US military personnel will see their basic allowance for housing increase by an average of 3.8 percent in 2013, announced the Pentagon on Monday. For service members with dependents, average increases in BAH will be approximately $60 per month, states the Defense Department’s Dec. 17 release. A typical E-6 (e.g., technical sergeant) with dependents, for example, will find her BAH to be about $60 per month higher than in 2012, while an O-3 (e.g., captain) with dependents will see his BAH increase about $55 each month, according to the release. These changes take effect on Jan. 1. An estimated $20 billion will be paid in BAH to more than one million service members in 2013, states the release.
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.