention is a DAF top priority and we must
do more to stop the tragic loss of airmen and guardians to this
preventable manner of death. The DAF sets annual ``Prevention
Priorities'' to address program gaps and foster innovation. Annual
prevention priorities have become a continuous quality improvement
function of the DAF suicide prevention strategic approach and have
yielded tangible program enhancements.
In addition to the prevention priorities, the DAF leverages
partnerships with academia and industry to design, implement, and
evaluate prevention innovations in an ongoing basis. The Community
Action Team and Community Action Board comprise the action arm of the
prevention system and are used to elevate prevention best practices
from the installation, Field Commands and DAF levels allowing us to
learn from innovators within our community. Examples of our current
partnerships include our Wingman Connect program with the University of
Rochester, Airman's Edge with Ohio State University, and our Virtual
Reality Suicide Prevention Training with Florida State University and
industry partner Moth & Flame. The DAF actively recruits partners and
works with the Military Suicide Research Consortium for program
funding. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2023, our new internal prevention
research funding will allow us to expand partnerships even further.
Finally, the DAF uses the DOD's Suicide Prevention and Risk
Reduction Committee and Suicide Prevention General Officer Steering
Committee to coordinate efforts with other Services and the Defense
Suicide Prevention Office. Through these forums, the DAF has shared
several of our promising prevention programs and learned from others to
improve and coordinate suicide prevention efforts.
army combat fitness test
The Army recently approved the Army Combat Fitness Test, a new
baseline fitness assessment for soldiers. The test was re-tooled after
a RAND study recommended gender and age-norming the test to make it a
fair and accurate assessment of baseline fitness for all soldiers. But
some questions about the impact of the ACFT remain.
6. Senator Gillibrand. Lieutenant General Brito, can you tell us
what steps the Army is taking to ensure that Reserve and National Guard
personnel have appropriate coaching and equipment access to train for
this physical assessment?
Lieutenant General Brito. The Army equipped units with $78 million
worth of ACFT equipment, with over 60 percent distributed to the
Reserve component to address their geographically dispersed footprints.
This equipment is available for Physical Readiness Training during
drill weekends and to help Soldiers familiarize with the test.
Reserve Component Soldiers looking for ACFT equipment to test or
train on may also coordinate with their local recruiting station
(1,400) or ROTC program (298) across the country, who have also been
issued ACFT equipment.
Further, equipment is not required for training for the ACFT. We
released an ACFT training guide with exercises to help Soldiers
successfully prepare for the test anytime, anywhere. The publication
provides recommended training schedules for all phases of unit training
cycles, to include the Reserve component and remotely located Soldiers.
We made additional resources available on the ACFT microsite, and the
ACFT YouTube page has videos of exercises to help prepare for the ACFT.
We will continue to assess the ACFT through the governance body and
provide any recommended future modifications to Army senior leaders.
7. Senator Gillibrand. Lieutenant General Brito, what is the Army
doing to ensure that Guard and Reserve members can safely and correctly
train for the assessment when they do not live near a Guard or Reserve
facility?
Lieutenant General Brito. While there are some inherent challenges
for Reserve Component Soldiers, specifically being geographically
dispersed across the country, I assure you we are committed to
providing the proper resources for all Soldiers, regardless of
component, to succeed on the ACFT.
We are incorporating the ACFT in a deliberate, time-phased manner
to ensure all Soldiers can properly train and adjust to the new events
and scoring scales. While Active Duty Soldiers will begin taking the
test for record starting October 1, 2022, record scores for National
Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers commence in April 2023, giving Reserve
Component Soldiers a full year to train for the revised test before any
personnel actions are implemented.
We released an ACFT training guide with exercises to help Soldiers
successfully prepare for the test anytime, anywhere. The publication
provides recommended training schedules for all phases of unit training
cycles, to include the Reserve component and remotely located soldiers.
We made additional resources available on the ACFT microsite, and the
ACFT YouTube page has videos of exercises to help prepare for the ACFT,
many of which require no equipment.
We will continue to assess the ACFT through the governance body and
provide any recommended future modifications to Army senior leaders.
8. Senator Gillibrand. Lieutenant General Brito, how do you plan to
track and measure the effects of this test on recruiting and retention,
particularly in critical skill specialties, such as medical personnel?
Lieutenant General Brito. The Army has embedded the ACFT within the
Army People Strategy governance body to continue to review test data,
monitor impacts, and deliver an assessment to the Secretary of the Army
in April 2023. In addition, RAND will conduct two follow on studies to
assist the governance body by providing: (1) an analysis on ACFT
implementation and policy evaluation; and (2) the relationship between
ACFT and health/injuries.
The Army's intent has always been that full implementation of the
ACFT will not adversely or disproportionately affect any Soldier or
group. By implementing an age and gender performance-normed scoring
scale, while pursuing a time-phased implementation that allows
additional time to train, we expect similar recruiting and retention
outcomes as the previous APFT. All direct commissioned officers,
including judge advocates, chaplains, and medical officers, are not
required to pass a record ACFT until 6 months after reaching their
first unit of assignment. No potentially adverse administrative
actions, including flags, will be taken on these Soldiers until that
time.
transgender policy
On March 31, 2021, the Department of Defense reinstated a policy
that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity or an
individual's identification as transgender. This policy allows for the
recruitment, retention, and care of all qualified transgender
individuals. Under this policy, transgender servicemembers who meet
military requirements can serve openly in the military. Recently,
several States have passed laws discriminating against transgender
individuals.
9. Senator Gillibrand. Lieutenant General Brito, Vice Admiral
Nowell, Ms. DeFilippi, Lieutenant General Ottignon, Ms. Mulcahy, how
does your Service deal with assignment of transgender servicemembers to
States with laws that discriminate against transgender individuals?
Lieutenant General Brito. Assignment of transgender servicemembers
is no different than assignment of non-transgender servicemembers. If a
Soldier experiences hardship, they can request a reassignment,
curtailment or deletion based on compassionate reasons through their
chain of command. This includes circumstances when a Servicemember or
Family member faces discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex
(including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), and
national origin.
Vice Admiral Nowell. A sailor's desired location is one of many
considerations when filling billets, but ultimately fleet readiness
requirements are the guiding factor.
Ms. DeFilippi. Members are required to execute PCS orders unless
they've been approved for a humanitarian assignment to support unique
circumstances (e.g., a terminally ill family member) or if the location
cannot adequately support family member(s) enrolled in the Exceptional
Family Member Program (EFMP).
