The Pentagon hopes to build on a good thing—the long-running bi-national North American Aerospace Defense Command—so has established the Bi-National Planning Group to determine whether it’s conceivable to create other such compacts with Canada. The goal: to reduce the red tape during responses to terrorist threats or natural disasters. Two Navy captains are leading the effort: US Navy Capt. Kendall L. Card and Canadian Forces Navy Capt. Richard J. Bergeron. So far the group has drafted several plans to address missions for joint and combined defense, as well as civil authority aid operations. Whether these plans, if approved, would lead to new organizations with full-time American and Canadian military staffs—as with the 50-year-old NORAD—is very much up in the air. “We can’t rush the process,” said Bergeron.
Top Lawmakers Want 15 Percent Pay Raise for Enlisted Troops
April 19, 2024
A new law introduced by Congress would raise the pay rate 15 percent for junior enlisted troops and seek improvements on a range of quality of life issues, such as pay and compensation, child care, housing, health care access, and military spouse employment.