Bucket View

 

A water bucket hangs from a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter during firefighting training near Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, April 8, 2021. The routine air to ground interoperability training helps enhance readiness, strengthen partner nation response capabilities and enhance their ability to respond to crises throughout Central America.

Raptor Eight

 

Air Force F-22 Raptors and a Japanese F-35A Lightning II aircraft fly alongside an Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker near Japan, April 1, 2021.

Choppy Seas

 

Sailors and Coast Guardsmen participate in a noncompliant vessel pursuit tactics exercise in the Atlantic Ocean, April 1, 2021.

President's FY 2022 Discretionary Funding Request for the Department of Defense

 April 9, 2021

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President Biden Outlines Defense Proposals to Make Key Investments to Defend the Nation through Modernization, Innovation, and Enhanced Readiness

The Biden-Harris Administration today submitted to Congress the President’s priorities for fiscal year 2022 discretionary spending. The funding request, totaling $715 billion, invests in the core foundations of our country’s strength and advances key Department of Defense priorities to defend the Nation, innovate and modernize the Department, build resilience and readiness, take care of its people, and succeed through teamwork.

“The pursuit of our national security interests requires investments that target and align our priorities and capabilities to address the constantly evolving and dynamic threat landscape,” said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. “The President’s discretionary funding request represents an important investment that will ensure the Department’s resources are matched with our strategy and policy to defend the nation and take care of our people, while revitalizing the key alliances and partnerships to succeed.”

The President’s FY22 discretionary request:

• Defends the Nation. The discretionary request addresses threats to the Nation by prioritizing the need to counter the pacing threat from China as the Department’s top challenge, deterring nation-state threats emanating from Russia, Iran, and North Korea, funding investments in long-range strike capabilities to bolster deterrence and improve survivability, and promoting climate resilience and energy efficiencies.
• Innovates and Modernizes. The discretionary request makes key investments in technology and modernizes the force. The Department will support defense research and development to spur innovation, optimize U.S. Navy shipbuilding, modernize the nuclear deterrent, and invest in hypersonics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, microelectronics, and quantum science. In order to prioritize these key investments, the Department will propose to redirect resources to its top priority programs, platforms, and systems by divesting legacy systems with less utility in current and future threat environments.
• Maintains and Enhances Readiness. Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Guardians remain the best trained and equipped force in the world and are always ready to fulfill our most solemn obligation to protect the security of the American people. The discretionary request maintains and enhances readiness while addressing threats to readiness, including hate group activity within the military, and prioritizing strong protections against harassment and discrimination.
• Takes Care of Our People. Our military members, families and civilian personnel are key to the readiness and well-being of the All-Volunteer force, and therefore are critical to our national security. The discretionary request prioritizes programs that enable the growth and development of our workforce; improves recruiting, retention, training and education; and directly supports military spouses, caregivers, survivors, and dependents.  A major element to readiness and the development of our people remains our diversity and the opportunities afforded to all.  Therefore, through its focus on personnel readiness, this request will help us achieve a more diverse and effective workforce.

These discretionary investments reflect only one element of the President’s broader agenda. In the coming months, the Administration will release a Budget that will build on this discretionary funding request and detail a comprehensive fiscal vision for the Nation that reinvests in America, supports future growth and prosperity, meets U.S. commitments, and does so in a fiscally sustainable way. 

For more information on the President’s FY22 discretionary funding request, please visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/FY-2022-Discretionary-Request/.

Paint Perspective

 

Army Reserve Spc. Arianna Hammel applies camouflage paint to prepare for a range qualification during Day One of the 2021 Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) Best Warrior Competition at Fort Jackson, S.C., April 8, 2021.

Flight Deck Flag

 

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Teven Reed, left, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Makayla Cabel shift colors on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego, April 5, 2021.

Cemetary Clean UP

 

Army Maj. Pennie Llorente rakes weeds and debris during a community cleanup event at the Serbian Orthodox Cemetery of Viti/Vitina in Kosovo, April 7, 2021.

Ramstein Ranger

 

Air Force Senior Airman Trent Sloan connects a blasting cap to a training claymore mine during a ranger assessment and preparation course at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, March 29, 2021.

Howitzer Haze

 

Marine Corps Lance Cpls. Mauricio Tinoco, right, and Isabel Rodriguez prepare to rig an M777A2 155 mm howitzer during a weapons and tactics instructor course at Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range, Calif., April 3, 2021.

Fleet Food

 

Marine Corps Cpl. Albert Stengel prepares onions aboard the USS Makin Island in the Indian Ocean, April 6, 2021.

Osprey Ops

 

A Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey flies during a weapons and tactics instructor course near Yuma, Ariz., April 6, 2021.

