Edward: Welcome to the Mil Weekly Briefing for 8-14 June 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.
Weâll 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.
Hereâs whatâs happened this past week.
Issues That Affect Active and Reserve Military
During the week of June 8â14, 2025, the Department of Defense (DoD) and
Congress focused on strengthening readiness, support, and quality of
life for current service members.
Notable DoD announcements included new initiatives in child care and innovation.
On June 10 the Pentagon launched a Child Care Expansion Initiative to
increase affordable, accessible child care for military families (including
active, Guard, and Reserve members)
. This program, in partnership with nonprofits, will open new child-care
centers (the first in the Norfolk, Virginia area) and expand fee
assistance like the âMilitary Child Care in Your Neighborhoodâ program
for geographically dispersed families.
In other force-development news, the Army Reserve on June 13 activated an Executive
Innovation Corps (Detachment 201) â a cadre of four tech industry leaders
(from Palantir, Meta, OpenAI, etc.)
commissioned as Reserve officers.
These senior technologists will work part-time with Army units
to speed development and fielding of cutting-edge solutions.
Service units also commemorated the Armyâs 250th birthday: the National
Guardâs Apache helicopter crew assisted in a salute at the Pentagon on June
13 , underscoring Reserve and Guard participation in readiness events.
Meanwhile, DoD policy guidance continued to evolve on personnel issues.
In May the Pentagon issued new rules excluding service members with a current
diagnosis of gender dysphoria, and set a selfâidentification deadline of
June 6, 2025 for active-duty troops to come forward under the policy.
This voluntary identification period closed just before our reporting
week, meaning DoD is prepared to begin separations of those
diagnosed but not self-identified.
(Reserve-component service members have a July 7 deadline.)
In other personnel news, the Military and Family Life Counseling program
added PTSDâfocused video therapy for service members and families,
and DoD welcomed contributions from its civilian workforce by expanding
child-care benefits to all DOD employees.
On Capitol Hill, key legislative actions shaped active-duty
and Guard/Reserve interests.
The FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was introduced in the House.
On June 9 Chairman Mike Rogers and Ranking Member Adam Smith unveiled H.R.
3838 â the bipartisan âSPEED Actâ â a sweeping procurement reform bill setting
the framework for the FY2026 NDAA.
The SPEED Act aims to overhaul the Defense Acquisition System, cutting bureaucracy
so troops get modern technology faster.
It empowers program managers, accelerates requirements from years to months,
and eases smallâprogram thresholds to attract commercial innovation.
This reform legislation will directly affect current service members by
shortening acquisition timelines; its impact on retirees is indirect
(most reforms focus on new programs).
Also on June 9 the Senate introduced the Veteransâ Appeals Efficiency Act (S.1992),
a bipartisan bill to streamline VA disability appeals, and on June 12 the
Senate moved forward the OATH Act (S.1665)
to ensure veterans who took secrecy oaths receive full retroactive
VA benefits (see Section 3).
In appropriations, the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee marked up
its FY2026 Defense bill on June 12.
That proposal would allocate $831.5
billion for the Pentagon (flat from FY2025) and included a 3.8%
raise in military basic pay for 2026
. (This continues the trend of large pay bumps in recent years.)
The House bill also slows permanent change-of-station moves (saving
$662M) to improve family stability.
As one committee summary notes, the defense bill âtakes care of our troops
and their familiesâ with higher pay and qualityâofâlife investments.
At the same time, Republicans on the committee moved to slim the civilian
workforce: the draft bill would eliminate about 45,000 DoD civilian positions as
part of a âWorkforce Accelerationâ plan.
(That reduction would mainly affect federal defense civilians,
not uniformed retirees.)
The committee report explicitly targeted wasteful spending and codified several
Trumpâera policies (like banning funding for âsex-change surgeriesâ)
in compliance with the White House guidance attached to the funding levels.
If passed, the appropriations act would indirectly affect retirees
by funding veteran programs fully (through the MilCon/VA bill) and
by tying active pay raises to the costâofâliving increases that
ultimately drive military pension COLAs.
Key legislative items: House H.R.
3838 (the SPEED Act, introduced 6/9/2025) is the FY2026 NDAA
blueprint (see text on Congress.gov).
H.R.
3838 overhauls defense procurement to get technology to troops faster.
On the appropriations side, the House approved markup of H.R.
