with the daily show with trevor noah. see the dinnerrer live at 9:30 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> monday morning we're live in denver, colorado, for the next stop on the c-span bus 50 capitals tour. colorado governor john hickenlooper will be our guest on the bus during "washington journal" starting at 9:30 a.m. eastern. >> now, service personnel chiefs of the army, navy, air force and marines discuss recruitment and retention issues. they spoke about messaging strategies,, efforts to recruit more women and family programs. held by a house armed services subcommittee, this is a little more than an hour. [inaudible conversations]

>> this hearing is called to order. i want to welcome everyone to the military personnel subcommittee's hearing on the current and future state of the military personnel enterprise. as we continue to build the fiscal year 2019 ndaa, national defense authorization act. our panel of the service personnel chiefs is here to address each of the services' personnel requirements for recruiting and retention, family programs and to address other budget and legislative requests for fiscal year 2019. today's focus is on the request for manpower increases from the armed services and the requirements that went into building the specific increases as well as how the personnel policies currently in place will

support and sustain these increases. with the difficult recruiting and retention environment driven by a less than overall propensity to serve, reduced pool of qualified candidates and a robust economy, the competition for recruits will be difficult, and you will be competing for the same pool. as you reference in your written testimony, general seamands -- did i say that right? okay -- today only one in four 17-24 year olds in the united states is eligible to serve in the army, and only one in eight has the propensity to enlist in the military, making it a challenging and resource-sensitive -- resource-intensive activity. the subcommittee also remains concerned about the ability of all the is services -- the services to maintain their high quality standards and still meet their recruiting goals.

also i'm especially interested in your plans for retention of the right service members that are central to your mission and specifically what additional steps the air force is taking to fully are address their pilot crisis. before i introduce our panel, let me offer congresswoman sphere an opportunity -- congresswoman spear the opportunity for opening remarks. >> mr. chairman, thanks. the national defense strategy led congress to assume there will be growth. the fiscal 2019 request does seek increases not just for next year, but also requests an end state for fiscal year 2023 of more than 10,000 from the current authorization levels for the army, navy and air force. for the past two years, congress has written a blank check for the army, providing end strength increases not requested as part of the budget. we cannot continue this behavior. whether we agree the services

need an increase or not, it is important for congress to understand what the long-term plans are so we can have informed debate and make educated decisions about our military. i'd like to understand how the services would sustain this growth pattern over the next five years in an era where finding quality applicants is becoming more and more difficult. congress also must understand how increased end strength will apply to the force, fill current gaps and increase units and capabilities. i yield back. >> we will give each witness the opportunity to present his or her testimony and each member an opportunity to question the witnesses for five minutes. we would also respectfully remind the witnesses to summarize to the greatest extent possible the high points of your written testimony in five minutes or less. your written comments and statements will be made part of the hearing record. let me welcome our panel. lieutenant general thomas seamands, vice -- deputy chief

of staff united states army, vice admiral robert p. burke, chief of naval personnel, lieutenant general gina m. grosso, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, united states air force, lieutenant general michael a. rocco, united states marine corps, general seamands, you are now recognized for five minutes. >> chairman coffman, ranking member spier, i thank you for the opportunity today to appear before you on behalf of the men and women of the united states army. i've submitted a statement for the record, i now would hike to highlight a few of the points. manning our army is one of the key components to our readiness. thank you for the fiscal year 2018 national defense authorization act which authorized the army to grow by 8,500. we also appreciate the two-year budget deal which will improve

readiness and insure our formations are filled in the years to come. to build the future army, we must recruit diverse men and women of high quality and high character in a competitive market, as the chairman talked about, where only one in four 17-24-year-olds is eligible to join the army, and one in eight has a propensity to enlist in the military. while the army rejects recruiting components, maintaining the quality will continue to be our priority, and the army not sacrifice quality for quantity. our recruiters are doing increed credible -- incredible work to do this mission. the experience and skills necessary to meet our future needs. we project historic retention rates again this year for our ncos. the army leadership embraces talent management as a cornerstone for how we will retain our best officers and ncos, integrated pay and personnel system army will be

