MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Military.com offered a look today at the big stories to expect in 2015 in defense and veterans issues.
Mike Hoffman, Managing Editor of Military.com said, "2014 included security threats reemerging in Iraq, Afghanistan struggling to assume more responsibility and a seemingly new terrorist group, ISIL, took center stage in the region. We'll see some of those issues and more in 2015 while also addressing the many concerns our military members and their families face in a post-war environment."
Budget discussions in Congress will be high profile this year. An eagerly awaited report from the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission may include controversial recommendations on eliminating or retooling the current pension system. Scrapping the traditional retirement system will prompt heated discussions as the military is one of the few entities to still offer pensions and there are whispers the commission could propose standing up a 401K system that falls in line with the rest of most U.S. businesses. Of course, this could have significant ramifications for a system that has been ingrained in the military culture and is a key tool in recruitment and retention.
2015 will also usher in a new Secretary of Defense. If confirmed, Ashton Carter will face a much different Department of Defense than the one he left as Deputy Secretary of Defense two years ago. He'll have to address the continuing threats posed by terrorist groups around the world and deal with instability in Russia and North Korea with a special emphasis on combating cyber threats. Look for Carter, who at one point served as the Pentagon's top procurement official, to shift the debate on weapon systems and platforms designed for past security threats.
Once such legacy platform is the venerable A-10 aircraft. Supported by Congress, but not by the Air Force, the debate will likely be resolved in 2015 as pressures to cut the defense budget will be even greater in the year ahead.
The F-35, the Marine Corps' variant of the fifth generation fighter is slated to enter combat by the end of 2015. This past year, the program made history when the first F-35 landed on an aircraft carrier. The most expensive weapons program in the Pentagon's history should enter the fleet this year and deliver on the promise by countless Pentagon officials that the aircraft will change military aviation.
2015 will also be the year we see women in combat roles taking shape. Women could begin training as Army Rangers by mid-year and keep an eye out for decisions to be made about women in the SEAL teams and other special operations units
2015 will reflect the changing national and international security issues around the world. With uncertainty over the capacity and capability of the Afghanistan government to fully assume the role of providing security, and a still volatile situation centered on ISIL in Syria and Iraq, the news coming from that region will remain prominent in world events and in headlines in the coming year. Here at home, debates over pay and benefits will heat up and culture changes within the military will continue to spark conversations and views about how to compensate our service members and their families.
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SOURCE Military.com
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