deputy secretary of defense bob work and general paul salva will work with the services to oversee the short-term implementation of this decision, ensure there are no unintended consequences on the joint force and periodically update me and chairman dunford. before i conclude, it's important to keep all this in perspective. implementation won't happen overnight. while at the end of the day this will make us a better and stronger force, there still will be problems to fix and challenges to overcome. we shouldn't diminish that. at the same time, we should also remember that the military has long prided itself on being a meritocracy, where those who serve are judged based on their abilities. that's why we have the finest fighting force ever known. it's one other way we will strive to ensure that the best force will remain so long into the the future. today we take another step toward that continued excellence. thank you. now i'll take your questions. bob? >> you mentioned the marine corps asked for a partial exception. the marine corps made a vigorous and detailed case for keeping some co

deputy secretary of defense bob work and general paul salva will work with the services to oversee the short-term implementation of this decision, ensure there are no unintended consequences on the joint force and periodically update me and , chairman dunford. before i conclude, it's important to keep all this in perspective. implementation won't happen overnight. while at the end of the day this will make us a better and stronger force, there still will be problems to fix and challenges to overcome. we shouldn't diminish that. at the same time, we should also remember that the military has long prided itself on being a meritocracy, where those who serve are judged based on their abilities. that's why we have the finest fighting force ever known. it's one other way we will strive to ensure that the best force will remain so long into the the future. today we take another step toward that continued excellence. thank you. now i'll take your questions. bob? >> you mentioned the marine corps asked for a partial exception. the marine corps made a vigorous and detailed case for keeping some