[Senate Hearing 111-226]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
S. Hrg. 111-226
RESERVE COMPONENT PROGRAMS
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HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON PERSONNEL
of the
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MARCH 25, 2009
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services
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COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
CARL LEVIN, Michigan, Chairman
EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama
JACK REED, Rhode Island SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
BILL NELSON, Florida JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska MEL MARTINEZ, Florida
EVAN BAYH, Indiana ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi
JIM WEBB, Virginia RICHARD BURR, North Carolina
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri DAVID VITTER, Louisiana
MARK UDALL, Colorado SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
KAY R. HAGAN, North Carolina
MARK BEGICH, Alaska
ROLAND W. BURRIS, Illinois
Richard D. DeBobes, Staff Director
Joseph W. Bowab, Republican Staff Director
______
Subcommittee on Personnel
E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska, Chairman
EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
JIM WEBB, Virginia MEL MARTINEZ, Florida
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi
KAY R. HAGAN, North Carolina RICHARD BURR, North Carolina
MARK BEGICH, Alaska DAVID VITTER, Louisiana
ROLAND W. BURRIS, Illinois SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
__________
CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES
Reserve Component Programs
march 25, 2009
Page
Hall, Hon. Thomas F., Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve
Affairs........................................................ 6
Vaughn, LTG Clyde A., ARNG, Director, Army National Guard........ 21
Wyatt, Lt. Gen. Harry M., III, USAF, Director, Air National Guard 39
Stultz, LTG Jack C., USAR, Commanding General, U.S. Army Reserve
Command........................................................ 40
Debbink, VADM Dirk J., USN, Chief of Navy Reserve; and Commander,
Navy Reserve Force............................................. 77
Bergman, Lt. Gen. John W., USMC, Commander, Marine Forces
Reserve; and Commander, Marine Forces North.................... 84
Stenner, Lt. Gen. Charles E., Jr., USAF, Chief, Air Force
Reserve; and Commander, Air Force Reserve Command.............. 96
May, RADM Daniel R., USCG, Director of Reserve and Training, U.S.
Coast Guard Reserve............................................ 104
(iii)
RESERVE COMPONENT PROGRAMS
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2009
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Personnel,
Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m. in
room SR-232A, Russell Senate Office Building, Senator E.
Benjamin Nelson (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Committee members present: Senators E. Benjamin Nelson,
Hagan, Begich, Burris, Chambliss, Graham, and Thune.
Committee staff members present: Leah C. Brewer,
nominations and hearings clerk; and Jennifer L. Stoker,
security clerk.
Majority staff members present: Jonathan D. Clark, counsel;
Gabriella Eisen, counsel; and Gerald J. Leeling, counsel.
Minority staff members present: Paul C. Hutton IV,
professional staff member; Christopher J. Paul, professional
staff member; Diana G. Tabler, professional staff member; and
Richard F. Walsh, minority counsel.
Staff assistants present: Ali Z. Pasha and Brian F. Sebold.
Committee members' assistants present: Ann Premer,
assistant to Senator Ben Nelson; Jon Davey, assistant to
Senator Bayh; Gordon I. Peterson, assistant to Senator Webb;
Michael Harney, assistant to Senator Hagan; Clyde A. Taylor IV,
assistant to Senator Chambliss; Adam G. Brake, assistant to
Senator Graham; and Chip Kennett, assistant to Senator Collins.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR E. BENJAMIN NELSON, CHAIRMAN
Senator Ben Nelson. Good afternoon. The subcommittee meets
today to discuss Reserve component programs of the Department
of Defense (DOD). I welcome back my partner and good friend on
the subcommittee, Senator Graham. We've worked together either
as ranking member or chairman for a number of years, and it's
always good to work with you, Lindsey.
Senator Graham. Thank you, sir.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you for all your support and your
encouragement.
To our witnesses, welcome. On the first panel, we welcome
back Mr. Thomas F. Hall, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Reserve Affairs, who is also currently serving as the acting
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Mr.
Hall has been the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve
Affairs since October 2002, and has been Secretary Gates' point
man on the implementation of the recommendations of the
Commission on the National Guard and Reserves.
I understand that Secretary Hall will leave government
service next month, after completing more than 40 years of
combined military and Federal civilian service. Secretary Hall
and your wife, we're delighted to have you here today, and
we're looking forward to your testimony one last time before
you depart. We want to especially thank you for the past 7
years of tireless and dedicated service as Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Reserve Affairs.
We're eager to hear your views of the recommendations of
the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves, and we look
forward to hearing your insights and recommendations based on
your vast experience with our Reserve components.
On our second panel, we'll have the Directors of the Army
and Air Force National Guard and Chiefs of each of the Reserve
components. I'll introduce each of them when we convene the
second panel.
The Reserve components have undergone a significant
transformation in the past 8 years, from a Cold War-era
strategic force to an operational force manned and equipped to
face both the traditional and asymmetric threats of the 21st
century. Despite the evolving operational nature of the Reserve
components, there remains a strategic quality. The Reserve
components respond when unforeseen events require even greater
mobilization than the Active Duty can provide.
Our Reserve components are engaged in all fronts of our
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. We know that our efforts in
Afghanistan will not be successful by military force alone, but
must also include a strong strategy for diplomacy, economic
development, and sustainability. The 28th Forward Agribusiness
Development Team, deployed from Nebraska to Afghanistan, is
illustrative of an engagement strategy that promotes diplomacy
and economic development. Our 52-member team from Nebraska is
in Afghanistan to assist, teach, train, and educate farmers on
better farming methods, to introduce the farmers to better and
more sustainable crops, and to promote the eradication of the
poppy trade.
The agricultural team chief of the Nebraska unit, Eric
Saddleburg, said it best to the National Guard Bureau: ``Our
goal in every mission is to improve relations with the locals.
This type of mission will strengthen the bond between
Afghanistan and the United States because we know that we're
here to help grow this nation, rather than destroy it.''
This Nebraska unit is but one example of how the Guard and
Reserve have transformed from a Strategic Reserve to an
Operational Force. Our Reserve forces have risen to meet the
new and constant challenges, but we must continue to monitor
and assess this evolution to ensure that it is funded, manned,
equipped, and trained so that it is ready and able to meet its
missions while retaining the character and essence of the
citizen-soldier.
As we enter the ninth year of sustained combat, the stress
on our All-Volunteer Force, Active and Reserve, is greater than
ever. Last week we heard from the Vice Chiefs of the Services
about the rising incidence of suicides, particularly in the
Army and Marine Corps. Both General Chiarelli and General Amos
pointed to the stress on the Force, lengthy and repeated
deployments, as a primary factor in the rise of suicides.
The Force as a whole is stressed, and that stress is now
manifesting itself more than ever in the health and wellbeing
of individual servicemembers and their families. Key to
lessening the stress on the Force is ensuring that we adhere to
deployment and dwell time standards. The stated goal of the
Department for Reserve component members is 1 year of mobilized
service with 5 years dwell time at home. This is absolutely
vital to the long-term health of the Reserves and Reserve
component personnel. It ensures that our reservists and
guardsmen remain trained and proficient while providing
predictability for their families and civilian employers. This
predictability and transparency goes far in sustaining the
morale and mental health of our servicemembers and allows them
to plan both their military and civilian careers. It's good for
the servicemembers, their families, the military, the civilian
sector, and the Nation.
We also learned last week that Secretary Gates has approved
a plan to transition the Army off its use of stop-loss to keep
military personnel on Active Duty after they complete their
Active Duty service commitment. The Reserve components are
scheduled to cease the use of stop loss this summer. We applaud
this move. It enhances the predictability and transparency that
reservists, guardsmen, and their families need to plan their
careers and care for their families.
This policy decision, of course, raises a number of issues.
Stop-loss has been a tool the Army used to ensure unit cohesion
for units deployed or preparing to deploy. Will undoing stop-
loss require additional end strength to compensate for
servicemembers who do not have enough time left on their
commitment to complete a deployment? Will National Guard and
Reserve units have to rely on more cross-leveling to replace
personnel who will not have enough time to complete the
deployment? Does Congress need to authorize additional
compensation authorities to incentivize short-term extensions?
This subcommittee stands ready to act, if necessary. Ever
mindful of the quality of life and quality of service of the
Reserve components, this committee has sponsored and supported
many initiatives in recent years to address the wellbeing of
reservists, guardsmen, and their families.
Senator Graham and I will soon introduce legislation that
will make health benefits under TRICARE Standard available to
gray area retirees and their families. Currently these National
Guard and Reserve retirees are not eligible for TRICARE until
they reach age 60.
I'll also reintroduce legislation that will encourage and
demand thoughtful planning of training missions away from home
for members of the Reserve component known as Operation
Airlift. This legislation will provide that if a Reserve
component member is sent to training and then that training is
suspended for more than 5 days, the military will pay for the
travel expenses to return that member home.
The Yellow Ribbon Program has been a resounding success. As
General Chiarelli testified in last week's hearing, the Yellow
Ribbon Program has helped Reserve component members and their
families to transition from Active Duty back to civilian life.
In 2007, Congress authorized TRICARE Reserve Select, which
extended the military health care program, TRICARE, to members
of the Selected Reserve and their families. As I indicated
earlier, Senator Graham and I will soon introduce legislation
that will enhance this program by extending TRICARE Reserve
Select to gray area retirees.
In 2006, Congress authorized income replacement for Reserve
components members subject to extended and frequent Active Duty
service. In the recently passed Omnibus Appropriations Act, we
enhanced this benefit, fully covering Federal employees who
experience an income loss due to Active Duty service.
In 2008, we authorized transportation allowances for
certain reservists on inactive duty for training who are forced
to travel long distances. Also in 2008, Congress enacted the
new GI Bill, complete with transferability to spouses or
children. Given the vastly increased mobilizations of
reservists and guardsmen, many will be eligible for these
generous benefits under the new GI Bill, even a fully funded
college education.
Lastly, as I indicated earlier, we have supported an end to
the Army's practice of stop-loss and supported compensation of
servicemembers who have served under stop loss.
We'll continue to look for opportunities to enhance
benefits where prudent and needed to maintain a healthy force.
One positive effect of a lagging economy seems to be that
military recruiting and retention are up. With a friendlier
recruiting environment, we expect that the quality of new
recruits will be even better.
We look forward to hearing today about the recruiting and
retention successes of the Reserve components. I also look
forward to hearing about the effect of the new GI Bill and
transferability on both recruiting and retention in the Reserve
components.
Senator Graham, would you like to make an opening
statement?
STATEMENT OF SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM
Senator Graham. Very briefly, Mr. Chairman. One, I'd like
to echo what you started with, the idea that we do work well
together. Our staffs have done a terrific job. There is a lot
of conflict in Congress and between the parties, and that's
just the way democracy works. But when it comes to this
subcommittee and, generally speaking, the Senate Armed Services
Committee in general, we do a very good job, I think, of
working together because our men and women in uniform are not
partisans, they're patriots. What we try to do is make sure
that our patriotic nature overcomes our partisanship.
You have been a very, very good chairman, and I have
enjoyed working with you. I think, as you've just indicated,
we've done some pretty good things. There's more to come. We're
going to work on maybe trying to allow early retirement for
people who volunteer for deployments. We have a program in
place, but I think we could be even more aggressive.
Secretary Hall, I just want to echo what Senator Nelson,
our chairman, said. You have done a great job for the country
for a very long period of time. I'm glad your wife is here
today. She has, I'm sure, been a great partner here. We can't
thank you enough. You have had a very tough assignment. It's
been 6\1/2\ years of constant combat.
To our Reserve members and the commanders, like Senator
Nelson, I've been to Iraq and Afghanistan many, many times, and
you can't tell the difference between the reservist and Active
Duty member. The missions that the Reserves have performed have
been absolutely essential to the outcomes in Iraq and
Afghanistan. The civil affairs component, military police, you
can go down the list; the Guard and Reserve has not only
stepped up to fill in, but they've been the leading agencies,
components, on a lot of the things that are necessary to win
this war that we're in. So the best testament I can give to a
member of the Guard and Reserves is that when you go to war, no
one can tell the difference between you and your Active Duty
counterpart.
Secretary Hall, maybe this will be your last time before
this committee. I don't know. We may call you back. To our Army
National Guard (ARNG), Lieutenant General Vaughn, thank you for
your service. The Commander of the Marine Forces, Lieutenant
General Bergman, thank you very much for what you have done. If
this is your last time, well done. If you come back again,
welcome. Who knows what the future holds.
I look forward to listening to the state of play of the
Guard and Reserves, and thank you all for your service.
Mr. Chairman, we'll continue to work together for the good
of the country.
[The prepared statement of Senator Graham follows:]
Prepared Statement by Senator Lindsey Graham
Thank you, Senator Nelson.
Secretary Hall, I'd like to join Senator Nelson in acknowledging
your long service as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve
Affairs. The combination of these most recent 6\1/2\ years in the
Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and your previous 34 years of
active duty in the Navy, including assignment as the Chief of the Naval
Reserve, tells me that you have just about seen and done it all.
Thank you for your many contributions on behalf of individual
reservists and guardsmen and their families and for your hard work in
ensuring that our Reserve forces have continued to become the highly
capable, proficient, and much relied upon full partners we expect them
to be.
I'd also like to acknowledge the contributions of members of your
OSD Reserve Affairs staff who have been so helpful to us over the years
and who will soon be leaving government service--particularly Dr. John
Winkler, Assistant Secretary Craig Duehring, and Tom Bush. Please
extend our thanks to each of them.
I would also like to recognize the long and faithful service of the
Director of the ARNG, Lieutenant General Vaughn, and the Commander of
the Marine Forces Reserve, Lieutenant General Bergman. This will
probably be their last appearance before this subcommittee as they
complete their terms. We appreciate greatly your leadership and the
many contributions each of you have made to your Service.
Mr. Chairman, the men and women of our superb Active and Reserve
Armed Forces have been on a wartime footing now for over 7 years. They
have performed and continue to perform magnificently. We owe a
tremendous debt to them and their families, and, in the months ahead, I
know that under your leadership, our subcommittee will buckle down and
work hard to assist them in every way possible. I look forward to it.
I thank all our witnesses for their service and for joining us
today. I am very happy, by the way, to see that the Coast Guard has
joined us today, given the key role that the Coast Guard plays today in
homeland security and national defense. Welcome, Rear Admiral May.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you very much, Senator Graham.
We'll now hear from our first witness, Mr. Hall. Thank you.
STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS F. HALL, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF
DEFENSE FOR RESERVE AFFAIRS
Mr. Hall. Thank you. I would like my written statement
entered into the record.
Senator Ben Nelson. It will be.
Mr. Hall. I also have a brief statement, first to thank
you, Mr. Chairman and Senator Graham, for what you have done.
You've always been very gracious to us, and no two people have
supported our Guard and Reserve more.
I'd like to start out by congratulating Congress. You often
get all the blame, but it's perhaps not known that in the past
6\1/2\ years, over 200 provisions in the law for Guard and
Reserve have been made and many of those at your support and
your insistence. So we thank you for that.
As was mentioned, over 50 years ago, I put on the uniform
of this country, and I've had the opportunity in different
capacities to serve our Nation. It's all I've ever known. I've
lived the dream for that amount of time.
One of the reasons I asked my wife to come is that for 46
years, she has devoted her life to supporting the families and
the troops, and she deserves more recognition than I do. She
came to my confirmation hearing, and she's coming to what I
hope is the last hearing. We want to thank you.
The gentlemen behind me, I know when it's their turn, will
give you their honest opinion, and there's just never been a
better group of Guard and Reserve chiefs, and I say that having
been one because they are a superb group of dedicated
Americans.
We've had the largest mobilization since World War II. You
know that. Today we passed over the statistics. I saw 700,000
guardsmen and reservists have been mobilized since September
11. There are 127,000 on duty today, serving throughout the
world.
I also think that our boss, Secretary Gates, has made some
fundamental changes which have been very critical. The January
19 memo that you mentioned was a real watershed, where he said
that the mobilization time will be 1 year for our Guard and
Reserve, and that we will have deployment to dwell time ratio
goals of 1:2 for our Active Duty, 1:5 for our Guard and
Reserve. I can report in the 2 years since then--and I track
these every week--we've gone from about 1:2.8 to 1:3.0, to now,
the next group that we're going to take for mobilization, are
at 1:4. So, within about a year, we've increased a full year.
Part of that has been our ability to increase the size of
the Army and the Marine Corps. Part of it has been rebalancing.
We have rebalanced about 134,000 billets. We have plans for
225,000 from our less stressed career groups over to our more
stressed. That has helped us. That has helped us get there.
We have published the Operational Reserve Directive. One of
the recommendations of the Commission on the Guard and Reserve
is that we need to institutionalize this. We need to make it a
way of practice. In October, we published that directive, and
we're proceeding along that line. In there, we talk about how
we are going to mobilize, how we're going to recruit and
utilize our Guard and Reserve.
On recruiting, this is the best recruiting statistic that
I've seen in 6\1/2\ years. As of today, these gentlemen
combined are recruiting at 111 percent. 111 percent, I have
never seen that. As for our quality: we are at 94 percent high
school graduates. We have a goal of 90 percent. In this
country, I think it's a tragedy that high school graduates are
down to around 70 percent. We're at 94 percent.
For our recruits in categories 1 through 3, our goal is 60
percent high school graduates. We're at 67 percent. Most
important, the category 4, we have a goal of no more than 3
percent non-high school graduates; we're at only 1 percent
nongraduates.
Now, the economy helps. But I say these are great patriots
today, and these young men and women are serving because
they're patriots. It's not just the economy.
We have made great progress in equipping our Guard and
Reserve. When I've appeared before this committee and others,
we've talked about it. Over $50 billion in the program of
record is going towards our Guard and Reserve, $30 billion of
that is towards the National Guard. I think one of our
challenges will be to sustain that because that's in the
program of record, but we need to sustain it.
There is $10 billion in this year's program of equipment
for our Guard and Reserve. If we execute that, that will bring
the Guard up to about 78 percent of their equipment on hand.
We've never been above 70 percent on-hand and it's been
cascaded old equipment. This will be brand-new compatible
equipment. So I think the committee needs to watch and make
sure we execute that.
One of the recommendations of the Commission on the Guard
and Reserves is to provide a mechanism by which we track,
finally, how we program and execute the appropriations for the
Guard and Reserve. We have just signed on to recommendation
number 42 and 43 in the Commission's report and the mechanism
of how we're going to do that. Every quarter, it will be
required that the Services report to my office how they're
using equipment, where it is, and where it's going. Twice a
year, although it's not required, we're going to report to you
on the appropriations made, how we are tracking that equipment,
so we will all know that it's ending up with the Guard and
Reserve. So we will be doing that.
Again, a large effort we've had is supporting our families
and our employers. You mentioned the Yellow Ribbon Program.
That comes under my office. We have established the Yellow
Ribbon Program as a Center of Excellence. We have manned that
with representatives from each one of our components. From the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), we've moved that office
into the Pentagon in my spaces. On Monday, we will hold the
first advisory board meeting of the Yellow Ribbon Program.
We have about $200 million this year in execution funds
that we're putting towards that program. We have
institutionalized the 30-, 60-, and 90-day reintegration effort
because we know we need to get those people and their families
back. Families notice that something is wrong sometimes before
the trooper will admit it. So, getting them back at that
periodicity will help us talk to them. We're going to be doing
that.
With the stop-loss, I'm proud to say that the Army Reserve
on September 1 will end that; the Army Guard will end stop-loss
after that. I do not think--and I would be interested in what
my colleagues have to say--that that will cause a lot of
difference in cross-leveling and with the Individual Ready
Reserve (IRR). We've mobilized about 20,000 of the IRR since
September 11. In the first Gulf War, we used 30,000. We have
225,000, so we have not at all approached that. But we need to
watch that very carefully. You hit upon something which I think
we would welcome, which is proper manning of stop-loss. We need
to incentivize people to extend their time, and that's going to
require some dollars.
So after the budget comes over, I know my colleagues won't
be bashful. If they need money to incentivize people to extend,
I think we will be able to do that without tapping the IRR too
much. But you mentioned that, Mr. Chairman.
TRICARE Reserve Select, that's been something which you
have driven. I'm happy to report 38,421 of our people are
taking advantage of that. The premiums are very attractive. I'm
not a health insurance person, but they tell me those premiums,
$47.51 for a single person, is pretty competitive. So 100,000
have already taken advantage of the program, including
dependents. That's growing along the way. So we appreciate
that. I imagine there wouldn't be a grey area retiree resisting
the fact if you pass that law.
I think I will end there, and I will be happy to answer any
of your questions. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Hall follows:]
Prepared Statement by Hon. Thomas F. Hall
introduction
Chairman Nelson, Senator Graham, and members of the committee,
thank you for the invitation to appear before you today. I would like
to provide an overview of the Reserve components from my perspective,
then describe the Department's plan to act on recommendations made by
the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves in its final report,
and close with comments on the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program.
As a whole, the Reserve components exceeded their recruiting
objective by 5 percent in fiscal year 2008 and were below the
established attrition ceiling. They are on the glide slope to achieving
their recruiting goals this year. A large measure of this success is
due the increase in compensation and enhancements in benefits you have
authorized over the last 6 years; thanks to you. Relieving the stressed
career fields is just about complete and, although we continue to work
on equipment and medical readiness, we have made great strides in the
overall readiness of the Reserve components. Over the past 7\1/2\
years, there has been a profound increase in the contributions the
Reserve components have provided to support the war effort. We have
asked a great deal of Guard and Reserve members and they unfailingly
answer the call to duty.
I have been fortunate to serve as the Assistant Secretary for
Reserve Affairs for the past 6\1/2\ years. During this time, the
Department has implemented numerous policy changes and Congress has
passed over 200 changes in law that have improved the management of the
Reserve components and enhanced the pay and benefits provided to Guard
and Reserve members, and their families.
I believe that the success we have enjoyed in recruiting new
members into the Reserve components and retaining Guard and Reserve
members is a direct reflection of the pride they have in serving our
great country and the significant enhancements provided by Congress in
compensation (basic pay, allowances and incentives) and benefits now
available to Guard and Reserve members and their families.
Three years into the war following the terrorist attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon, this committee had concerns with
the number of changes in laws governing the structure and employment of
the Reserve components and the pay and benefits provided to Reserve
component members and their families as the Department increased its
reliance on the Guard and Reserve to provide operational support.
Congress determined that a comprehensive assessment by an independent
entity was needed and included a provision in the Ronald Reagan
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 that
established the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves. Congress
charged the Commission with carrying out a study of the roles and
missions of the National Guard and the Reserve components, and the
compensation and other benefits, including health care benefits that
are provided for members of the Reserve components under the laws of
the United States.
After nearly 2\1/2\ years of study, the Commission released its
final report on January 31, 2008. The Commission organized its report
into 6 major areas and made 95 recommendations supported by 163
findings.
the department's review of the report
Immediately following the release of the final report, the
Secretary directed the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and
Readiness to establish a working group of senior executives to conduct
a comprehensive review of the report and provide him with a proposed
course of action for each of the Commission's 95 recommendations. I led
that working group, which was comprised of 28 general/flag officers and
senior civilian executives from the OSD staff, the Joint Staff, the
Military Departments and Services, the National Guard Bureau, U.S.
Northern Command, the Reserve Forces Policy Board, the Departments of
Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs and Labor, and the Small Business
Administration.
Following a comprehensive review of the report and assessing the
recommendations made by the Commission, the working group provided the
Secretary with a fully coordinated, comprehensive plan for addressing
the Commission's recommendations. The Secretary published his decision
in a memorandum dated November 24, 2008, which directed the Department
to act on 82 of the recommendations. Of the 82 recommendations, the
Department already had action underway or had completed action on 29
recommendations. He deferred two recommendations to other departments
in the executive branch because those recommendations involved issues
that were under the purview of those departments. Finally, he directed
that no action be taken on eleven recommendations.
overview of action taken by the department of defense
In addition to continuing the actions already underway, the
Secretary directed that detailed implementation plans be developed no
later than December 19, 2008, for the 53 recommendations requiring new
action. This resulted in 119 individual implementation plans, which
have been approved by the Secretary. My office is tasked with
monitoring the implementation plans and providing the Deputy Secretary
with an update on our progress every 6 months.
A detailed description of the actions being taken by the Department
in response to the recommendations made by the Commission is contained
in the report required by section 906 of the Duncan Hunter National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, which will be submitted
to Congress next month. However, I would like to provide the committee
with highlights of some of the more significant actions the Department
is undertaking.
I. Creating a Sustainable Operational Reserve
One of the most notable findings made by the Commission was that
the ``. . . nation requires an operational Reserve Force, but that the
Department of Defense (DOD) and Congress . . . have not formally
adopted the operational Reserve. Steps taken . . . have been more
reactive than proactive, more timid than bold, and more incremental
than systemic. They thus far have not focused on an overarching set of
alterations necessary to make the Reserve components a ready,
rotational force. Congress and DOD have not reformed the laws and
policies governing the Reserve components in ways that will sustain an
operational force.'' While we believe that the actions taken by the
Department and by Congress were thoughtful, proactive and appropriate
as reliance on the National Guard and Reserve has increased, we did
agree that we needed to formally recognize the operational role of the
National Guard and Reserve within the total force and to establish a
systematic approach to managing the National Guard and Reserve in their
operation role as well as their strategic role. To accomplish this, the
Department published DOD Directive 1200.17, Managing the Reserve
Components as an Operational Force, on October 29, 2008. This directive
established the Secretary's principles and overarching policies for
managing the Reserve components in their operational and strategic
roles. The importance the Secretary placed on this directive is
demonstrated by the fact that he signed the directive, rather than the
Deputy Secretary signing the directive which is the normal practice.
Institutionalizing policy guidance on managing the Reserve
components in the total force in a DOD directive is a major milestone,
since previous statements concerning the Reserve components as part of
the total force were simply provided in a series of Secretary of
Defense memoranda dating back to 1970. This directive addresses the
Commission's concern that the Department has not formally adopted the
operational Reserve in ways that will sustain the Reserve components as
an operational force. The management principles established in the
directive will ensure that the operational employment of the Guard and
Reserve will be sustained, with rules governing the frequency and
duration of activation. These rules are based on the principle of
judicious and prudent use of the Reserve components and provide
predictability to the member, family, and civilian employer.
II. Enhancing DOD's Role in the Homeland
The Commission expanded on the recommendations made in its March
2007 report regarding homeland defense and defense support to civil
authorities. In fact several of the January 2008 recommendations
duplicated recommendations contained in the March 2007 report. The
Department has completed action on most of the March 2007
recommendations and has initiated several comprehensive assessments
based on the recommendations in the January 2008 report. These include
an assessment of the statutory authorities to provide support to civil
support, an assessment of the adequacy of the plans of U.S. Pacific
Command, U.S. Northern Command, and the National Guard Bureau to deal
with a major catastrophe that has incapacitated the civilian government
over a substantial geographic area, an assessment of the current and
future roles of all components in homeland defense and civil support
and the training for homeland defense and civil support activities, and
an assessment of the military force posture and distribution of
capabilities to respond to domestic emergencies in addition to those
already required by law.
The Commission also recommended that the National Guard and
Reserves have the lead role in, and form the backbone of, DOD
operations in the homeland. We believe that this is a total force
responsibility and should not discount any military capabilities that
might be needed in the event of a major disaster in the homeland,
whether natural or manmade. But we do recognize that there are
particular competencies and in some cases unique capabilities resident
in the Guard and Reserve that could be called upon to respond when a
major disaster occurs
III. Creating a Continuum of Service: Personnel Management
The Commission recommended that over time the Defense Officer
Personnel Management Act and the Reserve Officer Personnel Management
Act should be merged. It further recommended that as an interim step to
facilitate the transition, a single commission should be created in
lieu of a regular and Reserve commission, which has become an
administrative barrier for officers to move between components under
our continuum of service construct. These are both complex undertakings
which will require time to fully explore, but the Secretary has tasked
us to do just that. My office has the lead for both of these
initiatives.
The Commission made a number of recommendations concerning joint
officer management. The recently published DODI 1300.19, DOD Joint
Officer Management Program, includes criteria for Reserve component
officers to receive the same joint officer designation as their active
duty counterparts. With Active, Guard, and Reserve officers serving
side-by-side in joint commands and task forces, it is important that
they are given the same joint designation. Reserve component officers,
whether serving full-time or less than full-time, can be designated as
a joint qualified officer under the standard path (the traditional path
to joint designation) and the new experience path. The Secretary also
directed that we develop a plan to expand opportunities to complete
Joint Professional Military Education Phase II outside the traditional
in-residency program. Providing Reserve component officers with the
opportunity to become joint qualified will enable them to successfully
compete for the most senior leadership positions within the Department.
We are reviewing the number of duty statuses under which Guard and
Reserve members may serve. Currently there are 29 different duty
statuses. Because each has a specific purpose or specific funding
source, it is not unusual for a member to change duty statuses, even
though serving continuously on duty. This is disruptive to the member,
the family and the command. The desired outcome of our review is to
significantly reduce the number of duty statuses while retaining
sufficient oversight and specificity to justify the budget request.
While the exact number has not yet been determined, I anticipate a
substantial reduction in duty statuses but it is highly unlikely, and
probably not desirable that we will get to only two duty statuses as
suggested by the Commission--on duty or off duty.
The Secretary did not support the Commission's recommendations to
remove end strength limits or to eliminate Active Duty for Operational
Support. These provisions were enacted to enable Congress to monitor
manpower management within the Department and they provide the
Department with useful metrics to help manage the force.
IV. Developing a Ready, Capable and Available Operational Reserve
Developing and maintaining a ready, capable and available
operational Reserve can only be accomplished if it is properly
resourced. ``Funding an operational Reserve'' was one of two special
interest items identified in the Secretary's guidance. Balancing
resource requirements across the Department is always a challenge.
Recognizing that the Services must properly resource the Guard and
Reserve consistent with their force generation plans, the Secretary
directed that each biennial Program Budget Review shall propose
appropriate funding for the readiness requirements necessary to prepare
and employ the Reserve components in their operational roles, based on
the level of persistent conflict, and published utilization and fiscal
guidance.
The second item of special interest was the recommendation
involving visibility and accountability of equipment for the Guard and
Reserve. The Department has examined its current processes and
determined a course of action for improved financial transparency and
accountability of Guard and Reserve equipment, from funding to
equipment delivery. This plan will include a Department-wide
implementation of enhanced President's Budget Justification Material
coupled with a focused effort to improve tracking of equipment
procurements to their delivery, as well as a disciplined semi-annual
report to the Congressional Defense Committees notifying them of any
funding or delivery changes throughout the appropriation cycle. These
improvements, targeted for fiscal year 2010, will also provide the
rigor and reporting structure necessary to support annual certification
of equipment receipt within the National Guard, as required by sections
351 and 1826 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2008.
Further, the Secretary directed an assessment of equipment
requirements for the Active component and Reserve component (as
appropriate) for homeland defense, domestic emergency response and
military support to civil authorities, in accordance with section 1815
of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008.
Full-time support personnel are critical to readiness. The level
and mix of full-time support personnel for a strategic Reserve is not
necessarily the level and mix of full-time support personnel to ensure
readiness of an operational Guard and Reserve. To address this
readiness issue, the Secretary directed a comprehensive review of the
full-time support program with an individual assessment conducted for
each Reserve component. This will provide the foundation for justifying
changes needed in full-time support staffing to ensure readiness.
Medical and dental readiness has long been a concern. The amendment
included in the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2009, expanding the authority previously limited to the
Secretary of the Army to provide medical screening and dental screening
and treatment for Reserve component members identified as early
deployers, now includes the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of
the Air Force and clarifying the funding source for medical readiness
will be very helpful to the Services as they develop plans for funding
and providing medical and dental screening and treatment for Reserve
component members as directed by the Secretary.
Finally, to help senior leaders monitor the readiness of the
Reserve components, the Secretary directed that the Defense Readiness
Reporting System be modified to include data on full-time support
personnel, individual medical readiness and requirements for defense
support to civil authorities.
V. Supporting Servicemembers, Families, and Employers
There have been enormous changes in the pay, benefits, and support
provided to Guard and Reserve members and their families over the past
7 years. Pay and allowances have increased significantly, Selected
Reserve members have access to the military health care system
regardless of duty status, there are two new educational assistance
programs that provide benefit payments that incrementally increase
based on the length of service, and we plan to implement the authority
for members to transfer the post-September 11 educational assistance
benefits to their spouse and children, in the near future.
To maintain continuity of health care, the Commission recommended
that Reserve component members be allowed to enroll in the Federal
Employee Health Benefit Program in lieu of TRICARE Reserve Select and
that the Department offer a stipend to members who want to retain their
family in a private or employer-sponsored health plan in lieu of using
TRICARE while on active duty for greater than 30 days. We are assessing
both of those options.
The Commission also made several recommendations to expand and
enhance the support provided to Reserve component members and their
families. The Services and their Reserve components are primarily
responsible for delivering support services. But because Guard and
Reserve members are geographically dispersed and often do not live near
a military facility or their local armory/reserve center, we have been
encouraging a joint approach for delivering support services,
particularly for Guard and Reserve members and their families.
The Services and their Reserve components have committed to
providing support services to members and families at the local level
regardless of the member's service or component affiliation. There are
two dedicated OSD programs to assist the Services in supporting Reserve
component members and their families. The first is the Joint Family
Support Program. This program provides financial and material
assistance and mobile support services, and sponsors volunteers and
family support professionals who deliver support services and
coordinate family assistance programs and activities provided by
Military OneSource, Military Family Life Consultants, counselors, DOD,
other Federal agencies, state and local agencies, and nonprofit
entities.
The second and most recent program is the Yellow Ribbon
Reintegration Program, which was mandated in the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to provide National Guard and
Reserve members and their families with information, services,
referrals, and proactive outreach opportunities throughout the
deployment cycle. My office was designated the lead for this important
program and within 6 weeks of the requirement to establish the program,
we opened the Office for Reintegration Programs. We have published
guidance on the support required across the deployment cycle--from
predeployment through reunion and reconstitution. We also worked
closely with the Comptroller to secure funding. We have also
collaborated with the National Guard Bureau to develop a Decision
Support Tool that will allow rapid deployment of a nationwide calendar
of Yellow Ribbon events for our servicemembers and their families.
But the real success is that the State National Guard and Reserve
organizations are delivering support services under the Yellow Ribbon
Reintegration Program. The most immediate need was to assist members
returning from deployment with reintegration activities being conducted
at the 30, 60, and 90 day interval following demobilization. (In fact,
so far this fiscal year, the Reserve components have conducted over 160
entire deployment cycle events for over 30,500 Guard and Reserve
members, and their families.) During the past year, Service programs
have rapidly expanded to also provide enhanced support services before,
during and after mobilization and deployment. These Service programs
ultimately improve the level of readiness for their deploying
personnel.
The DOD Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program is proving to be
extremely successful and I am confident when it fully matures, we will
have an extremely robust program that addresses the challenges of
deploying to a combat zone and better prepares servicemembers and their
families for the challenges they face throughout the deployment cycle.
The Commission included several recommendations regarding employer
support. We are evaluating our Employer Support of the Guard and
Reserve organization to ensure it is meeting the needs of Reserve
component members and is effective in gaining the support of employers.
The self-employed and small business owners require special attention
and over the past 7 years we have worked closely with the Small
Business Administration to address the unique challenges small business
owners face.
VI. Reforming the Organizations and Institutions that Support an
Operational Reserve
The Commission recommended that the Secretary develop a new total
force policy to achieve the next level of integration among all
components. The new DOD directive signed by the Secretary last October
on managing the Reserve components as an operational force establishes
the next level of integration. Moreover, the actions the Secretary
directed to address the recommendations made by the Commission are the
substantive steps to further integrate the force. We are also reviewing
all DOD and Service regulations to identify and eliminate policies and
programs and request amendments to laws that limit the Department's
ability to manage personnel and programs as an integrated total force.
Within this area, there were several recommendations on which the
Secretary chose to take no action. There were recommendations that
called for a complete reorganization of the categories under which the
Reserve components are managed. The Commission recommended an
operational category and a strategic category. The Department
determined that while this concept appeared intriguing, in the end such
a change would not improve the management of the Reserve components.
This would be more about relabeling the current categories, but could
potentially limit flexibility and would more than likely result in
adverse resourcing implications--creating the ``haves'' and ``have
nots.'' Another set of recommendations involved a mix of organizational
changes that the Secretary determined were not prudent at a time of
unprecedented use of those forces, particularly the recommendation that
would eliminate the office established by Congress to oversee and
advocate for Reserve Forces.
conclusion
Overall, the Department's response to the Commission's report and
the recommendations made by the Commission was positive, proactive, and
aggressive. This response to a report of this kind was unlike any I
have seen, with the Department undertaking nearly 120 new initiatives
in addition to actions already underway. The priority the Department
places on this undertaking is plainly stated in the January 29, 2009,
memorandum approving the implementation plans.
These plans will remove impediments to the employment of the
National Guard and Reserve as an operational force, strengthen their
role in providing strategic depth, and institutionalize the continuum
of service personnel management construct. As such, these plans are
part of the Department's top priorities and should be implemented
aggressively.
Over the past 7 years, there has been a fundamental change in how
the Guard and Reserve are used and the high value the Department places
on them. There are no more ``weekend warriors;'' there are only citizen
warriors who continue to answer the Nation's call to serve.
It has been my pleasure to represent these fine citizen warriors
for the past 6\1/2\ years as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Reserve Affairs. I want to close by thanking the members of this
committee for your unwavering support for the men and women who serve
in the National Guard and Reserve.
Senator Ben Nelson. Senator Thune, Senator Chambliss, any
opening statements?
Senator Chambliss. I have no opening statement. I do just
want to thank Tom for his great service. He's had 6\1/2\ great
years with the Pentagon. Tom, you've done a great job. You've
provided great service to our country, and we thank you for
that.
Mr. Hall. Thank you for heading that caucus, and I
appreciated being with you the other day. I appreciate all your
support.
Senator Thune. No opening statement. I have some questions
when we get to them.
Senator Ben Nelson. Secretary Hall, I know that you led
that working group of senior executives that were directed to
conduct this comprehensive review of the report of the
Commission on the National Guard and Reserves.
What's the status of the Department's implementation of the
recommendations of the Commission, and perhaps you can outline
maybe the three most difficult issues that your working group
had to address? Finally, what did your working group do with
respect to make the concept of a continuum of service a true
reality? But starting first with what's the status, then what
challenges did you notice?
Mr. Hall. We set a very aggressive timeline. The Commission
met for about 2\1/2\ years, and I was determined in 2\1/2\
months to complete our staffing. We did that. It took a very
large whip, but we accomplished that.
Implementation of the Commission's recommendation numbers
42 and 43, the last two, on equipment and programming,
completes the implementation of what the Secretary directed
regarding the implementation of 82 of the 95 recommendations.
Of the remainder, two of them were sent to VA. The other 11 we
required no action or did not agree with.
So all of those 82 are in the process of being implemented.
My office is charged with reporting monthly, and the first will
be next month, on the status of each one of those
recommendations. We have a timeline for each of them. We're
going to follow them. One of the things I wanted is for it not
to die and become another report that goes on the shelf. So
we're required to report directly to the Secretary every month.
The hardest ones, I think the equipment and the
programming, were very difficult because the Services did not
want to reduce their flexibility in how they handled the
equipment, but at the same time we needed visibility. So, to
obtain something which would give us flexibility and visibility
together, we hammered for quite some time. That's been decided.
I think the joint qualifications for our people were very
important. I know Senator Graham is very familiar with this. We
have now worked out, starting in October 2007, that the joint
military qualifications are now extended to all of the Guard
and Reserve. Most importantly, it's not just quantity of time
you serve; it's quality of time. If you serve 6 months in a
combat zone, that might be more quality joint time than 2 years
on a staff. So we have the provisions for that. It's fully
integrated.
