Active duty military personnel would receive a 3.4-percent pay raise on Jan. 1, 2010, under a key provision of the version next year’s defense bill approved by both the House and Senate. The increase betters that offered by the Obama administration’s proposed 2010 defense bill by 0.5 percent. Other provisions of the 2010 defense bill conference report, released by the Senate on Oct. 7, include:
* Active-duty end strengths of 562,400 for the Army, 328,800 for the Navy, 331,700 for the Air Force, and 202,100 for the Marine Corps;
* Full funding of DoD health care;
* No increases in copayments for inpatient care at civilian hospitals under TRICARE Standard, and;
* Extension of TRICARE Standard coverage to “gray area” reserve component retirees who have not yet reached age 60.
