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, w