I also mentioned that for the adjutants general, we went
out with a call to the adjutants general to see which ones
thought that they would qualify for joint credit within their
State, and 29 of them came in and set those qualifications. The
Joint Staff approved all 29, 29 of 29, for those adjutants
general to receive joint duty credit for their service as an
adjutant general within the State where they have both the Army
and the Air Force.
I think those were some of the most challenging ones. Also,
support to civil authorities, and of course the others have
already been accomplished with General McKinley receiving a
fourth star and General Blum being the first deputy commander.
So those we implemented already. But those were the bit more
challenging ones.
But I think we're on track with that, Senator.
Senator Ben Nelson. The Commission determined that the
Reserve component personnel are called to serve in 29 different
statuses, and it concluded that these statuses are confusing
and frustrating to both the members and the commanders. So the
Commission recommended that DOD reduce the number of duty
statuses from 29 to 2. That's a substantial reduction.
What's the Department's assessment of this recommendation?
Mr. Hall. They once tried to teach me all 29 as an aviator,
but they found it was impossible for me to remember all 29.
The answer is not 2 and the answer is not 29. I commanded
the Naval Reserve along the way and experienced all of those.
So we're trying to do something unique this time. We're
actually trying to turn it over to the operators, these
gentlemen back here who use it, and say ``What amount of those
do you think gives you the most flexibility in what you need?''
I think it's going to be between four to seven statuses because
that allows flexibility. But rather than us decide it in the
Office of the Secretary of Defense and in the Pentagon, I have
asked them to tell us what they need, then we ought to listen
to them, and we ought to put those four to six in. That's
working right now. They are doing that, and I anticipate that
the answer, whatever they give, we will implement those for
both flexibility and what they need.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you.
Finally, the Commission made a number of recommendations to
improve the health care benefits available to Reserve component
members and their families. Has the Department taken any action
or will it take any action to improve that health care? We're
introducing legislation, but is there anything that's underway
right now?
Mr. Hall. I think the TRICARE Reserve Select has just been
a watershed because when I first came into the job, it was
predicted that we will never have the military health care
system available to all drilling reservists and their families
when you come on Active Duty. But you've fixed that. As I
mentioned, it helped 100,000 servicemembers and their families.
That can't but help us with the overall health of our families
and our troops.
I have been very encouraged in dental readiness, for
instance. You have asked me each time about that, and I think
you should ask my colleagues about it. When I first went to the
mobilization stations at Fort Bliss, Fort Hood, the various
places, the dental readiness of our units, the Basic Training
Centers (BTCs), was running about 30 percent. When I visited
with General Wyatt's 45th when he was an adjutant general in
Oklahoma, it was at about 90 percent.
The commercial vans that he used and they pioneered, where
they pull a van up to a drill center and, as you say, they
drill them while they're on drill, and they have three seats
and you run them through one end and you take care of all of
them, and you do that before they mobilize and you do that at
the armory, so when they report to the mobilization station you
don't take time away from training. They are already ready.
Now, we're not 90 percent in every unit, but what I'm
saying is the percentage is going up to 75 to 80 to 90. So
we're well on the way to that.
I think, given the medical readiness of the troops and
their families, because of what you have done, can we improve
some more? There are some more possible improvements on the
margin with TRICARE, as you've mentioned for the grey area. But
I think for our troops and their use of the system: 90 days
prior to going to mobilization, 6 months afterwards, and you
can use it for every 90 days you serve for up to a year. You
could have it for 8 years after mobilization, combined with
being able to have it any time. It is the right way forward
because, if we're going to use 700,000 guardsmen and
reservists, we have to have the same medical standards for them
as the Active Duty. We're going that way. We're not perfect,
but great progress has been made in that area.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you.
Senator Graham.
Senator Graham. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Secretary, one of the things that's intrigued me is
that, due to the extensive deployments, redeployments, and the
utilization of the Guard and Reserve, the one thing I've been
worried about is people punching out at 20 years of service.
For example, in my old Guard unit in South Carolina, you had to
blow people out. They'd stay there until they were 90 if you'd
let them because they loved the unit, loved what they did.
Have you seen any increase in people retiring at 20 years
of service and not staying past?
Mr. Hall. I think my colleagues would be better prepared to
answer that, but I think you've hit on a very important point.
The way we work our recruiting, our retention--and I was a
retention officer once--is we get people retained to 10 years,
and at that point they're in the Active Force and we keep them.
We do very little for people past 20 years.
Now, the GI Bill is one of the things that is going to help
with transferability and other benefits. I personally think we
need to look at what we do for people past 20 years, and I
think moving retirement benefits from 30 to 40 years, where you
can continue to accrue it, is a good step forward. But we want
to reenlist those people. I often ask, after 20, well, we don't
have the bonuses.
So I think if we can do things to incentivize people to
stay longer, rather than leave earlier, that has to be our next
step because those are the sergeants, those are the chief petty
officers, those are the kinds of midgrade officers you need to
keep, and your company doesn't need to lose them at the 20-year
point.
So I think we all need to explore what we can propose or
what you might want for servicemembers past 20.
Senator Graham. One of the things that I've been thinking
about for a while is, if you'll serve 22 years, you can maybe
retire at 50. Step down the retirement because really that's
when you're in your military prime. That 20-year person has
been there and done a lot; 20-year people make great teachers
and have a lot of skills that we will need. So we'll look
forward to working with everybody to try to find a way to make
sure that we keep people past 20, particularly in selected key
areas.
You talked about the dental situation. One of the things we
learned after September 11 is that when we started calling
people up to Active Duty, we had a hard time getting Guard and
reservists into deployable status because of medical problems.
They were trained to fill in for the Fulda Gap and all of a
sudden here we are in a global war on terror--and I'm going to
continue to call it that. You can call it what you want to.
That's what I'm going to call it because I think that's what it
is--and we had a hard time getting people ready to deploy.
About 25 percent of the Force, I think, called up to Active
Duty was medically disqualified for dental problems initially.
When you think about it, the enemy is depleting our forces
without firing a shot. I know you've done some good things in
that area, but here's a number they've given me in the book. I
don't know if it's right or not. But in the first quarter of
fiscal year 2009, more than half of the Army Guard and Reserve,
52 percent, reported as nondeployable due to class 3 or 4
dental readiness status.
Mr. Hall. I think, again, my colleagues can speak to this.
A lot of that in that readiness area might be because they
haven't had the exams at all. So we'd have to break that down
into whether it's that you haven't had the exam or you had
treatment.
When I first came into this job, the first place I visited
was Fort Bragg, and a dentist came up and said: What do you
think the record is for me pulling teeth?
Senator Graham. Bad teeth are doing more damage to us than
the enemy.
Mr. Hall. The dentists say if you can't bite you can't
fight. So that's their fight song along the way.
But, this dentist pulled 28 of the 32 teeth. A person who
came in was in such poor shape because it's a problem in our
country.
Senator Graham. We don't have private sector dental health
care usually. It's not that the Army's just inheriting a
problem that society has.
Mr. Hall. I think we're getting better, but I think my
colleagues can comment on how much better we are.
Senator Graham. Anything you can think of to deal with this
problem, whether you need money or legal changes, we stand
ready to help.
Mr. Hall. Yes, sir.
Senator Graham. Thank you for the job you've done for the
country, and I think you can leave your post looking back and
saying that you were there when it mattered the most maybe
since World War II for sure. You're a great leader. Thank you
very much.
Mr. Hall. Thank you, sir.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you, Senator Graham.
Senator Begich.
Senator Begich. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I do have to depart, but I have just one question. It's a
follow-up to your question in regards to TRICARE and how it
works. I'm just going to read a note I have here. The
Commission on the National Guard and Reserves recommended that
the Reserve component be allowed to enroll into the Federal
employee health benefit program in lieu of TRICARE and that the
Department offer a stipend to members who want to retain their
family in a private or employer-sponsored health plan in lieu
of using TRICARE for Active Duty for greater than 30 days. Do
you have a comment on that?
Mr. Hall. The chairman asked about that earlier, the status
of our work. One of our particular work groups is looking at
that proposal right now. I think the key for the Federal health
care benefit program is what best advantages the individual.
The way I would look at it is, if it's better for them to do,
they ought to have the option. We're looking at both of those
options.
We have to report out to the Secretary on what we think
about those two particular portions of that work group, and our
first report on our progress will be next month.
Senator Begich. I'm assuming the chairman asked, would you
share that progress with this committee?
Mr. Hall. Certainly. We shared the large report with the
staff, and we will share progress reports with them as they
come out.
Senator Begich. The progress would be great. Great.
Thank you.
That's all, Mr. Chairman. I had just that one quick
question for Mr. Hall. Thank you.
Mr. Hall. Thank you, sir.
Senator Ben Nelson. Senator Chambliss.
Senator Chambliss. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Again, Mr. Secretary, let me just commend you for your
great service to our country. Talk for a minute, if you will,
about the readiness and about the predictability from the
standpoint of individual members as reservists and guard
members being able to tell their families when they're going to
go, and, on the other side, if we are doing what we need to do
from an employer standpoint, to try to give the employer the
predictability that they need.
Mr. Hall. I think the single most important thing to a
trooper, his or her family, and his or her employers, is not
any different than it was when I first joined a long time ago.
Barbara wanted to know: When are you going to go, how long are
you going to stay there, when are you going to be back, and can
you tell me as far ahead as possible? It hasn't changed a lot.
I think this was a primary motivation of Secretary Gates in
establishing the predictability goals. As I say, we're up to
about 1:4 deployment-to-dwell-time ratios. But more important
is alerting the Guard and Reserve. When I first came into the
job, we were giving people 30 days notice. We were more in a
crisis mode. Then we worked so that the last groups that we
were going to alert, we gave them 2 years notice, 20 to 24
months notice.
One of the things I heard is if you alert them that far
ahead, people will leave the units. But I don't think that's
true. I think they have stayed. So the employers that I have
spent time with have said advance notice provides
predictability, even that far ahead; if you can tell us 2 years
ahead, we will plan. There has not been a huge exodus in my
tracking of our Guard and Reserve units, and I've tracked the
BTCs carefully. They have lost some, but it hasn't occurred
above normal planning, so I think the predictability is key.
When I came into the job, our Employer Support of the Guard
and Reserve (ESGR) was funded at about $9 million. We were
reaching a small segment of our employers. Today, we're funding
it at $20 million. Doesn't sound like a lot, but we've doubled
the funding, almost two and a half times. We want to reach more
of the employers out there because the reservist has the three-
legged stool, the employer, the family, and their job. If any
of those legs fall off, the stool will collapse.
So I think predictability is probably the most important
thing I hear from families and employers. We're working hard
with ESGR. We're giving longer notifications, more alert time,
and I think it's been well received. Yes, some people might
leave if they learn 2 years ahead, but there hasn't been that
exodus. These are very, very patriotic people that are proud to
be in the units, and in the Guard and the State in particular,
that's their unit. That's the people they work with. That's
whom they live with. You know that, and they stay with them.
So that's about where we are on our predictability. I think
we ought to continue. One of the rules that was passed by
Congress, you will not have less than 30 days notice. The goal
is 90 days before you tell them when to mobilize. The Secretary
of Defense said: No, it's 180 days. So he has told us that we
have to personally report to him if we are mobilizing anybody,
and he took it a step from 90 to 180 days. Every week, I have
to report that if anybody is not given at least that much time
prior to mobilization.
So I think there's great sensitivity on his part with
predictability.
Senator Chambliss. Good. The 48th Brigade of the Army Guard
from Georgia is heading to Afghanistan beginning in May. They
did a tour in Iraq a couple of years ago. They did not get to
take advantage, under current law, of our early retirement
provision, but now when they go back this time, that early
retirement provision's going to kick in for them.
Senator Kerry and I have a bill up again to make it
retroactive to September 11. We're going to keep working until
we get that done.
What kind of anecdotal feedback have you gotten from the
Guard and Reserve folks from around the country with respect to
their feeling about the opportunity to retire earlier than age
60?
Mr. Hall. It was the number one thing I got when I went to
town halls, maybe tied with health care--no, TRICARE. But as
Barbara and I traveled around the country, and she would go
with me, at my expense, to talk with the families, every one of
them mentioned TRICARE and early retirement.
They applauded it. I think--again, it's my last hearing;
I'll be quite honest. I don't think you would find one of them
that would be against it being retroactive. From the
Department's aspect, we'll carry out the law as it is passed.
But most of them have voiced that opinion to me as I've gone
around, and it was very important to them. They welcomed that.
They realize that, as they go and serve now with the 48th, they
will be able to take advantage of that.
You set a minimum age on it, I think, of 50 years old, but
you could reduce it all the way down. Universally at my town
halls, that's been applauded by the Guard, Reserve, and your
constituents. I found no one against it.
Senator Chambliss. Great. Again thanks for your service. We
know this is a family commitment. Miss Barbara, we thank you
for serving your country, too, with respect to serving Tom. So
thanks very much, Mr. Secretary.
Mr. Hall. Thank you, sir.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you, Senator Chambliss.
Senator Burris, before you start, a vote started at 3:05
p.m., if you'd like to go with your questions now, and then we
can break, so that nobody misses the vote, and we'll come back.
Senator Burris. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mine will be
rather quick because it's not that involved.
Welcome, Secretary Hall. I understand this is your last
tour.
Mr. Hall. Yes, sir.
Senator Burris. God bless you and Godspeed.
Mr. Hall. Thank you, sir.
Senator Burris. Secretary Hall, I'm especially interested
in the concept of transforming from Strategic Reserve Forces to
Operational Reserve Forces. In your statement for the record,
you said that there were recommendations made by the Commission
on the National Guard and Reserves that called for a complete
reorganization of the categories under which the Reserve
components were managed, and the Commission recommended an
operational category and a strategic category.
So Secretary Hall, can you tell us why no action was taken
on those recommendations?
Mr. Hall. We looked at that carefully and we came to the
conclusion that it was just a different way of racking and
stacking, as they say in the Army, I guess, the categories we
have. So we looked at each one of the categories. We looked at
what they would name them. Then we said, at the end of the day,
is it change for change sake or does it add value and make
sense? We believe that taking the Selected Reserve category is
one, and all those did not give us a material advantage to what
we have now with the IRR, the Selected Reserve, the Retired
Reserve, categories for Selected Reserve, and the Drilling
Reserve.
So we just came to the conclusion that it did not add any
more value, and I thought we had to have a compelling reason
for changing. I would be interested in the chiefs' view on
this, but it looked like we understood the categories now, we
use them, and it was functioning, so we elected to take no
action on that.
Senator Burris. So can we tell which is strategic and which
is operational now? How do you distinguish?
Mr. Hall. I think you're both. I think when you're not
operational, you're in the strategic. I think everybody's
strategic, ready to fight for the country, but then when you go
forward, you're operational, and so you flow between both
categories, and I think most reservists understand that.
The chiefs can see, but it was pretty simple to me. When
I'm forward, mobilized and fighting, I'm pretty operational.
When I'm at home waiting for the fight, I'm sitting in a
strategic way to answer the call to my country.
Senator Burris. It makes a lot of sense to me, Mr.
Secretary.
Mr. Hall. Thank you.
Senator Burris. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you, Senator.
Thank you, Secretary Hall. I think we will break right now
and we'll come right back for the second panel. Senator Graham
is coming back as soon as he votes. I'll be back as soon as I
do. Thank you.
Mr. Hall. Thank you, sir.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you for your service.
[Recess from 3:12 p.m. to 3:26 p.m.]
Senator Ben Nelson. These votes always seem to get in the
way of our other business.
Thank you for waiting. Senator Graham will be back shortly,
and we'll have some of the other Senators return as well.
On our second panel, we have the Chiefs of the Reserve
components. This includes: Lieutenant General Clyde A. Vaughn,
Director of the Army National Guard; Lieutenant General Harry
M. Wyatt III, Director of the Air National Guard; Lieutenant
General Jack C. Stultz, Commanding General, U.S. Army Reserve
Command; Vice Admiral Dirk J. Debbick, Chief of Naval Reserve
and Commander, Navy Reserve Force; Lieutenant General John W.
Bergman, Commander, Marine Forces Reserve, and Commander,
Marine Forces North; and Lieutenant General Charles E. Stenner,
Chief of Air Force Reserve and Commander, Air Force Reserve
Command.
We extend a very special welcome to Rear Admiral Daniel R.
May, Director of Reserve and Training, U.S. Coast Guard
Reserve. It's not often that we have the Coast Guard here, the
Coast Guard falls under the Secretary of Homeland Defense when
it's not operating as a service of the Navy. But the Coast
Guard is a vital part of the total military force and, in fact,
operates under many of the same statutory authorities as the
other Services. So, we welcome you here as well.
We welcome all of you. We look forward to hearing about the
state of the United States Coast Guard Reserve and the other
Reserve components. So, gentlemen, thank you so much. We'll
start with Lieutenant General Vaughn, if you would, please.
STATEMENT OF LTG CLYDE A. VAUGHN, ARNG, DIRECTOR, ARMY NATIONAL
GUARD
General Vaughn. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would ask that
my statement be entered into the record, and I'll be real brief
since there's seven of us here.
Thanks for the great support of this committee and your
leadership. We had an interesting discussion a while ago about
Operational Forces and Operational Reserve. This is the
strongest ARNG of all time. We are indeed an Operational Force.
But I have to remind everybody, it's all about people on
the bottom end. You have to have all the people, you have to
have them all trained, racked, and stacked in the right
formations, and then you have to have the equipment and full-
time support that supports that. That's an Operational Reserve,
and if the Nation asks it to do something or the State asks is
to do something, then it can go do it. You just throw the money
you want to for training to it. But you don't have to
reorganize, cross-level, and do all this stuff that we had to
do some time back.
So I want to thank you for everything. We're over our end
strength right now. We have every plan to bring it back down to
an authorized level. We don't have the resources to pay for
this. But I assure you that we're going to grow readiness. We
have a plan to do that at the same time that we're lowering end
strength back down.
I look forward to your questions. Thanks for your
leadership, sir.
[The joint prepared statement of General Vaughn and General
Wyatt follows:]
Joint Prepared Statement by LTG Clyde A. Vaughn, ARNG, and Lt. Gen.
Harry M. Wyatt III, USAF
introduction and executive overview
General Craig R. McKinley, Chief, National Guard Bureau
New Beginnings
2008 was a year filled with positive change for the National Guard.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2008, enacted in
January, designated the National Guard Bureau (NGB) as a joint activity
of the Department of Defense (DOD). The law also elevated the grade of
the Chief, NGB to the rank of General. With this new stature and an
explicit linkage to the Secretary of Defense, through the Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), NGB is better positioned to represent
National Guard issues and concerns at the highest levels in the DOD.
The Report of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves and
NDAA 2008 both identified the need for a new NGB charter. After almost
a year of close collaboration among NGB, the combatant commanders, the
CJCS, the Armed Services and the DOD staff, Secretary Robert M. Gates
signed DOD Directive 5105.77, NGB. This unprecedented directive
formally lays out the full scope of NGB's functions, roles, and
authorities--embedding NGB in DOD's strategic processes. It is sound
DOD policy.
An Operational Force
The depth provided by the National Guard is no longer the ``once in
a lifetime'' use of a strategic reserve as envisioned during the Cold
War. The National Guard has become an operational force that is an
integral part of the Army and Air Force; it is populated by seasoned
veterans with multiple deployments in support of operations in Iraq,
Afghanistan, the Balkans, and many other locations around the world.
In addition to the thousands of National Guard soldiers and airmen
currently activated for ongoing Federal missions, the National Guard
provides significant response to unexpected contingencies. Despite
major overseas commitments, during the 2008 hurricane season over
15,000 guardsmen responded on short notice to catastrophic events
unfolding in Louisiana and Texas. The National Guard serving here at
home also fought extensive fires and flooding and provided disaster
relief to numerous states throughout the year.
Readiness
Personnel
Our most precious assets flow from our communities. Citizen-
soldiers and airmen are employed by their Governors every day to
protect American lives and property in the homeland from weather-
related events to suspected biochemical contamination. Despite all we
have asked of them in the overseas warfight as well as here at home, we
are recruiting and retaining National Guard members in impressive
numbers. Americans join and stay in the National Guard. But as
successful as we have been to date, we need continued support for
recruiting and retention efforts as well as increased end strength
authorizations.
Equipment
The National Guard must have modern equipment if we are to remain
successful as defenders of the homeland at home and abroad.
Army National Guard units deployed overseas have the most up-to-
date equipment available and are second to none. However, a significant
amount of equipment is currently unavailable to the Army National Guard
in the States due to continuing rotational deployments and emerging
modernization requirements. Many States have expressed concern about
the resulting shortfalls of equipment for training as well as for
domestic emergency response operations.
The Army is programming $20.9 billion for Army National Guard
equipment for fiscal year 2009 through fiscal year 2013 to procure new
equipment and modernize equipment currently on hand. We appreciate that
support and also the strong interest of Congress and the DOD in closing
the gap between our domestic requirements and the available equipment
in our armories and motor pools.
The Air Force is in the midst of modernizing and recapitalizing its
major weapons platforms, and the Air National Guard must be
concurrently recapitalized, particularly in order to avoid near- to
mid-term ``age out'' of the majority of its fighter force. Our primary
concern is that 80 percent of our F-16s, the backbone of our Air
Sovereignty Alert Force, will begin reaching the end of their service
life in 8 years. To that end, we support the Air Force's
recapitalization plan, but request that all roadmaps be inclusive of
the Air National Guard as a hedge against this ``age out.''
State Partnership Program
The National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP) establishes
enduring and mutually beneficial partnerships between foreign countries
and American states through the National Guard. This program is an
important component of the DOD's security cooperation strategy, the
regional combatant commanders' theater engagement program, and the U.S.
Ambassadors' Mission Strategic Plans. A primary aim is to promote
partnership among the many nations working with us to advance security,
stability, and prosperity around the globe. Today, American states are
partnered with 60 foreign nations (a 60 percent increase over the past
5 years) to focus on military-to-military, military-to-civilian, and
civil security activities.
Created in 1993, SPP has helped the United States European,
African, Southern, Pacific, and Central Commands engage the defense and
military establishments of countries in every region of the globe. The
program's benefits include:
Providing combatant commanders and U.S. Ambassadors
with avenues for building international civil-military
partnerships and interoperability during peacetime by linking
state capacities to the goals and objectives in the Foreign
Assistance Framework of the U.S. Government.
Enhancing current and future coalition operations by
encouraging and assisting partner nations to support efforts
such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Operational
Mentor and Liaison Team program in Afghanistan, and exercises
supporting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region.
Building more cultural and global awareness into
citizen-soldiers and airmen to help them operate in today's
complex multi-national and multiagency operations.
This valuable mutual security cooperation program will continue to
expand in size and strategic importance to the combatant commanders,
Ambassadors, and broad U.S. Government interagency requirements as we
enter the second decade of the 21st century.
The Future
The National Guard, the Nation's community-based force, will always
answer the call of the President and the Governors.
Our priorities are constant:
Provide for the security and defense of our homeland
at home and abroad
Support the global war on terror
Respond to America's need for a reliable and ready
National Guard that is transformed for the 21st century
It is an honor to be named the 26th Chief of the NGB. As a
synchronized joint activity, we will capitalize on momentum gained over
the past several years and will build new relationships based on our
new roles and responsibilities.
The National Guard will remain ``Always Ready, Always
There.''
The following pages offer a full report on our recent
accomplishments along with our ongoing responsibilities for fiscal year
2010.
army national guard--message from the director--lieutenant general
clyde a. vaughn, director, army national guard
Army National Guard citizen-soldiers continue the proud tradition
of service to our Nation both at home and around the world. Our
citizen-soldiers consistently proved themselves capable of operating
across a wide spectrum of missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Belgium,
Bosnia, Djibouti, Egypt, Germany, Honduras, Kosovo, Kuwait, and the
Philippines.
The Army National Guard continues to achieve outstanding results
meeting recruiting and retention goals. As of December 31, 2008, Army
National Guard assigned strength was 365,814 citizen-soldiers, a gain
of approximately 35,000 citizen-soldiers in about 3 years. At the same
time we have reduced our nonparticipating numbers to 5,404 (from 6,082
in July 2005).
With thousands of our citizen-soldiers ``on the ground'' in foreign
lands, we are equally busy at home. National Guard units fought
wildfires in California, aided hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast, and
assisted numerous environmental clean-up activities around the country.
These responses from across our land demonstrate the importance of
training and equipping our soldiers so they are ready to render service
and assistance to home communities.
We are committed to deploying citizen-soldiers with the best
equipment and training possible. The U.S. Army's similar assurance and
ongoing congressional interest in the welfare of our people will ensure
the success of the Army National Guard.
investing in present and future value
Mobilizations, deployments, modular force conversions, counterdrug
assistance, and disaster response dominated the Army National Guard's
efforts to answer needs at home and abroad. But to remain America's
vital force, the Army National Guard must invest in people, equipment,
operations, and technology like never before.
Meeting Mission Requirements
Heavy demands on personnel and declines in equipment-on-hand due to
increased mobilizations and deployments continued in fiscal year 2008.
The Army National Guard effectively met mission requirements and
continued to support ongoing conflicts. However, for some units
returning from deployment, equipping and training levels decreased
readiness.
Modular Force Conversion and Rebalance
The Army National Guard successfully met its 2008 goal of
transforming 1,300 operating force units to a modular design. This
brings the total number of units transformed to more than 2,800.
Converting Army National Guard units to modular configuration in an
era of persistent conflict has significantly increased equipment and
modernization requirements and has also increased equipment readiness.
The Army National Guard brigade combat teams (BCTs) are composed
identically to the Active Army and can be combined with other BCTs or
elements of the joint force to facilitate integration,
interoperability, and compatibility. The Army National Guard
transformation into these modular formations provides an enhanced
operational force. This is key to meeting the goal of making at least
half of Army and Air assets (personnel and equipment) available to the
Governors and Adjutants General at any given time. This transformation
effort impacts over 87 percent of Army National Guard units across all
50 States, 3 territories, and the District of Columbia, and crosses
every functional capability in the force.
investing in personnel
Our greatest asset is our people. We have the best trained force in
the world. But we also have unparalleled support of our citizen-
soldiers and their families. This support is paramount in maintaining
our superior standing in the world.
End Strength: Recruiting and Retention
As previously noted, recruiting and retention was exceptional with
an end-of-calendar year assigned strength of 365,814 citizen-soldiers.
The following programs provided the impetus for these gains.
The Army National Guard's Recruiting Assistance
Program (G-RAP) is a civilian contract recruiting program that,
as of December 9, 2008, has processed 80,000 enlistments since
its inception in December 2005. At the end of fiscal year 2008,
approximately 130,000 recruiting assistants were actively
working. In August 2007, G-RAP expanded to include incentives
for officer accessions.
The Recruit Sustainment Program, launched in 2005,
improves our training success rate by easing newly enlisted
National Guard soldiers into the military environment through
Initial Entry Training--a combination of Basic Combat Training
and Advanced Individual Training.
The war on terror, transformation to modular formations, and
domestic operations will continue to test the All-Volunteer Force.
However, the Army National Guard is optimistic and confident that it
will grow the force and have manned units to meet all missions at home
and abroad.
Full-Time Support
Full-time support personnel play a vital role in the Army National
Guard's readiness both at home and abroad. Active Guard and Reserve
(ARG) soldiers and military technicians sustain the day-to-day
operations of the entire Army National Guard. The AGR and Technician
force is a critical component of readiness in the Army National Guard
as the Reserve components transition to an operational force.
Medical Readiness
Funding, treatment authorities, and medical readiness monitoring
through Medical Operations Data Systems have helped the Army National
Guard increase medical readiness throughout the Nation and allow
deploying units to report at all-time high medical readiness levels.
In 2008, 92 percent of Army National Guard soldiers reporting to
mobilization stations were determined to be medically deployable. This
represents a significant improvement upon previous years. This
increased readiness throughout the Army National Guard has reduced pre-
deployment training time lost due to required medical corrective
actions. The Army National Guard is implementing the Army Select
Reserve Dental Readiness System that will enable commanders to achieve
95 percent dental readiness in support of DOD Individual Medical
Readiness standards.
Incapacitation Pay
The Army National Guard Incapacitation (INCAP) benefit provides
interim pay to Army National Guard soldiers with a service-connected
medical condition (provided that they are not on active duty). The
INCAP pay software, released in early fiscal year 2008, facilitates the
administration of this benefit.
The INCAP process provides compensation in two situations. First, a
soldier who is unable to perform military duty may receive military pay
less any civilian earnings. Second, a soldier who can perform military
duty, but not a civilian job, may receive lost civilian earnings up to
the amount of the military pay. INCAP incorporates a detailed
accounting system of tracking soldiers who receive INCAP pay, the date
initiated, the amount received, and when terminated. INCAP quickly
compensates soldiers, therefore allowing them to concentrate on the
rehabilitation process, and focus on their families.
Survivor Services
The Army National Guard renders dignified Military Honors according
to service tradition for all eligible veterans. The Army National Guard
supports 79 percent of all Military Funeral Honors for the Army and 51
percent of all Funeral Honors for all Services. In fiscal year 2008,
the Army National Guard provided Military Funeral Honors for over
97,000 veterans and 200 soldiers killed-in-action.
investing in equipment and facilities
Upgrading and maintaining our equipment and facilities is becoming
increasingly vital as we face challenges at home and abroad. The era of
persistent conflict demands nothing less.
Equipment on Hand and Equipment Availability
The historic equipment on-hand (EOH) percentage for the Army
National Guard has been about 70 percent. In fiscal year 2006, EOH
declined to approximately 40 percent due to cross-leveling of equipment
to support immediate deployment requirements. It increased to about 49
percent in fiscal year 2007. By the end of fiscal year 2008, the Army
National Guard had 76 percent of its required EOH when deployed
equipment is included.
Equipment Readiness Levels
When items supporting mobilized and deployed units are subtracted
out of this equation, the current warfighting EOH percentage falls to
63 percent of Modification Table of Organization and Equipment
requirements available to the Governors of the 54 States and
territories.
Domestic response is a critical Army National Guard mission. The
Chief of the NGB has pledged that 50 percent of Army and Air Guard
Forces will be available to a Governor at all times to perform State
missions.
The Army has taken positive steps to improve the Army National
Guard equipping posture. The Army's goal is to fully equip all BCTs,
regardless of components, by 2015.
Congress has been very responsive to Army National Guard equipping
requirements through funds in the National Guard and Reserve Equipment
account. This much needed funding has been used to procure critical
dual-use items to support the ``Essential 10'' capabilities.
Ground and Air Operating Tempo
The ground operating tempo (OPTEMPO) program is one of the
keystones in equipment readiness. Direct ground OPTEMPO pays for
petroleum, repair parts, and depot-level repairables. Indirect OPTEMPO
pays for expenses such as administrative and housekeeping supplies,
organizational clothing and equipment, medical supplies, nuclear,
biological and chemical supplies and equipment, and inactive duty
training travel which includes command inspection, staff travel, and
cost of commercial transportation for soldier movement.
In 2008, ground OPTEMPO funding for the Army National Guard totaled
$901 million in base appropriation plus $73 million in supplemental for
a total of $974 million. This funding directly impacts the readiness of
Army National Guard units to participate in global operations as well
as domestic preparedness. Significant equipment remains in theater
after Guard units return from deployments. Equipment shortages at home
stations compel greater use of what is available. These demanding
conditions have resulted in rapid aging of equipment. While the ground
OPTEMPO sustains equipment-on-hand, it does not replace major-end items
that are battle-lost or left in the theater of operations.
The air OPTEMPO program supports the Army National Guard Flying
Hour Program which includes petroleum-oil-lubricants, repair parts, and
depot-level repairables for the rotary wing helicopter fleet.
In 2008, air OPTEMPO funding for the Army National Guard totaled
$280 million in base appropriation plus $128 million in supplemental
for a total of $408 million. This funding provides for fuel and other
necessities so that 4,708 Army National Guard aviators can maintain
currency and proficiency in their go-to-war aircraft. Achieving and
maintaining desired readiness levels will ensure aircrew proficiency
and risk mitigation, which helps to conserve resources. Army National
Guard aviators must attain platoon level proficiency to ensure that
they are adequately trained to restore readiness and depth for future
operations.
Reset Process
The Army continued to work with Army National Guard leaders to
refine requirements for critical dual-use equipment and to ensure that
the states and territories can adequately protect the lives and
property of American citizens during a catastrophic event.
Several changes helped resolve reset issues during 2008. The
biggest change provided funds directly to the Army National Guard. This
allowed the Army National Guard to conduct reset operations at home
stations. The Army National Guard's initial $127 million, plus $38
million from the Army, supported the Army National Guard's reset
efforts. This streamlining process enabled the states to have their
equipment immediately available.
Logistics-Depot Maintenance
The Army National Guard Depot Maintenance Program continued to play
an integral part in the Army National Guard sustainment activities
during 2008. This program is based on a ``repair and return to user''
premise as opposed to the equipment maintenance ``float'' (loaner)
system used by the Active Army.
The amount of equipment qualifying for depot repair increased by
26.7 percent in fiscal year 2009. This increase was due primarily to
the rebuilding of the Army National Guard's aged tactical wheeled
vehicle fleet. During 2008, the Army National Guard Depot Maintenance
Program funded the overhaul of 3,405 tactical vehicles as well as
calibration services.
Facilities and Military Construction
In more than 3,000 communities across America, the local National
Guard readiness center (armory) is not only the sole military facility
but also an important community center. For National Guard members,
these facilities are critical places where we conduct training, perform
administration, and store and maintain our equipment. Many of our aging
facilities are in need of repair or replacement. The continuing strong
support of Congress for Army National Guard military construction and
facilities sustainment, restoration, and maintenance funding is crucial
to our readiness.
In fiscal year 2008, Congress made $843 million available for
facility operations and maintenance in the Army National Guard. This
level of funding covered ``must fund'' operations including salaries,
contracts, supplies, equipment leases, utilities, municipal services,
engineering services, fire and emergency services, and program
management.
Environmental Program
Recent success in the Army National Guard's Environmental Program
underscores its mission to excel in environmental stewardship to ensure
the welfare of all citizens and communities while sustaining military
readiness. Program highlights include:
The Army Compatible Use Buffer program that supports
soldier training by protecting an installation's accessibility,
capability, and capacity while sustaining the natural habitat,
biodiversity, open space, and working lands. Since this program
began in 2003, the National Guard, along with civilian
partnership contributions, helped to protect 40,000 military-
use acres from encroachment at 9 Army National Guard training
centers.
Cleanup and restoration programs that continue to make
steady progress at Camp Edwards, MA, where five major
groundwater treatment projects have been completed.
The final stages of cleaning up an open detonation
area that will eventually become maneuver training land at Camp
Navajo, AZ.
investing in operations
Sound management practices demand that we stay focused on
operational issues and missions such as readiness, training, ground
operating tempo, and aviation, including the Operational Support
Airlift Agency.
Domestic Operations
The Army National Guard Domestic Operations Branch coordinates and
integrates policies, procedures, and capabilities to ensure critical
operations are continued in the event of an emergency, or threat of an
emergency, anywhere in the U.S. and its territories.
The following missions in 2008 exemplify the National Guard's
resolve in protecting and preserving the homeland.
In June, National Guard troops provided sandbagging,
search and rescue, power generation, logistical support, food
and water distribution, debris removal, shelter set up, and
support to law enforcement during Mississippi River flooding.
Over a 3-week period, more than 6,800 soldiers from Iowa,
Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin provided their
respective States with critical capabilities.
In California last summer, 8,300 wildfires consumed
over 1.2 million acres. The California Army National Guard
supplied 1,350 citizen-soldiers to protect people and property
around the State, including 400 citizen-soldiers deployed to
the front lines to fight fires. California air crews, assisted
by Army and Air National Guard aviation teams from 12 other
States, dumped 4.2 million gallons of retardant to extinguish
the blazes.
In August, over 15,000 citizen-soldiers from Texas,
Louisiana, and other States supported relief efforts after
Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Their mission included food and
water distribution, search and rescue, air medical evacuations,
communication support, hazardous material assessments, shelter
operations, and debris removal.
Army National Guard citizen-soldiers stand ready throughout the 54
States and territories to respond to any crisis.
Operational Support Airlift Agency
The Operational Support Airlift Agency is a Department of the Army
field operating agency under the NGB that supports 114 aircraft
worldwide and over 700 personnel. During 2008, these aircraft flew over
54,000 hours, transported about 21 million pounds of cargo, and carried
more than 100,000 passengers. This included combat support in the
Middle East and Africa, relief efforts for the Gulf Coast and
California wildfires, and criminal investigation task force efforts in
Columbia and Cuba.
Training
Muscatatuck Urban Training Center
The 974-acre Muscatatuck Urban Training Center (MUTC), located in
Indiana, is a self-contained, contemporary urban training environment.
In its second year of operation, more than 19,000 trainees from
military (including 13,000 Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers),
government, and private agencies used the facilities at MUTC. Training
helps prepare soldiers to fight in foreign cities and helps prepare
soldiers and others to deal with the aftermath of attacks on U.S.
cities. In the future, MUTC could train as many as 40,000 troops
annually at the urban warfare practice facility.
Army National Guard eXportable Combat Training Capability
The Army National Guard's eXportable Combat Training Capability
(XCTC) is a fully instrumented group of field training exercises that
provide tough, realistic training for every Army National Guard unit
during pre-mobilization training.
This training incorporates the most current tactics, techniques,
and procedures used in theater. In fiscal year 2008, the Army National
Guard conducted two XCTC rotations (Illinois and Oregon) and trained a
total of eight battalions. Planning is underway to conduct 6 XCTC
rotations that will provide training for 18 battalions.
By training and certifying pre-mobilization training tasks, the
XCTC reduces post-mobilization training time and thus increases the
availability of units for ``boots on the ground'' time in the warfight.
investing in information technology
During fiscal year 2008, Army National Guard information technology
(IT) resources supported these network security projects:
Network Services
The Army National Guard IT organization reviewed the communications
and network service capabilities that States and territories will
require in the event of a natural or manmade disaster or contingency.
The solution restores access to network services should a readiness
center (armory) lose connectivity regardless of local infrastructure
availability. Each deployment will bring a virtual Joint Force
Headquarters (JFHQ) node to the affected area and provide voice, video,
Internet Protocol (IP) data, and push-to-talk services to a site within
36 hours.
Other specific actions include:
Acquiring network simulator training that provides
network operators and defenders a safe network environment to
conduct initial qualification, mission qualification, crew
training, position certification, and exercises.
Planning and implementing secure network access for
deploying BCTs and their supporting battalions.
Strengthening the Enterprise Processing Center by
incorporating backup and storage capability in accordance with
the NGB's continuity of operations requirements.
air national guard, message from the director, lieutenant general harry
``bud'' wyatt iii, director, air national guard
The Air National Guard is both a Reserve component of the Total Air
Force (USAF) and the air component of the National Guard. As a Reserve
component of the Total Air Force, the Air National Guard is tasked
under title 10, U.S.C., ``to provide trained units and qualified
persons available for Active Duty in the Armed Forces, in time of war
or national emergency. . .''--in essence, a combat-ready surge
capability. The Air National Guard augments the regular Air Force by
providing operational capabilities in support of Homeland Defense both
domestically and overseas. As the air component of the National Guard,
the Air National Guard provides trained and equipped units and
individuals to protect life and property, and to preserve peace, order,
and public safety.
As a Reserve component of the Total Air Force, Air National Guard
members regularly perform operational missions both in the U.S. and
overseas. For example, over 6,000 Air National Guard members vigilantly
stand guard protecting the homeland. Overseas, more than 7,000 National
Guard airmen are deployed at any given time, whether in Southwest Asia
or little known locations around the world, providing airpower
capabilities such as strike, airlift, air refueling, and intelligence,
surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) to joint and coalition forces.
