As several states with same-sex marriage bans currently fight the Department of Defense's new policy to include same-sex couples in its spousal benefits, one Midwestern state has decided to turn the tide.
Members of the Missouri National Guard who are currently in same-sex relationships can now receive equal military benefits, despite the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage, the Riverfront Times reports.
"We're just following guidance from the Department of Defense," Missouri National Guard spokesman 1st Lt. John Quin told the news source, adding that the state's same-sex marriage ban was not taken into consideration by the guard because its benefits program falls under the federal system.
The DoD's spousal policy shift occurred in July, following the landmark Supreme Court decision that struck down a provision of the Defense of Marriage Act that blocked federal agencies from recognizing same-sex couples. Under the new rules, same-sex military and National Guard couples are eligible for various assistance programs such as military healthcare, Social Security and survivor benefits, as well as military identification cards allowing access to bases and their facilities.
While Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has yet to speak on this issue, the governors of nearby states Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi – all of which have a constitutional law banning gay marriage – have blocked their same-sex couple guards members from receiving these benefits. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin was the latest state leader to cease the processing of same-sex couple benefits, according to The Associated Press.
The on-going sequester continues to pose a major threat to servicemembers and military families as Congress currently battles over an increasing debt ceiling and hefty spending cuts, which include a $52 billion defense reduction for the 2014 fiscal year. One of the most pressing issues facing the military community is the potential furlough of civilian defense department workers and the adverse effects it may have on servicemembers, according to Government Executive.
In 2013 the Department of Defense furloughed more than 650,000 employees, according to the news source. While Congress is currently fighting to fund the government through the end of the year, the divisive debate might result in more government furloughs in 2014.
Servicemembers are exempt from government furloughs, but many of their programs and facilities reportedly suffer from the laying off of civilian workers. The news outlet reports that a recent survey conducted by First Command Financial Services Inc. found that 72 percent of middle-class military families with an annual household income of $50,000 were affected by recent furloughs, ranging from reduced hours at the commissary to limited access to medical treatment.
"It's worth noting that a significant subset of active-duty households include a federal employee," CEO Scott Spiker told Government Executive. "These families were hit twice by the furloughs – through a reduction in various services to the military communities as well as smaller paychecks for federal workers."
According to the survey, which also collected data from civilian households, only 32 percent of non-military middle-class families felt negative effects from the recent government furloughs.
As use of robots on the battlefield increases, a strange connection is being forged between these machines and the active-duty troops they serve. Slate recently reported that servicemembers are becoming attached to the mechanical beings – and it might have detrimental effects.
Military bots
Nearly all military organizations utilize robots on the frontline to meet various needs, including inspecting, detecting and defusing explosives. As a result, the robots work closely with Explosive Ordnance Disposal squads. According to Army of Robots, the Daksh robot is one of the most used machines among military organizations. Controlled through a remote, the small robot locates and handles active explosives, ultimately defusing them. It also features an X-ray scanning device that has come in handy for identifying strange material.
The MARCbot was also heavily featured during the Iraq war. Small and low-cost, the robot, which resembles a toy truck, is primarily used to inspect suspicious or risky objects.
An emotional attachment
Because the servicemembers spend so much time with the robots, they have come to know them in an almost-intimate way, said Julie Carpenter, a writer and researcher from the University of Washington. Carpenter interviewed 23 soldiers who regularly worked with the machines for a recent book on human and robot relations, Slate reports.
According to the news source, Carpenter found that the servicemembers began identifying with their mechanical colleagues, giving them names – that they sometimes painted onto the robots – and personalities. In an interview with the University of Washington, Carpenter added that the servicemembers felt powerful emotions when their fellow mechanical mates were destroyed. Many soldiers even held funerals for their robots.
"Some operators reported they saw their robots as an extension of themselves," Carpenter told the university, adding that the soldiers would become frustrated or angry when a robot was experiencing technical issues.
Dangers of friendship
After uncovering the soldiers' intense feelings toward the robots, Carpenter started worrying about the effects it would have on their combat performance. Although the soldiers insisted to Carpenter that they were able to fully function despite their emotional attachment, the researcher believes there might be dangers on the battlefield.
"They were very clear it was a tool, but at the same time, patterns in their responses indicated they sometimes interacted with the robots in ways similar to a human or pet," Carpenter said.
To ensure that the use of military robots doesn't compromise the performance of active-duty troops, Carpenter suggests the U.S. military takes a closer look at human-robot relations when further developing robot technology, especially since new designs have added human and animal-like features to the tiny machinery.