Members are eligible to enroll in the EFMP if they have a family
member who has a diagnosed condition that requires ongoing specialized
medical or educational services. The EFMP identifies family members
with special medical and education needs, enrolls sponsors and family
members in the program and participates in coordination of assignments
for Active Duty servicemembers with consideration of the special needs
of family members during the assignment process.
The EFMP ensures that servicemembers are assigned to locations that
can support the needs of their exceptional family member.
To date, the DAF has not received any assignment-specific requests
based on state laws impacting transgender individuals. We remain
attentive to the needs of all of our members and families.
Servicemembers who have concerns about themselves or their family
members have a variety of resources and should work through command
channels and their local helping agencies who can address their
specific concerns.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. For privacy reasons, the Marine Corps
does not track Marines who are transgender, nor any transgender family
members. Therefore, the assignment of transgender servicemembers is no
different than non-transgender servicemembers. No limits are placed on
a transgender Marine's assignment, solely on the basis of their gender
identity. However, if any Marine feels that their assignment is
problematic in any way, they can work with their chain of command, the
Headquarters Marine Corps assignment and policy branches, and the
Service Central Coordination Cell to evaluate the issue and arrive at a
solution that balances the best interests of the Marine and the Marine
Corps.
Ms. Mulcahy. Members are required to execute PCS orders unless
they've been approved for a humanitarian assignment to support unique
circumstances (e.g., a terminally ill family member) or if the location
cannot adequately support family member(s) enrolled in the Exceptional
Family Member Program (EFMP).
Members are eligible to enroll in the EFMP if they have a family
member who has a diagnosed condition that requires ongoing specialized
medical or educational services. The EFMP identifies family members
with special medical and education needs, enrolls sponsors and family
members in the program and participates in coordination of assignments
for Active Duty servicemembers with consideration of the special needs
of family members during the assignment process.
The EFMP ensures that servicemembers are assigned to locations that
can support the needs of their exceptional family member.
To date, the DAF has not received any assignment-specific requests
based on State laws impacting transgender individuals. We remain
attentive to the needs of all of our members and families. Service
members who have concerns about themselves or their family members have
a variety of resources and should work through command channels and
their local helping agencies who can address their specific concerns.
10. Senator Gillibrand. Lieutenant General Brito, Vice Admiral
Nowell, Ms. DeFilippi, Lieutenant General Ottignon, Ms. Mulcahy, does
your military department limit, in any way, assignment of transgender
military personnel, or military personnel with transgender family
members, to any state that has passed a law that discriminates against
individuals who identify as transgender?
Lieutenant General Brito. The Army does not limit in any way,
assignment of transgender personnel, or military personnel with
transgender family members to any state. When extenuating circumstances
exist and are not expected to be resolved in one year, Servicemembers
may be granted a compassionate reassignment if they are experiencing
hardship. This includes circumstances when a Servicemember or family
member faces discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex
(including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), and
national origin.
Vice Admiral Nowell. A sailor's desired location is one of many
considerations when filling billets, but ultimately fleet readiness
requirements are the guiding factor.
Ms. DeFilippi. No, the assignment process policy applies equally to
all airmen and guardians. servicemembers who have concerns about
themselves or their family members have a variety of resources, and
should work through command channels and their local helping agencies
who can address their specific concerns.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. For privacy reasons, the Marine Corps
does not track Marines who are transgender, nor any transgender family
members. Therefore, the assignment of transgender servicemembers is no
different than non-transgender servicemembers. No limits are placed on
a transgender Marine's assignment, solely on the basis of their gender
identity. However, if any Marine feels that their assignment is
problematic in any way, they can work with their chain of command, the
Headquarters Marine Corps assignment and policy branches, and the
Service Central Coordination Cell to evaluate the issue and arrive at a
solution that balances the best interests of the Marine and the Marine
Corps.
Ms. Mulcahy. No, the assignment process policy applies equally to
all airmen and guardians. Servicemembers who have concerns about
themselves or their family members have a variety of resources, and
should work through command channels and their local helping agencies
who can address their specific concerns.
new army parental policy
Just last week, the Army unveiled an expansive set of new policies
aimed to create one of the most consequential sets of quality-of-life
improvements ever for military parents, including expanded leave and
making it easier for pregnant soldiers to continue their careers. This
new policy includes a 12-month exemption from onerous military
requirements such as postpartum body composition, physical fitness
testing, postpartum dress uniforms, deferment from training and
deployments, among other things. This new policy also authorizes up to
42 days of convalescent leave after a pregnancy loss and authorizes
parental leave for birthparents in the Army Reserve and Army National
Guard.
11. Senator Gillibrand. Vice Admiral Nowell, Ms. DeFilippi,
Lieutenant General Ottignon, Ms. Mulcahy, please describe your services
parental policies.
Vice Admiral Nowell. With regard to leave for new parents on Active
Duty, Navy offers six weeks of maternity convalescent leave to a new
mother. Additionally, one parent will be designated as the primary
caregiver and will receive six weeks of primary caregiver leave. The
other parent, designated as the secondary caregiver, will receive three
weeks of secondary caregiver leave.
Navy does not have prescribed lengths of convalescent leave for
members that have a pregnancy loss. The length of convalescent leave is
determined by medical personnel on a case by case basis. Military
treatment providers may refer to the Defense Health Agency Tri-Service
Practice Algorithm on Convalescent Leave following Perinatal Loss to
determine medical recommendation for length of convalescent leave with
pregnancy duration and confirmed gestational weeks at time of loss to
inform their patient-specific decision, but are not required to adhere
strictly to that resource.
For drilling reservists, Navy worked with the Office of the
Secretary of Defense (OSD) on the development of Department of Defense
guidance for the implementation of maternity leave for drilling
reservists. We anticipate that formal OSD guidance will be published
shortly and Navy will implement that guidance.
Pregnancy and parenthood are natural events that occur in
servicemembers' lives and are compatible with successful naval service.
The OPNAVINST 6000.1D, Navy Guidelines Concerning Pregnancy and
Parenthood Instruction (March 2018), applies to all Active Duty and
full-time support Navy personnel, commands and activities, and
describes the Navy's pregnancy and parenthood guidelines and
requirements.
With regard to operational deferment, a Navy servicemember who
physically gives birth will be deferred from all transfers (e.g.,
permanent change of station, temporary additional duty, temporary duty)
to operational assignments for a period of 12 months following
delivery. This is to support breastfeeding and bonding. Sailors have
the option to request an operational deferment waiver to terminate
their 12 month postpartum operational deferment tour at any point after
convalescent leave in order to return to an operational command. These
requests must be initiated by the servicemember, and approved by the
health care provider and the commanding officer, in coordination with
the cognizant detailer.