Drill Commands

 

Marine Corps Sgt. Tyler K. Martin commands recruits as they execute drill movements at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., April 7, 2021.

Fill Up

 

Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew Daley refuels a joint light tactical vehicle at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., March 29, 2021.

Sure Shot

 

A sailor fires an M9 pistol during a small arms gun shoot on the flight deck of the USS Mustin in the East China Sea, April 1, 2021.

Pinnacle Pickup

 

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Butler waits to be picked up while an MH-60S Seahawk practices pinnacle landings and extractions during mountain-flying search and rescue training in Nevada, April 8, 2021.

Weight Work

 

Marine Corps Cpl. Morgan Poland starts the 25 yard weighted sled push during a high intensity interval training competition at Butler Stadium, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., April 6, 2021.

Vaccination Discussion

 

Army Spc. Nakeeba Lue speaks to a man at a community vaccination center in Cleveland, March 31, 2021.

Capsule Crew

 

Air Force pararescue jumpers and combat rescue officers practice retrieving astronauts from a SpaceX capsule mockup during the Rescue Force Qualification Course at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., Feb. 23, 2021. The course, hosted by the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office, provides quarterly training for DOD rescue personnel, partner agencies and other rescue organizations with real-world instructions for astronaut recovery.

Founder's Day

 

U.S. Air Force Academy cadets march on Stillman Field during the Founder’s Day parade at the academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., April 2, 2021.

Secretary of Defense Austin Announces Immediate Actions to Counter Extremism in the Military and the Establishment of the Countering Extremism Working Group

 April 9, 2021

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Today, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III issued a memorandum announcing the Immediate Actions to Counter Extremism in the Department and the Establishment of the Countering Extremism Working Group (CEWG).

The immediate actions are as follows:

• Review and Update of DODI 1325.06 Extremism Definition: Office of the Secretary of Defense (Personnel & Readiness) and the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) will review and update DODI 1325.06 to more specifically define what constitutes extremist behavior.
• Updating the Service Member Transition Checklist: The military departments will add provisions to their service member transition checklists that include training on potential targeting of service members by extremist groups and work with other federal departments agencies to create a mechanism by which veterans have the opportunity to report any potential contact with an extremist group should they chose to do so.
• Review and Standardization of Screening Questionnaires: All military departments to update and standardize screening questionnaires to solicit specific information about current or previous extremist behavior.
• Commission of Extremism Study: The Department will commission a study on extremist behavior within our Total Force, to include gaining greater fidelity on the scope of the problem.

Led by Bishop Garrison, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense on Human Capital and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the CEWG will oversee the implementation of immediate actions as well as the development of mid-term and long-term recommendations for the continued engagement of this issue. The CEWG will report through the Workforce Management Group (WMG) to the Deputy's Workforce Council (DWC).

The CEWG will pursue four initial Lines of Effort (LOEs) within subcommittees that receive information from both internal and external Subject Matter Experts as well as coordination and input from the interagency.

The Lines of Effort are as follows:

• Line of Effort 1: Military Justice and Policy. This LOE will focus on the role of military justice and policy. It will evaluate whether seeking to amend the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) or amending related department policy is appropriate in order to address extremism. This LOE will determine if regulations are sufficient or should be expanded.
• Line of Effort 2: Support and Oversight of Insider Threat Program. This LOE will determine how the Department should facilitate better information collection and sharing among Service Insider Threat Programs, law enforcement organizations, security organizations, and commanders and supervisors. This group will work to strengthen Insider Threat Programs and the Direct Awareness Campaign with the goal of promoting the use of the Insider Threat programs to report concerning behaviors for both military and civilian personnel.
• Line of Effort 3: Screening Capability. This LOE will discuss the Department's pursuit of scalable and cost-effective capabilities to screen publically available electronic information in accessions and continuous vetting for national security positions. The LOE will make recommendations on further development of such capabilities and incorporating machine learning and natural language processing into social media screening platforms. This LOE will also endeavor to develop policy to expand user activity monitoring of both SIPR and NIPR systems. 
• Line of Effort 4: Education & Training. This LOE will utilize the current extremist and Insider Threat training review being conducted by OUSD(P&R) and OUSD(I&S) and  examine existing training and make recommendations and updates to those trainings for different leadership levels and separate and discrete targeted audiences, as necessary. It will use lessons learned from the Stand Down to enhance current reviews of training and education. This LOE will also ensure training addresses issues raised by commanders and supervisors on “gray areas” such as reading, following, and liking extremist material and content in social media forums and platforms.

The memorandum for the Immediate Actions to Counter Extremism in the Department and the Establishment of the Extremism Working Group can be found here.