Global Military Spending Surges Amid War, Rising Tensions And Insecurity

 

“STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL PEACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE”

“World military expenditure rose for the ninth consecutive year to an all-time high of $2443 billion. 

For the first time since 2009, military expenditure went up in all five of the geographical regions defined by SIPRI, with particularly large increases recorded in Europe, Asia and Oceania and the Middle East.”

_______________________________________________________________

“Total global military expenditure reached $2443 billion in 2023, an increase of 6.8 per cent in real terms from 2022. This was the steepest year-on-year increase since 2009. The 10 largest spenders in 2023—led by the United States, China and Russia—all increased their military spending, according to new data on global military spending published today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), available at www.sipri.org. 

Read this press release in Catalan (PDF), French (PDF), Spanish (PDF) or Swedish (PDF).

Click here to download the SIPRI Fact Sheet.

Military expenditure increases in all regions

The unprecedented rise in military spending is a direct response to the global deterioration in peace and security,’ said Nan Tian, Senior Researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. ‘States are prioritizing military strength but they risk an action–reaction spiral in the increasingly volatile geopolitical and security landscape.

Military aid to Ukraine narrows spending gap with Russia 

Russia’s military spending increased by 24 per cent to an estimated $109 billion in 2023, marking a 57 per cent rise since 2014, the year that Russia annexed Crimea. In 2023 Russia’s military spending made up 16 per cent of total government spending and its military burden (military spending as a share of gross domestic product, GDP) was 5.9 per cent. 

Ukraine was the eighth largest spender in 2023, after a spending surge of 51 per cent to reach $64.8 billion. This gave Ukraine a military burden of 37 per cent and represented 58 per cent of total government spending.

Ukraine’s military spending in 2023 was 59 per cent the size of Russia’s. However, Ukraine also received at least $35 billion in military aid during the year, including $25.4 billion from the USA. Combined, this aid and Ukraine’s own military spending were equivalent to about 91 per cent of Russian spending.

USA remains NATO’s major spender but European members increase share

In 2023 the 31 NATO members accounted for $1341 billion, equal to 55 per cent of the world’s military expenditure. Military spending by the USA rose by 2.3 per cent to reach $916 billion in 2023, representing 68 per cent of total NATO military spending. In 2023 most European NATO members increased their military expenditure. Their combined share of the NATO total was 28 per cent, the highest in a decade. The remaining 4 per cent came from Canada and Türkiye.

‘For European NATO states, the past two years of war in Ukraine have fundamentally changed the security outlook,’ said Lorenzo Scarazzato, Researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. ‘This shift in threat perceptions is reflected in growing shares of GDP being directed towards military spending, with the NATO target of 2 per cent increasingly being seen as a baseline rather than a threshold to reach.’

A decade after NATO members formally committed to a target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on the military, 11 out of 31 NATO members met or surpassed this level in 2023—the highest number since the commitment was made. Another target—of directing at least 20 per cent of military spending to ‘equipment spending’—was met by 28 NATO members in 2023, up from 7 in 2014.

China’s rising military expenditure drives up spending by neighbours

China, the world’s second largest military spender, allocated an estimated $296 billion to the military in 2023, an increase of 6.0 per cent from 2022. This was the 29th consecutive year-on-year rise in China’s military expenditure. China accounted for half of total military spending across the Asia and Oceania region. Several of China’s neighbours have linked their own spending increases to China’s rising military expenditure. 

Japan allocated $50.2 billion to its military in 2023, which was 11 per cent more than in 2022. Taiwan’s military expenditure also grew by 11 per cent in 2023, reaching $16.6 billion.

‘China is directing much of its growing military budget to boost the combat readiness of the People’s Liberation Army,’ said Xiao Liang, Researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. ‘This has prompted the governments of Japan, Taiwan and others to significantly build up their military capabilities, a trend that will accelerate further in the coming years.’

War and tensions in the Middle East fuel biggest spending increase of past decade

Estimated military expenditure in the Middle East increased by 9.0 per cent to $200 billion in 2023. This was the highest annual growth rate in the region seen in the past decade. 

