Congressional Hearings
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
Congressional Hearings
SuDoc ClassNumber: Y 4.AP 6/2
Congress: Senate
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| AUTHORITYID | CHAMBER | TYPE | COMMITTEENAME |
|---|---|---|---|
| ssap00 | S | S | Committee on Appropriations |
[Senate Hearing 115-]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
----------
TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 10:00 a.m., in room SD-192, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Richard C. Shelby (chairman)
presiding.
Present: Senators Shelby, Blunt, Daines, Moran, Hoeven,
Durbin, Leahy, Tester, Udall, and Baldwin.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
National Guard and Reserve
STATEMENT OF GENERAL JOSEPH L. LENGYEL, CHIEF, NATIONAL
GUARD BUREAU
opening statement of senator richard c. shelby
Senator Shelby. Good morning. This subcommittee will come
to order.
I am pleased this morning to welcome our distinguished
panel to review the budget requests of the National Guard and
the Reserve components.
Today, the committee will hear from General Joseph Lengyel,
Chief of the National Guard Bureau; Lieutenant General Charles
Luckey, Chief of the Army Reserve; Lieutenant General Maryanne
Miller, Chief of the Air Force Reserve; Vice Admiral Luke
McCollum, Chief of the Navy Reserve; and Lieutenant General Rex
McMillian, Commander of Marine Corps Forces Reserve.
Our Nation's active duty and reserve component forces are
more fully integrated today than at any time in the modern era.
Guardsmen and Reservists have been regularly called upon since
2001 to deploy in support of our Nation's contingency
operations abroad and to protect our citizens at home. Through
programs like the Guard's State Partnership Program, they
participate in joint security cooperation activities with our
international partners.
In 2018 now, as in years past, we have seen our Guard and
Reserve forces called upon to assist local communities
devastated by natural disasters such as Hurricanes Harvey,
Irma, and Maria. And most recently, the President has announced
his decision to send up to 4,000 National Guard troops to the
southwest border in support of the U.S. Border Patrol's
mission.
This level of integration and cooperation with active
forces, domestic agencies, and international partners requires
Guard and Reserve units to be sufficiently manned, trained, and
equipped to handle their diverse mission sets.
Today, we thank all of you for your service and look
forward to your update on the border development, as well as
any resource challenges that you foresee as this committee
reviews the fiscal year 2019 budget request.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Senator Richard C. Shelby
Good morning, the Subcommittee will come to order. I am pleased to
welcome our distinguished panel to review the budget requests of the
National Guard and Reserve Components.
Today the committee will hear from General Joseph Lengyel, Chief of
the National Guard Bureau; Lieutenant General Charles Luckey, Chief of
the Army Reserve; Lieutenant General Maryanne Miller, Chief of the Air
Force Reserve; Vice Admiral Luke McCollum, Chief of the Navy Reserve;
and Lieutenant General Rex McMillian, Commander of Marine Corps Forces
Reserve.
Our Nation's active duty and reserve component forces are more
fully integrated today than at any time in the modern era. Guardsmen
and Reservists have been regularly called upon since 2001 to deploy in
support of our Nation's contingency operations abroad and to protect
our citizens at home. Through programs like the Guard's State
Partnership Program, they participate in joint security cooperation
activities with our international partners.
In 2018, as in years past, we have seen our Guard and Reserve
forces called upon to assist local communities devastated by natural
disasters such as Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. And most
recently, the President has announced his decision to send up to 4,000
National Guard troops to the Southwest border in support of the U.S.
Border Patrol's mission.
This level of integration and cooperation with Active forces,
domestic agencies, and international partners requires Guard and
Reserve units to be sufficiently manned, trained, and equipped to
handle their diverse mission sets. We thank you for your service and
look forward to your update on the border development, as well as any
resource challenges you foresee as this Committee reviews the fiscal
year 2019 budget request.
Now I turn to the Vice Chairman, Senator Durbin, for his opening
remarks.
Senator Shelby. At this point, I want to recognize the
ranking member, the Vice Chairman, Senator Durbin.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR RICHARD J. DURBIN
Senator Durbin. Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
I am pleased to join you in welcoming our witnesses to this
hearing to discuss the issues and priorities of the National
Guard and Reserve.
Let me say at the outset, thank you to each and every one
of you and to the men and women that you represent.
This hearing is quite timely, given the President's recent
decision to deploy the National Guard to the southwest border,
and his intention to use Department of Defense funds to build a
wall there.
I ask unanimous consent, Mr. Chairman, to place into the
record a letter that Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island and I
sent to Secretary Mattis earlier this month. We requested
Secretary Mattis' legal review of the Department of Defense's
authority to use funds appropriated in the fiscal year 2018
defense bill to construct a wall.
This letter lays out the case that the Department of
Defense has no legal authority to build a border wall with or
without reprogramming because the President did not ask for,
and Congress did not provide, any funds that could be legally
used for that purpose.
Many of us were also taken aback when the President tweeted
he was deploying the National Guard to the border. The
President's claim that we face a crisis at our southwest border
is simply not supported by any evidence. And it is particularly
ironic when the President has said repeatedly that illegal
border crossings are at an all-time low.
I am concerned this Administration is diverting limited
Department of Defense resources to the border to carry out a
deportation agenda. Instead, the Administration should rethink
its proposal to dramatically cut foreign aid to Central
America, aid that would help address the violence driving
women, children, and others to our border.
It is evident that the Pentagon was also taken off guard by
the President's tweet. Two weeks after the President's
announcement, the Department of Defense still could not provide
any estimate as to how much this deployment will cost or who is
going to pay for it.
Using past history as a guide, this deployment could easily
cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Congress needs to know
what is going to be cut from the Defense budget to pay for
this. I hope that General Lengyel can provide some insight into
the planning for this mission.
I must tell you, I have serious concerns about what an
open-ended deployment will mean to the National Guard's
readiness and the Guard members' personal lives, their jobs,
and their families.
For 17 years now, our Nation has relied on the Guard and
Reserve as an operational force, seamlessly working with the
active duty force. It has been many years of high tempo. Under
Secretary Mattis' leadership, each of you has made the
readiness of your force your highest priority: renewing
training efforts and modernizing equipment.
This committee has repeatedly provided the Federal funding
that you needed for support.
I am eager for an update on your readiness levels and how
we can further support you. I recognize that strengthening
readiness has not been easy with continuing resolutions,
threats of a shutdown, and sequestration looming. It has been
start and stop, and still, you fulfilled your duties, and I
thank you for this. That is not easy in any organization and
not fair to our military and families who serve so selflessly.
You can count on me to work with our new chairman of this
subcommittee, and the full appropriations committee, Senator
Shelby, to get the fiscal year 2019 budget process started as
soon as we can.
The three of us, who are sitting at this moment together,
are old school. We remember the Senate Appropriations, and even
the House Appropriations, committees that actually produced
bills that were actually debated, that actually passed, and
that actually became law. We would like to return to those
thrilling days of yesteryear.
We have other specific issues to discuss with the panel,
water contamination caused by firefighting chemicals, cyber
protection, and equipment needs, to name a few. I look forward
to that discussion.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Senator Shelby. The letter from Senator Reed that you
referenced, Senator Durbin, will be made part of the record in
its entirety without objection.
[The information follows:]
Senator Shelby. General Lengyel, do you want to start.
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF GENERAL JOSEPH L. LENGYEL
General Lengyel. Thank you, Chairman Shelby and Vice
Chairman Durbin, distinguished members of this subcommittee.
It is a pleasure to be here today.
At this time, Mr. Chairman, I would like to submit my full
written statement for the record.
The National Guard consists of 343,000 citizen soldiers of
the Army National Guard and 106,000 citizen airmen of the Air
National Guard. They represent the finest National Guard in our
381 year history. I am honored to represent them along with
their families, communities, and employers here today.
In the National Defense Strategy, the Secretary outlined
the priorities of our military to deter war and protect the
security of our Nation. In supporting the National Defense
Strategy, my focus remains on our three primary missions: the
war fight, defending and securing the homeland, and building
enduring partnerships.
The Guard is tremendously appreciative for this committee's
support in enabling us to accomplish these missions.
On any given day, approximately 20,000 men and women of the
National Guard work seamlessly with the Army and Air Force as
part of the joint force protecting our Nation's interests
around the globe. With approximately 850,000 deployments since
9/11, Guard, soldiers, and airmen conduct complex operations
that support every geographic combat and command. Your
continued support allows us to leverage our years of combat
experience to help confront current and future security
challenges.
In the homeland, your investment supports, on average,
about 8,000 Guard, soldiers, and airmen every day conducting
domestic and homeland security defense operations.
The Defense Department is assigning our Guardsmen to
support the Department of Homeland Security with its border
security mission as we speak. These Guardsmen, who are under
the command and control of your State governors, will be in
support as DHS (Department of Homeland Security) continues to
refine the requirements.
Your Air National Guard Fighter Wings are protecting the
Nation's skies in 15 of the 16 aerospace control alert sites,
including the skies over the Capitol here today.
The Guard has over 60 percent of the Department of
Defense's chemical, biological, and radiological nuclear
response forces that are strategically positioned throughout
the United States.
Our Cyber Force will grow to 59 units across 38 States by
fiscal year 2019 in addition to the existing 54 Army National
Guard Defensive Cyberspace Operations elements.
Soldiers and airmen in our Counterdrug program, in
coordination with law enforcement agencies and other partners,
detect, interdict, disrupt, and curtail drug trafficking across
our Nation. And the Army National Guard Ballistic Missile
Defense Battalions defend the Nation against intercontinental
ballistic missile threats.
On top of all of this, the National Guard stands ready to
respond to emergencies such as hurricanes, wildfires, and
flooding, as well as assist law enforcement during times of
civil unrest; missions the National Guard performs with little
or no notice.
Over the past year, 45,000 men and women of the National
Guard responded to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria while
simultaneously supporting wild land firefighters and other DOD
(Department of Defense) missions across the States.
The National Guard was called 255 times and served more
than 1.8 million man days, responding to homeland emergencies
in fiscal year 2017, saving thousands of lives. Our presence in
communities around the Nation uniquely postures us to respond
when our communities need us most.
The National Guard's success in the war fight and homeland
operations is a direct result of the enduring partnership we
build with international, Federal, State, and local partners.
Through the State Partnership Program, we currently partner
with 79 nations. This low cost, high return program builds
enduring partnerships based on mutual trust and generates
contributions to coalition efforts around the world.
Today, the National Guard has co-deployed more than 80
times with partner nations on State, Federal, and local. Deep
partnerships with the National Guard's unique authorities
ensure a speedy domestic response during times of domestic
crisis.
Our Nation is currently facing an ever-evolving security
challenge. I am thankful for this committee's recognition in
the support of your National Guard's role both in the homeland
and abroad.
For instance, this committee's support of the National
Guard and Reserve Equipment Account allows our Force to improve
its ability to perform across the broad spectrum of
contingencies here at home and overseas.
Today's operational National Guard requires concurrent and
balanced modernization and recapitalization with our active
components.
This committee's commitment to modernization and
recapitalization on platforms such as the F-35, KC-46, C-
130J's, Blackhawks, HMMWV's, and other ensure the National
Guard is a seamless, interoperable total force partner
supporting our national defense.
Finally, funding for programs, such as the State
Partnership Program and Counterdrug Program, allow the National
Guard to leverage its unique attributes to strengthen
relationships overseas and aid domestic law enforcement
encountering illegal drugs.
Again, I am honored to be here representing the men and
women of the National Guard and the families who support them.
Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to
your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of General Joseph L. Lengyel
Chairman Shelby, Vice Chairman Durbin, and distinguished members of
the subcommittee, it is a pleasure to be here today with my fellow
Reserve Component Leaders.
Today's National Guard is the most relevant it has ever been. I
have lived through the transformation of the Guard from a good,
reliable, and competent strategic reserve, to a combat-tested and
experienced operational force that works seamlessly with the Army and
the Air Force. We are witnessing the best National Guard in our
history, but there is more to be done as we face challenging times
ahead.
As Chief of the National Guard Bureau, my focus every day is
accomplishing our three core missions--fighting America's wars,
securing the homeland, and building enduring partnerships. This past
year, our Guardsmen and women performed these missions magnificently
and I could not be more proud of their commitment and dedication.
As the new National Defense Strategy acknowledges, we live in an
increasingly complex global security environment where the character of
war is changing. We are no longer safe at home as the current threat
environment blurs the lines between domestic and overseas threats, with
many of these threats transcending regions and domains of warfare. We
must compete globally, across the engagement spectrum. We must build a
more modern, lethal, agile and resilient force to respond to these
challenges and the increasing volatility of our security environment.
Maintaining an operational National Guard, as a part of the joint
force, is critical to this end.
warfight
Fighting America's wars will always be the primary mission of the
National Guard. The National Guard supports the needs of the Nation,
the Army, and the Air Force as an operational warfighting force
providing strategic depth, designed with a balance of combat and
enabling units that largely mirror our active Army and Air Force. As
the primary combat reserve of the two services, the Guard is a critical
element of the joint force.
The Nation needs a Guard that is ready, rapidly scalable and
accessible with little or no notice for any contingency to meet any
need. When mobilized and deployed, the Guard is interchangeable with
its active components, providing the joint force highly trained
capacity and capability for the fight. Further, today's National Guard
Soldiers and Airmen expect to be deployed and then employed fighting
and securing America's national security interests.
Thousands of Guardsmen and women serve around the globe on any
given day. Today, we average around 20,000 Soldiers and Airmen
mobilized in places such as Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, the Sinai,
Europe, and South America. However, this is well below our level of
mobilizations at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I
believe we have the capacity to increase the number of mobilized Guard
units over the next several years to support combatant commands around
the world countering threats wherever they exist. Guard utilization can
be maintained indefinitely when mobilizations are recurring,
rotational, sustainable, predictable, and resourced.
homeland
Here in America, the National Guard plays a unique role. Our dual-
use nature and robust presence in 2,600 communities in our States,
territories, and the District of Columbia, gives our National Guard the
ability to quickly and efficiently respond to contingencies. Our
experience and capabilities, gained from conducting complex combat
operations, are utilized in coordinating a unified response across
local, State and Federal agencies using the dual-status authorities
that permit the Guard to be employed under State or Federal command
during domestic emergencies.
The homeland is part of the global battle space. In the past,
America benefited from its favorable geography with friendly neighbors
to the north and south and large oceans to our east and west as natural
barriers. Today, we no longer enjoy this safe haven as a result of new
technologies and weapons that can reach the heart of America with
little or no warning. Additionally, our competitors use cyber in
various ways that include information campaigns as a means for
influence. We must compete every day to safeguard our way of life.
Proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, and
high-yield explosive devices has increased the threat of a weapons of
mass destruction (WMD) attack on the United States. Delivery mechanisms
for these kinds of weapons have also multiplied, and our adversaries
continue to probe for weaknesses in our defense. In any future
conflict, space and cyber attacks will be the norm and will have
extensive impacts on American civilians and our Nation's
infrastructure.
In addition to around 20,000 Guardsmen and women mobilized around
the world, on average, about 8,000 Guard Soldiers and Airmen conduct
domestic and homeland security/defense operations in the United States
on any given day. The National Guard Counterdrug Program assists law
enforcement with the detection, interdiction, disruption and
curtailment of illicit drug trafficking. We support governors and State
agencies during emergencies by providing life-saving aid to devastated
regions ravaged by disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes. We
safeguard our skies by operating from 15 of the 16 Aerospace Control
Alert sites within the United States. Guard battalions in Alaska and
Colorado protect our citizens from ballistic missiles, a threat that is
more immediate now than ever before. The National Guard also provides
over 60 percent of the Department of Defense's chemical, biological,
radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) response forces, capable of responding
to a host of CBRN threats to our homeland. National Guard cyber units
will grow to 59 units across 38 States by fiscal year 2019 in addition
to the already existing 54 Army National Guard Defensive Cyberspace
Operations Elements.
This past year, the National Guard responded to Hurricanes Irma,
Harvey, and Maria where a total of approximately 45,000 Guardsmen and
women supported recovery efforts. Simultaneously, the National Guard
supported wildland firefighting efforts across several States. The
Nation had to galvanize its efforts and resources to provide resiliency
and stability to the communities affected by these disasters. The
National Guard was there every step of the way, and I could not be more
proud of our Soldiers and Airmen. Further, we supported all of these
events while we continued to meet our deployment requirements. We will
utilize the experience we gained in responding to these recent
disasters and benefit from lessons learned as we continue to improve
and increase coordination with our partners in order to achieve unity
of effort within a whole-of-government response.
building partnerships
In today's security environment, threats are increasingly global
and multiregional. As the National Defense Strategy outlines, our
alignment with allies and partners provide a durable and asymmetric
advantage over our adversaries.
Twenty-five years ago, the National Guard began its State
Partnership Program (SPP) to assist the countries of Eastern Europe
reform their defense sectors, improve preparedness, and develop
leaders. With the recent signing of the Malaysia--Washington State
partnership, the SPP has grown to include 79 nations, roughly one-third
of the nations in the world, and more partnerships are planned for the
future. We have seen the fruits of these relationships, which are built
on trust, the exchange of ideas, and mutual respect. Our partnerships
are located in strategic regions around the world and support the
transition of many nations from security consumers to global security
providers.
The SPP provides a low-cost mechanism that bolsters U.S. security
by, with, and through allies and partners. By building these enduring
partnerships, we secure partnerships and commitments and help develop
new ones.
The National Guard's emphasis on partnerships did not begin with
the SPP. Throughout our history, based on our State mission, the
National Guard had the responsibility to safeguard our citizens. This
naturally led us to build partnerships with State and local agencies
and officials. Today, we are part of multiagency integrated playbooks
that governors use in planning for and responding to crises. States can
call on us to augment their organic response as we bring what the
Department of Defense brings, such as manpower, training, leadership,
organization, logistics, and communications to help rebuild communities
after a catastrophe. Developing cooperation and long-standing
partnerships over time is a core competency of the Guard.
The National Guard is a community-based force with many of our
members working and serving where they live. We're integral to the life
of our local communities. Whether partnering with local chapters of
Youth Challenge and Joining Community Forces, or assisting local
responders after a heavy snowstorm, the saying is quite appropriate--
when you call out the Guard, you call out America.
three priorities
This past year saw a confluence of factors shaping our security
environment. Near-peer competitors continue to test longstanding
international norms and engage in activities that are just short of
conflict, yet whose actions provoke, disrupt, and destabilize the
global order. Other nations such as North Korea and Iran not only
threaten regional territories, but also our citizens here at home as
they continue to fund terrorism and develop increasingly sophisticated
ballistic missile technology. Catastrophic disasters such as hurricanes
and wildfires challenged the limits and capacity of our responders.
In light of these challenges and those that lie ahead, I have laid
out three priorities to respond to our current threats and capture my
vision for the Guard's future--provide ready forces to the President
and our Governors, take care of and develop our people, and innovation.
priority #1: readiness
The past 17 years of continuous combat experience has instilled
focused discipline into our training process. We are part of the
Nation's operational force which regularly and routinely contributes to
the warfight. Consequently, I believe we have the best relationship in
our history with our active components.
In building a more lethal Joint Force as directed by the National
Defense Strategy, the National Guard must ensure readiness. Readiness
begins with our force structure and the Guard must have a balanced
array of combat and enabling forces that largely mirrors the Army and
the Air Force. Readiness also includes resourcing the National Guard
through appropriate levels of full-time support, modernization and
recapitalization of equipment, replacing and upgrading Guard
facilities, and recruiting and retaining the best men and women to
enhance the readiness of our force. Investment in high-level collective
training opportunities, such as Combat Training Center rotations and
Red Flag exercises, builds the readiness of the National Guard,
develops leaders, preserves readiness in the active components for
contingency operations and supports critical joint force requirements.
Increased combat readiness also enhances our ability to respond quickly
and effectively, saving lives and property in the homeland.
The Army maintains readiness as its top priority. The Army National
Guard (ARNG), which comprises nearly 34 percent of the Army's manpower
and provides approximately 39 percent of the Army's operational force,
continues to provide rotational forces for named operations, enabling
active component forces to support contingency plans. In addition, the
Army Guard always remains responsive to governors in supporting civil
authorities with such disasters as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and
tornadoes--just as we did this past year.
In fiscal year 2017, the Army National Guard supported 68 exercises
worldwide. Additionally in 2017, more than 150 Army Guard units
participated in collective training exercises at Combat Training
Centers which resulted in increased mission readiness. Beginning in
2018, the Army National Guard Combat Training Center rotations double,
from two to four per year, for our Brigade Combat Teams.
At the forefront is maximizing unit readiness in order to reduce
post- mobilization timelines. The ARNG recognizes the importance of
modern facilities for today's Soldiers and their equipment. As we
continue to invest in developing and improving installations and
facilities for optimum training and efficient mobilization, we will
develop leaders for the total force and, as always, maintain proper
stewardship of our nation's resources.
The Air National Guard continues to utilize its multi-component
dual-use capability at home and abroad. We work seamlessly with the Air
Force and maintain the same standards of operational readiness and
cross-component operational capabilities. Guard Airmen, comprising
approximately a quarter of the Air Force's total manpower, supported
deployment requirements in 56 countries in fiscal year 2017. At home,
our Airmen responded to raging wildfires and provided lifesaving
support and comfort for victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
In addition, the Air Guard continues to protect our skies as the
primary force provider for the North American Aerospace Defense
Command. The Air National Guard is focused on readiness for today's
fight while simultaneously developing 21st Century Guard Airmen and
preparing for tomorrow's fight.
priority #2: people
Our three core missions cannot be accomplished without our most
important weapon system, our citizen warriors, symbolized by the
Minuteman. They provide the foundation on which all our capabilities
reside.
Our Guardsmen and women have been answering the call since the
first militia regiments were organized in Massachusetts in 1636. While
the underlying principles of the Minuteman remain constant, ready to
defend our communities and our Nation, the Minutemen of the 21st
century are a premier force that is a key component of the joint force.
They are adaptive and innovative, often bringing diverse and new ideas
on how to accomplish different missions.
In order to maintain this unique and talented force, we have to
ensure the well-being of our Guardsmen and women, including support for
our families and employers.
Respect throughout our ranks must be second-nature and we will
always strive to be the most diverse force we can be. We will not
tolerate acts such as sexual assault, sexual harassment, and any forms
of social media that degrade or demoralize unit cohesion and readiness.
We must ensure all victims receive our utmost support and care.
With respect to suicides, any Soldier or Airman who takes his or
her own life is one too many. We must ensure our service members look
out for one another. Every first-line supervisor, battle buddy and
wingman should have the requisite training that equips them to look out
for fellow Soldiers and Airmen. We are emphasizing mental health and
resiliency for our units and leaders as we strive to prevent suicides.
Our families also faithfully commit to our Nation, States and
communities when a Guard member serves. We must take care of our
families by ensuring they are aware of family readiness programs,
employment assistance programs, and where to turn to when they need
help.
Although the increased demand that is placed on the National Guard
will add stress to the Guard's part-time force and our business model,
we will continue to adapt. Guard Soldiers and Airmen offer employers a
culture of selfless service, an immeasurable benefit brought to the job
through their military training, experience and leadership. At the same
time, the National Guard benefits from the civilian skills our men and
women bring from their employers. To protect this business model, we
must do our best to provide as much predictability as possible as we
train our forces to answer our Nation's call. We owe this measure to
our dedicated service members, their families, and our employers.
priority #3: innovation
Innovation is inherently in the DNA of the National Guard. National
Guardsmen and women bring unique solutions to different problem sets
using their dual-life military and civilian experiences. For example,
many of the scientists, engineers, and technology experts we see in the
private sector, are also members of the National Guard.
I have created the National Guard Innovation Team which gives me a
direct conduit to Soldiers and Airmen of all ranks who can lend their
diverse expertise in tackling some of the most challenging issues we
face as an organization. However, every Guard Soldier and Airmen should
be empowered to be innovative. We all need to work together to find
solutions for issues that can have wide implications for the Guard such
as more effective organization, recruiting, communications, and
employing social media more effectively. Looking at the spectrum of
threats at home and across the world, we need innovative minds more
than ever.
We need to harness the intellectual capital resident in the Guard.
By developing imaginative solutions and inspiring our culture to be
more willing to evolve and change, we will become a stronger, more
efficient and effective National Guard.
conclusion
I am proud to represent the 450,000 Soldiers and Airmen who serve
in the National Guard. We are an organization steeped in history and
tradition. However, I believe the best is yet to come.
Thank you for your continued support of the members of the National
Guard and their families.
Senator Shelby. Lieutenant General Luckey.
STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL CHARLES D. LUCKEY,
CHIEF, ARMY RESERVE AND COMMANDING GENERAL,
UNITED STATES ARMY RESERVE COMMAND
General Luckey. Chairman Shelby, Vice Chairman Durbin,
distinguished members of the subcommittee.
