The Air Force is still fighting to stop Congress from cutting Basic Allowance for Housing for dual-military couples, Secretary Deborah Lee James told airmen Tuesday.
“We have been very vocal with members and staff that we oppose this provision as we think it’s unfair to certain airmen. We will keep up our efforts,” she posted on Facebook in answer to questions during a social media town hall. Stopping the proposal is one of her top priorities, she said.
The controversial proposal would limit most dual-military couples to a single BAH for both individuals, which could affect almost 80,000 service members, the Pentagon has said.
The proposal is currently in the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act, but not in the House version, as the two chambers try to compromise on a single version of the bill. Prominent military and civilian leaders – including President Obama – have come out against the proposal.
James also addressed a range of other issues:
Maternity leave. James said she wants to increase Air Force maternity leave, similar to the Navy’s decision to extend the leave to 18 weeks. The Air Force currently allows six weeks.
“We want to do the right thing for our airmen and our Air Force,” she said. “I very much want to follow suit.”
However, James said the service would wait until Defense Secretary Ash Carter publishes his “Force of the Future” report, which is expected in the coming months. James said she expects the initiative “will direct similar steps for all the services.”
Sexual assault prevention. James said she wants the Air Force to move toward having sexual assault prevention training in small groups. After discussing the current training options with sexual assault response coordinators, James said that “peer-to-peer, small group training is most effective so we want to move as much as possible in that direction.”
Enlisted drone pilots. The secretary said the Air Force could reach a decision later this year on allowing enlisted personnel to fly remotely piloted aircraft.
“In my personal opinion I believe that our Enlisted force is capable of performing any mission with the appropriate education and training,” she said. “As an Air Force, we are currently looking at many options for the RPA community, including an enlisted RPA operator option, and will be making a decision later this year.”
Currently only officers are allowed to fly aircraft like drones. But the high operational tempo and increasing demand for missions has the Air Force looking at ways to ease the burden on overworked pilots.
Air Battle Uniform. Airmen will, for the foreseeable future, continue to wear the Air Battle Uniform, as James said the service had no plans to change.
“A change would lead to increased cost for both the Air Force and airmen,” she said.
