: Norm Augustine, long-time aerospace industry executive and former senior DOD official, in a letter responding to a Washington Post article takes exception to claims military members are overpaid. Augustine wrote: “I make no judgments as to the budgetary issues raised; however, I do object to claims that our military is overpaid relative to equivalent civilian jobs. … I am unable to recall any job where one is on-call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; where one may be expected at any moment to move anywhere in the world and often to leave one’s family behind; where one’s children must change schools every two or three years; where one often must live in sub-standard housing; where one can’t simply quit and find another job; and where, during one’s career, there is almost a certainty that someone will try to kill you. Now, let’s see, what civilian job is the equivalent of that?” (Key lawmakers want More Money for Troops)
The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness revised the Defense Department’s COVID-19 guidelines. The new rules clarify what’s meant by being “up to date” on vaccinations and when personnel must wear masks in vehicles, among other changes.