In July 2021, Navy updated the pregnant and postpartum physical
readiness exemption policy, expanding the postpartum exemption
timeframe from its' previous nine month guidance to 12 months after a
qualifying birth event. Servicemembers are exempt from the official
Physical Fitness Assessment, which consists of the Body Composition
Assessment and the Physical Readiness Test, for 12 months after the
conclusion of pregnancy. At six to nine months postpartum, the
servicemember participates in a wellness (unofficial) Physical Fitness
Assessment, if cleared by their Health Care Provider.
Regarding maternity uniforms, Navy offers enrollment in the
Maternity Pilot Program to Active Duty and Reserve officers and
enlisted to obtain a full set of required maternity uniform items at no
cost to Servicemember. Issued maternity uniforms may be worn throughout
the period of required wear up to 12 months after receipt.
Ms. DeFilippi. Similar to the Army, the DAF policy contains
numerous provisions aimed to improve quality of life for airmen and
guardians as servicemembers and parents. These include authorizing
permissive Temporary Duty travel (TDY) for fertility treatments and
non-chargeable convalescent leave following the loss of a child.
Additionally, pregnant airmen and guardians receive physical fitness
testing exemptions for 12 months following the conclusion of a
pregnancy. In terms of military travel and contingency requirements,
DAF allows for deferments on deployments, Permanent Changes of Station
(PCS), and Temporary Duty (TDY) travel for both post-partum members (12
months) and adoptive parents (6 months).
Lieutenant General Ottignon. No Marine should have to choose
between service and having a family. Early on, our Commandant made
increasing parental leave a priority. As it stands today, according to
current law and policy, a Marine who is the primary caregiver can take
as much as 20 weeks of paid leave by taking advantage of multiple
convalescence and other paid leave authorities, and can do so in
flexible increments. We also recently increased secondary caregiver
leave from 2 weeks to 3 weeks. With other leave authorities, a
secondary caregiver is currently authorized up to 11 weeks of paid
leave following the birth of a child. Additionally, we are working with
the Department on the recent parental leave expansion authorities in
the Fiscal Year 2022 NDAA.
In regard to assignments, to the extent possible, assignments and
PCS orders will accommodate pregnant Marines. Marines will not be
assigned duties that adversely affect their health or unborn child
health. In regard to deployment, the Marine Corps allows, but does not
require, birthparents to defer operational deployments, overseas
assignments, or any temporary duty away from home station for up to 12
months after the birth or adoption of a child. Finally, in regard to
physical training, a Marine birthparent is exempt from physical fitness
and body composition standards until at least 12 months after the date
of the birth event.
Ms. Mulcahy. Similar to the Army, the DAF policy contains numerous
provisions aimed to improve quality of life for airmen and guardians as
servicemembers and parents. These include authorizing permissive
Temporary Duty travel (TDY) for fertility treatments and non-chargeable
convalescent leave to recover following delivery of a child or a
stillbirth. Additionally, pregnant airmen and guardians receive
physical fitness testing exemptions for 12 months following the
conclusion of a pregnancy. In terms of military travel and contingency
requirements, DAF allows for deferments on deployments, Permanent
Changes of Station (PCS), and Temporary Duty (TDY) travel for both
post-partum members (12 months) and adoptive parents (6 months).
12. Senator Gillibrand. Vice Admiral Nowell, Ms. DeFilippi,
Lieutenant General Ottignon, Ms. Mulcahy, what is your view of this new
Army policy, and will you consider adopting a similar policy for your
Service?
Vice Admiral Nowell. Navy already has a policy that governs
Pregnancy and Parenthood guidelines and requirements for our
servicemembers and applies to all Active Duty and full-time support
Navy personnel, commands and activities. We update our instruction
based on policy revisions from the Secretary of the Navy and Office of
the Secretary of Defense (OSD).
Navy will implement the new parental leave and the reserve
maternity leave when the DOD guidance is released. Our leave program
will conform to the policy that OSD directs.
Ms. DeFilippi. The Department of the Air Force is actively
reviewing multiple policies to see where we can adopt similar
provisions to better support our airmen, guardians, and families.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. Marine Corps and Army parental
policies are largely uniform. We welcome new ideas that allow our
Marines to better support their families while maintaining our mission
readiness. Some of the new Army policies, such as excusing birthparents
from all continuous duty events that are in excess of one normal duty
day/shift for 365 days after the birth of their child, will require
further evaluation. We are working with the Department on the recent
parental leave expansion authorities in the Fiscal Year 2022 NDAA.
Ms. Mulcahy. The Department of the Air Force is actively reviewing
multiple policies to see where we can adopt similar provisions to
better support our airmen, guardians, and families.
mental health
As most everyone here acknowledges, our country is in the midst of
a mental health crisis. Last October, the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry (AACAP) and the Children's Hospital Association (CHA)
declared a mental health emergency for children and adolescents. There
is already a mental and behavioral health provider shortage in the
Military Health System (MHS) documented in a January 2022 DOD report on
behavioral health requirements. Yet the services are seeking reductions
in reimbursements to mental and behavioral health providers and have
proposed medical billet cuts.
13. Senator Gillibrand. Lieutenant General Brito, Vice Admiral
Nowell, Ms. DeFilippi, Lieutenant General Ottignon, how has mental
health care been factored into the decision-making related to the
medical billet cuts? Won't removing mental health providers, as well as
primary care providers who help screen patients and are part of the
continuum of care, take away options and jeopardize the availability of
mental health services for servicemembers and their dependents?
Lieutenant General Brito. The Army does not currently plan to
reduce or cut the number of existing Behavioral Health provider billets
as part of any reduction of medical forces. The Army manpower process
includes iterative assessments of capabilities and capacity, Army
leaders had a low tolerance for mission impacts in Health Care Delivery
(HCD) and decided to reduce currently vacant military authorizations
filled with civilian over-hires, or assessed with a high confidence to
hire Civilian Personnel in that health care market. The refined impact
assessment demonstrated that most of the reductions would cause no
impact to medical readiness or beneficiary care because the locations
are over structured or the military position is vacant and a civilian
is already in place. The Army did not recommend any reductions that
would cause Military Treatment Facility care to be transferred to the
network or any reductions where it assessed difficulty in hiring a
civilian replacement in that area.