the keystone in the archway of our talent management. it will be a responsive system connecting all three components and build a marketplace for talent. we are a standards-based team in the army, and the army remains committed to giving all soldiers who can meet the standards the opportunity to serve in that specialty. last year the army implemented gender-neutral physical standards for initial entry training for specific jobs. the initial results are positive. we have successfully assessed and transferred almost 700 women into previously closed occupations of infantry, armor and artillery. the opportunities are so popular, we plan on expanding the program this year. as part of the total force, our army civilians are vital and comprise about 22% of our total personnel. we need a civilian work force with unique, critical skills to support our soldiers and our families. as we build our force, we focus on the areas that provide the foundation for our future. we remain focused on personal

resiliency, suicide prevention with world class programs for soldiers, civilians and families, and we are aggressively working to decrease the stigma associated with seeking behavioral health. sexual harassment, sexual assault and retaliation are not compatible with army values, and they diminish our readiness. therefore, combating all forms of sexual misconduct remain a top priority for the army. although we're optimistic about the progress we've made in reducing sexual violence in the ranks, we understand there's a lot more work to do as we drive toward zero. you've authorized us to grow, and we're thankful for that. we must insure we're ready. the army's improved personal readiness by increasing the number of deployable soldiers, and we have an ongoing review to increase the number of deploy bl soldiers even more in order to enhance readiness. as you're aware, the department of defense has issued a new defense policy in february. the army's working with osd on the implementation of these changes. the army will make continued reduction on our deployable --

reductions in our non-deployable population a priority. because we care for our soldiers as they prepare for life after the service, the army's soldier for life program, with support from commanders, has resulted in increased educational employment opportunities for our soldiers, our veterans and our family members at a significant reduction of unemployment costs. additionally, i look forward to beginning the discussion of review of -- [inaudible] to determine what's essential and what needs to be updated. our army is strong because of the courage, commitment of our soldiers, civilians, veterans and family members who serve our nation. i thank all of you for your continued support to the all-volunteer army. >> vice admiral burke, you're now recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. good morning, chairman coffman and distinguished members of the subcommittee. thank you for the opportunity to represent the men and women in the united states navy. your stalwart support for them and their families continues to have a profound impact upon the

health of our force today. global demands upon the navy continue to grow. we must continue to recruit, develop and retain the highly skilled work force needed to meet the growing p demand signal for naval forces. our force structure will grow as we build the navy the nation needs which will require increasing end strength. as we grow, our need for highly talented people increases. at the same time, propensity to serve is declining in each of the services as well as the civilian sector, and we're vying for the same limited talent pool. we are clearly in a war for talent. .. >> we use all available policy levels to posture ourselves to me the growth. we just made our fy 17 targets.

this year's projector is good but we require steady and reliable funding going forward to stay on track. the new budget deal is great news for us and an excellent step in the right direction. while recruiters had challenges, and increasin increasing the mil be more difficult for them. certain fields are in short supply. growth profile requires a balance approach as well as retention improvement. the overall aggregate remains high but nuclear field special warfare, advanced electronics, aviation cyber demand close attention. targeted bonuses of those cost-effective monetary tool in addressing the challenges. were aggressively applying monetary and non- monetary

incentives with good effect. we continue to implement and extend our portfolio which is a dynamic set of over 45 initiatives that were to provider sailors and families the choices and flexibility they expect and deserve. we combine that with manpower personnel and through those efforts will provide programs with renewed programs through streamline processes. will better meet the needs of fleet commanders through agility responsiveness and the use of predictive analytics so we can be the pillar of stability in the world. >> we remain engaged in the departments view of management

policies and are grateful for your interest to ensure future needs of each of the services. >> thank you. >> thank you for the opportunity to deliver the air force -- the number one priority to accelerate readiness is increasing in strength. we appreciate the authorization act support for continued growth. allows us to compete, deter and went to the more competitive international environment. the 19 budget continues that growth a 4700 increase from fy 18.

