Pentagon Approves Service Awards for COVID-19 Operations, Activities
A new award by the Department of Defense will recognize qualifying active and reserve service members with Armed Forces Service and Humanitarian Service medals who have served during the coronavirus pandemic. “Given the global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is...
Walmart Hits Goal of Hiring 250k Veterans
Walmart has reached a goal it set in 2013 of hiring a quarter-million veterans by this year. The company has hired 265,000 veterans through its Veterans Welcome Home Commitment, and more than 44,000 of those have been promoted, it said in a press release. “I’m proud...
House NDAA Bill Funds More Medical Equipment, Protects Reservists Hit by COVID-19
The House Armed Services Committee unanimously advanced its version of the FY 21 defense authorization bill to the full House this week, with several provisions related to the coronavirus pandemic. The bill includes a $1 billion pandemic response and preparedness fund...
COVID-19 Cases Increase Among Service Members, Mirroring Community Spread
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 among service members almost doubled in June, according to DOD data. DOD reported 6,396 cases in service members on June 1, which grew to 12,521 by July 1, Military.com reported. Combined with cases among civilian personnel, dependents and...
Lawmakers Introduce Bill Proposing Local Cost Share for DCIP
Washington Representative Denny Heck recently introduced the “Defense Communities Coronavirus Relief Act” (H.R. 7290) to the U.S. House, which would “provide targeted aid to defense communities, towns across America that proudly host U.S. military installations.” The...
Trump Approves Germany Troop Withdrawal, HASC Moves to Block Measure
While the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff briefed President Donald Trump on a plan to withdraw 9,500 American troops from Germany, the House Armed Services Committee debated an amendment in the annual defense bill which would block the...
ADC wants to know how this situation is impacting your community, base and military families. Share your stories, questions and concerns to lwalcutt@defensecommunities.org.
PAST STORIES
HASC Approves Confederate Flag Ban on DoD Installations, Bases
The House Armed Services Committee held its markup of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Wednesday, and a measure passed by lawmakers would prohibit the display of the Confederate battle flag on Department of Defense land. Following the killing of...
Lawmakers Introduce NDAA Amendment to Prohibit Offshore Drilling in Florida
An amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act by Florida Senator Marco Rubio aims to limit drilling activity in the Easter Gulf of Mexico, CQ reports. Florida lawmakers say that this area is critical for military training and maintaining national security....
Lockheed Martin Adds 8,300 Jobs, $1.1 Billion to Defense Industrial Base Suppliers During Pandemic
In a company announcement last week, aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin outlined its progress during the coronavirus pandemic, which includes over a billion dollars to defense suppliers. “To date we have received more than $1.1 billion in accelerated...
Pentagon Travel Ban Remains in Effect for California, Florida and Michigan
The Department of Defense issued a memo outlining the easing of travel restrictions for permanent change-of-station moves which have been in effect during the coronavirus pandemic. The exceptions are California, Florida and Michigan; states that seen a surge in...
Fort Leonard Wood Region Tourism Committee Launches New Website to Promote Military Tourism
The Sustainable Ozarks Partnership (SOP), created by an Office of Economic Adjustment grant in 2019 has recently unveiled a new website to help develop community relations and enhance military partnerships in the Fort Leonard Wood Region of Missouri. “The website was...
Navy Hands Over Authority of Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling to Air Force
In a signed Memorandum of Agreement on June 24 between Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen W. Wilson and Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William K. Lescher will transfer the lead responsibility of Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB), Washington, D.C. to the...
Senate NDAA Includes OEA Name Change, Codification of Law
The Senate Armed Services Committee’s Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act last week stipulates that the Office of Economic Adjustment will be redesignated as the ‘‘Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation.’’ Like the Office of Economic Adjustment...
In Our Communities
The World Affairs Council of Charlotte (in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund and the American Security Project) is hosting a virtual event on June 30 titled “Pandemics and Climate Change: National Security Implications of Non-Traditional Threats” which...
House NDAA Ensures Continuation of Encroachment, REPI Programs
Rep. Adam Smith, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee released a summary of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 last week. The proposal authorizes $732 billion in discretionary national defense spending, including $69 billion for...
