Due to the sequester and recent government shutdown, the military has been facing a lack of funding for some of its essential base operations, including commissaries.
According to The Fayetteville Observer, the Department of Defense is considering closing more than 175 commissaries located on domestic military installations, a move that will impact many military shoppers.
"[It] would be a dramatic impact on a lot of people," Mark Erskine, an Army veteran who is now commander of American Legion Post 230, told the news source. "Around here, lots and lots of veterans stay here. They stay here so they have access to using military benefits. The commissary and PX – those are benefits of being veterans, retired or on 100 percent disability."
The news outlet stated that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel asked the Defense Commissary Agency to create a plan that would close a majority of the military's stateside commissaries as part of the 2015 fiscal defense budget, which is due next February.
According to statistics released by the DeCA, servicemembers, veterans and military families who shop at commissaries receive about a 30 percent discount on groceries and other household goods.
After resisting for several months, the Texas Military Forces, which include the Texas National Guard and Reserves, announced Nov. 26 that it will allow servicemembers who are currently in same-sex marriages to apply for dependent benefits.
"We look forward to having the ability to process the benefits our service members and their families are entitled to," Lt. Col. Joanne MacGregor, the state public affairs officer, said in a statement.
The new directive from the Texas Military Forces ensures that same-sex military couples will receive their spousal benefits by partnering with the Department of Defense, which will provide the funding, personnel and equipment required for processing the applications. This way, no member of the Texas National Guard has to be involved, nor will it violate the state's constitution, which does not recognize same-sex marriage.
According to The Washington Post, the Texas Military Forces has been refusing to process the dependent benefits applications from its gay servicemembers since Sept. 3, when the new rules were enacted nationwide. The shift in policy was announced by the Pentagon last August, not long after the Supreme Court struck down a provision of the Defense of Marriage Act that blocked married gay couples from being recognized by federal agencies. Under the new rules, same-sex military couples can receive military identification cards, survivors benefits and other entitlements.
A British photographer set out on a nearly impossible task in 2005 – to capture the faces of the last living veterans of World War I.
In a series titled "The Old Guard," U.K.-based photographer Giles Price displays Britain's last remaining WWI veterans, many of whom were well over 100 years old by the time they sat down for their portrait. According to Slate, when Price came up with the idea to track down the veterans, only 23 of the roughly 9 million British military members who served in WWI were living.
"I was aware that very few were still alive and wanted to document them while they were alive," Price told the news source. "I was 20 minutes from taking one sitter when the home rang me to say he had passed that morning. He was 106."
Price traveled to each veteran's home to take their photo. A Royal Marines veteran who fought in Iraq in the early 1990s, Price added that being a former military member influenced the way he shot and edited his subjects, some of whom chose to wear their service medals for the photo shoot.
The New York Times reported in 2012 that the last known World War I veteran on either side of the conflict, Florence Green, passed away at age 110.
Two veterans organizations have found themselves facing off in a defamation lawsuit.
The Indiana Star reported that the Wounded Warrior Project, a national nonprofit that empowers returning servicemembers, filed a lawsuit with a U.S. District Court last week, claiming that the organization was publicly defamed by Dean Graham. The Indiana resident and Army veteran runs the local veterans organization Help Indiana Vets Inc. with his wife, Patricia, who is also an Army veteran, according to the nonprofit's website.
In the lawsuit, lawyers for the Wounded Warrior Project claim that Graham called the organization "a fraud … that needs to be investigated immediately" in a post published on the Help Indiana Vets website. The news source stated that the lawsuit also alleges that Graham emailed major broadcast news outlets, including CNN and Fox News, with attacks on the Wounded Warrior Project. The Help Indiana Vets founder also reportedly sent similar messages to government departments at both the state and federal level.
A recent post on the Help Indiana Vets website outlines the Wounded Warrior Project's alleged "fraudulent behavior," claiming that the nonprofit exploits veterans through its TV ads.
According to the nonprofit's website, Help Indiana Vets gives 100 percent of its donations directly to veterans.
Local police squads will now be equipped with vehicles armed with bullet-proof glass and gun turrets, courtesy of the Defense Department.
According to The Associated Press, fighting vehicles that were used during the Iraq War are being given to police forces across the country through a national military surplus program.
"It's armored. It's heavy. It's intimidating. And it's free," Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple told the news source. Albany is one of five county sheriff's departments receiving the vehicles in the state of New York.
While the trucks might be free – and military-grade – the news outlet stated that they can also cause some issues for the local police forces. Coming in at 18 tons, the $500,000 vehicles only get about five miles to a gallon and might be too large to travel on commercial roads. In some cases, that can make them nearly inoperable. Despite these setbacks, many local police agencies are excited for their new arrivals.