3944 (FY2026 MilCon-VA Appropriations), which will fund military construction
and veteran programs (see Section 3).
In this defense bill, a 3.8%
pay raise and other troop support measures were adopted.
Issues That Affect Retired Military
Retired service members and their survivors saw a mix of legal and
administrative updates this week.
In the courts, the biggest development was a Supreme Court ruling in Soto v.
United States (June 12, 2025).
The justices unanimously held that combat-disabled veterans are entitled
to receive their full Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) benefits
from the date of their discharge, overturning a sixâyear retroactivity cap.
In practical terms, this decision means thousands of retirees who lost
CRSC payments after six years will now get the remainder of their benefits
in a lump sum and future checks.
(Advocacy groups report that over 9,000 combat-injured retirees could receive back
pay, often tens of thousands of dollars.)
This ruling restores full healthâcare payments to qualified retirees
and ensures no time limit on those benefits; it was widely hailed as
a victory for veteransâ rights.
On the administrative side, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS)
issued reminders affecting retired pay and Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities.
DFAS announced that July 1, 2025 pay dates for military retirees and SBP
survivors would occur as scheduled.
(Regular retireesâ monthly pay and SBP annuities will be
disbursed on July 1 as planned.)
Importantly, DFAS updated retirees on a forthcoming change in SBP premium billing.
Many retirees who pay SBP premiums via the Treasuryâs Direct Remittance system
were expecting a transition in June 2025; DFAS confirmed that this change
is delayed pending further notice.
Once implemented, eligible retirees will be billed and pay premiums
directly to DFAS instead of through Treasury, simplifying future payments.
(Retirees should monitor DFAS communications for the new
schedule and payment instructions.)
Beyond these, routine lifecycle updates continue.
Service retirees will receive their annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 2.5%
for 2025 (consistent with Social Security), and SBP annuitants
likewise get a matching 2.5%
increase in their payments (no news changed that this week).
Meanwhile, the FY2026 defense appropriations (see above) will
indirectly affect retired personnel: the active-duty pay raise usually sets
the index for future retiree COLAs, and the National Guard and Reserve
pay raise noted for 2025 (2.7%)
has already improved back pay for Reserve retirees.
However, aside from the Supreme Court CRSC decision and DFAS announcements,
there were no new retiree-specific benefits or legislative provisions
introduced in the June 8â14 window.
Key points for retirees: The Supreme Court decision on CRSC (Soto v.
United States) ensures full retroactive pay for combat-disabled retirees.
DFAS confirmed July pay dates and warned that the planned SBP
premium billing overhaul has been delayed to beyond June 2025.
(Retirees paying SBP premiums via Treasury should watch for DFAS notices.)
Any legislation from this week had more impact on active service and
veteransâ policy than on retired pay, although the appropriations and
NDAA efforts in Congress do set the stage for future funding of retireesâ
benefits and cost-of-living adjustments.
Issues That Affect Veteranâs Affairs
Veterans â especially those with disabilities, caregivers, and
surviving family members â saw numerous federal actions in mid-June.
The Department of Veterans Affairs itself celebrated processing milestones: as
of mid-2025 VA was on pace to deliver more health care and benefits than ever.
(VA reported that in 2024 it granted $137â¯billion in compensation
and pension benefits to 1.1
million veterans and survivors,
reflecting record case completions under the PACT Act.
While this was announced in July 2024, the trend of surging claims
processing continued into 2025.)
In other VA updates, an expanded VA mobile app now lets veterans refill
and track prescriptions online and schedule telehealth visits (part of
ongoing technology modernization).
Also, VAâs annual âFederal Benefits Guideâ for veterans and families
remains available on VAâs website as a comprehensive handbook, but no
major changes to VA programs were announced in this weekâs timeframe.
Legislatively, Congress advanced several bills directly affecting
veterans and their families.
On the appropriations front, as noted above the House approved
its FY2026 Military Construction and VA spending bill (H.R.
3944) in committee.
That measure (FY2026 MilCon-VA Act) would provide $452.8
billion total ($152.1B
discretionary) â about a 3% increase over FY2025.
It âfully funds veteransâ health care and benefitsâ and beefs up key programs.
In summary, the House plan includes: VA Health and Benefits Funding:
Restores full funding for veteransâ medical care and disability
programs, including mental health, polytrauma centers, and caregivers.
