Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Hearing

Chairman Durbin, Ranking Member Cochran, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, it is my honor to report to you on the state of the Nation's Marine Corps Reserve and our Reservists, who enthusiastically and professionally contribute to the balanced air-ground-logistics team that underscores our Nation's crisis response force - the U.S. Marine Corps. Although the present times are difficult due to fiscal impacts on the Marine Corps, I am extremely grateful for your continued support of our Corps. Your continued support helps sustain us as a ready, relevant, and responsive Reserve Force that is an essential shock absorber for the Marine Corps Total Force.

Introduction

I share the sentiment Commandant of the Marine Corps General James F. Amos stated in testimony before Congress last year - the Marine Corps provides an insurance policy to the American people. As an integral part of the Total Force, Marine Forces Reserve plays a key role in providing that insurance policy. We have been fully engaged on the global stage for more than 12 years now, serving as the essential shock absorber for the Active Component, and 2013 was no different. Reservists from each of our major subordinate commands -- 4th Marine Division, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, 4th Marine Logistics Group, and Force Headquarters Group -- made a tremendous impact across a diverse spectrum of operations in support of every geographic combatant commander's operational and theater security cooperation requirements, as well as Service commitments.

The Marine Corps' commitment to the American people is as strong today as ever in its 238-year history. That commitment is backed equally by bold Active and Reserve Component Marines and Sailors who are experienced in taking the fight directly to the enemy across the globe since 2001. Our Marines have been doing what they have done best since 1775: standing shoulder-to-shoulder to fight and win the Nation's battles. We don't differentiate; all Marines-- whether Reserve or Active Component--are disciplined, focused, and lethal. We are a Total Force, and as such, the Marine Corps Reserve continues to be integrated in all areas of the Marine Corps.

I am deeply impressed by the professionalism, competence, and dedication of our magnificent Reservists. Like their active-duty brothers and sisters, they sacrifice so much of their time -- and so much of themselves -- to protect and serve our great Nation. The way they balance their family responsibilities, civilian lives, school, jobs, and careers -- and still stay Marine - inspires me. They do it with humility, without fanfare, and with a sense of pride and dedication that is consistent with the great sacrifices of Marines of every generation.

I believe Active-Component Marines and senior leadership at all levels appreciate a highly experienced and competent Reserve Force. As an integral element of the Total Force Marine Corps, our Marines and Sailors share the culture of deployment and expeditionary mindset that has dominated Marine Corps culture, ethos and thinking since our Service's beginning more than two centuries ago. Accordingly, the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve is organized, manned, equipped, and trained to provide a professionally ready, responsive, and relevant Force as a Marine Corps solution to enable joint and combined operations. We are, and will remain, a key component in the Corps' role as the Nation's Expeditionary Force in Readiness.

A Total Force

During the previous 13 years, the Marine Corps Reserve has been engaged in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in regional security cooperation and crisis prevention activities in support of the various geographic combatant commanders. This operational tempo has built a momentum among our war fighters and a depth of experience throughout the ranks that is unprecedented in generations of Marine Corps Reservists.

As of Jan. 1, 2014, 62,688 Marines from the Ready Reserve executed a total of 82,424 sets of mobilization orders. This operational tempo has enabled Marine Forces Reserve to remain an operationally-relevant Force over the last 13 years. Marine Forces Reserve has sourced preplanned, rotational, and routine combatant commander and Service requirements across a variety of military operations. We routinely supported operations in Afghanistan while simultaneously sourcing other combatant commander requirements worldwide, such as Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force in support of U.S. Africa Command; Georgia Deployment Program in support of U.S. European Command; Unit Deployment Program in support of U.S. Pacific Command; Security Cooperation / Security Force Assistance Teams in support of U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Central Command; and Counter-Drug/Counter-Narcotics teams in support of U.S. Southern Command. Additionally, Marine Forces Reserve has continued to support geographic combatant commander exercise and theater security cooperation global requirements, which increases our operational readiness while enabling Total Force integration and the rapid transition to operational roles and support to major contingency operations.

During Calendar Year 2013, Marine Forces Reserve operations continued on a high operational tempo as our four major subordinate commands were called upon to provide 1,414 Marines and Sailors to support combatant commander operational requirements, and we plan to deploy 443 Marines and Sailors during Calendar Year 2014. In addition, Marine Forces Reserve will deploy thousands of Marines to a multitude of theater-specific exercises and cooperative security events that are designed to increase interoperability with our allies, as well as for developing theater security cooperation activities in Morocco, Cameroon, Niger, South Africa, Uganda, Burundi, Senegal, Mauritania, Turkey, Romania, Slovenia, Georgia, Mexico, Bahamas, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Dominican Republic, Jordan, and with our partners in the Pacific Rim, the Republic of Korea and the Kingdom of Thailand.

Marine Forces Reserve's operational focus will continue to directly support the geographic combatant commanders in various roles that include multiple multi-lateral and bi-lateral exercises, such as African Lion in Morocco, Ssang Yong in South Korea, and Maple Flag in Canada. The way ahead for Marine Forces Reserve includes deploying forces to meet high priority combatant commander requirements while providing continued support to Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Principal among these combatant commander requirements is the continued deployment of highly qualified Marines to Europe in order to train Georgian forces prior to their deployment to Afghanistan, the continued deployment of Marines to Mexico to train Mexican Marines, and the deployment of a Communications Detachment to support the Commander, Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa.

