MIL News Weekly

Edward: Welcome to the MIL News
Weekly for 28 September - 4 October

2025, your essential guide to
the latest news impacting the

military and veteran community.

Whether you're currently serving in
uniform, a military retiree, a veteran,

or a family member, this is your source
for the critical updates you need to know.

Each week, we cut through the noise to
bring you the most important developments

from the Pentagon, Capitol Hill, and
the Department of Veterans Affairs.

We’ll cover everything from new
policies and pay raises affecting

active and reserve forces, to changes
in healthcare and benefits for

retirees, and the latest on VA services
and legislation for our veterans.

Let's get you informed.

Here’s what’s happened this past week.

Issues That Affect Active and
Reserve Military Personnel

Immediate Activation of TRICARE
Reserve Select Survivor Benefits

Effective October 1, 2025, a significant
expansion of healthcare benefits for the

survivors of non-activated National Guard
and Reserve members went into effect.

This change is monumental for Reserve
component families who face the

immediate loss of healthcare coverage
following the death of a sponsor.

The regulatory shift extends the
eligibility period for surviving

family members to continue or
purchase TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS)

coverage for up to three years from
the date of the sponsor’s death.

This action is a massive increase
in support, moving the eligibility

period from the previous, highly
constrained window of just six

months following the sponsor's death.

This legislative adjustment effectively
mitigates the severe financial and

logistical stress often referred
to as the "benefits cliff" faced

by surviving Reserve families.

Previously, the short six-month
window forced these families into

a rapid transition to either the
Continued Health Care Benefit Program

(CHCBP)—which is often significantly
more expensive—or onto the commercial

healthcare market, coinciding with
a time of intense bereavement.

The extension to three years provides
crucial stability, allowing families the

necessary time to adjust their financial
planning and securing affordable coverage.

This change also elevates the level of
support offered to Reserve component

families, strengthening the overall
commitment to quality-of-life benefits

for the Reserve component, thereby
bolstering overall talent retention.

In addition to medical coverage, surviving
spouses who enroll in the TRICARE Dental

Program (TDP) Survivor Benefit Plan
during the new three-year window will

have the government cover 100 percent
of their monthly premium, further easing

the financial burden on these families.

Legislative Focus: National
Defense Authorization Act

for Fiscal Year 2026 (H.R.

3838)

The primary legislative focus
during this period centered on H.R.

3838, the Streamlining Procurement
for Effective Execution and Delivery

and National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2026, which had been

reported to the House in August 2025.

The bill dictates the appropriations
and policy framework for the DoD.

The legislation specifies authorizations
of appropriations totaling $884.3

billion for fiscal year 2026.

This massive budget is aligned with
the DoD's strategic goals, including

the Department of the Air Force’s
stated mission to rebuild the

military and optimize its structure
to maintain an advantage against

growing global military capabilities.

Notably, the bill proposes an $11.5

billion, or 6 percent, increase
for military personnel accounts

compared to the previous year.

Proposed 2026 Military Compensation

Central to the debate were proposals
regarding military compensation

for the upcoming fiscal year.

Base Pay Increase: Both the House and
Senate versions of the NDAA currently

support a base pay increase of 3.8

percent for 2026.

This figure is precisely synchronized
with the automatic statutory requirement

mandated by the Employment Cost
Index (ECI), which serves as the

benchmark for military pay raises.

Family Separation Allowance
(FSA): The House version of H.R.

3838 aims to establish a new floor
for the Family Separation Allowance,

boosting it to $400 per month.

This increase provides a meaningful
financial benefit for service members

who are deployed or otherwise separated
from their families for extended periods.

Housing and Subsistence Allowances:
Recognizing that allowances are crucial

to real purchasing power, the House
version mandates specific studies aimed

at improving the accuracy of both the
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and the

Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS).

The proposed 3.8

percent raise should be viewed as
the minimum compensation floor.

Given that Congress previously
exercised its authority to supersede

the automatic ECI mandate in
the 2025 NDAA—providing a 14.5

percent raise for junior
enlisted members—the 3.8

percent figure is highly likely to be
the starting point for negotiation.

Legislative advocacy during the conference
process will likely push for targeted,

above-inflation raises to address
retention challenges and ensure military

compensation remains robustly competitive
with private-sector wages, particularly

for high-demand or junior ranks.

Furthermore, the significant 8
percent increase in authorization

for military construction and family
housing included in the $884.3

billion budget , combined with the
mandated studies on BAH and BAS

accuracy , signals a strong strategic
commitment to improving service member

quality of life and infrastructure,
which is widely recognized as a

primary factor in retention efforts.

