Navy Offers Student Debt Payback to Boost Recruits
The Navy is now offering to pay up to $65,000 in student loans for new recruits who are able to ship out by Sept. 30. The service is also offering some recruits up to $50,000 as an enlistment bonus. “They are not mutually exclusive, so if a future sailor maximizes...
New $1 Billion Ukraine Aid Package to Be Announced Soon
The Biden administration may announce as soon as today that it is preparing another security assistance package to send to Ukraine, Reuters reported. The package could be worth about $1 billion and include munitions for long-range weapons and armored medical transport...
Attorneys Want Navy to Permanently Move Pearl Harbor Families
Lawyers representing military families at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam are asking the Navy to permanently relocate the families to ensure they have safe water. “The circumstances are dire and immediate,” the attorneys, representing about 150 families, wrote in a...
Lawmakers Impressed with Marine Corps’ Modernization Plan
Congressional appropriators have expressed praise for Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Daniel Berger’s Marine Corps Force Design 2030 initiative, CQ noted. The plan would make the Marine Corps more light, nimble and self-sufficient. In a report accompanying the fiscal...
Ryder Named Pentagon Press Secretary
Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, a one-star general who leads the Air Force’s public affairs office, has been named the next Pentagon press secretary, according to a statement Thursday from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “I am confident that I will benefit from his...
In Our Communities
About 1,200 Fort Bragg, North Carolina soldiers are being displaced after an inspection last week by Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston, who found their barracks to be moldy and unlivable, according to Military.com. “Army leaders have committed substantial...
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Snap of the Week
Members of the 81st Security Forces Squadron and Chase the Paw Patrol dog greet military children for the first day of school at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi on Aug. 4 U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue
Broad Group of Lawmakers Pushing for More Housing Oversight
A bicameral, bipartisan bill would increase oversight, stakeholder engagement and transparency in privatized military family housing, according to a press release from the bill’s sponsors. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services...
Vets Can Apply for Burn Pit Bill Benefits Soon
President Biden is expected to sign the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act into law Monday, expanding benefit for up to 3.5 million veterans exposed to toxins during their service. But the Department of...
RIMPAC Participation Marks Multiple Coast Guard Firsts
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Midgett completed its participation in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022 exercise with several Coast Guard firsts. “RIMPAC 2022 featured the exercise’s first mass rescue operation, the first time a Coast Guard Cutter led a combined task...
Senate Sends Burn Pit Bill to Biden; 3.5 Million Vets to Benefit
With an 86-11 vote, the Senate on Tuesday passed the final version of legislation expanding benefits for veterans exposed to toxic chemicals. “Today’s passage of the PACT Act is a landmark victory for veterans of all ages, of all conflicts and their families,” Tim...
DOD Deleted Jan. 6 Texts of Senior Leaders
DOD wiped clean the phones of several senior Pentagon leaders in the final days of the Trump administration, erasing Jan. 6 text messages from then-acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller then-Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and others, as The Washington Post...
Burn Pit Bill Also Allows Lawsuits Related to Past Camp LeJeune Water Contamination
The PACT Act that passed the Senate Tuesday also contains a less-discussed provision allowing people to sue the federal government compensation if they were exposed to contaminated water at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, as Roll Call reported. The Navy and Marine Corps...
Army Official: 90% of Environmental Sites Clean; Cleanup ‘Has Come a Long Way’
The Army is continuing to apply its “worst first” principle for sites that need environmental cleanup, Amy Borman, deputy assistant Army secretary for environment, safety and occupational health, recently told House lawmakers, as AUSA reported. She said the service is...
$550M More in Ammo, Other Aid Headed to Ukraine
The U.S. is sending another package of aid to Ukraine, including ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and 75,000 rounds of 15mm artillery ammunition, the Pentagon announced in a Monday press release. It’s the Biden administration’s 17th drawdown of...
In Our Communities
The Kentucky Air National Guard has been helping rescue people and pets from homes flooded in the eastern part of Kentucky, WLKY reported. “I’m very, very proud of our men and women,” said the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron’s commander, Maj. Ian Williams. “I thought...