In addition to operational requirements, Marine Forces Reserve personnel and units conducted significant regional and more than 389 local community relations events nationwide during Calendar Year 2013. Due to the command's unique geographic dispersion, Marine Forces Reserve personnel and units are advantageously positioned to interact with the American public, telling the Marine Corps story to our fellow citizens who typically have little or no contact with the Marine Corps. Therefore, for the preponderance of the American public, their perception of the Marine Corps is informed by dialogue with our Reservists during the many community outreach events that occur throughout the year across the country.

Marine Forces Reserve continues to monitor the mobilization viability of the Individual Ready Reserve, which consists of more than 67,000 contractually-obligated Marines who have fulfilled their active service commitment, but have returned to civilian life. The mobilization potential of the Individual Ready Reserve is monitored through the use of muster events, which are conducted at multiple locations across the country and includes no less than one-sixth of the Individual Ready Reserve population. The Muster event is the Marine Corps' opportunity to physically inspect contractually-obligated Marines to ensure they are capable of mobilization. During this event, a Marine is given the opportunity to address any administrative issues and get assistance. If needed, they complete a mental health and post-deployment screening, review the Reserve obligations and opportunities information, meet with military-friendly employers, meet prior service recruiters, and get an opportunity to reconnect with fellow Marines. During Fiscal Year 2013, Marine Forces Reserve mustered 9,684 Marines during 44 muster events.

In addition to participating in operational requirements across the globe and in community relations events here at home, our active-duty Marines who are assigned to our Inspector - Instructor and Reserve Site Support staffs dutifully execute the significant responsibility of casualty assistance. Continued operational efforts in OEF have required that these Marines and Sailors remain ready at all times to support the families of our fallen Marines in combat abroad, or in unforeseen circumstances at home. By virtue of our geographic dispersion, Marine Forces Reserve personnel are well-positioned to accomplish the vast majority of all Marine Corps casualty assistance calls and are trained to provide assistance to the families. Historically, our personnel have been involved in the majority of all Marine Corps casualty notifications and follow-on assistance calls to the next of kin. During Calendar Year 2013, our Inspector - Instructor and Reserve Site Support staffs performed 85 percent -- 169 of 198 -- of the total casualty calls performed by the Marine Corps. There is no duty to our families that we treat with more importance, and the responsibilities of our Casualty Assistance Calls Officers (CACOs) continue well beyond notification. We ensure that our CACOs are well trained, equipped, and supported by all levels of command through the combination of in-class and online training. Once a CACO is designated, that Marine assists the family members from planning the return of remains and the final rest of their Marine to assist with filing for benefits and entitlements. In many cases, our CACOs provide a long-lasting bridge between the Marine Corps and the family while providing assistance during the grieving process. The CACO is the family's central point of contact and support, and serves as a representative or liaison to the funeral home, government agencies, or any other agency that may become involved.

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 their Reserve Marines, performed 91 percent -- 17,075 of 18,756 -- of the total funeral honors rendered by the Marine Corps during Calendar Year 2013. We anticipate providing funeral honors to more than 18,000 Marine veterans during 2014. As with casualty assistance, we place enormous emphasis on providing timely and professionally executed military funeral honors.

Predictability

The Marine Corps Reserve remains an integral part of the Total Force Marine Corps and continues to serve as an operationally-focused Force whether it is integrated with Marine Forces in Afghanistan, serving as a Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force, or filling training and advising roles with security force assistance teams in direct support of combatant commanders' requirements. Consequently, the Reserve Force continues to maintain a high level of operational experience as it continues to serve side-by-side with our Active-Component counterparts. However, we clearly recognize the potential effect of the fiscal environment on our operational readiness, especially as we consider how to maintain the operational experience of the Reserve Force.

Revisions to our Force Generation Model rotate Marine Reserve units through a five-year Training and Readiness Plan to ensure units and personnel are ready to meet any challenge. The Training and Readiness Plan establishes a program that enables the Reserves to have two infantry battalions, an artillery battalion, a combat logistics battalion, and aviation capabilities, as well as an assortment of other forces combat-ready at any given time. This results in more than 3,000 Marines who are trained and ready to augment and reinforce a Marine Air-Ground Task Force, whether in support of a contingency response or part of a pre-planned, budgeted for, theater security cooperation mission.

Our Training and Readiness Plan continues to provide a level of predictability for both planners and Reservists while maintaining the "train as we fight" philosophy. The Plan provides our Reservists, their families, and their employers, the ability to plan for upcoming duty requirements in their lives five or more years out. This empowers service members to achieve the critical balance between family, civilian career, and service to our Nation while enabling employers to plan for and manage the temporary loss of valued employees. The key element in the Training and Readiness Plan is the integration of Reserve units, detachments, and individuals into Service- and Joint-level exercises, creating an environment of interoperability in years two, three, and four of the 5-year plan's cycle. The units are scheduled to be assessed in a culminating Integrated Training Exercise during the fourth year of the training cycle. The Training and Readiness Plan assures integration with the Active Component in training exercises conducted in the United States and overseas, and continues to facilitate the Total Force approach in the manner in which the Marine Corps achieved success over the last 13 years of integrated operations in the combat zones of Al Anbar province, Iraq, and Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Personnel

Marine Forces Reserve comprises a large percentage of the Selected Reserve's authorized end strength of 39,600, which will decrease to 38,500 Marines by Fiscal Year 2017. Additionally, Marine Forces Reserve administers approximately 67,000 Marines who serve in the Individual Ready Reserve, which is projected to continue to increase due to the Active Component end strength draw down. The Selected Reserve is comprised of Marines in Reserve units and the Active Reserve program, as well as Individual Mobilization Augmentees (IMAs) and service members in initial training. The planned reductions in the Selected Reserve's end strength will come primarily from the junior enlisted ranks and IMAs. The Reserve Component is currently over manned in its junior enlisted ranks and the decreased demand for mobilized Reservists augmented to Active Component units will enable the Marine Corps Reserve to reduce its IMA manning levels and encourage non-commissioned officers and staff non-commissioned officers to affiliate with Marine Corps Reserve units.