Dallas County Sheriff's Department Spokeswoman Carmen Castro recently told The Blaze that the recent addition of its $600,000 armored truck will boost the department's readiness and safety. The Dallas Observer added that the sheriff's department new International MaxxPro MRAP was not used in overseas combat, but in stateside training exercises.
Michigan veterans with disabilities will now be exempt from paying property taxes on their main residencies as a result of new legislation.
According to The Marquette Mining Journal, the Dannie Lee Barnes Disabled Veteran Property Tax Relief Act applies to veterans who are permanently and entirely disabled, unable to gain employment and currently receiving special housing assistance. Former legislation only exempted veterans who received housing assistance due to their disabilities.
The news outlet added that former servicemembers must have been honorably discharged in order to be eligible for the tax exemption.
"Michigan's military veterans, particularly those who are disabled, have sacrificed more for us than we can ever repay," Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said in a statement, as quoted by the news source. "They have served to protect our way of life and our freedom. This property tax break will be available to their families, will help them afford homes, and stay right here in Michigan."
The new legislation has been met with approval from many of the state's veterans, including Dave Eling, director of the Muskegon County Department of Veterans' Affairs. Eling told the Muskegon Chronicle that the law is a sign that Michigan is improving its veterans benefits.
Johnny's Saloon, a mainstay in the sunny surfside city of Huntington Beach, Calif., is currently trying to save its iconic marquee that proclaims thanks and support for American veterans. Featuring a POW/MIA symbol, the black-and-gold billboard proudly situated on top of the bar reads: "Thank a veteran for your freedom!"
The OC Weekly reported that bar owner Johnny Kresimir will be hit with a $960 fine from the city's code enforcement department if he does not remove the famous sign from the roof of his bar as soon as possible.
A popular punk-rock haven in the sporty Southern California city, Johnny's Saloon opened in 1982 and began spreading its "thank a veteran message" since the early '90s, according to the establishment's website. Kresimir's father, Johnny Kresimir, Sr., frequently had customers come in who were World War II, Korean and Vietnam veterans and wanted to express his support. The OC Weekly added that Johnny's Saloon is known for its community outreach efforts in support of veterans' charities.
"After spending $1,000's sponsoring the city's Marine 3/1 Marathon & The Surf City Veterans Day Car Show this is the thanks we get," Kresimir told the news source. "Every car dealership can do whatever they want whenever they want making Beach Blvd tacky but us little guys … want to spread a positive message."
A top Air Force official warned this week that the steady increase in pay and benefits costs could be harmful to the overall function of the military branch in the future, according to a news release from the Department of Defense.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III said that the Air Force will not be able to complete its duties within the next 10 years because the cost of benefits, salaries and health insurance account for half of the branch's total budget.
"We've all benefited immensely and we thank them for that," Welsh said in the statement. "But it is time to slow it down a little bit until we know we can do our primary job, which is fight and win the nation's wars."
Welsh stated that Congress would need to slow the growth of military pay and benefits so that the DOD can iron out its current financial issues. Experts added that these costs might be unsustainable as early as 2023.
The Pentagon's base budget is currently 26 percent higher than it was a decade ago, The Huffington Post reported. Under the new spending cuts, the Defense Department's spending budget would average around $528 billion per year.
Despite a slight drop in overall homelessness in West Virginia, a recent report found that there are now more veterans without permanent shelter in the Mountain State.
The Charleston Daily Mail reported that recent data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shows that there were 329 former servicemembers in West Virginia without a long-term place to live in 2013, an increase from the 268 veterans living in similar situations in 2012. It's the highest number of homeless veterans without permanent housing in the last three years.
Amanda Sisson, the assistant director of the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, noted that most of the homeless veterans in the state served in the Vietnam War.
"It's that era of veterans who are experiencing homelessness," Sisson stated to the news source. "But I also think we are going to see a lot of younger veterans coming back who suffer from traumatic brain injuries (and other issues) become homeless."
According to the HUD report, there were more than 57,000 homeless veterans in 2013, with 60 percent of them staying in shelters or transitional housing programs.
Although the military began developing technology for driverless vehicles in 2003, Mashable recently reported that the project has fallen behind of its 2015 deadline.
According to the news source, the military originally planned to have one-third of its ground fleet unmanned within the next two years. The specially designed vehicles would be used in high-risk areas to move supplies as a way to protect soldiers from dangerous weapons and explosives. However, a lack of funding has hindered the progress of this advanced technology.
"Autonomous vehicles have come a very long way over the past decade, but the technology still has a long way to go before the U.S. Army and Marine Corps will find it ready for battle," Sam Brannen, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the news outlet. "The money for this transition simply isn't in the budgets."
Although the military – and the civilian sector – is still working on creating safe driverless vehicles, the use of remote-controlled robots has become widespread in combat zones. According to Wired magazine, several civilian companies are currently working on robotic technology equipped with automatic weapons and grenade launchers. These remote-controlled lethal robots would work alongside ground troops in combat.