Israel’s military spending—the second largest in the region after Saudi Arabia—grew by 24 per cent to reach $27.5 billion in 2023. The spending increase was mainly driven by Israel’s large-scale offensive in Gaza in response to the attack on southern Israel by Hamas in October 2023. 

‘The large increase in military spending in the Middle East in 2023 reflected the rapidly shifting situation in the region—from the warming of diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab countries in recent years to the outbreak of a major war in Gaza and fears of a region-wide conflict,’ said Diego Lopes da Silva, Senior Researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. 

Military action against organized crime pushes up spending in Central America and the Caribbean

Military spending in Central America and the Caribbean in 2023 was 54 per cent higher than in 2014. Escalating crime levels have led to the increased use of military forces against criminal gangs in several countries in the subregion.

Military spending by the Dominican Republic rose by 14 per cent in 2023 in response to worsening gang violence in neighbouring Haiti. The Dominican Republic’s military spending has risen steeply since 2021, when the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse threw Haiti into crisis.

In Mexico, military expenditure reached $11.8 billion in 2023, a 55 per cent increase from 2014 (but a 1.5 per cent decrease from 2022). Allocations to the Guardia Nacional (National Guard)—a militarized force used to curb criminal activity—rose from 0.7 per cent of Mexico’s total military expenditure in 2019, when the force was created, to 11 per cent in 2023.

‘The use of the military to suppress gang violence has been a growing trend in the region for years as governments are either unable to address the problem using conventional means or prefer immediate—often more violent—responses,’ said Diego Lopes da Silva, Senior Researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.

Other notable developments

• India was the fourth largest military spender globally in 2023. At $83.6 billion, its military expenditure was 4.2 per cent higher than in 2022.

• The largest percentage increase in military spending by any country in 2023 was seen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (+105 per cent), where there has been protracted conflict between the government and non-state armed groups. South Sudan recorded the second largest percentage increase (+78 per cent) amid internal violence and spillover from the Sudanese civil war.

• Poland’s military spending, the 14th highest in the world, was $31.6 billion after growing by 75 per cent between 2022 and 2023—by far the largest annual increase by any European country.

• In 2023 Brazil’s military spending increased by 3.1 per cent to $22.9 billion. Citing the NATO spending guideline, members of Brazil’s Congress submitted a constitutional amendment to the Senate in 2023 that aims to increase Brazil’s military burden to an annual minimum of 2 per cent of GDP (up from 1.1 per cent in 2023).

• Algeria’s military spending grew by 76 per cent to reach $18.3 billion. This was the highest level of expenditure ever recorded by Algeria and was largely due to a sharp rise in revenue from gas exports to countries in Europe as they moved away from Russian supplies.

• Iran was the fourth largest military spender in the Middle East in 2023 with $10.3 billion. According to available data, the share of military spending allocated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps grew from 27 per cent to 37 per cent between 2019 and 2023.

For editors

SIPRI monitors developments in military expenditure worldwide and maintains the most comprehensive, consistent and extensive publicly available data source on military expenditure. The annual update of the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database is accessible from today at www.sipri.org.

All percentage changes are expressed in real terms (constant 2022 prices). Military expenditure refers to all government spending on current military forces and activities, including salaries and benefits, operational expenses, arms and equipment purchases, military construction, research and development, and central administration, command and support. SIPRI therefore discourages the use of terms such as ‘arms spending’ when referring to military expenditure, as spending on armaments is usually only a minority of the total.”

https://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2024/global-military-spending-surges-amid-war-rising-tensions-and-insecurity

Media contacts

For information or interview requests contact Mimmi Shen (mimmi.shen@sipri.org, +46 766 286 133) or Stephanie Blenckner (blenckner@sipri.org, +46 8 655 97 47).

Related content

SIPRI Military Expenditure Database

Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2023

World military expenditure reaches new record high as European spending surges

Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2022

For April 2024 National Volunteer Month – What Makes It All Worthwhile?