We continue to enjoy strong demand for affiliation as seen by increased accessions from the Active Component, as well as high rates of retention. Our retraining, inactive duty travel reimbursement, bonus, and incentive programs for Reserves were essential tools in achieving nearly 100 percent of our authorized end strength in Fiscal Year 2013. We fully expect to meet our Selected Marine Corps Reserve unit recruiting goals again this fiscal year. The continued use of these programs are critical enablers for us as we seek to optimally align our inventory to our requirements, maintain individual and unit-level readiness, address shortfalls in staff non-commissioned officer leadership, and maximize deployability for our incumbent personnel.

I am pleased to report that the Marine Corps / Navy Reserve team is as strong as ever. Marine Forces Reserve remains fully integrated with Navy manpower assets from the Active, Reserve, and Full-Time Support (FTS) communities. A total compliment of 279 officer and enlisted personnel from the Active Component and FTS component provides continuous medical and religious ministries support to the Marines and Sailors throughout Marine Forces Reserve. In addition, more than 1,400 Reserve-Component Sailors augment Marine Forces Reserve in deployments, administrative functions, and major exercises with 300 of these positions being officers in the various medical professions. These invaluable Navy assets can be found at any of our 160 Reserve Training Centers throughout the United States.

Our company grade officer manning continues to dramatically improve. Company grade officer manning stands at 74 percent, up from a low of 21 percent in 2006. Historically, the Active Component Marine Corps has been the exclusive source of senior lieutenants, captains, and pilots for the Marine Corps Reserve, and it remains a source of strength in meeting these requirements.

Reserve officer commissioning initiatives focus exclusively on the most crucial challenge of staffing the Marine Corps Reserve with quality company grade officers. Two of these Reserve commissioning initiatives are the Reserve Enlisted Commissioning Program (RECP), which is available to qualified active-duty enlisted Marines in addition to qualified Reserve-enlisted Marines; and Officer Candidate Course - Reserve (OCC-R). Since 2004, these programs helped produce a total of 710 lieutenants for the Marine Corps Reserve. The OCC-R program has been the most productive of the Reserve commissioning initiatives, producing 610 officers. The OCC-R program historically focused on ground billets with an emphasis on ground combat and combat service support within specific Reserve units that were scheduled for mobilization. These programs, combined with our prior service recruiting efforts, are projected to provide at least 90 percent staffing of critical combat arms and engineer company grade officer billets by Sept. 30, 2015, with overall officer staffing reaching this level one year later.

Civilian Marines are critical enablers to Marine Forces Reserve's ability to meet Service requirements. Our civilian work force across Marine Forces Reserve -- more than 350 members - continues its unwaverable service and dedication to the Marine Corps Reserve even during these past few years of uncertainty concerning pay and entitlements. They are integral for continuity of operations and for ensuring family readiness across the Reserve Force. Unfortunately, the recent budgetary upheaval and civilian furlough has created significant stress and decline in morale for many of our employees.

As the Marine Corps continues to draw down Active Component end strength, the option to continue to serve in the Reserve Component has become increasingly appealing to young Marines leaving active duty. Marines who are approaching the end of their current contracts -- Active or Reserve Component -- receive more focused counseling on the tangible and intangible aspects of remaining associated with, or joining, a Selected Marine Corps Reserve unit. We continue to ensure that each transitioning Active Component Marine is educated on continued service opportunities in the Marine Corps Reserve through the Marine Corps' transition assistance and educational outreach programs.

In 2013, the Direct Affiliation Program was introduced as a pathway for transitioning Active Component officers and enlisted service members to affiliate with a Selected Marine Corps Reserve unit just prior to separation, facilitating a seamless transition and transitional TRICARE benefits that underscores the Continuum of Service. Additionally, all commanders and senior enlisted leaders across Marine Forces Reserve are tasked to retain quality Marines through example, mentoring, and information and retention programs. This takes place across the Marine experience, not just in the final days of a Marine's contract - Active or Reserve. Your continued support regarding enlistment, affiliation, and re-enlistment bonuses along with other initiatives that promote service to this great Nation underscores our ability to gain and retain the very best service members.

Equipment

A decade of war and generous funding has enabled the Marine Corps Reserve to achieve a warfighting competence that surpasses anything in our past, but it also comes at an unparalleled cost in maintenance as it applies to equipment readiness. Additionally, the introduction of non-standard equipment, the fielding of new systems, and the overall increase in the scale and complexity of what today's units are maintaining has compounded the challenge of increased maintenance costs. Effective equipment maintenance requires our leaders to have a mindset of accountability and responsibility for all equipment, especially since Selected Marine Corps Reserve units present unique challenges due to geographic dispersion.

Although we have been engaged in combat operations for more than 12 years, our ground equipment readiness rates for maintenance have remained steady at about 97 percent. This last decade has demonstrated the need to maintain a significant Reserve Force readiness posture that enabled Marine Forces Reserve to be an essential shock absorber for the Active Component.

Several resources and programs combine to form the Reserve Component approach to maintenance. Routine preventive and corrective maintenance is performed locally by operator and organic maintenance personnel. This traditional approach to field maintenance was expanded during Calendar Year 2008 to include highly effective contracted logistics support and depot-level capabilities. We continue to experience significant success with contracted logistics support and contractors have helped us with performing the work and providing valuable training to our Marines and Sailors at our 160 Reserve Training Centers. This field maintenance augmentation effort has directly improved our equipment readiness by providing valuable hands-on occupational skills training to our Marines while returning time to our Marines to accomplish very important individual training.