Thanks for the opportunity to appear before you this
morning. It is an honor for me to represent the some 200,000
soldiers and the civilians of America's Army Reserve who, as I
speak, serve in 20 time zones across the globe. On behalf of
them and their families, I want to thank each of you for your
support.
With a presence in 50 States, 5 U.S. territories, and 30
countries around the world, your Army Reserve is becoming the
most capable combat ready and lethal Federal Reserve force in
the history of the United States.
Over the past year, we have continued to refine our Ready
Force X construct as the driver and intellectual forcing
function for all aspects of manning, equipping, training, and
deploying key capabilities on compressed timelines. As I tell
our troops, RFX (Ready Force X) is a verb, not a noun.
At its core, RFX does two things. First, it is a way of
seeing ourselves as a Force, from a readiness perspective, with
high fidelity and within the context of joint staff validated
war plans. It enables us to prioritize activities and target
policies that get after manning, training, and equipping early
deploying capabilities before mobilization. In essence, it
anticipates and prioritizes what needs to be done first in
order to dramatically reduce post-mobilization timelines.
Second, it forces commanders at echelon to realistically
assess the amount of time they will need to finalize
preparation of their units for combat, post-mobilization, and
to commit to those timelines that are measured, oftentimes, in
days and weeks, not months or years.
This is essential, because it enables us to articulate and
mitigate both risk to mission and risk to force by clearly
assessing the criticality of making mobilization decisions well
before we expect some units to arrive in theater fully combat
ready.
As America's Army Reserve becomes more capable and combat
ready over time, we also remain consistently ready for our
Defense Support to Civil Authorities' missions here at the
homeland and on a moment's notice.
Last year, leveraging its immediate response authority,
your Army Reserve conducted hundreds of missions to evacuate
and rescue thousands of citizens in need, to transport
emergency responders, and airlift lifesaving capabilities and
medical supplies to generate power, purify water, open ports,
clear roads, and deliver food, water, and supplies in support
of Harvey, Irma, and Maria relief efforts.
That said, readiness remains this team's top priority. Last
spring, America's Army Reserve conducted the largest crew-
served weapons gunnery exercise in its history: Cold Steel II
at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. This historic operation trained
thousands of soldiers and hundreds of key raters now qualified
to train and evaluate others, as well as reinvigorating the
Non-Commissioned Officer corps of your Army Reserve and
reinforcing our ethos of lethality. It was awesome.
This year, we are on our way to more than doubling down on
the production of this force and this capability. Operation
Cold Steel II started last October at Fort Hunter Liggett,
California and it continues today at Fort McCoy Wisconsin, Fort
Knox Kentucky, and will soon shift to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-
Lakehurst in New Jersey as we move into the summer. It dwarfs
Cold Steel One in terms of scope, complexity and throughput,
and constitutes, once again, the most aggressive and productive
weapons training in the 110 years of this team.
As we look to the future, your Army Reserve continues to
assess shifting demographics and emerging markets as we
position and posture structure to ensure that we continue to
leverage and share the best talent in America with employers
across the Nation. Targeting, in some cases, digital key
terrain, your Army Reserve is driving to exploit its public-
private partnership program, to develop and expand unique
employment relationships with the private sector as a screening
force for the Army and the Department of Defense.
Creating and moving new structures to key regions, to gain
and retain talent in areas such as cyber operations, quantum
computing, artificial intelligence, your team works closely
with the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, that is, DIUx,
at the Department of Defense in Military District 5 here in
Washington, D.C. and other critical defense-oriented entities.
This initiative is already well underway and bearing fruit.
Finally, I want to thank the Congress and this subcommittee
for your continued support of the Army Reserve to the National
Guard and Reserve Equipping Appropriation, NGREA. This funding
remains vital, and I can assure you that we leverage it to
produce key readiness and lethality enhancing capabilities.
In closing, I encourage you to continue to reach out to the
communities in cities, campuses, and employers in your State,
and to influence the influencers within the sound of your
voice. Let them know that we appreciate their full partnership
in the national security of our great Nation. They are sharing
the best talent in the world with America's Army Reserve.
We could not generate the capability we do for the Nation
without their continued support. That sustained support is
essential if we are going to continue to be ready enough to be
relevant, but not so ready that our soldiers cannot keep
meaningful, civilian jobs and supportive and healthy family
lives.
On behalf of my entire team, we appreciate you, your
support, and your leadership.
I look forward to your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Lieutenant General Charles D. Luckey
Ready Now; Shaping Tomorrow
Throughout its 110-year history, America's Army Reserve has always
met the challenges of the time. Leveraging its broad and pervasive
presence on, and connections with, Main Street America, the Army
Reserve has consistently demonstrated its ability to build and sustain
readiness, and provide unique and critical capabilities to the Army and
the Combatant Commands at a massive cost-savings to the American
people. These times are no different.
As the Army's sole, dedicated Federal reserve force, America's Army
Reserve has been preparing and posturing its forces to respond quickly
to evolving threats from multiple sources. In 2016, we embarked upon an
effort to significantly increase the readiness of our forces and close
interoperability gaps with the Joint Force. Today, some 30 percent of
Army Reserve units are charged with maintaining higher levels of
peacetime readiness to reduce post-mobilization training time, and both
risk-to-mission and risk-to-force, in the event of war.
These units, organized into the construct of Ready Force X (RFX),
are pre-identified based on contingency plans, to mobilize and deploy
on short timelines as part of critical ``Fight Fast'' formations. Some
RFX units will provide unique and essential early-entry and set-the-
theater capabilities to support Army requirements in contested
environments across multiple domains. Others are tailored to support
Army efforts to rapidly expand the critical mobilization platforms
needed to generate the deployment through-put as needed on behalf of
the American people. Still others provide operational depth,
acknowledging that hostilities in one theater may tempt other
competitors to become opportunistically adventurous in another. All
these forces are being methodically identified, prioritized, trained
and postured to move fast, engage quickly and win decisively on the
battlefield of today.
This urgent press to build sufficient readiness to meet the demands
of a large and sudden contingency operation, driven by this new threat
paradigm we face today, has the potential to increase stress on our
Army Reserve Soldiers, families and employers. We acknowledge and
accept the daunting challenge it creates, which is to be ready enough
to be relevant, but not so ready that our Soldiers cannot keep superb
civilian employment and maintain healthy, rewarding and balanced lives
with their families.
This is no small order, but this is no ordinary team. A combination
of engaged leadership, a realigned and dynamic command and control
structure, a reformed and innovative training strategy, and enhanced
time-management flexibility for junior commanders at echelon, will help
mitigate increased pressure on the Soldier. We are also re-tasking and
redesigning our Family Support Program to include regionally-oriented,
organically-nurtured programs that support the family. Finally, the
Army Reserve will continue its persistent engagement with influencers
and employers across America to reinforce the strategic partnership
between Main Street and America's Army Reserve to employ the Nation's
best talent in support of the American people.
Looking to tomorrow, your Army Reserve will continue to assess,
innovate, and shape as we lean into the future. Our aggressive
initiative to anticipate and be informed by emerging demographic trends
in the United States, will enable us to integrate, scale and--where
necessary--realign force structure and facilities to better recruit and
retain critical talent for the Army by being well-positioned to meet
and support our Soldiers where they live and work.
Leveraging new systems and policies, America's Army Reserve will
explore and, where appropriate, operationalize innovative ways to
attract, ``hire'' and leverage the rapidly developing ``digital
talent'' that exists in the private sector for the good of the Army and
the Nation. In short, we will do more than prepare for tomorrow; we
will shape it.
Ready Now, Shaping Tomorrow is not just a slogan. America America's
Army Reserve--capable, combat-ready and lethal--is ready to fight fast
today, and innovate for tomorrow, in support of the Army's mission to
fight, survive and win the Nation's wars.
the state of the army reserve
With a presence in all 50 States, five U.S. territories, and 30
countries across the globe, America's Army Reserve provides operational
capability and strategic depth to the Army and the Joint Force in
support of U.S. national security interests and Army commitments
worldwide.
The Army Reserve comprises nearly 20 percent of the Army's
organized units, almost half its total maneuver support, and a quarter
of its mobilization base-expansion capacity. Its unique status as both
a component of the Army and a singular Command imbues it with the
flexibility, agility and unity of effort needed to respond to any
mission at home or abroad, often with little notice.
Manned, trained and equipped primarily to enable combat formations,
the Army Reserve provides quick access to trained and ready Soldiers
and units, and the critical enabling and sustaining capabilities the
Army needs to win. These include key strategic and operational
capabilities such as Petroleum Pipeline and Terminal Operations, Rail
Units, Biological Identification Detachments, Broadcast Operations,
Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations, a variety of Military
Police capabilities, Military Intelligence, Horizontal and Vertical
Construction, as well as Combat Engineers, Assault Aviation, Logistics,
and an array of Medical Commands and formations.
Engaged globally, the Army Reserve plays an integral role in
America's national defense architecture, meeting high operational tempo
demands, generating forces as required, and providing reliable
capabilities to all Combatant Commands.
Since 2001, more than 310,000 Army Reserve Soldiers have been
mobilized and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Theater
Security Cooperation, Foreign Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster
Relief, Homeland Defense, Defense Support of Civil Authorities, and
other missions at home and around the world.
Today, nearly 15,000 Army Reserve Soldiers are supporting global
combatant command operations to include Civil Affairs missions in the
Horn of Africa, deterrence operations in Kuwait, Military Police
operations at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Medical Support operations in
Honduras.
Without doubt, today's Army Reserve is the most combat-tested and
experienced force in its history, but to remain ready to win in an
environment that grows daily in lethality and complexity, we must build
the most capable, combat-ready, and lethal Federal reserve force in the
Nation's history.
meeting the new threat paradigm
The emerging threat paradigm is characterized by extraordinarily
capable potential adversaries who could contest and disrupt U.S.
military operations across all domains--land, air, sea, space and
cyberspace. This potential reality expands the modern battlefield
beyond anything we have known in terms of tempo, lethality, and
operational and strategic reach. Our ability to match and outpace
potential adversaries is essential to ensuring freedom of maneuver,
while also strengthening our deterrence posture and assessing the
resolve and capability of key global allies.
The commanding lead in technical innovation, once enjoyed by the US
military, is now subject to challenge by emerging competitors.
Moreover, the fast pace of change in the private sector--in areas of
quantum computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, computer &
materials science, medicine, and genetic research and engineering, to
name a few--has, in the main, been driven by profit-motivated markets
that can, in many cases, be characterized by regions, communities or,
in some cases, specific corporate entities. This pace has accelerated
to the point where private/public partnerships are, arguably, an
essential element of National Security.
In this evolving global security environment in which both U.S.
technological supremacy and vital national interests are subject to
challenge by States who potentially possess both the means and
proclivity to challenge U.S. dominance in critical areas and non-State
actors who may acquire capabilities to acutely challenge our forces for
discrete attacks, the mandate is clear: increase the readiness of Army
Reserve forces--primarily units with a bias for action--in order to
enable them to deploy and engage on short notice. This focus on
readiness, of both individual Soldiers and action oriented units,
drives the Army Reserve's strategy for manning, training, and equipping
its ``Fight Fast'' formations and adds credence to the Nation's
deterrence posture.
Readiness is our first priority, and full-spectrum threats demand
full-spectrum readiness. In addition to sustaining the counter-
insurgency and counterterrorism capabilities we have developed, the
Army Reserve must be ready to respond to evolving threats in several
theaters, and be prepared for the warfighting demands of large-scale,
nearly simultaneous contingencies in more than one of them. Should they
materialize, these contingencies would require significant and rapid
mobilization, and require lead formations from America's Army Reserve
to provide technical enabling capabilities crucial to opening,
synchronizing, and sustaining major operations.
In this new threat paradigm, the time-tested model of rotational
readiness will no longer suffice. Our traditional ``patch chart''
approach will not generate the significant surge capacity that such
contingencies--arising quickly with little strategic indications and
warning--will demand. To that end, the Army Reserve must now focus its
training, equipping and manning priorities to meet the challenge of
generating full-spectrum readiness for a Ready Force of tens of
thousands of Soldiers who can deploy to the fight in a matter of days
and weeks. This work includes having sufficient critical Army Reserve
enabler capabilities and ensuring there are no interoperability gaps in
areas such as mobility, lethality, battlefield communications and
mission command systems.
Ready Force X
In an environment in which the rapid mobilization and deployment of
lead formations is critical to massing and sustaining combat power, the
Army relies upon the fundamentally integrated and unique capabilities
of America's Army Reserve to fight and win. To that end, as noted
earlier, your Army Reserve has continued to refine and develop Ready
Force X (RFX) as the driving force for all aspects of manning,
equipping, training, and deploying key capabilities on the compressed
timelines that certain contingencies mandate. While this remains a work
in progress, much advancement has been made.
RFX units will have the ability to deploy rapidly--in some cases
days or weeks--with the mobility, survivability, lethality and netted
mission command architecture to synchronize with the Total Force and
win on the battlefield. While RFX units may be missioned, primarily,
with an eye towards one contingency, their key organizing aspects are
readiness and agility. Put simply, they must be ready to ``Fight
Fast.'' Whether it be opening ports, setting the theater with critical
enablers, constituting and operating mobilization support platforms for
the Total Force, or supporting maneuver forces in contact with the
enemy, RFX units need to be ready to move quickly to a wide-variety of
contingencies.
RFX units comprise critically integrated capabilities for the Army.
In some instances they consist of capabilities that are unique to
America's Army Reserve and have, essentially, no analogue in either the
Active Army or the National Guard. Key aspects of petroleum
distribution, rail operations, theater-level engineer and aviation
operations, civil affairs, and psychological operations are but a few
examples of such formations. In other cases, they are capabilities
that, while not exclusively the province of the Army Reserve--critical
medical units, a wide array of sustainment capabilities, and multiple
maneuver support formations to list but a few--form a large percentage
of the Army's total capacity and are likely to be needed on compressed
timeliness. These requirements drive the mandate: certain units must be
able to achieve a high degree of pre-mobilization readiness and sustain
it over time. Readiness begins with the individual American Soldier.
Fit, medically-ready, appropriately trained, and conditioned, the
deployable Soldier is the foundational element of capability. Upon this
foundation we build the collective capability of units-of-action that
are manned, trained, equipped and--above all--led to genuine combat-
readiness. In RFX formations, this effort requires, in addition to
motivated and committed leadership, persistent energy and a dogged
determination to focus on those mission-critical tasks that must be
accomplished now since there will be little to no time upon
mobilization.
At the core, RFX is two things. First, it is a way of prioritizing
activities and focusing decisionmaking--personnel policies, training
schedules, equipping timelines, modernization priorities, etc.--with a
view towards those things that must be done quickly in the event of a
contingency or surge requirement. Second, it is a lens that forces
commanders to access, in conjunction with a potential wartime
requirement, the amount of time they will need to prepare their unit
for combat, but also to view that assessment considering when the
Combatant Command has determined that the capability will be needed, in
the battle-space, and fully mission capable. That lens is what enables
leadership to see the risk of not being ready to ``Fight Fast,''
because it bounds the problem and clarifies the risk.
RFX is not a rotational-readiness construct. Units in it, to
include early-entry/set-the- theater capabilities, and other formations
meeting specific Combatant Command requirements, will be appropriately
manned, trained, equipped, and maintained in place until further notice
to enhance stability within the force and enable the Army Reserve to
build and sustain individual and collective readiness. Leveraging the
Army's Sustainable Readiness strategy, strategic depth units will
remain sized, trained, and postured, as required, to protect the Nation
and its interests, to include Homeland Defense and Defense Support of
Civil Authorities (DSCA).
Homeland Defense and Defense Support of Civil Authorities
With Soldiers and equipment in more than 1,100 communities across
the Nation, America's Army Reserve is uniquely postured to employ
capabilities critical to Homeland Defense and DSCA. These include
search and rescue, aviation, engineer, transportation, medical, water
and fuel distribution, water purification and communications support.
Operating under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, America's Army Reserve
supports local, State and Federal agencies as part of the synchronized
Federal response force coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency that fills the capability gaps of Civil Authorities, conducting
operations to save lives, prevent human suffering and mitigate property
damage. Operating under the guidelines of the National Response
Framework (NRF), and in compliance with the National Incident
Management System (NIMS), America's Army Reserve provides an immediate
and deliberate response in support of the American people at their time
of greatest need. As with their brothers and sisters in the Army Guard,
Army Reserve Soldiers live and work in local communities across the
country and around the world, and they stand ready to support on no-
notice.
Over the past year, in anticipation of Hurricane Harvey's landfall,
your Army Reserve prepared and positioned capabilities to be ready to
support on a moment's notice, and then--pursuant to Immediate Response
Authority (IRA)--executed dozens of missions to rescue and evacuate
well over 4,000 people, transport emergency responders, and airlift
life-saving medical supplies throughout the greater Houston metroplex.
Similarly, your Army Reserve Soldiers provided massive IRA support in
the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, providing key port-opening
capabilities, road clearance operations, water and fuel distribution,
and water purification operations in support of thousands of devastated
survivors.
More than 2,000 Army Reserve Soldiers from the Puerto Rico-based
1st Mission Support Command and other Reserve units on Puerto Rico and
the U.S. Virgin Islands responded to local and Federal requests for
assistance. Placed under the unified command of an Army Reserve
Brigadier General immediately after Hurricane Irma struck, these units
provided critical and orchestrated capabilities setting the stage for
operations after Maria's devastating blow. These operations included
movement of life-saving commodities, mortuary affairs, power
restoration, opening of roadways, support of the U.S. Coast Guard in
opening the Port of San Juan, and enabling additional support to the
Federal Government's effort to assist the Commonwealth and the
Territory. Your Army Reserve Soldiers, living in Puerto Rico and the
Virgin Islands, cleared access corridors to hospitals and positioned
civil affairs capabilities to better orchestrate medical support to
localcivilians.
Water purification units, like the 973rd Quartermaster Company,
provided more than 12,500 gallons of safe water per day to people who
had no access to potable water. Army Reserve Convoys transported
pallet-loads of bottled water, thousands of meals, and gallons of
freshly purified bulk water, and distributed well over 100,000 gallons
of fuel in support of local authorities.
Twenty-one personnel from Delta Company, 249th Engineer Battalion
(Prime Power), were on the ground in Puerto Rico repairing distribution
lines. Delta Company, the only Army unit comprised solely of linemen,
placed an average of 10 power poles per day, and repaired more than
52,800 feet of distribution lines, connecting over 3,500 clients to the
power grid.
America's Army Reserve fields a significant portion of the Nation's
chemical and biological agent defense capabilities, many of which are
fully integrated into the standing Department of Defense Chemical,
Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Response Enterprise An Army
Reserve mission force comprised of units assigned to the CBRN Command
and Control Element conducts critical enabling tasks for CBRN response
operations in support of if called upon, these highly trained Soldiers
support civil authorities to save lives, minimize human suffering,
maintain public confidence, and mitigate the effects of CBRN incidents.
Leveraging the Civilian Skills
Many of America's Army Reserve Soldiers have years of civilian
experience and industry- specific knowledge, expertise and skills in
cyber, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other advanced-
technology fields. Your Army Reserve has already moved rapidly and
decisively to position force structure across the United States to
assess and develop ``digital key terrain''. Intended, broadly, to both
better understand the rapidly developing technologies in the private
sector of the global economy and to exploit the Army Reserve's unique
ability to leverage its pervasive presence in that sector to bring
additional capability to the Army, this initiative is well underway.
Working closely with partners in both the public and private sectors,
your Army Reserve is playing to its strength--finding some of the best
talent in America and weaving it into the National Security fabric of
America.
We will continue to explore and exploit opportunities to draw upon
our civilian-acquired or civilian-retained skills, and to leverage our
relationships with industry and academia, while also capitalizing on
evolving demographic shifts in the population. But one example from an
operational perspective: Army Reserve cyber Soldiers support a myriad
of missions to include cyber protection of critical infrastructure
networks. Army Reserve Cyber Operations Group Soldiers are employed by
more than 30 government agencies and contractors, including the
Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Agency, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Defense Intelligence Agency and
more than 40 corporate, financial and academic institutions, such as
Uber, Google, IBM, MIT, Carnegie Mellon University and the Naval Post
Graduate School. This is but the beginning.
Families and Employers
Readiness is built and sustained by garnering and retaining the
support of both our families and, for America's Army Reserve, the
employers who enable us to serve the Army and the Nation. The reason
for this is as simple as it is self-evident: in a Nation that depends
upon an all-volunteer force for its survival, if you are unable to hold
the support of our families and fellow citizens, you do not have an
Army. Families who feel embraced, appreciated, and integrated into the
Army Reserve are our key enablers. Similarly, the unwavering support of
employers for Army Reserve Soldiers often determines their ability to
continue to serve the people of the United States as an American
Soldier.
Translated into action, this reality requires a coherent and
integrated approach whereby a variety of Family Support programs and
initiatives are leveraged to support Families and sustain a sense of
community and mutual support in spite of the geographic dispersion of
our units and Soldiers who are spread around the world. Sustaining
employer support becomes an even more complex and demanding challenge
when seen in the context of the Army's appropriate reliance upon the
Army Reserve to generate the requisite combat power the Nation
requires. Persistent and persuasive engagement with employers and the
communities in which they reside, through a variety of outreach tools,
is the key to reminding American businesses of the essential linkage
between their patriotism and national security. We cannot, and will
not, throttle back on this effort. Our U.S. Army Reserve Ambassadors,
Public-Private Partnership Program and community support initiatives at
the local level are all critical enablers in this push.
By way of example, the Army Reserve maintains an around-the-clock
capability to support our Soldiers and Families. The Fort Family
Outreach and Support Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, provides a
direct conduit to command and community resources with comprehensive
and confidential information, assistance, and referrals for every
aspect of military life. Moreover, the Army Reserve Volunteer Program
promotes and strengthens volunteerism by uniting community volunteer
efforts, enhancing volunteer career mobility, and establishing
volunteer partnerships.
Our Survivor Outreach Services Program maintains a family's
connection with the Army family in times of loss, regardless of a
fallen member's duty status or component. Child and Youth Services
helps geographically dispersed Soldiers and families find affordable
childcare and youth supervision options within local communities. Army
Family Team Building is a readiness training program to educate Army
Families about military life. These and other Family Readiness programs
support more than a quarter of a million dependents in America's Army
Reserve. They are initiatives that have proven themselves
effectiverepeatedly.
Our Private Public Partnership (P3) program directly serves to meet
the demand signal of attracting and retaining talent. Within the P3
program, America's Army Reserve develops, integrates, and fosters
relationships between Army Reserve Soldiers and private and public-
sector organizations. P3 has established an extensive network of
partners that include not-for- profit and for-profit organizations and
has helped establish veteran specific employment initiatives through a
teamwork approach with employers--a win for bothteams.
Suicide Prevention
In America's Army Reserve, suicide prevention is the shared
responsibility of commanders, leaders, Soldiers, Family members, and
Army civilians at all levels and our efforts are a key component to
personal unit readiness. Ensuring prompt access to quality care is an
essential component of suicide prevention but we must also reduce risk,
and one of the greatest risks is stigma. In the Army Reserve, we are
working to eliminate the stigma associated with seeking help for
suicidal thoughts or feelings, and are working to provide supportive
environments for those with emotional and psychological issues.
The Army Reserve is diligent in raising awareness of the many tools
and resources available to increase individual resiliency and eliminate
the incidences of suicide. For example, Military OneSource provides
free financial counselors for military members facing serious financial
issues--a key suicide risk factor. The Comprehensive Soldier Fitness
(CSF) Program helps Soldiers learn resiliency and have the tools to
grow through demanding experiences. The Army Reserve's Fort Family
Outreach Support Center (1-866-345-8248) provides assistance for
Soldiers and Families in need. The Army Reserve is unleashing the power
of the team to take care of our teammates and eliminate suicides within
our team.
Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention
There is no place for sexual harassment and assault in the Army
Reserve. America's Army Reserve is a family, a close-knit team. Sexual
harassment and assault is an attack on our team, and it is not
tolerated. Just as we would not let anyone hurt our immediate family
members, we will not let anyone harm a member of our Army Reserve team
and our unit readiness.
The leaders at all echelons of the Army Reserve are the shields of
trust for each Soldier. We must have high levels of mutual trust to get
after those who would break that bond. As the shields to our team, the
entirety of the Army Reserve is committed to 1) Protect victims,
provide compassionate care, protect their rights and privacy, and
prevent sexual assaults from occurring in the first place; 2) Report
every allegation, ensure they are thoroughly and professionally
investigated, and take appropriate action based on the results of those
investigations; 3) Create a positive command climate and an environment
of trust and respect in which every person can thrive and achieve their
full potential; 4) Hold individuals, units, Commanders and leaders
responsible for their actions or inactions; 5) Fully engage the chain
of command, and hold it accountable for everything that goes on in the
unit. America's Army Reserve is fully committed to eradicating
instances of harassment and sexual assault, caring for the victims, and
holding those who commit such egregious acts accountable.
shape and grow the future force
Staying current with force structure changes, unit positioning,
leader development, and leveraging emerging technologies, capabilities
and opportunities are key aspects of the agility the Army Reserve will
use to shape and grow the future force. The positioning of force
structure, units and capabilities is a vital part of developing
tomorrow's Army Reserve. Building for the future means ensuring that
America's Army Reserve not only anticipates and flexes to meet new and
emerging force structure requirements, but that ready units are
positioned where future Soldiers are living and working in their chosen
fields. Aligning force structure and unit locations with trending
demographics will also help overcome perennial recruiting and retention
challenges.
