As the Department of Defense looks to cut costs, there have been some concerns over the military's readiness. A new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) may allay some of those concerns, because analysts found that a modest reduction to annual pay raises will allow the Armed Forces to save money while still retaining its current levels of readiness, Military Times reports.

The proposed change mirrors a similar point made in the 2014 Obama administration budget, which suggests reducing annual pay raises for active duty troops from 1.7 percent to 1 percent. The CBO points out that even adjusting payment to reflect inflation instead of private-sector growth, as is the case now, would save around $45 billion through 2021. There is some concern that such a reduction could hurt recruiting and retention, but the CBO says it shouldn't.

"The fact that military compensation has risen dramatically over the past decade – to the extent that, on average, enlisted military personnel now earn more than 90 percent of civilians with similar education and experience – could lessen the effects of such a policy," the CBO said. 

Military families who are concerned about the impact of sequestration can take solace in the fact that their paychecks will never be delayed, nor will their allowance for housing, according to the National Military Family Association. 

There's no denying that soldiers are among the most physically fit individuals in the country. After all, they have to be, given that they're often tasked with carrying heavy gear all while performing a physically demanding job. In an effort to better understand how carrying all that weight affects their bodies, researchers in Massachusetts have applied a novel approach to studying servicemembers, the Army's official website reports.

Scientists at the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center are leading this trial. While previous research has been conducted on what toll the heavy gear is taking on the bodies of soldiers, those studies traditionally relied on asking subjects to simply walk in a straight line, which does not accurately mimic their activity in the field. To change this, Brown had participants – who were carrying anywhere from seven to 88 pounds – run, jump and cut like they would during battle. 

"This is just another data point that shows how much load is affecting our soldiers," said team leader Dr. Jeffrey Schiffman. "Now we're starting to get more into react-to-contact type moments."

Studying soldiers more like athletes could offer solutions that ensure heavy gear doesn't take a toll on their health, which is a significant issue. A 2008 report found musculoskeletal injuries are common in active duty soldiers. 

As Congress inches closer to the March 1 deadline for sequestration, many of the military’s top officials are warning lawmakers of the potential impact the across-the-board budget cuts could have. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno recently told legislators that the spending cuts could extend deployments to Afghanistan, according to Military.com.

Sequestration would require the Pentagon to cut about $46 billion from its 2013 budget, and doing so may require troops stationed overseas to serve longer than originally planned. Odierno says that not having enough money would reduce the Army’s ability to send replacement soldiers, something that could weigh heavily on troops and their families.

“We cannot fund the group that comes after them,” he told Congress earlier this week. “So what that means is the initial replacements that go in at the beginning of 2014 are funded – those that would come in later in the year are not.”

Sequestration would not only hurt deployed troops, it could also drastically impact the National Guard as well, the Army reports. Gen. Frank Grass recently told the Senate Armed Service Committee that the cuts would reduce the Guard’s ability to respond to natural disasters and other domestic emergencies. 

Members of the military and their families face many challenges other than combat. Effective training, transitioning to civilian life and suicide prevention are all serious issues in the community, and Army Secretary John McHugh recently signed a directive to implement some recommendations from the forthcoming findings from the Behavioral Health Task Force, according to Army News Service. 

Known as the “Ready and Resilient” campaign, the initiative will be a broad undertaking. Among its chief provisions is one that will call for any programs designed to target resiliency will fall under the control of a single authority in an effort to reduce confusion. Additionally, McHugh says the programs will address everything from domestic abuse to removing the stigma attached to seeking help. 

“We’re trying to teach soldiers it’s OK to reach out for help,” McHugh told reporters. “You don’t just do that in a class or two to a young soldier. It really has to be a career-long progression.”

The Behavioral Health Task Force was authorized last year by McHugh in an effort to better understand the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. The findings are particularly important now, given that in 2012, 325 servicemembers took their own lives, which was a record number. 

It should not come as much of a surprise that active duty soldiers require more energy on a day to day basis than the civilian population. Experts estimate that typical servicemembers in a garrison take in about 3,250 calories every day. However, less is known about the nutritional needs of special operations forces in the military, and researchers from the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) are interested in finding out what they are, Military.com reports.  