Thanks to a new White House privacy initiative, servicemembers might be able to retrieve their military benefits through one identification number.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has granted Id.me Inc., a Virginia-based web company, $1.2 million to develop the innovative technology, NextGov reports. Through the potential web system, veterans, Pentagon staff and their families can gain access to many secure websites, including online banking accounts, federal agencies and healthcare companies. NIST officials also said it would help veterans obtain their college financial forms.
According to the news source, the in-development system would expand on Troop ID, a current Internet tool that lets servicemembers and other military personnel log onto commercial websites. NIST states that more than 200,000 servicemembers and veterans already use the system to access their military benefits.
While Troop ID currently uses password-protected technology, developers at Id.me hope to change that. In a world where cybersecurity is a top priority, the web company is attempting to develop a more secure credential that will include passcodes being sent via text message.
"The Troop ID pilot will help Americans, the military community and their families access more secure, privacy-enhancing multi-factor identity solutions that they can use in lieu of passwords in their everyday transactions online," Jeremy Grant, NIST senior executive advisor for identity management, said in a news release.
This potential military access technology builds on the privacy data systems currently in-development by the U.S. government. According to NextGov, the larger White House initiative, National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, envisions a world where citizens will only need one I.D. credential to log onto numerous sites.
Following the Washington Navy Yard shooting that claimed the lives of 12 civilians Monday, Sep. 16, the defense department is looking into its policy on background checks and taking further steps to reform the process, Reuters reports.
Defense department officials told the news source that background checks for workers with "secret" security clearance are valid for a decade. The checks are only re-opened if new reports of misconduct are raised by the individual's supervisor or self-reported, officials said. While there is a self-reporting requirement, officials are skeptical that workers who participate in illegal activity would be inclined to report themselves.
The harsh reality
As safety concerns rise following Monday's mass shooting at a U.S. military installation, newly uncovered details of the shooter's former military life provide insight into the potential failings of the security clearance system, the news outlet reports.
Aaron Alexis, a Navy veteran, was initially given security clearance in 2008 during his service in the Navy Reserve. At the time of the shooting, Alexis was working for a defense contractor as an information technology specialist.
The background check highlighted a 2004 arrest, but Alexis was nonetheless granted clearance. That clearance held over to Alexis' current specialist job, because it was already tied to the military, an official told the news source.
"In national policy, there is a procedure which allows for reinstatement of that existing clearance, provided that there's no derogatory information known," the official said.
However, Alexis, an increasingly troubled individual, had recent issues. The Los Angeles Times reports that Rhode Island police warned the Navy just last month about Alexis' recent mental health developments, including his statement that he was allegedly hearing voices. A Navy official told the news source that the security department did not label Alexis as a threat after a "routine" review.
The news outlet also states that Alexis was treated by a Veterans Affairs hospital in late August for insomnia, and was discharged to his primary care provider.
A policy in flux
Defense department officials told Reuters that while security clearances were ramped up following 2009's mass shooting at Fort Hood in Texas, a new security process is still evolving.
"What we're doing is trying to make sure we have a system by which we are appropriately protecting [privacy], but providing information to the experts who need to know it," an official said.
According to defense officials, only 52 of the 89 security recommendations offered since 2009 have been fully implemented within the department. Among those recommendations still in development are information sharing between the FBI and local police jurisdictions, the establishment of threat-management units and active shooter training, the news source reports.
The defense department is also working on a program that would immediately notify security officials of recent arrests and criminal charges. Defense officials hope that program will help identify potential threats to military safety.
A replica of the iconic Vietnam War memorial has been making its way around the country, granting those who have never been to Washington, D.C. a chance to view it.
The pop-up memorial, which is a 250-foot version of the one at the nation's capital, just arrived this week in Elgin, Illinois, a city located about 40 miles northwest of The Windy City. Chicago's Daily Herald reports that it will open to the public Thursday, Sep. 19 at the city's Civic Center Plaza.
Called "The Wall that Heals," the memorial features the names of the 58,200 soldiers that died during the Vietnam War, the traveling replica is part of a project by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. According to the organization's website, the exhibit began in 1996 and has visited roughly 350 cities.
Barbara Dobek, the organization's site manager, told the news source that she has journeyed around the country for the last 3 years with the memorial. She believes it's a great homage to Vietnam veterans who risked their lives more than 40 years ago.
"This gives (veterans) the chance to be welcomed home, for those who didn't get that honor," Dobek said.
In addition to the 250-foot memorial, the exhibit also includes various photographs, documents and a map of Vietnam complete with a war timeline.