Developing agile leaders who can thrive in a full spectrum
environment, are capable of making hard decisions under stress, and can
operate in a complex and potentially digitally- disrupted or austere
environment is a key component of our strategy to shape and grow the
future force.
The Army Reserve's deep connection to the private sector is a
substantial advantage in understanding and exploiting cutting-edge
technology advances and capabilities, such as those in the cyber
domain. For example, we are already positioning structure to support
high tech-focused Department of Defense (DoD) initiatives leveraging
``digital key terrain'' in select locations in the United States, and
seizing on further opportunities to draw upon our civilian skills and
relationships with the private sector to meet critical needs of the
Army.
Finally, infrastructure is also a critical component of generating
readiness. No one installation is ideally suited to providing first-
class training to all formations at all times of the year. Training
platforms--their location, capabilities, and limitations--must be
assessed and leveraged in a manner that optimizes their ability to
provide relevant, combat focused training experiences for Army Reserve
units, and maximizes their ability to increase the combat- readiness of
discrete, capable units in the minimum time possible.
Resourcing and Sequestration
Consistent funding is critical to ensuring that America's Army
Reserve can meet the needs of the Army and Combatant Commands across
the range of military options. We are grateful to Congress for the
recent agreement to increase the discretionary budget caps for fiscal
years 2018 and 2019. If sequestration budget caps return in fiscal year
2020, the Army Reserve will incur significant risk in training,
facility restoration and modernization, and equipping and modernization
programs vital to winning the Nation's wars. To date, the Army Reserve
has managed to fund training for critical units.
Sustaining critical operational capabilities requires consistent,
adequate, and predictable funding over time. Past budget uncertainty
and the 2013 sequester have negatively impacted modernization and
equipping investments. To ensure Army Reserve units are ready when
called upon, Army Reserve Training Centers that support Home Station
training requirements must be adequately resourced and properly
configured to maintain quality facility conditions.
The velocity of technology change continues to outpace the Army's
modernization strategy and the resources required to procure and
sustain the most modern equipment across the entire force. Given Army
priorities and resources levels, the Army Reserve is at risk striving
to maintain battlefield commonality. Risk is particularly acute for the
Army Reserve in Mission Command Systems, to include battle command
systems, tactical radios, and satellite transport platforms. Moving
forward, America's Army Reserve will focus its innovation efforts on
units that must be postured to provide critical early entry and set-
the-theatercapabilities.
From fiscal year 2015 to fiscal year 2016, the National Guard and
Reserve Equipment account (NGREA) funding allocated to the Army Reserve
enabled investments in tactical wheeled vehicles ($164 million),
engineer equipment ($28 million), simulations ($23 million), and field
logistics ($21 million). Using fiscal year 2017 NGREA funds, the Army
Reserve will procure Critical Dual Use (CDU) items, including Logistics
Automations Systems, Bridge Erection Boats, Power Distribution Systems
and Scrapers in support of Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA).
america's army reserve: capable. combat-ready and lethal
America's Army Reserve is a capable, combat-ready, and lethal team
providing critical capabilities to Army Service Component Commands and
all Combatant Commands. Although the threats to America are dynamic and
increasing every day, your Army Reserve remains a highly effective and
responsive force for the Nation. As it has since its founding in 1908
as the Medical Reserve Corps, today's Army Reserve--anchored in
civilian employment and local communities across the Nation, and highly
trained and educated in 148 different military career fields--stands
ready to serve the Nation at home and abroad. America's Army Reserve--a
force of technically and highly skilled Soldiers, leaders, and units:
Capable. Combat-Ready. Lethal.
Senator Shelby. Lieutenant General Miller.
STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL MARYANNE MILLER, CHIEF,
AIR FORCE RESERVE, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
General Miller. Chairman Shelby, Vice Chairman Durbin, and
members of the subcommittee.
I am truly honored to have this opportunity to report to
you on the state of the Air Force Reserve.
I am joined today by Chief Master Sergeant Ericka Kelly,
Command Chief for Air Force Reserve Command.
On any given moment, on any given day around the world,
6,500 active citizen airmen, stationed stateside and deployed
around the world, are supporting our Nation's defense.
There is no distinction between our Active Guard and our
Reserve Airmen. They are lethal. They are privileged to defend
this great Nation. Honored to serve alongside our joint
partners and allies, and we are ready to make the ultimate
sacrifice for our county.
At our core, we are seasoned then to fight and experienced
in every mission set of our Air Force. Our civilian experience
is a great asset in all that we do, and we never fail to
leverage that experience in our military duties, whether it be
as a pilot, an aircraft maintainer, a security force airmen,
firefighter, cyber defender, or medical expert.
We succeed because of the support of this great country, of
our Congress, this distinguished committee, our employers, and
most importantly, our treasured airmen and their families.
Over the past year, we have committed to amplify our
readiness in accordance with the National Defense Strategy by
growing Reserve in growth commiserate with the joint force
demand, expanding our total force recruiting initiatives, and
increasing our flying hour program. We also remain focused on
our Weapon Systems Sustainment program to ensure we sustain the
fight into the future.
We are recapitalizing vehicles and support equipment, and
increasing the lethality and survivability of our weapons
system, all of which rely heavily on the National Guard and
Reserve Equipment Account Appropriation. Thank you very much
for the support of this account from this committee.
During last year's hearing, I spoke about the pilot and
aircraft maintainer retention challenge. Today, the flight line
manning of our part-time citizen airmen force remains very
strong. However, the steady state demand for airline pilots and
civilian industry aircraft maintainers continues to impact the
retention of our full time technician force.
In response to these challenges, we have implemented
bonuses, incentive pay, and special salary rates for our pilots
and our maintenance force. Though this approach has positively
impacted retention, it may not be sufficient for the long term.
We need to continue to discuss other fulltime support
options and incentives with your staffs, and we need to garner
support for these options to improve our manning over time.
Our Nation's Air Force Reserve is strong. We are a
resilient force of airmen, civilians, and contractors postured
to ensure that we preserve our foundational strength. Our
Nation depends on the daily operational capability and
strategic depth that we provide. We will continue to sharpen
our edge and improve our readiness to win any fight at any
time.
We are focused on recruiting essential talent and retaining
critical skills to expand our competitive edge across all
domains. America's Air Force Reserve continues to treasure and
strengthen that bond between the citizens of our Nation and the
airmen who answer the call to defend our freedoms.
I am honored to represent all of our airmen and their loved
ones today and I thank this committee for your enduring
support, and I look forward to your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Lieutenant General Maryanne Miller
strategic environment
America's Air Force Reserve, an essential and integral component of
the United States Air Force, faces a more complex and demanding
environment than we have seen in generations. Great power competition
has reemerged as the central challenge to U.S. prosperity and security
and our relative advantage in air and space is eroding.
As a Major Command growing back to 70,000 Airmen, the Air Force
Reserve stands ready, as a principle contributor in all Combatant
Command areas of responsibility, and in response to those who challenge
U.S. prosperity and security. As a Major Command with Airmen rich in
combat experience and years of engagement in conflict zones, our
strength is still our seasoned talent, steeped in experience and
postured for ready response.
Aligned and postured with the National Defense Strategy, we are
building an even more lethal and ready force, strengthening alliances
and partnerships, and continuing to deliver greater, more affordable
results across the domains of war. We are tailoring our Command to the
right size and mix of agile capabilities to compete, deter, and win in
joint and combined warfare.
america's air force reserve in demand
The Reserve is indispensable day to day in every joint force
operation, with over 6,500 Airmen serving on full-time orders around
the world in all core missions of the Air Force. Our first
responsibility is to integrate seamlessly with unmatched lethality as
an equal member of the Total Force.
The Reserve is integral in all five Air Force core missions by
providing:
--Air and Space Superiority . . . freedom from attack and freedom to
attack. As we continue to build a lethal force, we are
emboldened by years of combat experience. The talent of Reserve
Citizen Airmen in dominating air and space domains,
distinguishes America's Reserve as high threat in any
aggressor's risk calculus.
--Global Strike . . . any target, any time. Over 1,000 Reserve
Citizen Airmen and their bombers project nuclear deterrence and
strike lethality across the globe as a counter to inter-state
strategic competition and terrorism.
--Rapid Global Mobility . . . delivery on demand. The Reserve's
24,000 Airmen contributing to Air Mobility solidifies our Air
Force's ability to frustrate the adversaries efforts and
preclude their options while expanding our own, selecting the
time and place of our choosing as the world's most resilient
and agile air mobility force.
--Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) . . . global
eyes and ears on adversaries. The fiscal year 2018 Reserve
focus, in response to the joint warfighter demand, establishes
a new ISR Wing, 2 ISR Groups, 14 Intelligence squadrons, and
adds 9 intelligence targeteers--supporting all four layers of
the National Defense Strategy Global Operating Model.
--Command and Control . . . right info, right person, right time.
America's Air Force Reserve holds a critical role in Total
Force command and control, employing three squadrons dedicated
to Combatant Command's Air Operation Center's steady state and
surge activities--employing the AN/USQ-163 Falconer Air and
Space Operations (AOC) Weapons System and directly supporting
service and joint staffs. These units ensure both Pacific and
Central Commands are postured with command, control, and
communications capabilities that project joint force lethality.
america's reserve aligned with air force strategic direction
The Air Force Reserve budget request of $5.1 billion for fiscal
year 2019, builds on the progress made in 2018, to amplify the
readiness of the force, project lethality, and cost-effectively
modernize. Sustaining these efforts requires predictable, sufficient,
and flexible budgets.
In alignment with our Service and National Defense Strategy, our
budget prioritizes long-term readiness supporting Air Force Reserve
contributions in the Pacific and European theaters. Our Reserve focus
continues to be readiness through theater specific training sets and
weapon system modernization that addresses increased peer competition
in today and tomorrow's battle space.
Associations with our Active Component remain the foundational
organizational construct of our Air Force Reserve where two thirds of
all Air Force associations reside. Associations ensure we continue to
capture seasoned active airmen for continued service, leverage scarce
resources in organizational efficiencies and improve our lethality
through shared training and combat experiences. The bottom line is that
Association models leverage unique strengths of each component to
capitalize on recruitment, retention and readiness.
continuing efforts
Some elements of this budget continue programs and strategies that
are underway:
--Amplify Readiness.--America's Air Force Reserve always trains to
the same standards and maintains the same level of readiness as
the Active Component. We balance our baseline budget of a
Strategic Reserve with the day-to-day operational demands of
our force. We are in an age of constant global competition
where the Air Force Reserve, while funded as a strategic
resource, is essential as a daily operational contributor. We
are reviewing opportunities to change the strategic model of
``part time--full time'' Airmen to leverage Reserve operational
lethality without breaking strategic readiness.
--People.--Reserve readiness requires manpower end-strength
commensurate with global demand. In fiscal year 2019, we seek
an increase of 200 positions, primarily to support Force
Protection and Special Operations Intelligence growth areas. As
we increase the base of Reserve Citizen Airmen, our personnel
programs must adapt as well. As a retention initiative in our
critically manned pilot and maintainer community, we will
continue to propose a change in law to allow Tricare Reserve
Select for our Title 5 Air Reserve Technicians. This effort,
along with a rebalance of full-time support across our
squadrons, will bolster recruiting and retention in critical
skills areas.
--Nuclear Deterrence.--Central to the projection of Total Force
nuclear response, the Reserve is postured in disciplined
readiness with B-52 aircrews as a key enterprise contributor.
The initiative to develop replacement engines for the B-52 will
capitalize on the lethality of this proven aircraft and the
seasoned Reserve Citizen Airmen that employ them.
--Space Superiority.--We have 11 space units in America's Air Force
Reserve which align under Air Combat Command and Air Force
Space Command--10 Classic Associations and 1 national level
association. Our Classic Association partnership supporting the
Space Test and Training Range at Schriever Air Force Base
ensures readiness of the only range of its kind in the Defense
Department. Increased budget proposals led to an overall
increase of 55 positions throughout the 26th Space Aggressor
Squadron.
--Multi-Domain Command and Control.--The Air Force budget proposal
focused on modernizing seven E-3 Airborne Warning and Control
System (AWACS) aircraft will continue to ensure our Airmen in
our Classic Association unit stand ready to employ one of the
world's most sophisticated Command and Control resources.
--Air Superiority.--Years of seasoned combat experience are a
hallmark of America's Air Force Reserve Citizen Airmen who fly
the most sophisticated 5th generation fighters in the world.
The Air Force 5-year plan and associated fiscal year 2019
budget capitalizes on the Reserve's seasoned experience by
directly increasing the overall manpower within our F-35
schoolhouse by 72 positions, enhancing electronic warfare, and
control of the electromagnetic spectrum across the air
superiority enterprise.
budget priorities
Improving Warfighting Readiness.--Readiness is first and foremost
about having enough trained people. We are recruiting to 343 pilot and
2,143 maintainer vacancies. To expedite recruitment, we increased pilot
training selection boards from 2 per year to 6 per year; in
maintenance, Office of Personnel Management delegated Direct Hiring
Authority to the Office of the Secretary of Defense to reduce accession
times.
As we continue to bolster our lethality, we leverage five major
levers of readiness; Critical Skills availability, Training Resource
availability, Weapon System sustainment, Flying Hour Program, and
Operations and Personnel Tempo. The flexibility in balance between
levers of readiness gives the business model its strength, as each
lever is mutually supporting.
Funding for Weapon System Sustainment in the fiscal year 2019
budget accounts for 76 percent of the program's baseline. Leveraging of
Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding increases our program to
83 percent of our baseline request. The Air Force Reserve seeks a
stable and predictable budget by reducing reliance on OCO funding and
increasing our baseline budget.
The Reserve capacity to execute additional increase in our baseline
exists with the retention of the A-10, C130H and the KC-135 and
associated costs in system sustainment of these mature platforms.
In the Flying Hour Program, we seek a $49.7M increase from fiscal
year 2018--a total of $739,194,000. This increase ensures sufficient
funding of higher cost C-17 hours as one of our wings converts from C-
130s to C-17s. It also adds flying hours in support of the buyback of
two, eventually eight, C-5 aircraft. Additionally, hours are added for
the fielding of the KC-46 program. The budget increase supports the
capacity of Reserve resources (aircrew, maintenance, and aircraft) to
execute the Flying Hour Program.
Strengthening Alliances.--The Air Force Reserve, in alignment with
the Total Force, will continue to build on our efforts to assist our
allies and partners in times of peace and war. The diversity of our
Reserve Citizen Airmen remains a unique and valuable attribute to
maturing existing and future partnerships and alliances. America's Air
Force Reserve hosts one of the nation's top Foreign Military Sales
training wings led by Citizen Airmen. The wing refines partner and ally
nation's fighter pilots and maintainers into a robust constellation of
lethality ready to prevail in conflict and preserve peace through
strength.
conclusion
The Air Force Reserve will remain an integrated, flexible, and
lethal force of Airmen indispensable to the fight across the domains
and across the globe. We continue to build and shape our combat force
for the future ever focused and always vigilant of the reemergence of
great power competition. Thank you for your tremendous support of
America's Air Force Reserve.
Senator Shelby. Vice Admiral McCollum.
STATEMENT OF VICE ADMIRAL LUKE M. MCCOLLUM, CHIEF, NAVY
RESERVE, DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
Admiral McCollum. Good morning, Chairman Shelby, and Vice
Chairman Durbin, and distinguished members of the subcommittee.
It is my distinct honor to report on the state of the
Nation's Navy Reserve.
As we meet here this morning, we have over 16,000 Reserve
sailors operating with distinction in support of operations
here at home and abroad. The part of the 59,000 strong Reserve
force in the Navy, trained and ready to serve anywhere our
country asks them to, and are focused on ensuring that our Navy
is the most lethal in the world.
Without the unwavering support of their employers, and
their families, and Congress they would not be the force
multipliers they are today. And I believe I speak on behalf of
my colleagues with me that we offer our most sincere thanks.
Before I go, I would like to take the time to introduce the
Navy Reserve's newest Force Master Chief, Chris Kotz, sitting
right behind me. Master Chief, thank you for joining me today.
The mission of the Navy Reserve is to provide strategic
depth and to deliver relevant operational capability to rapidly
increase the agility and lethality of the total Force. To be
ready to do so, we must maintain our focus on readiness,
capacity, and ultimately, lethality.
The primary enablers to achieve this are discretionary RPN
and NGREA flexible funding. Your continued support in ensuring
these accounts remains robust, consistent, and predictable is
critical to maintaining our force readiness.
Additionally, I cannot stress enough, and you already
mentioned this, sir, the importance of fiscal year 2019
appropriations commencing on time. And like the active
component, the shutdowns have an immediate impact to the
Reserve Force. And just the shutdown alone in January, reduced
the medical readiness of the entire Force by 8 percent.
One of our top priorities is recapitalizing the aging Navy
Reserve equipment, which is critical to ensure the highest
levels of readiness and interoperability.
As one example, before an aircraft carrier strike group is
certified for deployment, the Navy Reserve plays an integral
role in providing adversary support using the Reserve F/A-18
alphas to train active duty fighter squadrons. However, these
aircraft represent the oldest planes in naval aviation. And
while they do provide critical service, there still exists
potential interoperability gaps between the Reserve and Active
components.
The recently signed 2018 appropriation was instrumental in
addressing the immediate needs and getting the C-130 fleet
airborne. And it also begins to address the longer term
recapitalization need.
The KC-130 Juliet procurement, the replacement of the 24
aging C-130's is scheduled to begin in fiscal year 2023 with
three aircraft. And your continued support of this program will
ensure the Navy Reserve's ability to fulfill our fleet
essential airlift requirement.
As it relates to the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance
mission, the Navy continues to review requirements for aircraft
as they fully transition from P3's. Included in this review is
how the Navy Reserve will continue to support this mission with
its aging P3 fleet. Without recapitalization, the squadrons in
Whidbey Island, Washington and Jacksonville, Florida will
decommission in 2023.
In closing, I could not be prouder of our Navy Reserve
Force. Every time I set foot in one of our operational support
centers, aviation squadrons, or visit our sailors around the
globe, I come away inspired and encouraged, as you might
imagine. Their motivation and morale is high.
Our dedicated Navy Reserve war fighters take great pride in
continuing to serve and the unique civilian skills and
innovative mindset they bring to the war fighter are priceless
assets that increase the war fighting lethality within the
total Force.
On behalf of the Navy and the Navy Reserve, I thank the
members of the committee for your support, and I look forward
to answering your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Vice Admiral Luke M. McCollum
Chairman Shelby, Vice Chairman Durbin, and distinguished Members of
the Subcommittee, as Chief of Navy Reserve it is my distinct honor to
report to you on the state of the United States Navy Reserve and to
discuss our fiscal year 2019 budget request.
The value of the Nation's investments in the Navy Reserve cannot be
overstated. Our force is comprised of 59,000 citizen sailors from every
State and territory. Historically comprising less than 2 percent of the
Navy's total annual budget, Navy Reserve Sailors have mobilized over
81,000 times to every theater of operation since 2001, including 2,961
personnel in fiscal year 2017. On any given day, 20 percent of the
Reserve force is operating, delivering critical support to our forces
around the globe. As a perpetually-ready surge capability,
operationally integrated with the total force, your Navy Reserve
continues to deliver scalable lethality in defense of our Nation. On
behalf of Navy reservists and their families, I would like to extend my
sincere gratitude for your continued support. The work of the defense
committees makes this capability possible.
force structure
Today's force structure is the result of Navy's imperative to
optimize the interoperability and operational effectiveness of the Navy
Reserve. Due to Active/Reserve integration efforts over the past 15
years, Reserve Sailors train and work alongside Active Component (AC)
counterparts and units. Integrated partners in the Navy total force,
Reserve Sailors provide a rapid response to calls for support, often on
short notice. Additionally, Reserve Component (RC) hardware units,
aligned and integrated with AC unit training and deployment cycles, are
force multipliers through mission augmentation that provide surge
capacity to Combatant Commands worldwide.
Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command operates six regional
headquarters and 123 Navy Operational Support Centers (NOSCs), located
in all 50 States, Puerto Rico, and Guam. NOSCs collectively serve as
drilling locations and provide administrative support to over 1,400 RC
units. NOSCs reside on and off DoD installations, a mix of stand-alone
facilities, Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Centers, and joint Armed Forces
Reserve Centers.
Commander, Naval Air Forces Reserve comprises three air wings, two
Joint Reserve Bases and one Naval Air Facility. Fleet Logistics Support
Wing and Tactical Support Wing reside at Naval Air Station-Joint
Reserve Base Fort Worth, TX, while Maritime Support Wing is
headquartered at Naval Air Station North Island, CA. Naval Air Forces
Reserve Joint Reserve Bases are in Fort Worth, TX, New Orleans, LA, and
the Naval Air Facility is in Washington, D.C. In addition to these
standalone commands, the Navy Reserve operates multiple Squadron
Augment Units which directly support various AC Navy squadrons around
the country. Navy Reserve owns and flies approximately 150 aircraft
supporting the Navy total force.
Commander, Naval Information Force Reserve, Ft. Worth, TX, is
executive agent for nine of 28 multi-service Joint Reserve Intelligence
Centers (JRICs) located throughout the country. These facilities
provide fully capable intelligence and cyber warfare centers enabling
wartime readiness through training and operations, and real-time
intelligence support to Combatant Commands, Combat Support Agencies,
the intelligence community, and Navy fleets.
current operations
In 2017, Navy Reserve continued its century-long tradition of
supporting Navy, Marine Corps and Joint Operations, contributing to
overseas contingency operations in every Area of Responsibility,
increasing the collective lethality of our total force. Navy Reserve
offers a unique response capability and range of options to Combatant
Commander requirements--from mobilization of an entire unit to
activation of a single Individual Augmentee Sailor. This model delivers
increased flexibility, with both operational capacity and strategic
depth for the total force, in a dynamic global security environment.
In mid-January, over 3,000 Navy Reservists were mobilized, 1,076
were preparing to mobilize, and 188 were de-mobilizing. These sailors
support Combatant Commands around the globe, and individual
mobilizations add to the broad and diverse operational support missions
Navy Reserve executes on a daily basis, including Expeditionary
Warfare, Naval Air Warfare, Fleet Air Logistics, Cyber Warfare,
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and Shipyard Maintenance. One example is Navy
Expeditionary Combat Command, 50 percent of which is composed of
Reserve Component Sailors.
readiness
Navy Reserve's #1 guiding principle is warfighting. We are a ready
and lethal military force, maximizing value to the Nation by
modernizing the way we do business. We work hard to efficiently and
effectively support the Active Component, while making optimal use of
talented Reserve Sailors to increase total force capability. We develop
Sailors who are ``Ready to Win''. This concept accelerates the impact
of Navy Reserve's mission in the new competitive global environment,
through four key focus areas:
--Resourcing the manning, training, and equipment that delivers Navy
Reserve capabilities to the fleet;
--Leveraging Reserve Sailors' civilian skills and partnerships with
industry and academia;
--Enabling Sailors to more effectively provide warfighting
capabilities through innovative application of technology and
supportive policies; and,
--Simplifying the way Reserve Sailors support the fleet.
resource
Fiscal Predictability
Predictable and dependable funding ensures that Navy Reserve
Sailors are able to provide consistent and timely operational support
to the Total Force. Discretionary Reserve Personnel, Navy (RPN) funding
is the primary fiscal means by which the Navy Reserve provides this
support. Current RPN funding level supports 31 percent of Combatant
Commander operational demand. Your continued support to ensure robust,
consistent, and predictable RPN funding is the most important enabler
for maintaining readiness and Navy Reserve mission accomplishment.
Equipping the Force
The Navy Reserve provides additional capacity and lethality to the
total force. To maximize this capability, aircraft recapitalization is
without question Navy Reserve's number one equipment priority--
critically important to supporting the warfighter. Almost 16 years of
increased operational tempo within a constrained procurement
environment has taken its toll on the aircraft and equipment that RC
sailors operate. Navy Reserve's integrated force structure depends on
the ability to quickly and seamlessly assimilate with active units to
execute the mission. Accordingly, Navy Reserve depends on the
availability of modern, compatible hardware to support the AC fleet.
