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Search Results for: National Defense Authorization Act

Military 2023 Pay Raise Coming

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The largest pay raise in two decades is coming for military members in 2023. The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the House on December 8.2022, the Senate on December 15, 2022, and was signed by President Biden on December 23, 2022, just before the federal holiday. Within the NDAA, a pay raise is listed for active-duty troops, drilling Guard, reserve members, and civilian members within the Defense Department.

The NDAA included a 4.6 % raise for the 2023 fiscal year. For comparison, in the 2022 NDAA, a 2.7% pay raise was included. This could mean an increase of about $1,000 over the year for junior enlisted military members.

An increase in Basic Allowance for Subsistence rates was also included. The increase of 11% is provided to those military members who live outside of the barracks. The monthly BAS payment in 2023 will be $311.68 for officers and $452.56 for enlisted members.

The military pay increase does not match the current inflation rate. The inflation rate as of October 2022 was 7.7%. While a pay raise is typically included with the idea that it will offset inflation, it does not specifically address inflation. While this pay increase may be the largest in years, it will be covering basic necessities that have increased in cost with the highest inflation rate in years.

The pay changes will be reflected in the January 15th check as that check covers the time period of January 1 to January 15.

Navy Raises Enlistment Age

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The Navy will now be the service with potentially the oldest enlisted recruits. The Navy has increased the latest age of enlistment to 41 in November, as long as the enlisted person reports to the training before their 42nd birthday. This beats out the US Army, which has a cutoff age of 39. The Air Force and Space Force maximum age of enlistment up to age 39. The Marine Corps maximum age of enlistment of age 28.

The minimum and maximum ages for enlistment are not set by the military branches themselves specifically. Congress sets the ages through the National Defense Authorization Act. In 1968, the minimum age for men was no younger than 17 (but needed parental permission for those under 18 years old) and no older than 35 years old. The minimum age for women is age 18, with parental permission required if under age 21 per Public Law 90-235.

Prior to this change, the Army upped its maximum enlisted age to 42 in 2006 with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006.  This came after the Army requested an increase in age through a Pentagon report in 2005. With the mandatory retirement age of 62, joining the services at age 42 would allow for 20 years of service before retirement. However, in 2011 the Army returned to its previous age limit to age 35.

The reason for the change? Navy Recruiting Command made a statement about the change. Cmdr David Benham, the spokesperson for Navy Recruiting Command, stated that this change would “widen the pool of potential recruits, creating opportunities for personnel who wish to serve, but were previously unable due to age.

According to the Council of Foreign Relations, in 2018, the Army had the largest group of service members over the age of 45 of all the service branches, with the Coast Guard close behind, then the Navy and Air Force, with the Marine Corps last.

Time will tell how much this changes the enlisted recruitment for the services. 

Renaming Military Bases Expanded to 750 Names with Confederate Links

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In 2021, a bipartisan agreement listed the plan to rename bases across the military that were named after Confederate Generals, and a commission was formed. The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act outlined the commission’s goal to find new names for 10 Army bases. The list has now expanded in scope dramatically to potentially renaming 750 assets from street names to Naval vessels for Army and Navy assets around the world.

The Naming Commission is made up of eight individuals:

  • Admiral Michelle Howard, USN, Retired
  • Brigadier General Ty Seidule, USA, Retired
  • Lt. General Thomas Bostick, USA, Retired
  • Mr. Jerry Buchannan
  • General Robert Neller, USMC, Retired
  • Mr. Lawerence Romo
  • Dr. Kori Schake
  • U.S. Representative Austin Scott, Representative for Georgia

For instance, U.S. Army base Fort Gordon is being considered for name change in addition to their conference and catering center, bowling center, housing center and various signs, unit level signage and monuments within the cemetery on the installation. Fort Stewart also in Georgia has street names in reference to General Gordon, a general within the Confederate Army.

