Dodging the Drawdown: Tips on how you can stay in
The pending drawdown of 80,000 soldiers over the next five years will have far-reaching implications that will affect nearly every facet of Army life and service as you know it.
Another 100,000 soldiers will be on the chopping block under sequestration, which would call for much deeper cuts in defense spending, unless Congress acts — an effort that has thus far proved futile.
So who will stay in uniform and who will get the boot? The Army is working on the tools it will use to answer that question.
DoD revamps free structure for military child care
New child care fees will be a mixed bag for families seeking care on military installations: Some will pay more, some less, depending on the fees that their installations previously charged.
Defense officials have increased the minimum fee for each of the nine income categories by $1 to $7, with the highest increases coming at the bottom of the scale. But they’re also decreasing the maximum fee by $1 to $2 for the six income categories that still have fee ranges.
DoD also has added a new wrinkle to its fee structure: a “low-fee” option that installations may apply for if their child care operating costs are low, and the costs for comparable child care in the nearby civilian community are significantly lower.
Army wife’s pinup boosts sales of charity calendar
Controversy over a lieutenant colonel’s wife posing for a racy pinup calendar has sparked an investigation at Fort Greely, Alaska; drawn attention at the Army’s highest levels for the remote post; and unexpectedly given calendar sales a massive boost.
A group of women from Fort Greely and the small, nearby town of Delta Junction created the retro calendar to raise money for the American Cancer Society, and they say they are excited at the attention it has received since the investigation became public.
“We’re flooded with requests, and our sales have gone nationwide,” said Janet Sisneros, who appears in the calendar and volunteered hair and makeup services during the calendar photo shoots. “Thank you, ‘Concerned Alaskans,’ for your concern and interest in our efforts to fight cancer.”
Get all of the details in this week’s issue of Army Times, on sale now.
