Category: Soldiers

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan and Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

[EXCERPTED FROM the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid page]

To smooth the transition back to repayment and help borrowers at highest risk of delinquencies or default once payments resume, the U.S. Department of Education will provide up to $20,000 in debt cancellation to Pell Grant recipients with loans held by the Department of Education and up to $10,000 in debt cancellation to non-Pell Grant recipients. Borrowers are eligible for this relief if their individual income is less than $125,000 or $250,000 for households. Get details about one-time student loan debt relief.

In addition, borrowers who are employed by non-profits, the military, or federal, state, Tribal, or local government may be eligible to have all of their student loans forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. This is because of time-limited changes that waive certain eligibility criteria in the PSLF program. These temporary changes expire on October 31, 2022. For more information on eligibility and requirements, go to PSLF.gov.

What is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program?

  • The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program forgives the remaining balance on your federal student loans after 120 payments working full-time for federal, state, Tribal, or local government; military; or a qualifying non-profit.
  • Temporary changes, ending on Oct. 31, 2022, provide flexibility that makes it easier than ever to receive forgiveness by allowing borrowers to receive credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF.
  • Enrollments on or after Nov. 1, 2022 will not be eligible for this treatment. We encourage borrowers to sign up today. Visit PSLF.gov to learn more and apply.

Visit the one-time student loan debt relief page for more information.

Happy 246th Birthday, U.S. Army!

The U.S. Army was established on June 14, 1775 and this year marks its 246th birthday. This year’s them is “Honoring the Courage of the American Soldier.” For more on events associated with this year’s birthday, check out the following links:

AUSA urges Congress to increase support to the Reserve Component

Update from Gary Dawson

The Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) has joined six other organizations to get congressional support for the Reserve Component, including expanded health care coverage, eliminating equipment shortfalls, and an increase in full-time personnel support.

Along with the Adjutants General Association of the U.S., Air Force Association, Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the U.S., National Governors Association, National Guard Association of the United States and Reserve Officers Association, AUSA wrote to leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees seeking support for legislative priorities that “directly correspond with the National Defense Strategy to restore readiness and build a more lethal force” and “will enhance Reserve Component operational readiness while continuing to promote the goals of the Total Force.”

The Associations are asking Congress to consider expanding the Tricare program to federal employees, who are now excluded and study the feasibility of eliminating premiums.

Additionally, the associations ask for an increase in authorized full-time National Guard and Reserve personnel that keeps pace with increases in the size and optempo of the Reserve Component. They also ask for continued congressional support for “robust funding” of equipment and platforms to ensure the reserve component keeps pace with active forces and funding to address equipment shortfalls and compatibility issues.

2019 Soldier Pay Increases Set

[From AUSA National: Wednesday, December 26, 2018]

A 2.6 percent across-the-board pay raise in basic pay and drill pay is set to appear in mid-January payroll deposits for Regular Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve soldiers, along with an average 2.55 percent increase in basic allowance for housing for those who receive this payment.

There is no increase in 2019 in basic allowance for subsistence payments.

The basic pay hike is the biggest increase in nine years. It matches last year’s average private-sector pay increase.

Military retirement, Social Security and veterans’ disability and survivor benefits increased 2.8 percent, effective Dec. 1. Those increases, based on the increase in consumer prices, will first be paid in January.

Negotiations over the 2019 federal civilian pay raise have not been resolved.

Welcome EANGUS Members!

Happy New Year! As you may know, the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS) recently partnered with the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), so that for the next year, members of one are members of both.

So, welcome to the Delaware Chapter, Association of the U.S. Army. AUSA represents all components of the Army; Active, National Guard, and Reserve, and their families. AUSA is part of the military coalition in Washington that supports military pay and benefits, and funding for readiness, new equipment, and military construction.

The Delaware Chapter AUSA supports ROTC, Junior ROTC, and conducts “Our Community Salutes,” a program that recognizes and thanks, Delaware high school seniors who have chosen to join one of the military services after graduation. The seventh annual event is scheduled for 23 May 2018 at Cavaliers Country Club. See www.ocsde.org

We meet 2-3 times per year, send out a Newsletter regularly, and encourage attendance at the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington each October. Visit AUSA at www.ausa.org, and our Chapter on Facebook.

3-D Printing helping wounded warriors

When we think of 3-D printing, we often think of either those Mattel children’s toy printers, the goopy pen thing that allows you to “draw” in the air, or some sort of high-tech printing used in building components and manufacturing. What if we told you that it’s also making its way into veteran’s lives in a tangible way; making life easier with new prosthetics?

