In Our Communities
Marines and sailors at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California are working on engineering projects on Catalina Island in partnership with the Catalina Island Conservatory, according to a DOD story, which quotes a spokesperson saying it is a chance “to train hard...
GOP Senators Want FBI Investigation into Kahl’s Tweets
Senate Republicans are asking the FBI to look into whether Colin Kahl sought or disclosed classified information after leaving the Obama administration, The Hill reported. Kahl’s nomination to become undersecretary of defense for policy has been stalled as he faces...
Exchanges to Welcome More Civilian Shoppers in May, Boosting MWR Funds
A new DOD directive will open exchange stores to DOD and Coast Guard civilian employees with a Common Access Card, Military Times reported. The directive from the acting head of personnel and readiness means about 575,000 more shoppers will have exchange access. The...
COVID-19 Community Updates
Here are some of the coronavirus updates ADC is following: The Army says it is on track to have 80% of active duty service members vaccinated by July 4, Military.com reported…. About 40% of Marines have chosen not to get vaccinated, according to figures provided to...
HASC Chair Expresses Frustration with White House Budget Delay
House Armed Services Chair Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said Tuesday that the White House is moving too slowly on its fiscal year 2022 budget request and that Congress may not have time to complete appropriations work before the fiscal year starts Oct. 1, Defense News...
ADC Elects New President, Vice President, Board Members
ADC elected Bob Ross as its new president Tuesday. Ross has been serving as the board’s vice president. “ADC accomplished great things during the last year as we quickly adjusted to the restrictive pandemic environment,” said Ross, who is also executive director of...
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PAST STORIES
SASC Leaders Want Nominees to Fill Top DOD Posts
Lawmakers are increasingly frustrated by the lack of nominations for key positions at the Pentagon, Politico reported. “It’s the same thing we went through with the previous administration,” Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-Okla.) told...
Renewed Defense Partnership to Facilitate Worldwide Volcano Monitoring
A renewed partnership between the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers and the 557th Weather Wing (WW) at Offutt Air Force Base will ensure closer monitoring of the globe's 1,500 active volcanos, an Air Force press release reports. Serving as a...
Air Force Releases Results of Diversity and Inclusion Survey
Results from a recent survey conducted by Air Force Materiel Command which garnered 14,000 responses from Airmen and civilians sheds some light on the current climate of diversity and inclusion within the branch. “The survey shows that while we are opening minds to...
All DoD Beneficiaries Eligible for Vaccine on May 1
While the Department of Defense has administered at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to nearly 600,000 personnel, officials say all DOD beneficiaries will be eligible by early summer. "Based on the projections that we have, both supply side and vaccination side,...
In Our Communities
The first litter of semi-autonomous robot dogs arrived at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., to provide extra security at the base, according to a DOD story. They are the first of their kind at any installation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has named Maj. Gen....
RAND: DOD Can Help Secure U.S. Electrical Grid in Communities
Recent blackouts in Texas show the need for the Pentagon to help secure the nation’s electrical grid, according to a Defense News op-ed written by two scholars at the think tank RAND Corporation. The authors are senior operations research analyst Beth Lachman and...
Lawmakers Again Seek to Give Guard, Reservists Equal GI Bill Footing
Some lawmakers are again pushing to make GI Bill benefits for National Guard members and reservists equal to their peers elsewhere in the military, Military Times reports. “The men and women who serve in the Guard and Reserve make incredible sacrifices for our country...
Commanders Tell Congress Local Partnerships Are Key to Installation Resiliency
Top installation management commanders from the military services told lawmakers Friday that they will continue to work with states and local communities as they incorporate climate change mitigation and other resiliency goals into their master planning. Much of the...
In Our Communities
The Pentagon has approved a request from the Department of Health and Human Services to house unaccompanied minors crossing the border from Mexico at Fort Bliss and Joint Base San Antonio, both in Texas, CNN reports…. Religious leader, author and filmmaker T.D. Jakes...
Biden: ‘Hard to Get those Troops Out’ of Afghanistan by May
President Joe Biden said Thursday it is unlikely that 3,500 service members will return home from Afghanistan by May 1, a deadline set by the Trump administration. “It’s going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline just in terms of tactical reasons,” Biden said at a...
