Commission: Offer choices and see compensation costs fall
The Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission is urging President Barack Obama to endorse and Congress to enact sweeping changes to military health insurance and retirement options...
View ArticleCommission ideas on military compensation draw bipartisan praise
After decades of rejecting military compensation studies, whether from teams of Pentagon analysts or independent blue ribbon panels, Congress this year appears to be embracing the clever weave of...
View ArticleDefense plan would ‘destroy’ commissaries, industry reps say
The Defense Department’s fiscal 2016 budget request would slash taxpayer support of base grocery stores by $322 million in 2016 and by $1 billion next year, enough to “destroy” the…Click to Continue »
View ArticleNew report takes look at volunteer forces
A new “Population Representation” report on the U.S. military affirms that the four-decade-old volunteer force is a healthy cross-section of America, if just a little smarter, a little better...
View ArticleIsakson vows to ease 40-mile limit on VA ‘Choice’ card
Representatives of veterans’ service organizations predicted last summer that many veterans would be angered and confused by the arbitrary way Congress shaped a 40-mile rule for use of new...
View ArticleWounded Warrior Project keeps growing
Steven Nardizzi, chief executive officer of WWP, said the project is busier than ever filling gaps in education, counseling and other activities needed to “honor and empower” warriors of recent…Click...
View ArticleBudget blueprints alarm joint chiefs but one has lifeline
The House committee, says it has a fresh gimmick to spare the military BCA cuts in fiscal 2016: Let basic defense spending fall, as planned, but add billions of dollars…Click to Continue »
View ArticleMilitary coalition divides over compensation reforms
The Military Coalition can make Congress tremble from time to time, by presenting a united front of millions of members from more than 30 military associations and veterans’ service...
View ArticleCaution flag up on more easing of VA ‘Choice Card’ usage
An actuarial firm under contract to the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that allowing veterans who live more than 40 miles from needed VA health care to use private sector…Click to Continue »
View ArticleCommissary exchange consolidation gaining steam
Consolidation of the Defense Commissary Agency and three separate military exchange services into a single Defense Retail Activity is gaining support among policymakers inside the Department of...
View ArticleCongress steps toward blended military retirement
The replacement plan, as endorsed by the House armed services’ personnel subcommittee, is a blended system that would cut by 20 percent the value of future force annuities in return…Click to Continue »
View ArticlePanel votes for ‘blended’ military retirement plan
Despite vigorous opposition from a few colleagues who are military retirees, the House Armed Services Committee voted overwhelming on Wednesday to give future generations of service members something...
View ArticleBig Tricare plans rejected; other options considered
Both the Senate and House armed services committees have rejected two Tricare reform plans, one from the Obama administration to raise fees and consolidate the triple-option health benefit, and...
View ArticleSenators accept plan to squeeze commissary benefit
Defenders of the benefit for military families and the military resale industry fear the committee’s action, if it becomes law, would be a significant first step toward devaluing, or even…Click to...
View ArticleDual-service couples could see housing allowance slashed
Many of the 40,000 dual-service couples in the military have for years drawn combined housing allowances stateside that more than cover their rent and utility costs.Click to Continue »
View ArticleWhite House to Senate: Scuttle ‘marriage penalty’ on housing...
The Obama administration applauds several steps the Senate Armed Services Committee has taken to dampen military compensation growth next year, including support for a third straight pay raise cap,...
View ArticleDOD: Reshape ‘blended retirement’ to better protect AVF
Military leaders and Department of Defense pay experts have presented to Congress a reshaped version of that new “blended retirement” system for future service members, saying this one “best...
View ArticlePrivatized commissaries a no-go; ‘couples BAH’ cut survives
Senate Democrats are threatening to filibuster the defense funding bill, and the White House to veto it, over a Republican maneuver that adds $38 billion for wartime operations, to avoid…Click to...
View ArticleSenate votes to end the hide-the-food-stamps game stateside
The Senate has voted to end a special food allowance stateside that was conceived 14 years ago primarily to avoid more news reports of military families using food stamps. On…Click to Continue »
View ArticleMilitary hospitals to seek more challenging patient mix
The Department of Defense will ask Congress for new authorities to funnel more challenging cases into military treatment facilities, a move aimed at sustaining wartime specialty skills and overall...
View Article
