US Army: Shorthanded and Struggling
Recruitment is down across the services, but it’s way down for the US Army. In he Army National Guard, soldiers are leaving at a faster rate than they are enlisting. And as they’re struggling to fill their ranks, the service is additionally fighting culture war battles from both sides.
JBAB Helps Restore Anacostia’s Mussels
Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling’s 11th Civil Engineer Squadron conservation team has partnered with the Anacostia Watershed Society to restore the District’s native freshwater mussel populations in the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers.
Want to Be A Rocket Scientist?
Sign up now for Friday’s free class from the Armstrong Air and Space Museum. The 45-minute class lets you learn about spaceflight online for free, billed as a class for aspiring rocket scientists and promoted as best for grades 7-12, good for anyone interested in the basics of how to get a rocket into space. The class runs Friday, Oct. 7, 6:30-7:15pm.
Fed Workers Face Hike in Health Insurance Premiums
Federal employees will pay 8.7% more, on average, toward their 2023 health premiums. The stark hike reflects the COVID-19 pandemic timeline: a drop in use of elective benefits resulted in a lower average increase over the past four years. As elective benefit use increases, so do premiums. The cost of prescription drug prices also contributed to the increase.
Recruitment Shortfalls Plague All Services
Only the Air Force hit all of its active duty recruiting goals for 2022, but even so failed to meet its Reserve goals. The Navy met its active duty enlistment goals, but the Army missed its enlisted goal by 15,000.
Newly Eligible Vets: 1 Year to Claim Benefits
Thousands more veterans became eligible for Veterans Affairs health care on Oct. 1 under a law expanding benefits for former service members sickened by environmental exposures. The largest group to be eligible are certain post-9/11 veterans who hadn’t previously enrolled. They have a one-year window to sign up.
US Top Ransomware Target Worldwide
The US gets almost half of all of the ransomware attacks around the globe according to a report released this week analyzing the more than 5,000 ransomware incidents. Most attacks target critical industries and the public sector.
NASA Targets & Diverts an Astroid
NASA spacecraft has intentionally slammed into an asteroid in humanity’s first test of planetary defense. The impact occurred at 7:14 pm ET greeted by cheers from the mission team in Laurel, MD.
Vet Benefits Tied to Big Social Security Raise
Veterans are poised to receive the biggest cost of living boost in 40 years with Congress guaranteeing they’ll receive the same cost-of-living boost as Social Security payouts, predicted at about 8.7% for 2023. That would be the highest annual increase since 1981.
Senators Urge DoD to Act on PFAS
Forty-two senators have signed a petition urging DEFSEC Lloyd Austin to treat PFAS chemicals on military installations with greater urgency, and set aside higher funding for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances testing and remediation.
