By Debbie Gregory. A growing number of military reservists are learning that benefits they thought they were earning may not be there for them after all. Under legal authority 12304b, when the Pentagon determines that it is necessary to augment the active forces in support of a combatant command, it can call up reservists and […]
By Debbie Gregory. The Army has been steadily drawing down the force since 2012, decreasing its numbers from a war time high of 570,000 active Army soldiers. But following the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act in December, the Army is poised to increase its end-strength by 16,000 more soldiers than originally planned. What […]
By Debbie Gregory. Defense Secretary James Mattis has requested that President Trump exempt Iraqi nationals, who risked their lives to help American troops in wartime, from the executive order halting immigration from Iraq. Trump’s executive order, published Jan. 27, put an immediate temporary halt to immigration from seven countries, including Iraq. Mattis has the backing […]
By Debbie Gregory. Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain has a plan to fortify the U.S. military, and it comes with a hefty price tag. McCain’s 33-page white paper, “Restoring American Power,” makes recommendations for the defense budget for fiscal years 2018 through 2022. The report details how defense budget cuts under the Budget Control […]
By Debbie Gregory. Defense Secretary James Mattis has named retired Navy Rear Adm. Kevin Sweeney, who served with him previously at U.S. Central Command, to be his chief of staff. Two-star Navy Rear Adm. Craig Faller, currently the service’s chief of legislative affairs, was chosen to serve as Mattis’ senior military assistant. Mattis has known […]
By Debbie Gregory. The U.S. Army has launched a new physical fitness dubbed the Occupational Physical Assessment Test (OPAT) to weed out new recruits and soldiers that fall short of the physical demands of certain jobs. Job specialties are being divided into three physical demand categories: Heavy (Black), Significant (Gray), Moderate (Gold). Category Black is […]
By Debbie Gregory. Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technology to provide clinical health care from a distance. And now, veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) who have difficulties making it to in-person therapy sessions may be able to get treatment that’s just as good via videoconference. Telemedicine helps eliminate distance barriers […]
By Debbie Gregory. As the first month of 2017 draws to an end, we learned a very interesting fact. For the first week of this year, for the first time since World War II, no U.S. aircraft carriers were deployed, anywhere, a Navy spokesman confirmed. Had the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which had been in […]
By Debbie Gregory. Thanks to higher beneficiary co-pays, tighter point-of-service rules and recent streamlining of prescription drug processes across the military, the Department of Defense pharmacy program may be able to reduce the cost of prescriptions by more than $1 billion in the five year period between 2014 and 2019. Policy changes have forced or […]
By Debbie Gregory. In an effort to open the door to more recruits who would otherwise be barred from service because of their body ink, the U.S. Air Force is revamping its restrictions on tattoos. The U.S. Marines overhauled its tattoo restrictions about six months ago, with the goal of balancing “the personal desires of […]
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