Beyond Army bases, the crest of the USS Shiloh and the USS Chancellorsville stationed out of Yokosuka are being assessed to rename as these vessels are named after Civil War battles. Both Maury Hall and Buchanan House at the U.S. Naval Academy are also being considered for renaming. Maury Hall is named after Commander Matthew Maury and Admiral Franklin Buchanan were in the Confederate Navy.

The Commission has been directed to provider their final report to Congress no later than October 1, 2022. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that there is an expectation that new names for current bases will be announced in 2023.

Read the entire list of 750 items here which includes the historical reference as to why the name is being considered for name change.  Check out more about the Congressional Commission at their website here.

Merge of Military Commissaries and Exchanges Cancelled

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In both 2020 and 2021, the National Defense Authorization Act discusses combining the military commissary and exchange system. In August of 2019, Deputy Secretary of Defense David L. Norquist wrote a memorandum recommending the consolidation of the Defense Commissary Agency (DECA), the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEX) and the Marine Corps Exchange (MCX). The movement to consolidate was financially motivated.  A 2018 study determined that “the benefits of consolidating the defense resale entities far outweigh the costs.” A Government Accountability Office (GAO) review reached a different conclusion.

Currently, the exchange system uses its profit to support on base programming. Overseas, the exchanges operate movie theaters, food outlets and provide school lunches. Across the world, the exchange profits are put back into programming that support the military members and their families on the bases. When the consolidation was first introduced, the concern was raised if these programs would be continued to be supported.

The military commissary provides tax-free grocery shopping to military families on items that are at lower costs than off-base stores. While the prices differ across the country, the commissary is a constant no matter what military base around the world the military family moves to.

Current Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks has rescinded the memorandum requesting consolidation and advised the Department of Defense (DOD) “to cease all efforts to consolidate the Defense resale entities.”  A reported from the DOD in later 2021 stated that the consolidation was no longer feasible.  The initial 2018 study stated that consolidation would save $700 million to $1.3 billion over a period of five years. New analysis in 2021 determined that consolidation would require $1.5 billion in costs.

While cost-savings is the reason for cancelling the consolidation, other concerns were raised by the National Military Family Association and Military Officers Association of America. The two organizations noted concerns that programming supported by the exchange would end if the consolidation would occur. In addition, the cost would be passed onto customer. There are already increased costs of items in some locations overseas due to the cost of shipping items overseas. Adding an extra cost to them could be significant for military families.

Current law prohibits consolidation of the commissaries and exchanges and with the move away from consolidation, the same services are to continue.

Privatized Military Housing to Be Inspected By All Services

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Privatized military housing is now being inspected by all the military service branches. The Navy and the Marine Corps join the Army and Air Force by examining 100% of the PPV, or public-private venture, housing on military bases. The change to inspections was a listed requirement as part of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

 The Marine Corps began inspections via an independent contractor on January 18, 2022. The Navy began inspections in the fall of 2021. The completion of inspections will be complete by October of 2022, the beginning of Fiscal Year 2023. Per a release by the Navy in the fall of 2021, the inspections are being conducted by Jacobs/HDR JV and each inspection would be signed off by a certified inspector.

The inspections include interior and exterior inspections with special attention to heating and cooling systems in addition to landscaping, equipment drainage, common areas, and building systems. Any concerns seen by the inspectors are to be reported to the military housing office and the housing management company. The reports include physical and operational assessments of the homes.  These inspections being added to the 2020 NDAA was in response to a Reuters series revealing concerns found in privatized housing. The Department of Defense then released a tenant bill of rights for service members and began the move to inspect homes. Inspection notices go to tenants two to three weeks prior to the scheduled inspection and then a reminder is sent 48 hours prior to the inspection.

The Army began inspections in January of 2021 with completion intended to be September 2021. The Air Force has not released an update on when inspections began or the goal of completion.

The results of the inspections are shared not just with the local base but will eventually be shared with the base commanders in addition to Congress.