this is part of our strategy to improve man in the air force and increases pilot production remote piloted aircraft and maintenance continuing our manpower. we provide the input we need to improve squadron readiness and gives us an advantage. the most stressed operational crew field is aviation. our total force shortage was approximately 2000. the fy 19 president's budget continues to address a shortage. defense programs and policies designed to address assignment and quality-of-life issues targeted approved pilot retention. it also increases support to airmen and families through a variety of capabilities. it increases child and youth

funding to a total of 114 million. that expense child care to those needing care outside of normal hours. it supports fees for children. the exceptional family member program it assists 33 million families. funds increasing respite care for the primary caregiver from 12 - 40 hours each month. taking care of children and caregivers removes worries and allows them to focus on the mission. i we are deeply committed to the prevention of interpersonal and self-directed violence on all fronts by implementing evidence-based programs to include by standard intervention and life skills training and

time-based programs. should we fall short to eliminate were committed to providing victims, families and units the care they need. today's threat environment will cause systems to ensure the air force continues to retain the skilled talent needed to defend our nation. were conducting a trial in following the transition to a new system. were reviewing multiple initiatives to include modifying our current category in establishing technical tracks. our workforce is essential recruiting and hiring top talent is critical to our success. we implemented a premier college intern program to recruit top talent to an intern program.

our target on boarding this 500 new civilians only have 415 acceptances. this ensures that we stay competitive with aggressive private-sector recruiting. were modernizing infrastructure across our systems to provide exceptional personal of service to the airmen under families. and additionally connected world they deserve the best resources available today. we have a six-year plan and 400 plus applications to the cloud. as we modernize will provide more modern systems and enhance our ability to make the trip and decisions. we must ensure airmen have the resources, training and tools. were committed to prioritizing and resourcing what's important

to make it more ready. we welcome the opportunity to partner with you. thank you for your support and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you for the opportunity to appear here today. the marines are the foundation of the core at its most critical resource. the recruited, trained educated and trained to what our battles. they're able to overcome adversity. recruiting and retaining high quality men and woman is a priority. this year will meet its our recruiting mission and exceed all quality goals. we recorded 90% of the recruits

to be in the 90%. were over 72% as we recruit the best so we must retain the best. there's a challenge to keep high-quality marines especially in the current economy in the job market. it's true for cyber and other occupations that are critical to warfare. were open to new ways to recognize and retain high-quality marines in the core. we believe a simple but effective ways to recognize excellence. we look forward to working with services in the department on initiatives that will enhance

quality readiness. we remain adaptable and open to new ways to recruit and retain the poor swimming for the future. thank you. i look forward to answering your questions. >> a very concerned that i would like each of you to address this with the lowering of standards. i was in the army and marine corps and army at the end of the draft where anybody i guess you had to talk your way out of. there's a lot of disciplinary problems around problems. there were across the board. when i look at the military today and make these young men and women who serve they are

extraordinary. we truly have talent. an elite force. have a smaller force historically but an elite. i'd rather have fewer numbers of high-quality and big numbers of low quality. i know there's a great temptation to meet numbers and lower standards. so i want each of you to address the. >> the leadership has been clear in our command's quality over quantity. if we can't make that quantity then it's my job to come back and say why we can't do it. but will not sacrifice quality. your description of our soldiers is extraordinary.

as the army is growing again thinks your work we looked at the last time we grew and were not making those mistakes. i entered the army in the early '80s and we had many problems and i don't want to go back to those days. we will remain focused on quality and quality. >> we will not sacrifice quality. we've taken a hard look at self-imposed policies that limit the spectrum of candidates that we look at. rank agent with medical experts to make sure medical standards

are up-to-date with norms and making sure that were not negatively impact fleet readiness. some of that may have used medication for bronchitis does that equate to having asthma type of things. use with full latitude of the title x authority you've given us for each limits and open it to officer program so there's no physical limitations such as pilots or nuclear programs but everywhere else we've opened up and enlisted programs as well. were looking at single-parent policies as well you have an older sinker parent where they

