Senate NDAA Bill Would Expand Air Reserves to Include Space
The defense policy bill approved last week by the Senate Armed Services Committee would change the Air National Guard to the “Air and Space National Guard,” suggesting lawmakers do not want to create a separate reserve component for the Space Force. Air Force and...
Army Fighting Misinformation in Attempt to Boost Soldiers’ Vaccination Rate
Army leaders and commanders are trying to combat vaccine hesitancy among soldiers. Those who haven’t received their shots yet are typically in one of two camps, Col. Owen Price, the force health protection officer at Fort Bragg, N.C. told Military.com. “One is they...
Proposal Would Allow GI Bill Funds to Go to Business Startup Costs
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is trying again to pass legislation allowing GI Bill benefits to be applied to business startup costs instead of schooling. “Higher education is essential for many [veterans], but some have a different calling,” one of the sponsors,...
DOD’s DEI Chief Talks with ADC Live
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will soon be reviewing language that attempts to define the type of extremism that DOD wants to try to root out of the military, according to Bishop Garrison, Austin’s senior advisor for human capital and diversity, equity and inclusion....
SASC Moves NDAA to Floor with $25B Bump for Pentagon
The Senate Armed Services Committee passed its fiscal year 2022 defense policy bill Thursday after closed door markup sessions. The bill passed the committee on a 23-3 vote. There was bipartisan support for a Republican amendment to authorize an additional $25 billion...
In Our Communities
Grand Forks County in North Dakota is seeking proposals for a military installation resiliency study. “Through the MIR study, the County is looking to assist Grand Forks AFB to optimize its mission efficiency and effectiveness, installation sustainment, and enhance...
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PAST STORIES
Michigan Sens. Holding Up Kendall Confirmation over F-35 Basing Decision
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has lifted her holds on Frank Kendall’s nomination to become Air Force secretary and Heidi Shyu’s nomination to head up weapons development at DOD after assurances they would not take defense contractor jobs for four years after leaving...
Next Week: Reconnect with ADC
ADC’s first in-person event in more than a year and a half kicks off in less than a week. ADC Reconnect is taking place July 19 and 20 in Washington, D.C., just as lawmakers work on defense spending and policy bills, making ADC Reconnect a perfect way to stay on top...
Del Toro Talks Installation Resilience at Confirmation Hearing
The climate crisis requires attention because it “exacerbates every other challenge our Navy faces,” Carlos Del Toro told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday in his confirmation hearing to become Navy secretary. “Already, installation resilience is an issue,...
House Appropriators Advance Defense Spending Bill on Party Lines
The House Appropriations Committee passed a fiscal year 2022 defense spending bill Tuesday along party lines. The $705.9 billion draft is 1.4% above the current year’s spending, but Republicans say the top line should be 3% to 5% over current spending. “Now is the...
House Appropriators Critical of First Space Force Budget
A report from the House Appropriations Committee questions the Space Force’s first acquisitions budget as its own military service within the Air Force, saying it “has made little progress in defining what the Space Force will be doing that is fundamentally different...
Organization Wants to Give States More Control over Guards in Combat; Approach May Lack Teeth
A lobbying group is pushing legislation in at least 31 states that would deny the deployment of National Guard troops to combat zones without a congressionally approved declaration of war, Military.com reported. "We'll go and fight any war you ask us to do," said Dan...
Competing Senate Bills Would Reimburse Guard for Capitol Deployment
The two parties in the Senate have competing proposals to reimburse the National Guard for the $521 billion it spent to patrol Capitol Hill from January through May. Army leaders and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have said the Guard will have to cancel its trainings...
Get Caught Up
Here are some stories you may have missed over the past week: The United States military mission in Afghanistan will officially end Aug. 31. “The likelihood that there’s going to be a Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely,”...
Biden Picks Jacobson to Head Army Installations
President Joe Biden has nominated Rachel Jacobson to become assistant secretary of the Army for installations and environment, the White House announced. Jacobson is an attorney in WilmerHale’s energy, environment and natural resources group. During the Obama...
