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Veterans win big—2M VA claims processed faster than any year before
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Veterans win big—2M VA claims processed faster than any year before

By Leo Shane III | Military Times Veterans Affairs officials on Tuesday announced staffers had already processed more than 2 million disability benefits claims this fiscal year, the fastest the department has ever reached that mark. The processing milestone occurred nearly one month earlier than in fiscal 2024 and puts department claims workers on pace for another record-breaking year in terms of total cases completed. The work finished thus far represents almost $120 billion in compensation and pension benefits to veterans and survivors paid out since last October. In a statement, VA Secretary Doug Collins credited the progress to a refocusing of the department’s mission in recent months. “VA has reduced the claims backlog and has processed t...
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Federal military spouse workers exempt from return-to-office rule
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Federal military spouse workers exempt from return-to-office rule

By Karen Jowers | Military Times Federally employed military spouses who work remotely are now “categorically exempt” from the return-to-office directive issued by President Donald Trump, according to new guidance clarifying the policy. Federal agencies “shall” allow military spouses to continue working remotely, and agencies may continue appointing spouses to remote work positions, according to a memo issued Wednesday by Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE MILITARY TIMES
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Hegseth promises to reinstate, repay troops who refused COVID vaccine
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Hegseth promises to reinstate, repay troops who refused COVID vaccine

By Leo Shane III | Military Times During comments at his confirmation hearing Tuesday, Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth vowed to reinstate and reimburse troops dismissed from the ranks for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine years ago. The surprise statement came amid unrelated questions about Hegseth’s views towards diversity and discrimination policies in the military. Hegseth, who previously served in the National Guard, said past Pentagon policies requiring the vaccine amounted to its own form of religious discrimination. “Tens of thousands of service members were kicked out because of an experimental vaccine,” Hegseth said. “They will be apologized to. They will be reinstated, reinstituted with pay and rank.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE MILITARY ...
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Presidents Bush, Clinton to be honored through naming of new Navy aircraft carriers
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Presidents Bush, Clinton to be honored through naming of new Navy aircraft carriers

By Riley Ceder | Military Times The Navy announced Monday it will name a pair of future vessels after two previous commanders in chief. During a private White House ceremony Jan. 3, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro introduced two future Gerald R. Ford-class of aircraft carriers that will bear the names USS William J. Clinton and USS George W. Bush, after the 42nd and 43rd U.S. presidents. “Their legacies will endure through these aircraft carriers, which serve as formidable platforms dedicated to safeguarding our national security and strengthening our resolve to protect this nation against any who would threaten our freedoms and way of life,“ Del Toro said in a press release. The ships will be the fifth and sixth of the Navy’s new Ford-class carriers. The USS Gerald R. Fo...
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Trump picks Senate candidate Sam Brown to head VA memorial affairs
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Trump picks Senate candidate Sam Brown to head VA memorial affairs

By Leo Shane III | Military Times President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday tapped former Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown to serve as the head of cemetery and memorial affairs for the Department of Veterans Affairs, putting a combat-wounded veteran in charge of the key post. In a statement on social media, Trump called Brown “an American hero” who will work “to ensure we put America’s veterans first and remember all who served.” Brown, 41, is a West Point alumnus who served in the Army for five years after graduation. During a deployment to Afghanistan in 2008, he was severely wounded by an improvised explosive device. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE MILITARY TIMES
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China unveils amphibious assault ship that can launch fighter jets
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China unveils amphibious assault ship that can launch fighter jets

By Huizhong Wu | The AP via the Military Times China launched a new amphibious assault ship Friday, capable of launching fighter jets and designed to strengthen the navy’s combat ability in distant seas. The Sichuan, the first ship of the Type 076, is China’s largest such ship yet, displacing 40,000 tons and equipped with an electromagnetic catapult that will allow fighter jets to launch directly off its deck, according to the official Xinhua news agency. The ship is designed to launch ground troops in landing crafts and provide them with air support. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE MILITARY TIMES
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Air Force expands waivers for recruits with asthma, food allergies
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Air Force expands waivers for recruits with asthma, food allergies

By Riley Ceder | Military Times The Air Force has expanded medical waivers to cover asthma, food allergies and hearing loss in an effort to boost recruitment, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. The Air Force Recruiting Service’s Accessions Medical Waiver Division decided to expand tolerances after the Air Force whiffed on recruiting goals last year for the first time since 1999, division head Col. Ian Gregory told the magazine. Asthma, food allergies and hearing loss have the highest number of waiver requests for the service. The waiver tolerances went into effect Nov. 1 following Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Alex Wagner’s approval of the additions, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported. READ THE FULL STORY AT ...
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Could a young Army pilot have prevented the Pearl Harbor attack?
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Could a young Army pilot have prevented the Pearl Harbor attack?

By Joseph Connor | Military Times First Lt. Kermit A. Tyler was the next man up on the squadron duty roster, so he resigned himself to spending the coming Sunday morning, 4 to 8 a.m., at the Aircraft Information Center at Fort Shafter on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. At 3 a.m. on that day, Dec. 7, 1941, the 28-year-old fighter pilot drove south from his house on Oahu’s North Shore to Fort Shafter, listening to Hawaiian music on his car radio. The Information Center was the hub of a cutting-edge system designed to warn of air attacks aimed at Hawaii. A half-dozen radar stations were located throughout Oahu, the site of several military bases including the naval base at Pearl Harbor. The radar operators’ job was to detect approaching planes and report unusual contacts to the center. Cen...
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Inflation has some military families ‘grasping at pennies’
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Inflation has some military families ‘grasping at pennies’

By Karen Jowers | Military Times Inflation is “destroying any joy we may have been able to afford,” the airman wrote. “We are literally grasping at pennies to survive and it’s killing us.” Statements from the airman — stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico — and many others came in response to Military Times’ call for comments on how inflation has impacted service members and their families. Most responded with a common theme: Families are “cutting back” or “eliminating” everything from grocery shopping and driving to subscription services, vacations and eating out. Consumer prices were up by 3% from June 2023 to June 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s on top of inflation over the previous several years. READ MORE AT THE MILITARY TIMES...
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With Trump pick, J.D. Vance is first post-9/11 vet on major-party ticket
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With Trump pick, J.D. Vance is first post-9/11 vet on major-party ticket

By Nikki Wentling | Military Times J.D. Vance, named Monday as the Republican vice presidential running mate of former President Donald Trump, is known as many things: a bestselling author, a Republican senator, a former venture capitalist, a leading voice of conservatism, a onetime Trump critic – and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. Vance, 39, is the first millennial on a major-party ticket, and a prominent veterans group heralded him Monday as the first among the post-9/11 generation of veterans to appear on a presidential ballot. “JD Vance may be the first of our generation of veterans to be on a major-party presidential ticket, but he most certainly won’t be the last,” said Allison Jaslow, an Iraq War veteran and the CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, or IAVA. “The p...
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