PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION (PCS)

An effective PCS program significantly contributes to overall force readiness. The PCS plan, presented in our fiscal year 1993 budget request, supports and enhances readiness by:

Providing proper grade/skill balances Marine Corps wide;

Permitting the minimum operational moves to fill critical billets;

Permitting proper manning of deploying units;

Providing key retention incentives in support of reenlistment options.

We will continue to meet the challenges of force reductions by remaining flexible in our force management actions. One of the principal tools on which we will rely for management flexibility will be the PCS program. For this, we seek your continued support.

RECRUITING

The remarkably high quality service to the Nation, continually expected and provided by the Marine Corps, fully validates the emphasis placed on maintaining our Marine Corps with quality people. Accordingly, we fortify our Total Force by recruiting our Nation's finest young men and women. Last year's enlistments, for example, included more than 98 percent high school graduates with over 70 percent of our recruits scoring above the 50th percentile in aptitude. Similarly, our officer accessions reflect a talented, intelligent, and ethnically diverse group who involved themselves with campus and community activities in addition to meeting the extraordinarily competitive mental and academic requirements for commissioning.

These recruiting successes sustain the Marine Corps with alert, highly motivated, smart Marines. It is high quality recruits who repay our training investment with the dividends of integrity, courage, commitment, and professional excellence. As demonstrated just a year ago, these young Americans possess the mental strength we need to man an elite force-in-readiness, capable of dealing with an uncertain world situation.

A quality force, of course, begins with quality recruiting. Today's recruiting defines the quality of tomorrow's Marine Corps. So, as we proceed toward the 21st century, we continue to seek out high quality young Americans for service as U.S. Marines. In fact, downsizing to a smaller Marine Corps demands that every Marine be multi-talented. For the future, therefore, we must hedge against uncertainty by maintaining a force that is both "tough and smart." We will accomplish this with the help of a highly leveraged recruiting program.

As the Marine Corps works to meet worldwide commitments with a smaller force, we must gradually make commensurate reductions in the number of recruiters. The challenges faced by a smaller number of Marine recruiters will be even tougher. Consequently, we must be cautious not to unduly burden those Marines and their families assigned to recruiting duty. To assist recruiters in accomplishing their difficult mission, as well as to preserve and perpetuate our quality standards and recruiting gains, we look to your continued support to fully fund our recruiting force which serves our unique needs.

Continued readiness depends on recruiting success, and the formula for recruiting success is simple. It calls for a combination of articulating the challenges of being a Marine, and providing recruiters with the advertising resources to get the word out. Furthermore, low levels of awareness, changing demographics, and increased competition for America's youth make our quest for quality and ethnic diversity more difficult. Helping recruiters succeed requires adequate funding for our recruiting and advertising programs. We rely on continued support from you for these vital programs.

QUALITY OF LIFE

We believe that quality of life starts with concerned leadership. This serves as the basis for our high state of readiness and our widely recognized tradition of Marines taking care of their own. We also refer to programs which safeguard and improve the working and living environment of our Marines and their families as "quality of life" programs. Today, with the number of dependents exceeding the number of Marines, and with a large portion of the Marine Corps continuously deployed, emphasis on quality of life programs is vital. These programs provide a multitude of services for military family members in the United States, while concurrently contributing to the peace of mind of those Marines who are stationed overseas. We also view adequate pay and benefits for our Marines and their families as an essential part of our quality of life program.

COMPENSATION

The quality of the Total Force I have described to you today can be protected and perpetuated through your continued support for a compensation package of pay and benefits which is comparable to the civilian sector. Although we support passage of the proposed fiscal year 1993 pay raise of 3.7 percent, any pay comparability gap with the civilian sector will remain for the foreseeable future. Consequently, this continuing disparity between military and civilian compensation will negatively impact recruiting and retention as the gap continues to widen.

FAMILY PROGRAMS

An important element of our manpower planning is concern for our Marine families. During 1991, family programs and services were delivered to Marines and their family members as never before. We validated our family programs as mission essential. Many of our 18 Family Service Centers (FSCs) implemented and maintained 24 hour operations during the war in SWA. This required us to augment our staffs with reservists to handle the increased demand for services.

Our FSCs offer diverse services and programs which include help with family needs generated by the deployment of one or more family members. Personal and financial counseling, stress management, and family "wellness" programs are also offered. The Family Advocacy Program provides services and prevention programs for child and spouse maltreatment. One of these programs is the successful New Parent Support Program initiated at Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, California. This program provides new mothers with in-home support and education which allows them to better cope with the stresses of dealing with a newborn, thereby reducing incidents of child abuse. Using this program as a model, we are developing plans to replicate this program at all major installations. The Exceptional Family Member Program, designed for family members with special medical or educational needs, now has over 600 family members enrolled. We expect enrollment in this program to continue to rise as Marines become more aware of the program's benefits. In anticipation of force reductions, we are continuing to review our services to those Marines, and their families, affected either by transfer to a new duty station or release from active duty. Our intention is to ease transition from military to civilian life. We will take advantage of the recently established Transition Assistance Management Program (TAMP) and the Relocation Assistance Program (RAP) to hire additional staff personnel for our FSCs. We plan to use funds provided by the establishment of these programs to produce a series of relocation videos for all major Marine Corps locations. Recently added automated systems will allow us to improve services to our Marines and their families as they change duty stations, as well as better assist those Marines transitioning from military to civilian life.

