Bum Comparison: No Retiree COLA Vs. Military Pay Caps
By Tom Philpott Come January, some military retirees are sure to ask why they haven’t seen an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in first-of-year paychecks. About the same time, some active duty...
View ArticleDoD Replaces Plan It Concedes Put Commissaries At Risk
By Tom Philpott The Pentagon’s last two budget plans to “reform” the commissary benefit for military families and retirees were driven by a goal to save money, without due regard for preserving the...
View ArticleLawmaker is ‘Ground Zero’ for 2016 Commissary Reforms
By Tom Philpott Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) is a brigadier general in the Army Reserve, a soldier-physician thrice deployed and also a discerning commissary shopper. Heck bristles at seeing half empty...
View ArticleReserve and Guard Retirees Near to Becoming ‘Veterans’
By Tom Philpott On the eve of Veterans’ Day, the Senate passed a bill with language to grant “honorary” veteran status to as many as 200,000 Reserve and National Guard retirees — those not deemed...
View ArticleCarter’s ‘Force of the Future’ Tallies Only Modest Changes
By Tom Philpott Defense Secretary Ash Carter unveiled the “first tranche” of his Force of the Future initiatives Wednesday. They included none of the costly or controversial ideas that his personnel...
View ArticleReserve and Guard Retirees Near to Becoming ‘Veterans’
By Tom Philpott On the eve of Veterans’ Day, the Senate passed a bill with language to grant “honorary” veteran status to as many as...
View ArticleCarter’s ‘Force of the Future’ Tallies Only Modest Changes
Military Update: Defense Secretary Ash Carter unveiled the “first tranche” of his Force of the Future initiatives Wednesday. They included none of the costly or controversial...
View ArticleCongress, Beneficiary Groups Prepare for Health Reforms
Military Update: Last January the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission proposed replacing the current triple option TRICARE benefit with a menu of commercial insurance options,...
View ArticleVA Expands ‘Choice,’ Seeks Dollars to Consolidate Outside Care
Military Update: An additional 160,000 veterans became eligible Dec. 1 to receive VA-paid medical care from civilian health care providers, the result of changes to the...
View ArticleWill TRICARE Reforms Improve Access, Raise Fees, or Both?
Military Update:Retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Rodric G. Hammond of Pensacola, Fla., said he was mystified when a blue-ribbon commission on military compensation declared last February...
View ArticleStateside Housing Allowances to Rise Only 3.4 Percent
Military Update: Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) paid to a million service members living off base in the United States will rise an average of 3.4...
View ArticleTRICARE Fee Cuts for Autism Therapy Stir Access Worries
Military Update: When TRICARE this month announced cuts of up to 15 percent next year in fees for applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy of children with autism,...
View ArticleHouse Eyes Giving Widows More Relief From SBP-DIC Offset
Military Update: In a hopeful sign for 60,000 military widows and widowers who lost spouses to service-connected illnesses or injuries, a key House subcommittee is taking...
View ArticleVA ‘Presumption’ Reg Could Help Up to 15,000 Lejeune Vets
Military Update: The Department of Veterans Affairs expects up to 15,000 seriously ill veterans who served at Camp Lejeune, N.C., before 1988, when base drinking water...
View ArticleReformers Urged Not to Redefine Commissary ‘Savings’
Military Update: Advocates for preserving the military commissary benefit warned a House subcommittee Wednesday to avoid reforms that promise to preserve current savings for patrons but...
View ArticleCongress is Last Hurdle to Women in Every Combat Role
Military Update: On Jan. 8, six days before he closed out a 45-year Marine Corps career, his last job leading U.S. Southern Command, Gen. John...
View ArticleOver $1B Spent on Fixing VA Claims Backlog
Military Update: VA E-Claim System Melts Backlog But Costs Alarm Congress – Over the past five years, since Republicans won back control of the House,...
View ArticleService Leaders Pledge not to Relax Combat Requirements for Women
Military Update: Pledges, Doubts Shared Over Women in Ground Combat Jobs Army and Marine Corps leaders swapped pledges with members of the Senate Armed Services Committee...
View ArticleDoD TRICARE ‘Reforms’ Call For Higher Retiree Fees, Co-Pays
The TRICARE reform packet, Defense officials maintain, would simplify insurance options, improve access to managed care, and incentivize greater and more efficient use of military medical staffs and...
View ArticleFour Changes, Four Courses Eyed for ‘Blended’ Retirement Plan
Military Update: As many as 1.8 million active duty and reserve component members, roughly 75 percent of the Total Force, will be invited in 2018 to...
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