WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, made the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, on the Subcommittee's hearing titled "Military Personnel Posture: FY2018." For testimony and to watch the hearing click here.
"I want to welcome everyone to the Military Personnel Subcommittee’s hearing on the state of the military service personnel system’s as we enter the fiscal year 2018 budget season. Our panel of the Service Personnel Chiefs is here to address each of their services’ personnel postures including personnel policies for recruiting and retention, family programs and to address budget and legislative requests for fiscal year 2018 to the extent that they can. Today’s focus is on the personnel policies the services currently have to sustain and create efficiencies in, which includes; promotion policies, bonus and incentive policies, and end-strength changes that still need to be examined in light of proposed increases and the ensuing challenges. I’m especially interested in your plans for retention of the right service members that are central to your mission. In what may develop into difficult recruiting and retention environment in the coming years, we’d like to understand the policies and programs that will be used to maintain and increase personnel end-strengths.
Let me welcome our panel:
Lieutenant General James McConville
Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1
United States Army
Vice Admiral Robert Burke
Chief of Naval Personnel
United States Navy
Lieutenant General Mark Brilakis
Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs
United States Marine Corps
Lieutenant General Gina Grosso
Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services
United States Air Force"