The Marine Corps service branch is known for its physical fitness. In fact, Eleanor Roosevelt famously said about Marines that “The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!”

As other services update their physical fitness tests, it is now the Marine Corps turn. It’s change in the physical fitness test may surprise you.

The MARADMIN release in August of 2021 stated that planks will now be a mandatory component of the physical fitness test, replacing the old exercise of crunches. This replacement will be in full effect in 2023. The alternative of planks for crunches has been in place since 2019 when then Commandant Neller approved it to be so, although not many Marines have chosen this option over the crunches. Plank scoring adjustments will be made and go in effect in 2022. The minimum time to hold a plank will be one minute and 10 seconds, with the maximum points given for a plank held for 3 minutes and 45 seconds.

The reason for the change is simple – this is a move in injury reduction. While crunches are known to help develop a strong core (abdominal muscles), they are awful for the lower back often causing low back pain or increasing previously occurring low back pain. In addition, crunches require another person holding the feet down which can lead to potential injury to the lower leg. Maj. Lindsey Slyman, the programs and assessments section head, Human Performance Branch, Policy and Standards Division, Training and Education Command told a military newspaper that while there was no specific research on what the injury risk reduction would be “we do know that the crunches place stress on the spinal column, neck, and cervical spine due to the repetitive loading and increased use of hip flexors.”

Beyond risk reduction, the physiological evaluation of core strength is better tested with a plank than with crunches. The plank requires muscle activation of the lateral and central abdominal muscles, and given that they are required to be activated for a longer period of time, they provide a better test of endurance and strength of the core muscles.

For active Marines, getting ready for the plank addition to the PFT should happen now. Start slow and in small increments. Doing a plank for 30 seconds for a week straight will increase the strength and ability to increase the time the following week to maybe 45-60 seconds. If staying in a plank position is difficult, try alternating between elbows and up to hands to see if this will help pass the time in addition. The key with any plank is to keep the back flat to avoid any lumbar strain.  Check out YouTube if you need help determining how to maintain the appropriate posture, or ask your buddies at work.

Remember a Marine over the age of 60 held a plank long enough to break the Guinness World Record holding it for 8 hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds. Three minutes should be a piece of cake in comparison!

Ah, the fall and winter season. Fall is when the pumpkin memes begin and everything becomes pumpkin flavored. Not the typical time of year when orders hit. BUT orders do hit. People do move in the “off-season”. It may be off-season for moving, but there isn’t anything to prevent the holidays from coming.

While you may not be looking forward to celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, or the winter holidays in a hotel, there are ways to celebrate it. It may look different, but it will still be the holidays.

Halloween

1. Decorating: The craft store will be your friend with decorating. Paper is cheap! Draw pumpkins and have everyone “carve” a pumpkin. Hang them up on the wall with tape.
2. Costumes: When you are living out of suitcases in a TLF, Pinterest will be your friend for costume ideas using the clothes you already have. Construction paper wings can turn a dress into a fairy costume, or a construction hat changes Pjs into a firefighter costume. It will take some creativity with the help of the Pinterest search engine, but it will certainly make some memories!
3. Treats: Some TLFs have ovens, but if you don’t have one check your local grocery store for DIY cookie decorating kits. You might not need a giant bulk-store level bag of candy, but you can grab a couple of individual pieces of your favorite candy for the family from the store as well.
4. Trick-or-Treating: Oftentimes the hotel staff in a TLF will plan something fun for kids staying in for Halloween. If they aren’t, consider a scavenger hunt for your kids. Set up a craft or treat stations throughout the hotel, leaving clues with where the next one will be.
5. Music and Lights: If you are new to the area, you may not know about the local pumpkin patch. Perhaps you only have one car and are unable to go out for a drive. Or the reality is that your toddler won’t be awake past 8 so doing some time for the older kids or yourself won’t work for your current phase of life. Check out Youtube for videos from theme parks for fun “talking pumpkins” or lighted trails.  There are ghost hosts that can walk you through haunted rides to give your hotel room a spooky feel. All with the easy removal of said music or lights by turning off the television or computer. So feel free to turn up Thriller Nights.