The Navy Reserve air logistics component, made up entirely of RC
sailors, fulfills the Navy's requirement for Navy Unique Fleet
Essential Airlift capability. Operating C-40A and C-130T aircraft, Navy
Reserve executes 100 percent of the Navy's organic air logistics
support mission providing responsive, flexible, and rapidly deployable
air logistics support required to sustain combat operations at sea. We
appreciate this committee's support, which permitted Navy Reserve to
purchase two additional C-40A aircraft which, once delivered to Kaneohe
Bay, HI, will fulfill the risk-adjusted wartime inventory requirement
of 17 aircraft. Meanwhile, our C-130T aircraft average age is 23 years,
and maintenance issues heavily impact their reliability. Since the C-
130T propeller grounding bulletin was issued by Naval Air Systems
Command in September of last year, the Navy Reserve C-130T fleet has
been grounded until critical maintenance is completed. This event has
degraded Navy's organic lift capability, further highlighting the value
to the total force. Accordingly, Navy has committed to recapitalizing
these assets with KC-130Js, an exceptional and proven system, already
operating in DoD, which ensures the foreseeable security and capability
of Navy Air Logistics. There are currently three such aircraft
programed into the President's 2019 budget with procurement set to
begin in fiscal year 2023. Finally, to address the short and medium
term impacts of the C-130 grounding, the Navy Reserve is replacing the
legacy propeller system with an upgraded system currently in use on
Navy E-2 Hawkeyes. This proven system has also flown for over 5 years
on Air Force C-130s, ensuring continued safety and viability of our
legacy C-130T fleet until KC-130J recapitalization is complete.
The Navy is addressing much needed RC strike-fighter aircraft
recapitalization requirements. The 31 F-18A+ legacy Hornets assigned to
Navy Reserve squadrons include some of the oldest in operation, and are
unable to deploy. Significant maintenance issues limit aircraft
availability as these squadrons struggle to meet their operational
mission, while system compatibility limitations hamper fulfillment of
their strategic reserve role. In the near term, Navy plans to
recapitalize RC F/A-18A+ aircraft with F/A-18C/Ds from the active duty
fleet. When the AC completes the transition from legacy Hornets to
Super Hornets and begins transitioning squadrons to the Joint Strike
Fighter, an eventual transition of RC Hornets to later generation
strike fighters will be possible. This recapitalization is directly
linked to improved depot throughput and timely AC recapitalization
through procurement of advanced strike aircraft. The additional 10 F/A-
18s included in the fiscal year 2018 budget and 24 in the fiscal year
2019 budget request help increase the pace of this program and
continued attention will help improve Navy Reserve's timeline for
recapitalization.
Navy's surge capacity within the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance
Force consists of two RC patrol squadrons operating legacy P-3C Orion
aircraft. These squadrons comprise 13 percent of Navy's current
Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance capacity and provide
Combatant Commanders with a vital asset. Previous fiscal constraints
have prevented transition to P-8A aircraft for the Navy Reserve
resulting in the shutdown of the two Reserve squadrons in Whidbey
Island, Washington, and Jacksonville, Florida in 2023.
The overall health of the nine Navy-hosted JRICs is second to none.
Each year, the Joint Reserve Intelligence Program recognizes one of the
Service's JRICs that best demonstrates the core values of the program:
promoting Jointness, providing flexible access to allow tenants to meet
mission needs, and providing first class facilities and staff support.
Since 2002, Navy JRICs have won the award nine times, with JRIC
Minneapolis, MN wining in 2017. Although Navy hosts less than a third
of all JRICs (9 of 28), they have won 60 percent of these annual
awards.
JRIC Norfolk, VA is currently undergoing a multiyear, $10 million
renovation to bring this aging facility up to current day operational
standards. In New Orleans, LA, we are executing Military Construction
to build a new JRIC, repurposing an existing building, to build a state
of the art intelligence facility. In Denver, CO and Jacksonville, FL
the JRIC server rooms are under renovation, correcting deficiencies and
increasing operational capabilities. Across all JRICs, plans are
underway to modernize our security systems and networks protecting our
facilities, providing secure classified facilities for Reservists
throughout the country.
leverage
Civilian Skills
Many skills possessed by Reserve Sailors add invaluable expertise
and capability to the total force. In some cases, RC Sailors' civilian
skills have provided unique capabilities in critical mission areas not
specifically cultivated in the AC. Conversely, the military training
and professional development provided to Reservists make them more
capable leaders in their civilian communities. Citizens who serve in
the Navy Reserve strengthen the bond with the American public, while
educating families, employers, and communities about military service.
Whether a tradesman, first responder, executive, or licensed
professional, Navy has long benefitted from the civilian experience and
maturity of RC sailors. Most recently, Navy has called to serve Digital
Warfare experts, Advanced IT Programmers, and Additive Manufacturing
Experts, because of their specialized capabilities across critical
mission areas.
Having a pool of ready civilian professionals across numerous
mission areas is an invaluable strategic capability that only a Reserve
force can provide. Going forward, the Navy Reserve is reevaluating and
improving processes in order to more completely capture and leverage
these abilities. This unique combination of civilian and military
experience and skills offers diversity of thought and insight, which
inspires innovation and acts as a force multiplier. There is no
question that, on a daily basis, specific civilian skills are being
utilized across the total force.
enable
Transformation
Navy's Manpower Personnel Training and Education (MPT&E) Enterprise
is undergoing a holistic, end-to-end, transformation of business
processes and information technology systems. MPT&E Transformation is
built around four fundamental pillars: Overhaul Processes, Modernize
Information Technology Systems, Develop a Single Source of Data Truth
and Comprehensive Analytics, and Create World Class Sailor Self
Service. Together these pillars will improve personnel customer
service, data and data reporting accuracy, auditability, and
permeability between the active and reserve components.
Two information technology systems will work together to provide
necessary processing, data retention and reporting: The Navy Personnel
and Pay system and the Authoritative Data Environment. Navy MPT&E is
also shifting to a centralized, and standardized, customer service
model, which will ensure data input is faster and more accurate, while
providing greater access to the metrics necessary for performance
monitoring and improvement. Standup of the My Navy Call Center will
include a dedicated Shared Service Center Reserve Branch, in which
Reserve active duty personnel/pay transactions will be centralized.
Combined, these efforts will improve and simplify Navy's support to our
Reservists, thereby enhancing Reserve support to the total force.
Mobile Technology
Every Reserve Sailor's time must be focused, to the greatest
possible extent, on the mission and not on administrative overhead. As
such, mobile access to the myriad of Navy IT systems is a key enabler
for Navy Reserve Sailors to maintain mobilization readiness and perform
their mission requirements. In conjunction with Navy's MPT&E
Transformation and Sailor 2025, the Navy Reserve is both consolidating
and modernizing the various systems that enable and manage readiness,
while improving access to those systems. Navy Reserve has taken a full-
spectrum approach and has partnered with industry to produce creative
and advanced IT solutions, such as allowing Sailors to conduct business
using a mobile application that grants access to various Navy IT
systems, a cloud-based pilot to provide Sailors 24/7 access to office
productivity and collaborative tools, and expanded Navy NOSC Wi-Fi
capabilities to maximize use of personal devices during drill weekends.
Collectively, these solutions reduce the time and effort required to
meet readiness and training requirements.
Employers
Our Nation's Reserve forces rely heavily on the sacrifice and
dedication of local employers in each member's home State to support
the Nation's hundreds of thousands of Reservists. Many companies
provide flexible work options for both drilling and deploying RC
service members. Some companies go above and beyond that which is
required by law, and continue to support RC members with pay and
benefits while activated, to reduce any potential pay gap during
Reserve activation. For both large and small companies, this sacrifice
can be considerable. Most importantly, supportive employers send a
clear message to RC members that they need not worry about their
civilian jobs when called to serve. The value of this simple message
cannot be overstated--an employer's level of cooperation, support, and
encouragement is directly related to the productivity and mission focus
of RC members when they put on the uniform, and ensures that Reserve
service remains a viable option for their employees. Employer support
remains a vital component of the success of the entire RC, and Navy
Reserve goes to great lengths to recognize supportive employers each
year through various programs and initiatives.
families
Not only do our Reservists' employers enable our total force, they
support the families of those Sailors who also bear a great burden.
Through our robust suicide prevention and resilience programs, such as
the Returning Warrior Workshop, Psychological Health Outreach Program,
the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, Operational Stress Control,
and Navigating Stress for Families, the Navy Reserve strives to
minimize stressful impacts on families, during and following
mobilization.
In spite of all the world-wide pressures we face every day, our
Reserve citizen sailors have become incredible managers across three
paradigms--military service, civilian employment, and family stability.
Please allow me to brag about a few of these great servant leaders. One
Petty Officer from Allentown, PA is a Reserve crew chief, serving over
100 days a year in locations around the globe. She also works for a
print media company in her hometown, all the while, raising 2 young
adults. One Reserve Commander from San Diego, CA has command of a three
plane Reserve squadron while growing a restaurant franchise and raising
a family of five. In addition, in 2015 he volunteered as an Individual
Augmentee to the Middle East. Bottom line, the sacrifices our citizen
sailors make are nothing less than astounding.
simplify
Duty Status Reform
Currently there are dozens of statutory authorities used when
activating RC personnel. RC Duty Status Reform is complex and often
confusing; as such, multiple studies have been initiated beginning as
early as 1999. DoD has developed a proposal to reform the current RC
duty status construct, and has begun working on draft legislation due
to Congress in April 2019, pursuant to Section 513 of the National
Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2018 (Public Law 115-91).
Access
Navy has become increasingly reliant on regular and reliable access
to the RC since September 11, 2001. Under the Presidential Declaration
of National Emergency, the Services and Combatant Commanders have
relied on involuntary mobilizations under title 10, United States Code,
section 12302. However, when National Emergency declaration lapses, RC
access would be limited to service performed pursuant section 12304b,
which provides involuntary access only for pre-planned missions of
units supporting Combatant Commander requirements. In addition, there
are differences in benefits the Department provides to Reservists
depending on the mobilization authority under which a member has been
activated.
conclusion
America's Navy Reserve stands ready. Our proud citizen Sailors
continue to carry on the tradition of supporting the Navy, Marine Corps
and joint force wherever, and whenever, called to serve. The Navy
Reserve will continue to ensure our warfighters have the tools needed
to effectively and efficiently accomplish the mission. Through stable
and predictable RPN funding and through recapitalizing our aging
aircraft we will increase the overall readiness and become a more
lethal warfighting force. I look forward to working with you and I
thank you for your continued support.
Senator Shelby. Lieutenant General McMillian.
STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL REX C. MCMILLIAN,
COMMANDER, MARINE CORPS FORCES RESERVE,
COMMANDER, MARINE FORCES NORTH
General McMillian. Chairman Shelby, Vice Chairman Durbin,
and distinguished members of the subcommittee.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to
testify on behalf of the Commandant of the Marine Corps about
your Marine Corps Reserve.
I am honored to be here with my fellow Reserve component
service chiefs. Also with me today, is my Force Sergeant Major
Scott Grade and my Force Command Master Chief Ryan Strack.
I have been at the helm of Marine Forces Reserve for two
and a half years, and I am pleased to inform you that your
Marine Corps Reserve is thriving.
Morale remains high, as evident by the Reserve component
end strength climbing to 99 percent of our total requirement.
Our reenlistment rate increased over 25 percent during the past
3 years, all while the demand for Reserve support to combat
commanders' requirements continue to rise.
The responsibility that we carry in Marine Forces Reserve
is to be able to respond tonight and on a moment's notice with
fully manned, trained, equipped, and superbly led compatible
units that can instantly and seamlessly plug-in to active
component formations.
The critical capabilities provided by the Marine Forces
Reserve to the total Force increase the lethality of the Corps
and contributes to the competitive advantage maintained over
our adversaries.
At any given time, Marine Forces Reserve stands ready to
provide a brigade sized element of Reserve Marines and sailors,
fully trained for combat operations, ready to move, shoot, and
communicate across the battlefield. And to support the active
component in order to form a total force fight tonight
capability, while the remainder of our force remains poised to
augment and reinforce, given appropriate amounts of pre-
deployment training based upon their wartime mission
assignments.
I would like to leave this distinguished body with two
thoughts on how continued support from Congress can result in a
more lethal Reserve force.
Number one, Reserve Marines have 38 training days per year
and every scheduled event is preparation for combat. Missed
training opportunities are often unrecoverable in terms of
personnel, materiel, and training readiness while morale and
retention of the force suffers.
During the shutdown on January 20, almost 8,000 personnel
across 62 units had their drill weekend canceled or reduced,
resulting in lost training opportunities.
I cannot afford to lose one minute of training for our
Nation's most precious assets, our young volunteer men and
women that make up your Marine Corps Reserve.
Therefore, I cannot overemphasize how a lapse of
appropriations negatively impacts readiness across the Reserve
force, and I thank you in advance for your continued support
through timely appropriations.
Number two, the Marine Corps Reserve benefits from the
annual National Guard and Reserve Equipment Appropriation. I
want to extend my gratitude for your continued support of NGREA
and would appreciate greater spending flexibility within this
appropriation in order to procure critical shortfall items and
modernize equipment systems.
I appreciate the opportunity to be here today and I look
forward to your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Lieutenant General Rex C. McMillian
Chairman Cochran, Ranking Member Durbin and distinguished members
of the Subcommittee, it is my privilege to appear before you and
provide an overview on the current state of the Marine Corps Reserve.
As the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps testified, fiscal
instability, resulting from persistent Continuing Resolutions and
looming and actual government shutdowns, produce the most significant
risk to our readiness. Reserve Marines have 38 training days per year
(24 inactive duty days and 14 annual training days). Missed training
opportunities are often unrecoverable in terms of personnel, material,
and training readiness, while morale and retention of the force
suffers. During the orderly shutdown on January 20, 2018, two to three
training days were lost. Some units had multi-day or week-long
exercises which were cancelled or cut short. Ultimately, 7,793
personnel across 62 units (20 percent of Marine Forces Reserve) had
their readiness impacted due to their drill weekend being cancelled or
reduced, resulting in lost training opportunities.
Although these lost opportunities negatively impact the Reserve
Component's ability to serve side-by-side with their Active Component
counterparts, your Marine Corps Reserve has been fully engaged across
the globe over the past 16+ years of combat operations--serving as an
essential shock absorber and force multiplier. Our focus remains on
maintaining the ability to provide manned, trained, equipped, and well-
led forces capable of augmenting, reinforcing, and supporting the
Active Component. With your continued support, it will further
strengthen our readiness and ensure we remain ready to fight and win
across the range of military operations and in all warfighting domains.
A Total Force
The United States Marine Corps remains the Nation's forward
deployed, agile, Expeditionary Force in Readiness. As the Commandant of
the Marine Corps previously stated, we are one Marine Corps--a Total
Force Marine Corps. For approximately 8 percent of the Department of
Defense (DoD) budget, your Corps provides the American people with an
exceptionally capable, extremely affordable, immediately responsive,
and lethal national security force. As an integral part of the Total
Force, the Marine Corps Reserve plays a key role in providing that
national security force.
The critical capabilities provided by the Marine Corps Reserve to
the Total Force increases the lethality of the Corps and contributes to
the competitive advantage maintained over our adversaries. Over the
past year, the Marine Corps Reserve supported combatant commanders by
providing forces focused on combat operations, crisis prevention,
crisis response, and theater security cooperation. Global deployments,
along with participation in Service, Joint, and multi- national
exercises, develop the depth of experience of the Reserve Force,
ensuring the Marine Corps Reserve is relevant, ready, and responsive to
meet combatant commanders' requirements for highly trained general-
purpose forces.
In 2017, more than 810 Reserve Marines mobilized supporting 28
operational requirements in five of the six geographic combatant
commands. Likewise, nearly 10,940 Reservists participated in 96
training exercises, supporting requirements in 43 countries across the
globe. These activations included support to U.S. Northern Command
during Hurricane Harvey, Irma and Maria. Utilizing 12304a activation
authority, Marine Forces Reserve provided the rapid deployment of 745
Marines for recovery efforts. Additionally, 196 Reserve Marines
volunteered to serve as individual augmentees, providing support to
combatant commanders and Service staffs. Marine Forces Reserve filled
40 percent of the total Marine Force individual augment requirements
and increased its deployment by 50 percent in the last 2 years. This
high quality and quantity of opportunities persist in the current year,
as the demand remains high for your Marine Corps Reserve--for
perspective, the Marine Corps deployed eight Reserve formations in
2001, compared to 140 Reserve formations in 2017.
In 2018, Marine Forces Reserve will continue to support the
combatant commanders by mobilizing in excess of 2,500 Reservists and
almost 12,000 Marines for a multitude of theater-specific exercises and
security cooperation events. These operations and exercises greatly
increase the Reserve Component's interoperability with the Active
Component, Joint Forces, and our allies.
The demand for the Marine Corps' unique capabilities has increased,
requiring more Reserve Component activations of units and ad hoc
formations to produce enabling capabilities across the range of
military operations. For example, Marine Forces Reserve increased the
participation of Marines filling the emerging security force and
advisory requirements in southwest Afghanistan. In addition, for the
third year in a row, we have mobilized and will deploy a task-
organized Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force to U.S. Southern
Command in support of theater security cooperation objectives.
Activations of whole units followed the increase of ad hoc formations.
Reconnaissance and amphibious assault vehicle platoons activated for
support to III Marine Expeditionary Force's requirements in Okinawa,
Japan. Later this year, we will activate 2ND Battalion, 23D Marines
which will also deploy to Okinawa.
Marine Forces Reserve continues to provide daily support to
combatant commanders in a wide range of roles that include multi-
lateral exercises, such as Saber Strike 18 in Latvia, Gulch Freedom
Guardian 18 in South Korea, and Maple Resolve 18 in Canada. I
anticipate Marine Forces Reserve will continue to deploy and integrate
with the Active Component to meet combatant commander high-priority
requirements through the use of existing mobilization authorities.
In addition to participating in operational requirements across the
globe, Marine Forces Reserve supports the Total Force by dutifully
executing the sensitive and crucial mission of providing casualty
assistance to the families of our fallen Marines. There is no
responsibility that we treat with higher regard than the solemn mission
of providing casualty assistance. Inspector- Instructor and Reserve
Site Support Staffs are geographically positioned to accomplish the
vast majority of Marine Corps casualty assistance calls and are trained
to provide compassionate and thorough assistance to families. Indeed,
the majority of Marine Corps casualty notifications and follow-on
assistance calls to the next of kin are made by our Marines. During
Calendar Year (CY) 2017, our Inspector-Instructor and Reserve Site
Support staffs performed 80 percent of the 193 casualty calls performed
by the Marine Corps.
The professionalism and compassion of our Casualty Assistance Calls
Officers (Cacaos) continues well beyond the initial notification. We
ensure that our Cacaos are well trained, equipped, and supported by all
levels of command through the combination of in-person and online
training. Once assigned, the CACO serves as the family's central point
of contact and coordinates with funeral homes, government agencies, and
other organizations. They assist family members with planning the
return and final resting place of their Marine; and ensure the filing
of appropriate documents is completed so that the family receives all
benefits to which they are entitled. In many cases, our Cacaos provide
a long-lasting bridge between the Marine Corps and the grieving family.
Additionally, Marine Forces Reserve units and personnel provide
significant support for military funeral honors for our veterans. The
Inspector-Instructor and Reserve Site Support staffs, with augmentation
from additional Reserve Marines, performed more than 20,000 military
funeral honors, which represented 93 percent of all funeral honors
rendered by the Marine Corps during CY 2017. As with casualty
assistance, we place enormous emphasis on providing timely,
compassionate, and professionally executed military funeral honors,
although this comes with a cost to readiness--as some Marine Reserve
units are executing in excess of 250 funerals per year, impacting their
ability to maintain or increase readiness.
Finally, Marine Forces Reserve serves as the most wide reaching
link between the Marine Corps and communities across the Nation. We are
the face of the Marine Corps to the majority of the American public.
With Reserve units located across the country, Marine Forces Reserve is
uniquely positioned to interact with the public and communicate the
Marine Corps story to our fellow citizens; most of whom have little or
no contact with the Marine Corps. For example, last year Marine Forces
Reserve personnel and units conducted more than 500 local and regional
public engagement and community relations events across the country.
Predictability
Our Force Generation Model provides a level of predictability for
force planners and our Reserve Marines, while maintaining the ``train
as we fight'' philosophy. The Model provides our Reservists, their
families, and their employers the ability to plan for upcoming duty
requirements 5 years and beyond. This empowers service members to
achieve the critical balance between family, civilian careers, and
service to our Nation while enabling informed employers to plan for and
manage the temporary absence of valued employees.
We ensure units and personnel are ready to meet any challenge by
employing a Force Generation Model that rotates Marine Reserve units
through a 5-year Training and Readiness Plan. At any given time, the
Force Generation Model enables the Reserves to provide combat ready
units and detachments based on major contingency operation plans and
the Corps' Force Management Plan. This ready bench includes Air Naval
Gunfire Liaison Companies, Civil Affairs Groups, large-scale logistical
augmentation, four infantry battalions, artillery and aviation
capabilities, as well other critical enabler. In total, more than 4,000
Reserve Marines and Sailors are prepared to augment and reinforce
Active Component forces rapidly in support of a contingency response or
as part of a theater security cooperation mission.
The key element in the Force Generation Model is the consistent
integration of Reserve units, detachments, and individuals into
Service, Joint and multi-lateral exercises, thereby building increasing
interoperability over the plan's 5-year cycle. Generally, units are
assessed through a culminating Integrated Training Exercise (ITX)
during the fourth year of the training cycle. Seamless integration with
the Active Component in training exercises is conducted in the United
States and abroad; this training facilitates the Active and Reserve
Components interoperability, thus achieving success with the Total
Force Marine Corps.
Personnel
Marines, Sailors and our civilian Marines are the foundation of all
that we do. The resources we dedicate to sustaining and developing this
foundation directly contribute to the success of our institution. The
vast majority of the Marine Corps Selected Reserve's authorized end
strength of 38,500 fall under Marine Forces Reserve. The Selected
Reserve is composed of Marines in four categories: Selected Marine
Corps Reserve Units, Active Reserve, Individual Mobilization
Augmentees, and service members in initial training. Embedded with
these Marines are 1,800 Active and Reserve component Sailors who serve
critical roles in the operational, medical, dental, and spiritual
readiness of our Reserve Force. The success of Marine Forces Reserve
would not be possible without continued support from the U.S. Navy.
In addition to the Marines and Sailors of the Selected Reserve,
Marine Forces Reserve administratively controls approximately 65,000
Marines who serve in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). Marine Forces
Reserve continues to monitor the mobilization viability of these
Marines who have fulfilled their active service commitment and returned
to civilian life. The mobilization potential of the IRR is monitored
through the use of muster events that are conducted at multiple
locations across the country. These muster events are the Marine Corps'
opportunity to physically inspect these Marines to ensure they meet the
requirements for mobilization. These events also provide the
opportunity to address administrative issues, complete mental health
and post-deployment assessments, review Reserve obligations and new
opportunities, meet with prior service recruiters, and reconnect with
fellow Marines. During the past year, Marine Forces Reserve conducted
33 physical muster events with 4,770 IRR Marines. An additional 48,000
members of the IRR were contacted and screened telephonically.
The Marine Corps Reserve strives to retain the very best Marines
capable of fulfilling our leadership and operational needs. The option
of continued service in the Reserve Component has become increasingly
appealing to young Marines leaving active duty. Marines approaching the
end of their current contracts, whether Active or Reserve Component,
receive counseling on the tangible and intangible benefits of remaining
associated with the Selected Reserve. We educate each transitioning
Active Component Marine on opportunities for continued service in the
Marine Corps Reserve through the Marine Corps' transition assistance
and educational outreach programs.
We have concentrated on improving our personnel administration and
retention programs, with the result being record high personnel
readiness levels. Throughout the past year, our Marines have worked
hard to initiate enhancements to our administrative processes and
standard operating procedures. Additionally, we are improving the
timeliness and accuracy of Reserve pay and entitlement disbursement
through consolidated of administration at the battalion, squadron, and
group levels.
Recruiting and retaining high quality Marines remains essential to
the Marine Corps' reputation as the Nation's Force in Readiness. Marine
Forces Reserve enjoys high affiliation and retention rates enhanced
through incentive programs, such as occupational specialty retraining,
inactive duty travel reimbursement, and bonus payments. These programs
remain essential to ensure we continue to meet authorized end strength
and retain our most talented Marines. Your continued support to these
critical programs has helped maintain our overall personnel end
strength to 99 percent of the total requirement, with a grade and
Military Occupational Specialty match rate of 85 percent. This high
rate of personnel readiness is not only reflective of the health of the
force, but directly contributes to our overall operational readiness.
While we fully expect to meet our Selected Marine Corps Reserve
retention and recruiting goals again this year, continued use of these
incentive programs are critical to optimally align our inventory
against our requirements, maintain individual and unit-level readiness,
address shortfalls in staff non-commissioned officers, and fully
rebuild readiness from previous force structure changes. Your continued
support for incentives that promote service in our Reserve Force will
ensure our ability to recruit and retain the very best service members.
