Debt Limit Talks: The Latest
President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are scheduled to meet this afternoon to talk about the looming debt limit crisis. Here’s what happened over the weekend as Biden wrapped up his G7 meetings in Japan and returned home. Treasury Secretary Janet...
Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Prods DOD on Visitor Access to Bases
Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) is leading a bipartisan effort in the House to urge the Pentagon to set rules making it easier for visitors to get onto military installations, Military Times reported. Defense officials promised Congress clarity on base access rules “in late...
CNN: DOD Quietly Tones Down Its Anti-Extremism Efforts
The Pentagon seems to have largely abandoned its efforts to combat extremism in the military, CNN reported Saturday, citing unnamed sources. DOD’s Countering Extremism Working Group made six recommendations at the end of 2021, and only one of those has been...
Air Force Offering Promotions, Decorations for Recruiting Friends
The Air Force will offer promotions and special ribbons for airmen and Space Force guardians who recruit others to join the military, Stars and Stripes reported. The promotions are meant “to inspire the next generation to serve in the Air Force and Space Force,”...
In Our Communities
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) is sending a National Guard unit to Texas for a mission “supporting Customs and Border Protection officers and agents along the Southwest border,” AP reported. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) also announced he’s sending Guard troops and...
Snap of the Week
Navy Hospital Corpsman HM2 Brett Maronbrown provides triage to a simulated casualty during a Tactical Combat Casualty Care Tier Three Instructor test at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina May 18. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Christian Salazar
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PAST STORIES
In Our Communities
An initial Air Force review shows there are no current risk factors to explain an unusual number of service members’ blood cancer diagnoses at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, AP reported. Reports surfaced in January that at least nine missileers who served at the...
Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Expand Mental Health Services for Military Families
Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) introduced legislation last week that “will allow the Secretary of Defense to waive out-of-pocket expenses for military families on TRICARE for their first three outpatient mental health visits per year, lowering...
Biden Summons Congressional Leaders on Debt Limit as Treasury Sets June 1st Alarm
The nation could hit its statutory debt limit earlier than expected and maybe as soon as June 1, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote Monday in a letter to Congress, as CNBC and other outlets reported. The U.S. would be unable to pay its existing debts. President...
Announcing ADC Connect June 2023: A Focus on Foreign Investment Near Installations
Registration is now open for ADC Connect, a June 22 event in Washington, D.C. about continued foreign investment in property around U.S. installations. “Both DOD and Congress have recently sounded the alarm on the potential national security threat posed by foreign...
Thursday: OLDCC Webinar on Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program
The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation is hosting a webinar Thursday, May 4 at 2 p.m. Eastern time on the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program, according to an announcement, which includes instructions on how to participate in the event. The...
HASC, SASC Hope to Get NDAA Through Committees this Month
The House and Senate Armed Services committees are both working to put together their versions of the National Defense Authorization Act with hopes of getting them through their respective committees this month, as Military Times reported. Committee leaders want to...
In Our Communities
Dayton Development Corporation in Ohio recently took almost 200 community members to Washington, D.C. for its 40th annual fly-in, which included meetings with members of Congress, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Edwin Oshiba, principal deputy assistant secretary...
Some Senate GOPers Want Tuberville to Lift Hold on DOD Nominations
Some of Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) Republican colleagues are starting to worry about his blocking almost 200 Pentagon nominees, The Hill reported. Tuberville is protesting DOD’s new policy to provide time off and travel reimbursement for service members who need...
Biden’s 2030 Goal for All-Electric Military Fleet Is Achievable, Energy Secretary Says
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week that it’s possible to replace the entire fleet of military vehicles with electric vehicles by 2030, as Fox News reported. “I think we can get there,” Granholm said of President...
Snap of the Week
A child rides a mechanical bull during an event hosted by the Altus Chamber of Commerce’s Committee of 100 at the Jackson County Expo Center in Altus, Oklahoma April 24. Airmen and families had the opportunity to meet Committee of 100 members, eat dinner and enjoy...
