WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Rep. Trent Kelly (R-MS), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, made the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, on the Subcommittee's hearing titled “Outside Perspectives on Military Personnel Policy."
"Thank you, Chairwoman Speier.
"I wish to welcome our witnesses to today’s hearing.
"There can be no doubt that the United States military is the best in the world, and that the key to our success is our people. Less than one percent of US citizens volunteer to serve in the military and the officers, warrant officers and enlisted members who make up our current force are among the highest quality we have ever had.
"Nonetheless, there are signs of stress within our force. The Army will again this year miss its recruiting goals, while the Air Force continues to experience a critical pilot shortage. Similarly, many of the Reserve components continue to struggle to meet their end strength missions. It is clear that there are many issues contributing to this problem, including a strong economy, record low unemployment, and a low propensity to serve among today’s youth. In that light, I want to thank the Chairwoman for holding today’s hearing on military personnel policy.
"The Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) and Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act (ROPMA) represent the statutory foundation for officer accession, promotion, and separation. DOPMA and ROPMA have served us well for over forty years, and the fundamentals of the up-or-out system are integral to maintaining a talented and dynamic force. Before making additional changes to personnel management, we need to clearly understand the problem.
"Specifically, we need to understand why officers are electing to get out of the military and what would have kept them in the service. The Defense Department already has much of the data necessary to answer these questions, but my perception is that they are not leveraging this information in order to make informed decisions.
"While Congress has made several changes in the last few years related to DOPMA, I am interested to hear from our panel about how to improve Reserve officer management. Particularly, I look forward to hearing how we can improve permeability between the active and reserve components and enhance the quality of life and predictability for the total force.
"I am also interested to hear from the witnesses how we can improve recruiting and retention of the warrant officer corps. These professionals provide needed experience and technical expertise that is integral to military readiness, and I would like to hear how we can best incentivize them to stay until retirement.
"Finally, I am interested to hear from our witnesses about preserving adequate compensation for our service members. While increased compensation is not going to solve all of our recruiting and retention problems, it is an integral incentive. It is important to note that 71% of young Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 are not physically or mentally able to serve. This means the military services in many cases are competing head-to-head with civilian industries for the same 29 out of 100 students who are eligible to serve—a very small and ever-shrinking pool. In short, the services must remain competitive and ensure that our service members continue to receive the pay and benefits they so richly deserve.
"With that, I yield back."