News
DOD decides against privatizing service members’ household goods moves
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth decided to reverse course on the idea to privatize the process that moves service members’ household goods. Instead, he directed officials to improve the current program, which will remain in place for at least three years, according to an advisory sent Wednesday to the military services and personal property shipping offices, as well as companies previously approved...[Read More]
DOD imposes burdensome rules, retaliation on home day cares, moms say
Editors Note: This article first appeared on The War Horse, an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service, under the headline “These Military Moms Turned Their Homes Into Day Cares. Then DOD’s Inspectors Came Knocking.” Subscribe to their newsletter. Julia Bardsley felt a growing dread as she toured a day care just outside the gates of Fort Gordon, Georgia, ...[Read More]
DOD launches review of ‘effectiveness’ of women in ground combat roles
The Pentagon has launched a formal review of the “effectiveness” of women in ground-combat positions, nearly a decade after the Department of Defense ended a ban that had excluded them from front-line infantry, armor and artillery units. The six-month assessment, first reported by NPR on Tuesday, will require Army and Marine Corp leaders to submit data on readiness, training, performance, casualti...[Read More]
DOD launches review of ‘effectiveness’ of women in ground combat roles
The Pentagon has launched a formal review of the “effectiveness” of women in ground-combat positions, nearly a decade after the Department of Defense ended a ban that had excluded them from front-line infantry, armor and artillery units. The six-month assessment, first reported by NPR on Tuesday, will require Army and Marine Corp leaders to submit data on readiness, training, performance, casualti...[Read More]
DOD needs more consistent Indo-Pacific deterrence funding, GAO says
As the U.S. military continues to build up forces to deter China in the increasingly contested Indo-Pacific region, a recent Government Accountability Office report claims that clear guidance on how it funds those deterrence efforts has yet to be provided. Each year, the Defense Department selects programs, equipment, research and support initiatives to include in the annual Pacific Deterrence Ini...[Read More]
DOD needs more consistent Indo-Pacific deterrence funding, GAO says
As the U.S. military continues to build up forces to deter China in the increasingly contested Indo-Pacific region, a recent Government Accountability Office report claims that clear guidance on how it funds those deterrence efforts has yet to be provided. Each year, the Defense Department selects programs, equipment, research and support initiatives to include in the annual Pacific Deterrence Ini...[Read More]
DOD needs more feedback from troops in future PCS moves, GAO finds
As defense officials take steps to improve the shipments of troops’ belongings to a new duty station, they need to ensure that they include comprehensive feedback from troops and families about their household goods experience to inform future oversight, government auditors have recommended. That was one of the key elements missing in the government’s implementation of the now-failed Global Househ...[Read More]
DOD needs more feedback from troops in future PCS moves, GAO finds
As defense officials take steps to improve the shipments of troops’ belongings to a new duty station, they need to ensure that they include comprehensive feedback from troops and families about their household goods experience to inform future oversight, government auditors have recommended. That was one of the key elements missing in the government’s implementation of the now-failed Global Househ...[Read More]
DOD needs to shore up help for troops with gambling problems, GAO says
Defense officials’ efforts to address service members’ gambling problems don’t go far enough, according to a new report by government auditors. While DOD has updated its guidance on steps to prevent and treat gambling disorder, that guidance doesn’t specifically identify who is responsible for implementing certain tasks related to that support, Government Accountability Office auditors said in a r...[Read More]
DOD ordered to study mental health impacts among military drone pilots
Tucked inside the more than 3,000 pages of the recently passed defense budget for Fiscal Year 2026 is a mandate that the secretary of defense carry out a study focused on the mental health impacts of piloting unmanned aircraft systems in combat. The rise of military drone pilots as a profession has brought with it a fair share of jeers and suspicion. In 2013, when the Pentagon rolled out a “Distin...[Read More]
DoD scraps plan to privatize commissaries
Defense officials won’t be handing off the operation of commissaries to the private sector, DoD’s top personnel official said Wednesday. “We learned and found that there was nobody interested in taking a 24% haircut right out of the gate,” in order to provide the 24% saving for military customers, said Anthony Tata, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Tata spoke during a Wednes...[Read More]
DoD, movers try to ease the heavy lift for troops moving this summer
As military moving season shifts into high gear, service members and their families should be seeing the results of changes aimed at improving their household goods moves. And for those experiencing issues, there’s a direct line to DoD’s new Personal Property Activity, where service members can ask for assistance. Since that call center was set up in August of last year, the volume has reached 20,...[Read More]