1.9% Pay Raise Voted for by House
6/2/10 - The House approved a 1.9% military pay raise for 2011 – higher than the 1.4% raise requested by the Administration when it passed its version of the $760 billion FY2011 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) before the Memorial Day recess.. The bill also contains increases in hostile fire pay (from $225 a month now to $260) and family separation allowance (from $250 a month now to $285). Also in the House version of the bill:

• Tricare beneficiaries would be able – for an additional and yet unspecified premium – to extend health care coverage to dependent children up to the age of 26.
• Caregivers of catastrophically wounded servicemembers would receive a one-time cash payment of up to $3,500 to cover some expenses.
• The spouses of deployed servicemembers could receive a lapel pin to identify them as someone making a sacrifice for the country.

More on the 2011 NDAA

New Coast Guard Commandant
5/26/10 - Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., USCG, relieved Admiral Thad Allen as Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. ADM Allen remains on active duty as the National Incident Commander for the nation's response to the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster and spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Stop-loss Retroactive Bonus Pay Starts
The Defense Department is paying retroactive compensation to servicemembers who were prevented from leaving the military under the stop-loss policy since 9/11. The payments apply to about 185,000 members who were not allowed to retire or be discharged on time because of an involuntary extension of active service. The Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, has said the Pentagon will phase out its use of stop-loss by early 2011. Under the new payment policy, mandated by Congress, each eligible servicemember or veteran will receive $500 (in addition to regular pay) for every month served under stop-loss. Families of troops who died while on stop-loss are also eligible for the additional compensation. There are still about 5,000 servicemembers serving under stop-loss (already receiving the extra $500 pay each month).

For more information or to apply for the compensation, the Services have set up special websites or email addresses:
Army: https://www.stoplosspay.army.mil or RetroStopLossPay@conus.army.mil
Navy: NXAG_N132C@navy.mil
Marine Corps: https://www.manpower.usmc.mil/stoploss or stoploss@usmc.mil
Air Force: www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/stoploss/

New Voting Rules Enacted to Count Military Vote
Included in the 2010 NDAA signed into law by President Obama is the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act. The act reduces barriers to absentee voting for military personnel and other overseas voters. Read Alliance for Military and Overseas Voting Rights News Release here.

Earn 10% Interest - Guaranteed!
The Savings Deposit Program (SDP) sounds just like a scam, but it's not. Servicemembers deployed in combat zones can deposit up to $10,000 of unalloted pay per deployment into an account that pays 10% annual interest, accrued quarterly. The interest earned on these accounts is taxable, stops accruing 90 days after the member returns from deployment, and generally cannot be withdrawn until the end of the deployment either. See more information on the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) website here.

Military Leave Carry-over Policy
Military leave policy now allows members to carry over 75 days rather than the previous 60 days into the next fiscal year. The policy, in place until Dec. 31, 2010, is intended to reduce the amount of lost leave caused by the current high operating tempo.

MTFs Stock “Morning After” Pill
2/10 - The Defense Department announced the “morning after pills” Plan B and the generic Next Choice are available at military hospitals and health clinics. The Pentagon’s Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee recommended the addition of these drugs in November 2009. The pills consist of a higher dose of the hormone used in most birth control pills, and are highly effective at preventing pregnancies if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex.

Military Spouses Get Federal Jobs Preference
Certain military spouses are eligible for non-competitive appointment/hiring by the Federal government. Beginning September 11th, 2009, spouses of servicemembers relocating for a new assignment, spouses of 100% disabled servicemembers injured on active duty, and unremarried widows/widowers of members killed on active duty, were able to be hired under these new preference rules. The new hiring preference authority is optional for Federal agencies, and it is unclear how many agencies will use it. With nearly half of the 400,000-500,000 active duty servicemembers transferred each year being married, the benefit has potential to help many military spouses.

2010 BAH Rates Now Available
2010 BAH rates are online here.

MyCAA Program for Military Spouses Resumes
3/12/10 - The Department of Defense announced that the spouse employment program, My Spouse Career Advancement Account program or MyCAA, resumed March 13th. The program was suspended without any advance notice in mid-February, apparently due to budgetary issues. New applications for the program continue to be halted while the program is reviewed.

