It’s finally happening: the Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force will soon be wearing the same camouflage pattern. Maybe. A House panel voted last week to force the services into settling on a pattern and implementing it by October 2018.
The bill is likely to pass the House of Representatives, but House members are worried that service leaders will make a strong plea to the Senate to keep their troops in service-specific camo.
The bill does include some exceptions for desert and woodland patterns, and each service would be able to keep its differing shades of combat boots and headwear.
Also on the cover this week, selection boards convened June 3 to consider senior noncommissioned officers of the Regular Army and Army Reserve for advanced schooling, promotion and command sergeant major appointments.
The boards also are screening master sergeants in more than 60 military occupational specialties for possible involuntary separation under the Qualitative Service Program.
The QSP is a force-shaping tool for the drawdown that focuses on senior NCOs of the Regular Army and Active Guard and Reserve (Army Reserve) who are at or near retirement eligibility — but who are in specialties that will be overstrength or have limited promotion opportunity, or both — as the Army gets smaller.
And finally, reservists who have deployed in the past five years have racked up significant retirement points, allowing them to significantly reduce the time until they become eligible for benefits.
For the full rundown on these stories and more, pick up the June 17 issue, on newsstands now. If you don’t want to wait, you can subscribe to our digital edition or purchase a $1 day pass.