Vice Admiral Nowell. Navy is committed to ensuring that our sailors
and marines and their families have access to the mental health support
they need. We have established layers of forward leaning defense for
mental health in addition to the providers at the Medical Treatment
Facilities (MTFs),), including Expanded Combat Stress Control, Warrior
Toughness, and when needed, intervention by Special Psychiatric Rapid
Intervention Navy Teams (SPRINT) and Organizational Incident Nexus
(ORION) Trauma Tracking program. Other important non-medical mental
health resources include Fleet and Family Support Center counselors,
Military and Family Life Counselors Chaplains, Deployed Resiliency
Counselors, and Military One Source Counseling Services.
Regarding medical manpower divestitures, we are continuing
engagement with the Defense Health Agency to develop a mitigation plan
for divestitures to include impact on military medical treatment
facilities on Navy and Marine Corps installations. Work also continues
to finalize analyses of the Joint Medical Estimate, operational medical
requirements, and the enduring homeland defense mission and pandemic
responses. These analyses may alter the specialty mix of the
divestitures in order to meet operational/training/readiness
requirements.
Ms. DeFilippi. The DAF specifically removed mental health positions
from consideration for reductions. We are not expecting any mental
health provider reductions as part of the 4,684 military personnel
billet cuts.
Standardized provider-to-patient empanelment ratios (for
Servicemembers and their families) will be maintained despite the
reductions in Active Duty primary care providers within the 4,684
military personnel reduction plan. Primary care empanelment will still
occur with Active Duty providers, but may shift to civilian and
contractor military treatment facility providers, as well as network
primary care providers. Primary care providers will continue to provide
initial mental health assessments and provide a continuum of care.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. Access to mental and behavioral health
providers is vital to the care of our Marines. Encouraging Marines to
seek help when needed is a continuous effort that requires proactive
engagement from leadership at all levels. The Marine Corps regularly
collaborates with Navy mental health services to increase access to
care and seamless transitions between services. While the Marine Corps
defers to the Navy on medical requirements and resources, we are deeply
concerned with ensuring our mental health services meet the needs of
the force. We continue to increase our focus on prevention and
resilience. The Marine Corps makes non-medical counseling services
available to Marines to complement medical mental health services.
__________
Questions Submitted by Senator Elizabeth Warren
exceptional family member program
In recent years, military families participating in the Exceptional
Family Members Program have encountered numerous systemic challenges,
including the widely-criticized changes to the Autism Cares
Demonstration program and TRICARE coverage, which has limited settings
in which children with autism spectrum disorder can receive important
treatment.
Last summer, Deputy Secretary Dr. Hicks testified on the findings
and recommendations of the Independent Review Commission on Sexual
Assault in the Military. Dr. Hicks highlighted the benefits of bringing
in outside experts, adopting an evidence-based approach, and engaging
stakeholders as a best practice approach. These families would benefit
from applying what Dr. Hicks called a best practice approach, a sprint
to deliver change fast.
14. Senator Warren. Secretary Cisneros, Lieutenant General Brito,
Vice Admiral Nowell, Ms. DeFilippi, Lieutenant General Ottignon, Ms.
Mulcahy, how will you seek to apply Deputy Secretary Hicks' model to
reform the services we provide military families in the Exceptional
Family Member Program, using outside, independent experts, stakeholders
across the Federal Government and an evidence-based approach?
Secretary Cisneros. The Department acknowledges the importance of
leveraging the expertise of outside experts, independent experts, and
stakeholders across the Federal Government, as well as utilizing an
evidence-based approach to reform services and supports provided to
military families with disability-related needs. The Department
utilizes an evidence-based, collaborative approach incorporating the
expertise of various stakeholders and outside experts as a component of
the continuous improvement process and will continue to use this model
to enhance and improve services to military families with disability-
related needs. Additionally, the Department used an evidence-based
approach to develop performance metrics to measure program
effectiveness to identify programmatic successes and proactively
address barriers impacting military families. Currently, the Department
is in the process of initiating implementation of the performance
metrics across the Military Departments.
Lieutenant General Brito. The Army defers to OSD for guidance. The
Army will follow and support OSD's lead.
Vice Admiral Nowell. We are fully engaged implementing the
Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) requirements mandated by the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 to consolidate
EFMP into a single headquarters site, increasing the number of full
time headquarters staff, and meeting DOD standardization efforts. To
improve our program, we leveraged outside EFMP advocacy groups, non-
profits, as well as our internal subject matter experts to hold
information sharing sessions with EFMP families as part of a month-long
awareness campaign. We conducted surveys with EFMP families to better
understand how we can improve our support. We conducted pilots to
ensure our manning at our family support centers meets the needs of our
EFMP families. We conducted special education attorney pilots to
determine what the demand signal is for legal special education
support, while concurrently training over 50 military and civil legal
assistant attorneys to assist EFMP families across the Fleet. Further,
all new incoming judge advocates now receive specialized legal training
from the College of William and Mary to better support our EFMP
families.
Ms. DeFilippi. In 2020, the DAF began a major transformation of the
Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP). A Highly Qualified Expert
with 26 years' experience in private industry as a process improvement
engineer, was brought onboard as the lead. With no military or
traditional program delivery background, she immediately began to
gather data, identify and address program shortfalls and implement
customer-focused solutions. This best practice approach yielded major
reforms and initiatives, facilitating a major shift in how the DAF
delivers EFMP services. Centralization, process improvement, and major
automation efforts streamlined requirements, reduced timelines,
increased access to information and services for our families, and
reduced member appointment/paperwork requirements by 90 percent.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. The Marine Corps EFMP is fully
participating in all OSD-led working groups associated with EFMP
standardization and is prepared to meet all Service-level reporting
requirements, addressed in the Fiscal Year 2021 NDAA. For example, the
Marine Corps has already selected a fourth attorney to support families
in Virginia and the National Capital Region, anticipated start date
June 2022. Other attorneys are located at Camp Pendleton, Camp Lejeune
and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, providing regional legal support and
representation for EFMP families. The Marine Corps has also submitted
eight nomination packages, representing a diverse group of EFMP-
enrolled sponsors and family members, in support of the OSD EFMP Family
Advisory Panel.
Ms. Mulcahy. In 2020, the DAF began a major transformation of the
Exceptional Family member Program (EFMP). A Highly Qualified Expert
with 26 years' experience in private industry as a process improvement
engineer, was brought onboard as the lead. With no military or
traditional program delivery background, she immediately began to
gather data, identify and address program shortfalls and implement
customer-focused solutions. This best practice approach yielded major
reforms and initiatives, facilitating a major shift in how the DAF
delivers EFMP services. Centralization, process improvement, and major
automation efforts streamlined requirements, reduced timelines,
increased access to information and services for our families, and
reduced member appointment/paperwork requirements by 90 percent.