The Reserve Component continues to carry a historical maintenance requirement that uses a combination of field maintenance capabilities and contracted logistics support maintenance teams. There is an enduring requirement to support field maintenance operations, contracted logistics support, or some combination of the two in order to sustain the ground equipment readiness of the Force.

Two additional programs have proven highly effective in improving readiness of the Force. The Marine Corps' Enterprise Lifecycle Maintenance Program provides for the rebuilding and modifying of an array of principal end items, such as the Light Armored Vehicle, the Amphibious Assault Vehicle, and our entire motor transport fleet. The Marine Corps Corrosion Prevention and Control Program continues to provide significant benefits. Collectively, these initiatives and the hard work and dedication of our Marines and civilian Marines across Marine Forces Reserve are responsible for our high readiness rates.

Unlike our Active Component counterparts, Reserve units can establish a Training Allowance, which allows unit commanders to have enough equipment on-hand to train to mission essential tasks, but recognizes the reality that Selected Marine Corps Reserve units have limited manpower, facility space, and fiscal resources, as well as competing operational and individual training requirements, that can prevent them from effectively maintaining, managing, and accounting for a full Table of Equipment. Reducing Training Allowance equipment-sets to minimal levels necessary to train is one way to offset the equipment maintenance burden; however, it cannot mitigate the loss of supplemental funding. Active Duty Operational Support and contracted logistics support funding remain essential to sustain acceptable Reserve Component equipment readiness.

National Guard and Reserve Equipment Appropriation (NGREA) funding has been a large resource for procurement of Reserve Component equipment. Fiscal Year 2012 NGREA funding was used to procure five containerized Flight Training Devices (FTDs) -- one for the CH-53E, two for the MV-22B, and two for the UH-1Y. These devices are currently in the contracting phase of procurement and are projected to be delivered during Fiscal Year 2015. Additionally, $120 million of Fiscal Year 2013 NGREA funding is being used to maintain the ageing KC-130T fleet until the fielding of the new KC-130J, which begins in Fiscal Year 2014, is complete. The NGREA funding used to replace the KC-130T Weather Radar System and to upgrade the Electronic Propeller Control System will enable the Reserve Component to continue to meet training requirements while transitioning to the new KC-130J airframe. Fiscal Year 2013 NGREA funding will also enable the Reserve Component to complete hardware upgrades for the Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer. The Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer is an interactive videodisc-based weapons training system. The Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer includes rifle and pistol ranges, combat scenarios, and shoot/no shoot scenarios that enable Reserve Component Marines to train and range qualify as a basic rifleman when access to physical ranges is not tenable or is cost-prohibitive.

As funding cuts throughout the DoD strain already dwindling training budgets, it is beneficial that Marine Forces Reserve has the ability to procure simulation devices we can use to adequately train our Marines. These simulators aid greatly in maintaining the operational readiness required to ensure Marine Forces Reserve can mobilize and deploy units or individuals to augment, reinforce, or sustain the Active Component. To be sure, NGREA funding continues to be used for its contribution to the modernization, training, and sustained readiness of the Reserve Component.

Training

During June 2014, Marine Forces Reserve will conduct its second Service-level Integrated Training Exercise, which is an assessed regimental-level live-fire and maneuver exercise featuring Reserve-Component forces as the Marine Air-Ground Task Force elements - command, ground, air, and logistics. The Integrated Training Exercise ensures maximum training benefit for the ground, aviation, and logistics combat elements under the command and control of a regimental headquarters. The Integrated Training Exercise is an indispensable component of our Training and Readiness Plan and serves as an annual capstone exercise, which is the principal mechanism for examining our training and readiness levels, as well as assessing our operational capabilities. The Integrated Training Exercise also measures our ability to provide a cohesive Marine Air-Ground Task Force-trained and ready capability to the Service or combatant commander on a predictable, reliable, and cyclical basis. Conducted aboard Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twenty-nine Palms, Calif., the Integrated Training Exercise is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force deployment vice a compilation of numerous annual training events. Units are participating based on their future activation potential according to the Marine Forces Reserve Fiscal Years 2014-2018 Training and Readiness Plan. The Integrated Training Exercise provides all Marine Air-Ground Task Force elements an opportunity to undergo a Service assessment of their core competencies that are essential to expeditious forward-deployed operations. Additionally, individuals serving on the regimental command element staff receive valuable training that enables them to competently perform as individual augments to Marine Air-Ground Task Forces and/or Joint staffs. In summary, the Integrated Training Exercise enables improved readiness, more efficient Total Force integration, and faster activation response times.

At our Reserve Training Centers, we continue to maximize training efficiencies by utilizing simulators wherever possible to preserve fiscal and materiel resources. For Reserve Component Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainers (ISMTs), Marine Forces Reserve obligated $12.3 million of NGREA to fund a future software upgrade and its service contract. The ISMTs directly benefit remote site locations that are distant from DoD training ranges by preserving valuable training time and vehicle wear and tear during drill weekends. Access to ISMTs and other simulation systems ensures Reserve Marines are trained to the same tasks, conditions, and standards applicable to Active-Component Marines, assuring capabilities remain consistent across the Total Force.

