WASHINGTON (AFNS)  — If sequestration is triggered next week, unpaid furloughs for civilian Defense Department employees will start in late April, Pentagon officials said here today. Sequestration is a provision in budget law that will trigger major across-the-board spending cuts March 1 unless Congress agrees on an alternative. DOD Comptroller Robert F. Hale told reporters…

WASHINGTON (AFNS) — Calling it “a matter of fundamental equity,” Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta today signed a memorandum to the service secretaries and the Pentagon’s top personnel official extending benefits to same-sex partners of service members. Here is the secretary’s announcement of the policy change: “Seventeen months ago, the United States military ended the…

The Military Personnel Data System will be shut down for upgrades and migration to the Defense Information Systems Agency Defense Enterprise Computing Center March 4-27. Airmen who are PCSing, retiring, separating, re-enlisting or extending in the month of March must complete all related actions before the scheduled upgrades. “Members are asked to be proactive and…

WASHINGTON – A new education program offers a “win-win” approach to helping military community members further their careers while aiding the Defense Department’s family support and child and youth development services, a Pentagon official said. Barbara Thompson, director of DOD’s office for family policy, children and youth, explained the Military Academic Advancement Program to the…

WASHINGTON (AFPS) — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are expected to announce the lifting of the direct combat exclusion rule for women in the military, a senior defense official said today. The policy change will begin a process in which the services…

Washington (AFNS) — The Department of Defense released today the 2013 Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rates, which take effect Jan. 1, 2013. Overall rates will increase an average of 3.8 percent this year. For members with dependents, average increases in BAH are approximately $60 per month. A typical E-6 with dependents, for example, will…

WASHINGTON – The Defense Department wants to clarify a personnel policy — generally known as the “five-year rule” — that establishes time limits for civilian overseas assignments, an official said here today. Sheila Dent, the department’s acting director of human resources for operational programs and advisory services, spoke to the Pentagon Channel and American Forces…

GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) — Beginning October 1, 2012, any travel authorization that includes air travel must be approved and ticketed at least 72 hours in advance of the scheduled flight departure to avoid airline reservations from being cancelled. This is due to a new policy being instituted by the airlines under the…