"...An influential senator said he supports the idea of modernizing military retirement, but wants to take a close look at the research and analysis underpinning the latest proposal for historic change.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, leads the Senate Armed Services Committee's personnel panel, making him one of Washington's most important figures in the emerging debate about overhauling military retirement.
Graham signaled cautious approval for the new proposal that would shrink the size of traditional military retirement pay by about 20 percent and also add a new defined-contribution benefit for troops who serve fewer than 20 years.
"This committee wants to embrace modernization, but it won't be punitive," Graham said at the close of a two-hour hearing on the topic..."