Joint Base Charleston set for Lindsey Graham rename

Military families relocating to four more areas can receive a $125 grocery stipend for food, beverages, and baby essentials through the nonprofit Military Family Advisory Network.

New programs have launched at Naval Station Norfolk and in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, and at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. Programs will launch in the next few weeks at installations in the San Diego area and around Seattle and Tacoma, Washington.

The expansion will bring the total number of installations served by MFAN’s Fresh Funds program to 17 across six states. The program also operates at Fort Hood and Fort Bliss, Texas, and at Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina.

Families can request assistance directly through MFAN’s website.

MFAN said it created the program in response to research showing military families often face significant out-of-pocket costs during permanent change-of-station moves. In its most recent survey, the nonprofit found more than 40% of military family respondents reported low or very low food security.

MFAN also found that more than 60% of active-duty families who moved in the past two years paid more than $1,000 out of pocket for moving-related expenses beyond what the Defense Department covered. Those costs can include replacing food, cleaning supplies, and other items families could not bring from their previous locations.

MFAN is partnering with Instacart, and the program includes delivery.

The program begins with MFAN’s PCS Pantry Restock Box for newly arrived families who sign up. Service members with at least one dependent are eligible, regardless of rank.

The box includes pantry staples, cleaning supplies, and paper goods delivered to families’ homes. Families needing additional help can receive a one-time Fresh Funds code for a $125 grocery stipend for up to three months to order groceries and essentials through Instacart. The program does not include military commissaries.

Navy officials are asking industry whether temporary housing, including apartments, hotels, modular buildings, recreational vehicles, houseboats, and workforce camps, could help address a barracks shortage that may approach 12,000 beds.

A July 24 request for information from Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command sought “safe, habitable, code-compliant” accommodations at 10 Navy locations. The Navy said it has not selected a housing plan, awarded a contract, or committed to any of the listed options. Responses are due Aug. 24.

Current Navy estimates show an immediate or projected shortage of 8,150 to 8,600 beds. Demand could rise to about 11,900 during recruiting surges, training increases, and major housing projects.

The service said companies may submit complete, partial, or phased proposals for one or more installations. Options listed in the request include prefabricated buildings, commercial apartments, extended-stay hotels, containerized units, trailer parks, adaptive reuse of existing buildings, campus-style developments, and houseboats “where locally feasible.”

The largest projected shortfall is at Naval Air Technical Training Center Pensacola, Florida, where the Navy said it expects to need about 2,000 beds, and as many as 2,500 during surges, from fiscal 2026 through 2028. The request also sought temporary shower facilities there during renovations.

Nearby Corry Station faces a shortage of about 600 beds, potentially rising to 1,000. Recruit Training Command and Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, need about 1,000 beds, with surge demand reaching 1,500. Smaller shortages are projected at Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi, and Naval Support Activity Panama City, Florida.

The Navy said it also needs temporary “swing space” while sailors move out of barracks being renovated, modernized, or transferred into commercial housing arrangements. In Hampton Roads, Virginia, including Naval Station Norfolk and Newport News, the requirement is about 1,300 beds, with possible demand reaching 1,500. Additional needs could reach 1,200 beds each in San Diego, central California, and the Pacific Northwest. Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, could need as many as 1,000.

The request comes as the Navy expands its “No Sailor Lives Afloat” initiative. About 6,000 sailors had moved from ships into shore housing by May, according to Navy officials.

“When our ships are in port, our sailors should be able to rest, recover and reconnect in safe and modern housing ashore,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said in February.

The Navy has not said which sailors would be assigned to each type of temporary housing, how far they could be housed from their commands, or whether transportation, meals, kitchens, laundry, internet access, private bathrooms, Basic Allowance for Housing, or other payments would be included.

U.S. Marine Corps is offering early separation to enlisted Marines in 24 military occupational specialties as part of a force-shaping effort tied to budget constraints.

In a July 1 policy message, the service announced the Voluntary Enlisted Early Release Program as “a deliberate force-shaping initiative” that allows eligible Marines to apply for separation before the end of the fiscal year.

Yvonne Carlock, a spokeswoman for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, told USNI News the program was “designed to balance the Marine Corps’ end strength and ensure long-term fiscal health and operational readiness.”

According to the message, eligible Marines must serve in one of the 24 specialties and have an end-of-active-service date on or before Sept. 30, 2026. The eligible fields include infantry jobs, amphibious vehicle crews, Marine Corps band members, and other specialties.

The Marine Corps met its recruiting and retention goals ahead of schedule last year. Earlier this year, it also offered reenlistment bonuses of up to $50,000 for some enlisted jobs.

The program appeared to target specific career fields rather than reduce the force broadly. The Marine Corps has not publicly said how many Marines it expected to separate through the program or why it selected the 24 specialties.

A review of Marine Administrative Messages showed the Marine Corps has announced at least four voluntary separation programs since 2020.

In 2025, the service offered two early separation programs for enlisted Marines, but it did not specify which military occupational specialties were eligible.

In 2021, the Marine Corps allowed enlisted Marines and officers serving on tank crews to apply for voluntary separation as the service moved away from its tank battalions.

The top U.S. commander for the Middle East warned troops that cellphone videos shared online can help Iran target American bases, and sources told Reuters some deployed personnel could soon be ordered to surrender their phones.

In a July 28 letter obtained by Reuters, Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, said Iran could assess the success of its strikes in near real time through news reports and online posts citing “reactions, photos, and footage from the cellphones of our troops.”

“The direct, unavoidable cost of this open-source intelligence could be measured in the lives of American service members and civilian residents in targeted Gulf countries,” Cooper wrote. He urged troops to “redouble our focus on operational security,” but did not order specific measures.

In Jordan, a frequent target of Iranian strikes, some troops were told their phones would be confiscated in the coming days, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. A third source said the step was under consideration in the region, but not certain.

“The message is a general reminder to our service members on the importance of maintaining operational security. This is one of many opportunities Admiral Cooper has used to convey operational priorities,” Central Command spokesperson Capt. Timothy Hawkins said.

Cooper cited a video posted online this month showing U.S. service members running for shelter during an Iranian attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on July 17. He wrote that “Video captured from a service member’s Meta glasses was posted on Instagram showing where and how the individual had evacuated to a bunker during an Iranian missile and drone attack.”

“Iran knows the weapons were fired; however, their forces do not know if they missed by 50 meters, hit an empty tarmac, or successfully struck a crowded facility,” Cooper wrote. “Detailed lists, descriptions, and analyses of what was hit, openly published by news outlets are essentially performing Iran’s Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) for them, free of charge.” He added that public disclosures could help Iran carry out follow-up strikes.

Since the conflict with Iran began on Feb. 28, 18 U.S. troops have died and more than 600 have been wounded.