general lodi aaron out. >> make you, all the other committee members.t is always a member -- a pleasure to be here. i have witnessed firsthand the cell service, dedication, and sacrifice. have performed admirably during the longest conflicts in our nations history, but we need to talk about an appropriate level of compensation not only to recognize the sacrifice of our soldiers and their families, and to ensure these are sustain from our all volunteer forces. paying composition benefits must remain competitive in order for us to recruit and retain the very best for our army and the joint force. however a in compensation must be balanced along with readiness and modernization of our force. it is necessary that we take a look at every aspect of our budget. partnersndorse these of defense proposals that do not directly cut our soldiers pay but slows the rate of growth for many allowances that are simply on the sustainable. -- simply unsustainable. we need more efficiencies in our ,ommissaries in our healthcare particularly tri-care. i believe the proposals