The Air National Guard provides a myriad of capabilities to support
state and local civil authorities in protecting life and property. We
provide capabilities in areas such as airlift, search and rescue,
aerial firefighting, and aerial reconnaissance. We also furnish
critical support capabilities such as medical triage and aerial
evacuation, civil engineering, infrastructure protection, and Hazardous
Materials (HAZMAT) response. During 2008, National Guard airmen helped
their fellow citizens after Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, and Ike;
protected life and property from wildfires in the West, tornados in the
Midwest, and blizzards and ice storms across the country; and assisted
with security at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
The Air National Guard faces today's challenges by examining the
past, serving in the present, and planning for the future. We are
preserving our heritage as a community-based, predominantly part-time
force while we adapt to numerous force structure changes, placing our
Air National Guard on a clear path for future missions. While we cannot
know every potential threat we will face, we do know that success
depends on our ability to continually adapt and evolve toward new and
exciting missions and capabilities. In order to adapt and effectively
support our national security objectives, we must focus our efforts in
three areas:
Modernize and recapitalize the aging Air National
Guard fleet of aircraft to ensure that we, as the proven leader
in air dominance today, do not become complacent and fail in
our vigilance against those who seek to challenge our mastery
of the air.
Maximize the use of associations and community basing
to better support the Air Force mission.
Evolve future mission areas to better support the
overall Air Force mission.
a quick review
The Air National Guard's global presence throughout 2008 was felt
in the following ways:
Deployed 20,231 servicemembers to 85 countries on
every continent, including Antarctica.
Participated in missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
Bosnia; humanitarian airlifts to Southeast Asia and Africa;
drug interdiction in Latin and South America; exercises in
Europe and Japan; and many other missions.
Provided not only airpower capabilities, but
capabilities in medical, logistics, communications,
transportation, security, civil support, and engineering.
This was another crucial year for the Air National Guard as its men
and women continued to defend America's interests worldwide in waging
the global war on terror. Simultaneously, we continued to bring our
force structure into balance following historic mission changes
initiated by Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), and Air Force
modernization and recapitalization initiatives.
developing adaptable airmen
The Air National Guard values our airmen, their families,
employers, and our civilian employees as our greatest resources. The
current corps of Air Guard members contains some of the most skillful
and talented in our history. We remain committed to recruiting,
retaining, and cultivating airmen who are ready, willing, and capable
of meeting 21st century challenges and leading with a vision that looks
beyond tomorrow.
Recruiting and Retention
With the support of Congress, and the use of innovative approaches
by our recruiters, the Air National Guard finished fiscal year 2008
with an assigned strength of 107,679 airmen. We surpassed our
recruiting objective for the first time since 2002, achieving 126
percent of our goal. This accomplishment occurred despite a
historically high operational tempo, executing BRAC decisions, and
implementing Total Force Initiatives.
Guard Recruiting Assistance Program
One program proving highly successful for Air National Guard
recruiters was the G-RAP. With the help of current and former
(including retired) members, our recruiters tapped into a larger circle
of influence that let friends, family, and associates know about the
tangible and intangible rewards that come with service in the Air
National Guard. In fiscal year 2008, 3,676, or 34 percent, of our
enlistments originated from leads generated by G-RAP volunteers. An
overall 90 percent retention rate also bolstered our recruiting success
for fiscal year 2008. By maintaining a high retention rate, the Air
National Guard decreases the cost of replacing valuable members.
readiness
Even though we met our recruiting and retention goals this year, we
face the growing challenge of training the right people with the right
skills to meet mission changes while responding to high wartime
commitments and dealing with resource constraints. To deal with this we
must focus on the three primary areas of readiness--personnel,
training, and equipment.
Personnel
Personnel readiness, including skills affected by equipment
shortages which bear upon our ability to train, has the greatest impact
upon Air National Guard overall readiness rates. As previously
mentioned, working through a period with such a large number of units
changing missions also skews the percentages. To a lesser degree, but
still important, are the numbers of personnel on medical or dental
profiles--an issue that affects our ability to deploy worldwide. The
Air National Guard is placing increased emphasis upon these many
challenges that affect our personnel readiness.
The Air National Guard continues to maintain personnel readiness by
supporting our people returning from deployments. We must maintain the
Air National Guard readiness posture by ensuring our airmen receive
appropriate and timely medical and dental assessment and treatment at
all levels. We offer this through Frontline Supervisors and Landing
Gear training programs, and through the Post-Deployment Health
Reassessment process.
Training
Training readiness is an ongoing challenge as we strive to meet
training standards. In order to retain our highly qualified,
experienced personnel, we must have the ability to train to both
domestic operations and combat standards while meeting deployment
demands. Equipment shortages of emergency management equipment for Air
National Guard civil engineers, weapons for security forces, and
aircraft engines adversely impact training capabilities, and could
negatively affect retention rates. While the volume of mission-related
training requirements seems to grow exponentially, we will continue to
explore and take advantage of every opportunity to meet training
requirements in a timely manner.
The most significant challenge for the Air National Guard, however,
has been to fit its wartime requirements and mission changes into the
traditional framework of a community-based, predominately part-time
force. Our members have a history of answering the call to service, and
have not lost sight of their mission: to be a combat-ready Air Force
composed of dedicated, professional airmen serving in both state and
Federal roles.
Equipment
Air National Guard equipment readiness presents greater challenges
as long-term costs in operating and maintaining older aircraft continue
to rise due to more frequent repairs, fuel prices, and manpower
requirements. Although fuel prices have declined in recent months, the
cost of aircraft maintenance continues to rise significantly as we
struggle to extend the life of our aging fleet.
The current air traffic control system is 1950s technology that
received minor radar upgrades in the 1980s. Replacement parts are
obsolete and no longer available on the market. Modifying and upgrading
the old system would cost more than a new system. The Air National
Guard provides 62.5 percent of the United States Air Force's air
traffic control (ATC) wartime mission. In support of Operations
Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, the Air National Guard deployed
five mobile ATC Radar Approach Controls. Additionally, the Air National
Guard has peacetime obligations to support the National Airspace
System, providing ATC services at designated military/civil airports.
In the final analysis, the Air National Guard will meet 21st
century challenges by proactively shaping its future with combat-ready,
adaptable airmen at its core.
modernize and recapitalize
The age of the Air National Guard fleet is of grave concern.
Aircraft and equipment in both the regular Air Force and the Air
National Guard are quickly wearing out. The average age of Air National
Guard aircraft is now over 25 years, with KC-135s being the oldest at
49 years. The high operational tempo since 1990 has added flying hours
that have accelerated this aging process. As already mentioned, long-
term costs to operate and maintain these older aircraft have increased.
Additionally, our potential adversaries have improved their
capabilities, raising concerns about the ability of our current
aircraft to defend U.S. interests around the globe.
Modernization of our equipment and training platforms is based on
capabilities needed by the Air Force. As the Air National Guard moves
increasingly into the worlds of command and control, intelligence,
reconnaissance, surveillance, unmanned systems, and cyberspace, the
process has expanded to include expert warfighters in these areas. As a
capabilities-based force, the Air National Guard can better assess,
plan, and support its Federal (title 10) and State (title 32) missions,
remain relevant to operations, and be interoperable with other forces.
Changing the force structure and orientation of units away from
airborne platforms to unmanned systems and capabilities is a difficult,
yet necessary transition. These efforts to redefine the Air National
Guard will be expanded upon in the Future Mission Areas section of this
report.
The Air National Guard is committed to seamlessly integrating into
the operational environment. Our modernization program is based on Air
Force and Combatant Command requirements and vetted among Reserve
component and active duty warfighters. Some examples include:
Mobility Aircraft
The Air National Guard will pursue further modifications to flight
instruments, communications, navigation, and terrain/traffic avoidance
systems along with upgrades to engines and missile warning and
countermeasures on Air National Guard mobility aircraft (C-5, C-17, C-
130, KC-135) and other aircraft.
Combat Aircraft
Air National Guard combat aircraft (A-10, F-15, and F-16) comprise
about one-third of the Air Force's combat capability. Eighty percent of
our F-16s will begin reaching the end of their service life in 8 years.
While our maintainers continue to keep our fleet combat ready and
available, we must replace our legacy systems to remain viable and
relevant.
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
The Air National Guard expansion into the world of unmanned
aircraft systems continues to move forward in Arizona, California,
North Dakota, New York, Nevada, and Texas Air National Guard units, as
illustrated with the development of integrated Predator and MQ-9 Reaper
Operations Centers. These centers will not only allow smooth operation
and control of current and future transformational warfighting and
homeland defense missions, but will integrate multiple systems
currently running independently. The RQ-4 Global Hawk continues to
provide high quality intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
(ISR) support for Operation Iraqi Freedom while also supporting
homeland missions.
MC-12 and Project Liberty
Mississippi's 186th Air Refueling Wing is taking on an additional
mission, training aircrews for the Air Force's newest manned ISR
platform, the MC-12. Designated Project Liberty, the program will train
nearly 1,000 airmen during the next 2 years at Key Field near Meridian,
MS, at a cost of about $100 million. The MC-12 is expected to bolster
the DOD's intelligence gathering capability in Operations Iraqi Freedom
and Enduring Freedom.
Dual-Use Capabilities
Developing and fielding ``dual-use'' capabilities are the
cornerstone to the Air National Guard's cost effective contribution to
combat and domestic operations. Many domestic operations capabilities
are outlined in the NGB's ``Essential 10'' core military capabilities
relevant to Civil Support. In fiscal year 2010, with the support of
Congress, we will address critical shortfalls in medical,
communications, transportation, logistics, security, civil support
teams, engineering, and aviation. The Air National Guard will continue
to increase capabilities for use during domestic missions for the
foreseeable future.
Competing sustainment costs and funding requirements for
recapitalization present challenges for the Total Force. However, by
similarly equipping the Air National Guard and the regular Air Force,
we directly support efforts in Total Force Integration (TFI). In short,
the Air National Guard needs to be concurrently equipped with the
Active-Duty Force to support our total Air Force mission--to be the
dominant air power, second to none.
Maximize Associations and Community Basing
Since Vietnam, the Air Force has understood the importance of unit
integrity on combat effectiveness, and has reflected this in war plans
for unit mobilizations. As such, the Air National Guard, Air Force
Reserve (AFRES), and active Air Force have formed unique alliances that
promise to increase mission effectiveness while reducing costs.
Under three types of constructs known as ``associations,'' Air
National Guard, AFRES, and Active Air Force units share not only
facilities and equipment, but knowledge and experiences (many Air
National Guard members spend their careers with the same unit and
equipment).
Under ``classic associations'' the Active Duty unit
retains principal responsibility for its equipment and the
Reserve unit shares in operating and maintaining it.
With ``active associations'' Active Duty personnel are
assigned to Reserve units in local communities where they share
in the operation and maintenance of Reserve-assigned assets.
The last association, called ``Reserve associate,'' is
similar to the ``Active'' and ``classic'' relationships in that
one Air Reserve unit retains ownership of the assets and
another unit shares in operating and maintaining the equipment
as an air Reserve component associate unit.
``Community basing'' is a core characteristic that forms the
foundation of our competitive edge as a cost effective combat-ready
Reserve. Over 60 percent of the Air National Guard force consists of
``traditional'' part-time, professional airmen, who train to the same
standards, supply the same capabilities and provide the same response
times as the regular Air Force.
The Air National Guard is closely tied to our communities.
Generally our members are recruited locally, hold civilian jobs there,
and maintain close ties throughout most of their careers in the Air
National Guard. Unlike regular Air Force Bases which tend to be self-
sufficient, we also depend on our local communities for many common
resources needed to support the mission.
Shared infrastructure, such as retail stores and housing, reduces
operating costs significantly (66 of 88 Air National Guard flying units
are co-located at civilian airports, sharing runways, taxiways, and
fire/crash emergency response).
The synergy resulting from these relationships is fundamental to
the mission readiness of the Air National Guard in these ways:
Ties to the local area provide personnel stability,
resulting in a high level of unit integrity and experience.
Long-term relationships position the Air National
Guard to plan, exercise, and respond to natural and manmade
domestic emergencies.
Shared civil/military workforce provides the Air
National Guard and the community with broad skill sets.
Future Mission Areas
The Air National Guard is prepared to take on more mission sets to
better support the overall Air Force mission. The Air National Guard
will continue to work with the Adjutants General to refine and update
the modernization and recapitalization plans outlined previously. We
will not only support our Governors at home with quick responses to
natural and manmade disasters, but will also support the combatant
commanders with improved mobility, agile combat support, and other
mission sets, both tried and new.
Rapid Global Mobility
Continuing Air National Guard participation in inter-theater or
strategic airlift (C-5, C-17), intra-theater or tactical airlift (C-
130, future C-27/JCA), and air refueling (KC-135, KC-10, future KC-45)
is important. Within the Strategic Reserve construct, strategic airlift
and air refueling are central due to their surge-to-demand operation
and ability to meet scheduled operational force requirements rapidly.
Tactical airlift fits well with dual capabilities required by the Air
National Guard's State and Federal roles. Its versatility makes it
especially valuable in responding to domestic needs, such as Modular
Aerial Firefighting, and aerial delivery of food and supplies to
disaster victims, and in search and rescue.
Agile Combat Support
Expeditionary Combat Support (ECS) units will continue to provide
essential combat service support in sustaining all elements of
operating forces, providing medical support, services, security forces,
civil engineers, transportation, logistics support, and airfield
maintenance. ECS also includes Air National Guard support to National
Guard Civil Support Teams (CSTs) and Chemical, Biological,
Radiological, Nuclear, and high-yield Explosives (CBRNE) Enhanced
Response Force Packages (NG-CERFP) to assist civil authorities'
response to domestic CBRNE incidents. These units are at the forefront
of our dual-use capabilities in responding domestically to manmade and
natural disasters as well as overseas disasters and operational
missions.
Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)
The Air National Guard can help meet rapidly increasing ISR
requirements for the Joint Force, in areas such as the following:
ISR in Special Operations
Distributed Ground Stations
Human Intelligence
National Tactical Integration
ISR Center of Excellence (Nellis AFB, NV)
Air Force Expeditionary Signals Intelligence
Computer Network Exploitation
Tactics Analysis
Global Aviation Analysis Support Team
All Source Intelligence Analysis
United States Special Operations Command requested investment in
manning ISR aerial ports, which points to the need to further invest in
small aircraft to support specific ISR requirements, something the Air
National Guard is uniquely qualified to do since it already possesses
the appropriate aircraft and experienced aircrews. Platforms such as
these have dual-use capability for both homeland and expeditionary
operations. Specifically, it can support DOD's ``Building Partnership
Capacity'' efforts with nations desiring a partnership arrangement
involving a low-cost multi-utility platform, which could further
enhance the National Guard SPP. This manned ISR mission, using the
small aircraft platform, is potentially the most promising initiative
for the Air National Guard in the near future.
Cyberspace
This year the Air National Guard continued to grow into cyberspace
by establishing three more information operations squadrons, raising
the number of operational units to eight. These new units include the
166th Network Warfare Squadron based at New Castle Airport, Delaware,
the 273rd Information Operations Squadron (IOS), Lackland AFB, Texas,
and the 229th IOS, located in the Vermont National Guard Armory. While
the specifics of each unit's mission vary slightly, all are dedicated
to deterring the ever growing number of daily attacks against this
nation's cyber-based infrastructure.
Space Operations
Air National Guard units support space and missile operations at
several locations in Alaska and the continental United States. Air
Force Space Command desires increased Air National Guard involvement in
space operations, to include Missile Warning associate squadrons,
Missile Operations support squadrons, Distributed Command and Control
Mission expansion, and Space Launch/Range operations.
Continuing Missions
The Air National Guard will retain some existing mission sets, such
as those associated with Global Persistent Attack. This mission is a
surge task that requires a large number of fighter aircraft,
particularly in the early stages of a conflict. The Air Force Reserve
components provide the most cost effective way to maintain this surge
capability.
The Air Force will not be able to recapitalize its fighter force
structure on a one-to-one basis, which means that some Air National
Guard fighter units have been required to transition to other mission
areas. Developing active and classic associations such as those
mentioned above are now underway as we transform to new and promising
mission sets.
For fiscal year 2010, fully rebalancing and training will involve a
complex interchange of people, training, and resources. These mission
changes will directly impact about 15,000 Air National Guard members
across the Nation.
In an environment where change is considered a constant instead of
a variable, we continue to move forward knowing a more capable Air
National Guard will better serve the needs of our Nation tomorrow and
far into the future.
joint staff, message from the director, major general peter m. aylward,
director, joint staff, national guard bureau
Today's National Guard faces a more complex and challenging world
than ever before. There are no easy solutions to our comprehensive
problems. America must remain ready to fight and win across the full
range of military operations. Enemies are finding new ways to overcome
the difficulties of geographic distance. The increase in travel and
trade across U.S. borders has created new vulnerabilities for hostile
states and actors to exploit opportunities to perpetrate devastating
attacks on the U.S. homeland. U.S. military forces enjoy significant
advantages in many aspects of armed conflict, but we will be challenged
by adversaries who possess or design novel concepts to overcome our
advantages.
At home, the terrorism threat coincides with violent drug-
trafficking organizations and border security challenges. These trends
produce a geopolitical setting that is increasingly complex and
unpredictable. Therefore, the National Guard must be flexible and
prepared for the unexpected. In addition, the way the National Guard is
organized, equipped, and trained provides the unique ability to respond
quickly and effectively to natural disasters and manmade catastrophic
events. The NGB's Joint Staff has taken on these challenges with the
following efforts, teams, and programs.
domestic operations
Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams (WMD-CST)
The National Guard continues to strengthen its ability to respond
to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield
explosive incidents with 55 WMD-CSTs and 2 newly established units
going through the DOD certification process. These units are manned by
22 full-time Army and Air Guard personnel who provide each Governor
with an immediate response capability, specialized expertise, and
technical assistance that can be provided to local incident commanders
nationwide. WMD-CSTs do not duplicate state CBRNE response
capabilities, but support civil authorities by identifying CBRNE agents
or substances, assessing current or projected consequences, advising on
response options, and assisting with requests for State support.
Congress recently expanded the use of CSTs to include response to
intentional or unintentional HAZMAT incidents and natural or manmade
disasters.
The National Guard's Civil Support Teams, which are so essential to
the security of the American people on an almost daily basis, depend on
the availability of adequate operations and maintenance funds to carry
out their tasks. Any reduction in funding below that requested carries
the risk of hindering the operational capability of these essential
teams.
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High-Yield Explosive
(CBRNE)--Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP) Teams
Army and Air National Guard citizen-soldiers and airmen with
technical response skills in this area make up 17 CERFP teams covering
every region of the country. The CERFP team is designed to locate and
extract victims from a collapsed structure in a contaminated
environment, perform medical triage and treatment, and conduct
personnel decontamination from a weapon of mass destruction incident.
CBRNE Consequence Management Response Forces (CCMRFs)
Each CCMRF provides 4,700 trained and equipped Active and Reserve
component military personnel ready to assist civil authorities in
response to a CBRNE incident. CCMRF capabilities include:
CBRNE reconnaissance and detection
Casualty search and extraction
Decontamination
Hazardous material handling and disposal
Medical triage, treatment, and care
Aero-medical evacuation
Explosive ordnance disposal
Air and land transportation
Mortuary affairs
The NGB continues to support planning for the standup of all
CCMRFs.
Joint Force Headquarters-State (JFHQ-State)
The National Guard continues to strengthen and refine the 54 Joint
Force Headquarters throughout the United States. JFHQ-State works to
enable effective domestic responses while conducting traditional state
National Guard training responsibilities for Army and Air Force Reserve
component forces. Each JFHQ-State provides the Governor with
information and command and control for effective National Guard
response; provides improved situational awareness to DOD before,
during, and after an emergency response; and facilitates unity and
continuity of military (Federal and State) effort during Continental
U.S. (CONUS) operations.
Critical Infrastructure Program--Mission Assurance Assessment (CIP-MAA)
Teams
National Guard CIP-MAA teams are comprised of citizen-soldiers and
airmen trained to assess the vulnerability of industrial sites and
critical U.S. Government infrastructure to attack. Their analysis helps
various government agencies direct prevention, deterrence, mitigation,
and response efforts. Currently, 3 teams are assessing Defense
industrial base sites and 10 teams are assessing Department of Homeland
Security sites.
Joint Enabling Team
The NGB's highly-trained professionals making up Joint Enabling
Teams (JETs) establish a logistics and support link between NGB, the
supported state, and supporting States and agencies. The JETs help
identify potential mission shortfalls and facilitate missions by
assisting with the collection, reporting, and sharing of information.
They ensure that resources are available and that personnel directly
involved in the mission are effectively supported for domestic
operations involving floods, hurricanes, and tropical storms.
National Guard Reaction Force (NGRF)
Within hours of an incident, upwards of 500 individuals can assist
State and local law enforcement by providing site security, presence
patrols, show-of-force, establishment of roadblocks and/or checkpoints,
control of civil disturbances, force protection and security for other
responders, and protection of DOD assets as required.
Task Force for Emergency Readiness
The Task Force for Emergency Readiness (TFER) program enlists
National Guard officers at the State level to write comprehensive
``State'' Homeland Security Plans that address the eight national
planning scenario sets. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
is currently funding five pilot States (Hawaii, Massachusetts, South
Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia) with the intent of expanding
TFER to all States based on the anticipated success of the pilot
program.
counterdrug programs
In 2008, some 2,400 National Guard personnel supported law
enforcement agencies in seizing illegal drugs with a street value of
approximately $28 billion. The National Guard supports law enforcement
counterdrug operations with 125 specially equipped Army National Guard
OH-58A helicopters and 11 Air National Guard counterdrug RC-26B fixed-
wing aircraft.
Synchronizing counterdrug information-sharing among law enforcement
agencies, the National Guard, and DOD agencies has greatly increased
the efficiency and speed of the effort.
Stay on Track
In 2008, National Guard personnel reached over 3 million people
with their positive anti-drug messages. Drug demand reduction programs
such as Stay on Track have reached over 115,000 middle school students
in 215 schools around the country since 2007. In 2009, Stay on Track
plans to reach out to another 150,000 students.
operation jump start
The National Guard and the U.S. Border Patrol marked the end of the
Operation Jump Start (OJS) mission in 2008 with ceremonies in
Washington, DC, Operation Jump Start began June 15, 2006, and
officially ended July 15, 2008. At its peak, the operation saw up to
6,000 National Guard citizen-soldiers and airmen assisting the Border
Patrol to increase security and vigilance along the Nation's southern
border.
OJS assistance not only freed up hundreds of Border Patrol agents
to perform their normal law enforcement duties, but it also allowed
time for the Border Patrol to hire and train more agents.
``Within law enforcement, there is one word that we put a lot of
weight on,'' said David V. Aguilar, Chief of the Border Patrol. ``That
is the word `partner.' Today, I am very proud to call every individual
who wears the uniform of the National Guard, has ever worn it, or will
wear it, or is in any way affiliated with the National Guard . . . our
true partners, and for that we truly thank you.''
Over the 2-year period, more than 29,000 troops from all 54 States
and territories participated. As we look back on this operation, we
count the following successes:
Assisted with over 176,000 immigration violation
apprehensions
Aided in seizing over 315,000 pounds of marijuana
Aided in seizing 5,000-plus pounds of cocaine
Helped build more than 19 miles of road
Helped repair more than 717 miles of road
Helped construct 38 miles of fencing
Helped erect 96 miles of vehicle border barriers
The National Guard provided the Border Patrol logistical and
administrative support by operating detection systems, providing
communications, and analyzing border-related intelligence. Citizen-
soldiers and airmen also built new infrastructure, conducted training,
and provided additional aviation assets and ground transportation.
joint and interagency training
To continue providing quick and effective support of local and
State response forces, the National Guard must continue expanding its
capacity to conduct joint and interagency training in a domestic
environment. We can accomplish this by increasing the number of
National Guard, State and local response forces, DOD, and Federal
agencies participating in the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and
NGB Joint Interagency Training Capability (JITC) programs.
Increased participation by these and other agencies will improve
tactical interoperability as well as unity of effort among State,
local, and Federal agencies during catastrophic manmade or natural
disasters. Increasing the number and scope of National Guard regional
training centers (such as the Joint Interagency Training and Education
Center (JITEC) in West Virginia) will also improve response proficiency
and standardize tactics, techniques, and procedures for National Guard
teams dealing with chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and
high-yield explosives (CBRNE).
Joint Interagency Exercise Program (Vigilant Guard)
This exercise program conducts four National Guard regional
exercises each year that provide valuable experience and training
opportunities to the following force elements:
JTF Commander Training Course
This course prepares potential JTF commanders to operate, organize,
and function in the unique Federal and State environment. The 4-day in-
residence course is conducted twice a year at USNORTHCOM in Colorado
Springs.
JFHQ/JTF Staff Training Course (JSTC)
This course provides comprehensive training and education for joint
staff to support JFHQ and JTF missions in State or Federal status.
Collective CBRNE Training Program
Seventeen CBRNE Enhanced Response Force Packages (CERFPs) and 57
Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Teams (WMD-CSTs) learn to
respond to a catastrophic CBRNE event in this program.
Joint Interagency Training and Education Center
In addition to the Joint Interagency Training Capability, JITEC
plays an integral part in continuing the National Guard's
transformation for the future by building relationships and
capabilities with our interagency partners. Joint Interagency
highlights include:
Providing more than 30,000 duty-days of training and
interaction in over 800 exercises to some 90 different
organizations and agencies since September 11, 2001
Scheduling more than 200 training, exercise, or
assessment activities in 2010
With continuing support from both DOD and Congress, the National
Guard will continue to transform itself into a premier homeland
security and defense organization, leveraging state and Federal
responses, capabilities, and expertise.
technology revolutionizes emergency response and training
Technology has played a key role in enhancing the National Guard
Joint Staff's effectiveness in America's emergency preparedness and
response. Emergency response training, information exchange, and
command and control activities are more robust than ever to support
local communities during a time of catastrophic events. The following
highlights our progress.
Joint CONUS Communications Support Environment (JCCSE)
The JCCSE is the NGB and USNORTHCOM umbrella platform that
establishes communications and information sharing for Homeland Defense
and Civil Support missions from the national to the State or territory
level. The JCCSE platform ensures the National Guard's capacity to
provide Command, Control, Communications, and Computer (C4) support
necessary to carry out National Guard responsibilities. These
capabilities directly supported FEMA operations during Hurricanes
Gustav and Ike.
Communications, situational awareness, and command and control were
bolstered with the following JCCSE enhancements:
NGB acquired 84 Joint Incident Site Communications
Capability (JISCC) systems to be distributed to the 54 States
and territories. These sets provide interoperable
communications at the incident site along with a satellite link
to command and control centers to share information and tools
needed to request or direct support.
NGB established a Joint Command, Control,
Communications, and Computer (C4) Coordination Center (JCCC) to
monitor the status of all National Guard communications to the
Joint Force Headquarters in each State, FEMA, and all emergency
agencies involved. During an incident, the JCCC provides help-
desk and satellite link support to teams deploying with JISCC.
NGB established the Joint Information Exchange
Environment (JIEE) as a web-based application to provide a
common operating picture of all non-federalized National Guard
activities. JIEE provides the ability to monitor, track, and
share operational information with mission partners in a
trusted domestic operations environment that extends down to
the incident level. This capability is not currently available
in DOD programs of record.
The domestic information environment in which JCCSE must
interoperate continues to evolve. Consequently, NGB will continue to
request funding to both sustain and adapt JCCSE capabilities as the
domestic response requirements emerge.
Emergency Management Staff Trainer
The Emergency Management Staff Trainer is a new virtual training
application that provides extremely low-cost, scenario-driven training
that can be repeated as many times as needed. This capability offers
training that is geographically specific, allowing National Guard and
civilian emergency management personnel to engage in training specific
to their own city or State.
Scenarios developed to date include Hurricane Preparation and
Response, Earthquake Response, Building Collapse, and Pandemic
Influenza Response.
Regional and State Online Resource--Emergency Management (RaSOR-EM)
RaSOR-EM supports training activities by combining commercially
available mapping programs with links to thousands of emergency
management databases and other information sources, dramatically
enhancing speed and access to this critical information. All 54 States
and territories, numerous Federal agencies, and personnel from the
Department of Homeland Security currently use the program. Data layers
have been added to include critical infrastructure data, locations of
schools and Reserve centers, and other valuable data.
supporting the warfighter
An effective citizen-soldier or airman is one who knows his or her
family is safe, secure, and able to function efficiently while he or
she is deployed. An effective soldier or airman also needs support in
transitioning back to civilian life after long deployments. Keeping our
soldiers and airmen ready, both physically and mentally, requires the
National Guard's support through programs for the individual and the
family.
Transition Assistance Advisors
Sixty-two Transition Assistance Advisors (TAAs) were hired in the
States, territories, and District of Columbia to provide personalized
service to Guard and family members. They educate and assist them on
constantly evolving benefits information, assist them in obtaining
their Federal and State benefits and entitlements, and help them file
and track benefits claims. These personalized services include linking
Guard members and families to behavioral health resources, disability
claims filing, and obtaining disability compensation. These advisors
work closely with the liaisons from the NGB and Department of Veterans
Affairs and have proven themselves invaluable by educating National
Guard leadership, Guard members, and veterans on the myriad of complex
benefits and entitlements earned through their military service.
In one instance, the TAA, the Seattle Veterans' regional office,
and the Washington National Guard teamed up to test an idea that allows
persons to file for Veterans Administration benefits and process them
within 6 to 8 days of their units returning from active duty--a method
previously reserved only for returning active duty units. This is made
possible by allowing access to military medical records, often a large
factor for delays in claims. The units also complete medical benefits
forms on site.
National Guard Joint Family Program
The National Guard Joint Family Program (JFP) provides direct
support to the 54 State and territory family program directors, youth
coordinators, and 92 Wing Family Program Coordinators. The JFP office
provides guidance, resources, and support to National Guard families
when guardsmen are deployed at home or abroad. JFP conducts all
training events and national-level seminars and workshops for all of
the above positions as well as for an estimated force of over 10,000
National Guard family volunteers.
The program office provides training to families via computer-based
training modules, centralized classes, and locally provided training to
help make families self-reliant throughout the deployment cycle
process.
Family Assistance Centers
Consider these actual family situations:
A New Jersey National Guard soldier, training for
deployment to Afghanistan, receives word that his family's home
is gutted by fire.
A soldier suffers from severe post traumatic stress
disorder as he deals with his wife's declining health and the
threat of losing their home.
A catastrophic auto accident has left a soldier a
quadriplegic.
These are just a few of the situations Family Assistance Centers
(FACs) deal with each day to help our soldiers. More than 300 FACs
across the 54 States and territories provide information, referral, and
outreach to families of geographically dispersed members from all
Services, whether Active or Reserve component. FACs are critical to
mobilization and demobilization and to the long-term health and welfare
of servicemembers and their families. The FAC team believes that
soldiers who know their families are cared for, safe, and secure at
home, can better concentrate on their tasks and missions in theater.
Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program
The Yellow Ribbon Program provides information, services,
referrals, and proactive outreach to servicemembers, spouses,
employers, and youth from the beginning through the end of the
mobilization lifecycle.
The program provides a flexible family support system to meet the
servicemember and family readiness needs of the expeditionary service
component and geographically dispersed families. The program focuses on
ensuring servicemembers and their families receive the information and
tools necessary to cope during the mobilization lifecycle.
Yellow Ribbon Program services include:
Marriage Enrichment
Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve
Warrior Transition Unit Information
Traumatic Brain Injury Information and Support
Child Behavioral Counselors
Veterans Affairs Information
TRICARE/Medical Benefit Information
Family Counseling
Legal Counseling
Financial Counseling
Community Relations
School Support
Child Care Services
Informational meetings and briefings
Preparations for reintegration
Employment opportunities
Division of Psychological Health
The newly created Division of Psychological Health will direct and
manage a comprehensive psychological health service dedicated to Guard
members and their families on a variety of conditions associated with
post traumatic stress disorder(s) and/or traumatic brain injury. Fifty-
four licensed mental health practitioners will cover all the States and
territories.
The Psychological Health service goals include:
Providing high quality services that are National
Guard member-specific
Overseeing an individual's mental health and
readjustment needs to civilian life
Addressing individual health care situations that may
hinder reintegration to civilian life
Consulting State and territory National Guard senior
management on specific mental health needs and trends based on
membership demographics
The NGB Division of Psychological Health is committed to providing
quality care and will develop and implement a program that is
practical, meaningful, and beneficial for our Guard members and their
families, thereby ensuring our maximum operational readiness.
A Leader in Equal Opportunity
In 2008, the NGB Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights
developed Reasonable Accommodations procedures that are a model for
other Federal agencies. The NGB is also officially partnering with
Operation War Fighter through job fairs, resume reviews from the
internet, and participation in ongoing work groups to enhance
employment opportunities within NGB for wounded servicemembers during
their rehabilitation.
This office ensures the effective management of National Guard
Affirmative Action programs to achieve a military and civilian
workforce structure that reflects the diversity of the 54 States and
territories.
With the ongoing support from Congress and the American people, the
National Guard will continue to secure the American homeland while
defending her interests abroad.
Your National Guard is ``Always Ready, Always There.''
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you, General.
General Wyatt.
STATEMENT OF LT. GEN. HARRY M. WYATT III, USAF, DIRECTOR, AIR
NATIONAL GUARD
General Wyatt. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm honored and
privileged to be here before you and the committee today, and
thanks again for all the hard work the committee has done for
your Air National Guard (ANG).
I'm privileged to be in the chamber this afternoon with the
senior enlisted adviser of the ANG, ANG Command Chief Master
Sergeant Dick Smith from Ohio, who is backing me up here, and
is responsible, as I am, for the over 94,000 enlisted members
of the ANG.
As we meet today, Mr. Chairman, your ANG is protecting our
skies over the United States of America at 16 of 18 air
sovereignty alert sites. They're ready to respond to disasters
like hurricanes, tornadoes, and fires, and are currently
responding to floods in North Dakota, Minnesota, and snow
storms in Montana.
We do all this while, at the same time, volunteering at
unprecedented rates to support the worldwide contingencies. We
cannot forget the backbone of our Force, our traditional Guard
members, who are providing not only day-to-day Air
Expeditionary Force (AEF) rotation capabilities, but also that
critical surge capability for our Air Force that makes the
Guard such a vital component of the entire Air Force.
In the personnel domain, talking about four major themes
today, and then I'll pass the microphone. Our primary priority
this year is targeted and precision recruiting. As you're
aware, we are over our end strength for the first time since
2002. We will be focusing our recruiting efforts on getting the
right folks in the right place and doing the right jobs.
Incentives and bonuses are key to that.
We also seek to leverage the inherent ANG efficiencies and
take on additional Air Force missions as appropriate when asked
by the United States Air Force and when resourced by the Air
Force. We attempt to maximize the use of association, the
association constructs where we work with the Active Duty Air
Force Reserve brothers and sisters in forming these new
constructs, and look to community basing to better support the
Air Force mission.
Thank you very much. It's an honor and privilege to be
here, and we look forward to answering your questions, sir.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you, General.
General Stultz.
STATEMENT OF LTG JACK C. STULTZ, USAR, COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S.
ARMY RESERVE COMMAND
General Stultz. Mr. Chairman, Senator Burris, and others:
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you, to
represent over 204,000 Army Reserve soldiers who are serving
this Nation. Thank you for what you've done, for you and for
the staffers there, for all the support you've given us for our
soldiers, the things that we talked about previously with
Secretary Hall, TRICARE, retirement, other benefits, that we're
able to take back to those soldiers and say, thank you for what
you're doing for this Nation; this is what Congress is doing
for you.
Today, I can report to you that your Army Reserve is in
excellent shape. We're at 204,000-plus. That's up 7,000 this
fiscal year, on top of 7,000 last year. We're growing at a
tremendous pace. Recruiting is good, retention is good. The
theme that we're using in the statement that I submitted for
the record is ``A Positive Investment for America.'' The Army
Reserve is giving this Nation a great return on investment. The
dollars that we're given in our budget are used wisely and
we're returning back to America, not only in terms of the
military capability, but the civilian capability.
I brought with me today, since 2009 is the year of the
Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) for the Army, three great NCOs
that I'd ask just to stand up to be recognized. I use them as
an example of when I talk about a return on investment.
Sergeant Jason Ford that you see in front of you, he's a drill
sergeant in the Army Reserve. When he is on duty with the Army
Reserve, he's training soldiers, not Army Reserve soldiers,
Active Duty soldiers, at our BTCs like Fort Leonard Wood. He
also trained Iraqi soldiers for a year in Iraq, working under
General Petraeus over there in Multi-National Security
Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I) Mission, where he was wounded
while on a combat patrol leading 25 Iraqi soldiers by himself,
and received the Purple Hurt and Bronze Star.
Back here in America, in Brockton, MA, he's a law
enforcement officer. So he comes back and continues to serve in
uniform for the Nation, both in a Reserve status and as a
civilian.
I also have Sergeant Henry Farve, who was deployed to Iraq
when his son, who was deployed with 3-2 Stryker from Fort
Lewis, was wounded in action. Sergeant Farve could not get to
his son, but instead said: ``Continue the mission; I have a
mission over here with my unit.''
Sergeant Larry Limon, a first sergeant over there for a
unit that was providing combat patrols, was hit by an
improvised explosive device while over there leading the unit,
but continued the mission.
All these gentlemen serve their country proudly in uniform,
but they come back and serve in civilian capacities or work for
the Government back here. So we do have a positive return on
investment because we give back not only in defense, we give
back in the civilian community.
Thanks for your support. For all the staffers there, thank
you for what you've done for us. I look forward to your
questions, sir. Thank you.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you, General. Thank you all.
Let's give them a round of applause.
[Applause.]
[The prepared statement of General Stultz follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S)] [NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Ben Nelson. Admiral Debbink.
STATEMENT OF VADM DIRK J. DEBBINK, USN, CHIEF OF NAVY RESERVE;
AND COMMANDER, NAVY RESERVE FORCE
Admiral Debbink. Chairman Nelson, Senator Burris: Thank you
for the opportunity to appear before the committee this
afternoon. This is my first opportunity to appear before this
committee. I want to begin by thanking you for your terrific
support for the 67,217 Navy Reserve sailors, and their
families, that make up your Navy's Reserve component.
This afternoon as I testify, Navy Reserve sailors, of
course, are operating in every corner of the world. You'll see
these sailors in the news, but you won't see a caption that
reads ``Reserve'' because we are part of the Navy's Total Force
and we operate that way around the world.
From certifying Strike Groups before they deploy overseas
to our sailors and Naval Special Warfare Groups in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and elsewhere around the world, our sailors truly
are making a significant contribution across the full spectrum
of both naval and joint operations.
Following a strength reduction of nearly 25 percent since
2003, the central focus of our manpower strategy now is the
establishment of a true ``Continuum of Service'' culture. This
offers our sailors the opportunity to truly be sailors for
life, providing that life-work balance that accommodates
individual circumstances while at the same time sustaining the
inventory of skilled and experienced professionals that we need
to fulfill our Total Force commitments.
I believe that we have proven ourselves to be a ready,
responsive, and very adaptable operational force while
maintaining the strategic depth that Secretary Hall talked
about earlier today. This is a very important and, I think,
very meaningful time for any one of us to be serving in our
Nation's defense, and I would assert particularly so as a
reservist.
So I thank you for your continued support, and we look
forward to answering your questions, sir.
[The prepared statement of Admiral Debbink follows:]
Prepared Statement by VADM Dirk J. Debbink, USN
i. introduction
Chairman Nelson, Senator Graham, and distinguished members of the
Personnel Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you
today about the capabilities, capacity, and readiness of the dedicated
men and women who serve in our Navy's Reserve component (RC). I offer
my heartfelt thanks for all of the support you have provided these
great sailors.
