Sponsored by the navy credit union. We would be proud to serve you too. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption contenand acaccuracy. Visit ncicicap. Org] welcome to efense news. A look at how defense contractors are performing as the pentagon feels the budget pension. First, women in combat. There are00,000 women in uniform, 15 of f u. S. Forces. S. Last week the pentagon said the process of integrating women into combat j jobs will be completed next anywhere he first. Two years ago, leon panetta and general Martin Dempsey order that no jobs should be offlimits to women, including infantry armor and special operations posts, as long as women meet the requisite standard, noting that female troops have performed well in action in afghastan iraq, and elsewhere. The process of fully integrating women got a major boost 20 years ago when women were allowed to fly combat missions, server board frontline warships, and support combat troops. Currently military is reevaluating the physical standards for combat jobs. Female officers have yet to complete demanding marine infantry officers training. The army is assessing how to best open its elite ranger training to women. Joining me is the pentagons director and officer of enlisted personnel management, leading the pentagons effort to integrate women in combat or in combat. She became an officer and served as a combat engineer during two tors inn iraq before retiring in 2008. Welcome aboard. You are charged with overseeing this process of creating genderneutral standards across the force, which is a massive job even that there are so many occupational specialties in all the services that do have physical fitness requirements or physical requirements or strength requirements army, infantry, artillery being among them. How are you reviewing the standards to make sure they are jobrelated and not gender related . First i want to say we are on track towards meeting that generate first 2016 deadline you mentioned. January 1, 2016 deadline you mentioned. 90 of our occupatio are open for the assignment of men or women. When secretary panetta and chairman dempsey first decided to do away with the rule prohibiting the assignment of women to direct Ground Combat units, they established an interim milestone, the first of which was to review and validate those stanrds to ensurure that they are current, operationally relevant, and genderneutral. A lot of people focus on those occupations still closedd to women, but the services are reviewing all of the occupations over 1000ifferent occupations a significant list, and that is taking some time. What will be completed by january . What does it mean . And 2012e opened 14,000 positions to women. Following the removal ofhat direct combat rule, we have opened an additional 71,000 positions already. We have women serving in places where you might be surprised to see them. We have women in Field Artillery tank mechanics, women serving as crew managers for multiple launch rocket systems. We have also opened an additional 71,000 positions since then. I january 1, theecrery and chairman will announce their final dedecisions on opening all remaining positions at that time. One of the other progress elements has been on nuclear submarines. It opened up, at least on Ballistic Missile subs. Tell me about some of the standards that you found that if kept women out of ceain career fields that you found or not gender related at all but maybe historical quirks. What we have found is the way that we fight has changed. The way we are orgizedn some of our equment. When we arted looking at the standards, we wanted to make sure they were correct and relent. When the army for started looking at the standard for an airborne soldier, the pack weight was 45 pounds. It has been 45 pounds as long as anyone can remember. Why is it 45 pounds . Is it ammunition, water, meals . When the army comma started looking back, they found that 45 pounds where that came from, that is the minimum amount of weight a soldier needs to have nging below them when they jumped out of an airplane. Anytng less than 45 pounds, the pack would f fly up and get caught in the risers. The airborne standard had nothing to do with being a soldier or infantryman. Gettingeady for this interview i love historical quirks likike that. Its always fasnating to see them go away ultimately. Several folks in getting rid of for this interview, said there is a difference. Between those who are in a convoy and engaged in combat when their convoy is attacked anthose who are the frontline units, c clearing the way ahead of their convoy i dont have that experience, that you do. Is there a difference in terms of the types of combat between the sortrts of stuff you see as a supporting unit and frontline force . There used to be. We have seen a change in the way that we fight, the way we use Forward Operating bases. There are no clear front and rear lines as are used to be. One of the main reasons i joked that women have been in combat since the revolutionary war just how w we do things has changed. The review of the standards is important. We neeto make sure we have the standard correct and that way we can make susure we have the right person for the job. About the standards, there is a perception by some that this entireffort is to dumb down standards by those folks whoo oppose women in direct combat jobs. On the other hand, there are those who fear the whole process will end up supporting standards that keep women out of combat jobs. Hohow do you respond to those criticisms that they will