Equipment
Reserve Component units remain highly interoperable with their
Active Component counterparts due to the Marine Corps' Total Force
approach to equipment fielding and management. Active and Reserve
Component Forces are manned, trained and equipped to the same
standards, facilitating the seamless employment of Reserve Component
Forces to meet combatant commander requirements. Marine Forces Reserve
mission essential equipment readiness levels are sufficient and capable
of supporting all home station training requirements, as well as
current operational deployments, with the exception of several select
aviation units.
In the Reserve Component, personnel resources to identify and
conduct maintenance are limited to the small full-time support staffs
at each Reserve Training Center. These staffs are augmented by Reserve
Marines during the monthly drill and two week annual training periods.
Focusing these limited resources on the combat essential readiness
reportable items constrains routine preventative and corrective
maintenance on the remainder of equipment. Recent modernizations,
coupled with the increase in equipment density and complexity, have
compounded this challenge.
For many years, Marine Forces Reserve has mitigated risk to
maintenance readiness in two ways. First, by continually refining the
Training Allowance, which is the portion of the unit's full Table of
Equipment kept on-hand at the Reserve Training Center. Our goal is to
balance the minimum amount of equipment necessary to effectively
conduct training with the amount of equipment that can reasonably be
maintained within the personnel and fiscal resource constraints.
Second, by leveraging Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) dollars to
pay for mobile maintenance support teams from Marine Corps Logistics
Command to travel to Reserve Training Centers and augment the limited
organic maintenance capacity. However, as the demand for Reserve
Component Forces has significantly increased--from 126 exercises,
missions, and operations in fiscal year 2017 to 149 scheduled for
fiscal year 2018--we anticipate increased usage, and subsequent wear
and tear on both our military and individual combat equipment sets.
Consequently, our maintenance requirements, demand for secondary
repairable, and replenishment of gear have out-paced previous
forecasts. Congressional support for our amended fiscal year 2018
Operations and Maintenance, Marine Corps Reserve budget request, to
include OCO, is paramount to our continued success in maintaining high
equipment readiness.
The top procurement priority of the Marine Corps Reserve is the KC-
130J Super Hercules. The Active Component has fully fielded the KC-130J
Super Hercules. However, the remaining 17 of 24 Reserve Component KC-
130J aircraft are not scheduled to be fully fielded until 2026. This
extended fielding timeline forces the Reserve Component to
simultaneously operate the KC-130J and the legacy KC-130T aircraft over
the next 8 years. These two aircraft have vastly different logistics,
maintenance, and aircrew requirements, resulting in an increased outlay
of resources to maintain the readiness of the Reserve Component KC-130
Squadrons.
Training
Marine Forces Reserve participates in the service-level ITX aboard
Marine Corps Air- Ground Combat Center, Twenty Palms, California. This
exercise consists of two battalions conducting live-fire and maneuver
exercises, featuring Reserve Component Forces from the Marine Air-
Ground Task Force elements. This is one of the few opportunities that
the ground, aviation, and logistics combat elements, under the command
of a regimental headquarters, are able to come together and coordinate
all warfighting actions to operate as a Marine Air-Ground Task Force
under live fire and maneuver conditions. The ITX is constantly updated
to challenge our Reserve Force with the most realistic training
possible. Units participate based on future activation potential per
the Marine Forces Reserve fiscal years 2018-2022 Training and Readiness
Plan. The ITX provides all Marine Air-Ground Task Force elements an
opportunity to undergo a service-level assessment of core competencies
that are essential to expeditionary, forward-deployed operations.
Additionally, individuals serving on the regimental command element
staff receive training that ensures the ability to augment a Marine
Air-Ground Task Force and/or a Joint staff. In summary, the ITX
improves combat readiness, efficiency in Total Force integration, and
enables more rapid activation response times at the battalion and
squadron level.
Marine Forces Reserve maximizes participation in continental United
States-based training events. In fiscal year 2017, Reserve Component
Marines and Sailors participated in Exercise Northern Strike, a joint,
combined-arms, live-fire exercise emphasizing close air support, joint
fire support, and coordinated maneuver with fires. The exercise also
provides highly sought after amphibious training that is executed
aboard Camp Grayling, Michigan, at the Joint Maneuver Training Center.
Exercise Northern Strike provides an opportunity for Reserve Marines to
train alongside Army and Michigan Air National Guard forces, as well as
Canadian forces, and has become an integral part of the Reserve
Component training continuum. These types of exercises ensure our
Marines maintain the highest levels of proficiency and readiness to
integrate with the Active Component to support the requirements of the
combatant commanders.
In order to preserve fiscal and materiel resources and test the
limits of expected operations, we also maximize training efficiencies
by optimizing the use of training simulators wherever possible. Our
Reserve Training Centers employ the Indoor Simulated Marksmanship
Trainers (Isms) and other simulation to ensure Reserve Marines are
trained to the same tasks, conditions, and standards as the Active
Component. The Isms particularly benefit remote site locations that are
distant from DoD training ranges by eliminating wasted time of
traveling long distances to training areas. Additionally, with Reserve
units only having 38 training days per fiscal year to train to mission
essential tasks and also ensure all Service mandated annual training
requirements are satisfied, it is essential for the Marine Corps
Reserve to capitalize on non-traditional training methods such as
online training. Expanding our use of simulators and online training
will preserve valuable training time and also enable units to make the
most of that limited training time during drill weekends.
Facilities
Marine Forces Reserve occupies facilities in 47 States, the
District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. These
facilities include 27 owned and 133 tenant Reserve Training Centers,
three family housing sites, one permanent barracks, three emergency
troop housing barracks, and one General Officer Quarters. Although some
sites are located on major DoD installations, most are situated within
civilian communities, ranging from neighborhoods to industrial and
commercial districts. We continue to improve the maintenance and
security of our facilities to ensure the safety of our Marines and
Sailors and provide an effective training and mobilization platform to
support the readiness of the Force.
Sixty-six percent of the facilities budget supports the
distrainment and maintenance of existing infrastructure and operating
cost of providing day-to-day facilities support. However, those
operating costs steadily increase with the age of the buildings. We
have improved the overall readiness of our facilities inventory through
our Facilities Distrainment, Restoration and Modernization (FSRM)
support program and maximized the impact of our budget through
divestiture and demolition of excess footprint.
There has been a focused and ongoing effort to improve overall
force protection at all of our sites by working with our service
partners and the National Guard for joint occupied facilities. Numerous
protection assessments and security engineering reports have been
conducted at our facilities to assist and develop designs to mitigate
protection concerns, specifically physical security. These assessments
have identified physical security requirements and served to prioritize
security enhancements to ensure our sites and Marines are secure in the
facilities where they work and drill. We have leveraged additional
funding to address these requirements and the risks are mitigated by
the tactics, techniques, and procedures that each individual unit
employs.
The Marine Corps' Military Construction, Naval Reserve (MCNR)
program focuses on providing construction for new and enduring
capabilities, as well as recapitalization of our aging existing
facilities.The construction provided by the annual authorization and
appropriation of MCNR funding is an important factor in advancing our
facilities support mission as we optimize our force Layton throughout
the Nation. Continued support for the MCNR request is essential as we
divest of failing infrastructure and modernize capabilities.
The combined effects of our targeted consolidation, FSRM, and MCNR
programs have steadily reduced the number of inadequate or substandard
Reserve Training Centers and enabled better support to the Force.
Continued support for our annual funding request for our facilities
program will enable us to improve the overall physical infrastructure
that reinforces the mission readiness of our units.
Health Services and Behavioral Health
Marine leaders have a moral obligation to ensure the health and
wellness of the Nation's Marine Corps Reservists, Sailors under our
charge, and their families. General Unfired once said ``This Nation's
most precious assets are the young men and women in uniform,''--we take
this responsibility seriously. Every day, we strive to maintain the
trust and confidence of Congress and the American people by immediately
addressing any challenge to our readiness and finding solutions through
our people and readiness programs.
We strive to improve medical readiness through a robust Post-
Deployment Health Reassessment (PDHRA) Program within Marine Forces
Reserve and an accurate monitoring, identification, and notification of
the unit-level actions necessary to attain readiness goals. Between
deployments, our Health Services priority is to ensure the DoD goal of
85 percent Total Force Medically Ready. During fiscal year 2017, Marine
Forces Reserve met that goal with individual medical and dental
readiness rates of 85.4 percent and 90.7 percent, respectively.
Additionally, our Health Services personnel participate in Force
Readiness Assistance & Assessment Program unit inspections and audits
which provide oversight at unit level and the ability to monitor policy
adherence and readiness.
The Reserve Health Readiness Program (RHRP) has greatly increased
overall medical and dental readiness throughout the Force. This program
funds contracted civilian medical and dental providers to units that do
not have organic medical or dental support personnel and/or are not
supported by a military treatment facility. During fiscal year 2017,
the RHRP performed 21,762 Periodic Health Assessments; 22,354 Mental
Health Assessments; 1,098 Phrase; 331 immunizations; 6,349 laboratory
services; 14,055 audio services; and 17,220 dental procedures. In
addition to RHRP, the Marine Corps' comprehensive behavioral health
program addresses issues such as substance abuse prevention, suicide
prevention, combat and operational stress control, domestic violence,
and child abuse prevention.
Marine Forces Reserve conducts Operational Stress Control and
Readiness training at all levels. It is provided during pre-deployment
training to service members of units deploying for more than 90 days,
as well as all commands in garrison. The purpose of this training is to
provide the requisite knowledge, skills, and tools to assist commanders
in preventing, identifying, and managing combat and operational stress
concerns as early as possible.
The Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery supports behavioral health
through various independent contracted programs, such as the PDHRA and
the Psychological Health Outreach Program (PHOP). The PDHRA places an
emphasis on identifying physical, behavioral, and mental health
concerns that may have emerged since returning from deployment. During
CY 2017, Marine Forces Reserve successfully raised current completion
totals to nearly 37,100 PDHRA screenings. The PHOP addresses both post-
deployment behavioral health concerns and crisis-related interventions
through contractors with various social work-related backgrounds via a
wide array of referral services in the community to include follow-up
with service members. These programs provide a pathway to identify
Marines, Sailors, and their families that are in need of behavioral
health assistance, and an avenue to seek behavioral health assistance.
Signs of operational and combat stress can manifest long after a
service member returns home from deployment. This delayed onset of
symptoms presents particular challenges to Reservists who may be
isolated from vital medical care and the daily support network inherent
in active duty units. Encouraging Marines to acknowledge and vocalize
mental health issues is a continuing challenge facing our commanders.
We address the stigma associated with mental healthcare through key
programs, such as the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP).
Further, we market all of our behavioral health initiatives and
programs through our Marine Forces Reserve portal Webster and during
key Marine Corps forums throughout the year. Your continued support of
our behavioral health programs is greatly appreciated.
Marine Forces Reserve Drug Demand Reduction Program (DDRP) focuses
on reducing illegal drug use and prescription drug misuse within the
Reserve community. Marine Forces Reserve relies profoundly on its drug-
testing program, which acts as a powerful deterrent against drug use.
Each Reserve unit conducts monthly random, yet, compulsory drug testing
that ensures systematic screening of all Reservists for the presence of
drugs. The DDRP staff provides quarterly and on demand education and
awareness training on the dangers of misusing and abusing prescription
drugs and information on the proper disposal of old, unused, and
outdated medications. Additionally, the DDRP increases leaders'
awareness on the dangers of abusing prescription drugs through annual
substance abuse supervisory level training.
Suicide prevention is a high priority for the Marine Corps. Marine
Forces Reserve focuses its suicide prevention efforts on six
initiatives: in-theater assessments, PDHRA, PHOP, Care Management
Teams, Marine Intercept Program (MIP), and Unit Marine Awareness and
Prevention Integration Training (UMAPIT). The in-theater assessments
target Reservists who may be exhibiting or struggling with clinically-
significant issues during a deployment. These Marines are evaluated by
appropriate medical authorities for possible treatment with follow-up
decisions made prior to the return home. The PDHRA program specifically
seeks to identify issues that emerge after Reservists have returned
home from deployment. The PHOP secures treatment referrals and provides
essential follow-up treatment and case management for our service
members to receive appropriate behavioral health services. MIP is an
evidence-informed targeted intervention for active duty service members
who have had an identified suicide ideation and/or suicide attempt. MIP
includes a series of telephonic voluntary caring contacts in which a
counselor reaches out to the Marine and assesses for risk, encourages
use of a safety plan, identifies and addresses any barriers to
services. The MIP counselors then incorporate these caring contacts
into the counseling process. These services are also provided to our
Reserve Marines through the PHOP. Lastly, UMAPIT provides mandatory
face-to-face annual training for every Marine and Sailor in our command
and is based on evidence-informed practices to raise awareness of
common risk factors and warning signs associated with behavioral health
issues.
Additionally, our Reservists and their family members are able to
access Marine Corps installations' behavioral health programs through
Marine Corps Community Services while they are on active-duty orders.
When not on active-duty orders, Military Resource provides counseling,
resources, and support to Reserve service members and their families
anywhere in the world. The Marine Corps DSTRESS Line is another
resource available to all Reserve Marines, attached Sailors, and family
members regardless of their duty status. DSTRESS is a 24/7/365, Marine-
specific crisis call and support center, providing phone, chat, and
video-telephone capability for non-medical, short-term, solution-
focused counseling and briefings.
Sexual Assault Prevention & Response
Sexual assault is a complex problem that is often interrelated with
other readiness challenges, behavioral health issues, and destructive
behaviors. Marine Forces Reserve remains focused on executing solutions
to address the continuum of destructive behaviors, with the goal of
eliminating sexual assault within our ranks. To accomplish this goal,
Marine Forces Reserve has expanded the Sexual Assault Prevention and
Response Program (SAPR) to seven full-time employees who provide
supportive services across the geographically-dispersed force. In
addition to the Force-level Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC),
each Major Subordinate Command within Marine Forces Reserve has a SARC
who manages their commanding general's SAPR Program from the
headquarters office in New Orleans. Together with the Arcs, two
professional civilian victim advocates are available to support service
members and adult family members located at all 160 sites who may need
SAPR services. Marine Forces Reserve continues to increase victim
services, improve victim response capabilities, and emphasize
prevention.
The SAPR staff trains up to 160 new Uniformed Victim Advocates
(Vas) each year during week-long courses held at the Marine Corps
Support Facility, New Orleans. After training and credentialing through
the DoD's Sexual Assault Advocate Certification Program, uniformed
advocates are appointed by their commanders to serve in this collateral
duty billet at their respective Reserve Training Centers. Each SARC
provides continuous support and guidance to the geographically-
dispersed Victim Advocates within their MSC. In total, Marine Forces
Reserve's SAPR Program maintains a roster of more than 300 Vas within
the Reserve Component.
Reserve members can report an assault at any time and do not have
to wait to be performing active service or inactive duty for training
to initiate their report. Service members are eligible to receive
timely access to SAPR advocacy services from a SARC and a UVA
regardless of when a reported incident of sexual assault took place, to
include those that occurred prior to service or while not in a drilling
status. They also have access to a Victim's Legal Counsel regardless of
the duty status of the individual if the circumstances of the reported
offense have a nexus to the military service of the victim.
Vas respond to service members regardless of their activation
status, as well as adult dependents who make a report of sexual
assault. With the support of their SARC, Vas screen for potential
safety issues and provide required safety updates, offer ongoing
supportive services and referrals, and maintain a data base of
nationwide resources for victims of sexual assault who may not reside
on or near an installation. The Arcs and Vas collaborate with providers
who are local to the sites to create a network of support and response
capabilities for the Reserve Component across the Nation.
Another essential aspect of the response protocol is the 24 hours a
day, seven days a week Support Line that is advertised to service
members and their families via written and digital media and during all
SAPR classes and briefs. The Support Line is manned by the professional
SAPR staff members who serve as a readily accessible resource for those
who need anything from immediate assistance to those with questions
about how to make a report. Marine Forces Reserve also actively
publicizes the DoD Safe Hellene which offers the crisis support service
for members of the DoD community affected by sexual assault. The DoD
Safe Hellene is available 24/7 worldwide with ``click.call.text'' user
options and can be used anonymously for confidential support.
Our prevention strategy is holistic and integrated with other
programs that support the eradication effort, such as the Equal
Opportunity Program, Family Readiness, Spiritual Readiness Initiatives
and Behavioral Health. Marine Forces Reserve emphasizes setting the
example of discipline and respect at all levels of command by
encouraging a positive, retaliation-free, command climate. Leadership
is encouraged to actively engage with our Marines and Sailors to learn
what we can do to further support a positive environment that is free
from attitudes and behaviors that are incompatible with our core
values. All Marines and Sailors are required to receive SAPR training
every year to ensure widespread knowledge about the program to include
both prevention and response information. Preventative education plays
a role as all non- commissioned officers receive ``Take a Stand''
bystander intervention training and all junior Marines participate in
the ``Step Up'' bystander intervention training each year.
Marine Forces Reserve is committed to preventing sexual assault
while responding with the highest quality of supportive services and
advocacy to those who need it.
Quality of Life
We are committed to ensuring quality of life support programs that
are designed to help all Marines, Sailors and their families, whether
they are deployed or on the home front. Reserve Marines and their
families deserve the very best support in return for their sacrifices.
They are dispersed throughout the country and away from the traditional
brick and mortar support systems of our major bases and stations.
Therefore, we strive to provide awareness of, and access to, the
numerous support programs available for their benefit. Marine Corps
Community Services and unit Family Readiness Officers provide a vital
link to ensuring support reaches those who need it.
Marine Forces Reserve tracks the submission of medical service
treatment records to ensure Reserve Component Marines receive timely
access to Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) healthcare services.
Working across all 160 sites, we aggressively target our performance
for submission timeliness to ensure our Marines will not be delayed in
their submission of VA disability benefit claims once they have
separated from the service.
Marine and Family Readiness Programs remain flexible, constantly
adjusting to meet the needs of our Marines and their families. The
result is a ready and resilient Force, well equipped to achieve
success. This heightened state of resiliency is primarily achieved by
providing robust, relevant and standardized training to our unit
commanders, Family Readiness Command Teams, Marines and their families.
Our Marine Corps Family Team Building (MCFTB) program offers non-
clinical primary and secondary preventative education and professional
training to support service members and their families throughout
mission, life, and career events--ultimately enhancing unit mission
readiness. MCFTB training events are delivered both, in person and
through interactive Weimar, at Marine Corps units across the United
States. During fiscal year 2017, Marine Forces Reserve conducted 194
training events at which 6,821 Marines and family members received
valuable information to prepare for upcoming deployments, thrive during
a deployment, and achieve a positive post-deployment reintegration
experience.
A key component to our quality of life and resiliency is the
religious ministry support provided by the 220 Religious Ministry Team
(RMT) members consisting of Navy Chaplains and Religious Program
Specialists who are integrated into our support structure. As Uniformed
Members, Remits support Marines and their families across the full
spectrum of military life including combat and humanitarian
engagements. 123 RMT personnel are embedded in 46 Marine Corps Reserve
units and 97 are in Navy Reserve religious support units that directly
support Active Component Marine Corps units. Of those, 14 are mobilized
in support of combatant commanders across the globe. This support
includes developing the Commandant's spiritual readiness initiatives,
providing divine services across the spectrum of faith communities,
advising on spiritual and ethical matters, and pastoral care in a safe,
confidential environment. One signature program is the Chaplain
Religious Enrichment Development Operations (CREDO) program. The CREDO
program provides two transformational workshops: the Marriage
Enrichment Retreat and the Personal Resiliency Retreat. These events
equip Marines, Sailors, and their families with practical relationship
and communication tools that strengthen marriages and individual
resilience while on the home front and during deployments. The PRR
curriculum also helps Marines and Sailors set personal goals, make good
decisions, deal with stress, and live lives with greater purpose and
satisfaction. During fiscal year 2017, ten Marriage Enrichment Retreats
were conducted with 290 participants and two Personal Resiliency
Retreats were conducted with 26 participants.
The Marine Corps Personal and Professional Development programs
continue to provide training and educational resources to service
members and their families. The Transition Readiness Program implements
a comprehensive transition and employment assistance program for
Marines and their families; the program emphasizes a proactive approach
that will enable Marines to formulate effective post-transition
entrepreneurship, employment, and educational goals. Transition
Readiness is a process that occurs across the Marine for Life Cycle,
not an event that occurs at a single point in time. Additionally, the
Marine For Life Network provides education and awareness briefs to
Reserve Marines and their family members during IRR Mobilization
Exercises, with the intent to link them to employment, education, and
community resources in support of their overall life goals.
Our Simper Fit program remains fully engaged in partnering with our
bases and stations to provide quality, results-based education and
conditioning protocols for our Marines and Sailors. The High Intensity
Tactical Training program includes hands-on, science-based strength and
conditioning courses, online physical fitness tools, mobile
applications for service members to access anywhere, recorded Weimar,
as well as instruction on injury prevention, nutrition, and weight
management. Our Marines' and Sailors' quality of life is also enhanced
through stress management and esprit de corps activities, such as unit
outings and participation in competitive events. These programs are
crucial to unit cohesion and camaraderie.
The YRRP is an invaluable partner with the Marine Corps Unit,
Personal, and Family Readiness Program at every command level. Since
its inception during 2010, the YRRP has held more than 850 training
events for more than 39,000 Marines, Sailors, and family members. In
fiscal year 2017, 123 YRRP training events were conducted with 1,958
participants. The YRRP is a tool for commanders to remain engaged with
the challenges and issues facing Marines, Sailors, and their families.
The YRRP continues to thrive. Marine Forces Reserve, with the
assistance of our Marine Corps Team Building, local and national
resources, has many methods for program delivery that are sustainable
in any fiscal or deployment climate. This includes local unit events,
Weimar which can be delivered nationally, mail-outs, social media, and
personalized briefs designed to meet the individual needs of the
service member and family.
We continue to be supportive of Military Resource, which provides
our Marines, Sailors, and their families with an around-the-clock
information and referral service via toll-free telephone and Internet
resources. Additionally, Military Resource provides information on
subjects such as parenting, child care, education, finances,
deployment, and relocation.
Our Marines, Sailors, and their families, who sacrifice so much for
our Nation's defense, should not be asked to sacrifice quality of life.
We will continue to be a faithful advocate for robust Family Programs
and Services that evolve and adapt to the changing needs of our
Marines, Sailors and their families. The combined effect of these
programs and services are critical to the readiness and retention of
our Marines, Sailors, and their families, and your continued support is
greatly appreciated.
Supporting our Wounded, Ill, or Injured Marines and their Families
The Marine Corps ensures the availability of full spectrum care to
all wounded, ill, or injured (WII) service members, whether they are
Active or Reserve, through the Wounded Warrior Regiment (WWR). Marine
Forces Reserve ensures Reserve Marines' unique challenges are addressed
through a WWR Liaison Officer who provides subject matter expertise and
special coordination with the WWR staff.
The WWR staff includes the Reserve Medical Entitlements
Determinations Section, which maintains specific oversight of all
Reservists requiring medical care for service-incurred and duty-
limiting medical conditions. Reservists facing complex care and
recovery needs have access to WWR's network of 45 Recovery Care
Coordinators who provide one-on-one transition support and resource
identification for WII Reservists and families often living long
distances from military installations. WWR also has medical advocates
at the regimental staff who are available to assist Reservists in need
of medical care coordination and advocacy. District Injured Support
Coordinators and Field Support Representatives dispersed throughout the
country also coordinate with Reserve units to ensure we keep faith with
all Marines.
Marine Forces Reserve will not forget the sacrifices our Marines
have made for this great Nation; and we will continue to work with the
WWR to establish resources and programs that address the unique and
ongoing needs of our Reserve population.
Conclusion
Despite the challenges facing us in today's strategic environment,
the Marine Corps remains our Nation's crisis response force and will
continue to be most ready when our Nation is least ready. When our
Nation calls, the American people expect quick, decisive action from
Marines--both the Active and Reserve Components. As part of the Marine
Corps Total Force, the Marine Corps Reserve must remain manned,
trained, and equipped to provide lethal forces to the Active Component
to respond across the operational spectrum from disaster relief to full
scale combat operations. Despite today's unstable operating environment
being further complicated by budget uncertainty, it is essential for us
to remain engaged in current operations, maintain our warfighting
readiness, and reset our equipment--while also taking the necessary
strides to modernize the force. With your continued unwavering support,
we will make pragmatic decisions on how to best balance our available
resources between current commitments and future readiness
requirements.
Simper Fidei!
Senator Shelby. Thank you, General.
SOUTHWEST BORDER OPERATIONS
The President's recent decision to send National Guard
forces to the southwest border continues the trend of previous
administrations to deploy Guardsmen to border security
operations.
General Lengyel, can you describe the current plans for
mobilization, expand on the operational supports that these
troops will provide, and discuss how it differs from past
efforts?
General Lengyel. Yes, Chairman. Thanks for the opportunity
to talk about the southwest border operation that is currently
ongoing.