By Ken Larson  Smalltofeds

"I had two mentors at key points in my 36 year career in Aerospace.

They were a combination of technical, management and communications talent, rarely found in high tech industry. Neither placed salary, position or ego ahead of developing their subordinates and each reached the pinnacle of their respective careers for exactly that trait.  Their skills at developing and utilizing people were their most highly valued qualities.

I owe my survival in a very hectic environment to those two and much of my ability to guide and counsel individuals as well as communicate effectively springs from their legacy of guidance.

 Mentoring can be a dynamic, two way street.

The most successful organizations pair experienced personnel as models on a staff basis with junior ones. Each has individual assignments and reports to the boss but the senior party is the example in the process/experience-driven aspects of the job and is available to answer questions. The younger individual infuses the older one with energy and new ideas much like osmosis.

The result is a hybrid of old and new that has been put together by a team. The approach works extremely well, imposes on no one, results in the young and old learning by observation, satisfaction and recognition for collective efforts and reduction in the boss’s work load. A "Win-Win" all around. 

Small business volunteering has kept me active in retirement, in touch with my profession and engaged in a continuous learning mode. It has been my "Window On The World" in pursuing those objectives.

I believe we are growing entrepreneurs more than growing monumentally successful enterprises. They, in turn, will grow their unique forms of business using their efforts, not ours. We do not do it for them. They do it for themselves. Hopefully our suggestions help. I have been pleased again and again when a small business owner took my basic suggestions, put their own unique twists on them and developed a thriving business. That is the ultimate reward.

I help with background and knowledge for the entrepreneur to consider as he or she makes decisions. I experience satisfaction every day from the work and I value being useful to highly motivated entrepreneurs who wish to succeed.

I view volunteer counseling much like a garden—a place to plant seeds, a place to grow fruitful enterprises and a place to harvest personal satisfaction and the gratitude of others.

Glad I Did Not Take The Job - 'The Destroyer Without A Round For Its Gun'

 

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

EDITOR'S NOTE: 

Near the end of a 36 year career in Aerospace and Defense I was offered a job by BAE in the procurement from Lockheed Martin of the long-range land attack projectile, or LRLAP, a round designed to be fired from the Zumwalt Stealth Destroyer's massive 155mm Advanced Gun Systems weapon that BAE produced.

I turned the job down and retired. 10 years later the LRLAP, at an estimated price of $800,000 each, was cancelled and the Zumwalt Stealth Destroyer became a vessel without a round for its main gun as it headed for Initial Operating Capability. The Zumwalt Program was subsequently cancelled.

I am truly grateful I did not become a part of this debacle.  Other similar projects of this nature continue to this day (The F-35 Fighter, the most expensive weapons system in history, has recently been reduced in production quantity due to high life cycle cost estimates).

Ken Larson

"MILITARY.COM"

"The Navy's futuristic destroyer Zumwalt was some two years away from being ready for battle -- but service leaders still did not know what to load in its main weapon.

In late 2016, the service canceled plans to buy the long-range land attack projectile, or LRLAP, a round designed to be fired from the ship's massive 155mm Advanced Gun Systems weapon. At about $800,000 per round the ammo was just too pricey to load up on the three ships in the limited Zumwalt large destroyer class."

---

"In 2018, the ship was expected to reach initial operational capability by fiscal 2020, but had no substitute round for the AGS.

In a briefing at the Surface Navy Association's annual symposium, Capt. Kevin Smith, Major Program Manager for the DDG-1000 [Zumwalt] Program Office, said the Navy would continue to monitor future technologies and watch industry for a solution.

"The threat's always changing out here and the requirements that the U.S. Navy's looking at, as I said, this is a multi-mission ship," Smith said. "There's lots of things this ship can do but, right now, we're going to be looking hard at what is the best technology to meet the requirements for the gun."

