DoD

Military advocates lost on almost every big benefits fight they waged in the legislative run-up to the fiscal 2016 defense authorization bill.

The legislation is still in limbo, awaiting a presidential veto that could end up scuttling nine months of Capitol Hill work on the annual military policy measure. But in the lobbying arena, Pentagon penny pinchers who pushed for trims in military personnel spending accounts already can declare victory, having swayed lawmakers to their side.

Army Maj. Chris Dempsey, his voice breaking with emotion, read the retirement orders for his father, now-former Joint Chiefs chairman Army Gen. Martin Dempsey.

Maj. Dempsey and his sisters Megan and Caitlin, who have also worn the uniform, their mother, Deanie, and Dempsey’s mother, Sarah, all were recognized by President Obama as he thanked the entire Dempsey family for their service to the country, in the Sept. 25 ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia.

Confirmed cases of abuse and neglect of military children increased markedly in 2014, Defense Department data showed on Wednesday, prompting concerns among Pentagon about efforts to safeguard the nation’s over 1 million military children.

(Reuters Health) - U.S. veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq who were discharged due to misconduct are more likely to be homeless than other returning vets, according to a new study.

“The most significant finding was that 26 percent of veterans who were separated for misconduct-related reasons were homeless at their first VA encounter; and this number climbed to 28 percent within one year after their first VA encounter,” said lead author Dr. Adi V. Gundlapalli of the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System.