We continue to make progress in achieving congressional targets established in the Military Family Child Care Act of 1989. Although we are committed to this important dimension, demands on the Child Development Centers continue to increase. We will require your continued support if we are to meet the needs of our Marine families.

We continue to structure and mody our family programs to meet the needs of our Marines and their families. We are developing programs to address issues of concern such as latchkey children and care for elderly pare. We will soon be issuing guidance on our adoption reimbursement program now that it has become a permanent entitlement.

MORALE, WELFARE AND RECREATION (MWR)

The importance of MWR in the lives of our Marines and their families cannot be overemphasized. MWR exists to support and enhance the morale and recreation of our Marines, their families, retired military, and other authorized patrons. Our Marine families rely upon MWR for leisure-time programs.

The support, services, and activities provided by MWR are designed to create a "hometown USA” atmosphere. These services and activities directly contribute to troop satisfaction and mission readiness. Our commanders consider MWR to be a key link to the motivation of their Marines at home and deployed.

With your help, our MWR program will move forward in the next few years in three key areas: information systems, construction management, and exchange cooperation.

We are planning an aggressive new information systems modernization program. This initiative will bring modern, reliable technology to the areas of our point of sale, decision support and communications systems. Once implemented, the appli

cation of this new technology will mean that we will be able to support a growing and healthy business into the years ahead.

• Our MWR construction program will be accelerated. This action will allow us to provide renovated, as well as new facilities, to our Marines more quickly to better meet their needs.

• Finally, based on the DOD decision not to consolidate the exchange systems, we will cooperate with our sister services in a number of key areas. These cooperative efforts cover a wide variety of areas which will result in improved customer services and lower costs.

Our strategic focus within MWR will be towards our operational areas. This will allow us to satisfy mission requirements while being aggressive in our business practices. We are committed to improving MWR programs and services to enhance our Marines' quality of life. I am happy to report to you today that our consolidated MWR organization is operating efficiently, effectively, and continuing to serve our Marines and their families wherever they may be.

CONCLUSION

I have addressed the manpower requirements necessary to fulfill the missions and tasks of our Total Force Marine Corps. I consider this request to present a well-balanced program that makes efficient and effective use of the special capabilities of each element in our Total Force.

The Marine Corps I have talked about today is composed of educated, patriotic officers, enlisted Marines, and civilians who contribute decisively to the security of the United States. That contribution will continue. During 1991 the Marine Corps was active in a range of missions, from combat in Southwest Asia, to evacuations from Africa, to humanitarian assistance in Europe and Asia. The success of our Marine Corps is due in no small measure to the wisdom and guidance you have provided. It is your understanding of the need for a strong Marine Corps that has built the Marine Corps into the force we are today.

The current manpower force is a product of long-term planning and constant supervision, not by accident. In this time of force reductions, I can assure you that we will continue to develop and prepare for the required size and quality force needed in the years ahead. We will find the right Marine for the right job, and ensure that the Marine is at the right place at the right time. However, your continued understanding and support will be absolutely essential. Together, we will be able to ensure that the Nation is as well-served by its Marine Corps in the future as it is today.

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared text. I would be pleased to respond to any questions you may have.

Senator GLENN. Thank you, General. General Boles.

STATEMENT OF LT. GEN. BILLY J. BOLES, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, PERSONNEL, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

General BOLES. Thank you, Senator Glenn. As you noted, I have submitted a formal statement for the record.

I would like to take the liberty to highlight one of our key concerns for the future. I think you have addressed that one very well, but I would like to apply that to the Air Force.

First, we appreciate very much the support of this committee in providing us the tools that have helped manage the drawdown which has left us with the smallest Air Force that we have had since 1950.

DOWNSIZING

Between fiscal year 1986 and fiscal year 1991, we will have reduced over 2,000 more military personnel than were in General Loh's tactical air command at the end of that same period.

In the last 5 years we have drawn down almost twice as many people as we built up in the preceding 6 years, and as you well appreciate, it is much easier to build up than it is to draw down.

We like to say in doing that, that we have had no involuntary separations. That is a technical term which can generate disagreement among thousands of Air Force people. In the past year we have denied reenlistment to 1,000 qualified airmen who wanted to stay in the Air Force. We just asked 610 colonels and 369 lieutenant colonels to change their personal plans and retire not later than September 1 of this year.

I would point out, of the colonels alone, more than half have children who are juniors or seniors in high school or college age. They also include former wing commanders, silver star winners, and a former POW all highly qualified colonels and lieutenant colonels who expected to continue on active duty.

SERB/SSB/VSI

Many of the people who are taking VSI or SSB want to stay in the Air Force, but they understand that if they stay they are very likely to be forced out with less compensation than if they leave voluntarily and that is not over.

