Eligible Warfighters can now purchase up to $1,000 in qualifying merchandise on their MILITARY STAR® Military Clothing Plan interest free, doubling the plan’s original credit limit of $500.

Effective Sept. 1, the increase is the first to the Military Clothing Plan’s credit limit since 1979. The plan’s payment duration has been extended from eight to 12 months as well.

The Military Clothing Plan is a zero-interest line of credit for uniform purchases. All active-duty Soldiers, Airmen and Marines, as well as Guard and Reserve members, are eligible.

“These changes further enhance the value the MILITARY STAR card provides America’s Warfighters,” said Exchange Credit Program Senior Vice President Tommy Ward. “Service members now have more flexibility than ever to maintain their uniforms, stay mission ready and affordably build credit.”

ECP began exploring the possibility of raising the plan’s credit limit in March 2019, prompted by requests and inquiries from service members.

Before moving forward, the team considered the possible impact of a credit limit increase on service members’ monthly payments. To avoid significant increases in monthly payments, it was decided that the limit increase would be accompanied by an extension of the plan’s payback period to 12 months.

“Warfighters asked, and we listened,” said Kathy Bronkalla, Vice President of Credit Strategy. “It took 18 months of careful planning and coordination, but we are honored to say we have strengthened this benefit for our service members for the first time in more than 40 years.”

Purchases that qualify for the Military Clothing Plan include:

• Defense Logistics and Troop Support (DLAT)-procured issue military clothing items and footwear.
• DLAT organizational clothing and individual equipment items.
• The Army Green Service Uniform, which is procured directly by the Exchange.
• Exchange commercial uniform clothing, undergarments, insignia and footwear to be worn with the uniform.

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President Trump overrode his defense secretary and vowed to continue funding Stars and Stripes, the military’s editorially independent newspaper that covers issues relevant to members of the armed forces, after news the administration ordered the organization to shutter leaked to the public.

Trump tweeted Friday afternoon that the US “will NOT be cutting funding” to the outlet. The President’s tweet came as he faces significant uproar over a report in The Atlantic that said he disparaged military members.
The Defense Department, which notified Stars and Stripes in February that it intended to cut funding, said in an August 4 memo to the outlet’s publisher that it had “decided to discontinue the publication” of the newspaper.

The memo, first reported Friday by USA Today and independently obtained by CNN, instructed Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer to provide the Defense Department a plan that “dissolves” the organization by January 31, 2021. The memo said Stars and Stripes should cease publishing by September 30, 2020, when the fiscal year ends

A Defense Department spokesperson deferred to the President’s tweet when CNN asked for comment.

Stars and Stripes, which was first produced during the Civil War by Union soldiers, is partially funded by Congress. In its 2021 budget, the House specifically included funding for the publication. The Senate, however, has not released its appropriations bill for 2021.

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An Army Ranger who risked his life to save dozens of hostages facing imminent execution by ISIS fighters will be awarded the Medal of Honor, the White House announced Thursday.

Sgt. Maj. Thomas “Patrick” Payne, who is assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, was part of a joint task force that assisted Iraqi security forces Oct. 22, 2015, in raiding an ISIS prison near Hawija in northern Iraq.

Payne and his teammates liberated 70 hostages — many of whom were captured Iraqi security forces personnel — after a request by the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Soldiers had to quickly rescue the hostages amid heavy enemy gunfire and suicide-vest detonations during the contested nighttime operation, which left one U.S. Soldier and at least 20 insurgents dead.

“Time was of the essence,” Payne said in an interview. “There were freshly dug graves. If we didn’t action this raid, then the hostages were likely to be executed.”

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SEMBACH, Germany — The Army had the highest rate of alcohol-related trips to the hospital between 2009 and 2018, according to a recently released report on alcohol abuse in the military conducted by the Military Health System.

The Army was followed by the Marine Corps, Navy and then Air Force, according to the Defense Department study, which did not include the Coast Guard.

The good news for those experiencing problems controlling their alcohol intake is that Soldiers can now seek treatment for alcohol abuse without fear of career consequence thanks to an Army directive signed in March 2019 by then Secretary Of The Army Mark Esper.

Army Directive 2019-12 “allows Soldiers who meet specific criteria to receive care without notification to their commanders, as long as the criteria for non-notification are met and maintained throughout voluntary care,” said Dr. Cheryl Owen, the regional manager for Substance Use Disorders Clinical Care at Regional Health Command Europe.

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