Legislative Impacts on
Federal Civilian Employees

H.R.

3838 also contains critical provisions
that directly impact the DoD’s federal

civilian workforce, which is increasingly
integrated into the "Total Force" concept.

Combat Zone Protections: The bill
includes a one-year extension of

the temporary authority to grant
specific allowances, benefits, and

gratuities to civilian personnel
on official duty in a combat zone.

This ensures that deployed civilian
support staff receive equivalent

protections alongside military personnel.

Hiring Protections and Leave:
Other provisions address personnel

management, including an exemption from
civilian hiring freezes for delayed

DoD appointments resulting from the
employee’s active military duty.

Additionally, an amendment proposes
to correct a longstanding error,

clarifying that District of Columbia
National Guard members who were

federal civilian employees during their
mobilization in 2020 were entitled

to leave without loss in pay or time.

These provisions related to
civilian combat zone benefits

and leave coordination underscore
a policy trend toward formally

protecting and integrating the DoD’s
civilian and military components.

As expeditionary and sustainment
operations rely heavily on

specialized civilian expertise, the
evolution of these legal frameworks

is essential to recognize their
indispensable role in the Total Force.

Issues That Affect
Retired Military Personnel

2026 Cost-of-Living
Adjustment (COLA) Projection

The COLA determination for military
retirement annuities, Civil Service

Retirement System (CSRS) annuities, and
Social Security benefits is determined

by comparing the average Consumer
Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and

Clerical Workers (CPI-W) during the
third calendar quarter (July, August, and

September) of the current year against
the third-quarter average of the previous

year (the fiscal year 2025 baseline).

Based on the August 2025 CPI-W
data, which was released prior to

this reporting period, the vast
majority of analysts project the

2026 COLA to be approximately 2.7

percent.

The August 2025 CPI-W figure of 317.306

registered 2.8

percent higher than the FY 2025 baseline,
indicating a strong trend toward the 2.7

percent forecast.

The official and final COLA figure
cannot be formally announced by the

Social Security Administration until
the release of the September 2025

CPI-W figures, which is scheduled
for Wednesday, October 15, 2025, just

outside the current reporting window.

Impact Differentiation
Across Retirement Systems

The COLA projection applies differently
across federal retirement programs:

Military Retirement and CSRS: Annuitants
under military retirement and the

Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS)
are expected to receive the full 2.7

percent adjustment, mirroring
the Social Security increase.

FERS Annuities: Annuities under the
Federal Employees Retirement System

(FERS) follow a different calculation
rule when inflation is high.

However, because the projected 2.7

percent COLA is below the 3.0

percent threshold, FERS
beneficiaries are currently

anticipated to receive the full 2.7

percent increase, maintaining parity with
their CSRS and military counterparts.

FECA Benefits: Benefits paid under
the Federal Employees Compensation Act

(FECA) for work-related injuries utilize
a different mechanism, measuring the

CPI-W change from December to December.

Based on data through August 2025,
the projected adjustment for FECA

benefits is slightly higher at 2.67

percent.

The projected 2.7

percent COLA for 2026 is only
marginally higher than the 2.5

percent COLA received in 2025.

This relatively modest rate, combined
with the fact that wages for civilian

workers saw an increase of only 0.8

percent in real (inflation-adjusted)
terms over the 12 months ending

June 2025 , suggests that while
hyper-inflationary pressures have

stabilized compared to previous years,
retirees may not experience significant

net gains in purchasing power.

The focus of military and retiree advocacy
organizations remains centered on ensuring

that these adjustments are protected
to preserve the purchasing power of

service-earned benefits against inflation.

Legislative Support for Retired Personnel

The NDAA (H.R.

3838) also provides specific support
mechanisms for the retired community.

A key allocation within H.R.

3838 is the authorization of $77
million designated for the Armed

Forces Retirement Home (AFRH).

This funding is essential for the
continued operation and maintenance of

the facilities that provide housing and
care for thousands of eligible retired

service members, confirming the role
of the defense authorization bill as

a comprehensive funding vehicle for
military-related institutional support.

Additionally, legislative engagement
with federal retirement flexibility was

evidenced by an amendment proposed to H.R.

3838.

This provision aims to allow members of
the Foreign Service to utilize Voluntary

Early Retirement Authority (VERA) when
their agency is undergoing a reduction

in force or other restructuring.

Issues That Affect Veterans Affairs

Critical Overhaul of VA
Disability Rating Criteria

Veterans policy during this period
is dominated by preparations for

upcoming, highly complex updates to
the VA disability rating schedule for

three high-volume conditions: mental
health, sleep apnea, and tinnitus.

