Supreme Court Backs Reservists’ Job Protections
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a former state trooper had standing to sue Texas over his claim that he was forced out of his job when he returned from an Army deployment to Iraq. Le Roy Torres sued under a 1994 law that strengthened job protections for...
NDAA Set for House Floor Action Week in Two Weeks
The House will consider the fiscal year 2023 defense authorization bill the week of July 11, CQ reported. As usual, the floor debate is likely to stretch for days and include hundreds of amendments. The House Armed Services Committee’s bill authorizes up to $850.4...
House NDAA Would Combat Alaska Suicide Rate with Bonus Pay
The current version of the House defense authorization bill would provide extra pay to service members in Alaska and on the USS George Washington in an attempt to end a string of suicides, as Military.com reported. The legislation, to be considered by the House in two...
Oshiba to Join ADC Connect in July
Edwin Oshiba, acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for energy, installations, and environment will join ADC at ADC Connect on July 19 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Eastern time at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C. ADC Connect is a pop-up-style networking...
In Our Communities
A group of state lawmakers in California have proposed legislation that would replicate and complement the national Defense Community Infrastructure Program in that state, according to the California Defense Communities Alliance. CDCA said if the bill doesn’t pass...
Report: Biden to Extend Troop Presence in Poland
President Biden is expected to announce that he is extending U.S. troop presence in Poland. “The changes to the U.S. troop footprint could affect countries such as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia,” NBC News wrote after speaking with several sources. “To the extent that...
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PAST STORIES
LaPlante, Shyu Urge Reauthorization of Small Business Innovation Grants on the Chopping Block
The Small Business Administration’s Innovation Research and Technology Transfer awards are seen as a way to help small businesses drive innovation within 12 federal agencies, with DOD accounting for most of the awards. The program, which has been around for 40 years,...
House, Senate Committees Advance Different Defense Budget Levels
The House-Senate split on defense spending levels became clear Thursday when the Senate Armed Services Committee authorized a roughly $45 billion increase to the administration’s defense budget request for fiscal year 2023. The committee’s bill would authorize $817.3...
U.S. Sending Another $1 Billion in Security Aid to Ukraine
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley announced an additional $1 billion in security aid to Ukraine this week. “This new assistance will support Ukraine’s most urgent needs for artillery, as well as near-term priorities for coastal...
Senate Passes Bill Helping Vets Exposed to Toxins
By a vote of 84-14, the Senate passed legislation Thursday to expand the list of illnesses that can be linked to military service, providing Veterans Affairs support for their treatment, as The Hill reported. It includes illnesses linked to toxic burn pits that...
EPA Issues New Warnings on PFAS Threat Levels
The Environmental Protection Agency has issued four new health advisories related to PFAS-contaminated water. “Agency officials assessed two of the most common ones, known as PFOA and PFOS, in recent human health studies and announced Wednesday that lifetime exposure...
Snap of the Week
A shooter launches an F/A-18F Super Horne from the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron 22, off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. Nimitz is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd...
SASC to Mark Up NDAA with Pay Raise
The Senate Armed Services Committee will meet behind closed doors today to mark up the fiscal year 2023 defense authorization bill. Subcommittees have advanced portions of the bill this week, mostly in closed sessions. The bill text has not been released, but much of...
House Bill Keeps Administration’s Defense Spending Level
House appropriators are proposing the same level of defense spending the Biden administration requested, according to a summary of their defense appropriations bill released Tuesday and scheduled for subcommittee markup today. “With democracy under attack in Ukraine,...
Report: Starting a Space National Guard Would Help Readiness, Some Base Leaders Say
The lack of a Guard or reserve component dedicated solely to the Space Force is making it difficult to get personnel trained, some installation leaders have said, according to a Defense One report. “We have a lot of operators that we need to send to school,” Lt. Col....
