During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) spoke about the attrition of skilled workers within the Department of Defense.
00:00Senator Reed. Thank you very much Mr. Chairman and thank you gentlemen for
00:05your testimony. Mr. Anderson, recruiting has always been a challenge and the
00:10chairman referred to it. There's been a vast increase in resources. It appears
00:19to be coming up. We've seen progress that was measurable by 2024, but to declare
00:25victory would be a profound mistake. Is there one thing that you would
00:29emphasize in the recruiting process to accelerate it or to maintain it? Well
00:35thank you Senator Reed. I believe the Air Force is on a correct trajectory as
00:40we have seen. They are on on a glide path now to completing recruiting goals this
00:45year. I read an article the other day that as of May 1st that the Air Force had
00:50already completed 75% of its recruiting goals. The Space Force of course
00:54historically has been very effective at doing that. Our job is to number one go
01:00to where individuals are that we can attract into this exciting career in the
01:06service of our Air Force and our Space Force. Another thing and this is purely
01:12something that I have thought about and that is that our recruiting force, the men
01:17and women who interface with young people in America to bring them into the
01:21uniform of the country. They are in a special duty assignment not in a career
01:26field as defined by an Air Force specialty code. Perhaps we need to grow a
01:30career field so that we put experts in the field. Thank you very much Colonel
01:35Anderson. Dr. Napoli, one of the problems that I'm beginning to observe and this also
01:45applies to all the services is that these offers to senior people to retire could
01:53have a devastating effect on our technical civilians with civilians. One of them is
02:01the Naval Undersea Walk Center in Newport but the NNSA, the Department of the Air
02:08Force has many centers of excellence in technology and frankly it's my understanding
02:17that it's usually the people that are the best that leave because they have
02:21tremendous opportunities outside. So would you be very conscious of that
02:26attrition in our laboratories by very skilled engineers? Senator, thank you for this
02:34important question. Admiral Hyman Rickover is the father of the nuclear Navy. He was
02:39once quoted as saying people not organizations get things done. This is a
02:44core value at naval reactors that have served for the past 20 years and if
02:48confirmed I will continue to amplify that throughout the National Nuclear
02:51Security Administration. Well thank you. The other issue too is that we have to
02:55confirm, confront rather, is the morale issue in NSA. I was approached by a woman in
03:02the airport several months ago who said five days ago she got fired because she
03:07was probationary and then she had a call last night to get back as fast as
03:10possible because they couldn't assure the security of these weapons and also
03:16their operational capabilities without her coming back so they should be part of
03:21the team. And I'm sure that's still reverberating so that's a task I think you
03:25have to address immediately. Mr. Tell, thank you for recognizing the founding of
03:32West Point in 1802 and as a proud graduate I must for the record include I was never
03:39considered one of the best engineers in the world. And so I will admit to that. But
03:46you're right. It was the first engineering school in the United States. One of the factors that we're seeing more and more is this extreme weather.
03:55In fact there are reports that the hurricane season this year could be one of the most
03:59devastating in the future. As I suggest in my open statement, how are you
04:04incorporating weather projections and in order to change the structure, the
04:10mission, the organization of the Corps of Engineers? Senator, thank you for the
04:15question. It's an important one. I'm not in the position currently so I don't
04:21have the benefit of all the the data but it's my understanding that the Corps of Engineers
04:26applies the latest data hydro hydrological models to its projects to develop projects
04:34that will withstand current demands as well as future ones based on data and science.
04:40And it's my hope that if confirmed I'll be able to serve a role leading the organization
04:47and providing guidance to deliver the best result for the public. These, as you
04:51mentioned, we have severe weather in this country and disasters that are
04:55recurring whether it's inland flooding or coastal flooding and we have to get it
05:00right. Well thank you very much Mr. Tilt. Gentlemen, thank you and I look forward to your service.
