reserve increasing. right now we're about 57,000, and an estimate would be up to, perhaps, 75,000. those are marines that we also pay attention to, and take care of as much as we can, even though they're not drilling reservist it reservists. there is a plan. we are in that continuum in that marine for life program, that brings them in, trains them and then gives them the opportunity to join the reserves, if they want to, and then continue to be valuable citizens throughout their life. thank you. >> how about the air force? >> we, too, have a robust program. are you hearing me? we, too, have a robust program, and we have worked very closely with our active component over the last couple of years as they have worked aggressively to

downsize. the critical skims we're short in are the ones we're focusing on and we have in-service recruiters interviewing every person leaving the force and 60er them the opportunity to continue to snev those particular areas where we have the needs. we try to match the critical skills to where the needs are. we also offer cross-training to the folks that might be interested in continuing to participate in a different career field. just as importantly, i think the active force has used very significant tools to include voluntary early retirement and some of the other kinds of options to depart the active force, which does, in fact, put some folks into what general hummer mentioned in the irr. also we're working on 34u69ers inside those irr members one a year at several locations targeting the skills we need and mustering folks in, because we found within that first year after somebody leaves, they may not be just as satisfied as they thought they were going to be and we have found a lucrative

recruiting ground frp some of those folk who come back out of the irr. we're working aggressively to keep critical skills trained. we can't afford to retrain and we must keep that capacity and capability. >> you're satisfied with your program? general stultz? >> yes, it is a critical part of our strat yi for the future. human capital strategy weekend we learned from my good friend in the marine corps, the marine for life mentality needs to be in the army as well. soldier for life mentality. i am putting manpourer on the activetallatiinstallations. much faurt further out than in the past. that sol jerp that decides to leave the army in an active status, we're telling him he's

not getting out. he's transitioning into reserve status. whether active or inactive reserve status, he's still going to be a soldier. we need to talk to him six to nine months before he leaves. not two weeks. we need to talk to him first, what he's going to do for a civilian. work. we need to help him get a job. so one of the cornerstones of our program is our employer support program that we've developed over the last four years where we now have over 3,000 employers across america that have partnered with us. we have 700,000 jobs on the web portal that are available out there and those employer, and we have program support managers on the ground, contractors we've hired to help facilitate between the employer and that soldier and we want to facilitate that before he ever leaves active service. we want to have a smooth transition where he can come off of active duty, go right into a

civilian job, if that's what he chooses or whether he comes into the reserve, active reserve status or just want to take a break and be in the irr. fine. it you're still going to belong to us. when you're ready to come back and start drilling with us, we'll bring you back. but it's that employer piece that's critical, because if i bring a soldier into the reserve and he doesn't have a job, i'm at risk. because he's got to pay his mortgage. got to pay for the kids to go to college. he needs civilian employment and needs a good, comfortable career. so we're putting forces on the installations, putting forces out with employers and we're going to make that a cornerstone of our program. i can tell you today, it's working. in the past couple of years we've already put at least 1,000 soldiers that we know into civilian jobs in our force. there's many thousands of others we know have already used the portal on the web have gotten jobs and employers are telling us, and we didn't even know the

soldier because the soldier used the technology themselves to do it, but the program is working. soldiers are happy. employers are happy. we've got a good force. >> thank you very much. i'll be submitting a few other questions for your consideration. so expect that. >> mr. chairman, thank you. general stenner and i have given to your staff some questions about reassigning aircraft that now based as keesler air force base biloxi, and i hope you can take a look at those and address a response to the committee as soon as reasonably possible. what we're concerned about is the readiness, of course, of an operational reserve and how that may be affected by the air force's restructure decisions.

do you have any comments that you can make as a way of introduction to what you're -- your thoughts are on that subject? >> senator kocochran i can do that. let me refer to the previous panel's discussions, general wyatt discussing the same issues looking at downsizing some of the fleets we have as a result of age or as a result of requirements. and that's the tricky part of this, is, how do we look at this across the systems? in the c-130s, in this example, and ensure that we meet the requirements of the combatant commander, which if we do that, we'll allow us to reduce the numbers we currently have. we did have a very rigorous process that we went through, and there are four very major tenants of kinds of things we looked at that include no negative impact to the combatant commanders. make sure the movements don't create any new bills,

increase -- mission capable raises a requirement when we do this and look at all the locations we've got out there. apply that criteria and in some cases there is judgment that needs to go into it in the end. but we will certainly come back to you very quickly with questions that you asked. uhl you'd that as a prelude and work it through our corporate structure that general wyatt mentioned in their testimony to come to the realizationing that we have and in the fiscal year 13 projection, those are the things that need to be done to ensure we meet and don't become hollow in other parts of this force as well. so we'll get back to you, sir, soon. >> i'm looking forward to going down to the mississippi gulf coast for the christening of the "uss mississippi." the u.s. submarine that will be joining the fleet. that will be an exciting occasion for all of our state.