Senate Bill Would Extend Housing Allowance Boost for Two Years
Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) have introduced legislation authorizing additional housing allowances for military families with high housing costs, they announced in a press release. “Many Georgia military families have asked me to help with the...
Berger, Jacobson to Join Defense Communities at Inaugural ADC Connect Event
ADC will launch its new event series, ADC Connect, next month. The first event in the series will feature Meredith Berger, assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment, and Rachel Jacobson, assistant secretary of the Army for...
Realtors Form New Nonprofit to Ease PCS Pains
Next month ADC will launch its new event series, ADC Connect. The first event in the series will feature Meredith Berger, assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment, and Rachel Jacobson, assistant secretary of the Army for installations,...
In Our Communities
USS Forrest Sherman left its Norfolk, Virginia homeport Saturday for the Mediterranean Sea as part of NATO’s posture against Russia, the Navy said in a press release…. Former Defense Sec. Jim Mattis delivered the keynote at Saturday’s military appreciation banquet...
Senate Starts NDAA Work Today
The Senate Armed Services Committee begins marking up its version of the fiscal year 2023 defense authorization bill with a series of subcommittee hearings today and tomorrow. Most of the hearings are closed to the public, except for the Readiness and Management...
Veteran Biz Startups Need More Support from Communities, Lawmakers Hear
Veterans trying to start their own businesses could use more support to get their businesses off the ground, small business advocates told lawmakers last week, Military Times reported. “We need something akin to a health care network, where we can manage the...
Former ADC Board Member Bill Harvey Dies
Bill Harvey, a retired Army colonel and former ADC board member, died last week in Alexandria, Virginia. “Bill was part of a small group of leaders whose work really defined what it means to be a defense community,” ADC CEO Tim Ford said. “He was a member of the board...
HASC Subcommittees Approve Remaining Sections of NDAA
All House Armed Services Committee subcommittees have now approved their portions of the fiscal year 2023 defense authorization bill. The Readiness Subcommittee’s measure would authorize over $7 billion in military construction projects – most of it to be spent by the...
OLDCC to Discuss Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program on June 15 Webinar
The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation is hosting another webinar June 15 to introduce communities to the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program, which is currently accepting grant applications. The $30 million competitive grant program supports...
Baldwin Bill Would Extend TRICARE to Guard Troops, Reservists
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) plans to introduce legislation providing health coverage to National Guard members and reservists across the branches. “The Defense Health Agency is on record agreeing that health care coverage is really a readiness issue for the total...
Snap of the Week
World War II veterans attend the Normandy American Cemetery commemoration ceremony at Colleville-Sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 6. The ceremony commemorated soldiers who died in Europe during World War II. Army photo by Spc. Ellison Schuman
HASC Subcommittees Begin Approving Pieces of NDAA
Four House Armed Services subcommittees advanced their markups of the fiscal year 2023 defense authorization bill Wednesday. The Military Personnel Subcommittee approved a 4.6% pay raise for service members, which chairwoman Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) said may not be...
House Appropriators to Consider Defense Spending Bill Over Next Two Weeks
The House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee will consider the fiscal year 2023 spending bill June 15, according to a new schedule released by the Appropriations Committee. The full committee will consider the spending bill June 22 – the same day the Armed Services...
White House to Withdraw Nominee for Manpower Post
The Biden administration will withdraw the nomination of Brenda Sue Fulton to be secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs. Her confirmation has stalled in the Senate after Republicans questioned past social media posts criticizing the GOP, as Military...
In Our Communities
A new floating solar array at Fort Bragg, North Carolina is the first of its kind in DOD. It’s a partnership among Fort Bragg, Duke Energy and Ameresco to provide carbon-free on-site generation, supplement power to the local grid and provide backup power during...
House NDAA Draft Includes 4.6% Hike in Troop Pay
The House Armed Services Committee is planning for a 4.6% pay raise for service members as it drafts its version of the defense authorization bill. That figure, which matches President Biden’s request, would be the highest military pay raise in 20 years, but it is...