DOD’s general schedule civilian workforce will get an average, across-the-board pay raise of 2.1 percent for 2006. However, the boost includes locality pays, so the Office of Personnel Management says the pay hikes range between 2.83 percent and 5.62 percent.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.