demonstrated they can care for the children so we've opened up our doors those situations as well. the last part is our recruiting techniques rendering transformation and recruiting techniques to more of a virtual basis we still rely on our recruiters as the boots on the ground deal closers. were getting into new markets and places where we haven't been able to get our message through before. >> we have not found any challenges in recruiting. were recruited at the same quality. what we've done is laid in the in strength at a reasonable pace

so we don't overtax the recruiting and training sources that make them airmen. we've increased the number of recruiters stabilize marketing budget. you've seen a huge wave of the marketing budget. any budget or will tell you you have to stay within the market. so how do we find airmen using technology in better leveraging our resourcing capacity? >> 99% are tier one. recruits. out of that only 70% surpassed their first tour.

is based on the personal requirements and needs of the marine corps. here at 92.9% of those marines coming in that want to stay in. not a first in a first step. we can look at those that want to stay in and only retain the highest quality of the marines including second term that were at 99.5% we think were in a good place. we want to ensure that we hit markets that we haven't in the past. >> i will do for let my

colleague ask the percent of questions. >> thank you for holding the committee. as you noted the volatile mixture and the complexity of threats or country faces require military services to recruit, tell pool that's broad, talented and diverse as possible. a study on women and services found only 29% of young people ages 18 - 23 are eligible to serve after adjustments are made after several factors and you reference you're looking at some of these filters. of that eligible population more

than half are women. you left with a smaller group, just over half are women. less than 20% is comprised of women. this study makes clear that the recruited population remains on the decline is more important now that we recruit from the entire population and not overlook the opportunity that the talent pool would provide the services. with that in mind, i would like you to comment on what your service is doing to recruit and retain women in the services. >> for recruiting command and source of commission were reaching out to females to encourage them to come in.

that has a crease in female applications in females being accepted. it opened up the specialties. we have lieutenant send our most recent ranger school graduates last week graduate from a different call course. as we see role models come out and do wonderful things you'll see increase females. were excited about what the females are doing in the army. there's no limit to what they could do in the future. >> can you include how your addressing your messaging says young women are watching on tv and how your addressing the culture that encourages return

to. we same issues unique to women who seek to serve their country but have barriers to lengthening their term of service. >> in terms of where we are right now 27% women most have been 26 or 27% women we are targeting them in our recruiting efforts in our messaging because that's where the talent is that's where the talent is. were very aggressive in going after them. our new ad campaign feature women the most recent one the

first one that was released the new ad campaign has a female sailor saluting at the end of it. were trying to highlight situations that women can see themselves as career in the navy. the retention efforts might be the biggest user of that. we highlight that but the other element one of the pillars of that is career readiness. that's to make any be a place where you can have lifework balance. we want sailors to have a longer career and be able to achieve for balance to do things like occasionally put family matters

respective and not have to pay a penalty for your career. working hard to do that if we expect people to have a longer career. >> you could submit a written answer depreciated. >> it starts with messaging. if you ask any person in the population who is their first protector defender was their mother. we have to change the messaging that we need women and women can be successful.

i feel like it's my personal responsibility to go to see that you can progress and there is a place for you. thank you recruiting efforts as people to talk there so many opportunities i had a woman tell me she didn't like sweating. the 25% of our forces civilians. that's recruiting side. the retention which is finished as daddy the systemic things we need to do. childcare was a big one families can take care of their children we won't retain them. this was in the study women want to get off the escalator. we have to have some way to get figure that out. whether it's technical tracks and they asked for more opportunities to cross train into careers that are more suitable to having a family.

