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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

The Department of Defense has had to make highly publicized budget cuts as a result of sequestration, and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel recently spoke at the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars conference about the challenges of operating under reduced spending. Specifically, he said the Pentagon will have to dramatically reshape the way it approaches its mission in the coming years, according to Military Times. 

Although Hagel admitted the $37 billion reduction in the 2013 budget, along with the mandated $500 billion in cuts over the next 10 years, will pose challenges, he says that trimming spending is necessary. However, he said that the cuts need to be made wisely so as not to compromise American security. After the cuts are made, Hagel expects the military to be better for it because it will create a more efficient force.

"I expect these cuts to not only save us money, significant money, but also to result in organizations that are more effective and efficient, as well as more agile and versatile," he told the gathered crowd. "However, DoD will not be able to meet its budgetary savings requirements just through more efficient operations and headquarters reductions. It will require far more."

The smart cuts have recently been on display. Hagel's speech came days after the Air Force resumed training flights for about one-third of its planes, which had been grounded due to sequestration. However, after 'reprogramming' funds, the jets took to the sky once again, according to The Associated Press.

The sequestration cuts had a significant impact on much of the military, and that included the Air Force, which was required to ground about one-third of its combat fleet. However, after three months of inactivity they will take to the skies once again after the branch received some additional funding, Military Times reports.

Air Combat Command was able to find the necessary $208 million thanks to a recent move by Congress approving a reprogramming of allocation. The change took effect immediately, with 16 fighter, bomber and Air Warfare Center's Weapons School squadrons resuming training missions and becoming combat ready on Monday. The Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team was also impacted by the additional funding. Officials applauded the move, but say there's still work to be done.

"Since April we've been in a precipitous decline with regard to combat readiness," ACC Commander Gen. Mike Hostage said in a release. "Returning to flying is an important first step, but what we have ahead of us is a measured climb to recovery."

Military officials expect the grounded squadrons will be combat ready by the end of this year, according to NBC News. However, the Thunderbirds likely won't be back at air shows until 2014.

Servicemembers and their families face a number of substantial challenges. Whether they're coping with having a loved one deployed overseas or navigating the process of re-integrating into civilian life, it's important for military families to reach out to the myriad service available to them. While it's sometimes not clear what benefits they have at their disposal, the Department of Defense's Yellow Ribbon Program hopes to change that. 

The Yellow Ribbon Program offer a variety of services ranging from tuition assistance to suicide prevention, and a recent event at Fort Washington in Maryland helped show military families what assistance they could take advantage of, reports WTOP-FM. Program manager Jeff Campbell says it's important for families to focus on more than just one aspect of military life.

"The program itself, the purpose of it, is to make sure the families are stabilized when the service member is serving the country," he told the radio station. "Also, when [servicemembers] return, to give them integration tools in order to get back with the family to hit the ground and run again."

DOD officials launched the Yellow Ribbon Program in an effort to specifically help National Guardsmen and Reserves, something which is especially important given the last decade-plus of war. Since 2001, hundreds of thousands of Reserves and Guardsmen have been called up to active duty service. 

Being an active duty servicemember often requires troops to survive in some of the harshest conditions in the world, so it should come as no surprise that several of the participants in the upcoming Badwater Ultramarathon have served in the military.  Aside from being a true test of endurance this challenging 135-mile road race takes place in Death Valley, Calif., which is home to some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded on Earth. The race kicks off July 15, and fans should not be surprised if one of the three troops entered takes home the win, according to Military Times.

Rookies and veterans
Among those making the trip to Death Valley is Army Cpl. Doug Long, who will be participating in the lengthy race for the first time. However, he is certainly no stranger to running extremely long distances. He trained with ultramarathoner Navy Lt. j.g. Hannah Roberts, who has run several 100-plus mile races herself. Aside from helping him train, she also provided insight into how to pace oneself for such a long race.

"The biggest surprise last year was what happens after 100 miles, and just seeing how Hannah dealt with that," Long told the news source. "She was moving so well up until that 100-mile mark – she did 100 miles in under 24 hours – but it took her 10 hours to go that next 35 miles. That was something I'd never thought about before."

Army Capt. Matt Doellman will also be making his first trip to the Badwater Ultramarathon. Meanwhile, Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL) David Goggins, will be making his fourth trip and his first since 2008. 

All for a good cause
The three servicemember participants are running for more than just themselves. Each is running to support a charity – Wounded Wear, Fisher House and Special Operations Warrior Foundation to be precise. Doellman has participated in many long fundraising runs before, Military Times reports. Last year he set out to complete the so-called Grand Slam of Ultrarunning – the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run, the Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run and the Wasatch Front 100 Mile Run – all to support Fisher House.