When sequestration was enacted in March, it triggered $34 billion in across-the-board cuts to the Pentagon budget, and unless lawmakers repeal the process, the Department of Defense will experience even more significant reductions next year. The DOD could see about $20 billion in additional cuts in 2014, which would account for about 10 percent below the budget that was approved just six months ago, The Associated Press reports.

These cuts can be avoided if members of Congress come to an agreement on how to best reduce the deficit. Recently, legislators from both parties met with White House officials to discuss the issues, but by all accounts very little progress was made. However, with the news that the Pentagon will suffer even greater cuts in 2014 coming to the forefront, it may encourage some greater action on Capitol Hill, Washington insiders say.

"This is the primary motivator for undoing sequestration," Jennifer Hing, spokeswoman for House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers, told the AP. "Defense will take an enormous hit and it will not be something they can absorb overnight."

More recently, the Pentagon has been looking to cut $900 million by the end of Sept. 30. DOD officials say they may have to ask civilian workers to take six to eight unpaid days to help defray the costs, Military.com reports. 

One of the most controversial aspects of the money saving proposals put forth by White House and Pentagon officials has been a planned 1 percent pay raise for active duty troops – lower than the 1.8 percent recommended by Congress. Although the suggestion has been met with criticism from many people in the military community, the plan recently got the backing of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, according to Military Times.

Odierno was speaking to a crowd during a question and answer session held by the American Enterprise Institute. Although the pay raise is lower than it traditionally is, he said that it was a necessary sacrifice because of the significant savings potential. If the policy stays as it is now, Odierno warns that the Pentagon could run into significant trouble down the road.

"That sounds like a little difference but it is a huge difference throughout the years," Odierno said, as quoted by Military Times. "It's billions of dollars … three, four, five years from now. So we think what we can do is manage the pay raises at a bit lower level for a few years."

Disagreement surrounding the pay raise is just one issue that is sure to cause problems in the coming years and months. Most notably, the White House has called for an increase to TRICARE fees to cover the growing cost of health care coverage. 

When Hurricane Sandy rocked the East Coast last year, first responders played a vital role in keeping citizens in New York, New Jersey and elsewhere safe, and now they're being thanked for their exemplary efforts. JetBlue recently handed out dozens of flight vouchers to first responders and their families who live in some of the New Jersey towns that were hit hardest by the powerful storm, The Star-Ledger reports.

Each town selected its own recipients of the prizes, with emergency workers in Middletown, Sea Bright, Seaside Heights and Toms River all earning the vouchers. Among those who were honored was Jane Geoghegan, who volunteers for Toms River's Silverton Emergency Medical Services. The 73-year-old, who has been volunteering for nearly 50 years, helped rescue people while she was unable to get into her heavily damaged home. 

"It's just nice that they're doing this. I couldn't believe it. Out of all the bad things that happened, all this time. This is really nice," she told the newspaper. "We haven't been the recipients of too many funds that are out there."

Although it's been nearly a year since Hurricane Sandy hit, many communities along the Jersey shore are still recovering. In fact, earlier this month the Statue of Liberty re-opened for the first time since closing after the storm due to damage.

Service academies are recognized almost as much for their academic tradition as they are the quality of their graduates, and in Forbes' recent rankings of the best college in the U.S., they performed particularly well. This was especially true for the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., which landed at No. 7, beating out the likes of Harvard, MIT and Cornell.

West Point was not the only service academy to earn praise from the venerable publication. The U.S. Naval Academy came in at No. 28, while the Air Force Academy ranked No. 31. Military officials were pleased to be so well represented in the rankings because it is indicative of the quality of today's servicemembers.

"I think that's a great testament to the kind of students and faculty we draw to the military academies," Brig. Gen. Andrew Armacost, dean of faculty at the Air Force Academy, told Military Times. "We continue to focus on offering our students a world-class education that is combined with leadership development unmatched on the planet."

There were some other surprises in the rankings. Stanford was No. 1 and Pomona College was No. 2, marking the first time two non-Ivy League schools have earned the two top spots.