In fiscal year 1992 and 1993, we will separate 9 wing equivalents of enlisted and 16 wing equivalents of officers. We will do that by SERBing former enlisted personnel who can retire as officers. We will again SERB colonels and lieutenant colonels. We will have an officer RIF board if voluntary losses do not increase. The one bit of good news is that if enlisted losses continue at their present rate, we will not need to conduct an enlisted RIF board to meet current 1992 or 1993 strength levels.

CIVILIANS

I will not go into further detail in this statement, but our civilian work force is also drawing down at a comparable rate. We manage that drawdown through hiring freezes at all bases and RIFs at some closing bases. We may need to consider more incentives though in order to preclude work force imbalances and encourage more people to leave voluntarily.

A question that you pose and you are facing is can we accelerate the drawdown? Sure. Can we do it without severe adverse impact on people who 1 year ago were America's heroes and heroines? No. And we ask your continued support in maintaining a steady and reasonable glide slope in personnel management. To do otherwise is going to leave us short of the runway, with injuries to some very highly qualified and motivated people.

FAMILIES

And finally, we try to remember that while all of the numbers that we talk about are interesting, behind each number is a young sergeant, captain or civilian employee with a family, with financial concerns and with extreme anxiety about his or her future, and with a strong desire to do everything we ask of him or her and more, and that is what this hearing is all about, those people.

I thank you for indulging me as I bared my emotions presenting the Air Force personnel perspective and I would be pleased to answer specific questions, sir.

[The prepared statement of General Boles follows:]

PREPARED Statement by LT. GEN. BILLY J. BOLES, USAF, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, PERSONNEL

POSTURE STATEMENT OUTLINE

Mr Chairman and members of the committee, it is an honor and a privilege to appear before this committee. With a spirit of cooperation and a shared sense of concern for the members of our Armed Forces, I look forward to working with you as we meet the challenges presented by the truly historic events taking place in the world today.

As Secretary Rice and General McPeak have already outlined to Congress, a "Global Reach-Global Power" strategy has been developed to guide the Air Force into the 21st century. The strategy provides the framework as we restructure the Air Force from the ground up. We are not simply reducing the force by slicing away at the top and bottom. We are becoming a leaner organization, highly capable of accomplishing the mission: the projection of air power anywhere in the world to protect the interests of the United States of America.

Combat readiness is the guiding light we are fixed on as we draw down our military forces. Our people continually prove they are part of the most successful Air Force in history. The Air Force success story has been measured in lethal terms during Operation Desert Storm, and in humanitarian terms during Operations Provide Comfort and Fiery Vigil. Continued vigilance over the quality of our recruiting, training, and retention will underwrite the success of the Air Force in the futureand this translates into readiness.

As a result of changes taking place in Eastern Europe and the rest of the world, we are developing our strategies based on regional conflicts. Our forces must be flexible enough to respond to regional crises and have the ability to reconstitute quickly if and when the need arises. This changing threat assessment, coupled with fiscal realities, drives the need to reshape the Air Force. In fact, the Air Force began reducing in size at the end of 1986-the 1993 budget, as submitted, will be 34 percent less than the 1986 budget. This includes a 26 percent reduction in personnel during that same period. Given current fiscal realities, constrained funding will become a significant factor as we consider further personnel reductions.

However, I have some serious concerns about further personnel reductions. By the end of the budgeted drawdown, we will have trimmed away any fat that may have existed, and will have exhausted every voluntary means available. Further reductions will become a readiness issue and require harsh involuntary reduction methods and potentially increase military personnel costs. Every person in the Air Force is a volunteer-someone who took an oath to serve his or her country. They made this commitment based on an implied promise that in return for faithful service they could reasonably expect to complete a career. With the unprecedented reductions taking place today, many view this as breaking faith with the all-volunteer force. The anxiety factor for our people is almost off the chart; and it increases with each announcement of another "personnel action" taken to hit what they perceive to be moving end strength targets. Add to this the often expressed perception of an erosion of benefits, and it is easy to understand why morale is down.

The Members of Congress, and this committee in particular, have demonstrated their commitment to the well-being of the men and women of our Armed Forces. Responding to needs and inequities surfaced during Operation Desert Storm, you enacted legislation that updated Imminent Danger Pay, Family Separation Allowance, Servicemen's Group Life Insurance, and the Death Gratuity; benefits that had not been updated for many years. The Voluntary Separation Incentive/Special Separation Benefit (VSI/SSB) package authorized by Congress last session is serving as a welcome management tool in helping to reduce the adverse impact of involuntary separations. Another example of congressional concern about the well-being of members of the Armed Forces is the Transition Assistance Program. This program continues to ease the transition of military members into the civilian workforce. In addition, the Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act and repeal of end strength ceilings on stateside workforce requirements were of particular benefit for our civilian personnel.

ISSUES

Military Drawdown: The Air Force is continuing the drawdown it started 6 years ago. From fiscal year 1986 to fiscal year 1993 we will have experienced a 26 percent reduction in personnel, equating to a decrease of over 158,000 people. In addition, the fiscal year 1993 President's budget projects a further reduction of 21,000 by fiscal year 1995. Over 30 percent of the total reductions take place between fiscal