>> thank you. we've opened up all occupational fields they'll and are represented throughout the marine corps. we have gone places that we haven't gone in the past. we've opened up programs to have access to both the high school and collegiate level to athletics. we want education and coach workshops to a population that we haven't have access to in the past. in the campaign is focused on not only diversity but females only been more aggressive in displaying a diverse marine corps. >> thank you for your testimony. there's much to be done.

we need to recruit fully from all this country offers. >> we all understand that when the pilot gets through the air force training specifically that the civilian side staying when a check sometimes three and four times more what they're getting paid from the air force. fortunate or unfortunate we understand that's a reality. i understand all the services are in's shortage of aviators. it's my understanding the air force is more in a shortage of aviators. so specifically what is the air force doing to retain that

aviator where he or she has invested so much time and treasure and then all of a sudden the next day they're playing for delta or southwest. >> we have several lines of effort to retain aviators. this is very cyclical. if you look at the data it's coordinated to airline hiring. some of it is how do we give them a better quality of work, it's clear there's duties we need to take off the plate. ministered duties that take away from their ability to fly. we need to make sure planes are ready to fly. we need more flexibility in our systems working to get more input from the airmen and have

less disruption from assignments. russell looking at ways to incentivize line deployments from the family we've also understood that we cannot retain our way out. so you have to produce more and you have to take a hard look at the requirements. >> you mentioned your college intern program as a pipeline for aviators coming in. getting much resistance across the college spectrum of that type of intern program being on the campuses. >> that's for civilians. >> but your college campuses. trying to bring those students into the services.

>> we've had great success. it takes us so long to hire we don't keep them. the authorities congress gave us to hire them and offer jobs in their junior year is how were competing for stem talent. >> that's why the authorities to give us are critical. >> and all of the services they cyber issues is an issue specifically for the navy on cyber, wide are you doing to hold onto those people? that's a different culture as far as the fiber cyber mindset,

that takes an outside the box thinking. any comments on that? >> are big challenges are on the senior listed technical leaders so though go to the e5 or d6 and then they'll be perched up by commercial entities might when they're eligible for maybe one of our warned officer programs at the e637 level. one thing we just employed was a w1 program that maybe five eligible within our existing service authorities to use that

option. that may junior e fives eligible and made them available for that program for many more years. it open the pool to more sailors. they have to be more careful about screening the sailors looking harder for the potential. the we get the men to the leadership position in colossal there. we just implemented the skin off the ground and it's too early to tell if it will succeed. lisa get through for you your some of them. that will buy some time out of it. the other area that's a challenge is on the officer side our operators on the offenses defenses side were doing okay,

it's the engineers the folks developing the payload packages, we grow those right now and you give us legislative authority to bring them in the bottle lieutenant junior grade in the navy about a 50000-dollar pay silicon valley these folks are up over a hundred thousand dollars. so the service and mission appeals to these folks but there's an equivalent accepted cyber civilian program that allows the government to pay closer to a hundred thousand dollar range. they seem to be going to the government service rather than the military service option. scenario we have a challenge in. were still growing from the

ground up. but retention is where it is right now. >> thank you for being here, i think you've heard that even though we have a great challenge ahead we want to be part of making sure you can meet the challenge. i wonder what the efforts are in terms of recruiting and looking at personal issues relative to her father's or grandfathers military service. think they looked at what i like you to provide to the committee

is what the disqualifiers are for all of those who actually do apply may not have the figures first now so if you provide that it would be appreciated. >> and looking at the purveyors of the mras recently that had a presentation for us or showing us how were beefing up the calcium i was told that there's about 10% of those were recruited during basic training that washout. i like to know if that's the case. me washout because of hairline fractures. could you address that issue please.

>> there on a variety of issues. within the active force many are nonrelated. >> if you could provide specifics of the non- deployable so that in the 10% how many fall into the. >> we have about 12% attrition. the majority of that is non- disclosed pre-existing medical conditions. >> is that like an inherently. >> that's what were trying to change it on. as things that are insurmountable medical things that we cannot get through.

>> were looking through some privacy act issues with being able to look at medical records of dependent children of military members and look at public military records so you're not completely dependent on what the individuals write and tell you about. were making progress. >> i haven't seen the current data. i get you the exact number. we didn't typically separate someone if they had a stress fracture. we tried to rehabilitate them. could be 2 - for weeks.