The study is being conducted to see if any changes are necessary to the Basic Daily Food Allowance (BDFA). Experts believe that special forces may require more calories each day because their training often includes more workouts and is physically demanding, something that could be reflected in the BDFA. 

“The special forces have long argued that their people work harder and sustain much higher rates of energy expenditure than the average soldier when they’re training in garrison and subsisting in dining facilities,” Dr. Andrew Young, chief of the Military Nutrition Division, told the website. 

Nutrition is particularly important to active duty soldiers, this is especially true as it relates to protein. Experts recommend that servicemembers consume around 20 grams throughout the day and between 30 and 40 grams after a workout. 

With baseball season quickly approaching, many troops stationed overseas may be starting to miss America’s pastime, but a group of soldiers serving in Germany recently got a little taste of home in a big way. Baseball legends Wade Boggs, David Justice, Rollie Fingers and Bob Brenly stopped by to play Wiffle Ball with servicemembers from 709th MP Battalion and 172nd Separate Infantry Brigade, Stars and Stripes reports.

The event, dubbed Spring Training to the Troops, was put on by the Fox Sports Media Group and featured more than just a simple Wiffle Ball game. Organizers also flew in cheerleaders, umpires and the game even included play-by-play work from Mario Impemba, who calls games for the Detroit Tigers. Fox Sports has hosted similar events for football before, but this is the first one to include baseball players. Choosing to do it in Grafenwöhr, Germany, seemed like the right choice.

“When we talked to the military, finding out there was a training installation, the biggest one in Europe, it made sense,” Chris Hannan, senior vice president for Fox Sports, told the publication.

Sports and the military have a long history together. In the days leading up to the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl, there were a number of events geared toward military families. The military has also long been a sponsor for NASCAR.

Soldiers often face a difficult transition upon returning home from the battlefield. It can be a challenge to reconnect with family members and also to acclimate to a different environment, and a new study found that active duty soldiers also tend to experience significant problems sleeping after leaving combat zones. Researchers from Washington’s Madigan Army Medical Center say the findings should spur a change in how the military addresses sleep problems. 

The study
Researchers relied on findings from a trial conducted in 2010 at the medical center that focused on how active duty soldiers slept. They discovered that more than 85 percent of the participants had a clinically relevant sleep disorder. The most commonly diagnosed issue was obstructive sleep disorder, with 51.2 percent of participants exhibiting the condition. Insomnia was also common, with 24.7 percent of soldiers showing symptoms. Additionally, scientists found that the average in-home sleep duration stood at just 5.74 hours each night.

What does it mean?
While more studies are needed to solidify the findings, the results suggest that sleep deprivation, which is often an assumed part of military service, could have a much larger impact than originally thought. Researchers posit that certain injuries and medical conditions that are common to veterans could also be playing a big role, because more than 58 percent of participants had a service-related medical condition such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), depression or anxiety. 

“Their findings highlight the need for policy and culture change in our military organizations and continued research to understand and ameliorate the injuries these veterans have sustained,” Nita Lewis Shattuck wrote in an editorial accompanying the study. “Better appreciation of the causal factors associated with veterans’ health will lead to better policies for transition to civilian life and ultimately minimize the cost of veterans’ healthcare to society.”

A good night’s sleep can help
Though there are no definite statistics, some experts estimate that as much as 20 percent of post-9/11 veterans have some form of post-traumatic stress disorder or TBI, and getting enough sleep can help some of them manage the symptoms, according to The News Tribune. Lt. Col. Vincent Mysliwiec, who lead the study, told the newspaper that since TBI and PTSD are often accompanied by troubles sleeping, addressing those issues could play a vital role in treatment. 

The Pentagon lifted the ban on women serving in combat roles last month, opening thousands of new positions up to women in the military. Although this progress was good news for many, some are now expressing doubts about whether women have enough physical strength to take on certain positions, USA Today reports. 

Military creates “gender neutral” physical test
The question of “are they physically strong enough?” for the roles is being answered by a new, “gender neutral” test that is designed to determine whether all members of the military, women included, are fit to serve in front line positions.

