WASHINGTON, D.C. (AFNS) — Later this year, the Defense Department will begin fully enforcing a previously optional policy regarding the reissuance of lost or stolen common access cards, a defense official said here today. Sam Yousef, a program manager for identity and benefits policy at the Defense Human Resources Activity, discussed an update to the current…

President Barack Obama has announced his intent to nominate four people to key Defense Department positions, all of which require Senate confirmation. They are: Miranda A. A. Ballentine, to be assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment, and logistics; Michael McCord, to be undersecretary of Defense (comptroller); Brian P. McKeon, to be principal…

WASHINGTON (AFNS) — Retesting of all ICBM launch crewmen finished Jan. 16, the Pentagon press secretary announced during a news conference. Air Force officials ordered the retesting after discovering that nuclear launch crews cheated on proficiency exams. A total of 34 crewmen at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., have been suspended from duty due to…

WASHINGTON – The Defense Department today released a new instruction that details its updated policy on making religious accommodations requested by service members, Pentagon spokesman Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nathan J. Christensen said today. A DOD instruction implements a policy or prescribes the manner or plan of action used to carry out a policy, operate a…

WASHINGTON (AFNS) — Defense Department officials have a zero-tolerance level for human trafficking and have stepped up awareness and education efforts to curb the crime overseas. In an interview with American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel, Brian Chin — a program manager for the department’s effort to combat human trafficking, said DOD is…

WASHINGTON (AFNS) — The Defense Department announced Jan. 3, changes in imminent danger pay, or IDP, that will go into effect June 1, DOD spokesman Army Col. Steven Warren told reporters here. “This is a process that began (in 2011),” he said, and “included in-depth threat assessment from the combatant commands. It was made in…

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas (AFNS) –Separating service members can participate in the transition assistance program, or TAP, online, Department of Defense officials announced. TAP, now called Transition GPS-Goals, Plans and Success, is designed to help prepare separating and retiring members for life outside of the military. It includes a variety of seminars from dressing…

WASHINGTON – The Defense Department has expanded its zero tolerance for the use of illicit drugs to include synthetic marijuana, also known as “spice,” the director of DOD’s drug testing and program policy said here today. In an interview with American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel, Army Lt. Col. Tom Martin said that…

The Defense Commissary Agency has implemented a new policy requiring a Department of Defense ID card bar code be scanned in order to make purchases at all commissaries throughout the military. “The purpose of the scanning IDs is to positively identify authorized patrons for the commissary, just like the Department of the Air Force or…

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas (AFNS) — Some Airmen who met a medical or physical disability evaluation board between Sept. 11, 2001 and April 30, 2012 prior to separating from the Air Force may be eligible for re-evaluation, Air Force Personnel Center officials said. When defense officials learned some diagnoses had been changed during board processing…