15. Senator Warren. Secretary Cisneros, Lieutenant General Brito,
Vice General Nowell, General Ottignon, Ms. DeFilippi, Ms. Mulcahy, how
would you include military families in that reform approach?
Secretary Cisneros. The input of military families is essential to
the reform approach. The Department obtains the knowledge and expertise
of families through the facilitation of advisory panels designed to
utilize military families as strategic partners in program improvement.
The Department will continue to partner with military families to
inform programmatic improvements.
Lieutenant General Brito. The Army defers to OSD for guidance. The
Army will follow and support OSD's lead.
Vice Admiral Nowell. We stay engaged with our families through
survey tools, needs assessments, and focus groups as well as our
Ombudsman network. An ongoing challenge is getting the word out to our
spouses and families of the myriad of resources that are available. To
do this we have leveraged our Ombudsman network, where we can share
information and resources, local, regional and national information
campaigns through digital media, events such as designating September
as EFMP Month to highlight our efforts to improve services delivered,
and campaigns at the installation level to reach out to our families to
share services that are available to our families, including non-
medical counseling, financial planning and budgeting, job search,
resume building, and transition services.
Ms. DeFilippi. The DAF engaged with families from the outset of our
transformation effort, initially via a Rapid Improvement Event
conducted in February 2020. During that event, we solicited family
feedback, identified problem areas, implemented solutions focused on
improving transparency, automation and communication. Twenty-nine
issues were identified at the event and 34% of those issues were linked
to a decentralized process. Forty-four enhancements were identified
and, it was ``centralization'' that was identified as the ``optimal''
enhancement. We continue to update our families at least bimonthly via
interactive Facebook events where they are able to ask questions,
provide feedback and talk with Subject Matter Experts available to
respond to their specific concerns. Customer feedback is the critical
foundation of our approach to change.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. The Marine Corps has submitted eight
nomination packages, representing a diverse group of EFMP-enrolled
sponsors and family members, in support of the OSD EFMP Family Advisory
Panel.
Ms. Mulcahy. The DAF engaged with families from the outset of our
transformation effort, initially via a Rapid Improvement Event
conducted in Feb 2020. During that event, we solicited family feedback,
identified problem areas, implemented solutions focused on improving
transparency, automation and communication. Twenty-nine issues were
identified at the event and 34 percent of those issues were linked to a
decentralized process. Forty-four enhancements were identified and, it
was ``centralization'' that was identified as the `optimal'
enhancement. We continue to update our families at least bimonthly via
interactive Facebook events where they are able to ask questions,
provide feedback and talk with Subject Matter Experts available to
respond to their specific concerns. Customer feedback is the critical
foundation of our approach to change.
16. Secretary Cisneros, General Brito, General Nowell, General
Ottignon, Ms. DeFilippi, Ms. Mulcahy, what's your timeline for applying
these reforms?
Secretary Cisneros. The Department is currently applying these
reforms, which will evolve as new requirements present themselves. We
are utilizing an evidence-based approach, leveraging the knowledge of
subject matter experts and military families, to continually reform the
services and support provided to military families with disability-
related needs. We will continue to apply these reforms as we improve
and enhance the provision of services to military families.
Lieutenant General Brito. The Army defers to OSD for guidance. The
Army will follow and support OSD's lead.
Vice Admiral Nowell. Our EFMP central office and hiring of
additional case workers will be complete in late fiscal year 2024.
Ms. DeFilippi. The DAF is 60 percent complete in our multi-year
transformation journey and accomplishments to date include
centralization of resources, staffing/manning studies, and automation
initiatives. The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) Central Cell
is 80 percent resourced and estimated to reach 100 percent resourcing
by summer 2022. We introduced an automated Family Member Travel
Screening (FMTS) process and Exceptional Assignment Case Management
System 30 Aug 2021, adding EFMP enrollment capability in Jun 2022 and
developing a Family Support component that will assess and track
delivery of services in calendar year 2023.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. The USMC is prepared to meet all
directed timelines.
Ms. Mulcahy. The DAF is 60 percent complete in our multi-year
transformation journey and accomplishments to date include
centralization of resources, staffing/manning studies, and automation
initiatives. The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) Central Cell
is 80 percent resourced and estimated to reach 100 percent resourcing
by summer 2022. We introduced an automated Family Member Travel
Screening (FMTS) process and Exceptional Assignment Case Management
System 30 Aug 2021, adding EFMP enrollment capability in Jun 2022 and
developing a Family Support component that will assess and track
delivery of services in calendar year 2023.
17. Senator Warren. Secretary Cisneros, Lieutenant General Brito,
Vice Admiral Nowell, General Ottignon, Ms. DeFilippi, Ms. Mulcahy, how
can Congress assist you in applying these reforms?
Secretary Cisneros. Congress's continued support of the
Department's efforts to enhance and improve the services and supports
provided to military families with disability-related needs is
essential to the success of the enhancement measures. As the needs of
military families evolve, the Department will remain steadfast in
actions to improve their experiences continually.
Lieutenant General Brito. The Army defers to OSD for guidance. The
Army will follow and support OSD's lead.
Vice Admiral Nowell. As members of Congress engage with family
members, I would ask you to continue to emphasize the programs and
information available to support our military families.
Ms. DeFilippi. Thank you for your continued interest and support in
the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP). Continued resourcing
support for EFMP transformation and service delivery will enable a
strong base of support for DAF families. Demand for EFMP Respite Care
is high and the need for a wider network of providers accepting and
supporting TRICARE is needed. Partnering with local communities,
particularly in more rural and/or remote areas, to expand the
availability of TRICARE supporting medical care for our members and
their families would be helpful. Additionally, support of Defense
Health Agency's EFMP efforts, particularly their TRICARE engagement and
Developmental-Behavioral Family Readiness Center initiative which began
in 2020 to provide developmental pediatrics and mental health for
children and adults at small and remote bases through virtual health,
teleconsultation and provider travel using a centralized hub and spoke
model would be appreciated. We look forward to continuing to provide
care solutions for our airmen, guardians and families.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. We believe that we have the
authorities we need to implement the reforms, but will engage Congress
if new authorities are required.
