Click here to download the official 2024 EANGUS Call to Conference.

In 2017, AUSA approached EANGUS about partnering at the Association level and offering cross memberships in each organization. EANGUS accepted their offer on a conditional basis. AUSA would have to accept all EANGUS members, not just those in the Army Guard. [AUSA members would have to meet EANGUS membership rules and opt in to EANGUS membership; EANGUS members can opt out of AUSA membership at any time.] EANGUS members would have digital only access to AUSA products (no printed materials). And AUSA would greatly assist EANGUS in expanding its annual conference exhibitor program at little to no cost to EANGUS, since AUSA knows how to attract exhibitors. Both parties agreed to the terms and the partnership was formed. EANGUS is considered to be an Association Partner with AUSA.

Are there benefits to membership? Definitely yes.

Advocacy. AUSA lobbies Congress on behalf of all components of the Army, and EANGUS lobbies Congress on behalf of all Guard members. Our legislative interests overlap and are complementary. On many issues, EANGUS and AUSA team up to attack the Hill on your behalf. https://www.ausa.org/government-affairs.

Affinity Program. Affinity means discounts. AUSA has a very robust affinity program. For almost anything you do in life, they probably have negotiated a discount for which you can take advantage. Car rentals. Hotel rooms. Computers. An unbelievable amount of savings. Check out the affinity program here: https://www.ausa.org/member-benefits.

Scholarships. Although EANGUS has a scholarship program, so does AUSA. EANGUS members are eligible to participate in AUSA scholarship programs in addition to all of EANGUS’ scholarship programs. AUSA has over $300,000 in over 40 scholarship programs. EANGUS members and their dependents (to include children, spouses, and grandchildren) are eligible to apply. Check out their scholarship programs here: https://www.ausa.org/scholarships.

Chapters. AUSA has 122 chapters worldwide. Every State has at least one AUSA chapter. The synergy between each EANGUS State Association and the AUSA chapters in that State can be very fruitful. Working together, we can accomplish much for our State Associations. You can locate a local AUSA chapter here: https://www.ausa.org/search/chapters.

Annual Meeting. EANGUS holds an annual conference/meeting in a different city every year. AUSA holds an annual conference/meeting in Washington DC at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. AUSA attracts over 30,000 attendees and has over 600 exhibitors, some from allied nations. Anyone with an affiliation with AUSA can attend the conference for free. Some of the break out meetings and exhibits are definitely Army-centric. But a great majority of them have both Army and Air interest, such as the job fair they hold during the exhibition. There is something for everyone at the annual conference in DC.

Podcasts. AUSA produces a wide variety of podcasts, under the moniker “Army Matters”. But the podcasts have a wider applicability than just to Army Soldiers. Recent podcasts include How A Bus Crash Improved The Lives Of Countless Veterans (with Dr. Rory Cooper, an amazing guy); Can Uncle Sam Become A Gen Z Hero? discussing the traits of Gen Z; and The Creative Minds—And The Experiences—Behind Call Of Duty which talks about the gaming industry. Podcasts are free to listen. https://www.ausa.org/podcast.

Professional Development. AUSA has a robust professional development program for officers and NCOs as well as civilian employees and family readiness. They have an extensive publications program with books, magazines, and e-news you can count on. You can find more on their programs here: https://www.ausa.org/professional-development.

EANGUS strives to make your membership as valuable as it can be, and our partnership with AUSA is one part of that.

— EANGUS National Office

A Veterans Service Organization (VSO) is an organization that aids and serves veterans, servicemembers, dependents, and survivors. They are non-profits under IRS code section 501(c)19. They may also be national, state, county, tribal, or local government organizations or agencies. Some VSOs may provide programming for veterans in their communities, such as job fairs; others may organize events to raise money for a subset of veterans, such as housing for homeless veterans. Some VSOs train individuals to meet federal regulatory requirements to become accredited representatives who can represent claimants before the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA’s) regional offices and its Board of Veterans’ Appeals. Generally, VSOs are congressionally chartered organizations recognized by VA to prepare, present, and prosecute claims. 38 C.F.R. §14.628(d) describes the requirements that must be met for recognition. Each congressionally chartered VSO is listed in 36 U.S.C. Subtitle II: Patriotic and National Organizations. The VA Secretary may make space available in departmental facilities for individuals who work for national VSOs that have been recognized by the Secretary. For example, at many VA hospitals, VSOs have offices and assist with disability claims and processing. VSOs offer their claims assistance free of charge to all veterans. Among congressionally chartered VSOs are MOAA, ROA, American Legion, VFW, and DAV. Although no exhaustive list exists to document all of the VSOs in existence, you can find many accredited ones here: https://benefits.va.gov/vso/index.asp.