>> boot camp is closer to 20%. most of nondisclosed issues. i can give you the specifics on the breakdown of what that number is. nutrition goes down to about 3%. >> one thing recommended is the calcium is beefed up before they come into basic training. i don't know to what extent that's attempted pgh so, retention after their first te term. >> about one third of the people who enlist don't make it to their reenlistment window. free their separation medical issues. >> how many could continue but

don't. >> over 80% of our eligible population of reenlisting. >> thank you. >> were averaging around 60%. >> our first term retention is 60%. for various reasons we lose that about a third but are not there. >> for the marine corps by design we lose about 70% of the recruits in the year. we need about a third to say so by design and rank structure most of that 70% that given year to the first term and listen and then leave.

some voluntary and some we don't have the space for. were at 92% we have more marines who want to stay and then we have space for. >> there's a part of me that would like to be sitting over there today. that we could do a lot more on. i be glad to engage with him on that. we might need another hearing on it. is whether just adding calcium like to go through the recruiting process. they checked all the boxes what

is it that you want to do in the military will be eligible for reenlistment, who is pretty impressive i believe weather is 20 years plus or for you what is to success look like for us

that's a career path we should be talking about. for talking about what you longs terms success if you talk about marketing i think we were recruited retain even better. i want to hear from all of you on that. that notion on day one. >> that's part of the discussion ahead. what's your passion and what you aspire for. he continues on through your uniform. you go back five years unemployment compensation was about half have a million dollars. a soldier for life programs and

credentialing and we work through the tuition assistance. that's a discussion we have. once we commend we want to make sure they're set up for smooth takeoff. >> what are sailors commend we look at aptitude and job opportunities in the navy that test their interests we found high correlation between the sweet spot is about 75% match between the two. that gives us higher retention. if you're good at it like it you'll stay because your challenge and something for a longer time.

in addition to the opportunities to improve oneself the certification there's over 1900 credentialing opportunities at least one credentialing opportunity for jobs health on the u.s. military apprenticeship program gives them the experiential documentation as well so or provide those to help them be better citizens. >> we do aptitude testing and for the most part most airmen that come in know what they want to do and it's not that common unless they don't qualify.

military tuition assistant helps them. we have a large number of people that study early education and we believe that's because something they choose to do beyond their service. we have an accredited program so very few if any members leave without their associate's degree. >> will return 70% of those with steve's we spent time focusing on it. we want to return good citizens after they serve. we encourage the use of the g.i. bill to pursue further education. we fully endorse the courses in their job fairs and

credentialing organizations that will help the marines take those skills and transition to a civilian job. >> you hear about anyone who has difficulty after their service but you hear about the military be a pathway to a successful civilian life. like to see promoted more. >> thank you for being here. one of the things were exploring in the sears authorization is

the ability to train and people who have a four-year scholarship program and for whatever reason it's a high investment on the have some injury that will preclude a commission. and talking to others through no fault of their own they're not punished but they released to the public as a whole. but all the investment is gone. one thing were looking at exploring is to translate them if they're precluded from taking a commission to go into the apartment of defense workforce. i'd be curious to have your thoughts on the. >> were already doing that. we had several academy tickets

that popped up weeks before graduation. it's exactly it's voluntary. >> if there are healthy they would be required to serve in four-year scholarship. >> it's great that were doing that if we made the requirement i love to have your thoughts on the i think we've given a great education. >> we would support as well.

