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Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter on Thursday announced a series of new policies intended to support service members and their families, including expanding paid maternity leave and access to child care and family planning options.

鈥淸O]ur calculation is quite simple,鈥澛�. 鈥淲e want our people to be able to balance two of the most solemn commitments they could ever make: a commitment to serve their country and a commitment to start and support a family.鈥�

The initiatives 鈥� the latest out of the Pentagon鈥檚聽聽鈥� bear out the military鈥檚 ongoing discussion about how to involve women more in the effort to strengthen the joint force, observers say. The new measures are also a nod to the need to be more family-friendly to compete for and retain the best talent, they note.

鈥淭his generation of sailors, soldiers, Marines, airmen, and Coasties, they want meaningful work and a fulfilling family life,鈥� says military sociologist Jacey Eckhart. 鈥淚f you can鈥檛 give that, you can鈥檛 retain these people.鈥�

Employers seeking to improve their employees鈥� work-life experience 鈥渋s a trend all over the country in different companies, because people are in competition for talent,鈥� she adds. 鈥淭he military is no different.鈥�

An upgrade for some, a downgrade for others

The new measures allow 12 continuous weeks of paid maternity leave for women across the services 鈥� a jump for members in the Army and Air Force, who currently get six weeks of paid leave. But the policy is a downgrade for those in the Navy and Marine Corps, who since last year have received up to 18 weeks of maternity leave 鈥� a fact that Carter acknowledged during his Thursday press briefing.

鈥淚 don't take lightly that 12 weeks of maternity leave represents a downshift from what the Navy pursued last summer, but I believe that we will be at the forefront in terms of competition,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 thought it was important that we have the same standard across the joint force.鈥�

Other reforms announced in the package are less detailed and drastic, but still potent for those who stand to benefit, experts say. Among the measures: expanded access to child care at military facilities from 10 to 14 hours a day, and a possible option to stay longer at a given duty station than previously allowed.

Carter also announced a pilot program in which the Department of Defense (DOD) will cover the cost of freezing eggs or sperm as insurance against any injuries that may become an issue in an active-duty service member having children in the future. 聽

鈥淭hese are little policies that will have a big impact on the people they do impact,鈥� says Amy Bushatz, associate editor at Military.com. 鈥淲hat they say to service members is: The DOD has taken the time to think through this stuff.鈥�

鈥淭hat matters,鈥� she says. 鈥淓ven if you don鈥檛 use the policy, even if it doesn鈥檛 apply to you, knowing that the DOD has taken the time to think about it matters.鈥�

We 'need them to want to stay'

In some ways, financial concerns are the driving force behind the reforms.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a dollars and cents thing,鈥� says Kelly Hruska, government relations director at the National Military Family Association (NMFA) in Washington. 鈥淲e鈥檙e training all these service members,鈥� which requires a huge investment in time and money. 鈥淗ow do we retain them?鈥� she asks.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not different from other corporations trying to retain their best and brightest.鈥�

Carter鈥檚 announcement suggests a commitment to improving the work-life experience of service members 鈥� particularly women 鈥� so that they want to be in it for the long haul.

鈥淭he Pentagon is acknowledging, 鈥業f we say we want women in the military 鈥� and we do 鈥� we also need them to want to stay,鈥� 鈥� says Ms. Bushatz, who also runs Military.com鈥檚 family blog.

鈥淭here are some realities associated with that,鈥� she continues. 鈥淢any women want to have a family life. And so to convince women to stay in the military, they鈥檙e going to have to make concessions for family life that they have not necessarily been willing to make before.鈥�

Among the main challenges, however, is distance. Deployment periods across the services range from five months to a year at a time 鈥� a nearly unmanageable span for anyone trying to start or raise a family, says Ms. Eckhart, the military sociologist.

And that鈥檚 not taking into account the actual demands of military service, or the risks that service members face when away on deployment聽鈥� both or either of which can lead to other issues for family life, she says.

鈥淭he military ... is聽trying to accommodate the real demand of military life with what young families need,鈥� says Eckhart, who has a husband in the Navy and a son in the Army. 鈥淏ut the problem is always going to be that the demand for a service member鈥檚 physical presence will never change. It鈥檚 the logistics that don鈥檛 work out.鈥�

Still, the measures are indicative of the military鈥檚 recognition of broader social trends.

鈥淚 think society as a whole is trying to find a way where we can balance work and family life. I think that鈥檚 just a constant struggle,鈥� says Ms. Hruska of the NMFA.

鈥淭his is a step in the right direction,鈥� adds Bushatz.