Editor's note: October marks the start of a new fiscal year. With a change of top military leadership in recent months across the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps, Fiscal Year 2016 is sure to be a year for change and innovation across the Department of Defense. As October sweeps in cooler weather to the National Capital Region, the tenth month of the calendar year is also loaded with special observances and announcements across the DoD; here are 10 such items to give you a head start this month:
1. End of an era.
Marines at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., will turn over the three last-flying H-46 "Pedro" search and rescue helicopters Oct. 1 to the U.S. Navy, ending a decades-long mission by the 2d Marine Aircraft Wing to provide search and rescue support to the U.S. Coast Guard over coastal waterways, according to a Sept. 25 Marine Corps news article. The relief of the unit's domestic search and rescue support mission is "primarily due to the Marine Corps' tightening budget and due to the helicopters' advanced age," according to the article. Operable since 1970, the Pedro aircraft averaged more than 50 lifesaving missions per year of the last decade. In 1999, Pedro crews rescued nearly 400 people in three days during 1999's Hurricane Floyd, according to the article.
2. Army brigade deployment announced.
Some 4,000 Soldiers from the Fort Riley, Kan.-based 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division will deploy sometime this fall to Kuwait as part of a rotation of troops there, according to a Sept. 24 DoD news release. The deployment will last for nine months for the "Dagger Brigade," which is tasked to "support multinational partners and build coalition capacity in support of continuing cooperation agreements in the CENTCOM area of responsibility," according to the release.
3. Changes to basic training. The U.S. Army announced changes to its Basic Combat Training requirements for enlisted Soldiers, beginning this month. Changes include a new peer evaluation system that puts the onus of ensuring fellow trainees meet standards and perform tasks to par on other trainees, even when drill sergeants are not immediately supervising their Soldiers. Other changes include more individualized training time on land navigation, additional physical readiness test and tactical camouflage training, and the introduction of tactical gear -- including optics -- into marksmanship training standards. To learn more about the requirement changes to BCT, visit http://go.usa.gov/3zW74.
4. DoD releases FY14 monies spent, by state.
Amid concerns of ever-shrinking DoD budgets in coming years, the department released Sept. 28 a by-state report showing how much of the department's Fiscal Year 2014 budget was spent in each state. The report details defense spending at the state and local levels for all 50 states, including Washington, D.C. The report warns that defense spending in the U.S. is expected to decline some 28 percent from Fiscal Year 2011 to Fiscal Year 2019, a stark contrast after spending increased by more than 65 percent from Fiscal Year 2000 to Fiscal Year 2010, according to the report. In all, the report predicts reduction in spending by about $454 billion across the DoD, and highlights details such as regional expenditures from military bases or private contractors, to be used for evaluating "each state's potential exposure to projected declines to defense spending." To review the report, which is available in two parts, go to: Part 1 - http://go.usa.gov/3zWSA and Part 2 - http://go.usa.gov/3zWSJ.
5. Max leave for carryover reverts to 60 days.
As of Oct. 1, Soldiers can maintain up to a maximum of 60 days of leave versus 75 days, according to All Army Activities Message 022/1213. Sixty days was the original amount Soldiers could maintain from one year to the next before 2008, when the 75-day leave policy was implemented due to "high operations tempo," according to an Army news article. While serving in a combat zone, Soldiers can accrue up to 120 days of leave, according to the article. The message can be read in full at http://goo.gl/vhCRDw.
6. McHugh to retire.
Secretary of the Army John McHugh will retire from the position before the start of November. The former New York congressman has served six years overseeing the military service, but announced this summer that his resignation will come before Nov. 1. Last month, President Obama announced his intention to nominate current Acting Under Secretary of Army Erik K. Fanning as McHugh's successor. If appointed and confirmed to the position, Fanning would become the 22nd Secretary of the U.S. Army. The secretary is responsible for the oversight of a $200 billion annual budget, workforce of some 1.1 million active duty, Army National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers, more than 220,000 Department of the Army civilian employees, 213,000 contracted service personnel and stewardship of some 14 million acres of land, according to McHugh's official biography.
7. U.S. to provide more support to U.N. peacekeeping.
In a Sept. 28 speech to the United Nations General Assembly, President Barack Obama pledged "much more support" to the U.N.'s peacekeeping efforts, according to a Sept. 28 DoD news article. The White House simultaneously released a signed presidential memo pledging the additional support as the president addressed the General Assembly, according to the article. The memo details the president's consideration of providing military, police and civilian personnel to support U.N. peace operations, but only if the U.N.'s need is for specialized expertise U.S. personnel have and only if the United States' participation would "improve substantially the overall effectiveness of the U.N. mission." Read the full article at http://go.usa.gov/3zWfe.
8. 2015 Military World Games begin.
The 2015 Military World Games starts Oct. 2 and will begin with matchups between Korean and U.S. military men's and women's soccer teams. More than 7,000 athletes across 100 countries participate in the annual games, which are administered by the Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM). The men's and women's U.S. Armed Forces soccer teams will compete against the Koreans even before the opening ceremonies begin, according to an Army news article. These multi-sport games are held every four years on the year before the Olympics. The games were begun in 1995 as a means of compounding some 20 world championships games into one event. Sports included in the games are similar to those in the Olympics, including swimming, skiing, cross country, wrestling, volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball and others.
9. Domestic violence awareness, prevention.
October marks National Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, an annual observance designated to draw attention to domestic violence and educate on prevention methods. Each year, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall's Family Advocacy Program hosts a number of education and awareness events throughout the month to help not only raise awareness about the negative impacts domestic violence , but to also "build healthy relationships," according to Program Manager Kelly Smith. For a full list of local events for this observance, see page 5.
10. Help is always available.
October also marks National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month. Some 43.7 million adults in the U.S. experience mental illness in a given year, according to the National Alliance on Mental illness. As part of this annual observance, TRICARE offers beneficiaries resources and teleclasses to help understand and cope with mental illness. Information on these resources can be found at www.hnfs.com/go/healthtopics. Additional resources can be found at http://www.army.mil/readyandresilient. The DoD also provides a variety of resources online at http://go.usa.gov/36kJJ.
Social Sharing