Thanksgiving

1. Decorating: Paper, paper, paper. Copy paper – construction paper – craft paper – these are all your friends. Paper is cheap and simple – you can dress it up or dress it down. Make placemats with them, cut letters for banners and even make name cards with them. Use what nature you have around you. If you are able to, collect pine cones for decoration for the table. Or mix it up entirely if you have moved to the beach and collect shells. Yes, there are standard fall colors – but when you are doing the holidays in a TLF, you can make it what you want.
2. Prepared Food: Making the holiday meal is enjoyed by some, not so much by others. With the limitations of cooking space and dishes, it might be time to hit up the local grocery store for prepared dishes. There may even be some local favorites that you haven’t heard of before. If you are in a foreign country where they may not celebrate American holidays, consider this an opportunity to try the local fare.
3. Consider Grilled: If you are TLF has a grill available, consider grilling. If you really want a turkey breast, consider grilling the turkey breast. If there are only a couple of grills at the hotel, talk to other families to see if they are interested in chipping in with a whole turkey if you really want. That way everyone is aware while you are manning the grill for several hours.

Hanukah, Kwanzaa and Christmas

1. Fireplace: Candles are not allowed and fireplaces are not the norm in hotels, but you can stream a fireplace on Netflix! The streaming channel had several different types to choose from including an urban one to make it feel festive and distinctive.
2. Music: Thank goodness for the digital age – holiday music of your choice is at your fingertips. And music stations abound on the cable in the hotel. Rock around your paper Christmas tree to whatever holiday music you enjoy.
3. Dinner: Each hotel is varied on what the kitchen or kitchenette has available for cooking. Hit up the local grocery store for holiday favorites.
4. Linens: So you don’t have your favorite holiday linens because they are in storage, or still in a box waiting to get to you – time to use paper as your linens! Get a roll of craft paper and let the kids go to town with stickers and crayons. Or consider adding your own designs to it. It isn’t every year that a family celebrates the holidays in a hotel after all.
5. Holiday movies: Thankfully, most hotels have ports allowing for connections with Roku stick or have internet connections allowing for streaming. Stream your favorite holiday films from Netflix or Amazon and you won’t even miss your DVD collection!

Overall, the time in a TLF over the holidays is a time to make new traditions. It isn’t “normal” to have a holiday in a hotel, but it is different and can be fun! Make new memories of your holiday time with whatever it is you make it. Maybe you will decide to keep some traditions for the future – who needs a real holiday tree when you can make one with paper and decorate it with stickers anyway? It’s more space-efficient and cost-effective!

Being part of the military comes with a whole new language. The military acronyms. This language is meant to provide a means for quick and efficient communication among the military community.  If you have ever felt like you needed some sort of insider knowledge to decode what is said, here is an abbreviated GOAT for you – Glossary of Acronym of Terms. But just for fun, this isn’t just the real acronyms – but also what you will frequently hear them referred to. This isn’t a comprehensive list by any means, but will surely make you laugh or chortle, and explain the LES.

AAFES – Army and Air Force Exchange Service – aka the bougie exchange, especially when in OCONUS locations where families are present

ADFM – Active Duty Family Member. This is what DEERS refers to family members as. Family members are numbered as well by a FMP (Family Member Prefix). Spouses are generally 30. Second spouse 40, etc. Children are numbered based on seniority – 01 for first child, 02 for second, etc.

AMC – Air Mobility Command. This is who operates military flights CONUS and OCONUS, and for families for moves overseas.

BAH – Basic Housing Allowance. This monetary allowance is allotted by rank for the military member – it is divided by with and without dependents by rank and zip code.

BAS – Basic Allowance for Subsistence. This monetary allowance is to cover the service member’s meals. It is not meant to cover family member’s meals.

BCGs – Birth Control Glasses. This loving acronym refers to the lovely large black-framed glasses with abnormally thick corrective lenses that anyone who must wear glasses gets while in training.

BZ – Bravo Zulu. This phrase is used to celebrate an accomplishment or say “great job!” to a fellow service member or work counterpart.

CDC – Child Development Center – this CDC is not to be confused with the other organization of the same acronym which is on the news often. The CDC is the base daycare for children from 6 weeks to preschool.

COLA – Cost of Living Allowance. This is a stipend provided to service members who live in areas with high cost of living. COLA is typically offered to service members who live overseas to help cover the additional costs of living in these higher cost areas. There are areas that provide CONUS COLA. Areas within CONUS that provide COLA as of this writing can be found here.

