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Army Approves Special Leave Accrual

The Army is granting soldiers special leave accrual for fiscal 2021, with the ability to accumulate and retain up to 120 days of leave until the end of fiscal 2024. The move mirrors a similar decision announced by the Air Force earlier this year... Read More Details

DoD, VA Brace for Government Shutdown

Officials are bracing for a possible government shutdown this week after Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would have extended the current federal budget past Oct. 1 but also raised the nation's borrowing limit. Senate Republicans prefer... Read More Details

Government Study: Stopgap Budgets Are New Normal

Days into the new fiscal year, the Defense Department is working off last year’s budget thanks to a continuing resolution passed in lieu of regular appropriations. That’s been the norm for more than a decade, with Congress now missing the budget... Read More Details

Democrats Seek Afghanistan War Commission

A group of Senate Democrats wants to establish a nonpartisan, independent commission to review the war in Afghanistan. They are co-sponsoring the legislation, introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. Duckworth is a retired Illinois Army National... Read More Details

Federal Agencies Pledge Support to Military Families

Federal agencies have now made more than 80 specific commitments to support military and veteran families, according to a new White House report. The efforts are part of the Joining Forces initiative, which is led by First Lady Jill Biden. Biden is a... Read More Details

Suicide Report ‘Troubling,’ but Guard Numbers Steady Over 5 Years

Suicides among members of the National Guard, which had appeared to be on the decline in 2019, rose in 2020, according to the latest Defense Department Annual Suicide Report. The report found that, despite the 2019 decrease, Guard suicide rates have... Read More Details

Senators: Go Easy on Use-it-or-lose-it Spending

A bipartisan quartet of senators has cautioned government agencies to avoid waste and abuse when quickly spending remaining budgets as the end of the fiscal year approaches, Federal Times reports. Typically, federal agencies try to empty their... Read More Details

New Army PT Test Troublesome for Guard

The secretary of the Army says, “If you can’t pass the Army Combat Fitness Test, then there’s probably not a spot for you in the Army.” But Mark T. Esper’s regard for the new fitness test, which will begin one year of field testing next month, bumps... Read More Details

Mattis Memo Addresses Decline in Courts-martial

Defense Secretary James N. Mattis took notice recently of the drop in courts-martial across the services and advised commanders to consider goals larger than quickly resolving disciplinary problems. Military Times reported on the memo, which was... Read More Details

Report: VA Backlog Larger Than Reported

The Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general uncovered tens of thousands of VA benefits cases that were omitted or ignored by department officials when reporting the department’s backlogs. The IG report released Monday says the VA... Read More Details