we seek volunteers committed for the government service the same thing with there's a injury for scholarships. there's always a high interest rate and taking those options. >> we would supported. >> he talk about the quality and the men and women in the service and through no fault of their they cannot serve exposing them to a job perhaps they wouldn't have been. >> i look forward to it heading your way i appreciate your thoughts on it some valuable to

have your comments on. >> will have a second quick round. >> lieutenant actually referenced having high retention rate but nothing in terms of nuclear medicine specialty and others. i'd like to know if you have categorized the areas where you have problems in terms of retention? that's part of the key here. to have them serve for 18 months afterwards or two years afterwards that's a loss of 80000. could you tell me what the areas

and where you are having issues with retention. >> within the army were attacking that with increased training the other areas cyber, we don't have a problem assessing because many are interested in being cyber soldiers. we could have a problem with retention in the future. we want to recognize what they're doing now if they want to serve in the future. aviation cyber the two issues as the aviation mechanical and structural rates on the enlisted

side. pilots on the officer side in the special warfare folks. >> we track every career field extensively because you only retain what you need. if you look in the aggregate we have small retention. we hit have authority in the key is where we need them. >> the other specialties were trying upon are usually significant intelligence that marines spend a lot of time at. they're in high demand. aviation maintenance we've included bonuses for the enlisted side.

the certain specialties inside of those different aviation special piece and stabilize the population. >> congresswomen the case that targeting women is going to be key moving forward in the military. it takes a back so 40 years when i went to west point texas question why it couldn't be accepted in having me and we have moved forward a little bit since then. at the time i was because they cannot serve in combat. there's really no rationale. it appears that you have leg behind in terms of incorporating women in terms of training for

men the general sense that women don't belong in the marine. could you address all you'll be more abrasive of women. >> we recently opened up bring combat training last so if you're an administrator you'll go to marine corps training to learn how to be a marine first. we've open that up to females. we've opened up all snowfields. you go into some of these ground centric but we understand that we are making progress -- were ensuring that commanders are trained in units of trade on

unconscious bias. were taken proactive steps to ensure women are accepted that every mos in the marine corps. >> how many generals are women? >> we have three. >> out of how many? >> 82 active. >> thank you. >> it's hard to do to committee hearings in the speech. thank you for being here. it's good to be here with friends i have served with. i experienced appreciate your expertise and leadership. >> are we seen any negative or adverse retention or

recruitment? >> we monitor that closely. about 9% of the reserve have opted into the blender retirement. will be a significant indicator of retention and we may have to change how we retain talent. think the dynamic will change but we won't see that for the next seven to make ten years. >> my hunch is that people get up to the 17 year point. >> it essentially reduces the cost of the impact. we need to be creative in how we address the. >> were not seen impacts you. we appreciate the flexibility

that you gave us to remove the pay component. our plan is to use that and complement that. >> thank you. >> we know the date in the aggregate but curious to see the data. it does change in how we manage that will be critical. >> the continuation pay will be key. 70% have opted into brs. some positive indicators but too early to say. a few that will have a hard time retaining people through 20. >> one is the pilot bonuses,

think we need to have data say 55% stay on we say it's a success for the bonuses at some point we need to have data that says the bonuses are having this kind of impact. we don't always look at the retention we have but we don't know what who we would've retained anyway without the bonus. >> it's very hard to know. but it lacks a person in. it helps us know what we do key. it's an imprecise tool. we have other options coming that will were just socializing. >> be nice to know for getting a

5% pay offer ten. be helpful to substantiate with the impact is. and i've been hearing about the air force and enlisted aviators. >> it's going well. it's clear that our enlisted airmen are talented and they're doing while going through the course. which is starting to implement them in the units it's clear that they are successful. >> any of the other services? >> most came from the enlisted force. >> thank you. i yield back. >> thank you. i want to close with an issue that i want to mention.

i've seen this for a long time where in the process somebody deemed physically qualified we pay to send them to basic training and their respective range of service weather given another physical and deemed unqualified. that's a waste of money and time. i don't know if it's a false feeling to try to get the numbers up initially but it ought to be the same standard. there should not be a disparity. i sought in the military. i also say today when a family calls me and says of course your in limbo is you're trying to be processed out.

we need to get this straight. there needs to be one standard and it needs to be consistent. so i think the witnesses for their testimony. they're known for their business and the subcommittee stands a. [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] >> next to supreme court oral

argument. challenge to tasks is it redistricting procedures. then an annual policy conference. . . >> virtually all remedial statehouse plans.