CONUS – Continental United States

DEERS – Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System. This is the system that registers all service members, and their family members. When a service member becomes married, they must go to DEERS with the family member to put them in the system. When a family member is born, the family member must be registered in DEERS within 90 days. DEERS registration is what is pulled for TRICARE coverage.

DFAC – Dining Facility…because we need four letters for a two-word building.

DFAS– Defense Finance and Accounting Service – this is a big one, this is the acronym service members see in their bank accounts.

DITY – Do It Yourself, usually referred to as a DITY move. However, this acronym has fallen out of vernacular and is now a PPM – Personally Procured Move. Either DITY and PPM are interchangeable.

DOD – Department of Defense

ETS: Expiration of Term of Service. Also known as EAS – or Expiration of Active Obligated Service. This is the end of the enlistment period, or for officer the ETS is the period before career designation (service dependent).

FOB – Forward operating base. These bases are located in deployment locations, and are usually large enough to have hot water showers!

FUBAR – F***** beyond all recognition. AKA not a job well done.

HEDIS– Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set – the HEDIS metrics are something that you may hear of if you are seen at medical on installation, or be asked a specific question at visits due to measures that are being monitored.

LES – Leave and Earning Statement – the pay stub that military members receive. It looks like a crazy chart, and there are actual classes to help discern its meaning.

MRE – Meals Ready to Eat. These meals punch a day’s worth of calories into one little brown pouch will prevent the service member from needing to use the facilities in the field to #2. But those pan coated chocolate discs look awful familiar!

MTF – Military Treatment Facility – the military hospital or main clinic that provides medical services to active duty or military families on board installation.

OCONUS – Outside the Continental United States/ outside the contiguous United States – aka overseas locations where service members are stationed. Alaska counts as OCONUS, as is Hawaii, since it is not within the “lower 48” states.

OHA – Overseas Housing Allowance. This is self-explanatory – the housing allowance provided to service members living in overseas locations. In lieu of BAH, military members receive OHA when living OCONUS. Getting the hang of these acronyms?

OPSEC – Operational Security. If you have heard the phrase “Loose Lips Sink Ships” then you are families with OPSEC. The idea is to not share dates of moving troops overseas, or military secrets on social media or with people outside the immediate need to know.

Package Store – It is also referred to as the Shoppette or a Class 6. Not an acronym, but this phrase refers to the store on base that sells alcohol.

PCM – Primary Care Manager. TRICARE Prime is a HMO like insurance – meaning all referrals must go through a PCM. If you have TRICARE Prime, get to know your PCM well, and how to get in touch with them.

PEBD– Pay Entry Base Date – this is seen on the LES. This date is the most recent entry on duty without a break in service.

POA – Power of Attorney – this document is essential for family members of the active duty service member when they are deployed. There are General and Special Power of Attorney’s – ask your service’s administrative section or legal services to learn more about these and when to have them.

POV – Privately Owned Vehicle as opposed to a Government Owned Vehicle (GOV) or a contracted vehicle.

SA – Situational Awareness

Scuttlebutt – while not an acronym, this term means conversation around the water cooler or occasionally is used to refer to the water cooler itself.

SOCOM – Special Operations Command

TDY – Temporary Duty Travel, aka Temporary Additional Duty (TAD) – this is the term that military members often say when they travel on business, because after all, it is on duty.

TSP – Thrift Savings Plan – the retirement plan offered to service members. Make sure you understand what the breakdowns for this means.

The X – a term for the military Exchange. Often a Navy Exchange or Marine Corps Exchange because of the large “X” in their signs.

If you want to know even more acronyms associated with your or your families branch of service, inquire at the family services office to see if there are classes on offer to help discern the military terms. Learning what these abbreviations mean can help with insight and a sense of belonging with the understanding. Want to have it all at your fingertips now, refer to the DOD Dictionary of Military Associated Terms for up to date acronyms.

August is the month when the long-awaited Honor Flights are returning! The Honor Flight Network has been on hold for the last 16-months and will resume flights on August 16^th transporting veterans to the Washington DC area.

Honor Flights are flights provided to veterans located around the United States to fly to Washington D.C. to tour the war memorials. The program was placed on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year. The 125 chapters of the Honor Flight Network held a virtual meeting in June to review the current guidelines and updates and made the call to restart flights in August.