VA Secretary May Make Vaccines Mandatory for All Employees
The Department of Veterans Affairs is considering whether to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for all employees. VA Secretary Denis McDonough said it may be necessary for the protection of the staff and the veterans they serve, Military Times reported. “My goal has...
68 House Members Urge Hill Leaders to Repay Guard for Capitol Patrol
Reps. Cheri Bustos (R-Ill.) and Steve Womack (R-Ark.) now have 66 of their colleagues’ signatures on a letter urging House and Senate leaders to push legislation reimbursing the National Guard for the $521 billion it spent patrolling the Capitol complex from January...
DCIP Grant Application Deadline Approaches
Communities have less than two weeks to finish and submit proposals for Defense Community Infrastructure Program funding. Applications are due July 12. The DOD Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation shared resources Wednesday, including links to the grants.gov...
More than Half of Service Members Are Vaccinated
About 68% of active duty service members have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, but officials are concerned about threats from the delta variant, Pentagon officials said Wednesday, according to The Hill. When active duty are combined with reserve and...
Defense Budget: The Latest from the Hill
Congress is in the thick of spending discussions before leaving D.C. for the July 4th break. Here are some of this week’s developments so far: The House Appropriations Committee approved its $280 billion military construction and veterans affairs spending bill...
In Our Communities
A Republican campaign donor is privately funding a deployment of up to 50 National Guard members from South Dakota to the U.S.-Mexico border, Axios reported…. Commissaries at several bases in North Carolina and South Carolina are adding curbside pickup service,...
HASC Will Consider Military Justice Reform Bill Next Month
House Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith (D-Wash.) plans to bring a stand-alone military justice reform bill to the committee in mid-July, he told reporters Tuesday, according to The Hill. The issue is also on the table as part of the defense authorization...
Wormuth: It Will ‘Take Time’ to Fix Army’s Culture Concerns
The Army and its commanders’ necessary focus on deployments and combat over the past 20 years have contributed to some of the personnel issues installations have experienced, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said Tuesday at a House Armed Services Committee hearing....
House Appropriations Draft Boosts DCIP Funding over President’s Request
Democratic appropriators in the House released a $706 billion DOD spending bill Tuesday – slightly lower than President Joe Biden’s request. Here are some of the highlights of the bill, based on a committee summary and the draft bill text: 7% military pay raise A...
Two House Members Push for Quick Reimbursement for Guard’s Capitol Patrol
Reps. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) and Steve Womack (R-Ark.) are urging their colleagues to repay the National Guard for its deployment to Capitol Hill from January through May. Guard officials have said the patrol cost $521 million that it needs back to fund its scheduled...
Bipartisan Bill Aims to Attract More Teachers to Defense Communities
New legislation would address a teacher shortage in many military communities, a bipartisan group of lawmakers said in a joint press release. “This bill will make sure military communities are able to attract outstanding teachers, therefore helping students thrive,”...
House Appropriators to Work on DOD Spending Bill Weds.
The House defense appropriations subcommittee meets Wednesday to mark up the fiscal year 2022 defense spending bill. House Democrats have allocated $706 billion for DOD, according to topline allocations released Monday. That amount is slightly lower than the...
In Our Communities
Hill Air Force Base, Utah and Rocky Mountain Power have completed a 30,000 kilowatt-hour solar array near the base. Under the partnership, Rocky Mountain Power will own and operate it for 25 years, and Hill will add the energy it generates to its power grid, according...
Navy Upgrading Maintenance, Infrastructure at Depots
The Navy is “recapitalizing our aviation depot infrastructure,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told lawmakers last week in written testimony, as reported by Navy Times. “We are developing a 10-year master plan that provides our aviation depots the...
Senators Slow Down Kendall Confirmation
At least three Senators have placed procedural holds on the confirmation of Frank Kendall to become Air Force secretary, Politico Morning Defense reported. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wants more pledges from Kendall that he will not be swayed by his past work for...
1300+ Airmen Take Offers to Leave Early as Air Force Looks to Trim Force
More than 1,300 airmen have chosen to leave active duty service early, Air Force Times reported. The Air Force offered many early departure offers to return to its desired force size after a near-record number of airmen chose to stay in the service during the COVID-19...