MIL News Weekly

MIL News Weekly 22-28 Mar 2026 (Episode 43)
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[00:00:00] Weekly Briefing Intro
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Welcome to the MIL News Weekly for 22-28 March 2026, 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.

[00:00:40]  Issues That Affect Active and Reserve Military Personnel
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Issues That Affect Active and Reserve Military Personnel

We saw two major cultural reforms announced this week. On Tuesday, 24 March 2026, the Secretary announced that military chaplains will no longer wear rank insignia on their uniforms. While they remain commissioned officers, they will now only display their religious [00:01:00] symbols. Hegseth believes this will help junior service members feel less "unease or anxiety" when seeking spiritual guidance from a senior officer.

He also announced that the military is slashing the number of recognized religious affiliation codes from over two hundred down to just thirty-one, a move intended to refocus the chaplain corps on its original spiritual mission. This has sparked a lively debate, with some former leaders, like Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Gerald Murray, worrying that hiding rank might actually limit a chaplain's influence and access to command authority.

[00:01:32] Space Threats Update
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Turning to the strategic front, on 26 March 2026, Space Force General Stephen N. Whiting, the commander of U.S. Space Command, gave a sobering testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee. He warned that our joint force's ability to fight would be "immediately and materially impacted" if our space capabilities were degraded. He pointed out that China has increased its space presence by six hundred sixty-seven percent since 2015, now operating over one [00:02:00] thousand three hundred satellites. Even more concerning, he labeled Russia’s potential placement of a nuclear weapon in orbit as the "single greatest threat" to our space architecture.

[00:02:10] Force Growth Plans
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To meet these global threats, the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act and subsequent appropriations have authorized the largest active-duty force we’ve seen in years. The total active force is set to grow by thirty-one thousand six hundred personnel to a total of one million three hundred forty-one thousand three hundred. The Army is seeing the largest increase, adding eleven thousand seven hundred soldiers to reach a strength of four hundred fifty-four thousand. The Navy is growing even more aggressively, adding twelve thousand three hundred personnel for a total of three hundred thirty-four thousand six hundred.

The Air Force will add one thousand five hundred, the Space Force adds six hundred, and the Coast Guard is set for an increase of five thousand five hundred. Interestingly, the Marine Corps will hold steady at one hundred seventy-two thousand three hundred, while the [00:03:00] Reserve and Guard components will actually see a slight overall decrease of one thousand four hundred members.

[00:03:06] GPS Program Trouble
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However, not all news on the technology front was positive. On 27 March 2026, the Pentagon revealed it is considering canceling the GPS OCX program. This modernized ground system for our newest GPS satellites has been in development for fifteen years but recently failed software tests. While Michael Duffey, the milestone decision authority, reviews the program’s future, the Space Force may have to stick with the older Architecture Evolution Plan for several more years.

[00:03:33]  Issues That Affect Retired Military Personnel
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Issues That Affect Retired Military Personnel

For those who have already hung up the uniform, the focus this week has been squarely on Capitol Hill. We are seeing a renewed and very intense push to fix what many veterans call the "Wounded Veteran Tax"—the dollar-for-dollar offset that prevents many retirees from receiving both their earned retirement pay and their VA disability compensation at the same time.

[00:03:57] Bills to Watch
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Right now, there are three major bills in the [00:04:00] mix that every retiree needs to watch. First, we have H.R. 303, the Retired Pay Restoration Act, re-introduced by Representative Gus Bilirakis on 16 January 2025. Currently, only retirees with a disability rating of fifty percent or higher are eligible for "concurrent receipt". If you are rated at forty percent or lower, you lose one dollar of your retirement pay for every dollar of VA compensation you get. H.R. 303 would finally eliminate that fifty percent threshold for everyone with twenty or more years of service.

The second big piece of legislation is the Major Richard Star Act, known as S. 344 and H.R. 1282. This bill is laser-focused on about fifty thousand three hundred combat-injured veterans who were medically retired under what’s called "Chapter 61" before they reached twenty years of service. Currently, these heroes are almost entirely excluded from concurrent receipt. This week, we saw massive movement for the [00:05:00] Star Act. Over sixty Senators and two hundred seventy-two House members have signed on as co-sponsors as of 25 March 2026. We even saw state-level action, with the Mississippi State Senate passing a resolution on 5 March 2026 urging the U.S. Congress to finally pass this bill.

Despite this momentum, some in the Senate blocked a vote on 4 March 2026 due to concerns about the cost to the Department of War’s budget.

The third and broadest bill is H.R. 333, the Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act. This one is the "gold standard" for advocacy groups like the Military Officers Association of America because it would eliminate the offset for both twenty-year retirees and all Chapter 61 medical retirees.