Ms. Mulcahy. Thank you for your continued interest and support in
the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP). Continued resourcing
support for EFMP transformation and service delivery will enable a
strong base of support for DAF families. Demand for EFMP Respite Care
is high and the need for a wider network of providers accepting and
supporting TRICARE is needed. Congressional advocacy and partnering
with local communities, particularly in more rural and/or remote areas,
to expand the availability of TICARE supporting medical care for our
members and their families would be helpful. Additionally, support of
Defense Health Agency's EFMP efforts, particularly their TRICARE
engagement and Developmental-Behavioral Family Readiness Center
initiative which began in 2020 to provide developmental pediatrics and
mental health for children and adults at small and remote bases through
virtual health, teleconsultation and provider travel using a
centralized hub and spoke model would be appreciated. We look forward
to continuing to partner with Congress to provide care solutions for
our airmen, guardians and families.
service contracting costs
18. Senator Warren. Secretary Cisneros, 10 USC Sec. 4505 requires
the Secretary of Defense to prepare and submit to Congress an annual
inventory of ``a summary of the inventory, of activities performed
during the preceding fiscal year pursuant to staff augmentation
contracts and contracts closely associated with inherently governmental
functions on behalf of the Department of Defense.'' Your office is
responsible for developing the guidance for that reporting, including
calculating contractor full-time equivalents for direct labor, using
direct labor hours in a manner that is comparable to the calculation of
Department of Defense civilian full-time employees. Those calculations
should indicate approximately how many contactor employees the
Department of Defense has. How many contractors work for the Department
of Defense?
Secretary Cisneros. The Department does not directly track
contractor full-time equivalents (FTEs) outside of the Inventory of
Contracted Services (ICS) required by 10 USC 4505. The ICS for Fiscal
Year 2021, published by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
for Acquisition and Sustainment, reported approximately 251K CFTEs. The
ICS only includes contracts for services above a $3M threshold and in
four portfolio groups: logistics management, equipment-related,
knowledge-based, and electronics and communications services.
Additionally, the Fiscal Year 2021 ICS noted a number of service
contracts that were not reported, which makes the CFTE number a likely
undercount. Going forward, the Department anticipates the number will
improve over time.
Because the Department uses firm fixed price contracts for a
majority of contract services, these are estimates, rather than head
counts. The Department contracts using performance-based methods and
focuses on monitoring contract performance to achieve successful
outcomes, rather than by individual contract inputs or people. A
successful service contract could, for example, take five full-time
contractor personnel or ten part-time contractor personnel to perform
the same task. Because the Department leaves it to the discretion of
the contracted company to determine how best to organize its staff to
meet the deliverables, these numbers can vary, and the Department does
not have--or need--visibility into a company's staffing levels to
achieve the required contract outcomes. For these reasons, the
Department looks at the costs associated with contracted services
rather than specific CFTE counts.
19. Senator Warren. Secretary Cisneros, last year the Government
Accountability Office raised concerns that the Department's transition
from the Enterprise-wide Contractor Manpower Reporting Application
(ECMRA) to the System for Award Management (SAM) would hinder the
Department's ability to collect information on direct labor costs. Is
the Department of Defense able to collect information on direct labor
costs?
Secretary Cisneros. SAM does not directly collect information on
direct labor costs. However, SAM does collect information on funding
associated with contracts, as well as contractor estimates of full-time
equivalents, which can be used to calculate direct labor cost
estimates.
20. Senator Warren. Secretary Cisneros, since 2016 the Government
Accountability Office has recommended the Department of Defense collect
and report five year spending plans for contracted services across the
Department. What is the status of the Department being able to project
future costs of service contract spending over the future years defense
plan?
Secretary Cisneros. Projecting future costs of service contract
spending is a responsibility assigned to the Under Secretary of Defense
(Comptroller) and the Director of Cost Assessment and Program
Evaluation in 10 U.S.C. Sec. 4506. My office, however, stands ready to
assist and support them, if needed.
21. Senator Warren. Secretary Cisneros, how are you discharging
your statutory role for assessing total force mix, including how
contracted services are addressed?
Secretary Cisneros. The Total Force Manpower & Analysis Directorate
in P&R is responsible for providing overarching guidance to the
Department on Total Force mix issues and manpower management. They
translate law, regulation, and Executive-branch policy into a policy
framework for all the Defense Components to use in determining their
individual workforce mixes. These policies include guidance for
assessing the use of contracted services to ensure that private sector
sourcing is used when appropriate, efficient, and effective.
22. Senator Warren. Ms. Penrod, are you able to comply with the
requirements under 10 USC Sec. 4505 with the data collected through the
System for Award Management (SAM)?
Ms. Penrod. Yes. SAM allows the Department to comply with the
requirements in 10 U.S.C. Sec. 4505. Additionally, SAM bypasses the
need for an internal data call within the Department to fulfill the
annual Inventory reporting requirements in 10 U.S.C. Sec. 4505, which
reduces the possibility of human error in the data.
23. Senator Warren. Secretary Cisneros, do you think your office
will have the data necessary to comply with 10 U.S.C. Sec. 4506 to
support the validation of requirements for service contracts and
decisions regarding the procurement of services as part of total force
management policies and procedures by February 1, 2023?
Secretary Cisneros. The responsibilities in 10 U.S.C. Sec. 4506
are delineated to the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and the
Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation. My office, however,
stands ready to assist and support them however we can, if needed.
__________
Questions Submitted by Senator Thom Tillis
usd p&r
24. Senator Tillis. Secretary Cisneros, the Under Secretary of
Defense has a statutory total force management responsibility to
optimize the balance between military, civilian employee and contract
support based on risk and cost. When faced with increasing operational
demand and reduced accessions, stress on the all-volunteer military is
affected with more high demand low density military occupational
specialties. This makes it extremely important to optimize your mix so
that the civilian workforce or contractors can relieve military of
functions that do not require military performance as one way of
reducing stress on the force. And where continuity of operations is
required for ``critical functions'' or where ``closely associated with
inherently governmental functions'' require sufficient government skill
sets for proper oversight of contracted actions, ``special
consideration'' should be given to civilian employee performance. On
the other hand, where emerging technologies are involved where the
skills are not yet developed in the government, the private sector has
a role to play as well. What are you going to do to improve the USD P&R
performance of this statutory function, particularly given its
potential to mitigate some of the stress on the all-volunteer military?