Want to read more about the recommendations for inspections from the Government Accountability Office? Check out this 2020 release here.

If you live on a military installation, has your home been inspected?

Secondary Caregiver Leave Updated for Navy and Marines

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The Marine Corps is updating its policy on leave allowed for secondary caregivers, often referred to as Permissive Temporary Additional Duty or PTAD. The update comes from Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs increasing the previous 14 days leave to 21 days of leave. Per Major Jordan Cochran from Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs, this “will further improve Marine and family readiness, as well as recruiting, retention, and overall talent management of the force.”

This policy is also updated for the Navy with a total of 21 days of leave after the birth or adoption of a child. Per Vice Admiral John Nowell Jr, the Chief of Naval Personnel, the “Navy is dedicated to supporting our new parents, and we fully understand that our families are as much a part of our service as our Sailors.”

These policy updates are short-term solutions “while we await more significant changes anticipated as part of [the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act]” which has a proposed change of paid parental leave for up to 12 weeks for all service members.  The authorization was signed into law in 2021 but requires Congress to pass the defense appropriations bill for funding to be assigned and available for these changes.

The Army and Air Force have had 21 days of parental leave. The Air Force has a Military Parental Leave Program (MPLP) that provides non-chargeable leave entitlements following the birth or adoption of a child as long as the Service Member meets the eligibility requirements.  The Army’s policy of 21-day of non-chargeable leave has been policy since 2019 and can be used within one year of the birth or adoption.

The flexibility for non-chargeable leave is a growing topic of discussion. Some large civilian companies offer up to 20 weeks of paid time for mothers and up to 12 weeks of parental leave for other new parents. These additions are welcome changes as per Pew Research, the United States is the only country that lacks government-mandated paid parental leave across the board in comparison with 40 other countries.  

Is It Worth Giving Feedback to Rename Bases?

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With the commission to rename bases formed with the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, the goal of renaming 10 bases across the United States has moved forward. The Army bases named during World War II are getting a name change.  The commission is made up of  8 members – four that are selected by the Secretary of Defense, and four from within the House and Senate Armed Services Committee representing veterans and military communities.

Recently Fort Bragg has solicited feedback on renaming the base. Per the installation’s homepage, the criteria for selecting a new name have not been released. Generally, the ideals of the Army of courage, values, sacrifices, and diversity of the military community will be utilized for the name selection per the Army’s website. There is also a Google doc specifically for the Fort Brag renaming with 17 suggested names with the history of each name listed.

Will giving feedback make the difference? On the one hand, the Army wants to include the local community and military community in the name choice. This would help the community feel ownership of the new base. It may also ease the tension in renaming the base. There has been division in regards to the naming commission. Some people applaud the effort of renaming the bases noting that the name change doesn’t erase history but moves forward. Others see the name change as exactly that – an erasing of history and poor use of funds and time. While others still feel the name of the base does not matter – naming the base generic things like “the Fort” or “Basey McBase Base” does not change or devalue what work is done there.

The commission has stated that they will take feedback into consideration, and will release criteria for name considerations. The bases being renamed are Ft. Bragg in North Carolina; Camp Beauregard and Fort Polk in Louisiana; Fort Benning and Fort Gordon in Georgia; Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Lee and Fort Pickett in Virginia, Fort Hood in Texas and Fort Rucker in Alabama. 

Providing feedback for the installation you call home or have called home, is a great way to stay connected to your community, and be part of the history of the name change. It has certainly provided ample discussion on the history of military figures throughout America’s 250+ years.

The name change will not be immediate. Name recommendations were submitted to Congress by October 1, 2022.

DOD Updates Tenant Bill of Rights for Privatized Housing

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Privatized Housing, also known as military housing or on-base housing, was created in 1996. That year, Congress passed the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI), which moved housing from under the control of the military service branch to private companies. This means that prior to MHPI, for example, a Marine Corps family’s home would be managed by the U.S. Navy since the Marine Corps is a branch within the Navy. The Navy’s facilities handled both their facilities for work and family housing. The change was made specifically to improve the housing and quality of life for service members.

