Brian Kelly

Continuing resolution, COVID causing personnel issues for military services

The mixture of COVID and the addition of a new branch of the military are making this year’s CR particularly challenging for the military service personnel…

Defense

U.S. Navy

Navy has fewer vaccinated sailors than previously reported, but still over 97%

Navy

(Photo courtesy 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade)

Ready at a moment's notice. Marines from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade conducted a rapid deployment drill at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Aug. 18. The drill is designed to ensure Alert Contingency Marine Air Ground Task Force personnel are able to respond to a crisis swiftly, even in the midst of the COVID pandemic.

The Marine Corps has not granted any religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine

Defense

(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

FILE - A healthcare worker fills a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Oct. 5, 2021, in Miami. Nearly 8,500 active duty members of the Air Force and Space Force have missed the deadline for getting COVID-19 vaccinations, including 800 who flatly refused and nearly 5,000 with pending requests for a religious exemption, the Air Force said Wednesday, Nov. 3. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

Airmen awaiting COVID vaccination exemptions must stay at current orders

Air Force

Missing military tenant bill of rights provisions to be finished next month

Defense

(Photo by Sgt. Kimberly Hackbarth)

A Soldier helps a fellow Soldier onto the rooftop of a building in order to provide protective overwatch for another element of their patrol in Afghanistan Jan. 29, 2012. Army senior leaders recently discussed the importance of suicide prevention and recognizing warning signs after the service reported an increase in suicides among active-duty Soldiers in 2020. (Sgt. Kimberly Hackbarth)

Military suicides rose in 2020, especially in reserve forces

Defense

Amelia Brust/Federal News Network

IG: Pentagon disregarded auditors, overpaid contractors by as much as $97M

DoD Reporter's Notebook

Air Force offering airmen a chance to leave service early in attempt to balance the force

Air Force

190828-N-UY653-0129rBOSTON (Aug. 28, 2019) Chief petty officer selects, Sailors who have been selected for the paygrade of E-7, participate in a mast climbing evolution during Chief Heritage week aboard the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, USS Constitution. During the selectees week spent aboard Constitution, Sailors teach them a variety of time-honored maritime evolutions while living and working aboard the ship. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ryan U. Kledzik/Released)

After a year of high retention, the Navy is thinking about force balance

Navy

Air Force cuts number of occupations available for reenlistment bonuses as retention flourishes

Air Force

FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2020, file photo sunlight shines on the U.S. Capitol building on Capitol Hill in Washington. President-elect Joe Biden wants to “restore the soul of America.” First, he'll need to fix a broken and divided Congress. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Congress abolishes DoD’s top management position without settling on alternative

DoD Reporter's Notebook

Air Force filling its employment holes, looking to improve leadership

The Air Force will be lowering some of the bonuses it gives out as in-demand jobs are being filled.

Air Force

‘Families and support systems are ALWAYS on the back burner!’ Air Force sees spike in suicides in 2019

The Air Force saw 137 service members and civilians kill themselves last year.

Air Force

Air Force making final preps to reform officer promotion system

Air Force

The Air Force is building a new promotion system that it hopes will align its professed values with the officers it actually selects for elevation to senior leadership positions.