either be engineered to be inclusive or engineereded to continue exusion . I would say itsot about raising standards or lowering standards. It about having the right standard. One of the key reasons why the services were told to valilidate the standards to make sure they are current, are they reflective of what we do today . Is it reflective of what is required to actually do the job . Course, the requirement by law to be genderneutral. If you have the right s standard, there should be no question. One of the questions is that you are also perhaps going to reduce occupational injurs that folks have because certain weight and Living Standards may be omoded and were the result of some injuries. It could be. That is one of the things the services are looking at, injury rates for men and women, and injury prevention. One of the things at the time it t was lifted, there was a lot of talk about whether womens integration particularly in any of these jobs ash the question is, are there going to be enough folks who are interested to fully fill these jobs out so it doesnt become an oddity in the force but something that is natural acros the board . Are there enough interested women in these jobs did what adership said two years ago which is that we want to have enough womenen doing these jobs. We have done tse types of openings ovethe years. We have learned a lot from that. We have learned its important toave leadership, its important to have mentorships. You want to put more senior women in personal experienence. There are women that are interested. Time will only tell, but the more opportunity that we can provide, im certain there will be people that will be interested. Could there be certain fields that do ultimately remain closed, perhaps for lack of interest or not enough women being interested in them, or not getting that mix right . You want officers and ncos and listed folks so there are role models. The secretary and chairman did tell the services they could request an exception to policy to keep a certain position or occupation closed. Any request for an exception will have to be rigorously justified and based on the knowledge,kills, and abilities required to do that. Coming up, more of he interview with julia behler, the pentagons point persono open jobs to women. You are welcome back. We are considering our conversation with julia baylor, whos in charge of dods efforts to open combat jobs to women. There has been a lot of talk about women in combat. One of the questions being asked was what happens to elite units in the special operations community. Where does dod stan onfforts to open those highly selecve career fields . When secretary panetta and the chairman did away with the direct Ground Combat rule, there is also a restriction specific to opetions and longrange rennaissance. There was a recognition that that was a unique set of circumstances. The secretary had special Operations Command develop their own n unique Implementation Plan so they could look at this specifically. In the same way the services are reviewing and validating their occupapational standards, special operationsommand is going through that same process for each of their components for their Army Special Forces and for Marine Special operations forces. That process is ongoing. It will be completed by september 2015. And in the general will bring forward his recommendation. Despite two years of effffort, the marines have failed to pass a single volunteer female through the infantry officers courseficers fail as well and tried to go into what is the marineorpss flagship specialty. How is the data that you are collecting during this process how will that data be used to determine whether or not to open the ne infany officerss mmunity to women . The commandant h has any number of effort gogoing on. That is just one element of the data he wiwill be using to make his recommendation. He also s Ground Combat element, integrated Task Force Effort that is goingng on in california, and i believe all those pieces will be brought together for him to make his recommendation. Is thera concern that in the event that some of these jobs are not opened, do you think that ultimately there is no impact . Will there b understanding if because of what ever reasons timately, sosome jobs to remain closed, do you think that has a negative repercussion . Ii could see this from a female officers standpoint that in the marines, the infantry career field is what t vances me in the army. It is rangers that advanay. Alternately, does that become something that becomes a careerlimitg thing, or is that will be understood by the force if and him. Process is followed to say this is why se jobs are ntot open . All of these things will be considered. As each of the Service Chiefs make their recommendations, they are sharing their other services. All of those things will be taken into consideratn when the secretary ultimately decides. Marine and military careers alwaysys require sustained sacrifice. You had it. Generally that is s at the expense of family. Qualified female officers regularly decide examples ive known throughout my career, well for the family i passed up a general officer promotion or i decided to get out of a Warfare Community that they were doing well in and were successful in in order to raise a family. There are a whole bunch of factors at go intot. Proportionally therere more more in more men in the force. What can you do to retain highly qualified female officers at would do well in the warfare specialties and decide that for a variety of