Per Paul Cramer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment stated that the DOD has made it a priority to reform the MHPI to “rebuild tenant trust and help maintain the financial viability of MHPI housing projects per a release from the department. While the DOD has made this a priority, since they are no longer in charge of on-base housing, they have to get the privatized organizations on the military bases to agree. There are currently 14 different companies providing privatized housing on military bases.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 included 18 rights of military service members and their families who lived in privatized housing. Fifteen of the rights were released in a signed DOD release in 2020 here. At the time of the release, not all rights were fully available and are yet to be currently fully available. The key of the rights is to clarify what military families can expect for their housing and what privatized housing agencies are to provide for their tenants.

This reform began in response to the military families expressing concerns for mold, lead paint, asbestos, and pest infestations in their homes on military installations. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against privatized housing agencies in regards to these concerns.

Each base/post has adopted a different number of tenant rights, and they are not all the same. Upon arriving at the new location for housing, ensure that you ask for and understand which ones are active.

If the privatized housing agency does not comply with the tenant’s rights, there are recourses set into the bill for the government to act on the tenant’s behalf. It is unclear what the recourse is, but there has been discussion of the right to withhold rent until disputes are resolved and a clear process for this resolution.

The release of the updated tenant bill of rights has been delayed as of this writing until September 30th per a recent update from the Defense Department. While the DOD has decided on the 18 tenant rights, it has not had all 14 housing companies agree yet.

If you have lived or live in military housing, what do you think of the adoption of the tenant bill of rights? Do you feel represented or protected?

Washington D.C Added to Cities that Rate CONUS COLA

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COLA, or Cost Of Living Allowance, is typically associated with overseas moves. When a military family is living overseas, the cost of living is typically quite different than that of a family in the United States. COLA was developed and provided to offset those costs, so the burden wasn’t solely felt by military families. Did you know there was COLA provided for some CONUS locations?

In the 1995 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress approved the CONUS COLA to help cover the additional costs of high-cost locations. Pay for civilian jobs are location-based, whereas military pay scales are the same across the ranks despite which location the service member resides in. CONUS COLA is provided for areas that have been determined to be 108% of the national average for non-housing costs. While the 7th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation 9QRMC) recommended a threshold of 105%, Congress mandated that the threshold should not be lower than 108%. The threshold has remained at 108% since 1997.

In 2021, a new addition was added to the list of CONUS COLA locations – Washington D.C. As an area well-known for its high cost of living, it’s surprising it took until 2021 to provide a cost offset.

Which CONUS locations offer COLA?

Military Housing Areas that currently provide CONUS COLA:

  • California: Oakland, San Francisco, Marin/Sonoma, Bridgeport
  • Colorado: Boulder
  • District of Columbia
  • Massachusetts: Nantucket, Boston, Worcester, Fitchburg, Plymouth, Essex County, Hampden County, Martha’s Vineyard, Hanscomb AFB
  • Minnesota: Duluth
  • New York: Long Island, New York City, Westchester County, Staten Island
  • Virginia: Warrenton

Non-Military Housing Areas that currently provide CONUS COLA:

  • California: Inyo County
  • Colorado: Broomfield County, Clear Creek County, Gilpin County, Lake County, Park County, Pitkin County, Summit County, Washington County, Yuma County
  • Massachusetts: Franklin County
  • Minnesota: Aitkin County, Cook County, Itasca County, Kanabec County, Koochiching County, Lake County, Pine County
  • Virginia: Isle of Wight County, Southampton County, Surry County, Sussex County

What if we are in an area that rates CONUS COLA?

If the service member is assigned to an area that rates CONUS COLA, it should be automatically included in the pay beginning the first day of work. If you are new to an area, the first day of CONUS pay is the day of check-in to the new duty station. The CONUS COLA rates range from 1% – 7% depending on the area.

