Even though baseball is currently in its off-season, that doesn't mean that players are no longer active in the community. Members of the San Diego Padres recently teamed up with the local Armed Services YMCA to help military families pick out Christmas presents for their children, CBS affiliate KFMB reports.

The effort was part of the annual SuperParent Shopping Day, which has been hosted for the last 25 years. Organizers say that hundreds of military families showed up for the event, and Padres manager Bud Black discussed how much he enjoys the yearly tradition.

"It's great to see the expressions on the kids' faces as they come into these rooms and see the toys and the gifts, and the parents," Black told the news channel. "And for the players and I, and the coaches to go through this… it's a great event."

San Diego is home to one of the largest military communities in the United States, so it should be no surprise that the Padres are among the most active teams in the country when it comes to supporting the troops. In fact, in 1996 they became the first professional sports team to have an annual military appreciation day.

Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is a vital benefit for many troops who live off military bases, and in the coming year they will see a slight increase in the amount of assistance. The Department of Defense recently announced that the BAH will rise by a nationwide rate of about 3.8 percent, according to American Forces Press Service.

The BAH is based on a number of different factors, officials say. When deciding the yearly allowance, the DOD has to take everything into consideration – from utility costs to rent in various parts of the country. They also assess the housing costs of similarly-situated civilians.

"We want to make sure [servicemembers] are able to afford adequate and appropriate housing within a reasonable distance of their duty station," Cheryl Anne Woehr, the BAH program manager, told the news source.

BAH is not the only military benefit that will see a slight increase in 2013, even as the Pentagon looks for other places to slash costs. The Basic Allowance for Subsistence, which is used to buy food and other necessities, will increase to $352.27 a month for enlisted soldiers.

The military has been at the center of the fiscal cliff talks, and while President Barack Obama has said that payment and housing benefits for troops will not be impacted, that has not eased the concerns of some soldiers. Any significant spending cuts to the Pentagon budget could affect families in a variety of ways, according to The Associated Press.

Should the country go over the fiscal cliff, experts say that many Pentagon employees who perform important tasks, such as healthcare and benefits processing, may be let go. As a result, critical services may be threatened, something that has caused a great deal of concern among troops and their families.

"If our military leadership says it would be a problem, we are all worried about what would happen," military spouse Jeremy Hilton, who cares for a disabled child, told the AP. "We rely on our military community, on our military infrastructure, for support."

Congress is running out of time to reach a deficit reduction strategy before the end of the year. Speaker of the House John Boehner and Obama met during the last week, and their talks did not result in any apparent progress, Reuters reports.

President Barack Obama's second term will likely see him make some changes to his Cabinet, and that includes a change in the Secretary of Defense. Leon Panetta is expected to step down, and although it's still early in the process, some analysts believe former senator Chuck Hagel is the top pick to fill the role, reports The Associated Press.

Hagel, who served as a Nebraska senator from 1997 to 2009, would be a logical choice. Hagel has extensive military service, having spent time in Vietnam, where he earned a Purple Heart and Army Commendation Medal. Advocates say his time in the military gives him a unique perspective on how to best serve the troops.

"He's a combat vet who was wounded twice and understands that the decisions we make here are carried out by our young men and women," Senator Jack Reed, a member of the Armed Services Committee, told the AP.

Hagel also understands the geopolitical climate, having served on the Foreign Relations Committee when he was in the Senate. Additionally, he has a close relationship with Obama from their time in Congress together.

Creating a nationwide communications network for first responders has long been a priority, but even though lawmakers have made progress, such a tool could still be years away. Experts say that Congress will likely have to allocate approximately $10 billion more to create the emergency-specific airwaves, The New York Times reports.

Some of the recent progress was on display during Hurricane Sandy, when New York's police and firefighters were able to talk to each other on the same wavelength by using cell phone technology. While it worked reasonably well during Sandy, using a commercial service provider could be unreliable in other emergencies.

"They clearly saw the difference between the performance of commercial and public safety networks," Charles F. Dowd, a deputy chief who oversees the New York Police Department’s communications division, told the Times. "They knew the new system cannot be built to commercial standards. It has to be at a higher level of redundancy and survivability."

The need for a nationwide network has frequently come up since communications breakdowns led to confusion on September 11 and during Hurricane Katrina four years later.

Insider attacks, those perpetrated by Afghan soldiers being trained by U.S. troops, have been one of the biggest obstacles in the way of a smooth transition of U.S. troops out of the war-torn country over the next two years, but November may have marked a turning point. Last month was the first time in 2012 that no Americans were killed by an insider attack, according to Military Times.

Between January and October, 35 American troops were killed by Afghan soldiers, which was about 10 percent of the total who died in combat this year. However, the military implemented new practices to identify potential threats, such as singling out soldiers who have recently traveled to Pakistan, and it seems to have made a difference.