identify very closely with the navy the presence down there and the ship-building capability along that gulf coast. and personally, serving in the navy, i'm a little biased. about the importance of the u.s. navy. but what is the -- what is the prospect of this budget, if we approve the schedule for ship construction, maintenance, adding new ships to the fleet? is it robust enough to take care of responsibilities for national defense? under the restriction of the navy? >> yes, sir, and i would respectfully like to defer that question, if i could. primarily because in the navy reserve which is my responsibility, obviously, we do have a navy reserve fleet of now nine frigates. as we're retiring those frigates we're bringing active frigates

into the reserve fleet to replace them. until we retire all of our navy reserve frigates. as i look forward in the future, our involvement in the reserve, once the frigates are retired it, primarily with battle ship program, ramping up and in active discussions with navy on where we and the nerve reserve will play into that. the larger question of the entire ship-building program i think is probably one i would like to defer obviously to the secretary and coo. having been in the 2345the navy ow fleet is the a great example of it, far more capable than any fleet we've had in the past, irregardless of number. if we. to use that fleet i would rather use the fleet we have today and looking into the near future than any fleet we've had in the past both for the capabilities of those platforms as well as for the training and the dedication and the honor and courage and commitment of the sailors that serve on that fleet today. >> thank you. thank you very much.

thank you for convening the hearing and let me say to all of the panel, we appreciate your dedication and your commitment to helps strengthen and maintain the best reserve components of our military establishment. thank you very much. >> i'd like to join my vice chairmanen in thanking all of you for your testimony and for your service to our country, and to note that as general stultz pointed out, the critical role that you play and continue to play in the middle east, most people in the united states don't realize this. they think it's just the active components. but the role that the reserves and guard plays are very, very important. this committee appreciates that very much. this subcommittee will reconvene

on wednesday, june 6th at 10:00 a.m. to receive testimony from outside witnesses, and now we'll stand in recess subject to call of the chair. [ gavel sounds ]

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programs on our websites. and you can join in the conversation on social media sites. secretary of state hillary clinton today released the annual report examining the status of human rights in country around the world. sh she said 2011 had been tumultuous and momentous. we'll hear from secretary clinton and then michael pulsener who also takes questions from reporters. this portion is about 25 minutes. >> good morning. good morning, everyone. i'm very pleased to be joined here today by assistant secretary pozner to release our 2011 country reports on human rights practices. these reports, which the united states government has published for nearly four decades make

clear to governments around the world we are watching and we are holding you accountable. and they make clear to citizens and activists everywhere, you are not alone. we are standing with you. mike and his team and the staff and counsel around the world have worked tirelessly to produce these reports, and i want to thank each and every person who has contributed to them. now, as you know, this has been an especially tumultuous and momentous year for everyone involved in the cause of human rights. many of the events have dominated recent headlines, from the revolutions in the middle east to reforms in burma, began with human rights, with the clear call of men and women demanding their universal rights. today in egypt, we are seeing in

realtime that those demands are making a difference as egyptians are going to the polls to determine for the first time in their history who their leaders will be. whatever the outcome of the election, the egyptian people will keep striving to achieve their at pspirations, and as th do, we will continue to support them. we will support people everywhere who seek the same. men and women who want to speak, worship, associate, love the way they choose. we will defend their rights. not just on the day we issue these reports, but every day. as secretary, i have worked with my superb team on advancing human rights in a 21st century landscape. on new frontiers even as we

stand up against age old abuses. where women have been and continue to be marginalized, we're helping them become full partners of their governments and economies. where lgbt people are mistreated and discriminated against, we're working to bring them into full participation in their societies. we're expanding access to technology and defending internet freedom, because people deserve the same rights online as off. and we know that in the 21st century, human rights are not only a question of civil and political liberties. it's about the fundamental question of whether people everywhere have a chance to make the most of their god-given potential. so we are supporting efforts around the world to give people a voice in their societies a

stake in their economy, and to support them as they determine for themselves the future of their own lives and the contributions they can make to the future of their countries. we think this is the way together we can make human rights a human reality. now, as these reports document, there is a lot of work that remains to be done. in too many place, governments continue to stifle their own people's aspirations, and in some places, like syria, it is not just an assault on freedom of expression or freedom of association, but an assault on the very lives of citizens. the assad regime brutality against its own people must and will end, because syrians know they deserve a better future. these reports of more than a report card. they are a tool for lawmakers

and scholars, for civil society leaders and activists. we also think they are a tool for government leaders. it's always been, bewildering to me that so many government leaders don't want to make the most of the human potential of their own people. and so i don't expect this to be reading material everywhere, but i do hope somewhere in the corner of my mind that maybe a leader will pick it up and say, how do we compare with others? and what can we do today, tomorrow and next year that will maximize the potential of more of our citizens? this year we made the reports easier to read online. easier to track trends across a region. easier to follow the progress of a particular group. easier to find out which governments are or are not living up to their commitments.

