The Senate Armed Services Committee agreed with Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) that the National Guard and Reserve should get time off their retirement dates for contingency support. According to a statement from Chambliss, the committee included in its markup for the 2008 defense authorization bill a provision that would reduce the age at which an individual would receive retirement pay by three months for every 90 days spent on active duty supporting a contingency operation and would subtract time for active duty service for national emergencies. Under current procedures, reservists must wait until they reach age 60 to collect retirement pay.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