"There have been significantly fewer [insider attacks] over the last several months than before," a senior defense official told the publication. "However, I would be very loathe to say –  in fact I would not say  – it’s a problem that’s been solved. It’s a problem we continue to address."

Still, it's hard to deny that the November milestone is an important one, as the United States works toward its goal of exiting Afghanistan by 2014.

Ending homelessness among veterans has been a priority of the federal government, and now one of the world's most popular musicians is doing his part. Hip hop icon T.I. recently launched a new campaign, "Give Like a King," to offer support to homeless vets.

The initiative is a joint effort between T.I. and the Veterans Empowerment Organization (VEO) and will be officially introduced during a press conference on December 14. Though details are scarce, the program is expected to focus on facilitating housing programs while providing support services to the country's servicemembers.

"We have to have someone else's back, not just our own," T.I. said in a statement.

T.I., whose real name is Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr., has certainly picked a cause that is very much in need of support. According to recent figures released by the Center for American Progress, approximately one in seven people who are homeless have spent time in the military.

However, the news isn't all bleak, and there has been some progress made in the fight against veteran homelessness over the last year. Figures from the Department of Housing and Urban Development found there was a 7 percent dip in the number of homeless vets during the last 12 months.

"There's been a big increase in resources to make sure it does decrease," Nan Roman, the president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, told NBC News. "There's been a lot of investment in newer strategies around housing – programs that are really solution-oriented."

There is still work to be done to meet the Obama Administration's goal to end veteran homelessness by 2015, especially among younger servicemembers who may be struggling to make payments on their homes. Among the programs aimed at helping troops make payments, one initiative known as Supportive Services for Veteran Families has been a success thus far. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the program will have helped 42,000 families by the end of 2012.

The number of homeless vets is likely closely tied to the unemployment rate among former servicemembers. For vets of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the figure has stubbornly stayed at around 10 percent even while the nationwide rate has dropped below 8 percent.

The Silver Star is the third highest honor a member of the military can earn, behind the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross, and a former Marine recently became the latest recipient of the impressive decoration. David M. Gerardi, currently a sergeant with the Army National Guard, was recognized for his heroics during a 2011 firefight, according to Marine Corps Times.

The incident in question took place on June 6 when his team came under unexpected heavy fire while talking to local residents in Afghanistan's Helmand province. Considerably outgunned, Gerardi took it upon himself to suppress the enemy fire, all while he was extremely vulnerable to substantial gunfire.

"Despite rounds cracking literally within inches of his head, he quickly and calmly acquired the enemy fighter firing through a hole in a compound wall," the summary of action read, according to the publication. "He calmly and skillfully placed three rounds of precision fire into the hole with his M110 [Semi-automatic Sniper System] killing the enemy machine gunner."

The Silver Star was first awarded in 1932, and since then as many as 150,000 soldiers have earned the distinction. Most notably, Colonel David Hackworth was awarded 10 Silver Stars during his time in the military.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of the most recognizable structures in Washington, D.C., and an initiative may bring a new feature to the famous monument. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and second lady Dr. Jill Biden led a ceremonial groundbreaking on a new education center at the site aimed at teaching Americans about those killed in combat, according to The Associated Press.

The planned center is expected to be located next to the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, and will cost about $85 million. Though construction has yet to begin, organizers are hopeful that they can complete the project by 2014, just when the final troops from Afghanistan are heading home. Biden says the center needs to be built to help show Americans why honoring the troops is so important.

"There are many Americans who don't know anyone in the military," she told the AP. "That's why the education center is so important to me. It will help ensure that our veterans will always be remembered, not just in name but by their actions."

The planning is still in its earliest stages, but designers anticipate having pictures of each of the 58,000 soldiers killed during the conflict in Vietnam. They also want to do the same to the 6,600 troops who have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As the Pentagon looks for areas to cut costs, one aspect of the Armed Forces will see growth in the coming years. Special operations forces are expected to receive a greater focus as the Department of Defense looks to streamline how it responds to threats around the globe, The Fayetteville Observer reports.

The focus on special operations forces comes as the military looks for ways to reduce its spending while still maintaining its strength in the geopolitical world. Some analysts say it's a good idea, especially since special operations troops are trained to be smaller, more agile and can respond to a wide variety of threats, from hunting terrorists to providing training to troops from other countries overseas. In addition to growing funding for special operations forces, the Pentagon will also place an emphasis on improving cyber warfare defense.

"We are increasing our funding for cyber, even in this environment," Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter told the newspaper. "Same for electronic warfare, and electronic protection – very important field."

The plans will likely come as good news to advocates for reducing defense spending, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey, who recently said having an oversized military is not prudent if the U.S. economy is struggling, according to The Hill.