The 2009 battle at Afghanistan's Combat Outpost Keating left eight American soldiers dead, but it also highlighted the exemplary bravery of U.S. troops. One servicemember, Staff Sgt. Clint Romesha, has already earned the Medal of Honors for his actions that day, and the White House recently added another name to the list. Army Staff Sgt. Ty Carter will be given the distinction, Stars and Stripes reports.

One look at Carter's actions during the day-long battle, and it's clear why he's being given the Medal of Honor. Carter braved heavy enemy fire multiple times, such was when he made several runs to get his fellow soldiers supplies and bring wounded troops to safety. He also called for reinforcements, acted as a sniper while other serivcemembers tended to injured troops and survived enemy fire to make sure a blaze did not spread. His colleagues are not surprised he was chosen.

"In my heart I knew deep down inside that it was going to happen eventually, because knowing what he [Carter] went through and knowing the extraordinary circumstances that he and everyone else had faced, there was no way that something like this could be passed up. I couldn't be prouder," said retired 1st Sgt. Jonathan G. Hill, Carter's platoon Sergeant. 

Carter becomes the fifth living Medal of Honor recipient from the war in Afghanistan. Additionally, nine troops have earned the Silver Star, according to Stripes.

In 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the White House pledged to end homelessness among veterans by 2015. In the years since, they have funneled a considerable amount of energy and funding into the initiative, and there has been a 17 percent decline in the number of homeless veterans since. Despite the improvements, there is still some work to be done and the VA in particular has asked local businesses and organizations to help out, Military Times reports.

More than just a home
One of the biggest challenges facing the White House and VA is that, while they can help vets find housing, they can't assist them with other necessities such as furniture, utilities, supplies or paying rent. VA officials are encouraged by the decrease in the number of homeless vets, which has fallen from about 300,000 in 2003 to 60,000 in 2012, but without any furnishings in their residence, their quality of life will still suffer. Lisa Pape, director of homeless programs at VA's Veterans Health Administration, said private industries and businesses need to lend a helping hand.

"If you can prevent a veteran from falling into homelessness or being in at-risk situations, you can head off various other issues like addiction and health problems," Matt Carey, director of the District of Columbia Office of Veterans Affairs, told the news source.

Local communities helping out
Some organizations have heard the calls for help from the VA and have pitched in to improve the lives of veterans. In Washington, for instance, The Bellingham Housing Authority, Opportunity Council and health department recently took advantage of several grants to spur positive changes in the state, according to The Bellingham Herald.

Challenges lay ahead
Even as progress is made in the fight against homelessness, the need will likely continue in the coming months and years as thousands of troops return from Afghanistan. Additionally, an estimated 300,000 servicemembers are expected to separate from service each year for the near future. These challenges may be compounded by the budgetary constraints formed by sequestration. The across-the-board budget cuts have already had an impact on  certain programs. According to ThinkProgress.com, approximately 100,000 homeless or formerly homeless people will no longer have access to helpful programs. 

The House of Representatives approved a much-debated defense spending bill on Wednesday night that could have a significant impact on the Pentagon's operations in 2014. The $598.3 billion bill is around $3 billion less than the White House requested, and includes some provisions that could make it easier for the Department of Defense to survive the sequester-related cuts that may come next year, FOX News reported. 

More than $512 billion of the bill's funding will go toward non-war spending, which includes about $580 million for the expected pay raise for active duty personnel. The budget also includes about $85.8 billion for war operations in Afghanistan next year. American troops are expected to be out of the country by the end of 2014. 

Whether the budget is implemented remains to be seen, as it still needs to pass the Senate, where it may face an uphill battle. Additionally, President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill if there is no action taken to increase TRICARE fees.

"The Administration is disappointed that the Committee has consistently failed to support requested TRICARE fee initiatives that seek to control DOD's spiraling health care costs while keeping retired beneficiaries' share of these costs well below the levels experienced when the TRICARE program was implemented in the mid-1990s," The White House said in a press release. 