Survey Seeks Feedback on Military Spouse Employment
While the national unemployment rate hovers around 13 percent due to limited resumption of economic activity caused by the coronavirus pandemic, employment challenges posed to military spouses remains a pressing issue. Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) and the Institute for...
Army to Eliminate Officer Selection Board Photos to Tackle Unconscious Bias
A New York Times article published in May found that while 41 percent of the 1.3 active duty military personnel are people of color, only two of the 41 most senior commanders in the military are black. “The absence of minorities at the top means the absence of a voice...
CMSI In Action [video]
Military families adjust to the long-time challenges that come with military service, but the global pandemic has added to their anxieties. CMSI talked with filmmaker Elena Miliaresis, producer of the military family documentary, “When Time Stands Still,” about how...
Pre-Existing Conditions Play Part in Most Military COVID-19 Cases, Data Says
Most of the COVID-19 cases among active-duty military personnel have occurred in patients with pre-existing conditions, according to Military Times, which cites recent DOD data that one Army official said “was kind of a relief.” Like in the civilian community, those...
Two Navy Ships Set New At-Sea Record in Attempt to Avoid COVID-19 Risk
Two Navy ships have set a new record for time at sea, after receiving orders not to stop at foreign ports to avoid coronavirus exposure, AP reported. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS San Jacinto both left Norfolk, Virginia, in January in the early days of what...
John Deere Donates Nearly 135,000 Face Shields to VA Hospitals
With infections rebounding in many states, the fight to contain the spread of COVID-19 is far from over. American agricultural utility manufacturing company John Deere recently donated 134,600 face shields to 46 VA centers in 27 states providing additional protection...
Study Analyzes Alternatives for Reducing Army Installation Utility Bills
A study conducted by RAND Arroyo Center investigated maintaining or enhancing military base readiness while reducing utility costs. With regards to water and wastewater management, the study cited that there is a shift from trying to access new water sources to more...
Survey: Military Families Lose $5,000 in Out-of-Pocket Costs Each PCS Move
The Military Family Advisory Network (MFAN) recently released its 2019 Military Support Programming Survey which outlined emerging issues affecting service member families in the United States. The survey, which was answered by nearly 8,000 military-connected...
Senate Armed Services Committee Files FY21 NDAA
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Ranking Member Senator Jack Reed announced recently the filing of the 60th National Defense Authorization Act on Tuesday. “While I do not support every provision in this bill, it makes important...
Readiness and Personnel House Armed Services Subcommittees Approve NDAA Portions
The House Armed Services Subcommittees on Military Personnel and Readiness approved its portions of the 2021 defense authorization bill (HR 6395) by voice without any amendments on Tuesday. “As I have stated many times, our servicemembers and their families make...
Florida Governor Announces $722,000 in Grants for Defense Community Infrastructure
After an initial announcement by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis of over $2.9 million to benefit the state’s military installations through infrastructure and reinvestment grants, three projects will be receiving funding through Florida Defense Support Task Force...
Bipartisan Defense Bills Seek to Strengthen Military Bases Against Climate Threats
Over the past few years the U.S. defense community has started to experience how extreme climate-related events can cripple a military installation’s infrastructure. In order to bolster readiness and resilience, two pieces of legislation have been introduced by...
Texas Military Installations Contribute $123.6 Billion to State Economy
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced the results of study by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accountants analyzing the impact of the state’s military installations on its economy. In 2019 Texas military bases provided an economic output of $123.6 billion, 226,555...
Readiness Subcommittee Proposes Investments in Infrastructure, Quality of Life of Personnel
The Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness released its proposal for the FY21 NDAA on Monday, with a markup to be live streamed on Tuesday, June 23 at 3:00pm ET. The committee authorized appropriations for military construction, family housing and BRAC...
House Military Personnel Subcommittee Releases FY21 NDAA Proposal
Provisions of the Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel include increased basic pay of three percent, focusing on “military family readiness,” and standardization of the Exceptional Family Member program (EFMP). Chairwoman Jackie Speier and...
Tyndall AFB Implements Five Community Partnership Programs
Officials at Tyndall Air Force Base and leaders of the surrounding community announced new programs set to benefit the civilian and military community in Bay County, Florida. The first is a medical training affiliation agreement which will allow staff at Ascension...