T-55, they’ve got to meet a little higher standard. And when they get to their MOS school, they have to meet the MOS standard.
And how are women doing? Are they integrating into these combat special- ties, or is the wall for many too high? We had two female officers go to artil- lery school. One was the honor grad. They’re both in artillery units. We’re going to have some female officers go to armor school. We have not yet had a female complete the Infantry Officer Course. I’m confident we will.
We off ered female Marines who
were in the Ground Element Inte- grated Task Force and earned their MOS to stay on. So three of them are going to an infantry unit this year. We will put other females in other MOSs in that unit. They’re going to
be the pioneers, the pathfi nders. We didn’t expect that there would be a huge propensity to do this.
You didn’t expect it and haven’t yet gotten it? We haven’t yet got it. That said, our recruiting goal this year is to in- crease the number of women overall in the Marine Corps to 10 percent, from just under 8 percent now.
That’s in recognition that … There are more billets open, so more opportunity. But standards are also high.
The service chiefs for several years have urged Congress to help them control personnel costs. So the military has seen a series of pay-raise caps, a new retirement plan, and some crimp- ing of housing allowances. How do you explain to Marines what’s occurring on compensation reforms? Most Marines understand we don’t think anyone is overpaid in this busi-
PHOTO: SGT. TYLER MAIN, USMC
The Marine Corps aims to increase the number of women in the service by 25 percent.
ness. There have been a number of [provisions passed in recent] defense bills to try to get at personnel costs, which have gone up while budgets have gone down. The Marine Corps is a people-intensive organization. In- cluding civilians, almost 70 percent of our budget goes to pay for people. That doesn’t leave a lot for operations and maintenance and modernization and facilities. Everybody wants to train, to have new gear and good facilities. So there’s that tension. And everybody is struggling with it.
I don’t know how many town
halls I’ve done with Marines [since becoming commandant]. But only one guy has asked me about money. Most of my audiences are on their fi rst enlistment, and they’re single. I say I hope they’re saving a lot of money because they don’t have many expenses. When they get out, they should have a substantial amount of money in one pocket and their Post- 9/11 GI Bill, [which is] a $70,000 to $80,000 full-ride scholarship in their other pocket. So take those and make whatever they want happen.
Now, if you’re [a] married, young
Marine, you probably don’t have a lot of money. You’ve got a family and a diff erent set of motivators. Base housing, which is a public- private venture most places, is pretty nice, but you need context. I remember what it used to look like. So, when I drive by I go, ‘Wow, look at that! That’s incredible!’ But Marines today never saw what it looked like before. They just think, ‘That’s the way it is.’
So far, you don’t see a dampening of compensation growth negatively im- pacting recruiting or force retention? Certainly not in recruiting. You get medical [coverage], a place to live. We feed you. You’re getting paid. You came in to do something for your country, go around the world, and test yourself. I think we meet that requirement.
For folks who stick around, there
are the facilities and benefi ts on base or even out in town with [a] housing allowance. I haven’t heard anybody complain too much. My wife has a pretty good intelligence network about what’s going on with families. I know, for example, that every PCS [re- assignment] move is a little more chal- lenging this year because of [diffi culty] getting moving companies and quality for that service. I’ve heard it from gen- erals and lance corporals. So am I concerned about com- pensation? Yeah. But there are two sides to that coin. I want our people to stay. At the same time, I am con- cerned about all the other recapital- ization and training and facilities we have to maintain. That’s a very diffi - cult problem; a balancing act.
MO
— Contributing Editor Tom Philpott’s most recent feature article for Military Offi cer was “Partnerships in the Asia-Pacifi c,” July 2016.
NOVEMBER 2016 MILITARY OFFICER 55
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