A provision of the defense appropriations bill that would take the housing allowance away from the junior member of a military couple is “fundamentally unfair” and would be a major hit to military compensation, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said Monday at ASC15. The proposal “just doesn’t make any sense,” Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh agreed. “Benefits should come to the individual, they’ve each earned it,” he said. James said the proposal would also take BAH away from one member of non-married couples or pairs who live together off base. Welsh added the Air Force must continue to invest in core family support programs, and should expand the investment in childcare centers. “This is the one area that affects more people than anything else in our Air Force,” he said.
If the Air Force is in line for a big budget bump from President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget in 2027, the head of Air Combat Command said he would make aircraft spare parts his top spending priority—but cautioned that more money to buy parts won’t equal a…
