Newsbytes January 2, 2026
In this issue:
Strongest Recruiting Results in 15 Years
Take the 2026 FRA Survey
One Household, One Set of Benefits
Participate in VA Toxic Exposures Survey
Springfield,MO National Convention Pictures
Strongest Recruiting Results in 15 Years
Fiscal year 2025 marked the strongest military recruiting performance in more than 15 years, with all active duty services meeting or exceeding their accession goals. According to Pentagon officials, the services collectively achieved an average completion rate of 103 percent, signaling a significant turnaround after several challenging recruiting years.
Each service met its mission, with the Navy exceeding its goal by more than eight percent and the Army surpassing its target as well. The Marine Corps met 100 percent of its requirement, while the Air Force and Space Force also exceeded their goals. Most reserve components met their targets, with the Army Reserve reaching 75 percent. Defense leaders attributed the improvement to sustained leadership focus and renewed emphasis on readiness and force strength.
Department officials also pointed to practical reforms that helped drive recruiting gains. These included programs to improve applicant aptitude and major improvements to medical screening processes. A medical records accession pilot program dramatically reduced processing times at Military Entrance Processing Stations, cutting wait times from as long as ten days to one day or less. Faster decisions have helped prevent potential recruits from losing interest during lengthy administrative delays.
Recruiting momentum has continued into fiscal year 2026, with the department already meeting nearly 40 percent of its delayed entry program accession mission early in the year. Pentagon leaders described the early results as historic and expressed confidence that the services remain on track to meet future recruiting requirements despite ongoing challenges related to medical disqualifications and competition for young talent.
The Fleet Reserve Association views strong recruiting as essential to sustaining the readiness of the sea services. As part of its mission to help identify and encourage the best and brightest recruits, FRA supports efforts by Branches to engage with local recruiting depots and community partners. Continued outreach, combined with effective policy and administrative reforms, will be critical to maintaining recruiting success and ensuring the sea services remain fully manned for future missions.
Take the 2026 FRA Survey
The Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) is dedicated to representing the concerns of military personnel and their families on Capitol Hill. To better understand what benefits matter most to you, we invite active duty and Reserve personnel, retirees, veterans, and their spouses to participate in our brief online survey.
One Household, One Set of Benefits
Across a military career, from active duty through veteran status, many benefits are governed by an informal but powerful rule often described as one household, one set of benefits. This approach is most visible in programs designed to replace costs or measure financial need rather than recognize individual service. While administratively simple, the rule increasingly raises fairness concerns for dual service and dual veteran households, where two independent careers and sacrifices are treated as a single financial unit.
On active duty, this issue is most apparent in Basic Allowance for Housing, or BAH. A servicemember married to a civilian typically receives the higher with dependents rate, reflecting added household responsibility. When two servicemembers marry, however, both generally receive the lower without dependents rate unless children are involved. As a result, a dual service couple often receives less combined housing support than a servicemember married to a civilian, despite both members serving full time and facing the same housing costs.
After separation, some benefits remain properly individualized. VA disability compensation is based solely on each veteran’s service connected conditions and does not collapse to the household level. Two veterans can each receive compensation at their assigned ratings regardless of marriage. This distinction highlights the central policy tension, since benefits tied to service recognition remain individual, while those tied to cost replacement or financial need are combined and reduced.
That same household approach appears in needs based VA programs such as the VA pension, Aid and Attendance, and certain VA health care priority groups. In these cases, household income is combined, including compensation received by both veterans. Dual veteran couples who might qualify individually can lose eligibility or face higher costs once income is measured at the household level, reinforcing the same logic seen in active duty housing policy.
The Fleet Reserve Association believes this framework no longer reflects the realities of today’s force. FRA has proposed authorizing 100 percent BAH for dual service couples as a practical starting point toward restoring equity and as a foundation for achieving 100 percent BAH for all servicemembers. Service is individual and sacrifice is individual. Congress, not the Department of Defense or the Department of Veterans Affairs, must decide whether policies built for a single earner household still make sense for a modern military.
Participate in VA Toxic Exposures Survey
The Department of Veterans Affairs is inviting all Veterans to participate in a new health research effort through the Million Veteran Program, known as MVP. The Military Experiences and Toxic Exposures Survey is designed to help VA researchers better understand how military service, deployments, and potential exposures affect long term health outcomes.
MVP is VA’s largest health research initiative and focuses on conditions that matter most to Veterans, including mental health concerns, heart disease, cancer, tinnitus, and other chronic conditions. By gathering detailed information directly from Veterans, VA aims to improve how these conditions are identified, prevented, and treated in the future.
The survey asks about a Veteran’s service and deployment history, military and civilian occupations, job related tasks, and combat experiences. It also includes questions about exposure to toxic or hazardous substances, loud noise, and lifestyle or home environment factors that may affect health over time.
VA emphasizes that participation in the survey is strictly for research purposes. Completing the survey will not affect a Veteran’s disability benefits, claims, or access to VA health care. Individual responses are protected and used only to support medical research efforts intended to benefit the broader Veteran community.
All Veterans are eligible to join MVP and take the survey by visiting www.mvp.va.gov and selecting “Get started” after signing in through a secure VA partner. Veterans who are already enrolled in MVP can access the survey by signing in, selecting “Surveys,” and choosing the Toxic Exposures Survey. Participation offers Veterans an opportunity to contribute directly to research that may improve care for generations to come.
Springfield, MO National Convention Pictures
Photos from the Fleet Reserve Association and Ladies Auxiliary FRA National Convention in Springfield, Missouri, have now been uploaded and are available for members to view. The images capture highlights from meetings, events, and fellowship throughout the convention and reflect the strong sense of community across the FRA family. Members are encouraged to take a moment to visit https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCFohj to view the photos and relive the experience.