As you mentioned, on April 4, the President signed a
proclamation and he directed the Secretary of Defense to assist
the Department of Homeland Security with providing security on
the border. He provided that mission to the Department of
Defense, since the authorized use of the National Guard as a
force to provide and assist the Customs and Border Protection
agency with the requirements that they have on the border to do
border security kinds of things.
On the 6th of April, we were able to ascertain the first
initial amounts of requests that came from Customs and Border
Protection. They said, ``We request National Guard troops under
command and control of their governors,'' also called Title 32
Command and Control, ``Go to the assistance of the Customs and
Border Protection in the individual sectors along the southwest
border.''
That deployment began on the 6th of April with movement
from Texas and Arizona, and a few planners from New Mexico.
They began to move and posture their assistance for the Customs
and Border Protection agency.
As of today, we have had an additional request for
assistance, a second request for assistance from the Customs
and Border Protection. As we speak here today, there are a
total of 965 National Guard soldiers, airmen and soldiers,
mostly soldiers, on the border providing assistance to Customs
and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security.
The Secretary has authorized up to 4,000 total members of
the National Guard to do this and he has authorized it to
endure, at this point, until 30 September. That is the length
and duration that we are, so far, authorized to support the CBP
(U.S. Customs and Border Protection) in this endeavor.
With respect to funding from this issue, the funding the
Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) has been directed to
look across the Department to find funds to pay for these Title
32 resources, who are under the command and control of their
governors in the States, providing support to the Customs and
Border Protection.
What they are not doing is any direct civilian law
enforcement operations, and they are not doing any direct
contact with migrants, unless when they are to be explicitly
authorized by the Department of Defense, and that has not yet
occurred.
So the missions that they are involved in are primarily
things that enable Customs and Border Protection agents to
leave non-direct border security jobs, and go to the border,
and provide border security. They are doing things like
maintenance, communications, transportation, the operation of,
perhaps, heavy equipment, analysis, trend analysis in using
some intelligence and surveillance, and some aviation assets to
assist in those endeavors.
So primarily, that sums it up. As of today, 965 soldiers
and airmen are on the border. Long term through the end of the
fiscal year, and up to 4,000 is the top number under command
and control of their governors.
CYBERSECURITY INITIATIVES
Senator Shelby. The demand for cybersecurity professionals
paces the current inventory, as I understand it, both in the
military and in the private sector. The Reserve component's
reputation as citizen soldiers provides a deep connection,
perhaps, to private sector cyber experts who draw upon civilian
acquired skills from industry and their daily work in academia.
I will pose this question to General Luckey. Could you
share with the subcommittee, General Luckey, the initiatives
that you are pursuing to help recruit the most talented, the
best and the brightest individuals with the particular cyber
skill sets that are going to be required in the future to
protect us?
General Luckey. Chairman, thanks very much for that
question.
As I touched on briefly in my opening remarks, there are a
couple of things that are going on currently in the Army
Reserve and in concert with a lot of other different agencies
and entities out there working--to answer your question--with
more capability.
We are already, as I think I talked about earlier,
remissioning and re-tasking certain capabilities and moving
some force structure to places where we have identified, what I
call, digital key terrain, whether it be in Silicon Valley,
whether it be in Boston, whether it be in other locations
across the United States.
We are identifying, as we go, different places where moving
force structure enables us to take our unique flexibility and
agility to move force structure at essentially no cost because
we are not actually moving people. We are just moving the
billets to go and recruit talent against those billets. So we
have done that in certain locales. We are continuing to do
that.
As I noted in my remarks, we are partnering with DIUx, we
are partnering with MD5, and we are working very closely with
the Army as it begins to flesh out its future command to make
sure that we are completely integrated and synchronized.
At the end of the day, part of this is a talent management
challenge for us and a massive opportunity. Senator, as you may
know, I already retasked the 75th Training Command, which is
now the 75th Innovation Command in Houston, Texas, to take this
on and operationalize getting us to a better place in terms of
capturing and in some cases actually assessing talent across
America, primarily in the private sector, whether it pertains
to cyber, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and
things of that ilk.
So eventually, I am going to owe this committee a report on
where we are in terms of operationalizing this capability. But
I will tell you today, in addition to the 10 cyber protection
teams that we are on track to adopt and fully operationalize on
the timeline previously determined.
We are also moving well down the path to operationalizing
our ability to assess talent and to retain talent in the Army
through the Army Reserve in these critical skills.
Senator Shelby. Senator Durbin.
Senator Durbin. Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
COST OF GUARD AT BORDER
General Lengyel, following up on the Chairman's question,
what is the average daily cost of a Guard member at the border?
General Lengyel. Sir, I would have to give you a specific
for one Guard member on the border.
Senator Durbin. It could be any kind of range that you
think is accurate.
General Lengyel. I think it is the same as what he would be
paid anywhere else doing any other job. There is no difference
in the cost of having him on the border.
Senator Durbin. What would that be?
General Lengyel. It depends on the rank, sir.
Senator Durbin. Okay. Let me just ask you, Operation
Jumpstart cost $1.2 billion for 6,000 National Guard members
over 2 years.
Do you have any estimate as to what this operation is going
to cost?
General Lengyel. Sir, it is difficult to estimate because I
do not know how many of that 4,000 the number will actually
grow to and beyond how long it will stay. I really could not
hazard a guess yet on the total cost of this operation.
Senator Durbin. Can I conclude from your statement earlier
that your current 2018 O&M (Operations and Maintenance) budget
could not cover these costs?
General Lengyel. That is a true statement, sir.
Senator Durbin. You said you have to look around the
Department of Defense.
General Lengyel. The Department of Defense should work
within the Department to find funds to pay for this mission,
sir.
Senator Durbin. There have been some comments by some
observers on the statewide scene that we are diverting National
Guardsmen from their traditional responsibilities, and duties,
and readiness at home.
There was an article in the ``Albuquerque Journal'' where
State Representative Bill McCamley said, ``We are going into
forest fire season. The big percentage of the State is in
drought right now and if National Guard folks are continuously
rotated down to the border for a problem that does not exist,
are they are going to be available for a real problem when it
happens?''
What is your answer?
General Lengyel. Vice Chairman, I would say that we have
450,000 men and women in the National Guard and on the border
today are 1,000. We could sustain that level without impacting
State missions, because they are under the command and control
of the governors.
If required right now--we have not had to go outside the
four border States to serve the requirements by CBP--but if we
do have to, and if this is enduring in nature, we may have to
go find some folks because these are citizen soldiers and
airmen. They have jobs and other lives. We will have to rotate
them in.
We will go to places where governors have an excess of
capacity to deal with emergencies in their State, and those
people should volunteer and move to the border, and do the
mission.
WATER CONTAMINATION
Senator Durbin. This question is for all witnesses.
I was educated, informed, and a little bit surprised by
this last appropriations conversation in the Senate of how many
of my colleagues came forward to discuss water contamination
caused by perfluorinated chemicals in firefighting foam. It was
the number one issue my Senate colleagues asked me for help
with this year.
General Lengyel, I understand the Air National Guard has a
unique set of problems when it comes to paying for the cleanup
of these chemicals that has to be addressed by authorizers.
How large is this, admittedly, major public health crisis
of water contamination as a problem for the National Guard? Do
you know how much it will cost? How long it will take? And do
you need new authority to tackle it?
General Lengyel. Yes, sir. It is a problem.
I cannot give you a total number of what it may take to
mitigate it. There are many, many installations, as you know,
that have the potential to have PFOS and PFOA in their water
systems.
So the first thing we had to do is inspect them, determine
if there is a determined amount in the water. If there is, and
the Government is determined to be liable, then we are going to
have to find a way to mitigate that. So we are going to make
the water safe to drink for the communities.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FUNDS IN DEFENSE ENVIRONMENTAL
RESTORATION ACCOUNT
Senator Durbin. The Department of Defense has identified
401 active installations where there are one or more areas with
known or suspected release of these chemicals.
Under OSD's (Office of the Secretary of Defense) guidance,
the services are conducting preliminary assessments and site
inspections, and cutting off exposure where they can.
Currently, 90 installations are above the EPA's (Environmental
Protection Agency) lifetime health advisory.
I also understand that you are seeking an NDAA (National
Defense Authorization Act) provision to allow the National
Guard to qualify for use of funds in the Defense Environmental
Restoration Account. Right now, only active duty can use these
funds.
Could you explain?
General Lengyel. Yes, sir. The determination was made by
General Counsel in the Department of Defense that said State-
run facilities were not eligible to access the DERA (Defense
Environment Restoration Account) account.
If we had to spend money to mitigate these PFOA issues, we
were going to have to use Air National Guard or Army National
Guard Operations and Maintenance money to do it, and obviously,
we do not have that money in our account. So we had access,
like the active component, to the DERA account.
Senator Durbin. What my colleagues have told me is that the
use of this fire retardant, this foam, has resulted in a public
health hazard and a danger to water supplies in the area of
these installations.
I cannot tell you how many of them came to me from all over
the United States saying, ``We need cleanup money right now
because of the danger to our community.''
Do you sense this is a matter of some urgency?
General Lengyel. I do, Senator. Yes, I do.
We owe it to the public to make sure that we inspect these
facilities and determine if they have a problem. And if they
have one, and we are liable for it, then we need to mitigate
it.
MASSIVE SPENDING INCREASE
Senator Durbin. I would like to ask just one general
question.
We have decided, on a bipartisan basis in Congress, to make
a massive investment in our military for readiness; some $80
billion over the budget for this year and a similar amount next
year. We do not know what happens in the third year. If it
reverts back to sequestration levels, it will be a dramatic
cut.
I am sure we all share concern that we do not have enough
resources going into our national readiness and defense, but I
share an equal concern that we are putting too much in too
fast, and that we may look back with regret as to how it is
being spent.
I talked with Secretary Mattis about this. He sent out
letters, I think, for all to consider about his own concerns.
Tell me how you and your colleagues here are addressing
this concern about spending this massive investment so quickly
and wisely.
General Lengyel. Yes, Senator. Well, I think that our
direction is to spend it on readiness of the Force, to make
sure it is a lethal Force; actually, everything inside the
National Defense Strategy as this operational reserve that we
are all a part of now.
Our Active components rely on us to be there and to be
ready to defend the Nation in our interests around the world.
That is the number one priority that we are doing.
The services have needs to recapitalize and modernize, that
we have been underfunded because of budget uncertainty and draw
downs over the past years. I say that with some certainty that
we have appropriate places to increase the lethality and
modernize the Force to spend that money appropriately.
Senator Durbin. We will be watching one another closely.
Thank you.
General Lengyel. Yes, sir.
Senator Shelby. Senator Hoeven.
Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And thanks to all of you for being here and more
importantly, for what you do.
General Lengyel, even though I also am a member of Military
Construction, Veterans Affairs, this particular project would
fall under that. I do want to express my appreciation for the
budget request and your support for a military readiness center
in Fargo for an important project, and I thank you for that.
RECRUITMENT OF PERSONNEL
For each of you, though, I would ask recruiting; how are we
doing on recruiting? For example, pilots. I know we have an
incredible challenge getting enough pilots and the commercial
sector too is looking for pilots.
We have innovative programs, for example, in Grand Forks at
the University of North Dakota, we train a tremendous number of
pilots, at the John D. Odegard School for Aerospace and
Aviation.
And so, starting maybe on the Air Force end, but for each
of you, recruiting and maybe start with the pilots, do we have
to get creative in looking for other solutions to help there?
For example, maybe partnering with some of our universities on
pilot training or some of those kinds of things. And so,
General Lengyel, you or General Miller, maybe start.
General Lengyel. Senator Hoeven, thank you for that
question. And like the Air Force, our Air National Guard is
experiencing issues with maintaining all of our pilots that we
need to fill up our force as part of the Air Force.
Like General Miller had mentioned, full time pilots, we are
able to maintain full time pilots in the active and guard, the
AGR status, the Active Guard Reserve status. Technician, full
time pilots are harder.
Part-time pilots, we are able right now to retain a huge
number of our part-time pilots. As people leave the active
component and go into the airlines, they tend to want to fly in
the Guard and Reserve as well, so part-time pilots are good.
Some of our full-time pilots, though, are harder to maintain.
It is, for the first time, becoming a problem in the Army.
Army aviation, Army helicopter pilots are now being recruited
actively by the airlines and given fixed wing courses to become
fixed wing pilots. So that will become a draw on the Army
National Guard as well.
Senator Hoeven. Customs and Border Protection has
responsibility for 900 miles of border out of Grand Forks, all
the way from the Great Lakes out through most of Montana. They
fly helicopters. They fly fixed wing. They fly unmanned assets,
UAS.
They have a program that we just started with them, called
Pathways where they partner with the university so that as
young people go through their pilot training, they also work
for CBP, and then they come out, and they have that pilot
education.
So again, I am looking for innovative ways to get after
this challenge.
General Miller. And Senator, our Chief and Secretary are
beginning to work in building those relationships with the
aviation universities, and discussing this at a national level.
As we all know, this is a national problem. There are just not
enough pilots being produced for all of us.
Senator Hoeven. And it seems for Reserve and Guard, there
would be a particular opportunity here.
General Miller. There is and we are partnering with them.
The Air Force is 2,000 pilots short across all three of the
components, and we all have our deficit number that we are
going after.
For us, for the Air Force overall, we are not concerned
right now about the number of people coming in the pipeline
because there are people lined up to come in the Air Force to
fly airplanes.
The issue for us right now is, as the budget has decreased
for the past 10 years or so, we have brought down that
institutional capacity to train the pilots.
We have them lined up. We can get them coming through the
door. It is just, how do we get them trained quickly? Because
we have brought that institution brick and mortar down and that
capacity down, so we are increasing the capacity. We need to go
from 1,200 a year to 1,400 a year as a start.
The other aspect of that is the absorption piece. Once they
are produced out of UPT, out of pilot training, they then have
to get that experience level. We, in the Guard and Reserve,
accept those pilots, those youngest pilots, and we absorb them
into our units and experience them as quickly as we can.
It is not a capacity issue coming to the door. It is how do
we train them? How do we absorb them? And get them as quickly
as we can up to a high level fighter pilot or mobility pilot to
get out there.
We are working over those issues. Our Chief and Secretary
are working directly with industry and the airlines, and we
have had meetings, two meetings over the last year to discuss
that.
What am I doing specifically in the Air Force Reserve? On
the full-time side, my issue is the full-time side. I need to
create a full-time status and it is called Active Guard and
Reserve, and that status allows an airline pilot to be an
airline pilot for a couple of years, come back and be full-time
with us for a couple of years, and then go back to the airline.
So it allows them the opportunity to go back and forth with
return rights.
The current full-time status I have right now is an Air
Reserve technician. It does not have return rights. Once an Air
Reserve technician goes to the airlines, they do not have
return rights back to be full-time, if they choose.
So we are working with MNR, PNR up in the building. We are
working with the Guard and we are trying to adjust certain AGR,
certain words that are in the law to expand that use. So we are
getting on that.
Senator Hoeven. Flexibility and capacity are two things you
are getting into. We should be able to maybe come up with some
things to help.
General Luckey. Senator, if I may, since the Army was
mentioned here.
I would just note from a pilot perspective, right now we
are at about 94 percent strength in my pilots both from rotary
and fixed wing. So at least in the near time, I am not only
concerned about the stress on the Force. I do note, General
Lengyel's point and concern, and I am not suggesting that I am
dismissing it, because I am not. Where I sit right now, I think
we are, from an operational perspective, I think we are in
pretty good shape.
From a recruiting perspective, I would tell you the
accession of new soldiers into the Army Reserve is not my
fundamental challenge from a manning the force perspective. The
bigger challenge fundamentally is maintaining a good stream of
AC to RC migration over time.
From a qualifications perspective, from a grade
perspective, my concerns are really much more my mid-grade.
Both of my noncommissioned officers and commissioned officers,
making sure I continue to get some good lifeblood coming off of
active duty into the Army Reserve.
I know my colleagues in the Guard, to some extent, look at
that same trend line as one that could be potentially
problematic if I am not continuing to be able to get the flow
from the active component.
Myself, and I know many of our colleagues, all came from
the active components of the various services of the United
States military before coming into the Guard or Reserve. And
that is obviously a trend that I would like to see continue
over time.
Senator Hoeven. I would ask Admiral McCollum and General
McMillian.
Admiral McCollum. Yes, Senator. For the Navy Reserve, we
have learned, and I am sure like my other colleagues, when a
pilot has an airplane to fly and when there is a career path
for that pilot, they are at their best position for retention.
In that regard, that is why recapitalization, in our case,
of aviation assets is important. We can offer retention
opportunity for those pilots exiting active duty and we have
had very little issue capturing that return on investment,
which is, at about an eight or nine year pilot, very
significant in the $7 or $8 million return on investment.
If we do not continue that investment in recapitalization,
we see we might lose that opportunity to retain some of those.
But the part-time pilots, we are not having an issue with.
General McMillian. Senator, thank you. As I said in my
opening statement, we are at 99 percent manning across Marine
Forces Reserve. I am fairly comfortable with where we are with
both our Reserve pilots and the Active Components that support
Reserve operations.
Where I do have a gap is in my crew chiefs, particularly in
MV-22's and in Huey's, and we are manned at about 55 to 65
percent. It takes a little bit of time to grow a crew chief,
and so we are putting effort into recruiting more. We are
trying to capture crew chiefs that are leaving Active duty, as
General Luckey said, and bringing them over to the Reserves.
If we can grow them on our own, so to speak, it takes a
little bit of time. But that is where my challenge is, sir.
Senator Hoeven. Thank you.
Senator Shelby. Senator Leahy.
Senator Leahy. Thank you.
Thank both you, Senator Shelby and Senator Durbin for
holding this hearing. I think it is extremely important.
Chairman Shelby, I welcome you as the chairman of the full
committee. You and I have discussed our capacity as it exists,
and I look forward to working with you on the fiscal year 2019
appropriations. I think we are going to have a vigorous
schedule and one that will help everybody involved.
The witnesses here, the last two decades, we have relied on
our National Guard like never before in missions that go way
beyond our domestic borders, as you know. I know firsthand from
the members of Vermont's own Air Guard and Army Guard the
sacrifices these men and women make every day. I am very proud
of what they have done.
I was proud to be there when they announced training side
by side, as full members of the 10th Mountain Division. I
talked to former Senators like Senator Dole, who served in
that. I am proud they are going to be the first Guard unit in
the country to fly the F-35. We know what it means to support
our Guards and Reserves.
So General Lengyel, let me ask you. The Associated Unit
Program has been a tremendous success, I think, around the
country. Vermont, the home of the Army Mountain Warfare School,
the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has trained as a full
member of the 10th Mountain Division. I have watched as they
have done some of their training. It is not easy.
VALUE OF SPECIALIZED RESERVE TRAINING UNITS
Can you explain the value, to both an Active Duty Unit and
a National Guard Unit, of being associated like this,
especially when doing specialized things like mountain warfare?
General Lengyel. Senator Leahy, thanks for that question.
I cannot say enough good things about the Associated Units
Pilot Program. The fact that our Active component and Reserve
components, in our case, the Guard here at the 10th Mountain
with the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team are training
together, planning together, working together, and some day
will be flowing together. It makes us a better, stronger, total
force for our Nation.
The Mountain Warfare School, we were very lucky this year,
as you remember, the avalanche. Six soldiers in that Warfare
School put them in the hospital. Luckily, nobody perished, but
some severe injuries. It shows just how dangerous and what kind
of training is required to do that kind of operation.
Senator Leahy. Yes, this is not classroom training. This is
out there----
General Lengyel. No, it is real.
Senator Leahy [continuing]. In all kinds of weather.
General Lengyel. Commanders in these units, sir, because of
the Association Report have better access to ranges, better
interoperability with their active duty counterparts. Which
means, when they deploy, when we go to fight our wars, we will
be more lethal. We will be a better deterrent force. We will be
a better war fighting force. It is a very good thing.
CIRCUMSTANCES FOR NATIONAL GUARD TO ACT AS LAW ENFORCEMENT
Senator Leahy. Let me ask you about a different type of
thing, and Senator Durbin has gone into this, the Defense
Department memo that Secretary Mattis signed, explains that the
National Guard personnel will not perform law enforcement
activities or interact with undocumented immigrants or other
people detained without his expressed approval.
What are the circumstances where the Department of Defense
would authorize the National Guard to engage in law enforcement
activities on the southern border? I do not know of any
precedent for this. I am asking, what circumstances?
General Lengyel. Well, sir, in this case, they have been
expressly prohibited from doing it. And so, I can tell you that
Texas, as National Guard members on State active duty have, in
the past, in that particular status augmented the Texas Highway
Patrol, the Border Security Police, and the Customs and Border
Protection agencies and have in the past.
Not in this operation currently undergoing, but other
times. Because we are members of the National Guard, Posse
Comitatus does not apply to us. We can do law enforcement
duties.
But there is no intention on this particular case. The
intention, as I mentioned in my prior remarks, was that we
would free up badge-carrying law enforcement officials to go to
the border and actually do that.
USE OF NATIONAL GUARD FACILITIES FOR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT DETENTION
Senator Leahy. Well, let me ask you sort of a related
question. Has DHS asked for the assistance or service related
to the detention of undocumented immigrants? I ask that because
you also have, the Guard has facilities. Have they asked for
any of those facilities be made available for detention or
functions?
General Lengyel. No, sir. I am not aware of any requests
for facilities or participation in any kind of detention
operations of any kind along the border.
Senator Leahy. They have to have special authority for
that, would they not?
General Lengyel. Well, we have been prohibited from doing
those kinds of activities, sir, as a result of the
proclamation. So right now, there is no intent for the National
Guard to do any of that.
POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN THE NATIONAL GUARD
Senator Leahy. Let me go to a different thing.
In recent years, and you and I have discussed this
privately before, some of this, but remarkable work has been
done to advance our understanding of the way traumatic
experiences impact the brain. And every one of you knows what
that is like.
We have had the work of researchers at the National Center
for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), I know this sounds
parochial, but it is headquartered in Vermont with other
leading institutions. I think we are creating a field of
personalized medicine for mental health. You and I have talked
about this.
What steps are you taking, or would you like us to take, to
get ahead of this? Because it seems to be a continuous problem.
It is not one that is going to disappear.
General Lengyel. Senator, thank you.
The care, and welfare, and wellbeing of the men and women
in uniform are all of our most important tasks to maintain. We
cannot do any of our war fighting roles without them.
The ability to leverage, perhaps, like in the language of
last year's NDAA, to do a study. We commented on the study with
OSD to: how will we better assess the total warrior resilience
and fitness of our force?
In the National Guard, we have done several things to do
this. Your support for some additional Title 5 Technicians to
be Directors of Psychological Health could be of assistance
along those lines.
To use broader experience like agencies such as give an
hour and access to healthcare for soldiers and airmen, TRICARE
for some of our members can give them proper access to
psychological health providers that we need to help.
So thank you for your continued support in this area.
Senator Leahy. I look at all the services represented here,
is it safe to say that there is no service that does not have a
concern about PTSD? The Marines are concerned about that, are
they not, General?
General McMillian. Yes, sir. We are concerned about PTSD. I
would like to say it is not as prevalent now as it was during
the height of OIF and OEF. We scaled that back just a little
bit.
I will tell you what our major concern is and continues to
be, though, which is related to it, are suicides. Within Marine
Forces Reserve, we had 12 suicides last year. This year, we are
up to 5, not quite at that 50 percent mark for the calendar
year. We work hard to mitigate that.
But what we are finding on the Reserve side of the house is
that the majority, probably 90 percent of our suicides, occur
not in a drilling status; it is those 28 days of the month when
we do not see them.
So we work hard through our leadership. We pride ourselves
in our leadership to maintain close and enduring contact with
all of our Marines, whether they are in a drill status, but
particularly, when they are off duty. And so, we try to stay
connected to them to try to dig out personal issues that they
have and try to mitigate them rapidly.
What we have found out is that all of our suicides in that
off-duty arena are tied to relationship issues, legal issues,
job issues, financial issues. So we try to talk to them about
that during our drill weekends and when we do see them, and try
to mitigate those, sir.
Senator Leahy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And all the rest of you, if you have suggestions for me or
for us in this area, please, let me know because I am concerned
about both the Guard and Reserves, but in the full time
services. I think there is a bipartisan commitment here in the
Appropriations committee to help.
General McMillian. Yes, sir.
Senator Leahy. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Senator Shelby. Thank you, Senator Leahy.
Senator Moran.
ATEAM REPAIR AUTHORITY
Senator Moran. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much.
Let me direct this question to General Lengyel.
General, you know this because we have had numerous
conversations, but the ATEAM provides world class maintenance
and repair for Army tanks, and engines, and transmissions.
As you know, they provide high quality work that has
significantly contributed to the increased readiness of the
Army National Guard, armored brigade combat teams in 12 States,
and they are the engine repair team of choice for several key
foreign military partners.
We discussed last year in this same hearing, and though you
conveyed your support for ATEAM, you instructed me to speak to
General Perna, the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Materiel
Command, on the topic of special repair authority for ATEAM to
continue doing its work.