A Military Service Organization (MSO) is very similar to a VSO with some exceptions. A MSO is not congressionally chartered. MSOs are not recognized by VA to represent individuals before the VA to prepare, present and prosecute claims for disability or pensions. MSOs generally are organized under IRS code section 501(c)3 or 19 as non-profits, depending on the meeting the criteria of membership (see https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/other-non-profits/veterans-organizations). MSOs may be national, state, tribal, or local. MSOs frequently partner with VSOs to advocate on behalf of servicemembers, veterans, dependents, and survivors. EANGUS is considered to be a MSO and not a VSO, as is NGAUS.

— EANGUS National Office

This issue has been on the to-do list for your association for several years. It was formally attacked in 2019 and 2020 by EANGUS but without permanent resolution.

In 2019, the Air Guard received almost $11 million in Congressional funding for a pilot program (no pun intended) to fund federal tuition assistance for drilling Guard members. The pilot program included 24 wings in 14 states and territories, to include Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Guam, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming. It began on October 1, 2020.  The pilot program was to run for three years, with tuition assistance capped at $4,500 annually per airman. But in 2022, the Air Guard Director put a kibosh on the program, citing a shortage in funding and lack of Congressional funding for the program.

Air Force Instruction 36-2670 Chapter 6 (updated on November 9, 2023) clearly lays out the federal tuition assistance program by the Air Force for the Air Force Reserve. The Air Guard is only mentioned in paragraph 6.8.13 stating that the only funds available for the Air Guard are State tuition programs. As many have discovered, not all States are created equal, and State tuition programs vary greatly across America.

Representatives Jeff Jackson (D-NC) and Trent Kelly (R-MS) introduced H.R. 7088, the Air Guard Standardizing Tuition Assistance to Unify the Services (STATUS) Act, a bipartisan bill that would establish a permanent federal tuition assistance (FTA) program for members of the Air National Guard.

The bill would require the Secretary of the Air Force to provide tuition assistance to members of the Air National Guard, in line with the program currently available to the Army National Guard. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced the Senate companion bill, S.3513. The legislative language reads: “The Secretary of the Air Force shall establish a permanent program to pay, under section 2007 of title 10, United States Code, all or a portion of the charges of an educational institution for the tuition or expenses of a member of the Air National Guard who is in compliance with the training requirements under regulations prescribed under section 502(a) of title 32, United States Code.”

 Hopefully the Armed Services committees will consider the legislation and possibly roll the provisions into the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act and fund it in the 2024 Defense Appropriations bill. This disparity in federal tuition assistance between the Army and Air Guard will continue to be attacked by your association in this and future sessions of Congress until a permanent funding solution is attained.

The Constitution states that “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” This means that the power of the purse must be exercised through the lawmaking process, allowing Congress to craft the terms of appropriations or deny appropriations outright through legislation. The Constitution does not, however, prescribe how Congress should develop or consider appropriations measures. Consequently, the House and Senate have each adopted rules and practices related to appropriations measures including distinguishing them from other types of legislation. [1]

Within the committee structure established by Congress, the task of developing appropriations legislation is delegated to the Appropriations Committees of the House and Senate. These committees, in turn, have created a system of subcommittees designed to facilitate their ability to carry out these tasks. The committees are organized in 12 parallel subcommittees, each of which is charged with developing, drafting, and managing the consideration of one regular appropriations act each fiscal year.[2] One of these 12 subcommittees is Defense.

If designated as an emergency supplemental, the money allocated in such a bill is not included in the regular budget process (off budget) and is, in actuality, an increase to the debt of the U.S. Billions of dollars have been passed in emergency supplementals, especially to finance wartime operations and needs by the Defense Department since 9/11. Indeed, emergency supplementals financed many unfunded requests the Defense Department had during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

More recently, in Fiscal Year 2021, the Defense Department received supplemental funding for Capitol Security ($521 million) and Operation Allies Welcome ($500 million). Operation Allies Welcome was the Department of Homeland Security-led whole-of-government effort to support vulnerable Afghans as they safely resettle in the United States.[3]

In Fiscal Year 2022, DOD received $4.3 billion for Operation Allies Welcome; $6.5 billion for Ukraine; $895 million for natural disasters; and $350 million for Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (in Hawaii). [4]

In August 2023, the president requested $40.1 billion in supplemental funding. This request included $24.1 billion for Ukraine which includes $8.5 billion for humanitarian assistance for the State Department and USAID; $2.3 billion for Treasury Department financing tools; and $12 billion to FEMA for natural disasters.[5]

In October 2023, the president asked for $105.9 billion in supplemental funding. This request will be used for Ukraine ($61.4 billion); Israel ($14.3 billion); border security ($13.6 billion); Indo-Pacific aid and submarine industrial base ($5.4 billion); and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and others ($11.2 billion). [6]

Supplemental appropriations will continue to be part of the Congressional landscape and one way for governmental agencies and the Executive Branch to allocate funds in addition to the normal budgeting process.