Veterans have a variety of options at their disposal when it comes to managing the long-term psychological challenges they face. Some choose to follow artistic pursuits while others may benefit from therapy. Now, a new study suggests that outdoor activities may offer the greatest benefits. Researchers from the University of Michigan found that vets who participated in group recreation outdoors exhibited a significant improvement to their mental health.

Positive responses
The study was performed thanks to the Sierra Club, which operates the Military Family and Veterans Initiative in an effort to provide servicemembers and their loved ones an opportunity to access outdoor recreation. Specifically, the organization was interested in determining whether their program had a positive impact. To measure this, U-M researchers surveyed veterans before and after hiking and camping. They found that participants showed improvements in measures of psychological well-being, social functioning and positive outlook.

"The Sierra Club knows anecdotally the mental, emotional and physical benefits that come from spending time in nature, particularly for returning service members for whom the outdoors can be integral to their reintegration," said Stacy Bare, Sierra Club mission outdoors director. "The results of the University of Michigan's study reinforce these beliefs and support our efforts to make these types of experiences available to more people."

Opportunities abound
There are a wide variety of outdoor activities available to veterans, and a growing number of them have taken advantage of these unique programs. One of the most successful of these initiatives was launched by Maj. Mike Erwin and his brother Mark in 2010. Known as Team Red, White and Blue, the organization is dedicated to getting veterans involved in their communities through both physical and social activity. In just three years, the program has helped a large number of vets transition to civilian life, including Eddie Carmona, who turned to Team Red, White and Blue and running to improve his mental health. 

The organization has also helped launch some unique programs, including an equine therapy program in rural Sharon, Conn. Run by Samantha Case, a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology, the therapy is designed to help vets who are managing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Litchfield County Times. Case, who is doing her doctoral dissertation on the subject, says there needs to be more empirical evidence on the benefits of equine therapy for veterans. 

The Army has taken significant strides in recent months to open up an increasing number of combat roles to female soldiers, and thanks to a new initiative that figure could grow. The program, known as Soldier 2020, aims to have the best soldiers possible in the branch by 2020, regardless of gender, according to Army News Service.

At the heart of Soldier 2020 is a re-examining of the physical standards currently in place and taking a more gender neutral approach to them. The hope is that by 2015, Army leadership will receive recommendations on what combat positions can be opened up to women. Col. Linda Sheimo, chief of the Command Programs and Policy Division at the Directorate of Military Personnel Management, said the changes will not be too drastic.

"We're not lowering standards," Sheimo told the news source. "We are ensuring that every soldier knows what the standard is. The reality is that you will have some cases where men will not be able to meet that minimum requirement, they just won't have the physical capability, and there might be some women that do."

Any move to make it easier for women to serve in the Armed Forces would be a significant step forward, especially given the important role they played in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to Military.com, an estimated 280,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has certainly faced his fair share of challenges during his time in office. Tasked with eliminating a lengthy disability claims backlog, tackling veteran homelessness and improving vets' access to services, he has often encountered a considerable amount of criticism. However at the recent Veterans of Foreign Wars conference, he spoke about the progress his department has made in recent months, Stars and Stripes reports.

Perhaps most significantly, Shinseki touted the considerable progress made in the fight against homelessness. The number of veterans living on the streets has dropped by about 20 percent over the last three-plus years. Additionally the VA has funneled approximately $500 million into an ongoing effort to make contact with hard-to-reach veterans. However, the backlog issue still needs work, but Shinseki touted the Veterans Benefit Management System, which will make sure claims do not sit in limbo. As it stands now, approximately 67 percent of pending claims are older than 125 days.

"We said all along it would take time to solve this correctly," he told the gathered crowd. "And we're not going to leave this for another secretary or another president to wrestle with. The president wants this fixed and we are on track to eliminate the backlog in 2015."

Shinseki also touched on several other initiatives launched by the VA. According to Stars and Stripes, there will be a 21 percent boost to funding for traumatic brain injury and a 51 percent increase to funding for prosthetic research.