reasons, im not gogoing to end up pursuing it, which has an effect downstream in terms of the sesenior officer you are retaining. People make choices for all differenent reasons, but t that is an issue we a are concern about across the force, not just f women but for men. One of the programs that apartment is lking at is a career intermission ogram whereby we are looking at ways to make it easier for people perhaps to take timeme o off in their carr to go address family issues, to take care of educational issues or kids. We are looking at ways to maintain that family life for all l service members. Would you maybe ed to phase some of the training differently . In talking to folks familr with the army, they will say there is a lot of interest by women to go into the ranger course, which is important for future promotions, but not as much interest in the infantry ich is a breadandbutter sort of thing which is very tough duty. Could you end up saying wait a minute, until we bolster t the ranks of infantry women maybe we want to forestall guys pursuing ranger qualalification . Could you u see facing some of this stuff differently to see if you can grow certain career fields or narrow ststf to increase the number of women them as a springboard to broader combat integrationon . I certainly cat speak for what the army may oror may not decide, but that is one of the guiding principles, making sure we looking anot only the career fields, but all of the professional Development Schools that go along with a full career path to make sure we are opening those, to make sure that when we do decide to open an occupation or position to women that she can be successful all the way to the top. Do you have any concerthat ultimately might not have in any fields the right balance you are lookinfor of rank and fil is a challenge for the force. We are going through the drawdown, looking at managing. As we contue to expand and open opportunities, this will give us a wider pool of qualalified people from which to draw. What do you do with all of this great data on human capability you are gathering in the process of going through this . One of the things we have talked about is aside from the women in service review. This review and validation of standards, we are going to be on much more solid ground with regard to what our true requirements are, and perhaps have a healthier force on the and. Thanks very much. Im excited to see w what is going to happen. So are we all st of luck. Up next,t, how defense contractors are bearing up. I stood outside, assessing the situation. I knew it could rough in there but how rough . There was no way to know for sure. Hey guys. Daddy, its pink but hey. A new house its a blank canvas. And we got a great one thanks to a really low Mortgage Rate from Navy Federal Credit union. Pink so shes a princess. You got a problem with that . Oorah oorah open to the armed forces and their families for over 80 years. Navy federal credit union. The pentagon has b been f feeling the budget pinch over the last few years and numerous programs have been scrapped, shelled, or stretched out rate that has some worried about the future of defense contractors, which developed the cutting edge weapons that keep the u. S. Military ahead of its competitors. Here to talk about the Financial Performance of thosehings, byron, welcome to the show. I do companies in this industry perfrform financially in the midst of this budgetary uncertainty . Its tempting to group them together. You have the very large primes, midtier companies that are publicly traded, and a whole slew of companies that are private that d dont get a lot of visibility. At the toptier industries, it is going well. Some of the Smaller Private Companies are releasing a mixed enenvironment here. Also the service providers, right . Those guys got hit pretty hard. They did. The stocks had a pretty good year in 2014. Stock values are at near or rerd highs at this point. Why are the companies in this sector trading so hard even though there is budgetary uncertainty clouding the future . There are two factors. People dont look at defense stocks in a vacuum. They look at a relative to Everything Else in the market. If you think about what is been going on in Global Economic affairs how Interest Rates have trended, defense stocks have done pretty well if you are managing a portfolio where you have to control these other factors. The industry itself has been doing prettyty well. Primes have been hitting their numbers. They have record profit margins. Dividend yields have been a big factor with low Interest Rates. Its a combination of factors not just what is going on in the industry. If you are a fund managerer you are seeing regular, steady, and hefty dividend payouts. Youre having buybacks, which everyones doing. It is helping you make your numbers. It is also just to put this in perspective. Lockheed martin, their dividend yield if you own stock and you get the dividend per year, you get a 3 account. And initiative began several years ago. There is a formalized Defense Initiative that looks at the technologies for the future. What are the companies doing with their r d spendining at this point . Youre seeing some stratification. Some companies have leaned foard a bit. The exhibit a in this category has been raytheon. They won sommajor radar contracts last year as a result of an investment rate its hard to see people coming back on r d. Youre seeing people talklk more openly with their shareholders. They are willing to invest and put money to work. For raytheon, that was