[1] Congressional Research Service, CRS Report R47106, May 17 2023

[2] Ibid

[3] https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/FY2023/FY23_Green_Book.pdf page 1

[4] Ibid

[5] https://www.crfb.org/blogs/white-house-calls-40-billion-supplemental

[6] https://www.crfb.org/blogs/whats-white-houses-106-billion-supplemental-request

— EANGUS NATIONAL OFFICE

The increased fitness standards are to be incorporated in the Army Combat Fitness Test within the next 18 months. The following Military Occupation Specialties or Areas of Concentration are affected:  11A, 11B, 11C; 11Z, 12A, 12B, 13A, 13F, 18A, 18B, 18C, 18D, 18E, 18F, 18Z, 19A, 19C, 19D, 19K, and 19Z.

The six-event Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) replaced the three-event Army Physical Fitness Test on October 1, 2020. The Commanding General of US Army Training and Doctrine Command stated, “Based on results of years of scientific study, the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Army have directed replacement of the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). While the legacy APFT is an acceptable test for measuring general fitness, it does not adequately assess the domains of combat physical fitness. The six-event Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) was developed to better predict a Soldier’s readiness for the demands of the modern battlefield. Like combat, the ACFT is both age and gender neutral. The desired end-states of ACFT implementation are an increase in physical readiness, a decrease in chronic injuries, and an evolution in the Army’s fitness culture.” The ACFT was heavily influenced by CrossFit exercises. It was the first change in fitness testing in four decades.

Initially, the ACFT was planned to be scored without regard for age and gender. Instead, soldiers were assigned to one of three tiers based on their military occupational specialty.  However, this ‘do-not-adjust’ policy caused a debate whether it would penalize women and overshadow expertise and intellectual preparations.  Eventually, age- and gender- based scoring was introduced in April 2022. This provision of law revises the ACFT for higher demand, close combat occupations.

— EANGUS National Office

It has a long title. “Extension Of Period Of Eligibility For Health Benefits Under Tricare Reserve Select For Survivors Of A Member Of The Selected Reserve.” And it has a very short amount of verbiage. “Section 1076d(c) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘six months’ and inserting ‘three years’”. But its impact is huge.

Section 1076d of title 10 is the legal language for TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS). This section was added to title 10 of the U.S. Code in the 2005 NDAA, almost 20 years ago. TRS is health care coverage for members of the reserve components, definitely including the National Guard. It is subsidized by the federal government, meaning that members who elect coverage under TRS pay a premium of 28% of the cost determined by the Secretary of Defense, and the government pays the other 72% of the cost. As a contrast, those gray-area retirees who choose to enroll in TRICARE Retired Reserve pay the full cost of the plan.

This particular section in the 2024 NDAA changes a time frame from six months to three years. Simple. But what is it changing, really?

For those National Guard and reserve members who unfortunately perish while enrolled in TRS (for example, they die while on drill status or other training), their surviving spouse and family can continue TRS coverage. Until this law was passed, they could only continue their health care coverage for six months. Starting October 1 2025, they can continue their health care coverage under TRS for three years.

This seemingly insignificant change is huge for the surviving family members of deceased National Guard and reserve members who were enrolled in TRS. Instead of scurrying around to find replacement coverage, they can have some peace of mind that their health care coverage will continue, especially if the family is facing medical issues that might take longer than six months to resolve.

These provisions were initially introduced in the 1^st session of the 118^th Congress by Connecticut Representative Joe Courtney and Mississippi Representative Trent Kelly as the Sergeant First Class Michael Clark TRICARE Reserve Parity Act. A companion bill was introduced by Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. It was named after SFC Michael Clark, an Army Reserve Soldier from Connecticut, who died after being struck by lightning while serving on a 30-day training exercise at Fort Gordon Georgia in July 2022. The provisions of this legislation were included in the 2024 NDAA as section 702. Although this provision will not benefit the Clark family because of its effective date, it will help countless others who face the death of their serving spouse or parent.

