Many Housing Residents to Feel ‘BAH Pinch’ Too
MILITARY UPDATE: Privatized Housing Residents to Feel ‘BAH Pinch’ Too – Families living in privatized military housing units will not escape the impact of moves Congress made last month to dampen the...
View ArticleMilitary Compensation Commission’s Final Recommendations
Commission: Offer Choices and See Compensation Costs Fall – The Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission is urging President Obama to endorse and Congress to enact sweeping changes...
View ArticleCommission Ideas Draw Bipartisan Praise on Capitol Hill
by Tom Philpott There is rising confidence across the Senate and House armed services committees that 2015 will be the year Congress passes legislation to modernize military compensation, with an...
View ArticleSen. Graham Defends Military Pay Commission
Military Update: Graham Defends Pay Commission After Hearing Its Critics – Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), new chairman of the Senate armed services’ subcommittee on military personnel, has signaled he...
View ArticleDoD Plan Would ‘Destroy’ Commissaries, Say Industry Reps
by Tom Philpott The Defense Department’s fiscal 2016 budget request would slash taxpayer support of base grocery stores by $322 million in 2016 and by $1 billion next year, enough to “destroy” the...
View ArticleVolunteer Force: Middle-Class U.S. With Southern Drawl
by Tom Philpott A new “Population Representation” report on the U.S. military affirms that the four-decade-old volunteer force is a healthy cross-section of America, if just a little smarter, a little...
View ArticleIsakson Vows to Soften 40-Mile Limit on VA ‘Choice Card’
By Tom Philpott Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), new chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, promises to push for two critical changes to soften a restrictive 40-mile rule on user eligibility...
View ArticleWounded Warrior Project: Big and Getting Bigger
Military Update: Wounded Warrior Project Americans must be increasingly curious about Wounded Warrior Project with its ubiquitous TV appeals for donations to help veterans of our longest wars, in Iraq...
View ArticleDefense Budget Plans Alarm Joint Chiefs
Military Update: Budget Blueprints Alarm Joint Chiefs But One Offers Lifeline (Updated March 20, 2015) Military leaders over the past week have sharpened warnings that force readiness is unraveling...
View ArticleThe Great Divide Over Compensation Reforms
By Tom Philpott The Military Coalition can make Congress tremble from time to time, by presenting a united front of millions of members from more than 30 military associations and veterans’ service...
View ArticleCaution Flag Up on More Easing of VA ‘Choice Card’
Military Update: Caution Flag Up on More Easing of VA ‘Choice Card’ Usage An actuarial firm under contract to the Department of Veterans Affairs projects that allowing veterans who live more than 40...
View ArticleThe War to Destroy Daesh Forces
Military Update: From One Cockpit, the War to Destroy Daesh Forces The Department of Defense daily releases a list of U.S. and coalition airstrikes conducted in the previous 24 hours against Islamic...
View ArticleCommissary-Exchange Consolidation Idea Gaining Steam
By Tom Philpott Consolidation of the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) and three separate military exchange services into a single Defense Retail Activity (DeRA) is gaining support among policymakers...
View ArticleCongress Steps Toward New ‘Blended’ Military Retirement
By Tom Philpott Congress on Thursday took a first, perhaps historic step toward phasing out the 20-year-or-bust retirement system the U.S. military has used to shape and retain its career forces since...
View ArticleWages for 15,000 Commissary Employees Targeted
by Tom Philpott To save millions of dollars in compensation and ease streamlining of store operations on base, Defense officials are weighing a plan to convert the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) to a...
View ArticleHASC Votes 55-8 for ‘Blended’ Military Retirement Plan
By Tom Philpott Despite vigorous opposition from a few colleagues who are military retirees, the House Armed Services Committee voted overwhelming on Wednesday to give future generations of service...
View ArticleReserve, Guard Retirement Choices in Sharper Focus
By Tom Philpott Many current Reserve and National Guard members, particularly those who are younger and have fewer years of service, are likely next year to face a difficult choice of retirement plans....
View ArticleBig TRICARE ‘Reforms’ Rejected; Caps on Pay, BAH Raises Still Eyed
By Tom Philpott Both the Senate and House armed services committees have rejected two TRICARE reform plans, one from the Obama administration to raise fees and consolidate the triple-option health...
View ArticleSenate Panel Accepts Plan to Squeeze Commissary Benefit
By Tom Philpott The Senate Armed Services Committee has accepted a Defense Department plan to pare taxpayer support of base grocery stores, which if enacted into law would lower shopper savings at...
View ArticleDual-Service Couples Could See Housing Allowances Slashed
By Tom Philpott Many of the 40,000 dual-service couples in the military — members married to other service members – have for years drawn combined housing allowances stateside that more than cover...
View Article