a massive payout. And obviously the air force, big wins for them. There are still those investors and companies who say there isnt that much visibility out there about the future. You are paid to look at visibility. How much visibility is there out there about the future . This is the only sector i know wre the customer publishes a fiveyear spending plan. We can disagree with how that plan will actually play out. There has been analysis done o on that. The claims that theres a lot of uncertainty and companies dont know what to do, compared to a lot of other sectors, i i think ople would b be surprised. There is a lot of visibility and the department of defense does not make abrupt 90 degree turns when it comes to the broad direction of what they are trying to do. Companies are shaping that battle space on a daily basis. What is wall streets fundamental view of t Defense Innovation initiative and some of the other moves the pentagon has made . Its evolving. Most investors right now are still focused on the capital deployment strategies, sure buybacks dividends. Theres a believe that we bought them there, were going to see a moderate increase in dod investment spending. International markets arpretty good as well. As the Innovation Initiative takes form in 2015 this is something a lot more people will be focused on. It suld resultn new programs , maybe some more initiatives for companies to invest, anit may challenge some current progra. We have aboutut 30 seconds left. Tell me how the entire Defense Industrial landscape is actually maybe already changing before people fully appciatit. Its s anotr gigantic issue for this industry. If you think about spacex, what is happening in uavs or you have parallel commercial sectors that are great drivers of technogy, theyre attracting capital, a probably antly, talent. The y young engineers are people willing to take risks. That is something dod has to capitalize on. Byron, thanks very much. I think we will do a show on this dedicated to looking into the futurere of the industry. I would like you to be a part of that. Terrific. Money minute, Navy Federals personal financial expert shares tips on how to fix your credit if you are drowning in debt. This happens to the best of us. We get in over our heads or unexpected events and decimate our budget. The most important thing is to keep paying your bills on time as much as you can so you dont adversely affect your cred. You will need to consolidate yourebt. You have a few options. You can transfer high rate in balances to a low ratate card, get a personal loan, or a Home Equity Loan or line of credit. Balance transfers are quick and easy, but you have to play it smart. Find one without aransfer fee. If you can pay off your balance within the promo period, this is something you should consider. Or you can get a personal loan. Once you get the funds you can pay off all your debts and you will only havone loan to repay. Make s sure this loan will improve your situation. A short repaymen period means higher monthly payments. If you own your home, consider a home equity line of credit or an equity loan. It works a lot like a credit card. Use a funds as you neneed it and pay interest on what you borrow. Home equity loans work like a personal loan. You borrow a onemonth lump sum. Consolidating your debts into a Home Equity Loan puts your home on the line. Make sure you can repay the loan. Once you are on the road to recovery it can be tempting to splurge here and there. Debt consolidation is only a success when you have changed your spending habitsor a better f future. Thanks veryuch. Wewe will see yoyou next week. If you have any financial questions, please let us know at vago d for decades the u. S. navy force has lacked requirements araround how to organize. It is a. 1 of americas top naval analysts estimating for yearars. Now the Surface Force finally has a comprehensiv strategy. Last week the Navy Association conference andnd tradeshow v vice admiral, commander of u. S. Navy Surface Forces presented a concept to equip the fleet with more and powerful longerrange weapons. D lethality. Giveven the shortage of offensive weapons across the fleet, the soluon will have major resource impmplications. Momore weapons on warships means of buying more of what is already on inventory, as well as developing new weapons. Intetegrating them with current and new commanand control systems, training crews to use and maintain them, and developingew operational concepts to realize their full potential. This new requirement comeses as a navy struggles to realalize existing plants that are more ambitious than projected budgets allow. Warships can serve many roles, but their primaryry mission is to project overwhelming power at sea. Success depends on an abundance of affordable, precise, and powerful weapons andnd able commanders who know how to use them innovatively and effectively. Fix for watching. I am vago muradian. If you have any questionons or comments or r suggestions, please email me at vo defens enews. Com. Have a great week. [music] dr. Charles stanl if youre genuinely saved, you will never be happy or satisfied living in sin. You will not. You cannot, you know why . Because you have a whole different nature. You have the spirit of god within you, convicting you of sin. Many people will tell you that theyre saved. Theyre not saved. They believed about him, but theyre not truly believed in him, surrendering their life to him. Malannouncer next in touch, the missing lk. [music] amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me