High operational tempo, poor housing conditions, and limited access to health care remain top concerns for our community, and while the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) made some inroads on these concerns, it’s clear our servicemembers and their families need our advocacy support to secure an improved quality of life.

[TAKE ACTION: Urge Your Legislators to Improve the Quality of Life for Our Troops]

The FY 2024 NDAA contained provisions to establish standards for housing and conduct a study on TRICARE pharmacy network accessibility, but much more work remains to ensure service-earned benefits for our servicemembers, their families, retirees, and surviving spouses. There is a continuum of service critical to our all-volunteer force, and your elected officials need to hear from you.

Quality of life problems exacerbate recruiting challenges, especially when 83% of current recruits come from military households and some junior servicemembers can’t afford food for their families. A recent DoD report from the department’s On-Site Installation Evaluations (OSIEs) team – a group originally directed to assess installations that had high risk for suicides, sexual misconduct, and other harmful behaviors – continued to find quality of life concerns connected to housing, medical access, and operational tempo.

Key OSIE findings

The assessment identified common environmental challenges that are often beyond the control of a local command. Many of these mirror the quality of life issues MOAA will seek to address this year as part of its advocacy efforts. They included:

• “Operational tempo and manning shortages across the force are driving increased stress, impacting command climate and the prevention environment, which then have deleterious effects on recruiting, readiness, and retention.”
  
  
• “Cost of living continues to impact remote areas with no military housing and limited healthcare access.”
  
  
• “Recruiters are under tremendous stress and operate in geographically dispersed and often remote areas.”
  
  
• “Gaps in services and challenges with TRICARE Prime Remote create significant barriers that keep recruiters and their families from receiving consistent physical and mental health care.”
  
  
• “Rollout issues are common when deploying new personnel systems which negatively impact Service members’ pay.”
  
  
• “Unique gaps in behavioral health care continue to exist on ships and in remote locations.”

The OSIEs can help break through stovepipes between installations, the Defense Health Agency, and unit commanders, although some improvements in mental health care – such as The Brandon Act – have a long way to go to become a reality at unit level, especially during a nationwide shortage of mental health providers. Many services are working to expand access to chaplains for counseling services to help fill the gap.

[FROM MILITARY TIMES: Military Quality of Life a Key Focus of Congress in 2024]

Paying for Fixes

Finding funds for improved quality of life programs is difficult when Congress can’t pass a budget on time and uses very wasteful continuing resolutions to kick the can down the road on funding our government.

[RELATED: Understanding the Unseen Costs of a Continuing Resolution]

While our government remains under a continuing resolution, repairs and construction for decaying housing and other unhealthy facilities can’t begin. These delays often are accompanied by a hiring freeze for civilian employees.

This is where your voice is essential: Ask your elected officials to commit to passing the budget on time. Funding stability and predictability is necessary to improve the quality of life for our troops.

Coming in 2024

In the new year, the House Armed Services Committee’s special panel on quality of life will work on its submissions for the FY 2025 NDAA. There is great opportunity for MOAA and its members to influence these recommendations and others – House members and senators want your vote this election year.

Officers have an enduring responsibility for the quality of life for those who serve and their families. Take action to support these servicemembers by joining MOAA’s Legislative Action Center and recruiting your network of friends and family to do the same – MOAA membership is not required to sign up.  

You can also call MOAA’s toll-free line to the U.S. Capitol switchboard – 866-272-MOAA (6622) – ask to speak with the military legislative assistant (MLA) in your lawmaker’s office. If that staffer is not available, consider scheduling a follow-up call to make a personal connection with these influential MLAs.  

Your legislators need to hear from you. They will not know what legislation we need them to co-sponsor if you don’t ask!