CONUS COLA is paid as a monthly entitlement based on a 30-day month, just like BAH.

What does the “threshold “mean?

With a threshold of 108%, it means that the service member is expected to cover at least 8% of the average expenses above the national average cost of living. If the service member is assigned to locations where the local costs are above 8% of the national average for non-housing costs, a CONUS COLA provision would be provided.

How are areas determined to require CONUS COLA?

Data is collected from several sources:

  1. A survey of costs is conducted every 3 years and used to determine the utilization rate and savings that are available at the military commissaries and exchanges.
  2. Local market price data is purchased from a private contractor – beginning in 2021, Decision Point is used for all cost of living data.
  3. The military commissaries and exchanges provide information on their availability in a given area.
  4. The military commissaries and exchanges provide information on their average savings.

The data is collected with numbers in regards to an average family of four. This data is used to review costs annually, as required by law.

While there are many areas in the continental United States that military families would say the cost of living is far and above the area they moved from, the way to impact what decisions are made on CONUS COLA is to answer any survey you receive about the costs of living.

Are you in an area that provides CONUS COLA?

Why Some Retirees and Their Families Were Dropped from Tricare Select

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Over 124,000 working military retirees and their families were dropped from TRICARE Select at the beginning of the year due to a change in the requirement for a monthly enrollment fee. In June 2020, Tricare notified TRICARE Select beneficiaries that are Group A (sponsor’s initial enlistment or appointment occurred before January 1, 2018) they must pay monthly enrollment fees to maintain their TRICARE health coverage beginning on January 1, 2021. This change is the first time this group will pay enrollment fees. At that time, Dr. Danita Hunter, director of the TRICARE Health Plan at the Defense Health Agency said, “In 2021, some TRICARE beneficiaries will pay enrollment fees for the first time, a change mandated by Congress. We’re communicating this well before the change is implemented so beneficiaries can be informed about the change, as well as their TRICARE plan and cost options.”

The initial group of more than 124,000 was dropped due to failure to set up payment for the new fees. Thru January about 75% have set up payment. For those that did not set up payment you were disenrolled and have 180 days from your disenrollment date to be reinstated.

What You Need to Know

Why is this happening?

This change to pay enrollment fees was part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017. The Defense Health Agency received a delay in implementation to calendar year 2021.

Who did this affect?

This only affected Group A which is those that entered the military prior to January 1, 2018 and are enrolled in TRICARE Select. Active duty family members enrolled in TRICARE Select won’t pay enrollment fees and see no change. Those that use TRICARE For Life, TRICARE Prime, TRICARE Reserve Select or TRICARE Young Adult will also see no change.

How do I set up payments?

Your TRICARE regional contractor can help you set up payments. Don’t set up your payment through your Department of Defense (DoD) pay center you must go through TRICARE. If you don’t receive payments from a DoD pay center you can set up payment through electronic funds transfer, a credit card or a debit card.

How do I know when changes are made to TRICARE?

Visit the TRICARE website and sign up for email alerts. It is important to keep up to date so you are prepared for changes.

Additional Information

The new enrollment fees are $12.50 per month for an individual plan or $150 annually and $25 a month or $300 annually for a family plan. Only those family members enrolled in TRICARE Select with a Group A retiree sponsor pay the enrollment fee. You can have family members enrolled in different plans. So, if you only have one family member enrolled in Select you will pay the individual fee not the family rate. The catastrophic cap is increasing from $3,000 to $3,500. TRICARE Select enrollment fees count towards your catastrophic cap. The enrollment fees are waived if you are an active duty family member, a medically retired retiree or family member, or if you are a survivor of an active duty sponsor or a medically retired retiree.

For those in TRICARE East contact Humana Military at 800-444-5445. For TRICARE West contact

Health Net at 844-866-9378. TRICARE Overseas contact International SOS or contact your TOP Regional Call Center.