Language and culture training continues to be a significant investment opportunity that is yielding a large return on investment for all Marine Reservists. Through the Marine Corps-wide initiative called the Regional, Culture, and Language Familiarization program, our Marines will have a career-long course of study designed to ensure Reserve Marines are regionally focused and globally prepared to effectively navigate the culturally complex 21st century operating environment. Marine Forces Reserve's culture and language programs are delivered via a variety of techniques from live instruction to portable media to web-based tutorials and applications. Our language and culture section remains fully operationally capable. This enhanced capability enables us to support all units within Marine Forces Reserve with virtual training and required testing. Additionally, we also support other DoD partners in their testing and training. With our Marines deploying around the globe, we access and leverage a variety of other sources of language and cultural training, such as the Marine Corps'Center for Advanced Operational Culture and Language, the Defense Language Institute, and Regional Language Centers. These enhanced language and culture learning opportunities enable our critical core competencies and postures Marine Forces Reserve for success in the complex operating environment of the 21st century.

The Marine Corps is built on trust and teamwork shared between individual Marines and their leaders, and considers Equal Opportunity training as part of basic leadership development.

The policy of the Marine Corps is to provide equality of treatment and opportunity for all Marines to achieve their full potential based solely upon individual merit, fitness, and ability regardless of age, color, gender, race, religion, or national origin.

During 2013, the Marine Forces Reserve Equal Opportunity Advisor held three Equal Opportunity Representative Courses and three Senior Leadership Workshops. In total, the Marine Forces Reserve Equal Opportunity Advisor trained 75 Active and Reserve Component service members from across our four major subordinate commands. The attendees of the courses received training that consisted of Marine Corps and command policies, the forms of discrimination to include sexual harassment, identification of behaviors, personnel responsibilities, and characteristics of a hostile work environment. Additionally, training explained the procedures for seeking resolution of Equal Opportunity issues, to include a breakdown of the Informal Resolution System, selecting the best method for filing complaints, how and when to file formal complaints, how to address reprisal, explanation of the complaint timelines, and other external methods to seek redress.

Finally, Marine Forces Reserve continues to integrate safety programs with a wide variety of training to reinforce Force preservation. The benchmark of an effective safety culture is the reduction of mishaps. By continuing the Culture of Responsible Choices initiative begun in 2012, all members of the Force, both military and civilian, have demonstrated a positive mindset toward making it their personal mission to conduct themselves with a focus toward their own safety and the welfare of others. Leadership, at every level, continues to stress the basic tenets of personal responsibility and accountability for decision making and behavior -- not only during work, but at home, in leisure activities, and in our personal lives as well. This engaged leadership technique empowers our personnel to get involved when something is just not right.

No program can capture and mitigate all hazards. Accordingly, we continue to focus on the leading cause of death of our personnel, which is motor vehicle accidents. Our training center at Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base, New Orleans, is a tangible example of how we incorporate training to fully support our Culture of Responsible Choices initiative. At the Center, personnel receive training in the safe operation of their motor vehicles, which includes both cars and motorcycles. I'm pleased to report that from Fiscal Year 2012 to 2013, fatal motorcycle mishaps and automobile/truck fatalities were reduced by 13% and 11% respectively.

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, a Bachelor Enlisted Quarters, and General Officer Quarters A in New Orleans, La. Although some Reserve Training Centers are located on major DoD bases and National Guard compounds, most of our centers are openly located within civilian communities. Therefore, the condition and appearance of our facilities informs the American people's perception of the Marine Corps and the Armed Forces throughout the nation. The largest part of the facilities budget is used to sustain the existing physical plant, focusing on infrastructure maintenance that enables Marine Forces Reserve to meet Service and combatant command operational requirements.

The cost of maintaining the physical plant steadily increases with the age of the buildings. Authoritative Navy property records list 70 of our 160 Reserve Training Centers as more than 30 years old and 35 Reserve Training Centers as more than 50 years old. While supporting formal Force structure adjustments and as part of our commitment to consolidate to gain efficiencies during the previous two years, Marine Forces Reserve made a deliberate reduction of more than 10 percent in the number of Reserve Training Centers. We improved the overall readiness of our facilities inventory and corrected some chronic facility condition deficiencies through Marine Forces Reserve Facilities Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization (FSRM) support.

The Marine Corps' Military Construction, Naval Reserve (MCNR) program focuses on new footprint and recapitalization of our aging facilities. The construction provided by the annual authorization of MCNR funding has been an important factor in moving Marine Forces Reserve forward in its facilities support mission. The combined effects from our targeted consolidation, FSRM, and MCNR programs have steadily reduced the number of inadequate or substandard Reserve Training Centers to below 60 percent. Continued annual funding for our facilities program will enable Marine Forces Reserve to improve the physical infrastructure that supports and reinforces mission readiness of our units.

Beyond the obvious requirements to build, maintain, repair and recapitalize our physical inventory are the operational costs associated with occupancy. The "must pays" of utilities bills are relatively constant and immutable. The discretionary costs of associated services, such as landscaping, snow removal, and janitorial service, are investments in preventive maintenance that keep the physical plant accessible, safe, and clean. While these service levels are discretionary, inadequate support over time can serve to hasten the deterioration of associated infrastructure, especially at sites where tree roots intrude on water/sewer lines and snow accumulations and thaws combine to damage pavement. Accelerated degradation may result from underfunded services, which can amplify future program costs.

In an attempt to lessen some of the burden on the energy budget, and in accordance with national mandates, Marine Forces Reserve completed energy assessments at our owned sites and continues to implement the recommendations from those assessments as funds are available. Priority is given to the sites that are the biggest energy users nationally and those projects which offer the best return on investment. Since 2010, 30 solar/photovoltaic, energy, HVAC efficiency, direct digital control, and efficient lighting projects have been completed at Reserve Training Centers and 18 more solar/photovoltaic projects are earmarked for funding during Fiscal Year 2014. Applicability of renewable energy credits will continue to be pursued. Three small - 100 kilowatt-hour -- wind turbines installed last year continue to yield savings for the Department of the Navy in Illinois, Michigan, and Texas. Our investment in these renewable energy technologies improves energy security, efficiency, and protection against future rate hikes for our geographically-dispersed sites. There are still significant opportunities to improve the energy and water use efficiency of Reserve Training Centers and to expand use of renewable sources contingent on available funds to do so.