now, every year that we issue this, we take stock of ourselves. we say, what more can we do jl where we succeeded or have to the work of advancing universal rights. building the partnerships that will move us forward. helping every man, woman, and child live up to their god-given potential. and kwee know we have to be able to speak out and speak up for those unable to use their own voices. but this is at the core of who we are. this is central to what we believe. and this is the work that will contin continue, administration after administration. secretary after secretary. because of its centrality to our

foreign policy and national security. now i would like to turn things over to assistant secretary for democracy human rights and labor, mike posener, who will speak further about some of the specific findings in this year's report. thank you all very much. >> thank you, madam secretary. i just want to say a few words about the reports, and what's new this year, and then i'll be happy to take your questions. as the secretary noted, 2011 was a year of dramatic changes with historic change led by citizens across the northeast, north africa, burma, and elsewhere. these reports document a number of situations where human rights continue to be violated, including in iran, north korea, uzbekistan, sudan, and syria. and there continue to be a range

of human rights challenges in places like russia, china, pakistan, and other nations where the u.s. has important policy interests. in too many countries, egregious human rights violations continue, including torture, arbitrary detention, denial of due process of law, disappearance, all of which we document in detail. these reports cover other disturbing trends in 2011. first in a number of countries, we see flawed elections. restrictions on physical and internet freedom, media censorship, attempts to restrict the activities of civil society groups. sucheft stymie the efforts of citizens to change their own society, peacefully within. we also report on continued and in some cases increasing

persecution of many religious groups including the amadis, baha'i, jews, and christians. the reports have a separate section documenting anti-semitic acts. we document discrimination against other groups including racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, women, and the lgbt community. but there are also a number of encouraging developments in 2011, starting with the burr mees leadership. much more needs to be done, including releasing all remaining political prisoners, working to end violence against ethnic minorities, but we will continue to encourage that government to keep making progress on those issues in the coming year. we also saw positive developments around the world in 2011 in zambia, where they held

free elections that were credible and orderly, in tunisia where they held preelections for a constituent assembly, a body now rewriting the constitution. in colombia, the government continues to strive to improve justice in human rights cases. progress towards human rights is neither linear nor guaranteed, but we're pleased to note these important landmarks. now, let me just say a couple words about the reports themselves. since the 1970s, this has grown into a mammoth undertaking. this year, we have 199 reports covering every country and a number of territories. they reflect the work of literally hundreds of people here and around the world who collect information and edit, review, and fact check to make sure these reports are accurate and objective. i want to extend my heart felt thanks to all the people who worked so hard to make the

reports the gold standard. for human rights reporting and fidelity to the truth. i want to thank steveizen brown who is our commander in chief and chief editor, and he's done an outstanding job the last six years in putting the reports together. last year, the report was viewed by more than a million people, as the secretary noted consistent with her leadership on 21st century state craft, we have taken a number of steps to make the reports more concise, more accessible to a broader spectrum of viewers and easier to search. these reports are more shorter, more focused, and each country's section has an executive summary. we have used the latest technology to make the reports fully searchable as well as searchable across countries by topic. the public can share these reports on social media. and so they can have their own conversations about human rights.

so i invite you to explore the reports online and to look at our website, a year old now, which is humanrights.gov. now let me take any questions. >> two things, one, could you assess for us the respect for human rights, particularly in those countries in the middle east where authoritarian regimes were toppled last year. specifically, i would include egypt, tunisia, and libya. could you also comment broadly on your assessment of bahrain's implementation of the dici report, and finally, i couldn't find it in the report although i had very little time to read through it, and i may have

missed it, but i didn't see a reference to how the libyan authorities handled the death of colonel gadhafi. if i missed it, that's fine. could you give me your assessment, described as an opportunity for the libyan authority to do a thorough investigation. how do you think the new libyan authorities handled his death and the subsequent investigation, holding anyone accountable for what people might regard as an extra judicialal killing. >> let me take the first question, which really is a broad overview of changes in the air of awakening in particularly with regard toi egypt, tunisia and libya. the first thing i would say is

we recognize change in any society that's been stuck is going to be a process. it's not a linear process. and so in each of those countries, we see both fundamental change in terms of leadership, but also a range of challenges that remain as the secretary noted in ejiment, we now have today, yesterday, and today, presidential elections which seem to be going, lots of people voting, the process seems open. but we remain to see what happens going forward. there's likely to be a next round and then a transition over the summer. there are a range of challenges that are still to be faced writing a constitution, figuring out the relationship with the parliament, so we're in a journey, and i think our recognition is that there's lots to be done, but we stand with the egyptian government and people as they move forward in that journey. tunisia, i think there's certainly a sense as i said in

the opening comments, there's been a good deal of progress, certainly in building the infrastructure, including the moving forward with a constitutional process that will set the framework for what needs to be done going forward. and libya, huge agenda. coming out of 42 years where essentially all institutions were destroyed, beginning to develop some stability, still a transitional government. hopefully in the coming months, an election and the beginning of a process of regularizing the process of governing. on the last question relating to the gugoadhafi killing, the government has such a big agenda, i don't think it's reasonable to expect they'll be dealing with every aspect. they have thousands of people in detention. many militias that have to be brought into line. i plan to visit there shortly