Caitlyn Burchett

Caitlyn Burchett covers defense news at the Pentagon. Before joining Stars and Stripes, she was the military reporter for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va. She is based in Washington, D.C.

@CaitlynBurchett

burchett.caitlyn@stripes.com

Troops in select US urban areas will lose their cost-of-living allowance in 2025, while others see pay increase

Service members assigned to about three dozen urban areas of the U.S. will see a bump in cost-of-living allowance rates at the start of 2025, while more than 50 other locations will lose the extra money, the Pentagon announced Friday.

A Navy guided-missile cruiser is lined with sailors and streamers on the rails.

Navy wasted $1.84 billion on cruiser rehabs, federal watchdog says

The aircraft carrier USS George Washington leads U.S., Japanese and South Korean destroyers in formation during Freedom Edge 24-2 in the East China Sea, Nov. 13, 2024.

Corruption may be slowing China’s military modernization, Pentagon report says

U.S. Army Spc. Jeffrey Pokryska, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter repairer assigned to Bravo Company, 3-10 General Support Aviation Battalion, keeps watch as the aircraft flies through Syria during a mission in support of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve near Al Tanf-Garrison, Syria, Nov. 1, 2024. CJTF-OIR continues to advise, assist, and enable Partner Forces in designated areas of Syria to set the conditions for long-term security and the lasting defeat of ISIS. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Mahsima Alkamooneh)

US strikes Syria-based ISIS camps, kills 12

Mountain Home Air Force Base offers quality housing for active duty Airmen and their families. Mountain Home AFB's 366th Fighter Wing is composed of more than 4,800 military and civilian members and about 5,200 family members. (U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Daniel Barnhorst)

Pentagon ups housing allowance for troops by about 5%

Housing allowance changes occur almost annually. But a watchdog report in October found allowance boosts in recent years have been insufficient.

Recruits stand in formation at U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command. More than 40,000 recruits train annually at the Navy's only boot camp. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stuart Posada)

Navy trims recruit training by 1 week, streamlining boot camp to move sailors to the fleet faster

The change comes on the heels of a bend in the curve in the sea service’s recruiting efforts. The Navy was on track to meet its 2024 recruiting goal, but the service was unable to push them all through boot camp before the end of the fiscal year.

210426-N-PC065-3001 NORFOLK, Va. (April 26, 2021) Sailors assigned to the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) form a teal ribbon on the flight deck for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, April 26, 2021. The teal ribbon represents a symbol of support for the cause. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John D. Bellino/Released)

Sexual violence at service academies is trending down from a historic high, Pentagon reports

The initial data released in the Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence at the Military Academies shows an estimated 783 academy students experienced unwanted sexual contact in the 2023-24 school year compared with 1,136 in 2022.

U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Nick I. Brown, commanding general of Marine Corps Installations West, and U.S. Navy Captain Jeffrey Richer, assistant chief of staff for facilities of Marine Corps Installations West, address barracks discrepancies during Operation Clean Sweep at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Oct. 21, 2024. Operation Clean Sweep is a joint initiative between Marine Corps Installations West and I Marine Expeditionary Force at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton to improve living conditions for Marines and Sailors. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jeslianne A. Torres).

Navy overhauling moldy and pest-riddled barracks, housing management policies

The Navy is focusing on renovating its squalid unaccompanied housing and stepping up maintenance and management of living conditions. The effort is meant to address issues identified by a 2023 GAO report that found poor living conditions across DOD-owned housing.

A man in a dark suit speaks into a microphone while standing at a podium in front of the emblem of the White House.

‘Underequipped for the task at hand’: US needs to stockpile munitions, invest in low-cost weapons, Sullivan says

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Wednesday that the war in Ukraine has revealed the U.S. needs to stockpile more munitions and invest more in producing low-cost weapons.

240722-N-MM360-1134 CHEYENNE, Wyo. (July22, 2024) – Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Bourque, left, commanding officer Navy Reserve Center Cheyenne, flips pancakes for Lt. Brian Cunningham, right, assigned to U.S. Pacific Fleet, at the Cheyenne Frontier Days pancake breakfast event. The 128th annual Cheyenne Frontier Days is an annual festival started in 1897 drawing nearly200,000 visitors and features the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and western entertainment in Cheyenne, Wyoming. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jeffry Willadsen/Released)

Navy fires commander of Reserve center in Wyoming

Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Bourque was fired from the Navy Reserve Center Cheyenne, and Lt. Cmdr. Margaret Nichols has been temporarily assigned as the commanding officer.

A U.S. Navy sailor attached to the amphibious assault ship the USS America (LHA 6), left, and a U.S. Marine attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, man the rails during a scheduled port call to Busan, South Korea, during exercise Ssang Yong 24, Sept. 5, 2024. Exercise SY24 strengthens the Republic of Korea-U.S. Alliance through bilateral, joint training, contributing toward combined amphibious capability in defense of the Korean Peninsula. The 31st MEU is operating aboard ships of the USS America Amphibious Ready Group in the 7th Fleet area of operations, the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Juan Maldonado)

Navy and Marines don’t agree on amphibious ships, and it delays deployments, watchdog report says

A driving factor is the Navy and Marine Corps are at odds about how many amphibious ships are needed to deploy Marines effectively, the GAO said. The report outlines recommendations for the services to work together to refine their availability goals for amphibious ships.

200515-N-BM428-0222 BALTIC SEA (June 15, 2020) A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress long-range bomber flies over the Baltic Sea during exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2020, June 15, 2020. BALTOPS is the premier annual maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic Region, this year marking the 49th year of one of the largest exercises in Northern Europe enhancing flexibility and interoperability among allied and partner nations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Damon Grosvenor)

US B-52 bombers intercepted by Russian jets over Baltic Sea

Two U.S. Air Force long-range bombers were intercepted Monday by Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea, a defense official confirmed.

President Biden’s Navy secretary rests his hands on a table in a U.S. Marine Corps recruiting office.

Trump taps businessman and mega donor as next Navy secretary

John Phelan is the founder of Rugger Management LLC and co-founder of MSD Capital, both private investment firms. He also serves as a board member of military-themed nonprofit Spirit of America.

‘Come for the dog, stay for the care’: Sailors find mental health care aboard Navy warships through ‘fur therapy’

Four dogs have deployed aboard East Coast-based warships since 2023 as part of a small-scale test. The test is part of a quality-of-life initiative the Navy launched in 2022 in the wake of a cluster of sailor suicides.

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