To implement sustainable design principles, Marine Forces Reserve uses the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating System for New Construction and Major Renovation. LEED is a performance-oriented system based on accepted energy and environmental principles where credits are earned for satisfying criteria designed to address specific environmental impacts inherent in design, construction, operations, and maintenance of buildings. During Fiscal Year 2013, the Marine Forces Reserve headquarters building was recognized as meeting LEED Silver criteria. In addition, every new FSRM or MCNR project is designed for energy efficiency and sustainability in accordance with LEED principles.

Our environmental program continues to excel. I consider environmental compliance a priority for the command, and reinforce environmental compliance by directing continual training for our Marines and Sailors at each unit and site. As agents of the Federal Government, we are entrusted by the public to make environmental considerations an integral part of installation and range management programs, training activities, equipment fielding, and construction planning processes. The Marine Forces Reserve Environmental Management System provides the Force with a systematic approach to integrate these environmental considerations and establishes a framework for continual environmental improvement over the long term. Furthermore, our environmental program supports the FSRM and MCNR programs by ensuring compliance with the National Environmental Protection Act for each project and action. Due to the geographic disparity of our sites, appropriate long-term funding is necessary to assure consistent environmental monitoring and associated training programs across the Force, as well as to avoid an increased risk of non-compliance.

Marine Forces Reserve manages its national training infrastructure portfolio strategically. Marine Forces Reserve collaborates with all of our different hosts to meet installation support delivery and infrastructure efficiency objectives while simultaneously maintaining unit combat readiness. Implementation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Force Structure Review decisions provided an opportunity to better align mission changes with reduced facilities infrastructure. As the process moves forward, the total impacts will be analyzed to gain efficiencies and reduce the backlog of unfunded MCNR projects, which enables targeted investment in those sites that provide the best operational return on investment. Marine Forces Reserve will exploit opportunities to consolidate multiple smaller sites within the same geographic area into robust sites to reduce overall facility footprint, and associated operational and sustainment costs.

Health Services and Behavioral Health

Our focus on Marines, Sailors, and their families remains our highest priority. Therefore, we are keenly attentive to maintaining their health and total fitness. During dwell, our health services priority is to attain and maintain the DoD goal of 75 percent Fully Medically Ready. In Fiscal Year 2013, Marine Forces Reserve individual medical and dental readiness rates were 73 percent and 87 percent respectively. We aggressively worked towards improving medical readiness by effective utilization of Medical Readiness Reporting System capabilities to enable accurate monitoring and identify unit-level actions necessary to attain readiness goals. Supporting efforts will focus on advocating funds and tailoring support for various Reserve Component Medical/Dental Health Readiness Programs including utilizing to the fullest extent possible a combination of programs to significantly aid in sustaining our total readiness, such as our Reserve Health Readiness Program contract services, Post-Deployment Health Reassessment, Reserve TRICARE Medical and Dental Programs, and the Psychological Health Outreach Program. Additionally, our personnel participate in Force Readiness Assistance & Assessment Program unit inspections. These inspections provide oversight for the current health status of the Force, specifically at unit levels that provides an ability to monitor compliance requirements, policy adherence, and meeting unit goal initiatives.

The Reserve Health Readiness Program (RHRP) is the cornerstone for individual medical and dental readiness and Marine Forces Reserve has benefited from increases in overall readiness as a result of this program. This program funds contracted medical and dental specialists to provide medical and dental-specific services to units that do not have direct medical or dental support personnel assigned and are not supported by a military treatment facility. This RHRP contract was further renewed for Fiscal Year 2014. During Fiscal Year 2013, the RHRP performed 20,036 Periodic Health Assessments, 15,057 in combined Post-Deployment Health Reassessments/Mental Health Assessments, and 13,945 Dental Procedures. In addition, the TRICARE Reserve Select for medical coverage and TRICARE Dental Program are two premium-based, cost-effective health care programs offered for voluntary purchase to our Reserve Marines, Sailors, and their families.

The Marine Corps has a robust behavioral health program to address a myriad of issues including Substance Abuse, Suicide, Operational Stress, Domestic Violence, and Child Abuse. They work in conjunction with Navy Medicine programs addressing behavioral health. In regard to specific fitness efforts, Marine Forces Reserve has instituted Operational Stress Control and Readiness (OSCAR) training at all levels. This training provides knowledge, skills, and tools required to assist commanders to prevent, identify, and manage combat and operational stress concerns as early as possible. This training is provided to service members of units that are deploying for more than 90 days during pre-deployment training.

Navy Bureau of Medicine continues to support behavioral health through various independent contracted programs, such as the Post-Deployment Health Reassessment/Mental Health Assessments and the Psychological Health Outreach Program. The Post-Deployment Health Reassessment identifies health issues with specific emphasis on mental health concerns, which may have emerged since returning from deployment. The Psychological Health Outreach Program addresses post-deployment behavioral health concerns and crisis-related interventions through social worker contractors. These social workers provide an array of referral services in the community to include follow-up with service members. These programs have proven effective in the overall management of identifying those Marines and Sailors who need behavioral health assistance and have provided an avenue to those service members who seek behavioral health assistance.