Senate GOP Wants More for Defense; CR Likely
Senate Democratic appropriators laid out a plan last week that would allocate $850 billion for national security next year, $792 billion of which would go to the Pentagon. That’s a nearly $64 billion boost over the current year’s spending, as On Base reported. They...
Senate Leaders to Try Again this Week to Pass Burn Pit Bill
Veterans advocates and many lawmakers were shocked last week when some Senate Republicans changed their votes, blocking legislation expanding benefits for veterans exposed to toxic chemicals. The Senate had easily passed the bill before the House sent it back with a...
Three ADC Regional Forums Coming Up
Registration is now open for a series of regional forums hosted by ADC and its partners. The events are a way to discuss such issues as installation resilience, infrastructure priorities and defense policy with a focus on local needs and solutions unique to a...
In Our Communities
An Army contract for BAE Systems will keep Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Virginia operating through 2026, The Roanoke Times reported…. Fort Hood, Texas has become the first military installation to receive an award from the National Association of Volunteer Programs...
Senate Appropriators Recommend Boosts in DOD, Military Construction
Senate Democratic appropriators released their fiscal year 2023 spending bills Thursday, including a boost to defense funding. The committee is proposing $850 billion for national security, $792 billion of which would go to the Pentagon. That’s a nearly $64 billion...
Senate GOP Blocks Vets’ Toxic Exposure Bill near Finish Line
Veterans groups were ready to celebrate the final passage of landmark legislation expanding health benefits to service members exposed to toxic chemicals – until the bill’s last-minute defeat late Wednesday. The Senate previously approved almost identical legislation,...
Biden to Nominate Saltzman as Top Space Force Officer
President Biden has nominated Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman to become the Space Force’s next chief of space operations, along with a promotion to four-star general, Space News reported. Saltzman is currently deputy chief of operations. If the Senate confirms his...
D.C. Mayor Asks for Guard Help to Assist Bussed-in Migrants
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has asked the White House to activate the D.C. National Guard to help with an influx of migrants, The Hill reported. She said that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) have bussed 4,000 migrants from the...
Snap of the Week
A T-38 Talon four-ship formation flies over the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals match between the Republic and the Kansas City Sporting July 27 in Sacramento, California. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Frederick A. Brown
Deployment Update: About 10,000 U.S. Troops Still in Europe
More than 10,000 U.S. service members are still deployed to NATO and ally nations to help protect them and to support Ukrainians. About 15,000 initially deployed five months ago. Here are the current deployments, according to Military Times: 500 soldiers from V Corps...
Tester Has Plan to Help VA Upgrade Facilities
Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Jon Tester (D-Mont.), a leader in shutting own the VA commission tasked with recommending consolidation, closure, upgrades and new construction at VA medical facilities, has a plan of his own. Tester has introduced legislation...
GAO Says DOD Not Adequately Tracking Lead Exposure in Kids
A new Government Accountability Office report says there is not enough accountability to ensure the Department of Defense is tracking military children’s exposure to lead, as Military Times reported. “Without oversight, [the Defense Health Agency] cannot ensure that...
Former Sec. Miller Says No Troops Were on Standby Jan. 6
Former Defense Secretary Christopher Miller has disputed former President Donald Trump’s claim that Trump had ordered up to 10,000 National Guard members to be on standby on Jan. 6. Trump claims to have made the promise in the days leading up to the riot. “I was never...
To Boost Recruitment, Army Starts Weight Loss and Academic Programs
The Army is starting two pilot programs next month at Fort Jackson, South Carolina to prepare new recruits who don’t meet its fitness or academic standards, as Military.com and other outlets reported. New recruits who are above body fat standards by as much as 6% can...
In Our Communities
The Air Force Academy broke ground Monday on a $40 million visitor center in Colorado Springs, Colorado Public Radio reported. “[T]his is going to be a physical, multi-story front door drawing people in and highlighting the country’s premier institution for developing...