“We’re not going to just throw open the doors and say, ‘OK, go at it,'” Marine Lt. Gen. Robert Milstead, deputy commandant for manpower and reserve affairs, told the news outlet. “We’re doing this responsibly.”

Milstead added that “if a woman can do it, then we’re all for it,” but said the military just needs to make sure these troops can perform at the same physical level as men.

The new test will gauge how women perform under certain circumstances, like carrying 40-pound tank shells, loading them into main guns, for instance. Other challenges may bring up issues of subjectivity – how far should troops be required to walk with a 100-pound load to pass the test? What height should he or she be able to clear?

Milstead emphasizes the consideration he and his colleagues are taking to ensure fairness in the testing while building the strongest possible military. 

“I think we are going to be challenged every step of the way,” Milstead told the publication. “There will be people who question: Why do you have that standard?”

Obama expresses support for women in combat
In an interview with CBS’ Scott Pelley on CBS Evening News Sunday, President Obama pointed out that women already are serving in combat.

“They may not get treated like they’re in combat, but when they’re in theater, in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, they are vulnerable, they are wounded, and they’ve been killed,” Obama said. “They have carried out their jobs with extraordinary patriotism and distinction.”

“I mean, extraordinary women in uniform, who can do everything a man can and more,” he added.

The lift on the ban is as much about the physical strength of the military as it is about gender equality in the workplace. It could open up as many as 230,000 positions to women across all services, allowing them opportunities for career advancement that were once closed. 

The Super Bowl may be more than a week away, but the weekend before NFL fans get to see some of the best players who didn’t make the championship when they hit the field in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. Earlier this week, a group of soldiers and their families got a preview of the all-star game when they got front row seats at practice, reports The Associated Press.

The practice was held at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, which is located just a short distance from Pearl Harbor. Despite persistent rain, thousands of military families showed up to see their favorite stars, ranging from Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald to this year’s rushing leader Adrian Peterson. For Fitzgerald, the opportunity to meet with the country’s soldiers was one he cherished.

“It’s an honor to be out here and to be able to meet all the servicemen and women – it makes it special,” Fitzgerald told the AP. “It’s important that we come out and play well this year.”

Sports and the military have a long-standing relationship. Many teams throughout the four major leagues hold events for soldiers, most notably the San Diego Padres, who hosted the MLB’s first-ever military appreciation day back in the 1990​s.

Both active duty troops and veterans undoubtedly have a number of concerns about the future of the Armed Forces. Everything from budget cuts to troop reductions to employment opportunities will likely come into play in the near future, and a group of soldiers recently got the chance to voice their concerns to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, The Associated Press reports.

The soldiers were from 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, one of the most frequently deployed units in the military. They have been sent to war five times over the last 11-plus years, and 84 members have been killed during that span. However, it wasn’t the deployments that were most on their mind, it was the impact that budget cuts and a still-sluggish job market could have.

What does it mean for families?
During the protracted fights in Congress over spending and budget cuts, one of the common refrains among the military community is asking what impact any changes could have on their loved ones. For instance, will civilian spouses of service​members be able to find jobs on bases if there are budget cuts? Additionally, there are concerns over whether there will be changes to everything from medical benefits to schools for their children.

Answers are hard to come by
Although Panetta, who is set to leave his post as Defense Secretary in the near future, sympathizes with the troops’ concerns, there is little he can do to quell their worries. He has been a harsh critic of Congress in recent months as lawmakers continue to hold the threat of sequestration over the head of service​members. As it stands, they need to reach an agreement on spending cuts to avoid automatic $500 billion slashes over the next 10 years.

“You guys go out and you put your lives on the line, you take the worst risk of all – which is that somebody may shoot you and you may die,” Panetta told the crowd, according to the AP. “All we’re asking of our elected leaders is to take a small part of the risk.”

Concern, and with good reason
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that sequestration could hollow out the capabilities of American Forces faster than most people realize. Specifically, he said that such deep budget cuts could limit training and other integral parts of the military.