Roger That: Same-sex couples can now share veterans’ pensions

Same-sex married couples from now on can share veterans’ pensions, home loans, medical services and similar benefits previously unavailable to them, Defense Department officials announced Monday, according to Military Times.

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry in all states and that those unions must be recognized. Gay-rights advocates hoped the measure would drop the last obstacles in getting benefits through the Veterans Affairs Department for same-sex couples with military ties.

Active-duty same-sex military couples received access to Defense Department benefits in 2013, when the high court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act. But even after that ruling, VA officials denied benefits for some same-sex couples in states where their marriages were not legally recognized, citing other federal restrictions.

Now those barriers are gone. In a statement, VA officials said they are working quickly to provide instructions on extending benefits to all married couples, including same-sex spouses.

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The Air Force based its plan to retire the A-10 on an inaccurate projection of cost savings, and will run into a capability gap associated with providing close air support, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Thursday, according to combataircraft.com

The GAO’s report punches holes in the Air Force’s justification for its controversial decision to retire the attack jet, saying planners did not “fully assess” the cost savings associated with the A-10 divestment. For example, the Air Force's projection of saving $4.2 billion over five years by retiring the jet did not include the increased workload on other aircraft tasked with picking up the slack. On the other hand, the savings could be more, because the Air Force didn't include savings from canceling software upgrades and other modifications to the aircraft, the GAO said.

“Without a reliable cost estimate, the Air Force does not have a complete picture of the savings it would generate by divesting the A-10 and does not have a reliable basis from which to develop and consider alternatives to achieve budget targets or assess the impact on other missions such as air superiority or global strike,” the GAO said in the June 25 report.

Congress tasked the GAO with reviewing the Air Force's plan in the fiscal 2015 National Defense Authorization Act. The agency briefed congressional defense committees on its report in April, shortly before the House Armed Services Committee marked up its version of the fiscal 2016 defense bill, which included an amendment from Rep. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, to block the Air Force's plan.

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The U.S. Defense Department will send hundreds of Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and Paladin howitzers to Eastern Europe, an official said, according to DoDBuzz.com.

The move, announced Tuesday by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, is designed to show support to regional allies who are increasingly concerned about Russia’s military involvement in the Ukraine and more aggressive posture on the continent.

“American rotational forces need to move more quickly and easily to participate in training and exercises here,” Carter said during a press conference on Tuesday in Estonia, according to a transcript of his remarks.

The equipment reportedly includes about 250 M1A2 Abrams tanks made by General Dynamics Corp., as well asM2/M3 Bradley fighting vehicles and M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzers, both of which are made by British defense giant BAE Systems Plc.

The gear will be placed in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland, along with Germany, for training exercises involving U.S. and allied forces, Carter said.

This story was originally published June 30, 2015 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Roger That: Same-sex couples can now share veterans’ pensions."