Each of the destroyers costs roughly $4 billion. The USS Zumwalt, the first in class, was commissioned in late 2016; its successor, the Michael Monsoor, is expected to be delivered to the Navy in March. The final ship, the Lyndon B. Johnson, is set for delivery by 2020.

Capt. James Kirk, the first commanding officer of the Zumwalt, indicated that the designated purpose of the ship itself might be affected by its lack of a working mega-weapon.

"We're going to be looking at shifting the mission set for this ship to a surface strike, land-and -sea-strike surface platform," he said. "We're predecisional on budget ... but that's what the focus is going to be, on a long-range surface strike platform, in contrast with previous focus on a littoral volume suppressive fires, in close to land."

The AGS is designed to deliver a high rate of fire, as well as precision strikes.

As it stands, the Zumwalt is not without weapons: It's built to carry RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles; Tactical Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles; Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Missiles; and two MK-46 30mm chain guns.

Officials have discussed the possibility of arming the AGS with a hypervelocity projectile, such as the one the Navy is currently testing out with its futuristic railgun prototype, but a decision on whether to move forward has yet to be made.

"We're monitoring that technical maturation to see do we get that to get the kind of ranges and capabilities that we want, what's the right kind of bang for the buck in cost and capability for the Navy," Kirk said. "We're monitoring that, but we have not made a decision on that."

https://www.military.com/dodbuzz/2018/01/12/navys-stealthy-mega-destroyer-still-doesnt-have-round-its-gun.html

Pentagon’s High-Tech Transition Doomed Without Buy-In From Primes

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

“FEDERAL TIMES” By Jere Glover

“Incentivizing the major primes to incorporate small business technological solutions needs to be the first step in fully harnessing America’s small business innovative power”

______________________________________________________________________

“It is no secret that U.S. Department of Defense has long struggled with getting advanced technology into the hands of military end users quickly.

Under Secretary Heidi Shyu, the DoD’s Chief Technology Officer, has made speeding up technology transition a priority. Last year her office released the National Defense Science and Technology Strategy which included as one of its 3 strategic tentpoles: “accelerating the transition of new technologies into the field”.

In recent years, many efforts have been made by various defense components to speed up technology transitions from high-tech small businesses. Focusing on Dual-use commercial technology, use of other transaction authorities, or OTAs, and enticing Venture Capital-backed firms with matching funds are some of the ways that the DoD and its services have tried to accelerate technology transition and insertion. Some of these initiatives have shown moderate success, but the problem still persists.

While it is useful to continue to look for ways to streamline the relationship between DoD and high-tech small businesses, most of these efforts fail to address the most important pathway for speedy technology transition to DoD: the large prime contractors.

Prime contractors control the majority of DoD programs of record. The top 5 DoD contractors combined made over $120 billion in Defense contracts in 2022 alone. These large prime contractors have no incentive to insert any technology not developed inside the prime into its program when they believe they could reinvent it themselves on the government’s dime. It’s slower and less innovative for the government, but a lot more profitable for the large primes.

The point here is simply to illustrate that their incentives to utilize SBIR proven small business technologies or any other technologies from any source outside the prime do not exist. If DoD wants to fully unlock the innovative power that small businesses are capable of providing, there needs to be a paradigm shift.

There are more than 25,000 small businesses that participate in the defense industrial base, while the number of primes has shrunk from around 50 to 5. Building in incentives to adopt small business developed technologies would not only speed up innovation but also benefit the prime contractors long term by ensuring a healthy defense industrial base and supply chain.

Incentivizing the primes to insert small business technology into their programs of record has proven to be a game changer in the past. A decade ago Lockheed was facing major setbacks with its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The program was massively over budget and behind, and the Air Force was desperate to speed up development any way they could.

Under the leadership of the JSF PEO General Bogdan, Lockheed and Air Force began inserting small business developed technologies from the SBIR program to solve the various problems they were having. These technologies helped get the JSF program back on target, and led to over $500 million in savings from the program.

The incentives that drove Lockheed to insert small business technology into its JSF program were necessity and desperation, which unfortunately meant this example was a one-off, rather than the beginning of a trend. In prior years, PEO Subs utilized SBIR to produce similar efficiencies for the Virginia Class Submarines.