As part of the new protocols, all veterans, their guardians, and volunteers must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or have a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours before the flight departs in addition to completing a symptom survey to ensure they had not experienced any COVID-19 symptoms prior to travel. These guidelines are in place as many of the veterans traveling are often terminally ill and nursing home residents and wanted to ensure their health and safety as part of the program.

Honor Flight Network has resumed accepting applications for the Lone Eagle Honor Flight program and TLC (Their Last Chance) flights.  The Lone Eagle Honor Flight program is for veterans who live outside a 120-mile radius from an existing regional Honor Flight Hub, and allows for veterans and their guardians to be flown via a Lone Eagle Honor Flight. There are regional hubs in 44 states, with no regional hubs in Arkansas, Montana, Idaho, Mississippi, and Hawaii. The TLC flights are reserved for a veteran whose terminal condition that per their personal physician has given them 12 months or less to live. The veteran does not pay for anything, except perhaps souvenirs if they desire, as all costs are covered by the generosity of donations.

Applications are being accepted now with top priority given to World War II and terminally ill veterans. If a veteran was scheduled for a flight in 2020, those flights are being rescheduled and the veteran or their guardian would be contacted directly.

The Honor Flight Network provides an amazing service and we are so glad they are able to safely return to operation.

The House Appropriations Committee is looking into minimum wage salaries for all service members. As part of the proposed FY 2022 Defense Budget Bill, Representative Mike Garcia introduced language that would ensure all service members have a base pay of about $15 an hour. This would be for a 40-hour day estimation. We know as military family members that the work week is often much more than 40 hours, and much longer when they are deployed on a ship or overseas.

Base pay for military members is just that, base pay. The base pay does not consider Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) or Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) which is provided as a means to offset the service members’ meals and housing respectively. When these figures are included, plus special and incentive pays like flying duty, parachuting duty, or diving duty, the total pay for service members is higher. However, according to Representative Garcia, past studies from the Government Accountability Office indicate that over 20,000 military families qualify for food stamp assistance. Given this large number of families needing assistance, Representative Garcia stated “If the government is paying for these service members to be on food stamps, we may as well be paying them through the base pay or sustenance allowance on the front end.”

The debate among the committee included concern that the verbiage of the increased hourly rate of $15 would have to include contractor employees as well as active duty military. The House Armed Services Committee members have pledged to hold discussions on the pay matter in the future. There is no current timeline for discussions.

This discussion will be monitored and updated. Sign up for updates from the House Armed Services Committee here.

Let me preface this by saying that this is not an article that will say that deployments are totally stress-free. They are not. For both the service member deployed and for the family members “left behind.” There are many stress factors – separation from a key family member, financial concerns, or family illness, just to name a few. Nothing to say that Murphy doesn’t show up the minute your service member leaves and the dishwasher breaks, the water heater leaks, and you get a flat tire. Nope, not speaking from experience at all. This article is to share how to navigate and prepare for deployment as much as possible, leading to a potentially less stressful deployment. All that other stuff – the flat tire and broken dishwasher – can still happen. But preparing for it can help make it a smooth process.

Be prepared. Be paperwork prepared.

Not like in the scouts. This prepared is all about the paperwork. Before the service member goes, make sure the spouse or guardian has all the necessary paperwork needed. A power of attorney (POA) should be provided – either general or specific. The specifics of each type of POA should be explained to the deploying service member. Check with your homeowner’s and automobile insurance to see if they require a separate power of attorney if the primary account holder is the service member.

The legal documents to make sure are prepared are: power of attorney, will, life insurance paperwork. Also make sure you know where your passports, birth certificates, and marriage licenses are.

Make sure a family member knows where they are as well.

Communicate, communicate, communicate.

There is no such thing as over-communicating in regards to preparing for a deployment. Do communicate about expectations. Expectations on what family life will be like when the service member is gone. Communicate about the family budget and what to do in emergencies. Communicate about what the family member wants to hear about in letters or emails – do they want daily emails or weekly ones – perhaps they won’t have internet time often and want to maximize their internet time.

Keep In Touch

If your service member will be without internet, get an address for mailing letters and care packages. If your service member has access to email, email often. It may seem silly but share about every detail. While the family member left behind may be tired and the days feel long, the reality is that family life is happening while the service member is away, and they want to feel like they are part of the family still.

Crunch the numbers.