On July 22, last year, I had the distinct honor of reporting to the
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Admiral Gary Roughead, as the 12th
Chief of Navy Reserve. In that capacity, I have the privilege of
working for over 67,000 sailors in our Navy's RC. I take to heart that
each of them has promised to support and defend the Constitution of the
United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That promise
is their covenant to our Nation, and my covenant back to these Sailors
is to do everything I can to make their service truly meaningful,
significant, and rewarding; these sailors form an incredibly capable
and motivated force, and they deserve nothing less. I find myself
amazed and truly in awe of the daily sacrifices our RC sailors are
making for our Nation and our Navy.
My predecessor, Vice Admiral John Cotton, laid a strong foundation
during the past 5 years for a more responsive and operational force,
and we are a better Navy because of his leadership. We remain steady on
course and we will look to increase speed where able by improving upon
our strengths and efficiencies to further advance our ``Support to the
Fleet . . . Ready and Fully Integrated.'' We are also working on new
initiatives in order to more fully implement the Navy Reserve's vision
of: ``Ready Now. Anytime, Anywhere.''
The Navy Reserve is an integral component of our Total Force--
inextricably linked with the Active component (AC), civil servants, and
contractor personnel. Our focus is on strategic objectives and specific
initiatives that will enable us to optimize our support for the CNO's
priorities: (1) Build the Future Force, (2) Maintain Warfighting
Readiness, and (3) Develop and Support our sailors, Navy civilians, and
families. Within this framework, I would like to take this opportunity
to update you on the operational contributions, support to the sailor
and family, and the people policies and programs of the Navy Reserve.
ii. operational contributions
The Navy's RC contributions are directed when and where they make
the most operational and cost-effective sense--the right sailor, in the
right assignment, at the right time, and importantly, at the right
cost. Leveraging valuable military and civilian skill-sets and
capabilities--when possible and consistent with volunteerism--Navy
reservists operate in all corners of the world. RC sailors are on the
ground in Iraq and Afghanistan; they help project power from the
Arabian Gulf; and they aid in providing a stabilizing influence in the
Eastern Mediterranean. They patrol waters off the Horn of Africa and
deliver humanitarian assistance and disaster relief throughout the
world.
To meet global requirements, the Navy continues to mobilize
thousands of Selected Reserve (SELRES) RC personnel. These mobilized
SELRES personnel provide a growing spectrum of capabilities to
prosecute our current fights by integrating seamlessly into a multitude
of augmentation missions, in addition to mobilizing as Navy units. We
are called to execute missions well beyond core requirements with new
capability missions (Civil Affairs Units, Mobile Training Teams, and
Provincial Reconstruction Teams, in particular) and mission-unique
training such as Detainee Operations and Customs Inspection battalions.
One-third of Navy augmentees currently serve in nontraditional missions
that involve new capabilities or require unique training. Mobilized
SELRES sailors have sustained their largest footprints in Iraq (1,018
sailors), Kuwait (796 sailors), and Afghanistan (277 sailors). At the
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC), more than 90 percent of the
expeditionary medical support personnel are RC augmentees. Navy RC
medical augmentees are generally activated for mobilization employment
periods from 3 months to 1 year from various Operational Health Support
Units to form the highly valued Navy Expeditionary Medical Units
(NEMUs). Over 380 RC medical personnel served in our NEMUs in 2008, and
294 are expected to serve in 2009 and 2010.
In addition to the contributions of mobilized SELRES and those
conducting Active Duty Operational Support in fiscal year 2008, an
additional 21,803 Navy reservists provided 385,291 man-days of Fleet
Operational Support above the traditional 39 days each SELRES provides
under current law. The Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) sets
the example of RC's operational contributions. Led by Rear Admiral
Carol Pottenger--a Full Time Support (FTS) Officer of the RC (the Navy
RC equivalent of Active Guard and Reserve (AGR)), its expeditionary
forces deployed across 5 continents and 12 countries in 2008, and
continue supporting Overseas Contingency Operations and the Global
Maritime Strategy. With 51 percent of the NECC force comprised of RC
members, NECC's global support to the Navy component commanders (NCCs)
and unified combatant commanders (COCOMs) is only executable with
integral contributions from the RC. In 2008 alone, nearly 2,300 RC
members from 17 NECC units deployed globally, with more than 95 percent
of the deployed units and personnel supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom
(OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in the Central Command
(CENTCOM) Area of Responsibility (AOR). NECC RC forces continue to
support operations that include: construction/engineering operations
with the Naval Construction Forces (e.g., Construction Battalions, or
SEABEEs), maritime expeditionary landward and seaward security with
Maritime Expeditionary Security Forces (MESF), Customs Inspections and
port/cargo operations with Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group
(NAVELSG), warfighting documentation with Combat Camera, document and
electronic media exploitation with Navy Expeditionary Intelligence
Command, and Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection (AT/FP) training with the
Expeditionary Training Command.
The Navy's RC has been the driver behind an enormous success story
Navy-wide through its lead role in the critical Customs Inspection
mission, currently providing virtually the entire deployed footprint
with more than 500 RC sailors on Individual Augmentee (IA) assignments.
The Navy is projected to sustain this footprint in 2009 with planned
Customs rotations throughout the year. The mobilized Customs Inspectors
include police officers, corrections officers, State police/sheriffs,
full-time students, engineers, and small business owners. Others
include teachers, postal clerks, carpenters, nurses, emergency medical
technicians, auto technicians, and fire fighters. The most recent
rotation of RC sailors to deploy for an 8-month Customs/Ports tour of
duty in Iraq and Kuwait departed in November. These Customs personnel
are drawn from 96 Navy Operational Support Centers (NOSCs) representing
38 States and territories, including Puerto Rico and Guam.
RC sailors are also found in the Navy Special Warfare (NSW),
Maritime Expeditionary Security, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)
communities. reservists comprise 17 percent of the NSW community,
including SEALs and Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC). As
a CNO initiative to relieve stress on the AC EOD force, the RC EOD
force was established in 2007. In 2008, RC EOD units deployed to
support two OIF/OEF/Global Naval Force Presence Posture (GNFPP)
requirements. Through Maritime Expeditionary Security units, the Navy's
RC also directly augments the Maritime Expeditionary Security mission.
The RC aviation community is equally involved in Total Force
operational support. Electronic Attack Squadron 209 (VAQ 209)
mobilized, deploying 188 FTS and SELRES personnel to Bagram Air Base,
Afghanistan in support of coalition operations from January 14 thru
March 14, 2008. Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 84 (HSC 84) continues
its deployment to Balad Air Base, Iraq to conduct air assault combat
missions in support of CENTCOM Joint Special Operations. RC members of
Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85 (HSC 85) are deployed to Kuwait to
support the 2515th Naval Air Ambulance mission, while RC members of
Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 (HM 15) are deployed
alongside the AC to the CENTCOM AOR for Fifth Fleet and Navy tasking by
the U.S. Central Command. Eight RC sailors from HM 14 are also deployed
to Korea, conducting Airborne Mine Countermeasures and Vertical Onboard
Delivery (VOD) missions.
A detachment from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77 (VAW
77), consisting of more than 30 FTS/SELRES personnel and 25 maintenance
contractors completed 4 month deployments in 2008 to various sites in
the Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) AOR for counternarcotics operations,
directly assisting in the capture of cocaine and heroin with an
approximate street value of $700 million. A 25-person detachment from
Helicopter Antisubmarine (Light) Squadron 60 (HSL 60) deployed aboard
the USS Dewert (FFG 45) last year to support SOUTHCOM and Fourth Fleet
counternarcotics operations, assisting in the interdiction of cocaine
that was valued at $350 million. Currently, HSL 60 has another 25-
person detachment onboard USS Samuel B. Roberts, seizing 7 metric-tons
of narcotics to date. The Navy Air Logistics Office scheduled aircraft
and forward-deployed detachments from all 15 Fleet Logistics Support
Wing (VR) squadrons, enabling the efficient and effective transport of
more than 127,000 personnel and 21.7 million pounds of cargo to/from
various overseas locations in support of COCOM and theater-validated
requirements. The VR Wing routinely fulfills three CENTCOM Deployment
Orders, and in excess of 160 RC personnel from the VR Wing are deployed
to Japan, Italy, Qatar, and Bahrain each day.
The VR Wing also enables the Fleet Readiness Training Plan (FRTP)
by transporting personnel and cargo throughout the Continental U.S. in
support of FRTP airlift requirements for Carrier Air Wings (CVWs),
Carrier Strike Groups, Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) detachments,
and NSW training requirements. Fighter Squadron Composite 12 (VFC 12),
Fighter Squadron Composite 13 (VFC 13), Fighter Squadron Composite 111
(VFC 111), and Strike Fighter Squadron 204 (VFA 204) also enable FRTP
initiatives by executing adversary sorties for multiple CVW and FRS
detachments. The Squadron Augmentation Units (SAUs) from Commander,
Naval Air Training Command (CNATRA) flew 20 percent of all sorties
conducted in support of student Pilot/Naval Flight Officer (NFO)
production during 2008, while the FRS SAUs flew nearly 10 percent of
the syllabus flight events in support of Pilot/NFO and aircrew
production.
iii. equipping the navy reserve
For Navy reservists to continue providing superior operational
support to the Navy through the competencies they have acquired both in
the Fleet and in their civilian careers, the Navy must also have
interoperability between all elements of the Total Force. The
acquisition of AC and RC equipment, enhancements and upgrades to
programs, and equipment redistribution (AC to RC, as well as RC to AC)
have virtually eliminated capability and compatibility gaps between AC,
RC, and Joint Forces. Current and future RC equipment requirements that
are vital to our combat forces include aircraft and NECC equipment.
The aircraft needed to recapitalize the RC and ensure complete
alignment with the AC are: the EA-18G ``Growler'' for Electronic
Attack, the P-8A ``Poseidon'' Multi-Mission Aircraft, the KC-130J
``Hercules'' for over- and out-sized cargo intra-theatre transport, and
the C-40A ``Clipper'' for intra-theatre cargo and passenger transport.
In addition to RC operators, the AC will also have aircrew personnel
who will operate the EA-18G, P-8A, and the KC-130J (USMC AC). The C-40A
is unique among these aircraft as it is only operated by RC aircrew
personnel--the AC does not have any ``Clipper'' operators. Further, the
C-40A is essential to providing flexible, time-critical, and intra-
theater logistics support, serving as a connector between strategic
airlift points of delivery to Carrier Onboard Delivery and VOD
locations. The C-40A is the replacement for aging DC-9/C-9B and C-20G
aircraft, and it can simultaneously transport cargo and passengers. The
Clipper has twice the range, payload, and days of availability of the
C-9 models, and it has twice the availability and eight times the
payload of the C-20G. The C-40A is an outstanding asset and has
provided enormous operational support, while facilitating the FRTP,
since its arrival in 2001.
NECC provides equipment for its subordinate commands, such as
SEABEE, MESF, EOD, and NAVELSG units. The equipment utilized by these
type commands include counter-Improvised Explosive Device equipment,
tactical vehicles, construction and maintenance equipment, material
handling equipment, communications gear, boats, and expeditionary camp
equipment. Like NECC's mission, the equipment it operates is both
dynamic and diverse.
The Navy has trimmed the RC force structure to the appropriate
capacity and capability required to sustain the operational Reserve
Force. The perceived value and the return on investment that the RC
delivers in personnel and equipment to the Total Force are measured on
a daily basis. Critical recapitalization continues to be a priority,
and budgetary dynamics make us ever reliant on a combination of the
service priority and the direct appropriation for these aging and
depreciating assets. Some of these requirements have been mitigated by
your continued support through the National Guard and Reserve Equipment
Appropriation.
iv. supporting the sailor and family
As we continue supporting the Fleet, we proactively extend our
support to individual sailors and their families. Our sailors will do
almost anything we ask of them, and we see evidence of their dedicated
service everyday, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their expectation
that we will support their families while they are away from home is
both fair and reasonable.
With so many RC sailors filling IA and mobilization requirements,
the July 2008 release of the RC IA Business Rules (Navy Administrative
message 235/08) directly addressed how we care for our RC sailors. In
particular, these business rules authorized RC sailors who volunteer
for unit mobilization to combat zones inside their 1:5 ``Dwell Time,''
to reset their ``Dwell Clock'' and receive Post-Deployment/Mobilization
Respite Absence (administrative leave).
To ensure that our Reserve Force was ready to deploy at any time,
the Navy's RC introduced the Medical Readiness Reporting System (MRRS)
to address Individual Medical Readiness. MRRS use was expanded in
fiscal year 2008, and is now used by the Navy's AC and RC, as well as
the Coast Guard and Marine Corps. In addition, MRRS was recently
enhanced to allow more accurate tracking of those sailors at risk due
to combat operational stress, and to ensure they receive the
appropriate attention during Post-Deployment Health Reassessments
conducted 90-180 days after demobilization.
To facilitate a continuum of readiness, given the stress that
oftentimes results from operational deployments overseas, funding was
approved in 2008 to establish the Navy Reserve Psychological Health
Outreach Program. This program provides outreach services to reservists
returning from deployment, both during the reintegration process and
beyond. It ensures early identification and timely clinical assessments
of Navy reservists at risk for stress injuries. The Program
Coordinators facilitate access to psychological health support
resources for the servicemembers and their families, and serve as
facilitators at Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury seminars
and Returning Warrior Workshops.
The Navy Reserve continues to make exceptional progress in
advancing a standardized, world-class Continuum of Care for SELRES
sailors, FTS sailors, and their families through all phases of the
mobilization deployment cycle. United States Fleet Forces (USFF), as
executive agent for IA and IA Family Support, was vital to the
evolution of a Total Force Continuum of Care in 2008 by standing up the
IA and IA Family Cross Functional Team and Executive Steering
Committee. The Navy Reserve is a lead stakeholder supporting USFF in
this initiative, and is well-aligned with the Total Force in developing
and implementing deployment support and reintegration programs for
deploying IA personnel and units throughout all phases of the
mobilization cycle.
The Returning Warrior Workshop (RWW) is now available to RC and AC
sailors, marines, and their spouses throughout the country. The RWW
serves as a model in the development of a broad spectrum of additional
``Continuum of Care'' programs and events. The workshops epitomize
sailors taking care of sailors; they reflect the Navy's dedication to
supporting, educating, and honoring our sailors and families, and they
communicate a strong message that the Navy values their service and
sacrifice.
RWWs are ``five-star events'' conducted on weekends and attended by
up to 200 sailors, marines, and spouses. Attending participants have
the opportunity to address personal, family, or professional situations
experienced during deployment and receive readjustment and
reintegration support and resources from a network of counselors,
psychological health outreach coordinators, chaplains, and Fleet and
Family Support Center representatives. Throughout the weekend,
participants benefit greatly from considerable counseling opportunities
to educate and support the Navy Family and assist sailors in re-
acclimating with their families and to civilian lives.
The future for RWWs is bright given the unprecedented success of
the workshops completed in 2008 and those already completed in 2009.
The recent event in Albuquerque, NM, was the 21st successful event
since the inception of the program by Navy Region Southwest Reserve
Component Command (at Navy Operational Support Center, Phoenix) in late
2007. Looking ahead, 29 additional workshops are contracted and funded
through July 2010.
Our Return-Reunion-Reintegration team is placing strong emphasis on
the development, implementation, and enhancement of several other
transformational programs and events. These high profile initiatives
include:
Full implementation of DOD's Yellow Ribbon
Reintegration Program by Navy
Modification of the Chaplain's Religious Enrichment
Development Operation retreats to provide a ``One-Day Up-
Check'' for returning sailors as an alternative to the RWW
Development of comprehensive roles and
responsibilities for Psychological Health Outreach Coordinators
assigned to each region
v. people policies and programs
A central component of Navy's Total Force strategy is the
establishment of a culture of a ``Continuum of Service'' to provide
opportunities for sailors to transition in and out of active service at
different stages of their careers. The Continuum of Service represents
a new operating paradigm which can be summarized by the phrase:
``Recruit once, Retain for life.'' Last year, the Navy's accession and
retention bonuses for RC sailors increased to $108 million, enhancing
our ability to recruit and retain the right people for the right job.
For fiscal year 2008, Navy Recruiting Command achieved 100 percent of
the RC enlisted accession goal, and 105 percent of RC General Officer
goal. As recently stated by our Chief of Naval Personnel, VADM Mark E.
Ferguson, we believe we are on track to repeat this success in fiscal
year 2009. Once we recruit, train, and lead these sailors through their
initial tours of duty, our imperative is to give them opportunities to
transition between the Active and Reserve components, allowing them to
find the life/work balance that's right for them. This will strengthen
the focus on retention and reduce the burden on recruiting.
In addition to achieving the Navy's recruiting goals, the retention
and attrition for RC personnel have been just as successful. Improved
retention and lower attrition rates are attributed to a slowing economy
and an effective recruiting campaign through our ``Stay Navy''
initiatives. These efforts target affiliation and retention bonuses on
skill sets we need the most. In fiscal year 2009, we continue to target
high-demand/low-supply communities and critical skill sets with
competitive monetary incentives.
Navy Reserve end strength has declined by approximately 20,000
sailors from 2003 through 2008 (88,156 RC sailors in 2003 to 68,136 RC
sailors in 2008). The anticipated steady state end strength is
approximately 66,000 in fiscal year 2013. During fiscal year 2008, to
provide for a stable RC inventory, we implemented several force shaping
measures that included a reduction in prior service accessions, as well
as proactive management of Transient Personnel Units, overmanned
designators, and sailors reaching High Year Tenure. These measures
proved to be effective, as the Navy ended fiscal year 2008 with 68,136
RC personnel (approximately 0.5 percent above our statutory end
strength authorization of 67,800).
In fiscal year 2009, we already see higher retention and fewer
losses than planned in the enlisted and officer populations. To
mitigate this over-execution, we continue to enforce current policies
and adjust enlisted prior service accessions. Our goal is to finish
fiscal year 2009 with a more stable, balanced inventory of sailors that
positions our Reserve Force for continued Total Force support.
Vice Admiral Ferguson and I are identifying legislative, financial,
technological, and policy barriers impeding a Continuum of Service and
developing management practices to quickly and efficiently transition
sailors between components to meet changing workforce demands. One of
our key initiatives is to implement a process that transitions sailors
between the AC and RC within 72 hours. As we provide opportunities to
transition seamlessly between Active and Reserve statuses, Navy's Total
Force will capitalize on the spirit of volunteerism to encourage a
sailor's lifetime of service to the Nation.
The Navy needs Total Force systems that will reduce administrative
impediments to a Continuum of Service. The administrative
inefficiencies created by multiple electronic pay and manpower systems
create waste and unnecessary burdens on sailors, and they also hinder
force readiness. A common AC/RC pay and personnel system is crucial to
building seamless transitions and the success of our sailor for Life
and Continuum of Service initiatives. In the future, manpower
transactions will ideally be accomplished with the click of a mouse,
and records will be shared through a common data repository within all
DOD enterprises. Navy fully supports this vision of an integrated set
of processes to manage all pay and personnel needs for servicemembers,
concurrently providing necessary levels of personnel visibility to
support joint warfighter requirements. Manpower management tools must
facilitate audits of personnel costs, and support accurate, agile
decisionmaking at all levels of DOD.
One constraint to seamless transitions is the multiple RC funding
categories. We are working closely with the Office of the Secretary of
Defense to reduce the number of duty types, aiming to improve
efficiency while retaining the flexibility Navy reservists need to
manage their careers and personal lives. Coupled with a well-developed,
web-enabled personnel management system, this initiative will enable RC
sailors to rapidly surge to support validated requirements. The
consolidation of most RC order writing to the Navy Reserve Order
Writing System has been a significant evolution in Navy's effort to
integrate its Total Force capabilities by aligning funding sources and
accurately resourcing operational support accounts.
The Honorable Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter recently
approved the Navy's request to transition to a community management-
based promotion policy for the RC Officer community--both SELRES and
FTS. As a result, the Navy has implemented a policy change to
``decouple'' its Reserve Officer promotion zones from the AC officer
promotion zones, as was the current practice under the Running Mate
System (RMS). In place since 1947, the RMS linked RC and AC promotion
zones without consideration of RC community needs. Under the Navy Total
Force construct, Officer Community Managers now have the flexibility to
develop promotion plans and policies that meet individual community and
component needs, especially for SELRES Officers.
For Navy reservists who look to further their professional
development, the Navy has recently obtained Joint and Combined
Warfighting class quotas for RC personnel (both FTS and SELRES) at the
Joint Forces Staff College. These new class quotas complement the
Advanced Joint Professional Military Education course that is already
in place. The Navy is also in the early stages of establishing an RC
Foreign Area Officer (FAO) program. RC FAOs will be part of a cadre of
Officers aligned with the AC who have the skills required to manage and
analyze politico-military activities overseas.
vi. conclusion
Since September 11, nearly 53,000 contingency activation
requirements have been filled by SELRES personnel, along with an
additional 4,300 contingency requirements filled by FTS sailors in
support of ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of
Africa. On any given day, more than 18,000 Navy reservists, or about 26
percent of the Force, are on some type of orders that provide support
to global operation requirements of Fleet Commanders and COCOMs. Our
more than 67,000 sailors serving in the RC are forward deployed in
support of coalition forces, at their supported commands around the
world, or in strategic reserve, ready to surge 24/7 each day if more
Navy Total Force requirements arise.
I am proud to be a Navy reservist, and I am humbled by the
commitment of the men and women of our Navy Reserve. It is very
rewarding and fulfilling to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Navy's
AC as we meet our Nation's requirements. Although I readily admit my
bias, there has never been a more meaningful time to be part of the
Navy-Marine Corps team, and our Navy Reserve is clearly an integral
part of the this hard-working, high-spirited and amazingly capable
force.
The Navy's ability to be present in support of any operation, in
war and peace, without permanent infrastructure in the area of
operations, is a key advantage that will become even more important in
the future. Our Navy remains the preeminent maritime power, providing
our Nation with a global naval expeditionary force that is committed to
global security, while defending our homeland as well as our vital
interests around the world. The Navy Reserve's flexibility,
responsiveness, and ability to serve across a wide spectrum of
operations clearly enhances the Navy Total Force, acts as a true force
multiplier, and provides unique skill sets towards fulfilling Navy's
requirements in an increasingly uncertain world.
On behalf of the sailors, civilians, and contract personnel of our
Navy Reserve, we thank you for the continued support within Congress
and your commitment to the Navy Reserve and our Navy's Total Force.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you.
General Bergman.
STATEMENT OF LT. GEN. JOHN W. BERGMAN, USMC, COMMANDER, MARINE
FORCES RESERVE; AND COMMANDER, MARINE FORCES NORTH
General Bergman. Good afternoon, Senator Nelson, Senator
Burris. It's an honor to be here to thank you for all the
support you've given your Marine Corps Reserve because without
it, we wouldn't be the ready and relevant fighting force that
we are today.
We heard the term ``Operational Reserve'' put out a little
bit earlier. No matter what you call it, Operational Reserve,
Strategic Reserve, all I know is that our marines and our
sailors who are attached to us, and their families and their
employers are standing up and continuing to stand up to sustain
the level of operations worldwide that the Marine Corps Reserve
is involved in.
As we contemplated what do we call this deployable Reserve,
we called it an Operational Reserve and put it into what we
call a Force Generation Model, which drives us towards the most
important word that I think we can use here for our preparation
of forces, which is predictability. When you let someone know
in advance, well in advance, what they're going to be doing,
where they're going to be going, so the employers, the
families, and everybody knows what the mission is, know what
the timeframe is, we have found that has helped us minimize the
amount of cross-leveling that has occurred amongst our units.
So we are very, very deep into the maturation of the Force
Generation Model that will allow us in that 5-year dwell time
to try and meet the 1:5 dwell time ratio criteria for the
Reserve component, to man, equip, train, and get our units
ready to go. Of course, all that is tied to budgeting. If we
get this right, we will provide not only a ready and relevant
force, but a force that was done with a relatively wise use of
all the dollars available.
I suggest to you there's nothing more adaptable than a
marine in the fight. As we've been adapting to growing the
Marine Corps to 202,000 here over the past few years, we're 2
years ahead of schedule. That will allow us to refocus some of
our manpower planning and policies to shape this Operational
Reserve and our large units so that we're ready to go for the
long term.
I look forward to your questions, sir.
[The prepared statement of General Bergman follows:]
Prepared Statement by Lt. Gen. Jack W. Bergman, USMC
Chairman Nelson, Senator Graham, and distinguished members of the
subcommittee, it is my honor to report to you on the state of your
Marine Corps Reserve.
I am pleased to report that your Marine Corps Reserve continues to
equip and train the best and brightest of our Nation's sons and
daughters. In an environment where the Marine Corps continues to
rapidly adapt to broad strategic conditions and wide-ranging threats,
your Marine Corps Reserve--a primarily Operational Reserve--continues
to meet all challenges and commitments. Whether in Iraq today,
Afghanistan tomorrow or in subsequent campaigns, your Marine Corps
Reserve continues to answer the clarion call to arms in defense of this
great Nation.
On behalf of all our marines, sailors, and their families, I would
like to take this opportunity to thank the subcommittee for its
continuing support. The support of Congress and the American people
reveal both a commitment to ensure the common defense and a genuine
concern for the welfare of our marines, sailors, and their families.
i. today's marine corps reserve
Your Marine Corps Reserve continues to be fully capable of
warfighting excellence. As a vested partner in the Total Force Marine
Corps, we faithfully continue our steadfast commitment to provide
Reserve units and personnel who stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their
Active component counterparts in all contingencies, operations, and
exercises.
As of March 3, 2009, 52,369 Reserve marines and approximately 99
percent of U.S. Marine Corps Reserve units were activated since
September 11--98 percent of our activated units deployed to the U.S.
Central Command area of responsibility.
Today's Marine Corps Reserve is characterized by a strong resolve
that enables us to sustain the current operational pace during the
longest mobilization period in our Nation's history. However, to
continue this unprecedented pace will require adequate funding. Without
the total funding, currently provided through baseline and supplemental
processes, we would be unable to maintain a truly Operational Reserve.
The Force Generation Model, implemented in October 2006, continues
to provide predictability of future activation and deployment schedules
for our marines and sailors. The predictability the Model provides has
been well received by our marines, sailors, and employers. The model
provides our reservists the opportunity to effectively plan their lives
throughout their Reserve contractual agreement, enabling them to
creatively strike a successful balance between family, civilian career
and service to community, country, and Corps. I am happy to report that
we recently activated the fifth rotation based upon the model to
Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom (OIF and OEF) with 5,500 marines
being activated and deployed during fiscal year 2008. Additionally, we
have activated approximately 2,500 more marines during the timeframe
November 2008 to February 2009.
The Force Generation Model continues to assist Service and Joint
Force planners in maintaining a consistent flow of fully capable Marine
Corps Reserve units. This steady flow of Reserve units is essential in
enabling our Active component to reach a 1:2 dwell time. The Model,
based on 1-year activation to 4-plus years in a non-activated status,
continues to be both supportable and sustainable. Predictable
activation dates permit unit commanders to focus training on core
mission capabilities early in the dwell period; and then train to
specific OIF and OEF mission tasks once the unit is within 12 to 18
months of activation. Additionally, the amount of cross-leveling has
been significantly reduced. With each subsequent rotation, the
requirement to cross-level continues to decrease. For example, the
upcoming activation of the St. Louis, MO-based 3rd Battalion, 24th
Marine Regiment, will require minimal cross-leveling of enlisted
personnel.
We believe the full benefit of the Force Generation Model will
begin to be realized once we have completed a full cycle of nine
rotations and the active Component reaches the authorized end strength
of 202,000. A very important byproduct of the Force Generation Model
will be our emerging ability to more accurately budget for training and
equipment requirements during the 5 year dwell time.
In addition to the 5,500 marines activated and deployed during
fiscal year 2008 in support of OIF and OEF, we deployed an additional
3,300 marines worldwide in support of joint and/or combined Theater
Security Cooperation Exercises. In each of the past 3 years, between
OIF, OEF, Theater Security Cooperation Exercises, and recently emerging
security cooperation mobile training teams that conduct Phase-0
operations, nearly one-third of our force has deployed outside the
continental United States both in an activated and nonactivated status.
During this past year, more than 3,300 marines from 4th Marine
Division have served in Iraq. Included are two infantry battalions, as
well as armor, reconnaissance, combat engineer, military police, and
truck units. Of particular note, the El Paso, TX-based Battery D, 2nd
Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, became the second Marine Corps High
Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) unit to be deployed. Another
highlight was the success of New Orleans, LA-based 3rd Battalion, 23rd
Marine Regiment, in al-Anbar Province. This infantry battalion, with
companies in Louisiana and Texas, played a key role in the
redevelopment of the Haditha K3 Oil Refinery and transport of crude oil
in al-Anbar Province. Their efforts, spurred primarily by several of
the battalion's marines who are consultants and executives within the
U.S. oil and energy industry, resulted in the successful rail transport
of crude oil into Anbar and restart of the oil refinery by July 2008,
several years after the refinery and rail system had ceased to operate.
Also of note was the ability and flexibility of the Division units to
train for and conduct ``in lieu of'' or provisional missions due to
changing operational requirements in OIF/OEF.
Fourth Marine Division also deployed two of its regimental
headquarters in the role of Marine Air Ground Task Forces (MAGTF)
command elements. Kansas City, Missouri-based 24th Marine Regiment
deployed as a Special Purpose MAGTF to U.S. Southern Command to support
the new Partnership of the Americas series of small combined Theater
Security Cooperation Exercises in South America. The San Bruno, CA-
based 23rd Marine Regiment led a combined joint regimental headquarters
in support of exercise African Lion in Morocco as well as a combined
joint battalion headquarters in support of Exercise Shared Accord in
Ghana. These 3 exercises alone incorporated the deployment of more than
1,100 marines from across Marine Forces Reserve. Fourth Marine Division
also conducted training to assist our allies in foreign militaries from
Korea to the Republic of Georgia. Calendar year 2009 will be a busy
year for the division as they conduct training in Benin, Brunei,
Ukraine, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Brazil, Guatemala, and
Guyana. Returning to exercises in Morocco and Australia and supporting
the 50th anniversary of UNITAS Gold with a command element from 24th
Marine Regiment will be key engagements. From May through August 2009,
an activated Reserve reinforced rifle company from the 24th Marine
Regiment and a composite platoon of marines from the 4th Amphibious
Armored Battalion, in partnership with the U.S. Navy, will conduct
training and exercises in Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia,
Thailand, and the Philippines during exercise Cooperation and Readiness
Afloat Training.
Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing has continued to provide essential
exercise support and predeployment training normally provided by Active
component squadrons. The Marine Corps' premier predeployment training
exercise, Mojave Viper, received a majority of air support from our
fixed wing and helicopter squadrons. Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing
deployed Mt. Clemens, MI-based, Marine Wing Support Squadron 471 as a
Provisional Security Company to Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, in the Horn of
Africa, provided a truck platoon to support combat operations for the
Active component's 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment in Iraq, and
sourced multiple Marine Air Control detachments from Chicago, IL-based
Marine Air Control Group 48. Marine Transport Squadron Belle Chasse
(Louisiana) Detachment is currently in theater with the UC-35 Citation
Encore aircraft providing critical Operational Support Airlift
capability to U.S. Central Command.
Additionally, Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing has participated in
multiple combined, bilateral and joint exercises in Africa, Asia,
Europe, and South America. Humanitarian Assistance construction
projects were conducted in Trinidad-Tobago, Peru, and Honduras.
Participation in these exercises includes support of U.S. and Marine
Corps forces and facilitates training and interoperability with our
allies. For example, African Lion participation enabled the Moroccan
Air Force to develop better close air support and aerial refueling
techniques.
Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing continues to be an integral partner in
the Marine Corps Aviation Transition Strategy. In the near term,
transition from legacy to leap-ahead aviation capabilities (i.e. MV-22,
UH-1Y, AH-1Z, and JSF) in the Active component required a transfer of
certain Reserve component aviation manpower, airframes and support
structure to the Active component Marine Corps. As a result, two
Reserve Fighter/Attack F/A-18 squadrons were placed in cadre status and
a light attack UH-1N/AH-1W helicopter squadron, a Heavy Lift CH-53E
helicopter squadron, an Aviation Logistics Squadron and two of four
Marine Aircraft Group Headquarters were decommissioned. A second Heavy
Lift CH-53E helicopter squadron has been reduced in size. As the Active
component transitions to the new airframes, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing
has assumed the Fleet Replacement Squadron role for the legacy model
KC-130s, UH-1s, and AH-1s. Additionally, as part of the Aviation
Transition Strategy, two Tactical Air Command Center Augmentation Units
were commissioned. To complete the Aviation Transition Plan, beginning
in 2014, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing will begin transitioning to the new
airframes and Command and Control (C2) capabilities.
Fourth Marine Logistics Group continues to provide fully capable
units, detachments, and individuals prepared to deliver sustained
tactical logistics support. In the past year, 4th Marine Logistics
Group provided approximately 1,300 marines and sailors from across the
spectrum of combat service support to augment the Active component's
1st and 2nd Marine Logistics Groups engaged in OIF. In addition to the
requirements of the Force Generation Model, 4th Marine Logistics Group
provided additional support to OIF by sourcing 265 marines to staff the
al-Taqauddam Security Force and to OEF by sourcing 279 marines from the
Portland, OR-based 6th Engineer Support Battalion to staff Provisional
Security Company 8 at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa.
Increased augmentation in support of OIF/OEF will include a
complete Combat Logistics Battalion (CLB-46) formed with more than 800
marines and sailors from across 4th Marine Logistics Group's nine
battalions. Combat Logistics Battalion 46 will provide tactical level
logistics support to a Marine Regimental Combat Team in al-Anbar
Province, Iraq. This will be the first CLB formed and deployed by 4th
Marine Logistics Group.
Continuing to aggressively support overseas joint and combined
exercises, training, and other events in support of the Combatant
Commanders' Phase-0 operations, 4th Marine Logistics Group participated
in 29 overseas events spread across all of the Unified Commands,
ranging in size from exercises involving 75 marines down to 3-person
Traveling Country Teams that conducted engagement with foreign
militaries. Olympic Thrust in June 2008 began the preparation of 4th
Marine Logistics Group's battalions' staffs to form the nucleus of a
CLB headquarters. Exercise Javelin Thrust (June 2009) will be a
capstone preparation event for CLB-46.
Fourth Marine Logistics Group has taken the lead on coordinating
Marine Forces Reserve's participation in Innovative Readiness Training
(IRT) program events. The purpose of the IRT program is to provide
civic assistance projects in the United States, possessions and
territories while simultaneously improving military readiness. Fourth
Marine Logistics Group has initiated and conducted IRT planning during
the last year and will execute two events in Alaska and one event in
the Marianas Islands during 2009. These events will focus on
infrastructure improvements and medical/dental assistance projects.
In addition to ground, aviation, and logistic elements, Marine
Forces Reserve has provided civil affairs capabilities since the start
of OIF. Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison Detachments from Marine Forces
Reserve have augmented the supported Marine Air Ground Task Forces and
adjacent commands with air/ground fires liaison elements. Marine Forces
Reserve also continues to provide intelligence augmentation, to include
Human Exploitation Teams, Sensor Employment Teams, and Intelligence
Production Teams.
The trend in recent years toward increased participation of marines
in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) continued in fiscal year 2008.
During the fiscal year, the Marine Corps Mobilization Command (MOBCOM)
mustered more than 1,500 marines from the IRR to screen and prepare
them for activation. More than 1,500 sets of mobilization orders were
issued with a total of 1,002 IRR marines reporting for activation
during fiscal year 2008. MOBCOM also processed more than 8,100 sets of
shorter duration active duty orders for IRR marines during fiscal year
2008. We have expanded our family programs to reach out to the families
of our deployed IRR marines, using local Peacetime/Wartime Support
Teams as well as MOBCOM assets. With the advent of Yellow Ribbon
Legislation, we continue to develop programs to better support our
deploying and returning marines and their families.
MOBCOM modified its IRR muster program during 2008, from large
scale metropolitan musters to a combination of large scale musters and
smaller, more personalized musters at Reserve sites. We completed the
fiscal year screening of approximately 11,000 of the 55,000 marines in
our IRR population. Our screening effectiveness continues to rise as we
continue to develop better communication methods with our IRR
population. For example, MOBCOM contacted and engaged the IRR marines
through email, letter correspondence, and telephone calls. Higher
quality communications keeps our marines better informed and prolongs
their connection with each other and our Corps. We believe that these
longer-term connections will be critical as we truly seek to create the
Continuum of Service necessary to support a sustainable Operational
Reserve.
The Marine Corps Reserve's continuing augmentation and
reinforcement of the Active component is not without cost. Continuing
activations and high Reserve operational tempo highlight personnel
challenges in select military occupational specialties and significant
strain on Reserve equipment.
ii. personnel
The Selected Marine Corps Reserve is comprised of Reserve unit
marines, Active Reserve marines, Individual Mobilization Augmentees,
and Reserve marines in the training pipeline, which when added
together, form the inventory of the end strength in the Selected Marine
Corps Reserve.
End Strength
Although we continue to benefit from strong volunteerism of our
Reserve marines, a degradation in our ability to achieve authorized end
strength has occurred. Fiscal years 2002 to 2005 had percentages of
authorized end strength above 100 percent and fiscal year 2006
percentage of authorized end strength at 99.71 percent. Fiscal years
2007 and 2008 percentages of authorized end strength were at 97.36 and
94.76 percent--shortfalls of 1,044 and 2,077 marines respectively. This
resulted in the only fiscal years since September 11 that the Selected
Marine Corps Reserve fell below the Title 10-allowable 3 percent
variance from authorization.
As previously stated in my testimonies before the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees' Subcommittees on Defense during 2008, we
anticipated an adverse affect on meeting an acceptable percentage of
authorized Marine Corps Selected Reserve end strength as greater
numbers of Reserve component marines volunteered for full-time active
duty due to the Marine Corps' accelerated build to a 202,000 Active
component Marine Corps.
During the past fiscal year, we accepted the short-term risk in our
ability to obtain our Selected Marine Corps Reserve component end
strength of 39,600 as the Reserve accession plans were adjusted and our
experienced and combat tested Reserve marines were encouraged to
transition back to active duty to support the build effort, and they
responded in force: From 2007 to present, approximately 1,946 Reserve
marines returned to, or are awaiting return to, active duty.
The fact is that the Active component Marine Corps will continue to
rely heavily upon augmentation and reinforcement provided by our
Reserve marines. I firmly believe our authorized end strength of 39,600
is still highly relevant and appropriate, and will consequently drive
recruiting and retention. This number provides us with the marines we
require to support the Force and to achieve our goal of a 1:5
deployment-to-dwell ratio in the Selected Marine Corps Reserve.
Additionally, it is worth noting, the Marine Corps is on pace to
reach an active duty end strength of 202,000 by the end of fiscal year
2009, which will enable the Marine Corps to refocus the Reserve
recruiting and retention efforts to achieve the expected percentage of
authorized Selected Marine Corps Reserve component end strength. The
bonuses and incentives for recruiting and retention provided by
Congress are essential tools for helping us accomplish this goal and I
thank you for your continued support.
Recruiting
The Marine Corps is unique in that all recruiting efforts (officer,
enlisted, regular, Reserve, and prior-service) fall under the direction
of the Marine Corps Recruiting Command. Operationally, this provides
the Marine Corps with tremendous flexibility and unity of command in
order to annually meet Total Force Marine Corps objectives.
Like the Active component, Marine Corps Reserve units primarily
rely upon a first term enlisted force. Currently, the Marine Corps
Reserve continues to recruit and retain quality men and women willing
to manage commitments to their families, their communities, their
civilian careers, and their Corps. Despite high operational tempo, the
morale and patriotic spirit of Reserve marines, their families, and
employers remains extraordinarily high.
The Marine Corps Recruiting Command achieved 100 percent of its
recruiting goal for nonprior service recruiting (5,287) and exceeded
its goal for enlisted prior service recruiting (2,672) during fiscal
year 2007; and achieved 100 percent of its recruiting goal for nonprior
service recruiting (4,235) and prior service recruiting (4,501) in
fiscal year 2008. As of February 1, 2009, 1,756 nonprior service and
1,227 enlisted prior service marines have been accessed, which reflects
48 percent of the annual enlisted recruiting mission for the Selected
Marine Corps Reserve. We fully expect to meet our Selected Marine Corps
Reserve recruiting goals again this year.