The law already permits “any incentives in effect” or to create new incentives and required reporting by primes of use of SBIR technology. DoD and the Services would do well to learn from this experience and create a more formalized reporting and initiative to incentivize primes to insert SBIR or other small business technology into their programs.

The Army, for its part, has unrolled a program designed to create incentives for large primes to insert SBIR-funded technology into its contracts. Called Project VISTA, it will grant source-selection credits to proposals that include technology funded through the SBIR program. While they are starting small, it is a good first step to addressing this program, and hopefully will lead to greater things. Much more needs to be done to meet the challenges of wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as growing threats from China.

It is incredibly difficult to even know what SBIR-funded technology is being used by primes. The DoD approves more follow-on Small Business Innovation Phase III contract dollars than it spends on SBIR contracts each year, but how many of these technologies get into programs of record? Requiring primes to report the number, amount, and significance of each small business developed technology the primes use in their systems would help give us a better understanding of how important small businesses are to the Defense innovation system, as well is highlight where small business can better support defense programs.

Secondly, DoD should implement incentives for prime contractors to insert SBIR funded technology into their programs of records and other contract awards. There are a number of different kinds of incentives that DoD could consider, from preferential scoring for proposals that include SBIR technology like Project VISTA, to financial incentives such as bonuses or increased fees. Whatever the DoD decides, it must be impactful enough to ensure primes to take on innovative small business developed technology.

Getting cutting-edge, advanced technology into the hands of military end users quickly and efficiently requires full integration and cooperation of all participants across the defense industrial base: large primes provide capability and resources to manage major programs while small businesses bring nimbleness and rapid innovation.

As long as these two forces are separated, DoD will continue to struggle with speedy technology transition. Incentivizing the major primes to incorporate small business technological solutions needs to be the first step in fully harnessing America’s small business innovative power, and ensuring the DoD’s innovation ecosystem remains the most advanced in the world.”

https://www.federaltimes.com/govcon/2024/03/07/pentagons-high-tech-transition-doomed-without-buy-in-from-primes

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jere Glover is the Executive Director of the Small Business Technology Council (www.sbtc.org), a non-partisan association of small, technology-based companies in diverse fields. He previously served as Chief Counsel for Advocacy under President Obama and has been involved in innovation, technology, and procurement policy for over 40 years.

Arming The World For Warfare – US Foreign Military Sales Set New Record, Up 55.9 Percent in 2023

 

‘AIR AND SPACE FORCES MAGAZINE’ By John A. Tirpak

“The U.S. transferred a record $80.9 billion worth of military equipment and services to other countries in fiscal 2023, a 55.9 percent increase over the fiscal 2022 level of $50.9 billion, according to the U.S. State Department.”

_______________________________________________________________

“This is the highest annual total of sales and assistance provided to our allies and partners,” a State Department release said.

The total marks progress in State’s goal of accelerating FMS cases after an internal review last year of how the process could be sped up.

Of the overall figure, $62.25 billion was funded by “U.S. ally and partner nations,” while the rest was financed by the U.S. The roughly $18 billion remainder includes about $4 billion through the foreign military financing program and $14.68 billion for State Department programs such as anti-narcotics trafficking enforcement and de-mining operations, as well as the Pentagon Defense Building Capacity programs such as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

From 2021-23, FMS sales averaged $55.9 billion per year, a 21.9 percent increase over the 2020-22 average of $45.8 billion per year.

The State Department provides this three-year rolling average because of the “multiyear implementation timeframe for many arms transfers and defense trade cases,” it noted in its release.

Poland was the single largest FMS customer in fiscal 2023, with over $30 billion in transfers.

