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As the world's largest and most powerful military, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) looks to expand its fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget to maintain a strong fighting force.
The proposed FY 2024 budget was submitted to Congress on March 9, 2023, by the Biden Administration, requesting $842 billion for the DoD. The proposed budget is $26 billion larger than the previous FY 2023 budget and $100 billion more than FY 2022.
Among the many reasons for the increase, one portion of the budget may stand out to the community around and onboard Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY): a large portion of the funds requested are allocated specifically to improve the quality of life for service members and their families.
The care of our service members and their families became a key talking point for several speakers that gave testimony during the House Armed Services Committee Budget Posture Hearing on March 29, 2023.
“Taking care of people is a critical readiness issue and it decisively impacts unit cohesion, recruitment, retention, and confidence in leadership.” said Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, during his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.
The proposed FY 2024 budget includes a variety of measures directly aimed at tackling these critical readiness issues the DoD currently faces.
“This budget prioritizes our ongoing actions to take care of our outstanding Service members, and their families,” said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III during his opening testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, “by increasing Service member and civilian employee compensation, raising housing allowance, and improving military housing.”
Improving military housing is an ongoing goal for the DoD, the Navy, and the local CFAY community. The FY 2024 Navy budget request includes $57.7 million dollars for two major projects, the Whole House Revitalizations of #1/Quarters 6, Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C. and the Whole House and Utilities Revitalization Ikego Townhomes project onboard CFAY.
“Our goal is to have all the townhomes fully renovated,” said Esteban Abreu, the CFAY installation housing director, “the [FY 2024] funding is critical to the Ikego housing project.”
Funding to improve and ease the moving process is included with the FY 2024 budget, allocating $193 million to enhance lodging and dislocation allowances.
Other aspects of the proposed FY 2024 DoD budget that seek to improve the lives of service members and their families include:
A 5.2% pay increase for all military and civilian personnel, the largest increase in decades.
$212 million in additional commissary funding to provide service members competitive pricing as compared to the local marketplace.
$33 million to provide 50% childcare employee discounts for the service member’s first child.
$90.4 million to expand full-day pre-kindergarten at DoD Education Activity schools.
$209 million to improve suicide prevention programs, including counseling services.
$637 million for sexual assault prevention and response programs, including additional funding for the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Education and Training Center of Excellence.
$1.5 billion for the construction of quality-of-life and medical facilities.
Taking care of its people is a growing focus within the DoD. If Congress approves the proposed FY 2024 budget, Sailors and their families can look forward to improvements in their quality of life.
For more than 75 years, CFAY has provided, maintained, and operated base facilities and services in support of the U.S. 7th Fleet’s forward deployed naval forces, tenant commands, and thousands of military and civilian personnel and their families.
| Date Taken: | 04.14.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 04.23.2023 19:51 |
| Story ID: | 443188 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 127 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Taking Care of People: The Proposed FY24 DoD Budget, by Taylor Ardito, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