New Law Gives VA Vaccine Efforts a New Shot in the Arm
President Biden signed a bill this week to make more people eligible for COVID-19 vaccines through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill had passed Congress with bipartisan support. VA can now vaccinate all veterans, their spouses, caregivers, and recipients of...
Group of Dem Lawmakers Want Vaccines Mandatory for Military
Seven House Democrats are asking the Biden administration to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for service members, calling unvaccinated troops “a critical threat to our national security and public health,” Navy Times reports. In a letter sent this week to the White...
In Our Communities
The Department of Health and Human Services has asked DOD if it can house unaccompanied minors crossing the border from Mexico at two Texas installations, Joint Base San Antonio and Fort Bliss, Military Times reports…. An Arizona man is accused of holding 11 unarmed...
Republicans Question True Level of Extremism in Military
Some Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee questioned whether white nationalism and other forms of extremism are as rampant in the military as some people say, Politico reports. “We lack any concrete evidence that violent extremism is as ripe in the...
Kahl’s Confirmation Uncertain After Tied Committee Vote on DOD Policy Nominee
The Senate Armed Services Committee deadlocked Wednesday with a 13-13 vote on whether to advance Colin Kahl’s nomination as undersecretary of defense for policy, Politico reports. The party-line vote does not mean his confirmation hopes are over. Senate Majority...
ICYMI: More Highlights from ADC Live
You can still watch Wednesday’s ADC Live episode for free on the ADC Live website or ADC app. Here are some other highlights. Politico Senior National Correspondent Bryan Bender discussed how the aerospace and military industry are viewing the Biden administration. “I...
Ready-to-Go Projects Will Have Leg Up for DCIP Funding, O’Brien Tells ADC Live
A wider range of programs will be considered this year for funding through the Defense Community Infrastructure Program (DCIP), Patrick O’Brien said Wednesday on ADC Live. O’Brien is director of DOD’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation, formerly known as...
Fort McCoy’s Economic Impact Exceeds $1.47 Billion in FY20
Wisconsin's Fort McCoy saw an economic impact of $1.479 billion in fiscal year 2020, compared to $1.184 billion reported for FY 2019, DVIDs reports. The installation employs a total of 2,549 personnel, composed of 1,476 civilians, 509 military, and 564 contract...
Funding for White Sands Missile Range Project Restored After Being Diverted to Border Wall
While construction was supposed to start in 2019 on a new information systems facility at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the former Trump Administration diverted the project's funds to the border wall. New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) announced...
In Our Communities [03/24/2021]
Unused National Guard Armories in rural Nevada are seeing new life repurposed as municipal government facilities... Fort Riley has completed renovations to its 1st Infantry Division Museum and is set to open back up to the public in early 2022... Missouri officials...
DoD Launches ‘Chill Drills by Military OneSource’
A new mobile application released by the Department of Defense aims to help the military community relieve their stress. The Chill Drills app is offered free to service members and their families and offers a variety of mindfulness techniques to slow one's heartrate,...
Vandenberg AFB Receives $500K Grant from DOE
The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded a $500,000 grant to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to aid the installation's energy resilience and efficiency programs, Santa Maria Times reports. The grant, which was applied for in July 2020, will supplement...
DoD: ‘OIB Must Modernize for the Future’
In a congressional hearing before a House Appropriations Subcommittee, Department of Defense officials said that while significant efforts are being made to upgrade the organic industrial base (OIB), the military is still has a ways to go from being fully modernized....
Alabama Passes Legislation to Help Families Identify Military-Friendly Schools
Military families deploying to Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base will now have an easier experience finding inclusive education for their child thanks to the newly adopted Purple Star School Program through the state of Alabama. “The Purple Star Schools Program shows...
Legislators Press DoD to Prioritize Vaccine Outreach Efforts for Military Families
U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) have sent a letter to Max Rose, the senior COVID-19 advisor to the Secretary of Defense, to urge the department to take a more concerted effort to encouraging vaccine acceptance in America's defense...