Senate Confirms New Afghan War Commander
6/30/10 - GEN David Petraeus, USA, was confirmed as the new Afghanistan war commander by the Senate. In his confirmation hearing, GEN Petraeus said he would review restrictions on U.S. air strikes intended to keep civilian casualties low, but that some troops view as too restrictive and even detrimental to their combat effectiveness and safety. "I want to assure the mothers and fathers of those fighting in Afghanistan that I see it as a moral imperative to bring all assets to bear to protect our men and women in uniform," he said.

House Passes Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as Amendment to FY2011 NDAA
5/28/10 - An amendment introduced by Rep. Patrick J. Murphy (D-PA), an Iraq War veteran, to the FY2011 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would repeal the so-called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law prohibiting openly gay men and women from serving in uniform, was passed by a 234-194 vote. The language of the bill would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" only after: (1) receipt of the recommendations of the Pentagon's Comprehensive Review Working Group on how to implement a repeal of DADT (due December 1, 2010), and (2) a certification by the Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and President that repeal is first, consistent with military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion and recruiting, and second, that the DoD has prepared the necessary policies and regulations to implement its repeal.  See how your Representative voted here.  The draft of the Senate version of the 2011 NDAA contains a similar DADT repeal provision.

First Lady Announces Study of Military Families
5/12/10 - More than 100,000 servicemembers and their families will participate in the Military Family Life Project, a Defense Department study beginning in May, to help understand the challenges military families face, first lady Michelle Obama announced. She said the President has also ordered a 90-day review among 20 federal agencies to develop a government wide approach to supporting military families. Mrs. Obama urged families selected for the study to share as much as they can about their quality of life and their experience of deployments. “The readiness of our armed forces depends on the readiness of military families,” she said.

The Smoking Lamp Goes Out on Subs
4/09/10 - The Navy is banning smoking aboard submarines. The new policy will go into effect before the end of the year, and was announced by VADM John Donnelly, commander of the Navy’s submarine forces. He said the decision followed a study that found unacceptable levels of secondhand smoke aboard submerged subs. The new policy allows COs to decide whether to permit smoking on deck while subs are on the surface.

Navy Lifts Ban on Women Submariners
4/10 - Secretary of Defense Robert Gates officially gave Congress its required 30-days notice in February that the Navy intended to change its policy prohibiting women from serving aboard submarines, and no action was taken to prohibit such a policy change. It will likely be fal 2011 before any women report aboard a boat for duty. The Navy plans to phase women onto crews beginning with officers (due to berthing arrangement limitations), who typically must complete more than a year of specialized training before submarine duty. The first women officers have been selected to begin training.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" Administrative Changes
4/10 - Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ordered new procedures regarding investigations and discharges of servicemembers under the DADT policy. The new rules, which went into effect in March, raise the standard for evidence to prevent “malicious outing” by a third party source or jealous partner(s), and require that only a flag or general officer can initiate an inquiry or dis-charge proceeding. The new procedures also protect from disclosure information provided to lawyers, clergy or psychotherapists, in addition to info disclosed to doctors involved in a servicemember’s medical treat-ment or gathered in a security clearance investigation, which were already protected. The new procedures apply to any open cases, which are being reviewed by the Department to ensure compliance.

Back in March, Gates also announced that the Pentagon study concerning repeal of the so-called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law prohibiting openly gay persons from serving in uniform will be completed in 9 months (December 1st) instead of taking a year. Gates said the review will involve servicemembers and their families at all levels without regard to the politics of the issue.

Two of the most prominent U.S. war-fighting generals – GEN David Petraeus and GEN Ray Odierno – have publicly made comments that appear to support the ban’s repeal. Odierno said the policy has been a “non-issue” to him. “My opinion is everyone should be allowed to serve, as long as we’re still able to fight our wars and we’re able to have forces that are capable of doing whatever we’re asked to do,” he said to reporters. And Petreaus testified that "The time has come" to consider a repeal.

War-zone Pay Now Pro-rated
12/09 – The 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) changed how special war zone pay is calculated and disbursed. Instead of servicemembers receiving full monthly payments for even one day’s service in a combat or other danger zone, the Services now pro-rate these pays based on actual days of qualifying service each month. The special compensations include hostile fire pay, imminent danger pay, hazardous duty pay, assignment pay, and skill incentive pay, as well as associated tax breaks.

Uniform Change in Pentagon?
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates quietly changed the uniform regs for his military aides and staff at the beginning of the year - no more wearing of fatigues, BDUs or flight suits in the Pentagon. Will this "trickle down" to other Pentagon staffs and offices?