In Our Communities
Three Army helicopter pilots from Fort Wainwright, Alaska died after two Apaches crashed in Central Alaska Thursday, the Washington Post reported. A fourth soldier was still in the hospital early Friday. “This is an incredible loss for these soldiers’ families, their...
House Passes Spending Cuts, Debt Ceiling Hike
The House narrowly passed a bill Wednesday to raise the debt ceiling and cut government spending across the board. The party-line vote gives House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) the “opportunity to go and negotiate with the President,” House Majority Leader Steve...
Give Us Your Best Shot: ADC Launches First-of-Its-Kind Photo Contest
ADC has launched a new program to highlight the work of DOD photographers and photojournalists, who work every day to show the nation what military life is like at installations and when troops are deployed. The Defense Community Photo Contest celebrates...
In Our Communities
Edwards Air Force Base, California will become the first installation to have electric air taxis, starting next year, according to Stars and Stripes. The aircraft, manufactured by Joby Aviation, can carry a pilot and four passengers for up to 150 miles. “We ae honored...
McCarthy’s Opening Debt Limit Plan Has Iffy Path to Floor Passage
It was unclear early Wednesday if House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has the votes to pass a bill that would raise the debt limit to avoid a default crisis while also cutting spending. McCarthy said some members who have concerns about his bill still “want to...
Warren Tries to Advance 184 Military Promotions; Tuberville Says No, Citing Abortion Policy
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is continuing to block almost 200 military promotions because he opposes a recent DOD policy to provide time off and travel reimbursement for military families who need to travel to other states for reproductive health. “One senator is...
‘I’m the Translator’: New ADC Podcast Episode Focuses on What Inspires a Defense Community Champion
The latest episode of America’s Defense Communities | The Podcast focuses on the 2023 Defense Community Champions program, of which Navy Federal Credit Union is the official sponsor. The episode is now live on Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are available. It’s...
OLDCC Now Accepting Defense Manufacturing Community Support Grant Applications
The fiscal year 2023 Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program competition is now open, according to a Monday announcement from the DOD Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation. The official notice of funding is listed on grants.gov. “The Defense...
GAO Official: DOD Doesn’t Spend All the Facilities Maintenance Money It Gets
Despite maintenance backlogs at many installations, the Pentagon regularly fails to spend the full amount of maintenance money it is allocated by Congress to fix those problems, a Government Accountability Office official recently told Congress, according to Military...
Army Vice Chief George Nominated to Succeed McConville
President Biden has nominated Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to become the service’s next chief of staff when Gen. James McConville retires this summer. George “is a combat-proven leader who is the right person at the right time and will guide the Army...
Nine Installations and Teams Receive 2023 Secretary of Defense Environmental Awards
Seven installations and work teams in the U.S. and two overseas bases have been recognized with the Secretary of Defense Environmental Award for “their accomplishments in innovative and cost-effective environmental management strategies supporting mission readiness,”...
Navy Launches Course to Help Potential Recruits Get in Shape
A new training program is designed to help prospective sailors meet the physical requirements to join the Navy, as Stars and Stripes reported. “The men and women we recruit to participate in this program have the desire and commitment to be sailors,” said Rear Adm....
NDAA: Rogers Plans Marathon Markup, Quick Floor Vote
House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) wanted to break the committee’s long tradition of pulling all-nighters when considering the National Defense Authorization Act but can’t change the schedule this year, he told Politico, as reported in Thursday’s National...
Kendall Wants Flexibility to Move Faster on Innovation
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall is asking Congress for authority to approve new spending on design engineering, which he said “would buy us at least a year, year and a half or two years in terms of lead time,” according to Defense One. Newly designed technology...
In Our Communities
“Thousands of American and foreign troops are spread across the training ranges of Fort Hood [Texas] this month to test their ability to work together and share information to combat a large enemy force,” according to a Stars and Stripes report. Army Chief of Staff...