Given that signs of operational and combat stress and suicide can manifest long after a service member returns home from deployment, there are unique challenges presented to Reservists who can be isolated from the daily support network inherent in one's unit and vital medical care. Encouraging Marines to acknowledge and vocalize mental health issues is also a ubiquitous challenge facing our commanders. We are actively combating the stigma associated with mental health care through key programs, such as the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, within demobilization and reintegration processes of our Reserve Marines following deployment. Further, we market all our behavioral health initiatives and programs through our Marine Forces Reserve portal website and during key Marine Corps forums throughout the year. Your continued support of these programs is greatly appreciated.

There are five suicide prevention initiatives that we leverage for our Reserve Marines and Sailors: 1) In-theater Assessment. Reservists who exhibit or are struggling with clinically significant issues should be seen by competent medical authorities and evaluated for post-deployment treatment with follow-up decisions made prior to their return home; 2) Post Deployment Health Reassessment. It is important that if any issues emerge during the Reservist's Post Deployment Health Reassessment that they are immediately evaluated and referred for treatment by the clinician interviewer. This includes referral recommendations based on available local resources, such as the VA or private mental health providers; 3) Psychological Health Outreach Program. I enthusiastically recommend continued delivery of the Psychological Health Outreach Program, which is an essential program for treatment referral and follow up to ensure our service members are receiving the appropriate behavioral health services; 4) Care Management Teams. This suicide prevention initiative includes the VA's OIF/OEF care management teams that are a readily available resource for our Reservists. The VA assigns a primary care manager, who is responsible for referral and follow-up, to any Reservist who has a health care issue; 5) Never Leave a Marine Behind Suicide Prevention Course. We continue to implement the Marine Corps'Junior Marine, Non-Commissioned Officer, Staff Non-Commissioned officer, and Officer modules of the Never Leave a Marine Behind Suicide Prevention Course. The Never Leave a Marine Behind series provides the best skills and tools available to Marines, Sailors, and their leaders so that they can better cope with the challenges of combat and the rigors of life both deployed and in garrison. Marine Forces Reserve has trained hundreds of Marines who can deliver the Course at our 160 Reserve Training Centers throughout the country.

Additionally, any Reservist and their family can access Marine Corps installations' behavioral health programs through Marine Corps Community Services programming while they are on any type of active-duty orders. When they are not on active-duty orders, Military OneSource provides counseling, resources, and support to Reserve service members and their families anywhere in the world. The Marine Corps' DSTRESS Line is also now available to all Reserve Marines, Sailors, and family members regardless of their activation status.

Another significant resource is our Chaplain Religious Enrichment Development Operations (CREDO) Program, which is run by our Active and Reserve Chaplains and Religious Program Specialists. The CREDO program at Marine Forces Reserve conducts two distinct retreat programs: Marriage Enrichment Retreats, which supports our efforts to strengthen our families, and Personal Resiliency Retreats, which are designed to foster individual service member's health and wellness. The direct effort to improve a culture of responsible choices and build resiliency across the Force is accomplished at numerous strategically-remote training sites usually away from the resources of large military bases. During Fiscal Year 2013, a total of 278 married couples and 35 individuals participated in 10 Marriage Enrichment Retreats and 4 Personal Resiliency Retreats respectively. For Fiscal Year 2014, seven Marriage Enrichment Retreats and nine Personal Resiliency Retreats are projected. Anecdotal evidence based on testimonials and survey feedback by participants strongly suggests that these retreats are effective in strengthening military marriages and individuals' core values, which in turn, enhance the readiness of our Force.

Sexual Assault Prevention & Response

Eradicating sexual assault throughout Marine Forces Reserve is a top priority. Efforts towards this goal have continued with increased momentum. In order to improve victim response capabilities, we have added five professional full-time civilian positions to our Sexual Assault Prevention and Response staff at our headquarters office. Together, along with the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program Manager, they manage the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program at all of the Marine Forces Reserve sites throughout the United States and provide case management to victims once a report is made. In addition to the civilian staff, more than 300 Marines and Sailors were screened and trained, and achieved certification through the DoD Sexual Assault Advocate Certification Program. Once certified, they were appointed by their commanders to be Uniformed Victim Advocates at their respective Reserve Training Centers. Our prevention strategy is holistic, and emphasizes setting the example of discipline from all levels of command. I, along with the four commanding generals of our major subordinate commands, again provided in-person Sexual Assault Prevention and Response training to all of our colonel-level commanders. The focus of this two-day training highlights how sexual assault is inconsistent with our Marine Corps ethos and core values. Multiple all-hands training events are held throughout the year and all non-commissioned officers continue to receive additional "Take a Stand" bystander intervention training.

Quality of Life

We remain passionate in ensuring an appropriate balance and effective performance of our quality of life programs and services to guarantee our programs and services meet the needs and expectations of our active-duty personnel and Reservists, including our Reserve service members in the Individual Ready Reserve. In doing so, we continue to operate Family Readiness Programs, revitalize services, and proactively reach out to and keep faith with our Marines, Sailors, and their families.

To meet the challenge of deployments, and to maintain a constant state of readiness, the Marine Corps continues to promote family support through our Family Readiness Officer (FRO) Program. This program is staffed by either civilians or active-duty Marines at the battalion/squadron level and above. Additionally, we continue to leverage modern communication technologies and social media, such as the e-Marine website, to better inform and empower family members -- spouses, children and parents - who have little routine contact with the Marine Corps and often live considerable distances from large military support facilities.

Our Marine Corps Family Team Building (MCFTB) programs offer preventative education and family readiness training to our Marines, Sailors, and family members. MCFTB training events were delivered in person and through interactive webinars at Marine Corps units across the United States. During Fiscal Year 2013, MCFTB conducted 224 training events in which 8,861 Marines, Sailors, and family members received critical and vital information and support.