Prominent examples of FMS sales in 2023 included:

• Poland: AH-64E Apache attack helicopter, $12 billion

• Poland: High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), $10 billion

• Germany: CH-47F Chinook Helicopters, $8.5 billion

• Australia: C-130J-30 air transports, $6.35 billion

• Canada: P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, $5.9 billion

• Czech Republic: F-35 fighters and munitions, $5.62 billion

• Republic of Korea: F-35 fighters, $5.06 billion

• Poland: Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, $4.0 billion

• Poland: M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks, $3.75 billion

• Kuwait: National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) Medium-Range Air Defense System (MRADS), $3.0 billion

• Germany: AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), $2.90 billion

The State Department also provided figures for Direct Commercial Sales, which are not managed by the FMS program but which require congressional approval. The total of licensed Direct Commercial Sales from U.S. companies to foreign customers was $157.5 billion in fiscal 2023, a 2.5 percent increase from the $153.6 billion recorded in fiscal 2022.

The three-year rolling average for DCS was $124.9 billion, a 16.5 percent change from the previous three-year period.

DCS “includes the value of hardware, services, and technical data authorized from exports, temporary imports, re-export, re-transfers and brokering,” according to a State press release.

State also noted that the number of DCS cases adjudicated rose six percent in fiscal 2023 versus 2022, from 22,138 to 23,474. The “Total Licensed Entities” involved also rose 2.9 percent, reflecting a wider defense industrial base doing defense business.

Prominent examples of DCS sales in 2023 included:

• Italy: F-35 wing assemblies and sub-assemblies, $2.8 billion

• India: GE F414-INS6 engine hardware, $1.8 billion

• Singapore: F100 engines and spare parts, $1.2 billion

• South Korea: F100 engines and spare parts, $1.2 billion

• Norway/Ukraine: NASAMS, Norway and Ukraine Ministries of Defence, $1.2 billion

• Saudi Arabia: Patriot Guided Missiles, $1 billion

• State noted that it follows “a holistic approach when reviewing arms transfer decisions,” as they will have “potential long-run implications for regional and global security.”

The “holistic approach includes consideration” of U.S. conventional arms transfer policies and takes into account “political, social, human rights, civilian protection, economic, military, nonproliferation, technology security, and end use factors to determine the appropriate provision of military equipment and the licensing of direct commercial sales of defense articles to U.S. allies and partners.”

Foreign Military Sales New Record

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

John A. Tirpak is Editorial Director of Air & Space Forces Magazine, with more than 25 years at the publication and more than 34 years in defense journalism. He has written for Aviation Week & Space Technology, Aerospace Daily, and Jane’s, reporting from all 50 U.S. states and 25 countries. He has been recognized with awards for journalistic excellence from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Aviation and Space Writer’s Association, the Association of Business Publications International, and was the recipient of the 2018 Gill Robb Wilson Award in Arts and Letters from the Air & Space Forces Association. He has lectured at the National War College and did postgraduate research at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum.

Appreciating SCORE & MicroMentor During National Mentoring Month – January 2024

 

During the January 2024 National Mentoring Month, my thanks to the SCORE and MicroMentor organization teams with whom I have worked for 16 Years.

Small business volunteering has kept me active in retirement, in touch with my profession and engaged in a continuous learning mode. The SCORE and MicroMentor platforms have been my “Windows On The World” in pursuing those objectives.

I believe we are growing entrepreneurs more than growing monumentally successful enterprises. Each, in turn, will grow a unique form of business using their efforts, not ours. We do not do it for them. They do it for themselves. 

Hopefully our suggestions help. I have been pleased again and again when a small business owner took my basic suggestions, put their own unique twists on them and developed a thriving business. That is the ultimate reward.

Thank you, SCORE and MicroMentor for supporting that type of success.

Ken Larson

SCORE         MICROMENTOR

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

 

The Ongoing Challenges In Veterans Care

 

$100M theft from military children’s fund – Class action ear plug law suit victory – Quality issues at community hospitals – Business veteran readiness – And 230,000 veterans claims lost in VA online application systems. 

____________________________________________________________________

Army employee charged with stealing $100 million from fund for military children

“STARS AND STRIPES” By J.P. Lawrence

“An Army civilian employee in Texas is accused in a federal indictment of stealing more than $100 million from a fund meant to help military children.

Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, was indicted Wednesday in a San Antonio district court on 10 total criminal counts including mail fraud, engaging in a monetary transaction using criminal proceeds and aggravated identity theft.

Federal prosecutors say Mello used her position as a financial program manager for Child, Youth and School services at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio to steer 4-H Military Partnership Grant program funds into a shell company she controlled.”

More: https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2023-12-07/army-manager-fraud-farm-kids-12284715.html

US troops can declare victory in 3M class action lawsuit

“MILITARY TIMES” By Terrence M. Andrews

“Recently, the Minnesota-based 3M agreed to settle the class action suit for a total amount of $6 billion, consisting of $5 billion in stock and $1 billion in 3M stock, which would be paid out over six years until 2029. 3M did not admit liability in either this or the $9.1 million settlement.

Although every manufacturer should exercise due care and caution before it sends any product into the stream of commerce, those getting military contracts should exercise extra caution since any potential default could have exponential impacts in combat situations.

“More: https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/2023/12/06/us-troops-can-declare-victory-in-3m-class-action-lawsuit/

Veterans are dying because Congress and the VA refuse to impose quality standards for community care

“TASK AND PURPOSE” By Russell Lemle

“The Journal of the American Medical Association published a meticulous study that showed veterans have a higher likelihood of dying if they choose care in the community rather than Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals. As time slips by, the refusal of Congress and the VA to impose quality standards for contracted providers continues to contribute to needless veteran deaths.

Most dramatically, veterans who had an ambulance transport them to a non-VA emergency department were 46 percent more likely to die in the following month than if they were taken to a VA hospital. The greater mortality in non-VA hospitals was evident for every one of the 140 communities studied.

However, the point here isn’t to question whether veterans should have the option to obtain private sector care when authorized, though they might have second thoughts if they were better informed. What’s deeply concerning — and unsupportable — is that both Congress and the VA refuse to stipulate that contract providers abide by the lifesaving quality standards that are enforced across VA services.”

More: https://taskandpurpose.com/opinion/congress-va-quality-standards-community-care/

Why American business should be military ready

“MILITARY TIMES” By Jonathan Fermin-Robbins

“What’s needed is targeted support for hiring managers. What’s necessary is a national focus on being military ready versus military friendly. “Military ready” may be defined as the ongoing transformation of a business to successfully attract, support, and retain diverse, military-connected talent.

Business leaders can focus on three areas of opportunities to become military ready.

1. Establish strategic intent: Executive leaders must prioritize programs that not only attract veteran talent but support their existing military-connected employees. This kind of approach mirrors the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Principles of Excellence for institutions of higher learning in which the leadership mandates broad-reaching organizational changes to ensure coverage across all areas of the business.

2. Apply customized solutions: Employers must recognize that there is no cookie-cutter solution to an effective military inclusivity program. What works at other organizations may not fit within the established culture within their own business. To do this, consider establishing a coalition of support from military-connected employees and advocates that assess the state of the inclusivity program and are empowered to affect change.

3. Seek out partnerships: Businesses should actively seek out and participate in programs or partnerships with organizations focused on supporting the military-connected community. By partnering with such organizations, businesses can gain access to valuable resources, support and guidance on how to effectively attract, support and retain military-connected employees.”

More: https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/2023/12/06/why-american-business-should-be-military-ready/

Total number of VA claims lost in online systems tops 120,000

“FEDERAL TIMES” By Leo Shane III

“Veterans Affairs leaders on Monday acknowledged that more than 120,000 veterans who attempted to use department online platforms to file for benefits in recent years were stonewalled by technical problems, a total nearly 35% larger than previously reported.

Officials said they are still working to correct those errors and process those claims as quickly as possible. But House lawmakers raised concerns about the scope of the problems, some of which date back more than a decade.”

More: https://www.federaltimes.com/veterans/2023/12/04/total-number-of-va-claims-lost-in-online-systems-tops-120000/