Secretary Cisneros. There is no ``one size fits all'' solution for
workforce mix. P&R policies provide a framework for the Defense
Components to allow individual commanders and managers to operate
within the confines of law, regulation, and Executive-wide policy while
maintaining a maximum amount of flexibility. This allows individual
organizations to have workforce mixes informed by their unique missions
and ``facts on the ground.'' Total Force policy already requires that
military personnel be directed to military essential functions, which
reduces the stress on the force. Additionally, the unique benefits of
civilian personnel and contracted services are also taken into account
in these policies.
25. Senator Tillis. Secretary Cisneros, recent CNA Studies on
``Optimizing Total Force Management'' issued in July 2021 and an April
2019 IDA Study on ``Revisiting the Criteria for Military Essentiality
in Total Force Management'' make some overlapping criticisms on the
need to update the DODI 1100.22 for total force management, which was
last updated in December 2017. These reports highlight the effects of
personnel caps in disincentivizing the use of civilian employees, the
lack of transparency over contractor execution data and projections
over the FYDP, and the need to include the Army's sourcing checklist to
operationalize and make clearer the guidance in DODI 1100.22.
Additionally, the studies criticize USD P&R staff for failing to be
active in CAPE and Comptroller led issue team programmatic reviews with
the Military Departments. Are you familiar with these reports?
Secretary Cisneros. Yes, I am familiar with these reports. The
Total Force Manpower & Analysis Directorate in the Office of the
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower & Reserve Affairs was the
sponsor for those reports and is responsible for the implementation of
their associated recommendations.
__________
Questions Submitted by Senator Josh Hawley
26. Senator Hawley. Secretary Cisneros, how many servicemembers,
within each individual service and across them, have been discharged as
a result of the vaccine requirement?
Secretary Cisneros. I have established a senior level working group
that will gather this information and we will provide it when complete.
27. Senator Hawley. Secretary Cisneros, of those servicemembers
discharged as a result of the vaccine requirement, what percentage
across and within each service were issued as ``general discharge under
honorable conditions'' rather than ``honorable discharge''?
Secretary Cisneros. I have established a senior level working group
that will gather this information and we will provide it when complete.
28. Senator Hawley. Secretary Cisneros, has the Office of the
Secretary of Defense directed the services to evaluate character of
discharge related to Covid-19 vaccination by any uniform process or
criteria?
Secretary Cisneros. Separations are used to strengthen the concept
that military service is a unique calling, different from that of a
civilian occupation. The acquisition of military status, whether
through appointment, enlistment or induction, involves an individual's
commitment to the United States, their Military Service, fellow
citizens, and fellow servicemembers. The uniform policies and
procedures for the equitable processing of administrative separations
are contained in DOD Instruction 1332.14 and DOD Instruction 1332.30.
29. Senator Hawley. Secretary Cisneros, if the Office of the
Secretary of Defense directed the services to evaluate character of
discharge related to Covid-19 vaccination by any uniform process or
criteria, please provide a copy of that guidance; if not, why not?
Secretary Cisneros. The uniform policies to evaluate the
characterization of service are contained in DOD Instruction 1332.14
and DOD Instruction 1332.30. Those standing policies were modified by
Section 736 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022, where
Congress specifically directed that servicemembers separated for
failure to obey a lawful order to receive a vaccine for coronavirus
2019 could only result in an honorable discharge or a general discharge
under honorable conditions. The Instructions in question may be viewed
at: https://www.esd.whs.mil/Directives/issuances/dodi/
30. Senator Hawley. Secretary Cisneros, prior to the enactment of
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, how many
servicemembers did receive a dishonorable discharge because they were
unable or unwilling to be vaccinated against COVID-19?
Secretary Cisneros. I have established a senior level working group
that will gather this information and we will provide it when complete.
31. Senator Hawley. Ms. Foster, is there indication that pandemic-
related restrictions and health mandates have adversely impacted the
mental health of servicemembers and their families?
Ms. Foster. Masking and physical distancing, although necessary to
reduce the spread of COVID-19, may create feelings of isolation, and
increase our stress and anxiety levels. Nationwide, stressors,
behavioral health concerns, and demand for behavioral health care,
appear to be increased by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Servicemembers are
likely not immune to these challenges. Examples include:
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy released a public
health advisory on December 7, 2021 regarding alarming trends in mental
health, including rising suicide rates and increasing depressive and
anxiety symptoms of young people, all of which are exacerbated by the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
American Psychological Association. Stress in America
2021: Stress and Decision-Making During the Pandemic indicated a
behavior change for adult as a result of stress during the pandemic
(https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2021/october-
infographics).
Recently published DODIG report 2022-081, ``Evaluation of
Department of Defense Military Medical Treatment Facility Challenges
During the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic in Fiscal Year
2021'' (April, 2022), indicate that MTF staff reported an increase in
operational stress, challenges associated with staff burnout due to
personnel shortages and operational challenges, and the use of mental
health services due to workload stressors (https://media.defense.gov/
2022/Apr/06/2002970821/-1/-1/1/DODIG-2022-081--REDACTED.PDF).
A Medical Surveillance Monthly Report (MSMR) (May 2021,
Vol 28 No 5) assessed 2020 hospitalizations and ambulatory visits of
the Active component. Mental health diagnosis numbers, rates, and ranks
appeared similar between 2016, 2018, and 2020, with mental health as
the top diagnosis at discharge for hospitalizations and in the top 5
for ambulatory visits.
32. Senator Hawley. Dr. Smith, what is DOD's estimate for the
universe of individuals who would qualify for the presumption of
service connection for burn pit exposure, given how many individuals
were likely exposed since 2001?
Dr. Smith. Approximately 3.0 million servicemembers deployed after
September 2001 to South West Asia, Afghanistan, Djibouti and other
countries where exposures to airborne particulate matter, including
burn pit emissions, was possible. Thus, these servicemembers would be
eligible to submit a claim for presumption of a service connection for
a medical condition associated with such exposures. In addition,
approximately 0.7 million servicemembers deployed to the Persian Gulf
War from 1990 to 1991. These servicemembers would also be eligible to
submit a claim
In recent years, military families participating in the Exceptional
Family Members Program have encountered numerous systemic challenges,
including the widely criticized changes to the Autism Cares
Demonstration program and TRICARE coverage, which has limited settings
in which children with autism spectrum disorder can receive important
treatment.
Last summer, Deputy Secretary Dr. Hicks testified on the findings
and recommendations of the Independent Review Commission on Sexual
Assault in the Military. Dr. Hicks highlighted the benefits of bringing
in outside experts, adopting an evidence-based approach, and engaging
stakeholders as a best practice approach. These families would benefit
from applying what Dr. Hicks called a best practice approach, a sprint
to deliver change fast.
