Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on Feb. 1, 2024. (Alexander Kubitza/Department of Defense)

WASHINGTON – More days of temporary lodging during military moves, an extension of health care flexible spending for service members and a quality review of standard uniforms are part of a series of new initiatives announced Friday by the Pentagon.

“We continue to work hard every day to take care of our service members and families. This is more than a commitment. It is a sacred obligation,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote in the memorandum.

Austin will use his visit Friday to Maxwell Air Force Base to unveil the initiatives and speak about them as part of his “Taking Care of Our People” effort. First lady Jill Biden will also be at the Alabama base to highlight the new universal prekindergarten program being implemented at Department of Defense Education Activity schools.

The overall “Taking Care of Our People” initiative launched after Austin took office in January 2021 has attempted to address issues ranging from making moves easier for service members and their families, economic security, affordable and quality child care, accessible health care, as well as responding to and preventing suicides in the military.

Some of the latest initiatives include increasing access to Wi-Fi pilot projects in select unaccompanied housing facilities, an increase in the temporary lodging from 14 to 21 days, and expanding military spouse employment programs and professional development, according to defense officials.

Austin’s memo announced the extension of Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts, or HCFSAs, to military members.

“HCFSAs will enable eligible service members in the active component and certain reserve component members performing active [National] Guard and Reserve duty to enroll and elect up to $3,200 in pre-tax earnings per service member to pay for eligible health care costs such as co-payments, contact lenses, glasses, dental care, annual deductibles and point-of-service fees for health care services,” Austin wrote.

The undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness will work with the service secretaries and Pentagon personnel managers to make this benefit available to service members through a special enrollment period in March 2025.

The Military Spouse Career Advancement Account provides up to $4,000 in financial assistance for eligible military spouses to pursue a license, certification or associate’s degree. In March 2023, Austin directed the Pentagon to expand account eligibility to the spouses of active-duty service members and the spouses of National Guard and Reserve component members serving on active duty in pay grades E-6 and O-3.

Austin’s announcement expands the account eligibility to cover the spouses of service members on active duty, as well as the spouses of National Guard and Reserve troops serving in pay grades of E-7, E-8, E-9, and W-3. It will take effect Oct. 1. Eligibility will continue for W-1 and W-2, O-1 to O-3, and E-1 to E-6.

“As far as this [Taking Care of Our People] goes, we’re looking at our workforce and really thinking about how we can compensate our mid- to high-range managers and staff so that we look at retention and career progression,” said a defense official who spoke about the new initiatives on the condition of anonymity.

The Pentagon announcement also looks to ease the costs for uniforms and improve their quality.

“Our enlisted force should be adequately compensated for the unavoidable replacement of required uniform items,” Austin wrote.

He directed the service secretaries, in conjunction with the director of the Defense Logistics Agency, to execute a quality review of standard-issued uniform clothes by April 2025 to determine whether the items meet their intended wear life.

Austin ordered the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, in coordination with the service secretaries, to conduct a review by September 2025 of the allowance rates for enlisted troops to replace their uniforms to ensure they are provided enough money.

“We began to hear some anecdotal accounts that perhaps some of the uniform allowances were perhaps not totally in the right place. I think this is why we are initiating both the quality review and look at the compensation piece of it, just to make sure we do our homework prior to making any moves,” a defense official said.