President Obama signed into law H.R. 933, appropriations legislation that will fund the Defense Department and other government agencies through the remainder of the fiscal year. Obama inked the bill on March 26, announced the White House. His signature came one day before the expiration date of the budget continuing resolution under which DOD has been operating thus far in Fiscal 2013. H.R. 933 includes some $518.1 billion in baseline defense funding, $87.2 billion for overseas contingency operations, and $10.6 billion for military construction. It provides some leeway for the services to reprogram funds across accounts to ease the stresses of budget sequestration.
Promotions to the Space Force’s second highest enlisted grade, senior master sergeant, have surged to the highest level in the young service’s history, bolstering the senior NCO corps as officials plan to aggressively expand the force and especially the enlisted corps.