33. Senator Hawley. Lieutenant General Brito, military housing has
a direct impact on many of the issues we're talking about here today,
from servicemembers and their families' physical health to mental
health, suicide, and related challenges. Despite this--and despite
assurances to the contrary--it seems that the Army continues to drag
its feet on long overdue housing improvements at Fort Leonard Wood in
my home state of Missouri. Will you commit that the Army will provide a
full update on the Out-Year Development Plan to replace aging housing
at Fort Leonard Wood in the next seven days, so we have that
information ahead of the Army posture hearing?
Lieutenant General Brito. Fort Leonard Wood remains a priority for
Balfour Beatty Communities (BBC) and the Army to address aging
inventory. FLW ODP 2014-2019 was a no new work plan to build funds in
the Reinvestment Account for future new construction. On 10 Aug 20,
DASA IH&P provided concept approval for FLW ODP 2020-2025 to demolish
and replace 59 homes, with $1M approved for development of the full
package for approval. Record levels of construction-related inflation,
combined with years of stagnant to falling BAH, now make new
construction at Fort Leonard Wood extremely challenging. On 22 February
22, the garrison and BBC leadership began to shift focus from new
builds to more economically feasible renovations to address aged and or
failing major systems within legacy homes. They are currently
developing the full scope to submit to DASA IH&P for approval. The
current new build design process will continue, with the intent to
shorten the design window when additional funding is available for new
builds in the future.
BBC and the Army continue to seek out innovative ways to facilitate
redevelopment at
Fort Leonard Wood. The garrison has taken actions to submit BAH
reconsiderations within their Military Housing Area to make it more
competitive under the current housing conditions. Fort Leonard Wood
consistently remains in the Army's Top 3 recommendations to OSD for
Section 606 funds distribution. BBC is also in the due diligence phase
of potentially pursuing an energy savings contract that could provide
funds towards water and lighting retrofits and new HVAC systems.
34. Senator Hawley. General Ottignon, I applaud Commandant Berger's
vision for the future force, as articulated in his planning guidance
and Force Design 2030. Can you address how Talent Management 2030
supports his direction to urgently prepare for modern combat?
Lieutenant General Ottignon. Our legacy personnel system was
designed in the industrial era with assumptions about human capital
which are now superseded by modern technological advantages of the
information age. While improved upon over the years, this system is not
well suited for the cultural and technological changes of today's world
and tomorrow's Marines. Talent Management 2030 (TM2030) describes a
fundamental redesign of this system, empowered by the new statutory
authorities provided by Congress, at a critical juncture for change. We
are grateful for the additional authorities provided by Congress to
enable us to better serve our servicemembers, their families, and our
Nation. TM2030 details how the Marine Corps will implement new models
for recruiting and retaining talent, modernize an assignments process
consistent with our warfighting philosophy, introduce new measures to
increase career flexibility, and optimize access to modern digital
tools, processes, and analytics, consistent with industry standards.
The vision for TM2030 is a transparent, collaborative, data-driven, and
commander-focused system to manage and improve talent. It will better
focus on the individual talents of each Marine. It will empower Marines
and improve transparency, objectivity, and flexibility in their
careers. With a modernized talent management system, we will better
harness, develop, and compete for the unique skills and strengths
demanded of Marines.
35. Senator Hawley. Vice Admiral Nowell and General Ottignon, by my
estimate, your services have the highest rates of separation for
vaccine status. As you recall, Secretary Austin's guidance to the
Military Departments in August 2021 allowed exemptions to the Covid-19
requirement under existing service regulations.
How do the Navy and the Marine Corps evaluate requested exemptions
related to sincerely held religious beliefs or previous infection?
Vice Admiral Nowell. Sailors and Navy applicants seeking religious
accommodations for waiver of immunization requirements must submit
written requests to my office, where each is reviewed on a case-by-case
basis, and decisions are based on the full range of facts and
circumstances relative to the compelling governmental interests.
A Navy chaplain conducts an administrative interview and prepares a
memorandum for the record prior to the commanding officer's endorsement
of the package. The sailor includes an administrative counseling form
which states they have been counseled by a military physician on the
risk to their health due to exposure to disease and the benefits and
risks of vaccine. The commanding officer endorses the request and
addresses the impact approval of the request would have on mission
accomplishment, including military readiness, unit cohesion, good order
and discipline, health and safety. The commanding officer should also
address the religious importance of the religious accommodation to the
requestor, the cumulative impact of repeated religious accommodations
of a similar nature, and alternative means available to accommodate the
request.
Sailors are able to include any documentation they feel is
necessary to support the approval of their request. Commands then
submit religious exemption requests to my office. Once received, each
package is individually reviewed by an action officer, legal counsel,
the offices of the Chief of Chaplains and the Bureau of Medicine and
Surgery before being routed to me for detailed review and adjudication.
Members who receive a disapproval are afforded the opportunity to
appeal to the Chief of Naval Operations, who is the final adjudication
authority in the religious accommodation process.
Previous infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is not an indication for
a COVID vaccine exemption. Currently, there are no established immune
correlates of protection for SARS-CoV-2, with which medical personnel
can determine whether someone is protected from COVID after vaccination
or natural infection. With no FDA-authorized or approved test to
measure an individual's immunity from infection by the SARS-CoV-2
virus, vaccination is the only safe, controlled, and reliable method of
delivering the necessary protection.
Lieutenant General Ottignon. Pursuant to the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993, the Marine Corps established a process
to evaluate each requested exemption on a case-by-case basis. The
Service conducts careful analysis of each individual's particular
circumstances, religious beliefs, legal burdens, as well as case-by-
case evaluation of each request's impact on the Marine Corps'
compelling governmental interest in mission accomplishment at the
individual, unit, and organizational levels, to include military
readiness, unit cohesion, good order and discipline, and health and
safety. In requesting an exemption, each Marine submits their request
with evaluations and recommendations from their command chaplain and
their chain-of-command through the General Court-Martial Convening
Authority. Per Department of Defense policy, I am the Commandant of the
Marine Corps' appointee to adjudicate each Marine's request, and I am
assisted in the deliberation process by a full time legal counselor,
the Director of Health Services, a chaplain and an advisory board. Each
and every request goes through the same deliberative process before I
make any decision. Any appeal to my decision is sent directly to the
Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps for final adjudication. The
process is deliberate, time consuming, and taken very seriously by
everyone involved.
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