I reached out to General Perna at your suggestion. In June,
we had a conversation and he provided his formal position and
recommendations that would follow the ATEAM to continue work on
previously overhauled National Guard engines and existing FMS
customers at the discretion of the NGB.
Then later in October, he and I met and he reiterated that
the ATEAM does not need a special repair authority to conduct
their work for Army Guard or foreign partners. We also learned
that Army regulations removed that requirement for this
authority.
General Lengyel, when we spoke a few weeks ago, you
mentioned things were running smoothly with the ATEAM and you
remain supportive of their efforts. However, since that
meeting, I learned that the ATEAM again faces hurdles that
threaten their ability to carry out their maintenance work for
the Army Guard, and particularly their foreign partners that
are explicitly seeking ATEAM support for their tanks.
The program, again, seems to be in jeopardy because of what
seems to me to be a bureaucratic machination that no single
entity takes responsibility for the mission.
You have a Four Star who is sending work to ATEAM believing
that they have what they need to do to conduct the work. And
yet, another Four Star at headquarters that disagrees, and your
staff maintains that ATEAM cannot do the work.
These different opinions and interpretations are putting
the program at risk and threaten to derail contractual
obligations that we have with our foreign partners. I worry
that this will continue to unravel unless it is resolved.
And so, General Lengyel, General Perna does not believe
ATEAM needs a special repair authority to continue conducting
their work and he also believes that they continue to work with
foreign partners at your discretion.
Can you please explain to me how you are going to reconcile
and resolve the situation so that ATEAM can continue to enhance
the readiness of the Army Guard and continue to do its work for
our foreign partners?
General Lengyel. Senator, yes, sir. And I do need to tell
you that when I came and saw you last week, I was not aware of
what my staff perceives as two issues. One is the special
prepare authority, and two is utilization of Title 32
technicians to perform duty on non-National Guard and non-DOD
equipment.
Those are two problems that I only became aware of as a
large contract to do international work came to the ATEAM. They
did not have an appropriate warrant to execute the contract, so
they came to the National Guard Bureau to get that warrant.
As my staff looked into it, they identified those two
specific problems, special repair authority and Title 32
technician issues with respect to doing FMS kinds of work,
Foreign Military Sales kinds of work.
I will promise you that within the next week, we will find
out. I will talk to General Perna myself. I do not know what
the, disconnect is. I hope we do not need special repair
authority. I agree that the ATEAM provides good work, maintains
a higher state of readiness for the Army. If he allows us to
continue to do that work, I am happy to continue to do that
work from the National Guard.
The Title 32 issue is another issue with respect to how we
use our Title 32 technicians and that requires, again, some
work on my part to determine the way ahead here.
Senator Moran. So General Perna, assuming that I am telling
you his accurate position, and you determine that to be the
case, then that would resolve one of the two issues?
General Lengyel. It would.
Senator Moran. And then, we still need to work through the
Title issue?
General Lengyel. Yes, sir.
Senator Moran. And what do you foresee in that regard?
General Lengyel. I have to find out, how are we doing? Why
can we not do Title 32 technicians to do FMS?
I do know that on the Air side, we have some Title 32
technicians that train Foreign Military Sales cases with
respect to F-16 training pilots. But training is a different
category than regular and routine maintenance.
So I can only promise you Senator, that I will look into
this, and I will come to your office, and tell you what I find
out.
Senator Moran. Thank you, General Lengyel. I look forward
to that. It may be our fifth meeting on this topic and I look
forward to its resolution----
General Lengyel. Yes, sir.
Senator Moran [continuing]. In a favorable way toward the
ATEAM.
RESERVE TRAINING SUSTAINABILITY
Let me ask a broader question. I know that you all have
deep respect and gratitude for families and employers. You have
stated before that you recruit individuals, but retain
families.
I know that there is a lot of discussion lately about the
role the Reserve component with Guard and Reservists deploying
so frequently and participating in significantly more training
days per year. Just the current operations tempo is such that
we all have to have concern over sustainability of this whole
Reserve force. My question is a general one.
What request do you have of us, as members of Congress, to
help you accomplish, to help us accomplish this? General
Luckey.
General Luckey. Yes, Senator. Senator, if I may, just to
reiterate, I think, a point I touched upon in my opening
statement.
I think the most helpful thing that the senior leadership
of the United States could do, in my opinion, for all of the
Reserve components and Guard of all the Armed Forces is
continue to support us at the strategic level.
Messaging with, as I said, I think, in my opening remarks,
your voice to your constituents, and your jurisdictions, and
your States, and cities and towns with the influencers that are
out there across America. How critical the sustained support of
employers, whether they are from the private sector or other
aspects of the public sector, academia.
Continued support of employers is, for us, to share the
best talent in America with the Armed Forces of the United
States and the Reserve components thereof. And to make sure
they understand that they are part of a strategic partnership
that is ultimately underpinning the national security fabric of
the United States.
It has been said in this room, and it has been said many
times in this place, that you have a more engaged operationally
efficacious Reserve force, whether Guard or Reserve, at any
time in the history of the United States of America, in my
opinion.
The way we sustain that--because I share your concern,
Senator--the way we sustain that level of effort and readiness,
ultimately, is going to hinge on the ability of employers to
understand they are partnering with us to share this talent
with America in respect to making sure we ensure the national
security of the United States. That is the key.
Senator Moran. General, I take from your answer that you
believe the place to focus our attention is employers and their
continued commitment to employing Guard and Reservists.
General Luckey. Yes, sir.
Senator Moran. Okay. I will not have time to ask this
question, but General McMillian talked about suicide. I would
be interested in knowing if there is evidence that suggests
that the current tempo, the deployment and readiness
requirements of our Guard and Reserve, has had a consequence in
regard to Guard and Reserve suicide? And what the difference is
between Guard and Reserve circumstances and the active
military?
General Luckey. So I note the time, but I would just say, I
personally do not think the linkage is between deployments. I
think it goes back to what General McMillian said earlier.
One of the things we are focused on in the Army Reserve is
looking particularly at financial stressors on families driven
by potential issues with employment relationships. Did the
overtime increase the stress on the family and on the soldier
in our case? I am concerned about that being an accelerant or a
potential motivating factor in some sort of self-destructive
behavior.
Senator Shelby. Senator Tester.
Senator Tester. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank the Generals and the Admiral for being here
today.
I want to welcome Chairman Shelby to the head of the
Appropriations committee. We look forward to working with you.
FOREST FIRE EQUIPMENT IN MONTANA
General Lengyel, I just want to visit a little bit about a
thing called fire buckets that we need in Montana. We burned
1.25 million acres of land last year in the forest fire season.
The equipment is critical. You have said in the past, you
supported it. I assume that is that same way.
When can we expect those buckets in Montana?
General Lengyel. They are on the way, sir. Buying those
buckets and you will have them this summer, I think.
Senator Tester. They are in the mail. Okay, good. And then
we have, this is a Military Construction, Veterans Affairs
project also, but the apron for the C-130's up at the Air Guard
unit on Gore Hill. I appreciate your push for that.
General Lengyel. Yes, sir.
AMP 2 MODERNIZATION
Senator Tester. As far as AMP 1 modernization, it is
supposed to be done April 1 of 2020. Hopefully, you are looking
at AMP 2.
Could you give me a status of that?
General Lengyel. Yes, Senator. AMP 2 is in the program. I
think it is on course to be completed 2028. So it is out there
and needs to be done. We need to watch it. We have a lot of old
C-130's that need AMP 2.
Senator Tester. And do you already have priority as to
where you are going to start with the AMP 2?
General Lengyel. Senator Tester, we do not, that I am aware
of.
Senator Tester. Okay. Well, I would just hope and I
anticipate you will meet the deadline of April 1, maybe even
exceed it, and you can seamlessly pop right into AMP 2
modernization.
General Lengyel. Yes, sir.
CHEMICAL CLEANUP
Senator Tester. Thank you. I want to follow up a little bit
on the Ranking Member's questions on the chemical cleanup
because of the firefighting chemicals. And I really do not know
the answer to this question.
Are these chemicals used exclusively on bases in the foam
or are these chemicals used out in the forest too?
General Lengyel. Sir, I believe they are used in airports
to put out fires all over the country, including civilian
airports and the like. It is not just a military thing.
Senator Tester. And in the forest too?
General Lengyel. In the forest, I do not believe they are
used in the forest.
Senator Tester. Okay, so I guess the question I have, if
this is an issue that is a big issue, which I do not doubt the
Ranking Member's assessment of it.
Why are we not looking for benign firefighting chemicals,
such as the ones used in the forests?
General Lengyel. Right.
Senator Tester. Why are we not looking for those? Because
if we are creating a problem with this, we need to stop the
problem where it is being caused.
General Lengyel. Well, I believe that over time, they will
transition to a safer version of this fire retardant.
Senator Tester. Because my understanding is they are out
there.
General Lengyel. Yes.
Senator Tester. Okay.
General Lengyel. Yes, they are.
Senator Tester. I hope that would be done sooner than later
because if we have a solution to a problem, we ought not to be
creating more of a problem.
General Lengyel. Yes, sir.
BUDGET FOR ARMY NATIONAL GUARD READINESS
Senator Tester. Okay. The National Defense Strategy focuses
on preparing for the possibility of a near peer threat. The
President's budget request reflects that.
The Army National Guard is designated to protect the units
as focused readiness units with additional training
requirements. Meanwhile, they still have the traditional State
requirements and Federal requirements, counterdrug, border
protection requirements now.
In your view, is the Guard receiving an adequate portion of
the DOD resources to properly address all of its commitments
that I have talked about?
General Lengyel. Senator, we are receiving enough training.
Our training readiness in the Army National Guard has increased
over the last several years. We are now doing four combat
training center rotations.
Senator Tester. Okay.
General Lengyel. We have enough dollars to do focused
readiness units and to train our urgent units, which are some
of the heavy brigades, and field artillery brigades, and
striker brigades that require extra, additional training.
Senator Tester. Yes.
General Lengyel. The Air National Guard has enough funds to
maintain required training for those events.
MORE NATIONAL GUARD REQUIREMENTS AFFECTED RECRUITMENT
Senator Tester. So as we see the training and operational
requirements stack up, have you been able to assess what the
impact is on any individual Guardsman, more training days, more
deployments? Has it affected your recruitment?
General Lengyel. Well, I can tell you that it will have an
impact on some soldiers' ability to serve. I mean, there is
clearly, in many of the units I just mentioned, a higher
required level of sustained readiness, and that is the key.
As General Luckey had mentioned earlier, it is finding that
balance between what we can endure and sustain in our force for
our business model to maintain a ready Force that can be ready
fast enough to deploy when the Nation needs it. The world is
different.
So there will be some people that have to change into a
different part of the United States Army that does not require
that level of training. There will be some people that will
adapt and do it, and be able to train at a higher level yearly.
And there will be some people who just get into the National
Guard now and that is just the way it is, and they do not know
any different.
Senator Tester. So as we ask more of the men and women of
the Guard, are we doing enough to make up for the time away
from their families, their communities, and their career? I am
talking specifically about things like TRICARE for units with
high operational tempos, retention bonuses, and incentive pay.
General Lengyel. There is a requirement to help sustain our
Force over time, I think, for increased bonuses and increased
incentive pay to help retain our Force.
I think a sustained level of funding and budgets, as we
talked earlier in this hearing, about the devastating effects
that cancelling drill weekends on soldiers, and airmen, and
sailors, and Marines who actually plan to go to a drill
weekend, and then show up, and are told to go home.
That devastates the ability to maintain these talented
Americans who desire to serve in the Reserve component.
NATIONAL GUARD AT THE BORDER
Senator Tester. One last question. You said that the
Guardsmen that are currently being used on the southern border,
965 of them, are being drawn from the four border States. You
talked about 450,000 people being in the Guard and said that it
is not going to have an impact.
Have you done an analysis on the impact to those four
border States? The 965, what percentage is that of the total
folks that serve in Texas, California, New Mexico, and Arizona?
General Lengyel. So Texas is the biggest National Guard in
the country. There are 20,000 folks just in Texas.
Senator Tester. Okay.
General Lengyel. I have spoken with every adjutant general
in the four border States, only three right now are actually
providing. California has yet to put anybody on the border.
Senator Tester. Okay.
General Lengyel. But they may in the future. All TAG's, all
The Adjutant Generals, have told me that right now, at this
level of effort, they can sustain this inside their States.
Senator Tester. That is what I needed to know. And the last
thing, and you answered it, I think, in previous questions, so
you do not have to answer this, but the rules of engagement are
clear on the southern border.
General Lengyel. They are clear.
Senator Tester. Okay. Thank you.
Senator Shelby. Senator Udall.
Senator Udall. Thank you, Chairman Shelby and also welcome
to the committee. It is going to be a pleasure working with you
on this, on the full Appropriations committee and the SACD
(Senate Appropriations Committee on Defense) committee.
The Department of Defense established new policies for
maternity leave as part of the Force of the Future initiative
in 2016 and it authorized 12 weeks of fully paid maternity
leave after normal pregnancy and childbirth.
However, this does not take the total Force into
consideration. Under the current law, Reserve component members
in Reserve training status are required to attend unit training
assemblies--that is the weekend drills--in order to receive
points towards credible military service.
If the female service member does not perform duty within
the allotted timeframe, the service member is in jeopardy of
not receiving credit for their military service and points
towards retirement.
MOTHERS OF MILITARY SERVICE ACT
I introduced an amendment with Senators Rounds, Boozman,
Murray, and Heinrich last year to the NDAA which I plan to
reintroduce as a standalone bill as well to fix this problem.
It is called the Mothers of Military Service or MOMS Leave Act
would ensure that female service members of the Reserve
component receive points for six unit training assemblies
towards their retirement after normal pregnancy and childbirth.
There are approximately 153,802 women in the National Guard
and Reserves who are currently not entitled to be paid
maternity leave. The National Guard Association of the U.S. has
given full support to fix this problem, yet I have received
pushback from the Department of Defense stating, in essence,
that this proposal is too expensive. I believe this is
outrageous considering the record amount of money this
committee has approved for DOD in recent years.
Are you aware of any issues with the legislation that would
cause the Guard to object to the Congress advancing it this
year?
General Lengyel. Sir, I am not aware of any reason to
object.
Senator Udall. Would you agree that taking care of our
female service members after childbirth is an important effort
to ensure retention of female Reservists and Guard members, and
also an important job for any leader?
General Lengyel. Senator, I would.
Senator Udall. And can I count on our support inside the
Pentagon to address this issue and help make this legislative
fix?
General Lengyel. Senator, you can.
Senator Udall. Thank you very much.
AIR NATIONAL GUARD NEW MEXICO FLYING SQUADRON
One of the Air National Guard's capstone principles was to
allocate at least one unit equipped with wing and flying
squadron in each of the 54 States and Territories. Currently,
of the 50 States, 4 do not own their own aircraft including New
Mexico.
The New Mexico delegation has made several proposals to
bring back a flying mission to the New Mexico Air Guard. I
asked last year whether there was a plan in place to ensure New
Mexico will be unit-equipped with a sustainable and viable
mission in the near future. I mentioned that the CV-22 mission
was one possible option for the 150th ANG.
Last year, I led a letter from the New Mexico delegation to
Secretary Wilson urging the transfer of the HH-60G's to the
150th ANG.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to include the full letter in
the record.
Senator Shelby. Without objection, it will be included.
[The information follows:]
Senator Udall. What is the current status of getting a
flying mission back to New Mexico? Is there any reason why New
Mexico, a border State with excellent flying conditions and
mountainous terrain, perfect for training, should be without a
flying mission?
Senator Lengyel. Senator, I would love for there to be an
opportunity to put an aircraft unit equipped flying mission in
every State.
I tell you, the 150th is flying a lot of airplanes
associated with the Active component Air Force, with the Active
duty Air Force, and doing a great job for our country and for
our Air Force. But I am not aware at this time of any planned
build of a unit equipped flying mission in the State.
Senator Udall. Okay. We are going to keep pushing for one,
and we hope that you will find a way to do this. The flying you
mentioned is also very important.
BORDER DEPLOYMENT FOLLOW UP
I want to follow up on what Senator Durbin and several
other members asked about in terms of the border deployment.
We have seen the National Guard deployed to the border
before, most recently in 2010 when there was a significant
spike in cartel activity and violence on the border. The Guard
was able to go down and act as a force multiplier, as you have
talked about, General, and helped the CBP address an actual
threat to safety along the border.
But today, the facts on the ground just do not support what
the President has called for. Sheriff Vigil of Dona Ana County,
one of our largest counties, which is on the border in New
Mexico, met with Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week.
Sheriff Vigil says the border is not experiencing the crisis
the Trump Administration claims and he says building a wall and
sending in National Guard troops would be a waste of money.
The Police Chief in Sunland Park, he is right down on the
border, has a view of the border fence from his office. He says
they have very little immigration-related crime. Sunland Park
was just named the second safest city in New Mexico.
Sheriff Vigil says, and I agree, that smart border
technology would be a much more effective and efficient
security investment.
General Lengyel, prior to the President's announcement 2
weeks ago, had the White House consulted with you, or anyone in
your leadership, to discuss the possibility of sending National
Guard troops to the border?
General Lengyel. Senator, prior to the 4th, no one
consulted with me about sending people to the border.
Senator Udall. And what is the specific reason the White
House has given for the need to deploy the Guard to the border?
General Lengyel. To assist the Department of Homeland
Security and the Customs and Border Protection with the
security at the border, which is a national security issue.
Senator Udall. Well, the President's announcement talks
about, I believe his quote, or his tweet, or whatever it was,
said, ``Until we can have a wall, we are going to be guarding
our border with the military.'' So that suggests that he did
not get his wall, so that the reason for doing this is kind of
a supplement to that.
Would you agree with that?
General Lengyel. Sir, the National Guard is there because
Customs and Border Protection have identified areas where they
can be assisted by the deployment of National Guard troops to
help them secure the border.
Senator Udall. Thank you very much, General. Really
appreciate all of you here and appreciate your service.
Senator Shelby. Senator Daines.
Senator Daines. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank you all for appearing before this committee
today and for your selfless service to our great Nation.
As the son of a Marine from the 58th Rifle Company,
Billings, Montana, I am mindful of the unique challenges our
citizen soldiers face. These young men and women balance the
commitments of both a civilian and a military career, while
also raising families and being leaders in their own
communities.
Roughly, 4,550 Guardsmen and Reservists from the Army,
Navy, the Air Force, and Marines call Montana home. It is my
great honor to represent them here in the United States Senate.
DEFENSIVE CYBER TRAINING IN THE NATIONAL GUARD
Last October, I sent a letter to Secretary Mattis
concerning cyber attacks on civil networks, and the unique
capability the National Guard brings to bear under Title 32
authority.
A third of this subcommittee joined me and we together, we
increase funding for defensive cyber training and growth in the
National Guard.
General Lengyel, it is good to see you again.
Can you provide a brief update on the National Guard's
efforts to grow cyber capability, particularly where it could
help address risks to the homeland under Title 32?
General Lengyel. Yes, sir.
So we are a robust part of the Army and the Air Force Cyber
Mission force. We have 11 cyber protection teams in the Army
National Guard. We have 15 cyber operation squadrons in the Air
National Guard. All of that force trained in order to do our
Federal mission is available in State active duty status for
Title 32 inside the State when they are not on mission.
Right now, we have one cyber protection team on mission,
Title 10 at Fort Meade, and we have two cyber protection teams
who are on mission as part of the Air Force cyber mission
force.
Additionally, every State, Senator, as you know, has a
defensive cyber operations element in their State. It is a
small cadre, about the size of 10 people. Just recently, the
State of Washington has conducted a great pilot program to use
this to help protect critical infrastructure inside the State.
So more broadly, me and the NGB are looking to start a
pilot program to three additional States to use in an active
duty status and a Title 32 status defensive cyber operations
element in this emerging mission field.
Senator Daines. Yes, I appreciate your efforts there,
General Lengyel. It is clear this is one of those areas that is
only going to increase in terms of activity, and we need to
continue to grow our capabilities.
I want to also recognize the soldiers of the 189th Aviation
Regiment who deployed last fall in harm's way and those are the
495th Combat Support and Sustainment Battalion who are prepared
to deploy later this year. We certainly wish them well and look
forward to their safe return home.
FULL-TIME SUPPORT IN NATIONAL GUARD
General Lengyel, considering the amount of training it
takes to make a soldier or airmen deployable, and the limited
number of training days available, does the Guard have enough
full time support to maximize the training value for every
drill weekend?
General Lengyel. Senator, my biggest task is for this new
operational National Guard that we are, is we have to be
resourced with the appropriate level of full-time people inside
our formations, so that when the part-time soldier or airmen
come to work, they have equipment that works. They have
training planned and operationally ready to go into the field
immediately and do their wartime training tasks.
So the short answer is, I believe, we do not. Right now we
have currently, part of our Force, there is about 16.5 percent
of our Force is full-time. In order for me, I believe, to have
the Force ready enough so that we can be a part of this ongoing
operational Force that we are, we need about 20 percent of our
Force to be full-time.
So over time, we need to grow the number of full timers in
our units across the Nation.
NATIONAL GUARD AIRCRAFT SHORTFALLS
Senator Daines. As follow up, as Congress and the
Administration work together to rebuild our military, I
understand that some Army National Guard aviation units are
still experiencing significant shortfalls. In fact, Guard
Apache units are operating at 75 percent of their equipping
requirement. Blackhawk units are planned to fly their oldest
UH-60A models well into the next decade.
My question for you, General, how is the Department
addressing these shortfalls?
General Lengyel. So as it relates to readiness, you are
exactly right. You mention the Apache issue.
We have, as a result of the National Commission on the
Future of the Army, a recommendation that we maintain four
battalions of Apaches inside the National Guard. They
recommended--at least initially based on the financial and
fiscal situation in fiscal year 2016--that they have 18
aircraft in each battalion to do it.
Also in that same Report, it does suggest that should the
Department find additional resources, that they would grow
those battalions to 24 aircraft in each one.
As it stands now, when we deploy an Apache battalion, and
we have one deployed, we have to take from the remaining three
National Guard battalions' aircraft to make sure they have
their full complement to deploy.
So, as you can see, if we are going to deploy one battalion
at a time, we might be able to make that do. But if we ever
needed to deploy multiple battalions, it is high risk to us
being able to do the mission with just 18 aircraft in each
battalion.
UPDATE ON READY FORCE
Senator Daines. Lieutenant General Luckey, last year, you
introduced this subcommittee to the Ready Force X construct,
which you described as the Army Reserve's driving force for
manning, equipping, training, and deploying key capabilities.
The 89th Quartermaster Supply Company out of Great Falls,
Montana and the 823rd Movement Control Detachment out of
Missoula are part of that Force.
The question is, can you provide us an update on Ready
Force X? How is it improving the readiness of our operational
reserve?
General Luckey. Senator, absolutely. Thanks for the
question.
I would say what it is really doing, as I said in my
opening statement, is enabling us to see the current status
from a readiness perspective of certain formations, identify in
space and time when they need to be fully mission capable from
a combat perspective, and how much time does it take us to get
from steady state where we are able to completely and
responsibly deploy that capability into combat?
Since I met with you last year, I will tell you that we
have done a significant amount of analytics and put a
significant amount of both funding and, in particular, key
training events and time into training specific formations to a
higher degree of readiness.
That said, I do not want to leave here without making it
very clear. This is not about turning a third of the Army
Reserve into a fight tonight type capability. That is not what
RFX is.
What it really does is it enables us to see ourselves, to
understand and appreciate risk, and then to identify for senior
leadership, both in the Department of Defense and beyond, how
much time is it going to take us to get to where we need to be
to put those capabilities into combat.
When I sat here before you last year, we looked at about
300-some-odd formations. Frankly, we have now more than doubled
the number of formations that we are looking at where we are
doing very rigorous analytics. Those capabilities that you just
mentioned that are in Montana, I will just say, those are
critical enabling capabilities for the Army. Not just for the
armies or the Army to be able to be placed in an integrated
fashion into the total Force very quickly into combat.
My responsibility as the leader of this team is to make
sure I am identifying how much time is it going to take?
Frankly, readiness for us is about more than just money. Time
is a big component of what we need to be able to get these
capabilities straight, get them deployable, and to make sure we
are letting senior leaders know how much time we need to do
that.
Senator Daines. Thank you, General Luckey.
General Luckey. Yes, sir.
Senator Daines. I am out of time, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
Senator Shelby. Thank you.
Senator Baldwin.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And thanks to each of our witnesses today for your service
and for your presence.
EQUITABLE BENEFITS NATIONAL GUARD VS. ACTIVE
In the last few years, Congress has taken a number of key
steps towards reaching benefits parity between Active and
Reserve components. I have eagerly supported those efforts, but
there is certainly more work to do.