Speaking of budgets, prepare a deployment budget. Make sure there is an emergency fund for things like broken heaters or flat tires. If you haven’t budgeted in the past, look into resources offered on base from the military-specific services, like the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society who holds budgeting classes, or speak to the financial, military family life counselor on the base.

Know Your Resources

As a family member of a service member, know how to get ahold of the Red Cross if there is a family emergency involving a primary family member, and you need to tell the service member about it, and they don’t have an internet connection.

Know where your Military Family Support Centers are for your service branches – for the Army – Army Community Services, Marines – Marine and Family Programs, the Navy – Fleet and Family Support Program, and the Air Force – Airman and Family Readiness. These centers are hubs for resources for various programming across the bases that can help families thrive and survive the challenges of military life.

Prepare Your Children

Involve the children in planning as the family discusses the deployment, at the ages you and your family feel are appropriate. Keeping them in the loop will help them understand why and where the military service member has traveled to. There are several organizations there for support, including Sesame Street for Military Families, which has a website and app for your phone or tablet device for maximum support, and Comfort Crew for Military Kids with deployment comfort kits. For resources for parents of infants and toddlers, check out Zero to Three. Military Kids Connect has the Kids Deploy Too program with activities for children ages 6-17.

Prioritize Self Care

For the family member left behind, do not forget yourself. Take steps to enjoy gym time, reading a book you always wanted, or try a hobby you have always wanted. Self-care helps manage sanity levels which in turn manages stress levels. If you have children, consider getting a babysitter for an afternoon or night out for yourself.

Having clear expectations and communication can help manage the deployment stress. Having resources for the family and self-care also helps keep the sanity level on a  positive trajectory.

Within the Fiscal Year 2022 Defense Budget, the Department of Defense has outlined plans to improve military base housing. This aspect is among others being discussed as part of preparing military installations for every side of readiness. In fact, per the DOD News release, the $1.4 billion is requested within the Defense Budget is funding is for “construction, operation, and maintenance of the DOD’s worldwide non-privatized family housing inventory, which includes more than 34,000 government owned and 5,800 leased units.” Eight unaccompanied housing projects are also included in the request for funding.

Among military families, military housing on installation is a hot topic. Since housing was privatized, and no longer in control of the military service branches, there have been a series of issues made public including mold, flooding and unsafe hazards. These reports have become public through news or lawsuits. This shapes opinions of the military forces on military housing.

Why Military Housing?

For some, military housing is a must because there is a built-in community. Everyone in an on base community is military, theoretically, and therefore understands that ins and outs. If you mention the word deployment or duty, they understand what that means and entails and may be able to help with resources or knowledge to make it a bit easier. Part of that community is also for children – it is not a simple process to up and move and make new friends, and it is the same for children, but having parks in every neighborhood as a meet up spot makes building friendship a bit easier.

There are other perks of a neighborhood or community pool in addition to parks, tot lots and dog parks. The proximity to the base perks of military commissary and exchange add to the ease of life, and may even be within biking distance on some bases.

Affordable housing is not always easy to find, area dependent. On-installation housing provides a known entity and a way to reach out to people in the neighborhood for home layouts and to temper expectations. The community has a way to help each other out making on installation housing a comfort for some.  Sometimes it is the only practical option available.

Maybe not military housing?

With the community that military housing provides, there is also the concern of safety for some. Previous experience with mold triggering asthma in one base, leads to distrust for any privatized housing company. While many serving in the military now were not around when the service branches were in charge of housing for comparison, privatized housing agencies are not often seen as honest or caring about the person. This lack of trust and perceived lack of safety measures has led to a distrust for all housing on installation in some, and therefore not willing to live on base.

Not all bases are created equal. Some bases have parks in every neighborhood, and some do not. Some are dog friendly and some do not allow any cats. It’s not similar across the board and that is a point of contention for some families.

Another concern for some families is the lack of similarity in terms of home size. Basic Housing Allowance (BAH) is based on rank, and is the same for the rank with dependents. Families with larger and smaller sized families may all be in the same sized homes, or different sized homes, but all pay the same price.  It might be frustrating to forfeit the same BAH for a smaller house than others in the same grade because of the timing when you arrive.

What’s in a budget?

