ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

A new permanent display honoring Gold Star families who carry on the legacy of their fallen service members has been unveiled at the Pentagon.

“The gold star is a ... symbol of your loved one, a symbol of the one that you lost,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said Oct. 29 during the livestreamed dedication ceremony. 

For every casualty of war, Milley said, “there’s a story that illuminates the true character of a Gold Star family member.” Now this new display, located in the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes, will tell their stories.

The Army is making progress—and seeing results—after rolling out several initiatives within the past year to improve quality of life for soldiers and their families.

“We listened to your feedback, understood the issues and laid out our way ahead,” Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said Oct. 15 in a town hall meeting during AUSA Now, the Association of the U.S. Army’s virtual 2020 annual meeting. 

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic turning this year’s permanent change-of-station season “upside down,” the Army has managed to keep soldiers moving while keeping them safe, officials said.

“The Army met the challenge and safely completed over 72,000 PCS moves in 2020, and we’re not done yet,” Lt. Gen. Douglas Gabram, commanding general of Army Installation Management Command, said Oct. 15 during AUSA Now, the Association of the U.S. Army’s virtual 2020 annual meeting.

A new digital tool known as “EFMP & Me” is now available to help military families with special needs get personalized assistance and access to the information and resources they need. 

“The Department of Defense is committed to supporting our families with special needs, and EFMP & Me is an important enhancement to the Exceptional Family Member Program,” Kim Joiner, deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy, said in a statement.

The Pentagon has lifted an order restricting almost all travel for service members and their families, replacing it with a new conditions-based plan to better match cities and states as the U.S. military slowly recovers from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initial stop-movement order, which was put in place in early March and then extended through June 30, affected everything from permanent change-of-station moves to temporary duty assignments.

The Pentagon has awarded a $7.2 billion, multiyear contract to American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group as part of its efforts to improve permanent change-of-station moves for service members and their families, officials announced.

The Global Household Goods Contract, awarded April 30 after an open competition and review of the seven offers received, is a key step in a broader DoD effort to improve PCS moves as it integrates functions currently performed by hundreds of commercial entities. 

The military is putting in place increased safety measures to protect troops and their families as it prepares for peak moving season during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials announced May 6.

The measures, effective immediately, were directed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper and are in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 protocols.

The Army expects to slowly increase the number of soldiers allowed to move to their new duty stations as the service puts in place safety measures to protect the force during the COVID-19 pandemic, senior officials said.

More than 48,000 soldiers and families were scheduled to move between March and August, said Lt. Gen. Thomas Seamands, the deputy Army chief of staff for personnel, but many have been in limbo because of a stop movement order that restricted almost all travel for troops, civilian employees and their families. 

The fate of a normally busy PCS season remains uncertain for many soldiers as talks continue among military leaders about when permanent change-of-station travel will resume—and who will be prioritized—amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We don’t want to do anything that places the health of our force at risk,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said during a virtual town hall on April 9. “If that means further delay then that means further delay, but we will work through that as the summer months come.”