I will soon be introducing a bill to correct current
inequity in law and in DOD policy that precludes the awarding
of retirement points for distance learning.
Such a prohibition disproportionally harms members of the
Reserve components who hold civilian jobs and cannot attend
military-related educational programs in residence.
For example, my office was contacted recently by an Army
Reserve officer from Wisconsin who is attending the Army War
College via distance learning.
In addition to her military and civilian jobs--unlike her
Active component counterparts who attend in residence and as
full-time students--she will not be awarded points towards her
retirement. I believe this is simply unfair and hinders the
Reserve component's ability to recruit and retain talent.
My question to each of the witnesses is, do you support
fixing this inequity? Why do we not start with you, Lieutenant
General Miller?
General Miller. Thank you, Senator, for that great
question.
In the Air Force Reserve, we give credit for completed
distance learning, one point for the completion of a course up
to 130 points per year. Pay is not part of that and I know
there has been a lot of discussion about the pay end of it. But
for the Air Force Reserve, we do provide that.
Senator Baldwin. Okay.
General Luckey. Senator, thanks for the question.
Without necessarily conceding any inequities, what I would
say is that in addition to supporting and agreeing with our
contention that we should be much more expansive in how we look
at leveraging technology because, frankly, there is a lot of
training that could be done online.
And to give some sort of credit, both as a matter of
professional development and readiness of the Force, give some
credit for the time soldiers are spending doing that, I think,
makes sense. I just think it is intuitively a smart thing to
do.
Whether it should be limited to one component of the Army
or one component of the services, or whether that is just a way
we should, if you will, leverage emerging technologies, I would
leave that for others to decide. I am very supportive of it.
The reason I am making the statement the way I am is,
frankly, looking at other ways to increase this conversation or
increase the scope of this conversation to go beyond just what
we regard as classic professional military education, but
actually other aspects of training that we need to get done.
But frankly, the time is better spent, in many cases, letting
soldiers, at least in our case, do that on their own time in
different environments.
So that when we are together--as General McMillian had said
earlier about getting the collective training experience and
maximizing the opportunity to use those hours when soldiers, in
our case, are together--to get the unit readiness that we need
to sustain the force and be able to deploy quickly.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you.
General Lengyel. Senator Baldwin, I agree with General
Luckey. I think that Reservists balance their civilian lives
and their military lives all the time.
There are many, many times and many things they do that
they do not get paid or compensated on retirement points for
things like school. If we can find ways to get them retirement
credit, I would fully support it.
Senator Baldwin. Great, thank you.
Admiral McCollum. Senator, a Reservist is at their best
when things are good with their employer, and with their
family, and in a good place with their uniformed requirement.
Readiness generation being the predominant indicator of a
Reservist being in a good spot is generating readiness.
We focus on what are the enablers? Things like distance
learning, as you mentioned, and the capability to do that.
Mobility and technology is one such activity.
Recently, we introduced to the Reserve Force the ability
for a Reservist to use their own personal devices and plug-in a
device simply to hold their CAC Reader and it gives them
authentication, which will preclude them from having to come
into the Reserve center to be able to do that requirement. If
we can authenticate that they have done that requirement, we
can give them credit.
Previously, it was the auditability of a member
accomplishing that requirement. Enablers such as this allow us
to be able to do that auditability and give them credit.
But in large, we support that, especially if it is in line
with the readiness and it puts them in a good spot with their
employer, their family, and their service requirement.
General McMillian. Thank you, Senator. A great question.
This is what drives me are those 38 days that General Luckey
and I have alluded to.
I cannot think of anything more difficult than to get our
young volunteer men and women ready for combat. The worse thing
we could actually ask them to do in 38 training days throughout
a calendar year. So I need to do at-home, online training for
the basic elements of the training that we do.
I am fully onboard with the points, but I will tell you
young Captain McMillian in 1990 and the Sergeant McMillian of
the day, and the Lance Corporal McMillian, and the Gunnery
McMillian have a hard time looking out 20 years where the
points will have a benefit. We need to get paid.
But I think it has become too complex now as a Commandant,
we would call the next generation Marine Corps to be ready for
combat without putting in that extra effort in between drills.
I need my Marines on drill weekend to be out in the dirt,
moving, shooting, communicating, and putting rounds downrange.
I need them to prepare for that at home, online, with points
and pay.
Thank you for the question.
Senator Baldwin. All right. Thank you.
We will be consulting as we finalize this bill, and I hope
my colleagues join me.
AIR FORCE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS
One quick, final question before my time runs out.
General Lengyel, I am extremely proud of the men and women
at the 115th Fighter Wing located at Truax Air National Guard
Base in Madison, Wisconsin. It has been a true honor to partner
with them in their successful pursuit of the F-35 mission. It
is my understanding that the Air Force's environmental review
process is underway.
Can you please provide a status update and an overview of
next steps?
General Lengyel. Yes, ma'am.
As you are probably aware, the squadron was recently chosen
as a preferred alternative to locate the F-35. Congratulations
to Wisconsin. It was a rigorous competition to look at the
place, cost, ranges, airspace, affordability to do it and Truax
came out as Ops 5 and that is a great thing.
I believe it is 2023 is currently the program for when the
airplanes are supposed to arrive or begin operations in the F-
35.
I am not specifically aware of the environmental, the issue
you mentioned, but I will check, and I will come to your
office, and get back to you.
Senator Baldwin. Very good. Thank you.
General Lengyel. Yes.
Senator Baldwin. I will submit an additional one for the
record, but mostly just to follow-up on that last point, but
thank you, Mr. Chairman.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
Senator Shelby. We would ask that all Senators' questions
be answered in a reasonable time, perhaps 30 days. Some
Senators were not here today because they were in competing
committees.
[The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but
were submitted to the Department for response subsequent to the
hearing:]
Questions Submitted to General Joseph L. Lengyel
Question Submitted by Senator Mitch McConnell
army national guard promotions
Question. I have heard from a number of my Kentucky National Guard
constituents who are concerned about noticeable delays in Army National
Guard promotions. Can you please provide an update on efforts to help
ensure officers are promoted in an appropriate and timely manner?
Answer. The Army National Guard (ARNG) is aware of the increased
processing timelines for the Federal Recognition Process. The ARNG Unit
Vacancy Promotion Federal recognition processing timelines increased
from an average of less than six month to over 7 months due to a
manpower issue at the Army's Director of Military Personnel
Management's (DMPM) Office in the summer of 2017. To help reduce
processing time, the ARNG is now able to electronically transmit
promotion packets to the Army. DMPM and the ARNG continue to monitor
promotion scroll processing times. The ARNG and DMPM are working
closely to ensure ARNG Officers without any derogatory information are
federally recognized within the standard timeline of approximately 180
days.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Susan M. Collins
deployment tempo of kc-135 crews and maintainers
Question. The 101st Air Refueling Wing (ARW) in Bangor, Maine, the
``MAINEiacs,'' continues to deploy and operate at very high rates. The
101st ARW handles over 1,000 transient aircraft a year, and provides
air refueling planning for coronet missions of joint and allied fighter
aircraft moving from the continental United States to locations
overseas. I am concerned that the operational tempo has stressed the
force considerably and affected its readiness and training. Are you
comfortable with the current deployment tempo of KC-135 crews and
maintainers? What can be done to effectively sustain and maintain
readiness of workhorse units like the 101st in Bangor?
Answer. While the operational tempo remains high across our KC-135
community, the Air National Guard (ANG) deployment ratio is gradually
decreasing. From 2014 to 2017, KC-135 units like the 101st Air
Refueling Wing, averaged a 1:4 mobilization-to-dwell ratio. The
mobilization-to- dwell ratio in fiscal year 2018 was 1:5 for KC-135
aircrews and maintainers.
state partnership program
Question. With the assistance of the Maine National Guard through
the State Partnership Program, Montenegro has worked hard to reform its
military and to strengthen the rule of law to come into compliance with
NATO requirements. Montenegro officially joined NATO last summer, which
will promote stability in the Balkans and increase American and
European security. How can Congress support the National Guard and the
State Partnership Program to build relationships and improve our
national security at home and abroad?
Answer. The State Partnership Program (SPP) and the National Guard
enjoy outstanding support from Congress. The security cooperation
reforms in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal
year 2017 created many opportunities for the National Guard and the
SPP. For example, the reforms enable better integration of the SPP into
the DoD security cooperation enterprise, thereby strengthening the
National Guard's contribution to U.S. national security interests.
SPP funding has been flat for many years as dozens of partner
countries have been added. As a result, SPP activities for each partner
have been reduced. The full program requirement is about $29 million
and would permit the level of state and partner activity that existed
before adding new partnerships.
national guard counter-drug program
Question. The National Guard's Counter-Drug Program has been very
successful in supporting law enforcement agencies and community based
organizations to counter illicit drug activity around the country. In
fiscal year 2018, the National Guard Bureau received $236.4 million for
this program. This year's budget only requests $117 million. Are you
concerned that this decrease in funding may negatively affect our
communities and the counter-drug mission?
Answer. The President's fiscal year 2019 budget request for the
National Guard Counterdrug Program is in line with recent requests. In
fiscal year 2018 the President's budget request was $116.4 million, but
with Congressional support the program was appropriated $236.4 million.
An additional $25 million was appropriated for the Counterdrug Program
Training Centers. The additional funding provided by Congress has
permitted a more robust Counterdrug program.
______
Question Submitted by Senator Steve Daines
national guard counterdrug program
Question. A top priority for me in Congress is to stop the tragic
methamphetamine epidemic that is destroying lives across Montana. I am
proud of the work the Montana National Guard has done through the
Counterdrug Program to augment Federal, State, and local law
enforcement where resources are scarce--particularly the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, which does not have its own criminal analysts.
General Lengyel, as the Guard dedicates resources within the
counterdrug program, how does it balance the availability of existing
resources in each State and municipality, to ensure large rural areas
aren't left behind?
Answer. A Counterdrug Coordinator in each of the 54 States and
territories determines how best to assign support to requesting
agencies, in accordance with the governor's State counterdrug plan.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Patrick J. Leahy
national guard bureau structure
Question. In December 2012, the National Guard Empowerment Act
became law, adding the Chief of the National Guard Bureau as a
statutory member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in order to provide an
institutional change so the Nation could have use of a structurally
enabled operational reserve. What structural or institutional barriers
both within the Bureau and the Department remain to achieving that
objective, and what legislative proposals are needed to lift those
barriers and ensure the National Guard Bureau has equal standing?
Answer. Since the National Guard Empowerment Act became law in
2012, there are several areas, both in policy and statue, which could
be addressed to better enable the Guard to be an operational reserve.
The Chief of the National Guard, as both a four star general and member
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has real and perceived responsibility for
activity in the National Guard of the States and activity in National
Guard Bureau. These responsibilities should be examined and be better
supported with commensurate authority. To ensure the National Guard is
a structurally enabled operational reserve with the necessary
resources, the Nation will need a cadre of senior National Guard
leaders of an appropriate rank represented at the appropriate levels in
the Army, Air Force, Joint Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense,
and the Combatant Commands. Additionally, it is time to ensure that the
most readiness enhancing National Guard programs are set at funding
floors necessary to ensure Guard forces deliver the lethality required
in the warfight, and the rapid response pivotal in the homeland.
hurricane response
Question. Among your many roles as the Chief of the National Guard
Bureau, you are the statutory advisor to the President on the use of
the National Guard in a non-Federal role. How many times did you brief
the President on National Guard response related to Hurricanes Harvey,
Irma, and Maria?
Answer. The Chief of the National Guard Bureau (CNGB) did not brief
the President, but the National Guard Bureau was involved in the key
discussions within DoD and with DHS related to the hurricane response.
Question. What portion of the All-Hazards Support Plan developed
between the National Guard Bureau and several States was utilized?
Answer. NGB utilizes the All-Hazards Support Plan to guide internal
staff activities in support of the States at the onset of emergent all-
hazard events and is a tool CNGB uses to fulfill the statutory
responsibility of advising on the non-Federalized National Guard. The
plan helps organize NGB's response so its staff can best support the
impacted State, territory or district and guides the sharing of
information with Federal response partners. To inform all activities
associated with response to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Nate and Maria,
NGB followed Appendix 2 ``hurricane'' to Annex C ``operations'' of the
All-Hazards Plan. The purpose of this plan is to guide NGB in the
preparation and execution of its response to a hurricane making
landfall within the United States and/or its Territories. Appendix 2
describes the ends, ways, and means by which NGB will support a
response following a catastrophic hurricane event and inform Federal
partners through supporting actions, capabilities and anticipated
timelines.
Question. What recommendations would you have for better
coordinating Federal and non-Federal responses to disaster and
emergency efforts?
Answer. After each disaster, the National Guard reviews its
performance and determines where it can improve for the next response.
After the 2017 hurricane season, NGB reviewed and republished hurricane
plans and improved coordination between Federal and non-Federal
entities. However, the reimbursement of supporting States remains a
challenge to better coordinating future response efforts. Faster
reimbursement or up front funding to States willing to provide needed
support would address some States' concerns. For example, 37 States
have balanced- budget amendments that constrain their ability to
provide support, and some States simply don't have the ability to
initially absorb the associated costs and wait for likely
reimbursement. The solution may be found in legislative or policy
changes that would involve FEMA as well as the DoD.
Question. When several States requested of the President Federal
response funds under Title 32 of U.S. Code to continue the deployment
of their National Guard personnel to assist Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands with recovery, the President referred their requests to the
Department of Defense. The DoD ultimately denied the requests, in part,
over concerns that the Department would not be reimbursed under the
Stafford Act. The Department of Defense suggested that States should
apply for reimbursements directly from the Department of Homeland
Security. However, the DoD is using the same section of U.S. Code to
authorize payments for deployments on the Southwest Border without a
clear estimate of total cost for these operations, without identifying
which funds for training will be shifted to cover the cost, and without
knowing whether the President will ask Congress for additional funds to
replace those shifted. Why can risk of a loss of training funds be
accepted for the border mission, but not for responding to Americans
who are facing the results of a natural disaster?
Answer. Hurricane response and the current border mission present
very different situations. States have the lead for hurricane response,
which the Federal government supports with partial reimbursement
funding after the requisite Federal declaration. The Federal government
acts to support State hurricane response. The border mission, by
contrast, is a federally conceived effort to support the Federal
Customs and Border Patrol by providing Federal funding to obtain State
National Guard support for the Federal border security mission.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Tammy Baldwin
national guard tactical wheeled vehicle modernization
Question. General Lengyel, you have made progress building a
balanced array of combat and enabling forces, increasing the National
Guard's overall interoperability with the Joint Force; however, I'm
concerned that recent administration budget requests have not kept pace
with your tactical wheeled vehicle (TWV) modernization requirements. I
note, for example, that the fiscal year 2019 President's Budget request
contained no funding for recapped heavy TWVs for the Army National
Guard. In fact, the fiscal year 2019 budget request zeroes out funding
for the HEMTT recap program for fiscal year 2020-fiscal year 2023 and
only provides funding for 19 PLS recaps for the Active component in
fiscal year 2021. As a consequence, the Army National Guard, like all
of the Reserve Components, increasingly relies on the National Guard
and Reserve Equipment Appropriation to build readiness and sustain
forces compatible and integrated with the ``Total Force.'' While NGREA
has enabled the Army National Guard to slowly and partially fill
critical requirements, as a planning tool, it is unpredictable as it
falls outside normal appropriations and limits the ability to forecast.
So we can better understand your equipping challenges, what are your
current and anticipated TWV unfunded priorities?
Answer. The Army National Guard's Tactical Wheeled Vehicle unfunded
priorities are within the Palletized Load System and Heavy Expanded
Mobility Tactical Truck fleets. The Army National Guard has modernized
55 percent of the Palletized Load System fleet and would require $226
million to complete modernization of the fleet. The Heavy Expanded
Mobility Tactical Truck fleet is 59 percent modernized and would
require $398 million to complete modernization.
Retirement Credit for Distance Learning
Question. It is my understanding that an ambiguity in current law
(Section 12732(a) of Title 10) regarding the awarding of retirement
points has resulted in inconsistencies across the Services related to
the treatment of distance learning. The specific language in question
entitles a service member to one retirement point for each day ``while
attending a prescribed course of instruction at a school designated as
a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.''
It is my further understanding that individual Services are
interpreting this language differently in regard to whether distance
learning qualifies. Adding to the confusion, I have heard that there
may exist a 2013 DoD Instruction that prohibits the awarding of
retirement points for distance learning. Such a prohibition
disproportionately harms members of the reserve components who hold
civilian jobs and cannot attend military-related educational programs
in-residence.
I will soon be introducing a bill to address this uneven treatment
of distance learning and give the Secretaries of the Military
Department clear statutory authority to award retirement points for
distance learning.
My multipart question for each witness is:
--Do you support awarding retirement points for approved distance
learning?
--Does your Service currently award retirement points for approved
distance learning?
--If so, under what statutory authority and under what DoD and
Service regulatory authority?
--If not, why not, and please include any statutory or policy
prohibitions against doing so?
Answer. The National Guard is supportive of awarding retirement
points for approved distributed learning courses as authorized in
chapter 1223 of title 10, United States Code and in Department policy
contained in DoDI 1215.07, most recently updated in 2016.
The Air National Guard (ANG), in accordance with DoDI 1215.07,
authorizes the award of retirement points for distance learning
programs when a Guardsmen is in a pay status. Air National Guard
Instruction (ANGI) 36-2001, Section 1.8, authorizes unit commanders to
issue written authorization governing training, regardless of pay
status, and Section 1.8.6. awards Extension Course Institute points for
approved courses, including distance learning programs.
The Army National Guard authorizes the awarding of retirement
points for pre-approved distance learning programs only when a
Guardsmen is in a pay status. This is in accordance with DoDI 1215.07.
______
Questions Submitted to Lieutenant General Charles D. Luckey
Question Submitted by Senator Patrick J. Leahy
training and force generation
Question. Under the Ready Force X, concept you aim to have the
individuals and units of the U.S. Army Reserve deployable as an
operational reserve on a much shorter timeline than previously
envisioned. How do you intend to prepare and support employers and
families, such as those of Rutland's 424th Vertical Construction
Company, for the increased operations tempo for their soldiers?
Answer. Maintaining higher unit readiness requires additional
participation and commitment by all unit members. This may cause
friction and stress within the Soldier's Family, as well as uncertainty
for civilian employers. To mitigate the friction, the Army Reserve has
policies in place and programs to support the needs of the force.
Employers are our partners in national security and the Army Reserve is
making a concerted effort to inform them about the possibility of
increased training and a reduced deployment timeline for some units in
hopes of easing their concerns and maintain their support. For Soldiers
and their Families, service to the Nation requires a delicate balance
between being ready enough to be relevant, but not so ready that it
negatively affects their ability to maintain good, rewarding civilian
employment.
The Army Reserve offers the following programs to promote readiness
and prepare Soldiers and Families to deal with military separations:
--Strong Bonds is a Chaplain-led relationships and skills training.
This program targets single Soldiers, couples, and Families.
Strong Bonds enhances unit and individual readiness by building
Soldier and Family relationships, readiness, and resiliency.
Enhancing these skills prior to Family separation provides
Soldiers and Families a foundation for dealing with the
uncertainties of shorter notice separations.
--Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) is a congressionally-
mandated, Department of Defense-wide effort to promote the
well-being of National Guard and Reserve members, their
Families, and communities by connecting them with resources
throughout the deployment cycle. YRRP events connect Soldiers
and their Families/designated representatives to resources and
support before, during, and after deployments. Provisions have
been put into place by which these events can be hosted to meet
the unique timelines and needs of units identified as
deployable on a shorter timeline.
--The Army established Comprehensive Soldier Family Fitness (CSF2) to
increase the resilience and enhance the performance of the Army
Family--Soldiers, Department of the Army Civilians, and their
Family members. The program places emphasis on ways to sustain
personal readiness and enhance performance by learning coping
skills. Instruction on ways by which these skill enhancement
classes can be incorporated into the unit are provided to both
command teams and the volunteers supporting Families.
--Family Readiness Groups are Department of the Army authorized,
command sponsored organization of Soldiers, civilian employees,
Family members and volunteers designed to provide activities
and support that encourage self-sufficiency among its members
by providing information, referral assistance, and mutual
support. The formation of these grass-roots support groups
provide a means by which Family members of Soldiers who are
deployable on shorter timelines can support one another and
solve problems at the lowest level.
Finally, the Army Reserve has Fort Family Outreach and Support
Center, which is a toll-free call center that provides live, relevant
and responsive information, as well as community-based solutions, to
support Army Reserve Soldiers and Families. Fort Family is available at
1-866-345-8248.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Tammy Baldwin
army reserve jltv procurement
Question. General Luckey, I understand that you were able to use
NGREA money from last year to purchase JLTVs that will be delivered in
the fall. I'm glad to see that because I was concerned with the
original Army acquisition plan that wouldn't have provided the vehicles
to the Reserve until 2024. Can you tell me why it's important for the
Army Reserve to field the JLTV and what your acquisition plans are
moving forward?
Answer. The Army Reserve appreciates continued congressional
support for NGREA funding. The appropriation affords invaluable
flexibility and decision space to close equipment modernization gaps
for critical enabler capabilities.
The ability to fully integrate with the total force to project
power across all domains remains the primary goal from an equipment
modernization and readiness perspective. This drives the need to
accelerate fielding of modern platforms that offer the same standards
of protection, lethality, mobility, and communication systems as the
forces being supported. The JLTV provides a significant force
protection and mobility upgrade over the legacy light tactical vehicle
fleet that enhances global deployment to non-permissive threat
environments. As such, the Army Reserve will continue to seek a
modernization strategy that prioritizes concurrent fielding for our
early entry and theater opening formations.
The Army Reserve is scheduled to begin fielding base funded JLTVs
in 2024. The purpose of our NGREA investment is to establish a set of
60 platforms at Regional Training Sites to conduct individual and crew
training of both operators and maintainers. This strategy will enhance
the readiness posture of Army Reserve Soldiers and our ability to meet
rapid deployment time horizons to combat situations utilizing the JLTV
platform.
army reserve tactical wheeled vehicle modernization
Question. General Luckey, you have made great progress providing
operational capability and strategic depth to the Total Army and the
Joint Force. However, it appears that recent administration budget
requests haven't kept pace with your tactical wheeled vehicle (TWV)
modernization requirements. This is concerning because insufficient
funding can widen capability gaps that in turn jeopardize the Army
Reserve's ability to support the Joint Force. I note, for example, that
the fiscal year 2019 President's Budget request contained no funding
for recapped heavy TWVs for the Army Reserve. In fact, the fiscal year
2019 budget request zeroes out funding for the HEMTT recap program for
fiscal year 2020-fiscal year 2023 and only provides funding for 19 PLS
recaps for the Active component in fiscal year 2021. As a consequence,
the Army Reserve increasingly relies on the National Guard and Reserve
Equipment Appropriation to build readiness and sustain an Operational
Reserve Force compatible and integrated with the ``Total Force.'' NGREA
has enabled the Army Reserve to slowly and partially fill critical
requirements, but as a planning tool, it is unpredictable as it falls
outside normal appropriations and limits the ability to forecast. So we
can better understand your equipping challenges, what are your current
and anticipated TWV unfunded priorities?
Answer. One of my top priorities is to ensure Army Reserve Soldiers
deploy with the most modern equipment in the Army inventory that offers
maximum survivability, mobility, lethality, and battlefield
sustainability. Fielding current generation platforms enables seamless
support, while providing necessary interoperability and compatibility
with the total force. We remain grateful for the continued
congressional support of NGREA and other above base resources, which
profoundly affects equipment modernization efforts across our tactical
wheeled vehicle fleets. With that support, the Army Reserve has
allocated $625 million in above base funding to modernize tactical
wheeled vehicle fleets over the last 6 years, to include 100 percent of
ground ambulance platforms.
As an enabler centric force, tactical wheeled vehicles represent
one of the Army Reserve's most common combat systems. In fact, over 43
percent of the Army's transportation assets reside within the Army
Reserve structure. Limited resources and competing priorities forced
Army leadership to make difficult decisions leading to a 50 percent
armor capable procurement cap for most fleets. The incremental
application of NGREA has allowed the Army Reserve to surpass the 70
percent armor capable mark across most heavy and medium vehicle fleets.
However, unfunded requirements to increase armor capable variants for
line haul tractors (40 percent), bridge transports (44 percent), and
light tactical platforms (30 percent) exceeds $5.3 billion.
Senator Shelby. Senator Durbin, do you have anything else?
Senator Durbin. I really do not have any follow up
questions.
Senator Shelby. Okay.
Senator Durbin. But I will think of one.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Shelby. The Defense subcommittee will reconvene in
closed session this Thursday, April 19 at 10:00 a.m., to
receive testimony from the intelligence community.
Until then, the subcommittee stands in recess at the call
of the chair. Thank you very much.
[Whereupon, at 11:41 a.m., Tuesday, April 17, the
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene at 10:00 a.m.,
Thursday, April 19.]
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