February 27, 2015

On February 25, the Senior Enlisted Advisors issued a string of dire warnings to members of the House Appropriations Committee on military quality of life. In testimony before the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs subcommittee, the Senior Enlisted Advisers all agreed that potential changes to pay, benefits and quality of life programs are causing anxiety for the troops, negatively affecting morale.

The Joint Chiefs issued similar warnings in January, telling members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that the return of sequestration will negatively affect readiness and retention.

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey said, “[The troops] see it on the news every day, and they see uncertainty and it bothers them.” Adding, “What I really need is them focused on the mission and saving their fellow soldiers’ lives.”

Dailey warned, “There are no more efficiencies to be gained. The FY 2016 budget is the red line for the US Army.”

Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Cody told lawmakers that 2014 was “stressful” on the force, citing increased number of missions and personnel cuts as two of the causes.

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Michael Stevens told the subcommittee, “Sequestration is a forced diet. Over the last few years, we've lost all the weight we could afford to lose.”

Committee member Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) was outspoken in her assessment of the 2011 legislation that created sequestration, calling it, “a terrible idea,” and adding, “using the military to address budgetary issues is flat out wrong."

Rep. David Price (D-N.C.) characterized sequestration as “self-inflicted damage” and said that the meat-axe budget cuts were “never supposed to happen.”

“The service chiefs and their enlisted advisors continue to sound the alarm on the serious threats that sequestration poses to national security, readiness, and retention,” said MOAA deputy director of government relations Karen Golden. “It’s time for Congress to listen and take action.”