Photo By Jonathan Austin | Army expands programs to improve quality of life for Soldiers, families.... read more read more
Subscribe
The Army worked to continuously improve quality of life for Soldiers and their families in 2024.
Changes included enhancing a program to reimburse military spouses for business expenses, connecting soldiers with holistic health teams, authorizing deployment pay, broadening professional writing opportunities and expanding childcare access.
Spouse assistance: The Army expanded support for military spouses by enhancing the reimbursement program for business costs and relicensing fees. The new directive permits reimbursement up to $1,000 for business-related expenses in addition to the already authorized $1,000 for relicensing fees resulting from a relocation.
Qualified relicensing costs cover exam fees, continuing education, certifications, business licenses, permits and registrations. For business owners, reimbursement is available for equipment relocation, new technology purchases, IT services and inspection fees.
Details on qualifying expenses and how to apply for reimbursement are available on the Military OneSource portal at Licensure Reimbursement PCS Moves.
Child care: Military families with small children often struggle to find quality childcare. The Army has partnered with Upwards, the largest childcare network in the United States, to offer subsidized, flexible child care during Reserve or National Guard weekend drills, with plans to expand this service.
Upwards alerts Army families to available spaces through agreements with local community childcare centers and family childcare providers via a mobile phone app. Care is customized to the Soldier’s needs, accommodating unexpected schedule changes.
Health and Fitness: The Army announced in 2024 that it is expanding the number of Holistic Health and Fitness, or H2F, Performance Teams.
“You've got to be able to get to the fight; you've got to be able to win the fight; and you've got to be able to get home from the fight; and that's what H2F is about,” said Gen. James Mingus, the Army vice chief of staff. “We know that the return on investment, just from a financial perspective and the data that we have thus far, it's paying for itself.”
H2F Performance Teams are interdisciplinary subject matter experts who provide injury prevention and human performance optimization at the brigade-level. They include physical therapists, dietitians, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches and cognitive performance specialists.
Units participating with an H2F team see fewer musculoskeletal injuries, a quicker return to duty, higher ACFT scores, lower substance abuse profiles, and more Soldiers qualifying expert on rifle marksmanship.
Operational Deployment Pay: Soldiers on approved operational deployments now earn $240 per month under the operational deployment pay program approved in 2024.
The change, effective Oct. 1, authorized E-1 to O-6 Soldiers to receive special duty pay in recognition of the greater than normal rigors of operational deployments.
“The Army is dedicated to ensuring that the sacrifices made by our Soldiers and their families are appropriately rewarded. Operational deployment pay represents a significant advancement in this effort,” said Dr. Agnes Gereben Schaefer, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
The regulation that governs the pay is Department of Defense Instruction 1340.26, Assignment and Special Duty Pay.
Soldiers in combat zone tax exclusion status pay no tax on the ODP, but it is taxable for Soldiers serving outside such locations, Steinrauf said.
Using writing to win: The Harding Project, a grassroots effort to renew professional writing in Army’s journals, was endorsed in 2024 by the Army chief of staff.
“We need to ensure there is shared understanding and shared sense of purpose in how we expand emphasis on professional writing and written communication skills,” said Gregg Thompson, deputy to the commanding general, U.S. Combined Arms Center.
Free of Common Access Card controls or classifications, the Army’s professional journals connect leaders to help win our nation’s wars. Writings can impact policy, share lessons that improve the Army, or influence broader Army debates.
The first group of Harding Fellows were selected in 2024. Handpicked by their branch leadership, the 11 junior officers are the first uniformed editors for the Army’s branch journals in almost two decades.
The Harding Fellowship has been codified as an official Army Broadening Opportunity. The second cohort of fellows will attend graduate school and then report to their branch’s center of excellence to start their assignment as their journal’s editor-in-chief.
Muddy Boots, articles written by nominative command sergeants major, also launched this year. These articles share the experiences, including insights and ideas, of these senior NCOs.
The first article, “Combat Doesn’t Care: How Ready Are You?” was written by Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael R. Weimer and published Oct. 24. Other Muddy Boots articles include “NCOs Enable Continuous Transformation” written by Command Sgt. Maj. Brian A. Hester from Army Futures Command, and “The Crucial Role NCOs Play in Strengthening the Army Profession” written by Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond S. Harris from Training and Doctrine Command.
| Date Taken: | 12.03.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.03.2024 14:06 |
| Story ID: | 486500 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 94 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Year in Review - 2024, by Jonathan Austin, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