An initiative implemented during June 2006 at Marine Forces Reserve
to enhance recruiting efforts of prior service marines was the Selected
Marine Corps Reserve Affiliation Involuntary Activation Deferment
policy. Realizing that deployments take a toll on Active component
marines, causing some to transition from active duty because of high
personnel tempo, we continue to offer this program. This program allows
a marine who has recently deployed an option for a 2-year deferment
from involuntary activation if they join a Selected Marine Corps
Reserve unit after transitioning from active duty. The intent of the 2-
year involuntary deferment is to allow transitioning marines the
opportunity to participate in the Selected Marine Corps Reserve without
sacrificing the ability to build a new civilian career.
Junior officer recruiting and consequently meeting our Reserve
company grade requirement remains the most challenging area.
Historically, the Active component Marine Corps has been the source of
company grade officers to the Selected Marine Corps Reserve, due to
initial active duty contractual requirements of all Reserve-
commissioned officers. There are, however, three programs in place now
that enable Reserve officer accessions without the typical 3- to 4-year
active duty obligation: the Reserve Enlisted Commissioning Program
(RECP), the Meritorious Commissioning Program--Reserve (MCP-R) and the
Officer Candidate Course--Reserve (OCC-R).
These programs strive to increase the number and quality of company
grade officers within deploying Reserve units while addressing our
overall shortage of junior officers in our Reserve units. The 3
programs combined to access 108 Reserve officers during fiscal years
2007 and 2008, and are an essential tool to help mitigate company grade
officer shortages in the Selected Marine Corps Reserve.
Eligibility for the RECP was expanded to qualified Active Duty
enlisted marines. The MCP-R was established for qualified enlisted
marines, Reserve and Active, who possess an Associates Degree or
equivalent number of semester hours. The third program, the OCC-R, has
proven to be the most successful as 93 candidates have been
commissioned second lieutenants in the Marine Corps Reserve during
fiscals years 2007 and 2008. We anticipate commissioning between 50 and
75 more second lieutenants through the OCC-R this fiscal year.
The OCC-R focuses on ground-related billets, with an emphasis on
ground combat and combat service support within Reserve units that are
scheduled for mobilization. The priority to recruit candidates is tied
to the Marine Forces Reserve Force Generation Model. Refinement of the
OCC-R program to target geographic company grade officer shortfalls is
a logical next step.
Retention
All subordinate commanders and senior enlisted leaders at each
echelon of command are required to retain quality marines. On a monthly
basis, these leaders identify marines who either have to re-enlist or
extend. Identified marines are counseled concerning the opportunity for
their retention in the Selected Marine Corps Reserve.
Enlisted retention trends remain a concern and are being monitored
very closely, but were obviously affected by the Active component
202,000 build. The good news is that the Active component Marine Corps
is no longer making a concerted effort to draw personnel from the
Selected Marine Corps Reserve to active duty.
For fiscal year 2008, Reserve officer retention remained at the
same level as during the previous fiscal year, which was above historic
levels.
We continue to offer retention incentives for enlisted marines in
the Selected Marine Corps Reserve, to include the maximum allowable
$15,000 Selected Marine Corps Reserve Affiliation Bonus for an initial
3-year commitment. We also offer a $10,000 Selected Marine Corps
Reserve Officer Affiliation Bonus for those officers who affiliate with
a Selected Marine Corps Reserve unit and agree to participate for 3
years. I greatly appreciate the continuance of the increased
reenlistment incentive, which was initially provided in the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008.
These incentives are necessary tools to help us retain quality
marines and consequently assist us in achieving an acceptable
percentage of authorized Selected Reserve end strength.
I read with interest the memorandum of July 24, 2008, by Secretary
Gates concerning the recommendations of the Commission on the National
Guard and Reserves. I am pleased to see the strong emphasis on study of
the various recommendations that pertain to the Continuum of Service
personnel management construct. As the Continuum of Service concept is
refined, it should facilitate the affiliation of prior service marines
into the Selected Marine Corps Reserve as well as retain those good
marines already serving.
iii. equipment
The Marine Corps Reserve, like the Active component, has two
primary equipping priorities: first--equipping individual deploying
marines and sailors, and second--equipping our units to conduct home
station training. We will continue to provide every deploying marine
and sailor with the latest generation of individual combat and
protective equipment. Our unit equipping efforts include the full
complement of equipment to support training efforts across the MAGTF.
This complement includes essential communications; crew-served weapon
systems such as Light Armored Vehicles (LAVs), Assault Amphibian
Vehicles (AAVs), Tanks, and Artillery; ground mobility; and ground
support equipment, which requires continued adequate funding of our
Operations and Maintenance accounts. Your continued support in this
area has enabled us to adequately sustain home station training and
predeployment operations.
As with all we do, our focus will continue to be on the individual
marine and sailor. Ongoing efforts to equip and train this most valued
resource have resulted in obtaining the latest generation individual
combat and protective equipment: M16A4 service rifles, M4 carbines,
Rifle Combat Optic scopes, improved helmet pad suspension systems,
enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert plates, Modular Tactical Vests,
and the latest generation AN/PVS-14 Night Vision Devices, to name a
few. Every member of Marine Forces Reserve has deployed fully equipped
with the most current authorized individual combat clothing and
equipment to include personal protective equipment.
Marine Forces Reserve's unit equipping priority is to obtain the
principal end items necessary to establish or replenish the appropriate
inventory of equipment to the level dictated by our training allowance.
Training allowance is the amount of equipment needed by each unit to
conduct home station training. Our Reserve units should train with the
equipment necessary for Marine Forces Reserve to effectively augment
and reinforce the Active component.
Currently, our equipping focus is on mitigating the short-term
impact of reduced supply of certain principal end items, e.g.; seven
LAV variants, Digital Terrain Analysis Mapping Systems, and the Theater
Provide Equipment Sensors. We employ adaptive resourcing and training
management approaches to ensure our Reserve units can adequately train.
The inherent latency in procurement timelines and competing priorities
for resources continue to challenge the training and equipping of our
Operational Reserve. Since the Marine Corps procures and fields
equipment as a Total Force, equipment modernization efforts of the
Marine Corps Reserve are synchronized with the efforts of the Active
component. The approved $37.3 million fiscal year 2009 National Guard
and Reserve Equipment Appropriation (NGREA) will provide Marine Forces
Reserve the funds to procure much needed Tactical Laptop Computer
Packages (Ruggedized Laptops and General Purpose Laptops), Supporting
Arms upgrade to Digital Virtual Training Environment (DVTE), Bright
Star FLIR, LAV 25 A2 Variant (LAV-25A2), and a Tactical Remote Sensor
Suite.
To maintain an inventory of current equipment necessary to conduct
home station training, Marine Forces Reserves utilizes several
resources and programs. Routine preventive and corrective maintenance
are still performed throughout the country by our marines. However,
ground equipment maintenance efforts have expanded over the past few
years, leveraging contracted services and depot-level capabilities.
Marine Corps Logistics Command, through mobile maintenance teams,
provides preventive and corrective maintenance support to our Reserve
units. Marine Forces Reserve is actively involved in the Marine Corps
Depot Level Maintenance Program to support the continued operation of
principal end items. Marine Corps Logistics Command continues to
uniquely provide Marine Forces Reserve a ``Repair and Return'' program
which enables us to request additional maintenance support when
requirements exceed the Marine Forces Reserve maintenance capacity.
Another key maintenance program utilized by Marine Forces Reserve
is the Corrosion Prevention and Control program which extends the
useful life of all Marine Corps tactical ground and ground support
equipment. This program reduces significant maintenance requirements
and associated costs due to corrosion through the application of
corrosion-resistant compounds, establishing environmentally-safe wash-
down racks, and providing climate controlled storage. Additionally, the
program identifies, classifies, and effects repair, or recommends
replacement of equipment that has already succumbed to the elements.
Marine Corps Reserve ground equipment readiness rates are currently
above 90 percent (Maintenance--97 percent and Supply--92 percent as of
March 9, 2009), based on our Reserve equipment Training Allowance. The
Marine Corps Reserve equipment investment overseas MAGTF operations
since 2004 is approximately 5 percent of our overall equipment and
includes various communications, motor transport, engineer, and
ordnance equipment, as well as several modern weapons systems such as
the new HIMARS artillery system and the latest generation LAV. This
investment has presented challenges for our home station training
requirements yet greatly adds to the warfighting capability of the
Marine Corps. Deliberate planning at the Service level is currently
underway to reset the Total Force, to include resourcing the Reserve
equipment. This resourcing will enable the Marine Corps Reserve to
remain ready, relevant, and responsive to the demands of our Corps.
Marine Corps Reserve equipment requirements are captured as part of
Marine Corps Total Force submissions. Priority Reserve equipment
requirements that cannot be timely met with these vehicles are
identified in the Commandant's Unfunded Programs List and/or my NGREA
request.
We especially appreciate Congress' support of the Marine Corps
Reserve through NGREA. It would be impossible for me to overstate the
importance of NGREA and in particular, the consistency of these
appropriations. Since 2002, NGREA has provided more than $240 million
for equipment procurements. The stability of NGREA funding has
significantly increased our ability to forecast meeting priority
equipment requirements. The NGREA provides immediate flexibility,
allowing procurement of items necessary to meet specific combat
capability, training, and support requirements.
In the last 3 years, we have been able to close the gap on combat
equipment requirements necessary to effectively train our marines and
sailors. Examples of high-priority combat equipment purchases we have
made or will make through fiscal years 2007, 2008, and 2009 NGREA
funding are: the Litening II Targeting Pod; the AN/ARC-210 (V) Multi-
Modal Radio system for our KC-130 aircraft; the UC-12+ aircraft;
multiple C2 systems component; and as previously stated, the Brite Star
FLIR; the Tactical Remote Sensor System; and the LAV-25A2. Through
consistent NGREA funding, we have been able to completely eliminate
some deficiencies.
Additionally, with NGREA, we have been able to establish a robust
ground combat modeling and simulation program, our NGREA-procured
Virtual Combat Convoy Trainers (VCCTs), Combat Vehicle Training
Simulators, Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement-Training Systems, HMMWV
Egress Trainer, and DVTEs enable us to overcome many resource and time-
related challenges while increasing the individual and unit's combat
readiness. Our fiscal year 2009 NGREA plan includes Supporting Arms-
Helmet Mounted Displays for our DVTEs, giving our marines the ability
to enhance Forward Air Control and Indirect Fire Control proficiency
without leaving the Reserve Training Center. It is accurate to say that
we could not have provided some critical capabilities without these
NGREA funds.
iv. training
The collective lessons wrought from our unit and individual combat
experiences, Theater Security Cooperation Exercises and other Active
component operational tempo relief deployments have helped improve
nearly all facets of our current Reserve component training. In this
regard, one of the most exciting areas where we are continuing to
transform the depth and scope of our training remains the cutting-edge
arena of Modeling and Simulations Technology.
Rapid advancement in modeling and simulation software, hardware and
network technologies are providing new and increasingly realistic
training capabilities. Marine Forces Reserve is training with and
continuing to field several complex digital video-based training
systems which literally immerse our Reserve component marines into
``virtual'' combat environments, complete with the sights, sounds and
chaos of today's battlefield environment in any clime or place, day or
night, spanning the full continuum of warfare from high-intensity
conventional warfare to low-intensity urban conflict.
One new capability that we are fielding to support our Reserve
marines is the Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer-XP. This
interactive audio/video weapons simulator provides enhanced
marksmanship, weapons employment and tactical decision making training
for a variety of small arms. The system consists of infantry weapons
instrumented with lasers that enable marines to simulate engaging
multiple target types.
Another system addressed in lasts year's testimony that continues
to prove invaluable in the predeployment training of our tactical
drivers is the Virtual Combat Convoy Trainer-Reconfigurable Vehicle
System. This is an advanced, full-scale vehicle simulator that trains
marines in both basic and advanced combat convoy skills using variable
terrain and roads in a variety of weather, visibility and vehicle
conditions. The simulator is a mobile, trailer-configured platform that
utilizes a HMMWV mock-up, small arms, crew-served weapons, 360-degree
visual display with after-action review/instant replay capability.
Marine Forces Reserve was the lead agency for initial procurement,
training and evaluation of this revolutionary training system, which is
now being used throughout the Marine Corps. We are now preparing to
accept the fourth generation of this invaluable training system at Camp
Wilson aboard the Marine Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms,
CA. Upon installation, student throughput capability for combat convoy
training will double.
It is important to recognize the key role that Congress has played
in the fielding of all four generations of the VCCT. Procurement of the
VCCT resulted directly from NGREA. Of all the training packages our
deploying units complete, returning combat veterans have consistently
praised the invaluable benefits of having had the opportunity to train
in tactics, techniques, and procedures using this advanced simulation
system.
Beginning this summer, Marine Forces Reserve will field the newly
developed DVTE. This advanced, first-person, immersive, simulation-
based training system, made up of 16 laptops and peripherals packaged
in ruggedized deployable cases, is capable of emulating and simulating
a wide variety of weapons systems and generating hifidelity, relevant
terrain databases. The DVTE also provides small-unit echelons with the
opportunity to continuously review and rehearse Command and Control
procedures and battlefield concepts in a virtual environment. The
system consists of two components, the Combined Arms Network, which
provides integrated first person combat skills, and Tactical Decision
Simulations, which provides individual, fire team, squad and platoon-
level training associated with patrolling, ambushes and convoy
operations. Additional features include combat engineer training,
small-unit tactics training, tactical foreign language training and
event-driven, ethics-based, decisionmaking training.
One of our newest and rapidly advancing training initiatives
involves the collocation of a select number of the previously cited
training systems aboard Camp Upshur at Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA.
Our intent is to provide an advanced, unit-level training capability
within easy access of the I-95 corridor. When fully established this
summer, the Camp Upshur training capabilities will include eight mobile
VCCT trailers, two mobile HMMWV egress trainers, a mobile multi-
platform tactical vehicle operator simulation system, three Indoor
Simulated Marksmanship Trainers that are networked for combined arms
training, and 80 DVTE terminals. These resources, in combination with
the billeting, training ranges and facilities available aboard MCB
Quantico, will provide the opportunity for reinforced battalions to
conduct training and force-on-force exercises using combinations of
live, virtual, and constructive training systems and resources. This
initiative provides state-of-the-art training support to units while
revitalizing long-established Camp Upshur into a cost effective, vital
and dynamic training resource for Marine Forces Reserve and other
agencies. In addition to facilitating training at Camp Upshur, the
numerous mobile training systems will remain available for movement and
redeployment anywhere in the lower 48 States in support of training
Reserve marines.
All of these advanced training systems have been rapidly acquired
and fielded with vital supplemental and NGREA funding. These critical
funding resources are not only providing a near-term training
capability in support of combat deployments, but are also providing a
solid foundation for the transformation of our training environment
from legacy static training methods to more realistic virtual combat
training environments designed to prepare our marines and sailors to
succeed on future battlefields.
v. facilities
Marine Forces Reserve is comprised of 185 locations in 48 States,
the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These facilities are
comprised of 32 owned and 153 tenant locations. In contrast to Active
Duty installations that are normally closed to the general public, our
Reserve sites are openly located within civilian communities. This
arrangement requires close partnering with State and local entities
nationwide. Thus, the condition and appearance of our facilities may
directly influence the American people's perception of the Marine Corps
and the Armed Forces as well as possibly impacting our recruiting and
retention efforts.
Marine Forces Reserve Facilities Sustainment, Restoration, and
Modernization (FSRM) program funding levels continue to address
immediate maintenance requirements and longer-term improvements to our
older facilities. Sustainment funding has allowed us to maintain our
current level of facility readiness without further facility
degradation. Your continued support for both the Military Construction
Navy Reserve (MCNR) program and a strong FSRM program are essential to
addressing the aging infrastructure of the Marine Corps Reserve. With
more than 57 percent of our Reserve centers being more than 30 years
old and 44 percent being more than 50 years old, the continued need for
support of both MCNR and FSRM cannot be overstated.
The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005 continues to move
forward and the Marine Corps Reserve will begin relocating many Reserve
units to new consolidated Reserve centers during fiscal year 2009. Like
other BRAC Business Plans, the Marine Corps Reserve BRAC program is
tightly linked to other Service's business plans for our shared Reserve
centers. Of the 25 BRAC actions for the Marine Corps Reserve, 21 are in
conjunction with Army and Navy military construction projects.
In September 2008, the Department of the Navy (DON) and the State
of Louisiana signed a lease for a new Federal City in New Orleans,
which will provide a new headquarters compound for Marine Forces
Reserve. The State of Louisiana is providing construction dollars for
the new headquarters facility and saving the Federal Government more
than $130 million.
Our Marine Forces Reserve Environmental Program promotes accepted
stewardship principles as well as compliance with all regulatory
requirements in support of training both on site and outside the fence
line. We employ the Environmental Management System (EMS), which uses a
systematic approach ensuring that environmental activities are well
managed and continuously improving. Additionally, Marine Forces Reserve
has initiated a nationwide program to reduce waste production and
ensure proper disposal at our centers. We have also executed several
major projects to protect the Nation's waterways near our Reserve
centers.
vi. health services
Military healthcare support (medical prevention and treatment)
programs have grown exponentially over the past few years--fiscal year
2008 being one of the most significant. A myriad of programs are now
provided to our marines, sailors, and their families during
predeployment, deployment, and post-deployment.
Our Health Services priorities are: 1) maximize education and
awareness of TRICARE support for reservists; 2) attain Department of
Defense (DOD)/DON Individual Medical Readiness goals; and 3) ensure
general awareness of all health service programs in support of our
servicemembers.
TRICARE remains the foundation of our medical support programs,
providing the full spectrum of medical, dental and behavioral health
services. As a result of the 2009 Defense Authorization Act analysis of
TRICARE Reserve Select costs, monthly premiums for TRICARE Reserve
Select dropped by 42 percent for individual coverage and by 29 percent
for family coverage on Jan. 1, 2009. reservists now pay $47.51 a month
for single coverage, down from $81, while the cost for families is down
from $253 to $180.17 a month. reservists and their family members are
eligible for different TRICARE benefits depending on their status: as a
member of the Select Reserve, a reservist may qualify for and purchase
TRICARE Reserve Select; on military duty for 30 days or less a
reservist is covered under line-of-duty care; when activated he and his
family are covered by TRICARE Prime; and when deactivated a reservist
is eligible for transitional health plan options.
All deploying servicemembers are now required to complete a
Baseline Predeployment Neuro-Cognitive Functional Assessment. The tool
used to complete this assessment is called the Automated Neuro-
Psychological Assessment Metric (ANAM). Results from the ANAM will
assist leaders and medical providers with evaluating servicemembers who
screen positive and require necessary medical treatment. The intent is
that ANAM results and implementation of the Psychological Health
Outreach Program will provide standardized guidance for providers who
follow up on identified issues and concerns from results of the Post-
Deployment Health Assessments, to include development of protocols and
creation and implementation of an information/benefits tracking system.
Our commanders and staff are coordinating with the Navy's Bureau of
Medicine (BUMED) in order to ensure that deploying marines and sailors
are properly evaluated prior to deployment.
Efforts to assess health post-deployment have also increased
significantly over the past year. In addition to completing a Post-
Deployment Health Assessment prior to returning to the United States,
our marines and sailors now complete a Post-Deployment Health
Reassessment (PDHRA) 3 to 6 months after returning from deployment. The
PDHRA is crucial in identifying and addressing health concerns with
specific emphasis on mental health issues which may have emerged since
returning from deployment. Active tracking of this process ensures that
we meet the post-deployment health care needs of our marines and
sailors.
The Psychological Health Outreach Program, introduced by BUMED, is
another specialty program which addresses post deployment behavioral
health concerns. This program is designed to provide early
identification and clinical assessment of our Reserve marines and
sailors who return from deployment at risk for not having stress-
related injuries identified and treated in an expeditious manner. This
program, funded by supplemental Defense Health Program appropriations,
provides outreach and educational activities to improve the overall
psychological health of our reservists and identifies long-term
strategies to improve psychological health support services for the
Reserve community. We are currently developing our concept and
implementation strategy to best support the Force.
Individual medical and dental readiness for our marines and sailors
remains a top priority. To improve current readiness of our reservists,
which is 64 percent and 73 percent as of March 1, 2009 respectively, we
continue to utilize the Reserve Health Readiness Program. This program
funds medical and dental contracted specialists to provide health care
services to units specifically to increase individual medical and
dental readiness. During fiscal year 2008, this service provided more
than 3,020 Preventive Health Assessments; 4,013 Dental examinations,
402 Dental Panoramic x-rays; 529 blood draws; 803 immunizations; and
3,149 PDHRAs for our marines and sailors.
The Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application, which
provides electronic health records for the entire U.S. Armed Forces, is
currently being rolled out to all Reserve components to include Marine
Forces Reserve. The transition to electronic medical records will
enable optimal health services to our marines and sailors with the end
result being increased individual and unit medical readiness.
vii. quality of life
We continue to aggressively institute new Family Readiness
Programs, revitalize services, and proactively reach out to our
reservists and their families to ensure our programs and services meet
the needs and expectations of our marines and their families.
As part of widespread Marine Corps reforms to enhance family
support, we are placing full-time Family Readiness Officers (FROs),
staffed by either civilians or Active Duty marines, at the battalion/
squadron level and above to support the commander's family readiness
mission. Modern communication technologies, procedures and processes
are being expanded to better inform and empower family members
including spouses, children, and parents of single marines.
The Marine Forces Reserve Lifelong Learning Program continues to
provide educational information to servicemembers, families, retirees,
and civilian employees. More than 1,200 Marine Forces Reserve personnel
(Active and Reserve) enjoyed the benefit of Tuition Assistance,
utilizing more than $2.4 million that funded more than 4,000 courses
during fiscal year 2008. Tuition Assistance greatly eases the financial
burden of education for our servicemembers while enabling them to
maintain progress toward their education goals.
The Marine Corps' partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of
America (BGCA) and the National Association for Child Care Resources
and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) continues to provide a great resource
for servicemembers and their families in selecting child care, before,
during, and after a deployment in support of overseas contingency
operations. The Boys and Girls Clubs of America provide outstanding
programs for our Reserve Marines' children between the ages of 6 and 18
after school and on the weekends. Under our agreement with BGCA,
Reserve families can participate in more than 40 programs at no cost.
With NACCRRA, we help families of our reservists locate affordable
child care that is comparable to high-quality, on-base, military-
operated programs. The NACCRRA provides child care subsidies at quality
child care providers for our reservists who are deployed in support of
overseas contingency operations and for those Active Duty marines who
are stationed in regions that are geographically separated from
military installations. We also partnered with the Early Head Start
National Resource Center Zero to Three to expand services for family
members of our reservists who reside in isolated and geographically-
separated areas. Additionally, our Marine families (on active duty 30
or more days) enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program are
offered up to 40 hours of free respite care per month for each
exceptional family member. This allows our families the comfort that
their family member will be taken care of when they are in need of
assistance.
We fully recognize the strategic role our families have in mission
readiness, particularly mobilization preparedness. We prepare our
families for day-to-day military life and the deployment cycle
(predeployment, deployment, post-deployment, and follow-on) by
providing educational opportunities at unit family days, predeployment
briefs, return and reunion briefs, and post-deployment briefs. This is
accomplished through unit level Family Readiness programs that are the
responsibility of the commanding officer managed by the full-time,
nondeploying FRO and supported by trained volunteers and force level
programs such as Lifestyle Insights, Networking, Knowledge, and Skills
(L.I.N.K.S.).
Every Marine Corps Reserve unit throughout the country has a Family
Readiness program that serves as the link between the command and
family members--providing official communication, information, and
referrals. The FRO proactively educates families on the military
lifestyle and benefits, provides answers for individual questions and
areas of concerns, and enhances the sense of community and camaraderie
within the unit. The L.I.N.K.S. program is a training and mentoring
program designed by marine spouses to help new spouses thrive in the
military lifestyle and adapt to challenges--including those brought
about by deployments. This program has recently been expanded to
support the extended family of a marine--children and parents. Online
and CD-ROM versions of L.I.N.K.S make this valuable tool more readily
accessible to families of Reserve marines who are not located near
Marine Corps installations.
To better prepare our marines and their families for activation,
Marine Forces Reserve is fully engaged with the Office of the Secretary
of Defense (OSD) to implement the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program,
much of which we have had in place for quite some time. We continue to
implement an interactive approach that provides numerous resources and
services throughout the deployment cycle. Available resources include,
but are not limited to, family-related publications, online volunteer
training opportunities, and a family readiness/mobilization support
toll free number. Family readiness educational materials have been
updated to reflect the current deployment environment. Specifically,
deployment guide templates that are easily adapted to be unit--specific
were distributed to unit commanders and family readiness personnel, as
well as Marine Corps families, and are currently available on our Web
site. Services such as pastoral care, Military OneSource, and various
mental health services are readily available to our Reserve marines'
families. Also, through the DOD contract with the Armed Services YMCA,
the families of our deployed Reserve marines are enjoying complimentary
fitness memberships at participating YMCA's throughout the United
States and Puerto Rico. Our Active Duty marines and their families
located at Independent Duty Stations have the ability to access these
services as well.
Managed Health Network is an OSD-contracted support resource that
provides surge augmentation counselors for our base counseling centers
and primary support at sites around the country to address catastrophic
requirements. This unique program is designed to bring counselors on-
site at Reserve Training Centers to support all phases of the
deployment cycle. Marine Forces Reserve has incorporated this resource
into post-demobilization drill periods, family days, predeployment
briefs, and return & reunion briefs. Follow-up services are scheduled
after marines return from combat at various intervals to facilitate on-
site individual and group counseling. Additionally, we are utilizing
these counselors to conduct post-demobilization telephonic contact with
IRR marines in order to assess their needs and connect them to
services.
The Peacetime/Wartime Support Team and the support structure within
the Inspector-Instructor staffs at our Reserve sites provides families
of activated and deployed marines with assistance in developing
proactive, prevention-oriented steps such as family care plans, powers
of attorney, family financial planning, and enrollment in the Dependent
Eligibility and Enrollment Reporting System. During their homecoming,
our marines who have deployed consistently cite the positive importance
of family support programs.
To strengthen family support programs, we will continue to enhance,
market, and sustain outreach capabilities. The current OSD-level
oversight, sponsorship, and funding of family support programs properly
corresponds to current requirements. We are particularly supportive of
Military OneSource, which provides our reservists and their families
with an around-the-clock information and referral service via toll-free
telephone and Internet access on a variety of subjects such as
parenting, childcare, education, finances, legal issues, elder care,
health, wellness, deployment, crisis support, and relocation.
Marines and their families, who sacrifice so much for our Nation's
defense, should not be asked to sacrifice quality of life. We will
continue to be a forceful advocate for these programs and services. We
will continue to evolve and adapt to the changing needs and
environments in order to ensure that quality support programs and
services are provided to our marines and their families.
viii. casualty assistance and military funeral honors
One of the most significant responsibilities of the Reserve site
support staff is that of casualty assistance. It is at the darkest hour
for our marine families that our support is most needed. By virtue of
our dispersed composition, Marine Forces Reserve site support staffs
are uniquely positioned to accomplish the vast majority of all Marine
Corps casualty notifications and are trained to provide assistance to
the family. Historically, Marine Forces Reserve personnel have been
involved in approximately 90 percent of all notifications and follow-on
assistance to the next of kin. There is no duty to our families that we
treat with more importance, and the responsibilities of our casualty
assistance officers continue well beyond notification. We ensure that
our casualty assistance officers are adequately trained, equipped, and
supported by all levels of command. Once a casualty assistance officer
is designated, he or she assists the family members in every possible
way, from planning the return and final rest of their marine to
counseling them on benefits and entitlements to providing a strong
shoulder to lean on when needed. The casualty assistance officer is the
family's central point of contact and support; available to serve as a
representative or liaison with the media, funeral home, government
agencies, or any other agency that may become involved.
Additionally, Marine Forces Reserve units provide significant
support for military funeral honors for our veterans. The active duty
site support staff members, with augmentation from their Reserve
marines, performed more than 12,000 military funeral honors in 2008 (91
percent of the Marine Corps total) and we anticipate supporting nearly
13,000 during 2009. The authorization and funding to bring Reserve
marines on active duty to assist in the performance of military funeral
honors has greatly assisted us at sites such as Bridgeton, MO; Chicago,
IL; and Fort Devens, MA; where we frequently perform more than 10
funerals each week. As with casualty assistance, we place enormous
emphasis on providing military funeral honor support.
ix. conclusion
The Marine Corps Reserve--your Operational Reserve--continues to
shoulder the war fighting burden with our Active component
counterparts. OEF/OIF, as well as support to Combatant Commanders'
Theater Support Cooperation Exercises, have required continuous
activations of Selected Marine Corps Reserve Forces. We will continue
to focus upon the future challenges to the Total Force and
corresponding requirements of modernization, training, and personnel
readiness to ensure that the Marine Corps Reserve remains on equal
footing with our Active component. Your consistent and steadfast
support of our marines, sailors, and their families directly
contributes to our ability to do so. Semper Fidelis!
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you, General.
General Stenner.
STATEMENT OF LT. GEN. CHARLES E. STENNER, JR., USAF, CHIEF, AIR
FORCE RESERVE; AND COMMANDER, AIR FORCE RESERVE COMMAND
General Stenner. Chairman Nelson, Senators: I truly
appreciate being here today as the Chief of the Air Force
Reserve. I'm also honored to have with me Chief Master Sergeant
Troy McIntosh, who is my Command Chief Master Sergeant and the
highest ranking enlisted member of our Major Command. He takes
great pride in doing the job that he's doing in helping me take
care of that enlisted force, which truly is that backbone of
our Air Force and our Air Force Reserve. So, Troy, thank you
very much for what you've done, and thank you all here for what
you have done as well for our Air Force and our Air Force
Reserve.
I say that as a proud member of a three-component Air
Force. The Air Force Reserve is a part of how we do business on
a daily basis. We are funded, and we appreciate that, to a
tier-one level so that our forces are prepared and ready to go
on 72-hours notice, and we are interchangeable and deploy as
such with all of our ANG partners and our Active Duty partners
as well.
That, in my mind, is the most efficient way to do business,
and continuing to do business that way with the Reserve as a
Strategic Reserve that we leverage as an Operational Force
makes great sense for the Nation. The 14 percent of the
manpower that we have as an Air Force Reserve for about 5
percent of the budget, again, remains a very effective and
efficient way to deliver that capability to the warfighter and
to the combatant commander.
That reservist that we're talking about is, in fact, the
most precious commodity we have. The reservist, in fact, is an
individual who has a civilian job, who also has that employer
to be concerned with. Reservists are just as much a part of
delivering that capability we are using around the world with
their support for our citizen-airmen that are out there doing
the job in a military fashion, as well as making sure that the
families are taken care of along the way.
So that Reserve triad is very precious, I know not only to
the Air Force Reserve or the Guard, but all of our components
sitting right here at this table.
Finally, we have brand new mission areas that we're out
there growing, and on behalf of the 67,400 Air Force
reservists, we are growing to deliver that capability in
unmanned aerial systems, intelligence, surveillance,
reconnaissance, the cyber space arena that we are all growing
into, that will be not only the force of today, but the force
of tomorrow.
So I'm a proud Commander and Chief of Air Force Reserve and
look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of General Stenner follows:]
Prepared Statement by Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner, Jr., USAF
Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the subcommittee, I
appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today and discuss the
state of the Air Force Reserve.
The Air Force Reserve is a powerful manifestation of the finest
American qualities; pursuit of happiness and dedication to nation. It
is an organization of ordinary working people, wedded to the fabric of
our great Nation through their individual pursuits. Reserve airmen are
linguists, utility technicians, police, railway engineers,
entomologists, school teachers, salespeople, analysts, aviators, and
nurses, to name just a few. All are dedicated to the greater purpose of
serving our Nation; all are essential.
The Air Force Reserve provides these dedicated individuals the
opportunity to be a citizen and an airman. Like the Reserve components
from our sister Services, we perform the essential task of bringing
citizens to service. In doing so we gain from them their civilian
skills, capabilities, and experience; alternative approaches to solving
problems; and expertise and judgment. Civilian employers benefit from
Air Force reservists who are instilled with the enduring values of the
Air Force--integrity, service before self, and excellence in all we do.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently remarked that if we are
to meet the myriad of challenges facing our Nation, we must strengthen
and fully integrate other important elements of national power; that
military success is not sufficient to win in conflict; that we must
urgently devote time, energy and thought to how we better organize
ourselves to meet these challenges.
The Air Force is already recognizing the benefits of using all of
its resources from the Reserve, Guard, and regular components as it
increasingly relies on reservists to support operational missions
throughout the world. Moreover, the Air Force is encouraging the
Reserve and Guard to integrate more fully with the Regular Air Force in
a whole host of missions, adding tremendous value to the forces the Air
Force provides to the joint warfighter.
As the Nation looks for ways to strengthen its organizations and
integrate all of the untapped resources it will need in facing the
challenges of the 21st century, we submit that a model by which
ordinary people, dedicated to serving their country in a way that meets
both their needs and the needs of the Nation, is already manifest in
the U.S. Air Force everyday--in the extraordinary Americans of the Air
Force Reserve.
I'm proud to serve along side these great airmen and as chief and
commander of the Air Force Reserve, I have made a promise to them that
I will advocate on their behalf for resources and legislation that will
allow them to serve more flexibly in peace and war with minimum impact
to their civilian career and employer. I will work to eliminate
barriers of service, so that they can more easily serve in the status
that meets their needs and those of the Air Force. I will work to
efficiently and effectively manage our Air Force Reserve to meet the
requirements of the joint warfighter and the Nation.
recruiting and retention
Over the last 8 years, the Air Force Reserve has exceeded its
recruiting goals. Our success in great part has been due to the
accessions of experienced regular Air Force members upon completion of
their active duty commitments. Indeed, recruiting highly trained
individuals is essential to lowering training costs for the Air Force
Reserve. For the past couple of years we have been able to recruit
experienced airmen from the regular Air Force as a result of force
structure changes and program budget decisions.
We no longer have the luxury of large numbers of experienced airmen
leaving regular Service. As both the regular Air Force and the Air
Force Reserve once again build end strength, we expect we will face
some recruiting challenges in the near future: not only will the Air
Force Reserve have access to fewer prior servicemembers, but we will be
competing with all other Services for non-prior recruits.
We are also facing challenges with retention. The Air Force Reserve
continued to execute force structure changes in fiscal year 2008, to
include Base Realignment and Closure and Total Force Initiatives, which
prompted a reduction of over 7,000 positions. As a result, we again
missed our historical officer and enlisted retention targets but met
end strength requirements. Second Term reenlistments and extensions
fell slightly for the third straight year--we also attribute this to
the large population of airmen affected by the Air Force drawdown over
the past few years. There is, however, a bright spot: in fiscal year
2008, for the first time in 3 years, we saw a dramatic upswing in
reenlistments/extensions for first-termers and a modest gain for career
airmen.
Nevertheless, our forecast models indicate that we will continue to
face challenges. Accordingly, as outlined in our Air Force Reserve
priorities discussed below in greater detail, we are striving to
improve Reserve airmen awareness of benefits, incentives, and policies
affecting deployments; we are emphasizing the importance of the
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) program and the Yellow
Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP); and we are striving to better
understand this very complicated dynamic by surveying the attitudes and
beliefs of our airmen on the array of policies, benefits, and
incentives that affect them to determine what appropriate adjustments
can be made to improve our retention outlook. The Department of Defense
(DOD) and the Air Force have improved our ability to make deployments
more predictable. As I discuss below, I believe we need to take a hard
look at the number of airmen held in Reserve.
I am confident that as we act on not only our Air Force Reserve
priorities, but those of the Air Force and the DOD, and with the
continued support of this committee and Congress, we will be able to
continue to meet the needs of combatant commanders and the Nation with
a viable operational and strategic Air Force Reserve.
preserving, leveraging, and improving air force reserve value and our
priorities
The Air Force Reserve is a repository of experience and expertise
for the Air Force. Air Force Reserve airmen are among the most
experienced airmen in the Air Force. Air Force Reserve officers average
roughly 15 years of experience, and enlisted members average 14 years
of experience, compared to 11 years and 9 years for regular Air Force
officers and enlisted respectively. In fact, roughly 64 percent of Air
Force Reserve airmen have prior military experience.
Airmen of the Selected Reserve remain mission-ready, training to
the same standards, and maintaining the same currencies as those in the
regular Air Force, and are capable of deploying within 72 hours of
notification. These airmen provide the insurance policy the Air Force
and the nation need: a surge capability in times of national crises.
Reserve airmen are a cost-effective force provider, comprising
nearly 14 percent of the total Air Force authorized end strength at
only 5.3 percent of the military personnel budget. Put differently, Air
Force Reserve airmen cost per capita is 27.7 percent of that of Regular
Air Force airmen, or roughly 3.5 Reserve airman to 1 regular airman.\1\
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\1\ Fiscal year 2008 budget, figures derived from Automated Budget
Interactive Data Environment System, the budget system currently in use
by the Air Force and recognized as the official Air Force position with
respect to the Planning, Programming, and Budget Execution system.
Inflation data used for any constant dollar calculations were based on
average Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers rates for the past
10 years: roughly 2.6 percent average annual rate of inflation.
Medicare Eligible Retirement Health Care (MERHC) is an accrual account
used to pay for health care of Medicare-eligible retirees (age 65 and
beyond). Cost per capita figures were derived dividing cost of Selected
Reserve program by Selected Reserve end strength. When MERHC figures
are included, the cost of Air Force Reserve airmen to regular Air Force
airmen increases to 30.4 percent.
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The Air Force leverages the inherent value of the Air Force Reserve
in furtherance of its priorities, which are to: reinvigorate the Air
Force nuclear enterprise; partner with the joint and coalition team to
win today's fight; develop and care for airmen and their families;
modernize our air and space inventories, organizations, and training;
and recapture acquisition excellence.
Preserving, utilizing, and improving this value in pursuit of Air
Force priorities underlie each of our Air Force Reserve priorities. We
must provide an operational, combat ready force while maintaining a
Strategic Reserve. We must preserve the viability of the triad of the
relationships reservists must sustain with their families, the Air
Force Reserve and their employers. We must broaden Total Force
Initiatives. We must modernize our equipment and facilities. Each of
these priorities is vital to preserving our value and sustaining our
forces as we meet the needs of the Nation.
operational, combat ready force while maintaining a strategic reserve
The Air Force Reserve is first and foremost a Strategic Reserve,
providing the Air Force with a surge capacity in times of national
crisis. Over time, the Reserve has become a mission-ready reserve force
capable of serving operationally throughout the world. Since Operation
Desert Storm, Air Force Reserve airmen have been continuously engaged
around the world supporting ongoing contingencies, serving side by side
with the joint team.\2\
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\2\ Airmen of the Selected Reserve are mission-ready, capable of
performing ongoing operations. Collectively, they have met the
operational needs of the Air Force for decades--largely through
volunteerism, but also through full-time mobilization. For example,
Reserve and Guard airmen have continuously supported Operation Coronet
Oak in Southern Command year-round, 24/7, since 1977. Between 1991 and
2003, reservists supported the no-fly areas of Operations Northern and
Southern Watch. Since the attacks on 11 Sept 2001, 54,000 reservists
have been mobilized to participate in Operation Enduring Freedom,
Operation Noble Eagle, and Operation Iraqi Freedom--6,000 remain on
active duty status today. It is a fact that the Air Force, more than
any other time, now relies on members of the Reserve and Guard to meet
its operational requirements around the globe.
Our Reserve community continues to answer our Nation's call to duty
with large numbers of volunteer reservists providing essential support
to combatant commanders. Forty-six percent of the Air Force's strategic
airlift mission and 23 percent of its tanker mission capability are
provided by Reserve airmen. We currently have over 450 C-17, C-5, KC-
135, and KC-10 personnel on active duty orders supporting the air
refueling and airlift requirements.
In Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom, Reserve C-130 crews flew
over 6,000 hours in 2008; Reserve F-16 and A-10 crews flew over 3,700
hours. The Air Force Reserve provides 24 crews and 12 fighter aircraft
to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in their regularly scheduled
rotations for the close air support mission.
The Air Force Reserve maintains 60 percent of the Air Force's total
Aeromedical Evacuation (AE) capability. Reserve AE crews and operations
teams provide a critical lifeline home for our injured warfighters. Our
highly trained AE personnel fill 39 percent of each AEF rotation and
fulfill 12 Tanker Airlift Control Center tasked AE channel missions
each quarter--all on a volunteer basis. On the home front in 2008, the
Air Force Reserve provided 21 of 24 AE crews, 88 percent of the mission
requirement, for the response to Hurricane's Ike and Gustav.
Additionally, the Reserve provided four standby crews, 100 percent of
the mission requirement, in support the Democratic and Republican
National Conventions.
In 2008, the men and women of our Combat Search and Rescue forces
have been heavily engaged in life saving operations at home and abroad.
Since February, airmen of the 920th Rescue Wing at Patrick Air Force
Base, FL, and their sister units in Arizona and Oregon, flew over 745
hours and saved more than 300 U.S. troops on HH-60 helicopter missions
in support of U.S. Army medical evacuation operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan. While mobilized for 14 months in support of combat
missions abroad, the 920th continued to provide humanitarian relief in
response to natural disasters at home, as well as provide search and
rescue support for National Aeronautics and Space Administration
shuttle and rocket launches.
The Reserve made use of its organic Intelligence, Surveillance, and
Reconnaissance (ISR) and firefighting capabilities to protect the lives
and property of our citizens threatened by an especially severe fire
season. Defense Support to Civilian Authorities engagement started with
planning and directing exploitation and analysis of the first Global
Hawk imagery to support Incident Analysis & Assessments. In fact, the
first Distributed Ground System Mission Commander was an Air Force
Reserve Officer that directed analysis of the areas devastated and
movement of the fire lines. Aircrews in the 302nd Air Expeditionary
Group (AEG) flew more than 980 airdrops and delivered in excess of 1.3
million gallons of fire retardant to help firefighters on the ground
and mitigate further damage and destruction. The AEG is a Joint unit
made up of eight C-130 Hercules aircraft equipped with the Air Force
Modular Airborne Firefighting System, six Marine Corps helicopters, and
two Navy Reserve helicopters. Two of the C-130s belong to the Air Force
Reserve's 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, CO. Reserve
and Guard personnel helped fight the more than 2,000 fires that ravaged
the California wilderness this past summer.
The Air Force Reserve provides 100 percent of the airborne weather
(hurricane hunting) capability for the DOD. This past hurricane season
tied as the fourth most active with 16 named storms and 5 major
hurricanes. Throughout the year, Air Force Reserve ``Hurricane
Hunters,'' C-130J aircraft flown by citizen airmen of the 403rd Wing at
Keesler Air Force Base, MS, flew over 1,000 hours, collecting
lifesaving data that was sent directly to the National Hurricane Center
in Miami, FL, contributing to better forecasts and landfall
predictions. Following the end of the hurricane season in the
Caribbean, the 403rd deployed two aircraft and four crews to the
Pacific region to continue its support of storm research.
In addition to our hurricane mission, the Air Force Reserve
provides 100 percent of the aerial spray mission in support of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Centers for Disease Control,
and State public health officials. Air Force Reserve aircrews and C-
130s from the 910th Airlift Wing, Youngstown Air Reserve Station, OH,
sprayed more than 1 million storm ravaged acres of land with pesticides
to control the spread of disease.
Our ISR professionals are providing critical information as they
answer the Nation's call to service. In 2008, 192 intelligence
personnel deployed in support of worldwide contingency missions to
include Afghanistan and Iraq. For the foreseeable future, Reserve
intelligence professionals will continue to be deployed throughout the
combatant command theaters, engaged in operations ranging from
intelligence support to fighter, airlift, and tanker missions to ISR
operations in Combined Air Operations Centers and Combined/Joint Task
Forces.
These are but a few examples of the dedication and contributions
our Air Force Reserve airmen have made and will continue to make around
the clock, around the world, each and every day.
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Using reservists in operational missions makes sense: it leverages
the experience and comparatively lower costs of a predominantly part-
time force. Moreover, it improves relationships between regular Air
Force and Air Force Reserve members--it gives airmen of each component
an opportunity to demonstrate their capability and relevancy to each
other, as well as sister Services and coalition forces; it provides
airmen of each component the opportunity to lead each other. Equally
important, operational duty provides Reserve airmen the benefit of
operating as a member of the joint team in diverse environments.
Operational taskings also improve unit morale and enhance unit pride--
important factors in achieving and sustaining high performance.
Yet, for all of our operational capability and contributions, we
must not lose sight that we--along with our Air National Guard brothers
and sisters--are also a Strategic Reserve that must be available to
surge in times of national emergency. For us to serve as both an
Operational and Strategic Reserve, it is critical that we find the
right balance between the two. Too few Reserve airmen means a higher
operational tempo for all airmen--regular or Reserve; it means less
capacity to surge in times of national emergency; it means exhausting
our people and jeopardizing the cornerstone of Air Force Reserve
Service.
We are now 18 years in continuous combat operations, and in our 8th
year of Operation Enduring Freedom; soon to be in our 6th year of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. By any measure, our airmen are performing
admirably. But, our retention rates are dropping, our experience levels
are dropping, indeed the Air Force is ``going deep'' into the Inactive
Ready Reserve and Retired Reserve with its Limited Pilot Recall
Program. Are these anomalies that can each be explained; or are they
the signposts of a more serious problem? My concern and challenge,
indeed our collective challenge, is to ensure we are able to refocus,
reconstitute and recapitalize while remaining engaged in the full
spectrum of operations--in a word, our efforts must be ``sustainable''
over the long run.
Volunteerism is vital to the overall capability of not just the Air
Force Reserve, but the entire Air Force--today we meet roughly 80
percent of our taskings through volunteerism. Without it, I do not
believe we can sustain this level of commitment indefinitely. From this
essential fact flow all of my other priorities.
preserving the viability of the reserve triad--(family, air force
reserve, and employer)
Air Force Reserve airmen must strike a balance between their
commitments to the Air Force, their families and their civilian
employers, i.e. their main source of income. We must be ever mindful of
these commitments and the balancing act our reservists undertake to
sustain these relationships. We must strive to preserve these
relationships through open communication with each of these essential
partners. We must strive to provide predictability in deployments, and
parity with benefits. Doing so is critically important in ensuring we
provide ready and capable Reserve airmen to the Nation.
This past year, the Air Force Reserve has endeavored to improve
communication with reservists by rolling out awareness campaigns
concerning the differences in benefits Congress has provided over the
past few years, and how these accrue for those who voluntarily deploy
and those who are mobilized. We have also put a spotlight on other
important benefits such as reduced eligibility age for retirement pay,
improved availability of health benefits, and lower premiums for
TRICARE Reserve Select. We have begun surveying focus groups within the
Air Force Reserve to better understand the needs of our reservists and
whether we are meeting these needs. I personally send emails to all of
our Selected Reserve members to highlight important issues concerning
their service. In the coming months, as we learn more, we will be
rolling out an awareness campaign on the post-September 11 GI Bill and
how it works vis-a-vis other education benefits.
We have worked with the Small Business Association to provide
reservists and employers awareness of improved access to increased,
uncollateralized, low interest loans that Congress authorized last
year. We have made it a point to educate our airmen about the
importance of the ESGR program, and we have asked that they nominate
their employers for ESGR recognition and take time to accurately fill
out employer data in the DOD employer database. I am pleased to report
that we have increased our nominations by 149 percent this past year.
We are moving ahead with implementation of the Air Force YRRP to
support Reserve members and their families throughout the entire
deployment cycle. Prior to the enactment of this program, Air Force
Reserve Wings dedicated time and a notable level of effort to support
their deploying airmen and families, as evidenced by the number of
deployment support and reintegration activities in the past. In 2008,
the Air Force Reserve hosted 58 YRRP events that served over 1,250
airmen and 500 family members.
In addition, the Air Force Reserve Command has formed a Yellow
Ribbon Reintegration Office. This multi-functional team has begun
identifying challenges, assessing strategic, operational and fiscal
gaps, and evaluating effective and implementable options. We're working
towards full implementation of DOD directives.
In the future, the Air Force Reserve will publish an overarching
YRRP strategy that optimizes benefits to servicemembers and their
families. A key component of this strategy will be to support and unify
the current independent efforts, and identify the successes of those
efforts.
As a Total Force, we continue to work through Continuum of Service
challenges to better enable varying degrees of service commitment that
members can provide as their life circumstances change throughout their
career. The Air Force and the Air Reserve components are taking a
coordinated approach to identifying the issues that make Reserve
component members disinclined to frequently volunteer for active duty
tours. We're identifying barriers and options for reducing or removing
impediments to service. These impediments range from financial,
cultural, technological to policy, and legislative. Through this
program, the Services have thus far identified dozens of impediments,
three of which were mitigated by improving policies concerning enlisted
promotion, chaplain service age waiver, and security clearances.
Although still in its formative stage, the Air Force--developed CoS
Tracking Tools is gaining wider DOD acceptance and we hpe will continue
to gain momentum as all Services look to act on this important reform
initiative.
Thanks to the help of this committee, the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 included legislation to
authorize reimbursement of travel expenses not to exceed $300 for
certain Selected Reserve members who travel outside the normal
commuting distance because they are assigned to a unit with a critical
manpower shortage, or assigned to a unit or position that is
disestablished or relocated as a result of defense base closure,
realignment or another force structure reallocation. Because of this
authorization, the Air Force Reserve has been able to retain trained
and qualified personnel, rather than having to recruit and train new
personnel.
broaden total force initiatives
The Air Force leverages the value of its Reserve components through
association constructs. The basic model is an associate wing in which a
unit of one component has primary responsibility for operating and
maintaining equipment (such as aircraft), while a unit of another
component (Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, or Regular Air Force)
also operates and maintains that equipment.\3\ This arrangement
effectively places more people against a piece of equipment, thereby
gaining more utility from each piece of equipment, and the ability to
surge as needed, and pull back when not.
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\3\ The Air Force uses three types of associations to leverage the
combined resources and experience levels of all three components:
``Classic Association,'' ``Active Association,'' and ``Air Reserve
Component Association.''
Under the ``Classic'' model, so-called because it is the first to
be used, a Regular Air Force unit is the host unit and retains primary
responsibility for the weapon system, and a Reserve or Guard unit is
the tenant. This model has flourished in the Military Airlift and Air
Mobility Commands for over 40 years. We are now beginning to use it in
the Combat Air Forces: our first fighter aircraft ``Classic''
association at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, attained Initial Operational
Capability in June 2008. This association combined the regular Air
Force's 388th Fighter Wing, the Air Force's largest F-16 fleet, with
the Air Force Reserve's 419th Fighter Wing, becoming the benchmark and
lens through which the Air Force will look at every new mission. The
477th Fighter Group, an F-22 unit in Elmendorf, AK, continues to mature
as the first F-22A associate unit. This unit also achieved Initial
Operating Capability in 2008 and will eventually grow into a two-
squadron association with the Regular Air Force.
The Air Force Reserve also established its first Intelligence
Squadron Association with the 50th Intelligence Squadron at Beale Air
Force Base, CA. This unit of Reserve and regular airmen delivers real-
time, tailored intelligence to combat forces engaged in missions in
Iraq and Afghanistan, with data derived from theater Predator/Reapers,
Global Hawks and U-2s, in partnership with the Total Force team. The
Air Force is considering additional associate intelligence units for
Beale and Langley Air Force Bases. These new capabilities create a
Strategic Reserve Force ready to respond to the call of our Nation,
capable of being leveraged as operational crews ready and willing to
support the regular Air Force in everyday missions around the world.
This model has proven itself and is the basis for the growth of
associations over the last 5 years.
Under the ``Active'' model, the Air Force Reserve or Guard unit is
host and has primary responsibility for the weapon system while the
regular Air Force provides additional aircrews to the unit. The 932nd
Airlift Wing is the first ever Operational Support Airlift Wing in the
Air Force Reserve with three C-9Cs and three C-40s. Additionally, the
Air Force Reserve will take delivery of an additional C-40 in fiscal
year 2011, appropriated in the fiscal year 2009 Consolidated Security,
Disaster Assistance and Continuing Appropriations Act. This additional
C-40 will help to replace the three C-9Cs, which are costly to maintain
and fly. To better utilize the current fleet of C-40s at the 932nd, the
Air Force created an Active Association. We also are benefitting from
our first C-130 Active Association with the 440th AW at Pope AFB.
Under the ``Air Reserve Component'' model, now resident at Niagara
Falls Air Reserve Station in New York, the Air Force Reserve has
primary responsibility for the equipment while the Guard shares in the
operation of the equipment and works side by side with the Reserve to
maintain the equipment. The Air National Guard has transitioned from
the KC-135 air refueling tanker to the C-130, associating with the
914th Reserve Airlift Wing. The 914th added 4 additional C-130s,
resulting in 12 C-130s at Niagara Air Reserve Station. This Air Reserve
Component Association model provides a strategic and operational force
for the Regular Air Force while capitalizing on the strengths of the
Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. Additionally, in this case it
provides the State of New York with the needed capability to respond to
State emergencies.
The Air Force Reserve has 9 host units and is the tenant at 53
locations. There are currently more than 100 integration initiatives
being undertaken by the Air Force and Air Reserve components.
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Beyond fiscal efficiencies, however, associations use the inherent
values that each component brings to the mix. For example, less
experienced airmen from regular Air Force can be more favorably
balanced against higher experienced Reserve component airmen. Moreover,
these constructs can foster mutual respect among components, and can
lead to a cross flow of ideas. Regular Air Force airmen can bring a
wider perspective of Air Force operations to an associate unit based on
their ability to change assignments on a regular basis. For their part,
Reserve airmen lend stability and continuity to the organization and
the mission. The ultimate goal is to provide the Air Force and COCOMs
the best possible capabilities with fewer physical resources by
leveraging the combined resources of the regular Air Force, Air
National Guard, and Air Force Reserve.
The Air Force has been using associations modestly, with varying
degrees of success, since 1968, primarily in the air mobility missions.
However, during the last 5 years we have aggressively pursued
fundamental change to maintain our warfighting capabilities. Our
central strategy is to use integration/association initiatives to
leverage the strengths of all three components to make one strong Air
Force in many mission areas. Failing to consider the Air Force
holistically risks unbalancing the contributions of each component,
which are central to the success of the efficient and effective
delivery of combat capability to the warfighter.
Associations also present new challenges in the way we develop
plans to meet the needs of combatant commanders. It used to be, and in
some cases still is, that our mobilization plans were developed for a
unit and its equipment to deploy together in support of a given
operations plan. Associations now must be worked into those plans. We
have made progress in developing war mobilization plans that deploy
equipment separately from the units that deploy. But we will
undoubtedly encounter difficulties in the execution of these plans. We
still will have to find the sweet spot in the regular Air Force/Air
Reserve component manpower mix when allocating our people against
various missions within the Air and Space Expeditionary Force
construct. We will have to determine how long and how best to access
Air Reserve component personnel--i.e., mobilize or volunteer--to meet
that mix so that we can give combatant commanders the most effective
force. We should consider measuring taskings by associations instead of
wings.
If it is to succeed, the Air Force must educate airmen about the
unique challenges of associations--at all levels, within and among each
of the components. Advancement within each Service is premised upon
joint education and experience; advancement should also be premised on
joint component education and experience. Candidates for leadership in
associations should be screened and selected based on their experience
and abilities to lead and work well with other components.
Force integration is not a process unto itself; it has a purpose,
an end state. Properly understood, an integrated force is a unified,
harmonious, effective entity. We are merely at the beginning of this
process; it will take many, many years before we approach the end
state. We must look beyond the fiscal efficiencies touted as the basis
for our undertaking, roll up our sleeves, and get to the hard work
needed to make us a more effective combat force. Should we do so, we
will some day look about us and recognize a truly integrated Air Force.
modernize equipment and facilities
The DOD's goal is to fully equip Reserve component units, thereby
providing a trained and ready force at every stage of the Service's
force rotation plan. The Air Reserve components, along with the Regular
Air Force, face significant modernization and recapitalization
challenges, for both our aircraft and infrastructure. Some Air Force
Reserve platforms remain out of the fight due to lack of defensive and
countermeasure systems needed in the CENTCOM Theater, including some of
our C-5A, A-10, and C-130 aircraft. In addition, as with the regular
Air Force, we are facing unpredictable fatigue, corrosion, and
structural component availability concerns on platforms that even our
superior maintainers cannot correct forever, as we have seen in our C-
5, KC-135, and A-10 fleets. While we continue to meet the requirements
of the Air Force and the joint team, the current high operations tempo
has led to our current reality--the increasing uncertainty of our long-
term fleet viability. Similarly, continued risk in the Air Force
Military Construction (MILCON) program has caused a significant growth
in the Air Force Reserve Command's facility project backlog. Timely
modernization is critical to remaining a relevant and capable combat
ready Reserve Force.
National Guard Reserve Equipment Account
The National Guard Reserve Equipment Account (NGREA) appropriation
has resulted in an increase in readiness and combat capability for both
the Reserve and the Guard. For fiscal year 2009, we received $37.5
million in NGREA appropriations which resulted in the Air Force Reserve
Command's ability to purchase additional upgrades for Reserve owned
equipment. Some of the items that we purchased using NGREA funding
include: Defensive Systems for C-5s, Line of Sight/Beyond Line of Sight
capability and new upgraded radar for our C-130 aircraft, and an
upgrade to the F-16 Commercial Fire Control Computer. Many of these new
capabilities are directly tied to better air support for our soldiers
and marines in Iraq and Afghanistan. NGREA funding has helped the Air
Force Reserve to remain relevant in today's fight as well as the
ability to remain ready and capable in future conflicts. We thank you
for your support with this critical program.
Military Construction and Facilities Modernization
Along with challenges in modernizing our equipment, we face
challenges modernizing our facilities. During the fiscal year 2008
budget formulation, both the regular Air Force and the Air Force
Reserve took risk in MILCON appropriation in order to fund higher
priorities. This reduction coupled with past shortfall funding in
MILCON has resulted in a backlog nearing $1 billion for the Air Force
Reserve.
We will continue to work within the fiscal constraints and mitigate
risk where possible to ensure our equipment and facilities are
modernized to provide a safe and adequate working environment for all
of our airmen.
conclusion
Mr. Chairman and members of this subcommittee, I am excited to have
been able to take on this role as Chief of the Air Force Reserve and
Commander of Air Force Reserve Command. I take pride in the fact that
when our Nation calls on the Air Force Reserve, we are trained and
ready to go to the fight. Over 67,000 strong, we are a mission-ready
Reserve Force capable of serving operationally throughout the world
with little or no notice.
The rapidly changing security and economic environment will cause
Congress, the DOD, and the Air Force to make some difficult choices in
the year ahead. The Air Force Reserve is highly experienced, cost-
effective force provider well-suited for this challenge. I submit it is
a hedge against the uncertainties we are facing for which you pay a
relatively small premium. I firmly believe paying this premium will
enable the Air Force to achieve its force integration goals and address
not only its priorities, but also help Congress address the more
pressing issues we will face as a Nation in the years to come.
I appreciate the support of this committee for the authorization
and legislation it provides to our readiness and combat capability. I
look forward to working with each of you in the future on the
challenges facing the Air Force Reserve, the Air Force, and the Nation.
Senator Ben Nelson. Admiral May.
STATEMENT OF RADM DANIEL R. MAY, USCG, DIRECTOR OF RESERVE AND
TRAINING, U.S. COAST GUARD RESERVE
Admiral May. Chairman Nelson, Senator Hagan, Senator
Burris: It's an honor and pleasure to be here this afternoon
representing the Coast Guard Reserve. I want to especially
thank you for that warm welcome.
Here with me this afternoon is my deputy, Captain Andrea
Contrada, and also Master Chief Jeff Smith, the Reserve Forces
Master Chief.
First of all, I'd really like to thank you and Senator
Graham for your commitment and for tackling the tough issues
that face our military personnel, and all the progress that
you've made in supporting our military men and women.
The Coast Guard is one of our five Armed Forces. It has a
long history, a distinguished history of service to our home,
both here and abroad, as a military, maritime, and multi-
mission service, always ready for all threats and all hazards.
Because of this mix of military and civil law enforcement
authorities, the Coast Guard is really uniquely positioned to
serve as a lead Federal agency for our maritime homeland
security, while also acting as a supporting agency to the DOD.
In fact, over 80 percent of our 8,100 Selected Reserve
Force is directly assigned to our Coast Guard shore units. The
remainder of our force is spread out and dedicated to
supporting defense operations. These forces are assigned to our
eight individual port security units, which are staffed by
reservists full-time as well as support personnel. Today, Post
Security Unit 311 is serving in-theater.
The integration of our Active and Reserve components began
in the 1990s and enables us to respond quickly when and where
Operational Reserve Forces are needed. It's aided, in part
also, by the unique authority held by the Homeland Security
Secretary by using title 14 of the U.S. Code. Under title 14,
the Secretary may recall Coast Guard reservists for up to 30
days at a time for domestic contingencies, including natural
and manmade disasters, as well as any terrorist attacks.
This unique authority helped facilitate a rapid response
for the Coast Guard in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,
where approximately 700 mobilized Coast Guard reservists
performed nearly 20,000 person-days in support of our rescue
and recovery operations in the Gulf region.
Now, after the tragic events of September 11, and in the
wake of our largest mobilization, nearly 50 percent of our
Reserve Force was mobilized. This continues today, where we
have nearly 700 Coast Guard reservists on Active Duty. They are
actively participating in a number of missions across the
entire Coast Guard.
We thank you again for the Commission, for all that they
have done. The Coast Guard has been an active participant in
the Commission on the Guard and Reserves. As you pointed out,
Mr. Chairman, many of those recommendations and any laws that
may come from them will apply to the Coast Guard as one of our
military Services.
So thank you, again. It's an honor to be here on behalf of
the Coast Guard men and women. I look forward to any questions
you may have.
[The prepared statement of Admiral May follows:]
Prepared Statement by RADM Daniel R. May, USCG
Good afternoon, Chairman Levin, Senator McCain, and distinguished
members of the Senate Armed Service Subcommittee. It is a pleasure to
have this opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the Coast
Guard Reserve, its contribution to National Defense and Homeland
Security, the issues that face the men and women of our Coast Guard
Reserve and the Coast Guard's ability to sustain the high level of
quality staffing we currently have.
As one of the five Armed Forces of the United States, the Coast
Guard has a long and distinguished history of service at home and
abroad as a military, maritime, multi-mission service always ready for
all threats and all hazards. Because of its mix of military and civil
law enforcement authorities, the Coast Guard is uniquely positioned to
serve as the Lead Federal Agency for Maritime Homeland Security while
acting as a supporting agency for National Defense. Founded in 1941,
the Coast Guard Reserve is the force multiplier for the operational
Coast Guard, due in part to the complete integration of our Selected
Reserve Force into Active component units during the last decade. In
fact, over 80 percent of our 8,100-member Selected Reserve Force is
directly assigned to Active Coast Guard shore units, where reservists
hone readiness skills through classroom instruction and on-the-job
training side-by-side with their Active Duty counterparts. The
remainder of our Selected Reserve Force is dedicated primarily to
supporting Defense Operations. The majority of these reservists are
assigned to our eight deployable Port Security Units (PSUs) which are
staffed by reservists and Full Time Support (FTS) personnel; the PSU's
principal mission is to support the Combatant Commanders in strategic
ports of debarkation overseas. The remaining personnel are assigned to
Department of Defense (DOD) units, such as the Maritime Expeditionary
Security Squadrons and combatant commanders' staffs.
integration
The strength the Coast Guard gained through integration in the
1990s was the creation of this Operational Reserve Force. Although just
less than one-fourth the size of the Active Duty component at
approximately 8,100 personnel, this operational Reserve Force acts as a
surge capability ready and able to respond to any national or domestic
contingency. They responded magnificently to the attacks of September
2001, and all contingency operations that have followed. Since 2001,
cumulative recalls of Coast Guard reservists under title 10 of the U.S.
Code have totaled over 6,800, with reservists serving at home as part
of the Coast Guard's Maritime Homeland Security mission and overseas in
direct support of the combatant commanders. The majority of those
recalled served domestically as members of Coast Guard units
safeguarding ports and waterways alongside 95,000 miles of U.S.
coastline or enforcing security zones in strategic outload ports on the
Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf Coasts where supplies and equipment for
combat forces begin their journey overseas. Coast Guard reservists also
served overseas since September 2001 as members of PSUs operating in
Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain and as individuals supporting Coast Guard
units in the region, including cutters under U.S. Fifth Fleet. At the
height of Operation Iraqi Freedom combat operations in early 2003,
approximately half of the Coast Guard personnel deployed overseas were
reservists.
post-september 11
Since September 2001, when we embarked on the largest mobilization
of Coast Guard reservists since World War II, we have redoubled our
efforts to capture and capitalize on those lessons learned to further
improve readiness and ensure a Reserve Force with the right people,
skills, and training for the missions of the 21st century. We have
examined our systems for recruiting, training, mobilizing, and
demobilizing reservists to identify and close readiness gaps. More
significantly, we undertook a comprehensive review of the Coast Guard
Reserve that resulted in our Commandant, Admiral Thad Allen, issuing a
Policy Statement that embodies the three core strategic functions of
the Reserve Force: Maritime Homeland Security, domestic and
expeditionary support to national defense, and domestic manmade or
natural disaster response and recovery. The individual competencies
required to support these core functions center on boat operations,
contingency planning and response, expeditionary warfare, law
enforcement, marine safety, and port security with appropriate force
levels invested in the administrative and logistical support our
Reserve Force requires.
title 14
None of this represents a radical change for the Coast Guard
Reserve, but rather an affirmation of the vital role our reservists
play as the Coast Guard's operational surge force. One key component of
that ready surge force is availability and accessibility of individuals
for mobilization. As with members of the other Reserve components, our
Reserve men and women are subject to involuntary mobilization under
title 10 for national security contingencies. However, unlike members
of the other Reserve components, Coast Guard reservists can also be
involuntarily mobilized by the Secretary of Homeland Security under 14
U.S.C. 712 for up to 60 days at a time for domestic contingencies,
including natural and manmade disasters and terrorist attacks. This
unique authority provided under title 14 has been used over a dozen
times since the 1970s to mobilize Coast Guard reservists for a wide
range of emergencies ranging from the 1980 Mariel Boat Lift to floods,
hurricanes, and other natural disasters.
In 2005, it was this special authority used by the Secretary of
Homeland Security, which allowed the Coast Guard to mobilize
approximately 700 members of the Coast Guard Reserve for Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita, providing a ready force for rescue and recovery
operations in New Orleans and the stricken areas of the Gulf Coast. It
was used again this past year for nearly 70 members in response to
Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. In all, members of the Coast Guard Reserve
mobilized under title 14 for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita performed
nearly 20,000 person-days of duty in support of Coast Guard rescue and
recovery operations. Most served alongside their active-duty
counterparts as individual augmentees. For instance, several reservists
assigned as Coast Guard Investigative Service special agents were
mobilized to augment active-duty and civilian agents deployed to New
Orleans, Baton Rogue, and Gulfport, where they provided armed security
for senior officials and personnel disbursing cash to Coast Guard
members. In addition to individual augmentees, the Coast Guard also
activated two PSUs to provide physical security in New Orleans and
Gulfport, and to aid in the distribution of relief supplies, a
departure from their normal mission of deploying overseas in support of
Defense Operations but a testament to the ability of our reservists to
mobilize when and where needed to plus-up Coast Guard forces responding
to an emergency.
Recent legislative changes have also provided increased capability
to use our Coast Guard Reserve. The Coast Guard and Maritime
Transportation Act of 2006 expanded the Secretary of Homeland
Security's title 14 recall authority to permit mobilization of Coast
Guard reservists ``to aid in prevention of an imminent serious natural
or manmade disaster, accident, catastrophe, or act of terrorism.''
Other language included in the bill extended the limits on the period
of recall to not more than 60 days in any 4-month period and to not
more than 120 days in any 2-year period. This significantly enhanced
our ability to mitigate major natural disasters and thwart terrorist
attacks by enabling us to bring Coast Guard reservists on active duty
even before disaster strikes.
organization structure
A major component of the Coast Guard's success in responding to
disasters is the Coast Guard's decentralized command and control
structure. The authority and responsibility to move forces, including
reservists, establish response readiness levels, and direct operations
is vested in the regional district and area commanders. This provides
the most direct oversight of operations at the field level and avoids
delays caused by unnecessary and time-consuming bureaucratic processes.
However, the most important factor contributing to the Coast Guard's
effectiveness in disaster response is the fact that our forces are
engaged in this type of mission on a daily basis. As the Nation's
maritime first responder, Coast Guard men and women, Active, Reserve,
Civilian, and Auxiliary plan for, train and execute missions every
single day.
dod in design
The Coast Guard also possesses several unique features that help to
integrate its efforts with those of the DOD, other Federal agencies,
the National Guard, and State and local authorities. Because the Coast
Guard is at all times a branch of the military, our communications
systems, planning processes, personnel training and even our command
structures have much in common with the DOD Services. Coast Guard
commanders can be either supported or supporting commanders for
military operations and we have extensive experience working in and
with DOD Joint Task Force Headquarters. This allows for easy
integration of forces and unity of effort when working together during
major catastrophes. Today, we are closer to DOD than we ever have been
since World War II with numerous active duty and reservists assigned at
our combatant commands and various other DOD organizations providing
key skills in support of our Nation's defense.
joint forces
The Coast Guard has excellent working relationships with all of the
Armed Forces, providing support and leveraging expertise through mutual
agreements. At Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, NC, the Coast Guard
partnered with the Marine Corps to develop the Coast Guard Special
Mission Training Center which is tasked to provide training, doctrine,
and testing/evaluation in support of mission requirements of the Coast
Guard, Navy, and Marine Corps operational forces. The Special Mission
Training Center offers specialized courses for Coast Guard Reserve
deployable units, and inclusion of Coast Guard personnel in formal
training conducted by the Navy and Marine Corps.
In today's joint environment the spirit of cooperation and common
purpose is exceptionally high. The Coast Guard welcomed the opportunity
last May to participate in Patriot Hook when PSU 312 working jointly
with the 452nd Air Lift Control Flight, leveraged the opportunity to
complete required underway live fire, anti-swimmer grenade training,
and rehearsal of the movement of personnel and equipment by land and
air. During the 4-day exercise, held at San Clemente Island, over one-
half million pounds of cargo is transported by the U.S. Air Force from
various airfields to San Clemente Island.
As I report to you here today, 120 members of PSU 311 are deployed
to Southwest Asia as an integral part of the Navy's Maritime
Expeditionary Squadron. That unit is providing vital water and land
side security for ports of strategic importance in Kuwait.
interagency
In addition to our work with DOD, the Coast Guard works on a daily
basis with other Federal, State, and local partners. The Service's
Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security mission requires the Coast Guard
to interact daily with State and local law enforcement and emergency
response organizations, exercising command structures and building the
trust critical to effectively execute an emergency response. Coast
Guard Captains of the Port provide a critical link through Local
Emergency Planning Committees, Area Maritime Security Committees,
Harbor Safety Committees, Area Planning Committees, Regional Response
Teams, and other venues that allow the Coast Guard to build close
relationships with key partners in disaster response. Because of the
integrated nature of the Coast Guard, individual reservists play a key
role in these efforts. Their dual status as Coast Guard members and
residents of their local communities frequently enables them to
leverage organizational and personal relationships that yield
immeasurable benefits during a crisis situation.
The Coast Guard has built on these important relationships to
improve our emergency response capability by actively working to
implement the National Response Framework (NRF). Since 1996, the Coast
Guard has trained thousands of personnel, including reservists, on the
Incident Command System, a central component of the NRF and updated its
full range of contingency plans to reflect the guiding principles of
the NRF. Additionally, the Coast Guard has realigned and combined
operational field units to provide full integration of emergency
response capabilities, and directly support staffing for Joint Field
Offices, when those entities are in place.
commission on the national guard and reserve
The Coast Guard has participated from the start of the Commission
on the National Guard and Reserve (CNGR) process providing testimony to
the Commission participating in each of the fact finding sessions, and
providing a dedicated staff member. Upon completion of the study the
Coast Guard worked with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of
Defense, Reserve Affairs (OASD-RA) in evaluating the impact of the 95
CNGR recommendations. Participating in work groups with the other
Reserve components and OASD-RA, the Coast Guard provided official
comments on each of the recommendations and implementation plans for
those selected for action.
It is appropriate that the Coast Guard continue to be involved in
this process as the CNGR recommendations that are implemented will
likely have significant impact on the Coast Guard Reserve just as it
will with the other military Services. The Coast Guard is keenly aware
that laws and policy that affect DOD have a profound affect on the
Coast Guard Reserve program and workforce. Coast Guard Reserve Affairs
stands ready to work with OASD-RA at all times.
workforce
Staffing the Coast Guard Reserve workforce is unique to the
services as Reserve and Active Duty recruiting for the Coast Guard is
conducted through a single Recruiting Command. The Coast Guard Reserve
supplements Recruiting Offices with reservists on Active Duty
(Temporary Active Reserve Recruiters) under the concept that reservists
are best suited to recruit reservists. In addition to the Reserve
recruiters, the Recruiting Command has found success in the use of In
Service Transfer Teams to ensure that all Active Duty personnel that
are being released from active duty are briefed on the benefits of the
Coast Guard Reserves, and offered an opportunity join and continue with
their military career within the Reserves.
retention
Retention in the Coast Guard Reserve has remained steady over the
course of the past several years with current retention at 92 percent
for officers and 88 percent for enlisted personnel. These retention
rates indicate that members see the Coast Guard Selected Reserve as an
attractive option and, once they join, they want to continue serving.
It has not been determined that the economy is a factor in retention as
retention for the Coast Guard Reserve was high before recent economic
downturns.
employer support of the guard and the reserve
The Coast Guard is actively engaged with Employer Support of the
Guard and the Reserve (ESGR). In February 2008, five Coast Guard
Commands signed a pledge of participation in recognition of ESGR's
contribution to the Armed Services. Following up on that pledge, the
Coast Guard Reserve actively engaged reservists to nominate employers
for the Secretary of Defense's Freedom Award resulting in a substantial
increase in nominees over the previous year. ESGR, working with Coast
Guard Reserve, saw a positive trend of a steady decline of cases
referred to ombudsman.
improved benefits
The 2008 National Defense Authorization Act along with changes to
DOD and Coast Guard policy provided improved benefits for members of
the Coast Guard Reserve. New dwell time policy established a 12-month
limit on mobilization improving predictability for members, families,
and employees. TRICARE benefits provide for up to 90-days early access
to TRICARE medical and dental care when members are notified of
upcoming deployments. TRICARE Reserve Select extends insurance benefits
to reservists not on active duty. The Coast Guard initiated an annual
Periodic Health Assessment that will replace the previous 5 year
medical exams making them mandatory for all personnel, Active and
Reserve.
challenges
The Coast Guard has demonstrated its ability to prepare for and
respond to a wide range of contingencies, including natural disasters
and terrorist attack, while executing more routine missions, such as
maritime law enforcement and search-and-rescue. To continue to meet
these challenges into the future, the Coast Guard continuously examines
best practices and takes steps to adapt. In 2008 the Coast Guard
Reserve Program developed an initiative called the Reserve Force
Readiness System (RFRS) aimed at increasing readiness of Coast Guard
Reserve Forces. Under RFRS, existing billets will be realigned at the
operational level providing improved oversight, day-to-day management,
and readiness of our Reserve Forces. This new organizational construct
will also provide additional leadership opportunities for senior
Reserve personnel (officer and enlisted), provide increased mentorship,
and training for junior personnel, and optimize the placement of FTS
personnel.
The Coast Guard is the Nation's premier maritime law enforcement
agency with broad, multifaceted jurisdictional authority. It is on
behalf of the men and women of the Coast Guard that I thank you for
your continued support of the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Reserve.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look forward to
your questions.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you very much, Admiral.
General Vaughn, General Stultz, and to the members of the
panel: A couple of years ago during the Christmas holidays, 48
members of the 110th Medical Battalion based in Lincoln,
Nebraska, found themselves stranded at Fort Lewis, Washington,
when training was suspended and the base was shut down for the
holidays.
Now, military rules prohibited using funds to pay for their
travel back to Nebraska until training resumed. In a joint
explanatory statement that accompanied the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, we urged the Services
to be mindful of training suspensions and minimal staffing
periods when devising training schedules for the Reserve
components. I've drafted legislation, which Senator Graham and
I will soon introduce, that will correct this deficiency and
would authorize travel if a Reserve or Guard member is more
than 300 miles from home and is placed on leave for 5 days or
more because of training suspensions or staffing issues.
Now, it's our understanding that this is not a unique
experience among guardsmen and reservists because of a lack of
planning on the part of the military unit; servicemembers are
sent away from home, in some cases thousands of miles, for
training missions and then the training is suddenly suspended.
In these cases, isn't it the military's responsibility to
either plan appropriately and not to waste the time of our
servicemembers or unnecessarily keep them away from their
families, or if the military doesn't plan should we pay to send
them home? Let me say that we got those members home, but we
raised money from private sources in order to do it, which
means that there were a number of generous folks who helped do
it. But it isn't necessarily the responsibility of the private
citizen to pay for that public cost.
So my question is, what are your policies for assigning
training duty during the holiday season, especially as most
posts go to reduced manning and suspend training during that
period? Can we start with you, General Vaughn?
General Vaughn. Senator Nelson, a great issue, inflammatory
issue. We're 100 percent on your side. We went through this
thing for several years, dating all the way back to the 39th
Infantry Brigade, and Wal-Mart and a couple other folks paid
for that. We have no business passing that on. We made our
concerns known, and I will tell you that Lieutenant General
Jack Stultz and I don't have anything to do with scheduling
when they mobilize and report to the training centers.
It's absolutely something that we needed the kind of
emotion and fervor behind it to get that straightened out. This
year, for our big formations, everything is after the holiday
period. Now, that's not to say there might not be something in
there someplace that we don't know anything about. But the
other piece of that is that we ought to pay for them coming
back home.
The ARNG agrees 100 percent with your line of reasoning on
this.
General Stultz. Yes, sir. I'll echo what Lieutenant General
Clyde Vaughn said. Sir, in 1990, Operation Desert Storm, I
reported with my unit to Fort Eustis, VA, in November right
after Thanksgiving. Now, I deployed with an advance party into
Saudi Arabia ahead of them, but the rest of my unit sat at Fort
Eustis during Christmas holidays, and I saw what it did to
morale. I said this is crazy, that we have soldiers sitting
around.
The past 3 years, as I've traveled around Iraq,
Afghanistan, Kosovo, the Horn of Africa, and I talked to
soldiers about what makes you feel good and what do you not
feel good about, one of the number one subjects they said is
wasted time: ``I sat at a mobilization station, did nothing,
and it was wasted time. I could have been with my family.''
It's a morale issue. It's a morale issue for holidays. It's
a morale issue for any time where we have them sitting in a
mobilization station and there's nothing going on.
So we have made the commitment to wherever possible stop
that from happening. As Lieutenant General Clyde Vaughn said,
look at the training and say: ``Hey, listen; if you're not
going to be there for training, my soldiers aren't going to be
there.'' Working together with Forces Command and First Army,
we are now much better than we used to be. We don't do like we
used to, where there used to be a pre-mobilization plan which I
had responsibility for, but once they got mobilized, I handed
them to Forces Command, and they took over, and I lost control.