— EANGUS National Office

Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) is going up 1.7% over the 2023 amount. This is for officers and enlisted alike. It is also payable to Guard AGRs and those on long-term ADOS. BAS is generally for those who are on active duty and do not live in the barracks. BAS is meant to offset costs for a member’s meals. This allowance is based in the historic origins of the military in which the military provided room and board (or rations) as part of a member’s pay. This allowance is not intended to offset the costs of meals for family members. Beginning on January 1, 2002, all enlisted members get full BAS, but pay for their meals (including those provided by the government). Because BAS is intended to provide meals for the service member, its level is linked to the price of food. Therefore, each year it is adjusted based upon the increase of the price of food as measured by the USDA food cost index. This is why the increase to BAS will not necessarily be the same percentage as that applied to the increase in the pay table, as annual pay raises are linked to the increase of private sector wages. BAS is not taxable. BAS rate tables are shown here: https://www.dfas.mil/militarymembers/payentitlements/Pay-Tables/bas/.

Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is 5.4% over last year’s rates but is nothing like the 12.1% increase received last fiscal year. BAH is set at 95% of housing costs in various predetermined areas of the U.S. BAH is an allowance to offset the cost of housing when you do not receive government-provided housing. Your BAH depends upon your location, pay grade and whether you have dependents. BAH rates are set by surveying the cost of rental properties in each geographic location. Therefore, BAH rates in high-cost areas will be much greater than those in low-cost areas. BAH rates are published on the Defense Travel Management Office Web page. BAH is not taxable.

https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bah.cfm

For Veterans receiving disability compensation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the cost-of-living increase will be 3.2%. VA disability compensation (pay) offers a monthly tax-free payment to Veterans who got sick or injured while serving in the military and to Veterans whose service made an existing condition worse. You may qualify for VA disability benefits for physical conditions (like a chronic illness or injury) and mental health conditions (like PTSD) that developed before, during, or after service.

For those former service members and veterans receiving Social Security payments, the cost-of-living increase will also be 3.2%. The Social Security Retirement benefit is a monthly check that replaces part of your income when you reduce your hours or stop working altogether. It may not replace all your income so it’s best to identify other ways to pay for your monthly expenses as you age. Eligibility is always based on work. Most jobs take Social Security taxes out of your paycheck so you can get a monthly benefit in retirement. Generally, Social Security payments are taxable in most States.

For military retirees receiving an annuity from DFAS, the cost-of-living increase will be 3.2%. Military retired pay is generally taxable income. Retired pay is earned after completing at least 20 good years of military service. It is immediately payable if that 20-year period is all active duty, and the annuity is delayed until age 60 for reservists who do not have at least 20 years of active federal service. Those former military members who retired under the Redux program will see a 2.2% increase in retired pay. For more of an explanation of retired pay, visit this website: https://militarypay.defense.gov/Pay/Retirement/.

For surviving spouses receiving benefits under the Survivor Benefit Plan, the cost-of-living increase will also be 3.2%. Military retired pay stops upon death of the retiree! The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) allows a retiree to ensure, after death, a continuous lifetime annuity for their dependents. The annuity which is based on a percentage of retired pay is called SBP and is paid to an eligible beneficiary. It pays your eligible survivors an inflation-adjusted monthly income. The maximum SBP annuity for a spouse is based on 55 percent of the member’s retired pay (or in the case of a member who retires under REDUX, the retired pay the member would have received if under the high-three retirement system). However, a smaller amount may be elected. Benefits paid under the SBP are generally taxable.

Some military retirees, as well as reservists, seek employment as a federal civilian. For those who qualify for a federal civilian retirement, and have retired, their retired annuity will also see a cost-of-living increase of 3.2% in 2024. Generally, civilian retired pay is taxable.

Cost of living increases are based on a formula codified in law. Under current law, the COLAs for Social Security, federal retirees, and VA disability compensation are all calculated based on the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The CPI-W covers 29% of the U.S. population living in households with income derived predominantly from clerical employment or jobs with an hourly wage. CPI-W is a monthly measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban wage earners and clerical workers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. The CPI-W is based on the spending patterns of urban wage earners and clerical workers. Index data are available for the U.S. City Average (or national average), for various geographic areas (regions and metropolitan areas), for national population size classes of urban areas, and for cross-classifications of regions and size classes. Individual indexes are available for more than 200 items (e.g., apples, men’s shirts, airline fares), and over 120 different combinations of items (e.g., fruits and vegetables, food at home, food and beverages, and All items).