While the defense budget proposal does not specifically support the privatized housing agencies, the DOD does construct, operate and maintain military barracks/dormitories (depending on military service branch) and there is non-privatized housing available worldwide. In order to meet the demand for safe housing, funds must be procured. This includes removing Polyfluroalkyl substances from water sources at numerous military bases across the United States. In comparison to previous years requests for funding, there is a request of $50 million more for housing efforts as compared to the budget request 2 years prior.

Will this effort to renew some of the housing be met with positive outcomes? It is to be determined based on the actual outcome. This is a proposed budget, not approved budget. Oftentimes, efforts for non-force components are cut or cut down in budget reviews. The reality is that housing has a direct effect on readiness and if this can be demonstrated and shared, perhaps the budget will reflect these changes.

The entire defense budget request can be found here including the budget briefing and any associated press releases.

Per the Council on Foreign Relations, women make up 16% of the enlisted forces and 19% of the office corps within the military branches, excluding Coast Guard, as no data was available. This was compared to 1973, when women made up 2% of the enlisted forces and 8 percent of the officer corps. While being a minority within the service branches, women have the unique position of serving during pregnancy. The U.S. Navy began accepting females into their aviation program in 1974.  On Mother’s Day in 2021, the U.S. Navy gifted a uniform change to their pregnant service members – a flight maternity suit.

Lt Cmdr. Jacqueline Nordan, Commander Naval Air Force Reserve (CNAFR), received the first maternity suit as part of the early distribution program to determine its usefulness and effectiveness. Lt Cmdr. Nordan stated in a press release, “The addition of this uniform makes an immediate impact on women in the Navy. It shows that leadership is listening and is supportive in response to the issues that female aviators are raising. These additions are important because they show that leadership supports the idea that having a career and having a family can be compatible. Being a dedicated Navy professional while building a family can be done.”

The new flight suits have adjustable side panels that allow for comfort and professional appearance during pregnancy versus what was done previously – having to wear larger flight suits that require hemming or sleeve adjustments for comfort and don’t necessarily look professional in baggy flight suits. In addition, there is less expense involved with the maternity flight suit. This one suit can be worn throughout the stages of pregnancy versus multiple large suits being purchased to accommodate the pregnancy as it was done in the past.

All pregnant aircrew members within the Navy are eligible to wear the new maternity flight suit.  While per Navy guidelines, pregnancy is considered a disqualifier for flying duties, those with aircrew duties can get waivers based on medical service group. Flying after the third trimester is banned entirely.

With women growing their numbers within the military community, the recognition with a comfortable uniform during an uncomfortable period is a gesture of recognition of that fact.

In a new move to develop leaders within the U.S. Army, all junior enlisted soldiers must now be a corporal before promotion to sergeant per a recently released statement. This change began July 1^st for active duty members and October 1^st for reservists.

Prior to July 1^st, soldiers were given the rank of corporal when they were identified as leaders. The rank of corporal conferred the responsibilities of a noncommissioned officer (NCO), identifying those individuals as being prepared to lead their peers. Corporals were not a common rank, instead, they were more Specialists.  With the change, any soldier with the rank of specialist will be laterally promoted to the rank of corporal if they had been recommended for advancement/promotion and completed the Basic Leader Course (BLC). Also, current corporals will need to qualify for the promotion and have completed BLC or be laterally reassigned the rank of specialist. There is no pay change with corporal as it is considered an E4 rank, the same as a specialist. However, the rank of Corporal outranks Specialists as a Corporal is considered an NCO.

Within the statement from the U.S. Army, Sgt. Maj. Kenyatta Gaskins, Directorate of Military Personnel Management sergeant major, stated that “This is a junior leader development process and that’s how we’re looking at this.”  

Sgt Maj. of the Army Michael A. Grinston began the initiative “This is My Squad” to work on building cohesion within units and empower NCOs. This change in ranking falls in line with this initiative.  In regards to the change in promotions, Grinston stated “We rely on junior leads to build cohesive teams that are highly trained, disciplined, and mentally and physically fit. In many cases, a specialist is charged with that responsibility. This allows us to recognize their role as noncommissioned officer and ensure they’re getting the coaching and mentorship they need to be successful.”

In addition, beginning June 1, 2022, all active duty soldiers attending BLC must be recommended for promotion to sergeant. This goes into effect for reservists on October 1, 2022.

The time in rank as a Corporal will differ per military specialty. No matter the specialty, this change is intended to be a visible reminder of the focus on leadership within the Army’s ranks.

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 30^th 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?