Walter Reed Hospital’s 3-D Medical Applications Center is providing wounded soldiers with custom printed implants and prosthetics. In fact, the five person team can print almost anything and is providing their services to other Department of Defense or Department of Veterans Affairs medical providers. DoD’s Armed with Science recently did an article about the team which you can check out here: Walter Reed’s 3-D Printing Innovations Help Warfighters Get Back to Life

World War I Remembered

[From AUSA National]

On April 17, 1917, with Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Hugh Scott overseas trying to get the Russians to stay in the war, U.S. Secretary of War Newton Baker has his staff flushing out one of Scott’s ideas for universal conscription to grow the Army rather than solely depending on volunteers. They’ll have to sell Congress on the idea.

COL. GREGORY FONTENOT, U.S. ARMY RETIRED
Thursday, March 16, 2017

World War I did not make the world safe for democracy, as President Woodrow Wilson hoped when he asked Congress to declare war in 1917. As we now know, the war with Germany that started for the United States on April 6, 1917, did not end all wars. However, it made the U.S. a leading world power and created five important legacies that continue to shape our Army.

Among the war’s lasting legacies:

  • Compulsory military service and organization of state militias into an organized federal army deployable beyond the nation’s borders happened because of the Selective Service Act of 1917.
  • The concept of a planning staff, first introduced in the early 1900s by then-Secretary of War Elihu Root, matured under the leadership of Wilson’s brilliant secretary of war, Newton D. Baker.
  • Professional education and a systematic approach to training took root during World War I.
  • Divisions became the module for deployment and employment.
  • Three generations of officers gained important experience during World War I, managing mobilization or fighting in France. Their experience, informed by education and reflection during the interwar period, enabled them to raise, train and lead the enormous Army that fought and won World War II.

Read the full article here.

Col. Gregory Fontenot, U.S. Army retired

Col. Gregory Fontenot, USA Ret., commanded a tank battalion in Operation Desert Storm and an armor brigade in Bosnia. A former director of the School of Advanced Military Studies and the University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies, he is co-author of On Point: The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

 

World War I Centennial Celebration

The featured first exhibit of the Delaware Military Museum will honor the centennial of the First World War. Delaware played an outsize role before the United States had even entered the war, with Powder mills, shipyards and armament manufacture.

Delaware_Military_Museum_Logo

[Editor’s Note: As we remember the 100th anniversary of the “War to End All Wars,” we should all be mindful of the contributions of first state Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen. There is an excellent online exhibit on Delaware’s contribution to World War I called “Drawing America To Victory: The Persuasive Power of the Arts” | An online exhibit by the Delaware Division of Historical & Cultural Affairs.]

[News Release from the Delaware Military Museum]

WILMINGTON DE. – April 1, 2017: The featured first exhibit of the Delaware Military Museum will honor the centennial of the First World War. Delaware played an outsize role before the United States had even entered the war, with Powder mills, shipyards and armament manufacture.

On display in the museum visitors will re-live the era on the home front and overseas with uniforms, maps, images, and artifacts of the “Great War”. Reproductions of images in the collection of the Delaware National Guard by Delaware artists such as Gayle Hoskins and Frank Schoonover of the Brandywine School will be on view.

The collection highlights the experience of Lieutenant S.B.I. Duncan, a Delaware National Guardsman from New Castle with the 59th Infantry Pioneers who served in France. His photos, uniform, helmet, and documentation will be on view to tell his unique story.

Kennard Wiggins author of Delaware in World War I, will give a talk on his book at 2 PM.

Delaware’s first museum dedicated to its military will open Saturday April 15, at 10 AM. The museum includes Delaware’s most extensive military library and archive.

The new museum is co-located with the Delaware National Guard Wilmington Readiness Center and the Mid County Senior Center on First Regiment Road, just off McKennan’s Church Road. It will be open on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from 10 AM to 4 PM.

The Delaware Military Heritage and Education Foundation, Inc.
First Regiment Road, Wilmington, Delaware 19808-2191
302-332-2485 https://demilitaryheritage.wordpress.com/

About us: The Delaware Military Heritage and Education Foundation has preserved and restored military artwork throughout the State of Delaware. The Foundation has compiled an extensive collection of military artifacts and archival materials. The DMHEF library and archives are a rich source for Delaware history educators and researchers.

Contact: Kennard Wiggins, Curator. kennard.wiggins@gmail.com, 443-553-6314