Now we have one training plan and we say: ``This is all
we're going to do in the pre-mobilization time period and this
is what we're going to do in the post-mobilization time period,
and we're going to make sure that every day they're at a
mobilization station they're occupied with some valuable
training, or they're deployed.''
In the past 2 years, we've cut the time down, time at a
mobilization station, from 90 days down to 40 days. Our target
is 30 days. A unit doesn't need to be in a mobilization station
longer than 30 days and they can get going.
So to that point, we've said: ``Listen, if you're not going
to be there, we're not going to be there.'' If we are there and
they suspend training, I agree wholeheartedly we ought to send
the soldier home for the holidays. It's a morale issue.
Senator Ben Nelson. Would anyone else like to make any
comments? I think they said it very well, but if there are any
other comments, we'd certainly like to accept them.
[No response.]
I appreciate that very much. It is a morale issue, and we
will seek to have this legislation introduced shortly. I hope
this year we'll be able to get it passed, so if those
unintended consequences occur in the future, we'll be able to
deal with it appropriately. Thank you.
One other question here. Prior to this hearing, our
committee sent out a data call on suicide rates in our Guard
and Reserve Forces, and we've received the information, we've
done some analysis on the numbers, and we thank you for the
responses. The information received, however, did identify what
I think are some troubling trends. The Army and the Air Force
were able to provide complete data for suicide rates both while
Reserves are activated and on drill status. The data you
provided consistently showed that the number of suicides that
occurred while on drill status was more than those that
occurred while deployed.
This correlates to the qualitative data we received at the
hearing last week before our committee, which showed that
servicemembers tend to exhibit more mental health issues when
they're away from the support structure of the military.
Obviously, your quantitative data proves to us that we need to
make certain that our Guard and Reserve Forces have access to
support structures and medical services even when they're not
activated.
In your responses to the data call, some of the Services
stated that they do not have the authority to investigate the
death of members while the member is in a non-military status.
Now, our Guard and Reserve are an Operational Force, and so
they need to be ready at all times to meet the mission
requirements. How does each of your Services track the suicide
of a member who's on drill status? What mechanisms do you need
in place and/or what can we do to help to ensure that you have
the capability to track medical records for members while
they're on drill status?
I guess why don't we start at this end of the witness table
and work back. Admiral May, this may be a new issue. I don't
know how much you've been involved. We did have the other
Services. We didn't include the Coast Guard, not because we
intended to exclude you; we just didn't include you.
Admiral May. Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman. We've been very
fortunate in the small numbers of Coast Guard men and women
that have deployed. We have not suffered any suicides
whatsoever of our Reserve Forces. So that's been a blessing for
us.
We do keep track of our folks as they come back, and they
typically return to a drilling status. We make sure that they
go through a demobilization process. We monitor their progress.
There are certainly programs that are available to them should
they need any medical assistance whatsoever. Then, once they go
back to a drilling status, obviously we have visibility of
their health and wellbeing, and if there's anything that's
identified, we immediately get them to any care that they may
need.
Senator Ben Nelson. General?
General Stenner. Mr. Chairman, the data research that we've
done was a pretty difficult dig to go find some of these
things, particularly because we don't have access to their
civilian medical records and where and when these things
happened, unless they were filing an insurance claim. Sometimes
we never knew that there was a cause of death that would have
been noted as suicide.
However, the 2003 to 2008 timeframe where we did research
it, we had 42 completed suicides, if you want to put it that
way. None of those occurred, for the Air Force Reserve anyway,
while the member was deployed. Sixteen of the 42, that we did
find, had deployed at least once prior to their death. Then, of
the 13 cases that we did have available for review, we did have
1 that had deployed prior to committing suicide, but it wasn't
during the deployment that we had the suicide.
Now, regardless, what we really have here is a microcosm of
society and some of the realities that occur. The marital
difficulties and those kinds of things played as well. So,
pinning down what actually caused that individual to do what
they did will be a difficult situation. But we are very, very
cognizant of the fact that we need to be trained and ready and
have suicide prevention going on, that our folks watch each
other, they understand each other. We do have Yellow Ribbon and
the reintegration efforts to help us get more eyes on and more
data. We're going to put some folks into place, both at the
command level and regionally, to track the incidence and to
keep track of the folks who have these issues.
It will be something that we have as a high priority for
quite some time to ensure that our folks are taken care of.
Senator Ben Nelson. I realize it's a lot easier in terms of
tracking when somebody's activated or somebody is active and on
Active Duty. But it also occurs when they're not. While some
might think that there would be a greater opportunity for
someone to commit suicide while they're deployed, it apparently
is not the case. We understand some of the reasons are the
breakdown of romantic or marital relationships or economic
difficulties.
We also are aware that sometimes the breakdown in the
romantic, the marital difficulty, and/or the economic
circumstances might be because of the deployment or the number
of deployments that create the separation. We still think it's
important to track it the best way that we possibly can.
General Stenner. Yes, sir, we agree, and we're going to
keep on doing what we're doing.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you.
General Bergman?
General Bergman. Yes, sir. While absolutely we agree that
we need to track it, currently in the Marine Corps Reserve we
do not have the database available to do that. However, because
we're about an 80 to 85 percent unit-based force, the ability
to contact people who don't show up for drill, just like you
would contact someone who didn't necessarily show up for
school--what's going on, are you sick, type of thing. We have a
little bit of an advantage as we focus our efforts in that
direction.
The challenge comes when you have a very small percentage
of young, usually new marines who decide maybe that the
decision to become a marine wasn't part of their life's plan,
and now they just quit coming to drill. We deal with that on a
daily basis, and sometimes it might be 6, 8, 10 months or
longer before we can get good locations and data on them, on
their whereabouts.
So we recognize the need, and we will do everything we can
to ensure that we get everybody on the roster.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you.
Admiral Debbink?
Admiral Debbink. Chairman Nelson, although not required
under any instructions to do so, we've been actually tracking
any Navy reservist who committed suicide since July of last
year. I'm sad to report that we had four such suicides occur,
not on Active Duty, not in a drilling status. But, as General
Bergman has just said, we, too, have a unit structure, and when
someone doesn't show up for drill, work, or whatever, you know
you're missing somebody.
So we are changing Navy instructions now to make sure that
we include all sailors, Active component, Reserve component, no
matter what status they're in.
I'd also like to report that we had a couple of good news
stories, and that is with the money that's come to the Yellow
Ribbon reintegration program. We've stood up our Returning
Warrior Workshops and we've also stood up Psychological Health
Outreach Coordinators. At one of our Returning Warrior
Workshops, somebody with suicide ideation was identified by
another sailor and referred to our program, and we believe
prevented that from happening.
Additionally, we had a Psychological Health Outreach
Coordinator visiting a Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC)
once and identified another sailor, and I'm proud to say both
those sailors are alive yet today. So, thank you for your
support of that very important program.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you.
General Stultz.
General Stultz. Yes, sir. We in the Army take suicides
very, very seriously. We have, in the Army Reserve, been
tracking all suicides, whether they're on or off Active Duty or
drilling status, because any soldier I lose is a loss, whether
he was in an active or non-drilling status.
As you probably know, the Army is in the midst of a
standdown, where we have taken a standdown approach for doing
suicide prevention training across the Force. We're doing that
throughout the Army Reserve. The challenge we have is what you
just mentioned. I see my soldiers 2 days out of the month. The
other 28 days out of the month, they're with their families.
What we're trying to train is awareness, what to look for,
what the signs are that somebody's having problems, our goal is
to reduce the stigma to show that it's okay to ask for help and
what are the resources to reach out to. We're doing a good job
training the soldiers. We have to train the families because
they're the ones that are with that soldier the other 28 days
that we don't see them.
We do a psychological autopsy on every suicide that we have
and try to dig in as much as possible, to try to understand and
to see: is there anything we could have done differently, is
there anything we could have done to prevent it? As Vice
Admiral Dirk Debbink just mentioned, during the training that
we've been conducting, we've already had several cases where
individuals stepped up and said: ``I need help.''
We had one case where a soldier took an overdose of pills,
but then changed, realized after he'd taken the overdose of
pills, I don't have to do this, and called one of his other
buddies and said, I need help, I just did this. We were able to
save him.
But, we've also had a couple of incidents where soldiers
took their own lives after leaving a weekend drill or a period
like that, and in doing the psychological autopsy what we find
out is we're a support structure to them. They take great pride
in being the Army Reserve. They feel like we care. When I'm
with my unit, they care about me, they take care of me. But
when I go back home, there's nothing there, and that's when
it's happened.
We have to really reach out and figure out how do we get in
touch and stay in touch to provide that support network, the
other 28 days of the month that we're not with that soldier,
and to be able to educate the families and the support
structure around them what to do when something occurs, when
something's not right. We can take care of them the 2 days we
have them. It's the other 28 days. As has been reported, the
majority of our suicides occur off duty. It's not related to a
deployment. It's not related to the Army specifically. It's
something that's going on in their life elsewhere that's
failing, and we just don't know about it.
Senator Ben Nelson. General Wyatt.
General Wyatt. Mr. Chairman, the ANG has been tracking
suicide data actively since September 2004, and we had 46
completed suicides from September 2004 through December 2008.
To lend substance to your observation that most of these take
place outside of the supervision of the military, none of our
suicides have occurred while the members have been deployed.
Of the 46 members who have had a suicide history, 41
percent have had a history of deployment, while 59 had no
history of deployment. Of the ones who had deployment history,
32 percent had one deployment, 9 percent had two deployments,
and 0 percent had more than two deployments.
We share the same concerns that the Air Force Reserve does
in the inability to investigate deaths that occur when a member
is not on status because of resourcing and legal authorities.
But like the Army Reserve, we take each one seriously and do
our best to track through our contacts with local law
enforcement to ascertain the cause of death.
But just to lend support to your observation, most of our
problems seem to occur when the member is not under our command
and control.
Senator Ben Nelson. General Vaughn?
General Vaughn. Mr. Chairman, I would echo what General
Stultz and General Wyatt have had to say. We have tracked them
very closely. We're probably as tight-knit an organization as
there can be. Most of them, the great bulk of them, are not on
Active Duty. They occur back here on this side.
This is a significant issue for the ARNG right now. We've
averaged over the last few years--you have the data--about 60
in both statuses. At the rate we're going, if we hold with the
same rate, we may see as many as 90 suicides, based on what's
happened so far.
Our adjutants general are all over this. I get good,
accurate reporting, whether on-duty or not. It comes in. We
assign it properly. As you all know, the report is pending
right up until you get a coroner's report. Now, we have asked
our Judge Advocate General for our commanders to be able to do
a 15-6 investigation, a cursory look at this to say, ``Yes,
this is what it is because we need the other pieces of the
investigation.''
We are into it. We are on the Army plan. Lieutenant General
Stultz and you both are right there with General Peter
Chiarelli. The better part of that, the adjutants general,
really have this thing in their sights. We'll do all we can,
sir.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you.
Senator Graham.
Senator Graham. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm going to have
to run again, I apologize, for a budget markup. This is one of
those days where everybody meets at the same time.
General Vaughn, about the dental readiness, are these
numbers right, 52 percent? For the first quarter of fiscal year
2009, more than half the Army Guard and Reserves, 52 percent,
were reported as nondeployable due to class 3 or class 4 dental
readiness status? Is that correct?
General Vaughn. Senator, that's probably correct because of
the screening mechanism. In other words, you know how this
goes. If you go downrange, you get screened, you come back and
you can't drill for 30, 60, or even 90 days. You're getting
pretty close to being out of sorts already.
Now, what is a big deal is that when we started into the
mobilization stations, we were running about 50 or 60 percent
dental readiness. Today, we're running at 90 to 92 percent
readiness. We have made overwhelming progress. Now, the
screening piece, we have to get better on the screening piece.
But just because they're not screened out and they're out of
tolerance on the screening doesn't mean they're not deployable,
and that's what we're finding.
Senator Graham. I got you.
Is there anything we can do to help you there with
resources?
General Vaughn. We'll check and see what plays out
resourcewise here pretty quick. I think that everybody here is
pretty candid. We're going to come up and tell you. You've
helped a great deal, and let us ponder that just a little bit,
and we'll get something to you.
Senator Graham. Sure. Outstanding.
One last question. This idea of increasing 20- to 30-year
retention of military guards and reservists who have hit 20
years of service. Usually people, particularly in the Guard,
stay as long as they can. But I've seen, just anecdotally from
being a reservist myself and being around the Guard a lot, that
at 20 years of service, they're pretty worn out, and they're
punching out. Is that generally a problem?
Let's start with the Coast Guard and work our way
backwards.
Admiral May. Senator Graham, we actually are blessed in
that folks want to stay. In fact, I had a Coast Guard reservist
who wanted to stay beyond 60 years of age. 60 years old is
usually the retirement date.
Senator Graham. But you're not losing guardsmen or
reservists? Your numbers haven't declined?
Admiral May. No, sir.
Senator Graham. Okay. What about the Air Force?
General Stenner. Sir, they want to stay.
Senator Graham. Okay. The Marines?
General Bergman. They want to stay, sir.
Senator Graham. Navy?
Admiral Debbink. Sir, they're staying.
Senator Graham. Okay.
General Stultz. Sir, it's an issue for us.
Senator Graham. The Army's taking the brunt of this, the
Army and the Marine Corps.
General Stultz. If you go back to Vietnam, we lost the NCO
corps in Vietnam. If you talk to a lot of the commanders that
were there during that timeframe, it was because of repeated
deployments. By about the third deployment, the family and
everybody else says: ``You have your 20 years of service in;
you can get out.'' The Active Army lost their NCO corps. It
took them 10 years to rebuild it.
I'm concerned we're doing the same thing in the Reserves.
Senator Graham. Yes, I am, too.
General Stultz. Right now, I'm short.
Senator Graham. But the Marines, you're okay?
General Bergman. At the senior levels. Where we, sir, have
room to go and grow, and we've identified this, is they're not
even near the 20-year level. It's a question of how we take
those corporals and sergeants in the Reserve component and get
them over that hump to make them want to become E-6s and then
populate that senior enlisted level.
Senator Graham. Got you, okay.
So it is a problem in the Army. I want to get with Senator
Nelson and find a way to incentivize people to stay past 20
years of service.
Air Force again, not a problem, right?
General Stenner. No, sir.
Senator Graham. Thank you.
General Vaughn, you agree with that? We need to get ahead
of this in the Army?
General Vaughn. I agree with what Lieutenant General Stultz
says, that it's mid-level. It's mid-level stuff. If they've
made the commitment as a colonel or a master sergeant, E-5s, E-
6s, and E-7s have been stagnated a little bit. What they're
after is the early retirement piece, the piece that may get
them to stay. When you come with the 90-day and 1-year per
fiscal year program, all of a sudden we see people's eyes going
wide open.
Senator Graham. What I've been thinking about doing is in
certain selected areas, critical need areas, if you'll stay to
22 years of service you can retire maybe at 59 years old, and
just walk your way down to 55 years old, as an incentive to
stay on.
Thank you all for your service. All I can tell you is that
this war has been an incredibly difficult challenge for the
Active Duty component. For the Guard and Reserve it has been a
phenomenal challenge. The communities have stood up and stepped
up. The employers are the unsung heroes of this war as far as
I'm concerned, along with the Guard and Reserve families.
We're going to win this thing, and you could not possibly
fight this war without the Guard and Reserve. Mr. Chairman, we
talked about this yesterday. From a national point of view, we
have the most war-ready, combat-ready Guard and Reserve in the
history of the Nation, and they're being well led. So God bless
them.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you, Senator.
When it comes to retaining and incentivizing that group,
there are a lot of good reasons to do it, not the least of
which is those are very expensively trained and prepared
personnel. When we lose them prematurely, we lose part of the
investment, if not all the investment that we've made, beyond
what we've received in the way of service. So we obviously have
every reason in the world to want to retain the members at that
level if we possibly can.
So we will look for ways to be able to do this. Before we
drop them in, we'll run them by you because we want to make
sure that the incentives really do in fact make sense.
When we worked on the new GI Bill, the first effort at it
was comparable to the draft military, and that was taking care
of people who were leaving. So the first effort at the GI Bill,
I looked at it, and I said, ``Now we're going to create
incentives for people to leave, as opposed for incentives for
people to stay.'' I think that's clearly what we want to do
here; to make certain that we know exactly what it is that
we'll get from any kind of solution we come up with.
Senator Burris, any other questions?
Senator Burris. Mr. Chairman, thank you. I do have one
question to all the commanders. Mine deals with a family
question, in particular the requirement for supporting the
family members of our deployed or frequently deployed Reserve
components, the Coast Guard, the Army, the sailors, the
marines, and the airmen.
If not properly prepared and supported, the family member's
negative experience will transfer to the servicemembers who are
thousands of miles away. So my question is, a RAND study, which
addressed the deployment experience of the Guard and
reservists, found that family readiness was a critical aspect
of preparing a servicemember for Active Duty service. Also in
the RAND study, emotional and mental problems were mentioned
most frequently--39 percent of the spouses and 26 percent of
servicemembers mentioned such problems.
So, commanders, can you each tell us what steps are we
taking to deal with the deployment related to the problems with
the family members that are experiencing the absenteeism and
the constant uncertainty in the deployments? However you want
to start; Coast Guard can start.
Admiral May. Yes, sir. Sir, I think General Stultz
mentioned this earlier, but taking care of the families of our
reservists is absolutely the best thing we can do to ensure
reservists' wellness and that they're ready to fight and be as
ready as they can for us.
We have several programs that are in place to support the
families of the members either while they're deployed or when
they come back. We have a work life program. We also have an
Employee Assistance Program that is available for members and
their families should they need that.
The other thing we're doing, and this is on behalf of
Admiral Debbink and the Navy, they have reached out to the
Coast Guard and offered us to participate in their
reintegration program, and we're going to sign a Memorandum of
Agreement with the Navy that will allow Coast Guard men and
women to take advantage of that great program that they're
offering for members that have deployed and come back.
So we're with you, sir, and we're going to do everything we
can to take care of our families.
Senator Burris. Thank you.
Yes, sir?
General Stenner. I'll echo those sentiments. I'll tell you,
one of the biggest things we've done, sir, is the
predictability that comes with starting well ahead of time and
announcing when it is these folks will be leaving. That gives
us plenty of time. Six months is the Secretary of Defense's red
line right now for advising soldiers, sailors, airmen, and
marines when they're going to be called up to go.
That gives us and our family readiness shops 6 months prior
time to get everybody ready, to let them know what it is that
they have, as far as their benefits go to get them prepared
with the pieces of paper that they would need in the case of
wills and child care. Then our family readiness shop takes up
and we use our spouses as well. We have Key Spouse programs,
Phoenix Spouse programs, Military OneSource, all of the kinds
of things that are available to them, and we prep all those
families prior to the deployment of the member.
Then we, as was said by Admiral May, keep up with them when
they come home and make sure that the things that have happened
along the way that can uproot and upset families are
accommodated and taken care of, and we get them in touch with
the right agencies. The Yellow Ribbon program, again, becomes a
very useful tool to keep those families engaged.
Senator Burris. How about the Marines?
General Bergman. Yes, sir. First of all, great question.
Thank you.
I think it's important to note that, whether you're Active
or Reserve in any Service, but I'll speak about the Marine
Corps here, when we deploy a Reserve marine we take that marine
from their home, wherever their home is in this country, and
their family stays most of the time in that comfort zone of
where they grew up, where they're living. So they have a
natural support network, whereas an Active component marine
might have been from Chicago and gotten stationed at Camp
Lejeune, and that marine deploys and the family decides to go
back to Rolling Meadows, Naporville, or somewhere to sit out
that 7-month deployment.
We have a different set of metrics for support of the
families, whether it be Active or Reserve. The good news is is
that, when General Conway became Commandant, one of his first
statements was: ``I'm going to put the family readiness
programs and family support programs on a wartime footing.'' He
felt there was room to grow.
We have made a myriad of changes, the largest two of which
are full-time family readiness officers, hired on the payroll
of the Marine Corps, both Active and Reserve units, down to the
battalion level. Second to that, once you have the people in
place, now you add the communications systems because largely--
now, getting back to the Reserve component--what our families
need, if they're sitting in Chicago, they want to know what's
going on with their marine. They want to know where he or she
is. So, as that marine is activated and joins that gaining
force command, it could be a Reserve command, it could be an
Active command, the ability to track where he or she is because
we all want to know where he or she is, how he or she is doing.
So, thanks to General Conway's efforts, we have made great
strides in the last couple of years in coupling together the
Reserve and Active needs through the full-time family readiness
program.
Senator Burris. How about the Navy? Do they get on those
ships for those 6-month tours and the family doesn't know where
they are?
Admiral Debbink. Yes, sir, Senator Burris. I think one of
the keys to all of this is, of course, we all recognize that we
recruit a servicemember and we retain a family. You've heard
that saying before.
Senator Burris. Absolutely.
Admiral Debbink. So we need to continuously communicate
with those family members. We look for ways for doing that,
whether they're deployed, whether they're back here at home, or
whether they're on a ship. We have things like Family Days. We
have a very robust Ombudsman program at all of our units.
Our Navy Operational Support Centers are located throughout
the country, and they all know to stay in touch with these
family members while the members are deployed.
We also have the program you've heard about before,
Returning Warrior Workshops, where we incorporate the family
member when they come back, so you're communicating with them
before they leave and after they come back as well. Military
OneSource is a fantastic thing we all have available to us. It
is being funded, of course, by DOD. Just almost anything you
could ask for, a family member can get via Military OneSource.
Finally, I do believe the most important thing we can do
for family members is ensure each and every one of our
servicemembers has real and meaningful work to do, so when
they're deployed, they're gone, they're out doing our work, our
Nation's work, they call back home, they email back home, they
maybe can't tell you what they're doing, but they can say,
``Hey, I'm making a huge difference.'' As long as that's the
case, the family members have been very, very supportive, sir.
Senator Burris. Thank you.
General, how about the Army?
General Stultz. Yes, sir. Family readiness, family support,
is critical for us. As Vice Admiral Debbink mentioned, if we
don't retain the family we don't retain the soldier. We've seen
what the operational tempo will do in terms of performance.
I've been there on the battlefield with a soldier who can't
focus because he has family problems back home. He becomes a
liability, a liability not only to himself, but also to his
buddies.
We have put, as Lieutenant General Bergman said, a lot of
structure into the Army Reserve. We have hired family readiness
support assistants, full-time people, because we said we can't
depend on volunteers. The volunteers are burning out, they're
getting tired. So we've put full-time structure in there,
trying to get it down to the battalion level. We're not there
yet.
We've reorganized our structure on our family readiness
programs. It's become a command priority, and it's become a
command measurement also, because in readiness, we measure unit
readiness by personnel readiness, by equipment readiness, by
training readiness. We never measured family readiness. We've
said we have to put that into the equation because the unit's
not ready if the family's not ready.
The last thing I would tell you is, as we've developed what
we call the Army Force Generation Cycle, the 5-year rotation
where we bring a unit back from theater, reset the unit, get it
into training year 1, 2, 3, and then deploy it, that family
readiness becomes part of that cycle, too, because when you
come home, you have to reset that family readiness group, then
you have to rebuild them, and then you have to prepare them so
that when the unit gets ready to deploy we can check the block
and say the family readiness group is ready, too, and all the
families are taken care of.
The last thing I'll mention, because it is a particular
issue for me: We can't forget about the kids, the stress on the
kids. We don't know what's going on in their mind. My wife,
Laura, and I were down at a kids camp, these Operation Purple
camps we have for kids of deployed soldiers, sailors, marines,
and airmen. Great camps. We were down at one at Fort Bragg a
couple of years ago, talking to the counselor, and he said:
``You never know what's on their mind. We're sitting there with
two young kids around a campfire, and one's talking about when
his dad comes back, they're going to go fishing. The other kid
looks at him and says: `You mean they come back?' ''
We don't know what they're thinking, and we can't forget
about the kids and make sure we're taking care of them also.
Senator Burris. Absolutely.
General, the Air Force?
General Wyatt. Yes, sir. The ANG has been deploying AEF
rotations since about the mid-1990s. My particular wing in
Oklahoma, for example, first deployed in 1996 and has deployed
either in Operation Northern Watch, Operation Southern Watch,
Operation Enduring Freedom, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, nine
times. Granted, the deployments aren't as long, but they are
more frequent. We have a few different challenges than perhaps
the Army does with different types of deployments.
We're seeing also with some of our reachback capabilities,
some of our Predator operators, and some of the people who
provide the information processing, that they'll go to work at
an ANG base one day, work 8 hours, see some things that most
Americans don't see, and then go home to the wife and kids. It
poses or it presents a different challenge.
The adjutants general tell me that they recognize that
there are different challenges with the Services, and they need
to have programs that consider the equities of the Services,
but they would also like to integrate and leverage the
capabilities of different programs that are provided by our
parent Services. To that extent, I think we are in the process
of working extremely well with the ARNG to lash our two
programs up so that they complement one another.
We could use some help, at least the ANG could, in our
joint force headquarters manning to help facilitate that. But
we have, for example, one program, the Yellow Ribbon program,
that has been mentioned before. Reintegration, I think, might
be a misnomer because I consider it more of an integration;
it's not just after the deployment. It starts, actually,
before. An outreach program to the families, the member, the
kids, to teach them about the programs that are available to
them to handle all the different challenges that they might
face and to facilitate access to those programs that are out
there. Strong Bonds marriage seminars is another.
It's getting better. I remember back in the days when we
first started deploying, we had one family support person who
did all of the work for the entire wing and it was a wait-and-
see-what-developed approach, as opposed to what it is today,
which is an active outreach program to reach out and touch our
families and help them through the process.
Senator Burris. General, do you have any other comments on
the Army's situation?
General Wyatt. Senator Burris, I would mirror several of
the comments here. A couple of things. One is the ARNG manages
325 family assistance centers by charter throughout the United
States. Now, that's Air and Army, Navy, Marines, everybody who
walks in. That's 2.2 million inquiries. Now, that just gets at
the issues that are out there.
I think one of the most powerful things that has come out
of the conflicts that we're in is the power of the family
readiness groups. Every unit, every deploying unit, has them.
Now, when you look at the soft spot in what's wrong with our
organization, we identified something here: the people that
aren't served by that are the cross-level soldiers, the ones
that are coming in there from different units, that the
families are way away from those tight-knit communities.
So when we looked at that, we said, ``the way to get at
this family readiness problem and the family issue, so that we
have the families with their arms all the way around everybody
and know everybody, is to bring more unit cohesion to our
organizations.'' That's why we're all about readiness, we're
all about getting our strength as high as we can in trained
soldiers, and not cross-leveling, and getting all that out of
the way because it actually empowers family readiness groups
because they can get their arms around everybody. So that's
what we've done. Thanks for the great question.
Senator Burris. Mr. Chairman, I was out at Walter Reed
Hospital last Friday, and this is neither a Reserve nor a
National Guard issue, but I was interviewing some of the
warriors that were being treated at Walter Reed. I came into
the room of this young warrior from Illinois. He was being
discharged, and I asked him: ``Son, what are you going to do?''
You know what he told me? He said: ``Senator, I'm trying to
figure out how in the hell I can get back to my unit in Iraq.''
I looked at that kid and I almost broke down in tears, because
he was getting out of his bed with a prosthesis, talking about
he wanted to go back to be with his unit. You guys are training
those young men to defend us. God bless you.
Thank you.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you, Senator. Thank you.
General Wyatt, it's my understanding that under the auspice
of Total Force Integration (TFI), the Air Force is now
considering transfer of priority missions that align with the
traditional Guard construct to the ANG, thus enabling the Air
Force to reallocate those freed Active Duty resources to
missions requiring higher full-time manning.
I support operationalizing the Total Force, and I want to
make sure this is done, but I also want to preserve your
ability to perform the homeland defense and civil support
missions. Maybe you can give some examples of TFI missions that
have been assigned to the ANG and in the process of having
those reassignments have you received the necessary resources
to see them through so that they don't in some way diminish
your other resources?
General Wyatt. Thank you, Senator. Great question, and
you're right on target.
The ANG is working with General Stenner, Air Force Reserve,
and the Air Force Active Duty airmen to identify those
capabilities that the U.S. Air Force needs that would be ideal
situations for associations.
You're very aware of probably one of the greatest
association examples in your cryptolinguist unit there in
Nebraska. But you're also aware, because of that association,
that sometimes we're not properly resourced, even though that's
a great example of how a guardsman can associate with an Active
Duty member force structure to provide the capability that this
country needs.
Each of the three components has strengths that can be
leveraged to make us even stronger. We also have some
weaknesses that, if we can avoid through these associations or
at least minimize, we can provide more capability to the
country. We're looking at just about every mission that the
U.S. Air Force wants to get into, we're looking at ways to
associate. We're looking at the high operations tempo missions
that the Air Force is more suited to take because of their
full-time force, but also associating guardsmen in there to
provide the surge capability that particular unit might need.
The Air Force Reserve is doing the same thing. We have
different types of associations that we're looking at, the
classic association which originally started with Air Force
owning the platform, and the Reserve component going to the
Active Duty. But we see Active associations now where the force
structure is coming the other way.
We sometimes get caught up, I think wrongly so, in arguing
over who owns the capability and because an Active Duty
component may own the capability that the association should
take place on an Active Duty base. I think we need to consider
things like ability to recruit to that particular mission, the
demographics, the type of mission it is, the particular mission
design series or the weapons system that we're talking about,
and then take a look at the different association constructs
and see which one fits a particular situation better.
We're investigating a new construct called an Embedded
Associate, that may offer opportunities to take TFI to the next
step. I think you're aware that Secretary Donnelly has
encouraged us, through his TFI-2, to continue working together,
and I'm proud to say that we're partnering up with my good
friend Lieutenant General Charlie Stenner, Air Force Reserve,
and the Active Duty to do exactly that, sir.
Senator Ben Nelson. Are there any examples of what you
could do on a TFI mission, if you had greater end strength or
additional resources that could be put together?
General Wyatt. Yes, sir. The demand far exceeds the supply.
The Air Force brought its manpower down and is in the process
of bringing it back up. I think General Stenner is adding
4,000-plus to his end strength after having taken his force
down a few years ago.
The adjutants' general counsel to the Air Guard was: Don't
take your manpower down (a few years ago) but take your risk in
a reduction of our flying hour program, and we did that. But if
you take a look at the missions that the ANG has already
accepted from the U.S. Air Force, and the validated required
manpower needed to perform those missions, we are 2,228
positions short of what we need.
That doesn't count the need for air guardsmen to populate
our joint force headquarters, and it doesn't count all the
other missions that the Active Duty Air Force is asking the
Guard and the Reserve to consider. So if the Air Force wants us
to do these missions, we'll be happy to do it. Our recruiting
vector is going in the direction that would allow us to recruit
to those, but we need appropriate resourcing if that's the call
that will be made by our senior Air Force and Nation's
leadership.
Senator Ben Nelson. I certainly agree with you, and I hope
that as these opportunities are there, and if they do in fact
increase, that everyone will make us aware of the need to add
the resources, the end strength, and/or the financial
resources, to make sure that they happen so we don't end up
with a cryptolinguist situation where, great idea, just not
resourced, and therefore a missed opportunity.
General Wyatt. You're exactly right, sir. At last count, we
had 136 TFIs that were still pending work with the Active Duty
and the Reserve. The ANG is involved in 94 of those, so we're
extremely interested in participating in TFI, but when it
drives an additional manpower requirement, we would ask to be
appropriately resourced if that's the direction the Air Force
wants to go.
Senator Ben Nelson. As you should. So if you will keep us
aware of that, that would be very helpful. We'd be more than
willing to assist and take that into consideration.
To the other witnesses today: Have you experienced similar
issues with assignments or consideration of additional missions
that you might have engaged in if you'd had the resources,
either the end strength or the financial resources to be able
to do so? Let's see, yours is a little different, Admiral May,
but are you running into some things like that?
Admiral May. Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman. I think that's the
biggest thing we struggle with each and every day, both on the
Active Duty side of the Coast Guard and on the Reserve side.
It's our limited capacity. If you look at the Active Duty
component, it's about a 41,000 force. The Reserve component is
about 8,100. So, combined, you're looking at a total force of
less than 50,000. That's about the size of the New York City
Police Department, and we have a worldwide mission.
So we're only limited by our capacity, and certainly if
there was an opportunity there, we could certainly provide
greater service to this Nation if we had additional forces,
yes, sir.
Senator Ben Nelson. With the concern we have about port
security and other needs to secure our borders, oceanfront
property, as well as landlocked locations, certainly it makes a
lot of sense to be certain we have adequate resources for your
missions.
Admiral May. Yes, sir.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you.
General Bergman?
General Bergman. The short answer, sir, is no, we haven't
seen anything significant, whether it be on the potential
addition of missions or the need for manpower. But we must be
very mindful of--and General Conway has discussed this in his
vision and strategy for 2025--the need for the sustainable
Reserve with the skill sets that the Marine Corps requires. I
would suggest to you that, as we deploy worldwide, some of the
skillsets in the Marine Corps Reserve are available because
these marines, largely senior Marine Reserves, have acquired a
combination of Marine Corps leadership traits and civilian
occupation skill sets which provide a very unique and very
positive blend for some of the places we go.
Senator Ben Nelson. Admiral Debbink?
Admiral Debbink. Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman. We talked, of
course, about there being Navy capabilities, and then the
question is how best to source those, either with the Active
component or the Reserve component. This is where the really
hard work is going on. One example is our Navy Expeditionary
Combat Command down in Norfolk, which is presently 51 percent
Reserve component and 49 percent Active component. It seems to
be working okay right now during the current overseas
contingencies, but what about later on and what about post this
period? What's the right mix?
Those are very difficult questions to answer. We're doing
the analytics on that question right now. That analysis will
drive the real solution as to where those capabilities exist on
the Active component or Reserve component. So it's hard work,
but we're hard at it.
Senator Ben Nelson. Thank you.
General Stultz?
General Stultz. I get asked every day by the Army to do
more. If you'd have asked me 3 years ago when our end strength
was at 20,000 below what we were authorized, we would have
probably said we couldn't take on any more. Today, we're 500
short of what our authorized end strength should be, so we're
growing at a great rate.
I think there is more we can do. Yes, sir. I just came back
from a trip to European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, and
Africa Command, at their request, specifically, because they're
looking at the same thing we do down in Southern Command
regarding security cooperation partnership-type programs for
medical readiness and engineering missions. We're doing things
in Africa already, building schools, building roads, drilling
wells, those kind of things that they say--within the Reserve
components, Guard and Reserve--you guys have the civilian
skills that blend nicely with this, and they're not long-term
missions. In a lot of cases, it's 3 months or 4 months of work.
Can you do more? Can you take these on because the Active Force
is committed to Afghanistan or Iraq, and we can't get any
resourcing for these types of exercises?
We could do more if we had more to work with. Likewise,
when the Army was given the go-ahead to grow to 547,000, which
was an increase of 65,000 over 482,000 that they originally
had, what we saw happening out there was that everybody thought
they had something of a blank check. So a lot of these Army
units that were at one time a multiple component unit, split
between Reserve and Active, the Army came to us and said:
``We're just going to go Active pure; we don't need the Reserve
anymore because we're growing. So you go ahead, take your
structure, and grow something else,'' which we did.
We grew 16,000 additional military police, transportation
experts, engineers, and medical personnel in the Army Reserve.
Now the Army's coming back to us and saying: ``Just kidding; we
really do need you in these multiple component units.'' We've
said: ``But we've already committed the spaces. So, if you're
going to ask us to fill out these Active component units now as
multiple component headquarters, you have to give us more
strength at the end.''
So I think there is a lot more we can do. As I led off
with, we are a great return on investment, as are all the
Reserve components. We're limited in terms of end strength and
capability.
Senator Ben Nelson. General Vaughn?
General Vaughn. Sir, we take on every mission that's out
there, and we don't turn any down. It's those that we can't see
that really disturb us. We are on track in our surge to be a
great at-the-ready organization. We need to keep the equipment
thing flowing like it is, get our full-time support piece that
you've helped us with in the appropriate numbers, and it's
probably getting there now.
The issue that we have in front of us for the Army Guard is
that, today, we stand at 368,000. It's about 16,000 over the
appropriated strength, but about 10,000 over the language that
was in the supplemental. We don't have the money, and we're
going to have to pull back towards that 358,000.
But I will tell you this: It's going to be healthy for us,
because we have two problems. We have a dinosaur of a Cold War
era relic in the way that we man up our Force. We take
individuals in that want to be soldiers, but that are not yet
soldiers, and swear them in at day 1. This is 60 years old, the
nearest that I can see.
Now, those soldiers count against our spaces. On the Active
side, they only count those folks that are really soldiers.
We're going to convert into a system just like the Active Army
does over the next 8 months. I think we're going to get there.
Then my successor's going to come back and ask for an end
strength increase because we also need an over strength account
to take care of those that are in training, just exactly like
the Active Army has. This will then have you exactly postured
to where, when you ask the Guard to do something, you can rest
assured they're not going to have to cross-level a bunch of
folks to do it, and they're going to go and do it.
So, we just have to keep it on the rails that we're on
right now. I think we're going to have to look at a strength
increase at some point in time for this training account, or
we're going to have to reduce some force structure to get the
readiness we need.
Senator Ben Nelson. I think it's important that you do that
and get into that position because it's easy to predict that
we're going to be needing some help along the southern border
with the drug war. It's war nevertheless, no matter what it may
consist of. It would not be surprising if you were asked to
take some role in helping quell the violence along that border;
that is almost certainly going to happen soon.
I've asked all the questions I have, but I may not have
asked all the questions I should have. So I ask, is there
anything that I haven't asked you that I should have or
anything that we've left out that you'd like to comment on? I
won't be embarrassed for not having asked something I should
have if you add anything to it.
Have I missed anything?
[No response.]
Senator Ben Nelson. We, as a committee, appreciate very
much your involvement. Thank you for being here at this hearing
today. There's a great deal of interest in these subjects and
we want to get it right, and we want to make sure you receive
whatever you need. You know that there's a place to come, tell
us, ask for it, and we'll work with you to get it accomplished.
It's too important not to.
May God bless you. May God bless the men and women under
your command and all those who wear our uniform all over the
world.
Thank you very much.
This hearing is adjourned.
[Questions for the record with answers supplied follow:]
Questions Submitted by Senator Daniel K. Akaka
yellow ribbon reintegration program
1. Senator Akaka. Secretary Hall, in my own State of Hawaii, over
5,000 members of the National Guard and Reserve have deployed in
support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom
(OEF). Because of Hawaii's geographically separated environment, it
complicates outreach efforts to these National Guard and Reserve
members before, during, and after deployments. I'm encouraged that the
Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) will go a long way in
addressing this issue. How would you assess the YRRP's impact on Guard
and Reserve members that are geographically separated from military
installations?
Mr. Hall. The Department of Defense (DOD) YRRP events provide
National Guard and Reserve members and their families with information,
services, referrals, and proactive outreach opportunities throughout
the entire deployment cycle. While some events are held at National
Guard and Reserve component installations, we usually use non-military
facilities to provide events in geographically centric locations for
Reserve component members and their families, which negates most, if
not all, YRRP accessibility issues that might occur by holding YRRP
events at remotely situated military installations. Prior to the
establishment of the DOD YRRP, the Services' Reserve components (Army
National Guard, Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air
National Guard, and Air Force Reserve) used Service programs to meet
the intent and requirement of the program. DOD is working with all
Services, both Active and Reserve components, to create standardized
programs that combine the best practices of each Service to better
support servicemembers and their families. The impact of the DOD YRRP
enables the components to deliver conveniently located, effective,
timely, and standardized support to servicemembers and their families
throughout the entire deployment cycle regardless of Service
affiliation or unit location. This will assist commanders in ensuring
the highest possible readiness of their units and the health and well-
being for our entire DOD military community.