In regard to personal and professional development, Reservists take advantage of our partnership with tutor.com, which offers access to our Marines, Sailors, and their families to 24/7 no-cost, live online tutoring services for K-12 students, college students, and adult learners. Active and Reserve Marines and their families are also provided remote access to language courses through Marine Corps Community Services Transparent Language Online program. This program supports more than 90 languages and delivers English as a Second Language. Additionally, the Marine Corps' partnership with the Peterson's Online Academic Skills Course helps build math and verbal skills to excel on the job, pass an exam, advance in a career, or continue education. This program diagnoses the current level of reading comprehension, vocabulary, and math skills and teaches the concepts and skills needed to increase proficiency in each of these academic areas. This course is free for service members and their families.

Our Semper Fit program remains fully engaged to deliver quality, results-based education and conditioning protocols for our Marines and Sailors. The High Intensity Tactical Training (HITT) program includes hands-on strength and conditioning courses, online physical fitness tools, a mobile application for service members to access anywhere at any time, and recorded webinars, as well as instruction on injury prevention, nutrition, and weight management. Our Marines' and Sailors' quality of life is also increased through various stress management and esprit de corps activities, such as unit outings and participation in competitive events. These programs are key to unit cohesion, camaraderie, and motivation.

The Marine Corps' partnership with Child Care Aware of America (formerly known as the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies) continues to provide great resources for Marines and their families in selecting child care before, during, and after a deployment. Our off-base child-care subsidy program helps families of our Reservists locate affordable child care that is comparable to high-quality, on-base, military-operated programs. This program provides child-care subsidies at quality child care providers for our Reservists who are deployed in support of overseas contingency operations and for those active-duty Marines who are stationed in regions that are geographically separated from military bases and stations. Additionally, our Marine families -- Active and Reserve -- who are enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program are provided a case manager and offered up to 20 hours of free respite care per month for each qualified exceptional family member. This gives our families confidence that their family member will be taken care of when they are in need of assistance.

The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program has been integrated into the Marine Corps Unit, Personal, and Family Readiness Program at every command level with full-time Reserve and Deputy Reserve Family Readiness Officers (FRO). The responsibility of executing Yellow Ribbon in accordance with the legislation, and further defined by Marine Forces Reserve policy, resides with the individual unit commander. This ensures commanders remain engaged with the challenges and issues facing their Marines, Sailors, and families, and is in line with Force Preservation efforts.

In Fiscal Year 2013, Marine Forces Reserve hosted 103 events and participated in 10 Joint Service events with a total of 4,651 attendees, which includes Marine Forces Reserve Marines, Sailors, and their qualifying guests. The highest frequency of events were pre-deployment trainings.

In Fiscal Year 2014, the Marine Corps anticipates continuation of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, but recommends a reduction in the number of events due to an anticipated decrease in combat operations. In light of future budgetary concerns, Marine Forces Reserve has worked internally during Fiscal Year 2013 with its Marine Corps Family Team Building staff and Family Readiness Officers to develop alternative methods of delivery of the Yellow Ribbon training in order to ensure that the Yellow Ribbon mission can be accomplished regardless of funding levels. This includes developing webinars, mail-outs, and working with the Family Readiness Officers to leverage local resources at no cost.

We continue to be supportive of Military OneSource, which provides our Marines, Sailors, and their families with an around-the-clock information and referral service via toll-free telephone and internet access for counseling and on subjects such as parenting, child care, education, finances, legal issues, deployment, crisis support, 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 remain a staunch advocate for these programs and services and continue to reintegrate and align our programs and services to meet current and future challenges. The combined effect of these programs is critical to the readiness and retention of our Marines, Sailors, and their families, and your continued support of these programs is greatly appreciated.

Supporting our Wounded, Ill, or Injured Marines and their Families

We continue to work closely with the Wounded Warrior Regiment (WWR) to ensure there is one standard of care for all Wounded, Ill, or Injured (WII) service members - whether they are Active or Reserve. The WWR holds high levels of subject matter expertise concerning the unique challenges faced by Marine Reservists and has established care assets accordingly. For example, the WWR has dedicated staff -- the Reserve Medical Entitlements Determinations Section -- to specifically maintain oversight of all cases of Reservists who require medical care beyond their contract period for service-connected ailments. We requested increased partnerships with the WWR and in April 2013, the Regiment assigned a liaison to my headquarters command to provide care and support to our WII Marines and unit command elements. Additionally, the WWR dedicated five Reserve-specific Recovery Care Coordinators to provide one-on-one transition support and resource identification required to support WII Reservists and families who are often living in remote and isolated locations. The WWR also has District Injured Support Coordinators - geographically-dispersed mobilized Marine Reservists -- who assist Reserve Marines throughout the country, which includes face-to-face contact.

Regardless of the global security environment, recovery care support must be enduring. We will continue to work with the WWR to establish resources and programs that address the unique needs of our Reserve population.

Conclusion

The Marine Corps is our Nation's crisis response force and will continue to be most ready when our Nation is least ready. As part of the Marine Corps Total Force, Marine Forces Reserve's commitment to organize, man, train, equip, and provide forces to augment, reinforce, and sustain the Active Component in support of combatant commander requirements remains so very vital now and for the future. We live in a world of increasingly complex security challenges across the globe and fiscal uncertainty at home, but we stand ready, relevant, and responsive to meet any current operational requirements and energetically respond to future emergent contingencies. Your continued unwavering support of the Marine Corps Reserve and its associated programs is greatly appreciated. Semper Fidelis!

Read this original document at: http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/ht-defense.cfm?method=hearings.download&id=63de44de-c9e7-4f95-b025-be6ae918a6d8