Another Consumer Price Index is the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). This index represents 93% of the U.S. population not living in remote rural areas. It doesn’t cover spending by people living in farm households, institutions, or on military bases. CPI-U is the basis of the widely reported CPI numbers that matter to financial markets. As the traditional CPI-U calculation only measures inflation for urban populations, it remains a less-than-reliable source of data for individuals living in rural areas. Some believe that Congress should switch to CPI-U instead of CPI-W in computing cost of living increases. So far, Congress has resisted such a move.

— EANGUS National Office

(or what Congress will be up to from January to December 2024)

National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA for 2024 was signed into law on December 22, 2023 (Public Law 118-31) and will be in effect until October 1, 2024. Starting in February 2024, the Armed Services Committees will be holding hearings and deliberations on the 2025 NDAA that should become effective on October 1, 2024, assuming both the Senate and House do their job and get it to the president prior to that date (don’t hold your breath this year). The NDAA is focused mostly on policy and although it authorizes the expenditure of money, it does not actually fund the Defense Department. It gives authority to do certain things, like end strength levels, programs to be executed or removed, and policy issues like the Uniform Code of Military Justice changes.

Defense Appropriations. The Senate and House Defense Appropriations Subcommittees draft and pass their versions of how to actually fund the government (expenditure of money). For Fiscal Year 2024 (now), the Defense Department is operating on a continuing resolution (CR) until February 2^nd. Sometime prior to midnight on February 2^nd, Congress will need to agree to do one of four things to keep the Defense Department funded: (1) pass another short-term CR; (2) pass a year-long CR and start work on Fiscal 2025 appropriations; (3) pass a standalone Defense Department appropriations act; or (4) pass an omnibus or minibus (grouping of funding bills which includes the Defense Department). Congress has a very short amount of legislative days left in January to take action.

Federal government budget for Fiscal Year 2025. By law, the president has until the first Monday in February (February 5^th) to send Congress the Fiscal Year 2025 budget for all departments and agencies of the federal government. Some years, the president has complied with the law and the budget dropped on the first Monday in February. But in other years, the budget drop was delayed by weeks or months, shortening the timeline for Congress to deliberate and produce the funding bills needed to keep the government lights on.

Posture hearings. Starting after the budget is presented to Congress, hopefully on Monday February 5^th, Congressional committees will begin holding posture hearings, calling on agency leaders like the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to appear in person before the committees and defend what they put in the Fiscal 2025 budget submission. Usually, the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs will go before the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, the House Armed Services Committee, and the Senate Armed Services Committee.  The Service Secretaries and Chiefs of Staff then appear before the same committees. The senior enlisted of the services appear before the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs committees to talk about quality-of-life issues. The committees also take testimony from military and veteran service organizations, as well as DOD and service comptrollers and other subject matter experts to get various viewpoints on what is being proposed in the budget. Once the hearings are over, the House and the Senate complete action on their respective bills. When their bills have been voted on and approved, a conference committee is convened with players from the House and Senate committees to iron out differences between the bills so that one consolidated bill emerges. That compromise bill is then presented to the House and Senate for a vote with no changes or amendments, and once it passes both chambers it goes to the president for signature into law. All this is supposed to happen before October 1^st, 2024.

Recess. Congress takes recess from their legislative workload several times a year. Most commonly, they take recess around federal holidays, Easter, and they take their standard month-long recess that will probably start around August 5^th and go until after Labor Day. They also take recess for Jewish holidays in September and will recess the first week in October until after the elections in November. After the elections, they may return to Washington for a lame-duck session in late November and early December. Typically, they are in DC from Monday night or Tuesday morning until late Thursday night, and then return to their districts for the weekend. As you can see, there are not that many legislative days to accomplish what they need to do. It can be a very opportune time for association members to engage their lawmakers face-to-face during those times they are in the district back home to express priorities of the association and relate real stories of what the effect of their lawmaking has on their lives in the National Guard.

Elections. 2024 will bring national elections in November. All members of the House of Representatives will be up for reelection as they are every two years. One third of the Senate will be up for reelection, as well as filling vacancies of retiring or vacating Senators. And in 2024, presidential elections will be held. The more campaigning that members of Congress do, the less attention they will have for legislating. Generally, in election years such as 2024, and if history repeats itself, you can just about count on the Defense Department being funded after October 1^st on a continuing resolution, and the NDAA being delayed possibly until the lame duck session. After the elections are over, there will be some shuffling of committee leadership and membership that will change the dynamics of legislating and funding the government. It happens every cycle and greatly depends on which party is in the majority and the background, experience, and abilities of the newly elected members.

— EANGUS National Office