The traveling memorial has a busy schedule. This year, it will stop in 29 separate sites throughout the nation. It's next destination is Auburn, Wash.
Students and alumni of the Syracuse University College of Law will provide pro-bono legal and financial advice to military veterans through their Sep. 28 Valor Day initiative.
After receiving resounding feedback from participants for its first Valor Day last March, students at the law school decided to continue serving veterans and military families through partnerships with professional alumni and local volunteers. Even organizers hope the Valor Day initiative, which has already helped more than 80 veterans, will turn the law school into a major advocate and resource for Syracuse's growing veteran population.
According to event organizer and third-year law student Marine Corps 1st Lt. Josh Keefe, most of the students, alumni and volunteers involved are either veterans or have previous military connections. He reiterated that this is not a money-making opportunity for lawyers, but a day of volunteer service.
"By no means are attendees entering into an attorney-client relationship or binding relationship with the lawyers," Keefe told the news source.
Legal advice, vocational counseling and resume critiques are among the provided services. A veterans information fair will also be held that day, offering resources from more than 20 veterans and government organizations.
Syracuse University currently ranks first in the state of New York and 17th in the nation in veteran enrollment, according to the school's veterans resource center.
Following a recent testimony from an American Legion official that revealed major failings at the Veterans Affairs Baltimore office, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., has delivered an ultimatum to the VA.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Mikulski, who oversees federal government funds as the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, sent a letter to the Baltimore VA branch Monday expressing her disappointment in its handling of the disability claims backlog. The embattled veterans office recently came under fire after a congressional testimony from Verna Jones, a director at the American Legion, alleged that the Baltimore office was tossing out more veterans the claims they processed, the news source reported last week.
Jones also said that the office was ignoring the newly implemented fast-track program, which would speed up the claims process in order to clear out the ongoing disability backlog.
"We cannot continue to allow the Baltimore office to perform at a level that puts our commitment to veterans in jeopardy," Mikulski wrote.
The Senator is giving the Baltimore office 10 days to develop an improvement plan, and called for special leadership and processing training to be led by the Indianapolis VA office, which is one of the most successful branches in the country.
Not only is the Baltimore VA office the slowest in the nation at processing claims, but also has the highest rate of error, according to VA data.
Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., is leading a fight to maintain Fort McPherson's commissary, the sole military benefits store in the Greater Atlanta area that's slated to close Sep. 28.
Located just outside of Atlanta in College Park, the commissary is in danger of closing due to the construction of a future store at Dobbins Air Force Base in nearby Marietta, Ga. However, that construction has been stalled due to a lack of funding, leaving many to wonder if it will open at all.
In a letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Johnson urged the defense department to keep the commissary at Fort McPherson open until the one at Dobbins AFB is completed. If the commissary closes before then, Johnson wrote, thousands of servicemembers and veterans residing in the Greater Atlanta area will be left without access to a military provisions store.
A member of the House Armed Services and Judiciary committees and long-time advocate for veteran benefits, Johnson stated that cutting this "important benefit" from active-duty members and veterans undermines their service.
"These heroes have earned this benefit through service to our nation," Johnson wrote. "In these difficult economic times … it is deeply disappointing that the Department would make the decision to deprive Atlanta-area veterans of a commissary."
Although Fort McPherson stopped operating in 2011, its commissary remained open. If it closes, servicemembers and veterans will have to travel more than two hours to Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga. for the nearest military provisions store.
A congressional subcommittee has recently taken up military benefits, threatening the pay, healthcare and retirement packages of future servicemembers.
According to the Military Times, House Armed Services subcommittee chairman Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va. is in favor of cutting benefits and pay for future troops. However, he is intent on blocking base closures and cuts to armed services structures.
Wittman also insists that the potential cuts to military pay and other benefits will not affect current active-duty members.
"I think we have a moral commitment as a nation to say this is the agreement, while not legal but I think a moral agreement, under which you came into the services," Wittman said in a recent televised interview with C-SPAN Newsmakers. "I think we need to stand by that."
Wittman, who according to the news source controls roughly 40 percent of the defense budget told the television program that he believed pay cuts would be fair and not result in less dedicated troops.
Although Congress has long been against cuts to military pay, the stress of the sequester has placed a heavy burden on both the legislative branch and the military, reports Military.com. The battle over the defense budget comes to a head Oct. 1, when the military faces a $52 billion reduction in the new fiscal year.
According to the news source, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel stated last month that military benefits account for half of the defense budget.