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generic mail-order prescriptions at no cost to benefi ciaries. Military sexual assault: The bill includes more than 15 provisions that further strengthen measures to combat sexual assault in the military. Special and incentive pays: A one-

year extension is provided to several spe- cial and incentive pays. COLA: Extends full COLA protection to servicemembers entering service through Jan. 1, 2016. New service entrants were not protected when cuts to military retirement COLAs were repealed in March 2014. Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) special needs trust:* Survivors now will be permitted to designate SBP to a special needs trust for adult dependent children. Previously, SBP payments were prohib- ited from being paid into a trust, resulting in disabled dependent children becoming ineligible for needs-based government aid because of SBP income. This became a signifi cant hardship for military fami- lies and caregivers. “Roll over” Reserve retirement: The

bill extends 90-day early Guard/Reserve retirement credit over two fi scal years. Pre- viously, time served on active duty spanning two fi scal years was not fully counted. Read more about this provision on page 36. BRAC: The bill prohibits the Pentagon

from initiating another round of base re- alignments and closures (BRACs). This year promises to be even more uncertain, with sequestration return- ing and the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission scheduled to report in February. House and Senate negotiators cited readiness concerns as a reason for cutting BAH and capping military pay. This suggests further attempts to cut pay and benefi ts could be considered in the FY 2016 budget. Although sequestration places DoD in a diffi cult position, we should not balance the

budget on the backs of the very people who have given so much over the past 13 years.

The Good, the W

Bad, the Ugly The defense bill is a mixed bag.

hen you take a close look at the FY 2015 Defense Authorization Act, the re-

sults could be considered good, bad, and potentially ugly. The good: When the Pentagon sub- mitted its defense budget proposal in March 2014, it contained recommenda- tions to “slow the growth” of pay and benefi ts to the military community. Spe- cifi cally, the Pentagon wanted to: cap the active duty pay raise at 1 per- cent (versus a 1.8-percent raise estab- lished in law); increase out-of-pocket housing costs by 5 percent over three years; reduce purchasing power at commis- saries by 66 percent; and radically overhaul the TRICARE benefi t by consolidating TRICARE Prime, Stan- dard, and Extra, increasing pharmacy fees, and implementing a means-tested TRI- CARE For Life (TFL) enrollment fee. Fortunately, Congress either rejected

or signifi cantly curtailed the Pentagon’s proposals. The fi nal compromise blocked the consolidation of TRICARE systems and means-testing TFL enrollment fees while limiting the impact of the commis- sary, housing allowance, and pharmacy fee proposals to one-year modifi cations. The bad: 2015 marks a second year

of pay caps below private-sector wage growth. The past two pay raises are tied for the lowest raises in 50 years. With four additional years of pay caps includ- ed in the president’s 2014 budget sub-

*read more: Learn more about this provision in “Hard-Fought Victories,” page 36. 32 MILITARY OFFICER FEBRUARY 2015