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"Despite short notice and a holiday weekend, service members turned out in droves to make sure a commission studying how to streamline military pay and benefits knows what matters to them most.
Many of those who spoke at the hearing with four members of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission described anxiety among the rank-and-file over low military pay and uncertainty about their future jobs.
"That financial distress is actually adversely impacting the integrity of your force," LeCresha Dunnings, who works for the Fleet and Family Service Center in Norfolk, told the panel members.
"Our goal is to retain military members," she added. "Unfortunately, sometimes - and we are seeing that increasingly - it's easier for them to get out to take care of their families."
The meeting was the first of several public hearings the commission will hold around the country to gauge what compensation issues most affect service members.
The commission's focus is on pay and compensation, health care, retirement and quality of life, Chairman Alphonso Maldon told the more than 125 people in the audience at the Waterside Marriott on Monday night. Its goal is to ensure the long-term viability of an all-volunteer force; quality of life for service members and their families; and fiscal sustainability for all military pay and retirement programs.
The panel also held daytime sessions in Norfolk on Monday and Tuesday to hear from invited witnesses, including unit commanders, senior enlisted service members and medical services. It will make its recommendations to President Barack Obama and Congress in the spring. "
"Despite short notice and a holiday weekend, service members turned out in droves to make sure a commission studying how to streamline military pay and benefits knows what matters to them most.
Many of those who spoke at the hearing with four members of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission described anxiety among the rank-and-file over low military pay and uncertainty about their future jobs.
"That financial distress is actually adversely impacting the integrity of your force," LeCresha Dunnings, who works for the Fleet and Family Service Center in Norfolk, told the panel members.
"Our goal is to retain military members," she added. "Unfortunately, sometimes - and we are seeing that increasingly - it's easier for them to get out to take care of their families."
The meeting was the first of several public hearings the commission will hold around the country to gauge what compensation issues most affect service members.
The commission's focus is on pay and compensation, health care, retirement and quality of life, Chairman Alphonso Maldon told the more than 125 people in the audience at the Waterside Marriott on Monday night. Its goal is to ensure the long-term viability of an all-volunteer force; quality of life for service members and their families; and fiscal sustainability for all military pay and retirement programs.
The panel also held daytime sessions in Norfolk on Monday and Tuesday to hear from invited witnesses, including unit commanders, senior enlisted service members and medical services. It will make its recommendations to President Barack Obama and Congress in the spring. "