It explicitly âfully funds veteransâ health care programsâ and âfully funds
veteransâ benefits and VA programsâ.
The bill also boosts grants to combat veteran homelessness (including
expanding a new rental assistance pilot).
Quality-of-Life for Veterans and Families: The bill invests in veteransâ quality of
life (homeless and mental health outreach, research) and simultaneously funds housing
and child care for active-duty families.
(For example, it maintains VAâs veteran homelessness grants and
caregiver support initiatives.)
Veteran Security & Policy Riders: The committee included restrictions
limiting VA data-sharing (protecting Second Amendment rights of veterans)
and prohibiting VA purchase of certain foreign-made equipment, reflecting
broader border/security provisions.
If enacted, these spending provisions would keep VA benefit programs fully
resourced (helping both current beneficiaries and future retirees) and
authorize needed construction (e.g.
new VA clinics and hospital expansions).
The bill also included several bipartisan amendments (e.g.
to strengthen the Veterans Crisis Line and support toxic-exposed veterans).
On the policy side, Congress considered multiple veterans-centric bills.
In the Senate, S.
1665, the âOATH Actâ, was introduced on June 12 by Sens.
Blumenthal and colleagues.
This bill would amend title 38 U.S.C.
to ensure that all veterans who signed secrecy oaths (e.g.
at Aberdeen Proving Ground) receive the full VA benefits owed to
them from their discharge date.
In practice, it overturns past rules that reduced payments due to classified
service, by restoring benefits (disability or pension) retroactively to discharge.
Though this Senate text is still in committee, its goal is clear:
affected disabled and retired veterans will get lump-sum back
payments and permanent entitlement to the full amounts they earned.
Meanwhile the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee unanimously approved S.
1992, the Veterans Appeals Efficiency Act of 2025, introduced June 9 by Senators
Blumenthal, Young, Banks, and Lankford.
This bipartisan bill aims to cut red tape in the VA disability appeals process.
Key features include quicker initial decision timelines, improved
electronic records for appeals, and metrics to monitor backlog reduction.
If enacted, S.1992
would make appeals faster and more transparent for veterans (both active
and retired), though it would not directly affect pay or benefits amounts.
The House has a companion effort: on June 10 House VA leaders introduced H.R.
3835 (Veterans Appeals Efficiency Act) and related bills (for caregiver appeals H.R.
3833, automated claims processing H.R.
3854).
These mirror the Senate proposals, showing Congress-wide focus
on veteransâ claims reform.
In ceremonial and recognition measures, the Senate on June 12 passed S.Res.
276, formally designating June 12, 2025 as âWomen Veterans Appreciation Dayâ.
This resolution (introduced by a bipartisan group) honors the
service of Americaâs women veterans.
It is a symbolic tribute (not a law) and has no direct impact on benefits or pay,
but it highlights growing Congressional recognition of womenâs contributions.
Finally, the week saw other scattered veteransâ news: for example, on June 13
VA announced that it had processed 100% of claims for certain PACT Act-related
cancers from Vietnam, and that VA home loan guaranty volumes continued to climb
(over $180B in FY2024), showing strong demand for veteransâ housing assistance.
However, the main developments were the legislative and
appropriation actions noted above.
Key legislative items: Major bills this week include House H.R.
3838 (FY2026 NDAA, âSPEED Actâ, introduced 6/9) and the House
MilCon-VA appropriations measure H.R.
3944 (draft, markup on 6/11) â both passed the House committee.
In the Senate, S.
1992 (Veterans Appeals Efficiency Act, introduced 6/9) and S.
1665 (OATH Act, introduced 6/12) are under consideration, along with S.Res.
276 (women veterans appreciation, 6/12).
In summary, this weekâs federal activity strengthened support for service
members, veterans, and military families.
Defense news focused on improving readiness and family care for
active and reserve forces, while Congress moved to fund pay raises,
medical care, and infrastructure.
Retirees benefited most visibly from the Supreme Court CRSC
ruling and DFAS pay guidance.
And veterans saw both new funding commitments in the Appropriations
Committees and new legislative efforts to streamline claims and honors.
Altogether, these developments in mid-June 2025 reflect an ongoing
commitment at the federal level to care for military personnel across
all stages of service and beyond.
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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Weâll be back next week with another roundup of the news that matters most
to the military and veteran community.