[00:05:43] TRICARE Retirement Pitfalls
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Switching to health care, if you are planning to retire in 2026, you need to be very careful with your TRICARE transition. Senior program analysts at the Defense Health Agency warned this week that your coverage does not automatically follow you into retirement. Retirement is [00:06:00] considered a "Qualifying Life Event," which gives you exactly ninety days to enroll in a new plan like TRICARE Select or TRICARE Prime. If you miss that window, you could face a gap in coverage or be limited to space-available care at military hospitals.

There are also some cost changes taking effect right now. On 28 February 2026, a new pharmacy copayment waiver went live for active duty family members and certain retirees in TRICARE Prime Remote, which eliminates copays for drugs filled through home delivery or retail networks. However, on 1 March 2026, TRICARE Dental Program monthly premiums increased, and those new rates will be in effect through February 2027. Also, remember that 2026 is a transition year for regional contractors, with Humana Military managing the East and TriWest managing the West.

If you’re seeing a specialist, make sure they are updated on who is handling your billing to avoid any headaches.

[00:06:58] COLA and FERS Fix
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Finally, for our [00:07:00] retired federal employees, the "Equal COLA Act" is still working its way through the system. In October 2025, it was announced that Social Security and CSRS retirees would get a two point eight percent cost-of-living adjustment in 2026. However, those in the FERS system are capped at just two percent. Representative James Walkinshaw and Senator Alex Padilla are leading the charge on H.R. 491 and S. 624 to end this "diet COLA" and ensure FERS retirees get the full inflation adjustment.

[00:07:30]  Issues That Affect Veterans Affairs
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Issues That Affect Veterans Affairs

The Department of Veterans Affairs has had an incredibly busy week, punctuated by a marathon hearing in the House on Wednesday, 25 March 2026. Chairman Mike Bost led a session that covered twenty-seven different bills aimed at reauthorizing and modernizing the department. The goal is to combine these initiatives into a massive "omnibus" package later this year.

One of the most talked-about proposals is the VISN Reform Act, or H.R. 6733. This bill would take the [00:08:00] current eighteen regional management networks—the VISNs—and consolidate them into eight much larger regions. The idea is to cut through the "excessive bureaucracy" that Chairman Bost says has hindered care for decades. We also heard testimony on the EVEST Act, H.R. 4114, which would move the VA to an "opt-out" system for health care. Essentially, it would automatically enroll all eligible service members into VA health care the moment they leave active duty.

The committee also looked at several accountability measures. The VA Bonus and Relocation Recovery Act, H.R. 7319, would allow the government to recoup bonuses from VA employees who don't fulfill their contracts. This comes after reports showed the VA had over eight hundred sixty-six million dollars in "improper compensation payments" in fiscal year 2025. Additionally, the VA National Formulary Act would force the agency to align its drug list with industry standards to get new medications to [00:09:00] veterans faster.

[00:09:01] PACT Act Expansion
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Speaking of care, the PACT Act implementation continues to expand. As of March 2026, the VA has moved to a "direct enrollment" model for millions of toxic-exposed veterans. If you served in a combat zone after 11 September 2001, or in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, or even if you were exposed while training stateside, you can now enroll in VA health care without having to file a disability claim first. This is a huge shift. The VA also added two more conditions to the presumptive list this week: urethral cancer and cancer of the paraurethral glands.

[00:09:35] Guardianship Legal Shift
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On the legal and social front, on 11 March 2026, VA Secretary Doug Collins and Attorney General Pam Bondi signed a major agreement that will help our most vulnerable veterans. The VA can now appoint its own attorneys as special assistant U.S. attorneys to handle guardianship cases for veterans who are mentally unable to make their own medical decisions and have no family to help them. This is especially critical for our homeless veteran [00:10:00] population, as it allows the VA to legally transition them from hospitals into long-term care facilities.

[00:10:05] Budget and Pay Raise Debate
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However, the road ahead isn't without financial speed bumps. During the hearings, lawmakers pointed out that the national debt has hit thirty-nine trillion dollars, and the fiscal year 2026 deficit is projected at one point nine trillion. This is putting a lot of pressure on the VA budget, sixty-nine percent of which is now considered "mandatory" spending that Congress doesn't review annually. Plus, the multi-billion-dollar effort to modernize the electronic health record system remains largely stalled at just six medical centers.

Finally, for those looking at the 2026 and 2027 budgets, there is a major debate over pay raises. President Trump has proposed a one percent raise for most federal employees in 2026, though certain law enforcement roles would see a three point eight percent increase to match the military. In response, Representative James Walkinshaw and Senator Brian Schatz introduced the FAIR Act in February [00:11:00] 2026, which would push for a four point one percent raise in 2027 to help close the pay gap with the private sector.

[00:11:07] Wrap Up and Subscribe
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And that's your Weekly Briefing. Staying on top of these changes is key to navigating your career, your retirement, and your benefits.

Thank you for tuning in. Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, so you never miss an update. We’ll be back next week with another roundup of the news that matters most to the military and veteran community.