These changes, expected to take effect
later in 2025 or 2026, represent

a fundamental shift in how the VA
evaluates service-connected disabilities.

Mental Health VA Rating Criteria

The regulatory change dictates that the
VA will transition its evaluation standard

away from judging social or occupational
impairment and toward measuring the

severity and frequency of symptoms.

This shift is intended to foster greater
consistency in claim evaluations.

The potential benefit for veterans
with severe mental health symptoms

is substantial, as they could receive
higher ratings regardless of their

current employment status or ability
to function socially, provided their

claims documentation accurately reflects
the new symptom-focused criteria.

Sleep Apnea VA Rating Criteria

This update involves a substantial
reduction in potential compensation

for a common condition.

Under the updated criteria, veterans
diagnosed with service-connected

sleep apnea who require a Continuous
Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine

may receive only a 10 percent rating.

This marks a massive adjustment,
as the current VA system generally

awards a 50 percent rating for
sleep apnea requiring a CPAP device.

Standalone Tinnitus Ratings

The VA is eliminating the
separate, primary 10 percent rating

historically awarded for tinnitus.

Going forward, tinnitus will only be
compensable if it is deemed secondary

to, or etiologically tied to, another
primary compensable condition.

This change will directly reduce
compensation for veterans who

claimed tinnitus as a standalone
disability, requiring them to

reevaluate how this condition is
linked to other service-connected

hearing or neurological issues.

The combined regulatory tightening
surrounding sleep apnea and tinnitus,

which are two of the fastest-growing
service connections, represents a

clear, substantial measure to control
long-term disability compensation costs.

Reducing the compensability thresholds
for these high-volume claims optimizes

financial outlays while the change to
mental health criteria simultaneously

allows the VA to defend the system as
being more objective and consistent.

Veterans currently receiving
benefits for these conditions must

monitor the effective dates of
these regulatory shifts closely.

This news necessitates proactive
planning to consult with Veterans

Service Organizations (VSOs) or
legal counsel to ensure claims and

documentation align with the new
symptom-focused evaluation criteria.

VA Operational and Legislative
Support Initiatives

The VA continues its mission with
targeted operational successes

and ongoing legislative support.

Combating Homelessness: The VA
announced the award of $84 million

in grants aimed specifically at
combating veteran homelessness.

This substantial release
underscores housing security as a

persistent, high-priority federal
focus for the veteran population.

Quality of Care: External validation
of VA healthcare quality was confirmed

when the VA earned top scores in the
latest Centers for Medicare & Medicaid

Services (CMS) hospital ratings report,
demonstrating a commitment to high

standards of medical care nationwide.

Insurance Milestone: The Veterans
Affairs Life Insurance Program

reached a major financial milestone,
surpassing $2 billion in coverage for

service-connected veterans, highlighting
the success and financial protection

provided by VA insurance options.

Facility and Program Funding: H.R.

3838 includes an authorization of
$163 million for a Department of

Veterans Affairs medical-facility
demonstration fund, providing

dedicated resources for innovative
facility development and expansion.

Separately, the VA featured the success
of its driver rehabilitation programs

in restoring independence for veterans.

Legislative Focus on Vulnerable Veterans

Proposed amendments to H.R.

3838 highlight legislative
efforts to address persistent

socioeconomic vulnerabilities
within the veteran population:

SNAP Eligibility: Amendments aim to
significantly benefit economically

disadvantaged veterans by seeking
to exempt veterans from Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work
requirements and, more specifically, by

expanding SNAP eligibility for certain
catastrophically disabled veterans.

This action reflects ongoing
legislative attention to food

insecurity issues, such as the

Feed Hungry Veterans Act of 2025.

Women Veterans’ Health: A bipartisan
amendment proposes requiring a joint

report from the Secretary of Defense
and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

on current research and gaps related to
perimenopause and menopause, specifically

impacting servicewomen and women veterans.

This mandated research signals
an increasing focus on addressing

specific, often underserved,
areas of women’s health within the

military medical and VA systems.

This confluence of targeted grants for
homelessness and specific legislative

fixes addressing food insecurity
demonstrates a multidimensional strategy

focused on ensuring basic needs are met
for the most economically disadvantaged

segments of the veteran population.

And that's your Weekly Briefing.

Staying on top of these changes
is key to navigating your career,

your retirement, and your benefits.

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We’ll be back next week with another
roundup of the news that matters most

to the military and veteran community.