As this is the first year of implementation for the YRRP, we are
working to ensure that the program can be tailored effectively to meet
local needs. We are particularly sensitive to the difficulties we may
encounter in establishing the program in geographically challenged
areas such as in Hawaii and Alaska. The advisory board created by the
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2008, section
582, will provide an initial report to the Armed Service Committees on
September 11, 2009, which will assess our progress. The report is to
cover an evaluation of the implementation, an assessment of resource
requirements, and any recommendations they deem necessary to ensure the
YRRP maintains ``closer coordination with the State National Guard and
Reserves.''
commission on the national guard and reserves
2. Senator Akaka. Secretary Hall, the Commission on the National
Guard and Reserves recommended ``. . . DOD should be prepared to
provide the bulk of the response to a major catastrophe that
incapacitates civilian government over a substantial geographic area
and that DOD should initiate the necessary planning, training, and
coordination for such events.'' In my State of Hawaii, this is of
particular interest to me because of our location. From the information
your office has received to this date, what recommendation(s) would you
make to current policy to address any planning or training shortfalls
to prepare DOD for an incapacitating catastrophe?
Mr. Hall. Based on this recommendation of the Commission on the
National Guard and Reserves, the Secretary of Defense, in a November
24, 2008, memorandum, directed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security and
other Federal agencies, and representatives of State and local
officials as appropriate, to assess U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Northern
Command, and National Guard Bureau plans to determine their adequacy to
meet the demands of an incapacitating catastrophe.
In addition, there are two significant planning efforts ongoing at
the Federal and State level. On December 3, 2007, the President issued
Annex I (``National Planning'') to Homeland Security Presidential
Directive-8 (``National Preparedness''). Annex I required the Secretary
of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in coordination with the
heads of Federal agencies with a role in homeland security, to develop
interagency plans for each of the 15 national planning scenarios and
for the head of each Federal agency with a role in homeland security to
develop an operations plan to execute the roles and responsibilities
assigned in the interagency plans.
At the State level, last October, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, in partnership with DOD and State Governors, began the Task
Force for Emergency Readiness (TFER) initiative. A TFER is a planning
activity, operating under the authority and direction of a Governor,
supported by the Secretary of DHS and the Secretary of DOD and
augmented by the expertise of the National Guard, that is intended to:
(a) support participating States' Hazard Identification and Risk
Assessment processes to identify threats/hazards, vulnerabilities, and
consequences; (b) develop State operations plans for the national
planning scenarios; (c) synchronize and integrate, as appropriate,
State operations plans with Federal operations plans for the national
planning scenarios; (d) synchronize and integrate such State operations
plans with those of other States; (e) support the use of State
operations plans for training and exercises consistent with section 648
of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C.
section 748); and (f) support State efforts to monitor and improve
their operational readiness consistent with the national preparedness
system required by sections 641-647 of the Post-Katrina Emergency
Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. sections 741-747). Currently, a
five State TFER pilot program is underway in Hawaii, Massachusetts,
South Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia. In the future, DOD hopes
to see a TFER established and planned in every State. With a TFER in
every State, we will have taken a revolutionary step in moving beyond
asking questions about needed capabilities and resources, proper
response actions, and responder readiness to actually having answers.
retention
3. Senator Akaka. Lieutenant General Vaughn, Lieutenant General
Wyatt, Lieutenant General Stultz, Vice Admiral Debbink, Lieutenant
General Bergman, Lieutenant General Stenner, and Rear Admiral May,
during the hearing, Secretary Hall mentioned the remarkable 111 percent
recruitment rate of the National Guard and Reserve. I applaud the
efforts of Secretary Hall's office and the Services for accomplishing
this level of success during a time of war. In your opinion, what are
the most critical programs available to your Service that will retain
our servicemembers?
General Vaughn. The strength of the ARNG is in communities,
service, and belonging to a proud organization. In addition to that
basic reason for serving, the pay, retirement benefits, vacation, and
travel savings, and other related benefits of service, to include
Veteran's preference in hiring and housing loans, are great motivators
for our citizen soldiers.
Currently there are several programs being utilized to retain
soldiers in the ARNG. These programs help to keep quality soldiers in
our organization. The following are some of the programs that have been
proven to be effective:
The Extend to Defend program recognizes the soldier and spouse with
a certificate and other awards of appreciation when the soldier extends
his/her service. The awards presented vary based on the length of time
the soldier has served. The Bronze Level recognizes soldiers with 1 to
9 years of service, the Silver Level represents 10 to 14 years and the
Gold Level is 15 to 20 years. The recognition of years of service
rendered by the soldier and family has been very successful, especially
since families are rarely recognized for their selfless support.
TRICARE and dental benefits that are now offered to National Guard
soldiers are instrumental not only in readiness, but in retention as
well. These affordable and convenient programs are excellent benefits,
and in today's economy this has been a strong retention tool to many
people who may otherwise be uninsured.
Reenlistment bonuses have been a staple of the ARNG. These bonuses
retain quality soldiers by means of extra income which could be used
for a home, car, bills, et cetera. Retention bonuses have been used for
many years by the military to retain top quality soldiers and help the
ARNG retain strong, qualified individuals.
Lieutenant General Wyatt. In the Air National Guard, the most
critical programs for retention are: the Montgomery GI Bill,
Reenlistment Critical Skill Bonus, Residency Stipend, Health
Professional Critical Skill Bonus, Family Readiness Program, Yellow
Ribbon/Hometown Heroes and TRICARE.
Lieutenant General Stultz. The following are Army Reserve critical
programs. These programs will provide the maximum benefit to soldiers
and their families.
Reenlistment Bonuses
The Army Reserve will most likely meet its end strength objective
of 205,000 this year. However, a strength imbalance currently exists
within some grades and career specialties. It is critical that we
sustain the flexibility to offer monetary and non-monetary incentives
to continue to recruit and retain the best and brightest soldiers. We
must retain maximum flexibility to quickly tailor incentives to manage
the force. Additionally, TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) and all education
benefits, including tuition assistance (TA), have proven to be very
valuable resources in retention efforts, especially in challenging
economic conditions. Finally, we must sustain the flexibility to offer
incentives such as the Critical Skills Retention Bonus, targeted to
specific grades and specialties, to manage and shape the force.
Education Benefits
The Army Reserve TA Program, the Montgomery GI Bill-Selected
Reserve (MGIB-SR), and the Reserve Educational Assistance Program
(REAP) have all been directly related to retaining quality Army Reserve
soldiers. TA is available for voluntary off-duty education and pays up
to $250 per semester hour with a maximum of $4,500 per fiscal year. A
Reserve soldier must be actively attending battle assemblies as a
satisfactory participant in order to use TA. To qualify for the MGIB-
SR, a soldier must have a 6-year obligation to serve in the Selected
Reserve after June 30, 1985. Servicemembers may be entitled to receive
up to 36 months of MGIB-SR benefits. The REAP makes certain soldiers
eligible who were called or ordered to Active Duty in response to a war
or a contingency operation for at least 90 days or more after September
11, 2001. They may be eligible to receive up to 36 months of REAP
benefits depending on length of service. Both the MGIB-SR and REAP can
be combined with TA.
Retirement System
First, the Army Reserve retirement system helps provide a sense of
closure for those who have selflessly dedicated so many years of their
lives to the defense of and service to our country, often at great
personal sacrifice to themselves and their families. Additionally, it
provides a very important and valuable incentive to servicemembers to
continue service to 20 years. Retirement eligibility following 20 years
of service in the Army Reserve remains one of the most effective
incentives to promote retention and continued service. Since fiscal
year 2003, over 36,000 Army Reserve soldiers and families have retired.
When treated with dignity and respect, each of them can become a future
recruiter for the Army Reserve. Second, changing the Reserve component
servicemember retirement eligibility age to less than 60 for Active
Duty mobilization tours in support of OEF can be a longer-term
retention factor for both the soldier and their families. This change
also could potentially equalize retirement benefits across the Federal
Government while giving soldiers a tangible reason to continue to
serve.
Health Care TRICARE Reserve Select
TRS provides health care coverage and prescription medications for
our soldiers and their families. It is a flexible, premium-based
system, available to our soldiers serving in a Select Reserve status.
TRS provides an excellent benefit for our soldiers and families who
may not be offered a health care plan through their employers, or who
have a plan with higher costs. It also provides an opportunity for
seamless health care coverage as our soldiers are called to Active Duty
and return to Select Reserve status.
Employer Partnership Initiative
The Army Reserve is implementing leading-edge employer relations
programs that promote a continuum of service, sustain soldiers' well-
being during mobilization periods, and provide career-enhancing
employment opportunities. This partnership initiative benefits
employers by referring highly qualified, competent, and disciplined
soldiers to work within their communities. This collaboration builds
new capabilities to compliment both military and civilian skills. The
employers and the Army Reserve share the same talent pool. Partnering
with industry for a shared workforce helps to ensure success in better
qualified soldiers/employees and it facilitates a longer-term
relationship as the soldier cycles through training opportunities,
tours of duty, and reintegration.
Admiral Debbink. There are several critical factors and programs
that influence sailors' decisions to ``Stay Navy'' and facilitate the
retention of top performing Selected Reserve sailors.
At the tactical level, our affiliation and retention bonus
programs, targeted at specific year groups, communities, and critical
wartime specialties, remain essential to retaining the right people for
the right job. Reserve bonuses are critical to our ability to target
sailors in undermanned ratings and critical skills.
Additionally, drill pay, which provides Selected Reserve sailors a
source of competitive monthly income that augments their overall
earnings, a robust retirement plan that offers a monthly annuity
adjusted for inflation, and access to comprehensive quality health-
care, continue to provide unique and unparalleled financial and medical
security and stability for Reserve component sailors and their
families.
Also key to Reserve component retention success, at all pay-grades,
is that we provide sailors with meaningful work that allows them to see
the results of their efforts and how that contributes to mission
success. During a recent visit to the Central Command Area of
Responsibility, as I spoke with many Reserve component sailors, I
observed first-hand their high levels of motivation and heard of their
continued desire to serve.
Among our highest priorities is to recruit and retain the best and
brightest sailors so we can continue to deliver full-time excellence
through part-time and full-time service that enhances the Navy Total
Force, now and in the future. These programs and initiatives contribute
significantly to the success we are having in achieving this vital
goal.
General Bergman. The Reserve incentives that are currently offered
under title 37 U.S.C. and the NDAA are critical to continuing to access
and retain both our Reserve officer corps and our Reserve enlisted
marines. Funding of these programs is essential. The various incentives
provide flexibility and options for the servicemember to consider while
giving the service level headquarters the ability to target certain
critical skills, as needed. Programs in question are:
Officer Programs
The Selected Marine Corps Reserve (SMCR) Officer Education
Loan Repayment Program that provides up to $30,000 for college
loan repayments for officers that affiliate and continue to
participate in the SMCR.
The Officer Accession Incentive that offers $4,000 to
infantry officers who affiliate and continue to participate for
at least 4 years with the SMCR.
The Officer Affiliation Bonus that pays a $10,000 lump sum
payment for company grade officers and those majors that are
naval aviators for a 3-year affiliation with an SMCR unit.
The Transition Affiliation Bonus (TAB) that provides for a
$3,500 lump sum payment for those Active component company
grade officers that affiliate with the SMCR for 3 years. The
TAB is also available to Active component naval aviators who
affiliate with the SMCR for 3 years.
Enlisted Programs
The SMCR Enlistment Bonus provides a $20,000 lump sum payment
to enlisted marines with critical skills who enlist for a
standard 6 2 obligation.
The SMCR Reenlistment Bonus provides a $15,000 lump sum
payment to enlisted marines with critical skills that reenlist
and serve a minimum 3-year obligation with the SMCR.
The SMCR Enlisted Affiliation Bonus provides a $15,000 lump
sum payment to Active component marines who affiliate with the
SMCR for a 3-year commitment upon their EAS from Active
service.
The MGIB-SR Kicker provides up to $350 a month for up to 36
months of full time enrollment for those SMCR marines with
critical skills who commit to a standard 6 2
obligation to the SMCR.
The Active Reserve Enlisted Affiliation Bonus provides a
$15,000 lump sum payment to marines with a critical skill that
joins the Active Reserve for a 3-year obligation.
The Active Reserve Reenlistment Bonus provides a $15,000 lump
sum for those Active Reserve marines with a critical skill that
reenlist for at least a 3-year obligation.
General Stenner. Congress continues to provide the Air Force
Reserve with the tools necessary to improve retention rates among our
career airmen. In recent years, the list of notable retention tools has
grown to include retention bonuses for our hard-to-fill critical
skills, the post-September 11 GI Bill, reduced TRICARE premiums,
reduced age retirement pay eligibility, in-active duty travel pay, and
the YRRP. Predictable deployment and mobilization schedules are
additional tools we use to aid our retention efforts. Having the
ability to inform our reservists, in advance, when they are vulnerable
for deployment allows us to take care of the all important Reserve
Triad: the reservist; the family; and the civilian employer.
With the assistance of this committee, the Air Force Reserve has
expended a great deal of time and effort in developing recruitment and
retention programs that attract and keep the talented citizen airmen
that are this country's great strength. In our efforts to do so, we
remain cognizant of our capacity to integrate with the Regular Air
Force and Air National Guard, and our role as a force provider in
support of the joint warfighter. To that end, we gain from the civilian
skills, capabilities, and experience that our citizen airmen provide
and match those attributes with requirements developed from the mission
areas of the Air Force. We retain talented airmen by providing them
with meaningful service in relevant and vital mission areas. As the Air
Force evolves to assume emerging missions, the Air Force Reserve will
evolve with it.
Admiral May. Since September 11, 2001, the retention rates in the
Coast Guard Reserve have remained relatively high, ranging from 87 to
89 percent, in spite of a significant increase in the operational tempo
of our Reserve Forces. I feel this is directly related to the many
benefits we continue to provide our servicemembers and continually
strive to improve, such as TRS, dental coverage, and TA programs.
We have also answered some of their concerns about the increase in
operational tempo by providing clear mobilization and dwell-time
expectations in the utilization of the Total Force so our reservists,
their families, and employers have the planning factors and stability
required to balance their civilian career, family, and service in the
Reserves. Most importantly, the high retention rate is a testament to
our servicemembers' dedication and loyalty to our Coast Guard missions
and our country.
4. Senator Akaka. Lieutenant General Vaughn, Lieutenant General
Wyatt, Lieutenant General Stultz, Vice Admiral Debbink, Lieutenant
General Bergman, Lieutenant General Stenner, and Rear Admiral May, what
initiatives/programs do you recommend implementing to assist with
retention efforts?
General Vaughn. The following initiatives assist with retention:
funding for soldiers to attend military schools as part of the
retention effort has a substantial impact on ARNG retention. The
benefits to the Guard would be substantial savings over traditional
bonuses, a better trained force, and improved morale. The ARNG is
currently using Air Assault School as an incentive template of how such
retention efforts could work.
Educational benefits motivate many applicants to enlist in the
ARNG. As our soldiers grow in their careers, advanced degrees and
certifications progress them in position and income.
Education programs focused on our mid-grade NCOs and officers
benefit both their civilian employer and their military employer.
Currently, the ARNG is working with the United States Border Patrol for
the benefit of both organizations. This partnership allows soldiers the
opportunity to gain full time employment with the Border Patrol upon
enlisting into the ARNG. Implementing this as a retention tool helps
retain soldiers as they see full-time employment opportunities
available to them.
Similar to the Border Patrol partnership is the Drive the Guard
program. This program offers the soldier training as a commercial truck
driver that will lead to a Commercial Drivers License. Once the soldier
has completed the training he is guaranteed a job with a trucking
company, arranged by our partners in this program. This program is not
only a recruiting program, but can be used as a retention program as
the ARNG is helping members enter a civilian career field that offers
future growth and benefits. Additional funding would allow more new and
existing ARNG soldiers to begin careers as truck drivers and remain
active members of the ARNG.
Recognizing the spouse and families sacrifice is also imperative to
retention. Providing family strengthening experiences in appropriate
settings which demonstrate our Nation's gratitude to soldiers and
families will increase family support for ARNG membership.
General Wyatt. Our Air National Guard incentive program is a
critical component in our recruiting and retention efforts and serves
to motivate and support manning requirements in units with skills that
are severely or chronically undermanned. It is established to encourage
the reenlistment of qualified and experienced personnel. The Air
National Guard saves on average $62,000 in training cost for every
qualified member we retain or recruit.
We believe reenlistment and affiliation bonuses would encourage
members to retrain into critical skill areas such as chaplains and
health professionals. While we do have the authorization to offer these
bonuses, we lack the flexibility within our current budget to fund many
of them. Further, we need changes to the cumbersome program
requirements and process for paying student, chaplain, and health
professional loans. These requirements and processes are impeding our
retention efforts in these critically needed areas. Finally, offering
Federal TA for Air National Guard members in Title 32 status would also
enhance our retention efforts.
General Stultz. The Army Reserve is in the process of developing a
strategy to transform the Full-Time Support (FTS) at the unit level
which will better support readiness and mobilization of Army Reserve
units on a continual basis. Evolving the FTS program requires
addressing: Active-Reserve soldier staffing (AGRs); Army civilians;
contractors; and unit members on orders beyond their statutory 39
training days per year. Currently, there are three studies underway to
quantify FTS issues and inform policymakers. One study is determining
the adequacy of FTS billets across the Reserve components. Another
study is providing a ``capabilities and competencies'' analysis of FTS
across the Army Reserve. The third is examining the use of dual status
military technicians within the Army Reserve. These studies will lead
to the development of a capabilities-based FTS solution for the
operational demands in support of Army Force Generation.
Admiral Debbink. I appreciate Congress' foresight and concern for
the retention of our Reserve servicemembers, and I'd like to thank
Congress for the authorizations of these retention bonus initiatives to
date. Continued congressional support for flexible special and
incentive pays, which allows us to target specific year groups,
communities, and critical wartime specialties remain vital to our
ability to recruit and retain the right people for the right job
through the most cost effective means. These authorities are critical
force shaping tools to retain sailors in undermanned ratings and
critical skill areas.
Additionally, your continued support for development of flexible
and responsive policies, processes, and systems that support
``Continuum of Service'' and ``Sailor for Life'' initiatives will ease
the burdens of service for Reserve sailors and their families, while
helping us provide a favorable life/work balance for all who serve.
Initiatives, such as the recently enacted post-September 11 GI Bill and
Early Retirement Credit for Active Duty service, enhance our ability to
recruit high quality sailors and to retain them and their families for
life.
Reserve component retention rates among both officer and enlisted
remain high, while attrition rates remain at historic lows. In fiscal
year 2008, attrition rates were approximately 25 percent for enlisted
and 15 percent among officers, contrasted with historical averages of
approximately 29 percent and 19 percent, respectively. Additionally, we
are continuing to judiciously apply force shaping tools to maximize
``Fit,'' while targeting the optimal number of prior service enlisted
accessions to comply with budgetary and strength controls.
Congress' continued legislative support of these programs and
initiatives provide us with the necessary tools to retain our best and
the brightest sailors, as part of the Navy Total Force.
General Bergman. The key to any retention effort is retaining
quality Career Retention Specialists throughout the Marine Corps, not
only the Reserves, and providing them with the tools to encourage
marines to consider making a career out of the military. Targeting
programs to retain/expand the Career Retention Specialist Force would
ultimately benefit the Marine Corps and more importantly the individual
marine. This would enable every marine the opportunity to explore more
fully career opportunities available to them.
General Stenner. This committee's support of family support
programs such as the YRRP, retention bonuses for our hard-to-fill
critical skills, affordable TRS, and reduced age retirement
eligibility, is essential to our retention efforts. While this list is
not all inclusive, we believe there are additional tools that would
help to increase retention rates. For example, identifying avenues to
reduce the age for collecting Reserve retirement pay would be another
great incentive to help us keep our experienced career airmen. We
routinely hear of incidents where members of the Millennial generation,
born in the 1980s, are not willing to serve over 20 years then have to
wait an additional 10 years to receive a reduced annuity as compared to
the Active component. We believe it would be beneficial if the
mandatory age for collecting retirement pay was lowered. Additionally,
medical coverage after retirement is a priority for the care of our
members and their families. Providing the option of purchasing TRS
beyond retirement should also increase retention.
Admiral May. Since September 11, 2001, the retention rates in the
Coast Guard Reserve have remained relatively high, ranging from 87 to
89 percent, while the operational tempo and demands on our Reserve
Forces have significantly increased. Although retention rates remain
within our goal, we continue to analyze the use of reenlistment bonuses
to incentivize servicemembers with critical skill sets at pay grades
with a shortfall to stay past their initial obligations. The many
existing benefits, combined with new benefits such as the post-
September 11 GI Bill and reduced premium TRS continue to assist in the
improvement of our high retention.
Additionally, within the Coast Guards modernization effort, we are
reprogramming senior enlisted billets where best positioned to mentor
junior enlisted reservists and strengthen participation and training
plans. This senior enlisted cadre will provide expertise, oversight,
and leadership at the field level, giving junior Reserve servicemembers
guidance for a successful career and ensure more effective and
efficient training of our integrated workforce. Experience shows that a
higher level of engagement with a junior enlisted member's career and
training results in a more satisfied and trained reservist who is more
inclined to reenlist.
5. Senator Akaka. Lieutenant General Vaughn, Lieutenant General
Wyatt, Lieutenant General Stultz, Vice Admiral Debbink, Lieutenant
General Bergman, Lieutenant General Stenner, and Rear Admiral May, the
21st century GI Bill provides enhanced educational benefits for
veterans and servicemembers who have served in the armed services after
September 11, 2001. The bill goes into effect on August 1, 2009. What
steps has your Service taken to implement this program across the Guard
and Reserve by August 1, 2009?
General Vaughn. The post-September 11 GI Bill is a Title 38
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) run program; however, this new
program will affect all servicemembers ordered to Active Duty under
U.S.C. sections 688, 12301(a), 12301(d), 12301(g), 12302, or 12304. For
the ARNG this equates to Title 10 Active Guard and Reserve, Title 10
Active Duty for Operational Support, Title 10 Contingency Operations
Temporary Tour of Active Duty mobilizations, and those who join the
ARNG with Active component service post-September 11.
Currently the ARNG is awaiting final policy from the Army G1. Once
this policy is received, potentially by June 1, 2009, the ARNG will
send out an Education and Incentives Operation Messages to all States
and territories with policy guidance for this program. Education
Service Officers (ESO) and Educational staff will be informed on this
new program in July at the annual ARNG Education Conference. Additional
training is under development as a special 2-day workshop to be
conducted at the ARNG Professional Education Center at Camp Robinson,
AR. The new program will also be incorporated into the curriculum of
our semi-annual training offered to State educational staff; the next
class is scheduled for November 2009.
General Wyatt. The Air National Guard provides weekly information
to the field Retention Office Managers regarding post-September 11
implementation and VA resources available to members. To date we have
not received official instructions for implementation from the Office
of the Secretary of Defense, Reserve Affairs. While we await this
guidance, we do have a tentative plan in place to provide additional
training to the Retention Office Managers when the web application
comes online. We believe there will be a need for additional manpower
resources to train site users for the web application, facilitate the
benefits transfer application process, and to provide conflict
resolution for eligibility questions from the VA.
General Stultz. The Army Reserve has partnered with the Office of
the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Reserve Affairs and other Reserve
component service representatives, the Army G-1, the Defense Manpower
Data Center, and the VA regarding the post-September 11 GI Bill
initiative since it was enacted on June 30, 2008. The Army Reserve has
participated in all post-September 11 working group efforts hosted by
OSD Reserve Affairs over the past 10 months and will continue to
provide feedback to OSD Reserve Affairs on post-September 11 GI Bill
policy and procedural issues. Additionally, the Army Reserve has
conducted various informational workshops and seminars with Education
Services Specialists, retention personnel, and Human Resources
Officers. The Army Reserve will continue to track the implementation
and impact of the new GI Bill program for Army Reserve soldiers and
families. The Army Reserve is advertising the new GI Bill program
through its websites and will continue coordination efforts with OSD
Reserve Affairs until full implementation occurs on August 1, 2009.
Admiral Debbink. Navy has taken several steps as a Total Force in
preparation for the post-September 11 GI Bill program launch later this
year. Navy, in an ongoing collaborative effort with the OSD and the
other Services, is working to develop implementing policy for Service
management of the program. Additionally, Navy has conducted analyses on
the potential retention and recruiting impacts for both Active and
Reserve components.
In order to facilitate implementation, Navy has begun a rigorous
communications plan to educate the fleet on the provisions of the post-
September 11 GI Bill and to provide sailors with updates as details are
refined. Navy has been working extensively with OSD and the Defense
Manpower Data Center to develop an online interface for seamless
eligibility determination and transferability election. The website
will have an Active component portal and a Reserve component portal to
convey general program information as well as facilitating automated
eligibility verification and election to transfer benefits. We have
also initiated a training plan to educate recruiters (Navy recruiters
are responsible for both the Active and Reserve missions), Navy
Operational Support Center leadership teams, career counselors, Navy
College Office counselors, Recruit Training Command instructors,
officer commissioning program mentors, and educational services
officers to effectively impart information regarding the provisions and
eligibility criteria of the program.
Post-September 11 GI Bill information is readily available on our
integrated online learning network, Navy Knowledge Online, and other
frequently-visited Navy websites, which link to the VA Web site. We
have also communicated information about the new program to sailors in
the fleet through entries on each sailor's leave and earnings
statement. We continue to circulate news articles and bulletins through
various media outlets and host fleet-wide question-and-answer outreach
sessions through mobile team trainers. These endeavors will continue to
include the Active and Reserve component--both are working as a team to
ensure the entire Navy stays abreast of the new program and any changes
forthcoming.
Strategic communications about the post-September 11 GI Bill are
essential to ensuring sailors are well-informed and prepared to take
full advantage of benefits the program offers. We will continue to work
collaboratively to ensure successful implementation of the post-
September 11 GI Bill.
General Bergman. MFR MCCS continues to market Lifelong Learning
Programs to include the post-September 11 MGIB through all available
means; direct emails to units, briefings at various conferences and
trainings and through our Family Readiness Officers. Additionally, we
have created a dedicated email to support lifelong learning issues/
questions: MFREDUCATION@USMC.MIL and have revamped and updated a more
user friendly Education Web site http://www.mfr.usmc.mil/hq/mccs/edu/
edu.html. In January 2009 we conducted our first Lifelong Learning site
visit and another in February. In March 2009 we started conducting
customer surveys to better serve the Force and to evaluate their needs.
We have been approved for funding to conduct our first ever Lifelong
Learning Conference for Unit Education Officers, currently scheduled
for August 2009, specifically to provide the most up-to-date
information on the new post-September 11 MGIB. We will also continue to
conduct site visits upon request. A power point presentation was
created and emailed to units with as much details as possible provided
from HQMC/OSD.
MFR MCCS is committed to provide quality education opportunities
and information to all marines and sailors with TA and counseling
services on most up-to-date changes stationed onsite and at 184 sites
located throughout the United States.
General Stenner. Air Force representatives have been working
closely with the DOD in establishing the service policy for the
implementation and execution of the post-September 11 GI Bill. The Air
Force Reserve has been involved in several working groups and other
sessions to ensure that all pertinent details are identified and
addressed prior to final development of the policy guidance. We stand
ready to implement the new program and are keeping functional agencies
that will play a key role in implementing and sustaining the program
abreast of pending guidance.
Admiral May. The Coast Guard Personnel Management Directorate and
the Coast Guard Office of Reserve Affairs continue to work closely with
the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness,
to ensure the timely transmittal of information to the Defense Manpower
Data Center regarding qualified personnel. This process will ensure
that the VA has the most accurate information required to make
determinations on qualified benefits when our servicemembers make
application for GI Bill benefits for higher education.
The Coast Guard has also disseminated information to its members
through message traffic, through information posted to Coast Guard
Central on the internet and intranet, and through various periodicals
distributed to the field announcing the new educational benefits
available to Active and Reserve military members. We will continue to
use this multi-media approach to provide our servicemembers with the
most up-to-date information regarding this new benefit.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Claire McCaskill
dual-use equipment
6. Senator McCaskill. Lieutenant General Vaughn, due to ongoing
requirements and demands related to overseas missions such as OIF, the
historic equipment on-hand (EOH) percentage for the ARNG has been about
70 percent. Fiscal year 2006 EOH declined to approximately 40 percent
due to cross-leveling of equipment to support immediate deployment
requirements. It increased to about 49 percent in fiscal year 2007. By
the end of fiscal year 2008, the ARNG had 76 percent of its required
EOH when deployed equipment is included. One of the primary reasons why
these numbers are so low is that Guard components traditionally have
had to leave equipment and vehicles in country (i.e. Iraq) for follow-
on forces' use. As a result of these vehicle and equipment shortages,
National Guard personnel have limited mobility when conducting military
support to civilian authority missions. Up-armored and tactical
vehicles do not necessarily maneuver well in urban environments and
have limited seating capacity. Many National Guard units, therefore,
require commercial, non-tactical vehicles (i.e. passenger vans, pick-up
trucks, and sport utility vehicles) to fill the gap between authorized
and on-hand vehicles for transportation and evacuation purposes during
emergency response operations.
National Guard units continue to respond to State and federally
declared disasters requiring passenger transportation, evacuation
support, and cargo movement. Often times, units are unable to bring
enough manpower to bear on a mission in a timely manner due to
limitations of tactical vehicles. To overcome this obstacle, some have
argued that their National Guard forces be allowed to make up the
difference between authorized and on-hand tactical vehicles through the
procurement of commercial vehicles. National Guard units could
potentially draw these commercial vehicles from a centralized pool for
use only during an emergency event. This would in turn greatly increase
response time for both State-wide response and when providing emergency
and medical assistance forces to other States.
Do our National Guard forces have the adequate mix of non-tactical
vehicles it needs to respond to domestic emergencies and disaster
events? If not, where are the shortfalls and what are the funding or
bureaucratic constraints to get what you need?
General Vaughn. The concept of utilizing nontactical vehicles to
bridge the gap in authorized equipment such as HMMWVs has been reviewed
by the ARNG. The basis of meeting both the Guard's wartime and Homeland
Defense and Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) missions has
always been on hand unit equipment. The goal is to equip units to 100
percent of requirements to ensure that adequate equipment remains in
the State to perform domestic response missions when a portion of its
forces are deployed. A 100 percent equipped ARNG ensures we can train
and deploy the unit for a Federal mission while simultaneously having
the proper and authorized EOH, which our soldiers are trained to use
for State missions. As the base requirement, using unit equipment for
domestic response minimizes the overall ARNG equipping bill and enables
training on the equipment used in wartime. Dual use of unit equipment
is what makes the ARNG a modern and interoperable force. Reliance on a
commercial fleet of vehicles for State missions may not meet the
training requirements of our soldiers to ensure their readiness for
overseas contingency operations.
Good progress has been made in improving the posture of the ARNG
light tactical fleet. The ARNG currently has 84 percent of authorized
HMMWVs on hand. By the end of fiscal year 2010, the ARNG will field 93
percent of required HMMWVs. While this is not fully modernized
equipment, as most vehicles are not armored, it works in favor of
mobility and maneuverability to support the domestic response mission.
Some specific new up-armored HMMWV models are extremely heavy and wide,
and of questionable value in domestic response.
The ARNG is already authorized approximately 10,000 light vehicles
in the Table of Distribution Allowance non-tactical fleet. Some of
these vehicles are government-owned and some are leased from General
Services Administration. This non-tactical fleet has been funded at 65
percent. The shortage of buses, sedans, and light trucks does inhibit
moving people and equipment.
disaster response
7. Senator McCaskill. Lieutenant General Vaughn, it has been stated
by some that while advances have been made in pre-event coordination of
National Guard forces with the interagency prior to a disaster
response, there is not always a commensurate level of re-event
resourcing and authorization that it needs to adequately respond to
civil emergencies. At times this situation has manifested itself in the
adjutants general being unable to control their own organic equipment
and assets due to coordination mechanisms and chains of command that
have to occur with Federal authorities. For instance, coordination of
limited DOD aero-medical evacuation assets continues to be an ongoing
issue for many States during a disaster response. The adjutants general
have to compete for limited assets and even work with Transportation
Command (TRANSCOM) for approval to use their own resources even at
times. One might argue that the conditions should be set to better
enable DOD aircraft transportation resources be made available for
Governors and adjutants general to handle their own evacuation problems
prior to an emergency.
Is the process for adjutants general and Governors to coordinate
use of critical assets with Federal authorities in times of domestic
crisis relatively efficient or in need or review?
General Vaughn. The ARNG is now an operational force, supporting
requirements and missions both at home and overseas. We continue to
increase our equipment readiness posture, as well as improve the
relationships we have built with the interagency. State Joint Forces
Headquarters will equip their units to their required level, while
balancing both domestic and overseas contingency requirements to
prepare for or respond to emerging crises. Emergency Management
Agreement Compacts (EMACs) involve the temporary movement of equipment
across State lines to help address shortages of equipment in other
States during emergencies. The ARNG prioritizes its equipment fills
according to mission type, and continues to fill toward 100 percent.
Although your question indicates a competition for resources between
the Governors, their adjutants general, and Federal organizations,
within the ARNG, each Governor has control over his/her State's
equipment to respond to emergencies within their State. EMACs
facilitate the use of that equipment between States, prior to crises.
At NGB, we work with States to help coordinate equipment sharing.
You gave an example of how aero medical evacuation assets continue
to be an ongoing issue for many States during disaster response, and
that States have to compete with TRANSCOM for assets. In the ARNG, that
is not the case. Any rotary wing assets within the ARNG are only moved
with the consent of the State's Adjutant General. With that said, the
advent of the chemical, biologic, radiologic, nuclear, or high yield
explosives (CBRNE) Consequence Management Response Force (CCMRF) has
created some constraints in rotary wing aircraft employment across
State boundaries. Although aircraft designated for the CCMRF mission
cannot cross State lines while designed as CCMRF assets, they can
however participate in the response to their own State's emergencies.
This constraint applies to personnel and equipment in support of the
ground forces CCMRF mission as well. Insofar as a State's ability to
handle their own evacuations prior to an emergency, for evacuation by
air, the Air National Guard would be better suited to answer that
question as they have the fixed wing aircraft capability that would
better address the requirement for mass evacuation. To answer your last
question, there is always room for improvement in the coordination done
between the States and Federal authorities. Some of the improvements we
have implemented within the ARNG include the employment of Joint
Enabling Teams, comprised of subject matter experts from various staff
elements who are sent to an affected area to act as liaisons from
National Guard Bureau to the State to facilitate information flow.
Prior to hurricane season, conferences are held with the hurricane
States, National Guard Bureau, and Federal agencies, to work through
process improvements, changes to procedures, and update agreements.
There are always challenges in responding to any crisis. We are
better as an organization and continue to gain efficiencies. We are
better as a response force. We are better as a Nation since Hurricane
Katrina in responding to crisis situations. Even during Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita, units across the country quickly mobilized and
responded to the needs of the Governors of Louisiana and Mississippi,
beginning within 72 hours after receiving the call. More than 50,000
trained and equipped soldiers and airmen deployed to the Gulf Coast to
help with rescue and recovery. The ARNG will respond in the future when
needed, quickly, and to the best of our abilities, wherever we are
needed in the United States to perform the mission we are given.
medical evacuation assets
8. Senator McCaskill. Lieutenant General Vaughn and Lieutenant
General Wyatt, are there adequate numbers of DOD aero medical
evacuation assets available to National Guard forces in times of
emergency?
General Vaughn. The ARNG is on a path over the next few years to
potentially possess a total of 27 aeromedical evacuation companies, but
is pending Army's approval. This equates to 252 ARNG UH-60 aeromedical
evacuation aircraft and 48 ARNG UH-72 medical evacuation aircraft. This
amount of future aeromedical evacuation capability given our
requirements overseas greatly enhances the ARNG's ability to be
available in times of emergency. The ARNG may still have a small
capability gap in additional UH-72 aircraft. Currently, the Guard is
assessing that gap to determine any additional requirements across all
the States, territories, and the District of Columbia
General Wyatt. In the Air National Guard, we have identified a
requirement for three additional complete equipment sets. Additionally,
there is a need for specific equipment packages to accommodate the
transfer of special needs patients. Finally, we have requested a
manpower study (priority one) to determine the proper manning for
support of U.S. military operations overseas and homeland defense
support.
consequence management response force
9. Senator McCaskill. Lieutenant General Vaughn, the CCMRF consists
of about 4,700 joint personnel who would deploy as the DOD's initial
response force for a CBRNE event. The force would support civil
authorities to save lives, prevent further injury, and provide
temporary critical life support. The current CCMRF consists of three
brigades that form the core of the multi-component, multi-service
response force. These three units are the 1st Brigade Combat Team of
the 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, GA; the 1st Medical
Brigade from Fort Hood, TX; and the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade from
Fort Bragg, NC. The force also includes Air Force medical and
engineering elements, Marine Corps technical support forces, and
elements of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and Defense Logistics
Agency in order to conduct assessment, search and rescue,
decontamination, medical, aviation, engineering, and logistics
missions. The next CCMRF scheduled for 2009 is scheduled to be
comprised of National Guard forces, which might tend to pull soldiers
in high-demand/low-density occupational specialties from their organic
units and might impede a State's ability to provide military support to
civil authorities during emergency response operations.
Do you foresee Governors losing control of high-demand/low-density
Guard assets by having to commit forces to the CCMRF, or are these
concerns unfounded?
General Vaughn. No. Once units have been identified for the CCMRF
mission, these units are dedicated specifically to that mission, but
will remain available for State missions, if required. CCMRF units can
perform DSCA operations, but not simultaneously to a CBRNE incident. As
a result, Governors will not lose assets and forces that have been
identified for the CCMRF mission unless a CBRNE incident occurs.
10. Senator McCaskill. Lieutenant General Vaughn, what States/units
are slated to source their forces to the CCMRF in the near term?
General Vaughn.
Units scheduled for 2009
Kentucky................................ 63rd Theater Aviation
Brigade
Colorado/Nebraska....................... Headquarters 2-135th General
Support Aviation Battalion
Colorado................................ A/2-135th General Support
Aviation Battalion
Colorado/Nebraska....................... B/2-135th General Support
Aviation Battalion
Colorado/Nebraska....................... C/2-135th General Support
Aviation Battalion
Colorado/Nebraska....................... D/2-135th General Support
Aviation Battalion
Colorado/Nebraska....................... E/2-135th Field Support
Company
Arkansas................................ Detachment 1, B/449th
Aviation Services Battalion
Florida/Alabama......................... B/1204th Aviation Services
Battalion
Units scheduled for 2010
South Carolina.......................... Headquarters 218th Maneuver
Enhancement Brigade
South Carolina.......................... 4-118 Infantry Battalion
South Carolina.......................... 218th Support Battalion
South Carolina.......................... 251st Area Support Medical
Company
South Carolina.......................... 111 Signal Company
South Carolina.......................... 1052nd Medium truck Company
South Carolina.......................... 108th Public Affairs
Detachment
North Dakota............................ 3662nd Maintenance Company
Michigan................................ Headquarters 146th Medical
Battalion
Michigan................................ 1171st Area Support Medical
Company
Alabama................................. Headquarters 115th Signal
Battalion
Alabama................................. B/115th Signal Company
Wisconsin............................... 357th Signal Company
11. Senator McCaskill. Lieutenant General Vaughn, will Governors
and adjutants general be able to pull these forces back from this
requirement in the case of an exigent circumstance requiring their
presence, i.e. natural disaster?
General Vaughn. Yes, the CCMRF units remain available for State
missions. However, it is recommended that units perform State missions
only and not respond to DSCA operations outside their State due to the
CCMRF mission requirement.
12. Senator McCaskill. Lieutenant General Vaughn, will all these
forces be collocated in one location on a constant alert level or will
they be kept in their organic State to be called upon whenever needed?
General Vaughn. The CCMRF forces will remain organic to their State
until Federalized for a CBRNE incident. This applies for both CCMRF
aviation and ground forces.
[Whereupon, at 4:41 p.m., the subcommittee adjourned.]
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