Author Archives: admin

Just a few years ago, the Air Force and the Air National Guard were tearing each other’s eyes out over the ever-present balance of reserve fleets and the active duty roster. All this belt tightening in DC had their skivvies in a twist… but where the other branches sat back and enjoyed the slap fest, it now appears that they’re following suit to a large extent. Well, at least the Army is, anyway. The Army brass is downplaying the friction, … Continue reading →

There has been a major proposed change to retired military healthcare coverage, and Veterans groups are poised to fight back hard.   All retirees under the civilian retirement age will soon be forced off TRICARE Prime. According to the CBO, the DOD stands to save up to $90 billion by simply changing the age requirement, and since the annual DOD healthcare expenditure has risen by 130% in 10 years, many in Washington are applauding the idea.   Veterans groups like … Continue reading →

The best thing going today just got better! Did you know that Exchange USA now offers free shipping to all active duty servicepersons financing lifestyle products through their website? This means that there’s REALLY no reason not to do your online lifestyle shopping through the Exchange USA military financing program. Sure, you can get free shipping through Amazon Prime, but what are you really saving? There’s an annual Prime fee that you have to pay that eats up most of … Continue reading →

Since there has been so much promotion of the travel service here recently, I would be remiss not to be upfront and forthright in making this clear and official at this time: Military Loans Connection has temporarily but indefinitely suspended all military travel assistance services as offered on the website MyMilitaryTravel.com. Therefore, if you go back and read any older posts on this blog, please disregard any information about direct discounts and benefits from either Military Loans Connection or Exchange … Continue reading →

The danger pay cuts, part of a labor cost reduction initiative on the part of the DoD, will hit thousands of airmen and sailors now assigned to ships, ports, and flight ops in the Middle East. Danger Pay is scheduled to be discontinued in June, immediately affecting the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea. Further, there is some strangeness to it all. Serbia and Montenegro were discontinued, but Athens Greece was not. … Continue reading →

On behalf of everyone at the Military Loans Connection, we’d like to wish the entire DOD community a very safe and happy New Year. No one known quite what to expect in 2014. It’s a midterm election year, and the times they have been a’changin’. Unfortunately, the DOD, NSA, CIA, and State Department have been political footballs over the past few years, and their budgets and operating initiatives are always subject to public scrutiny. Therefore, you never know which ones … Continue reading →

Bolivia is filled with rich history, beautiful culture, and lush, thick ecosystems. My point? There’s something for everyone there, and since the military is about as diverse as the great country it serves, Bolivia is a great military travel destination. That’s what I try to focus on when I’m writing about travel. Exchange USA makes it a point to let all of our military men and women know that, regardless of their personalities, we have what they want. And with … Continue reading →

If you’re like most, you don’t lament the end of the old year, you celebrate the beginning of the New Year. This positivity does, however, have a downside: with the New Year come the silly Resolutions that we all attempt to stick to for the next few months… weeks… hell, days. Just say days. Hours, if we’re being honest. One of the most popular New Year’s Resolutions is losing weight and getting in shape. While most people really don’t know … Continue reading →

Of course, we’ve all heard about the British Virgin Islands, and the American Virgin Islands, and the French Caribbean, and… uh… Cuba. But did you know that the Kingdom of the Netherlands is out there just waiting to be explored? No, that’s not an undiscovered country. They’re real Caribbean Islands. Little ones with palm trees and drinks served in coconuts with umbrellas in them. It’s good times. So right about now, you’re confused. The Netherlands is… are?… in Europe, yes? … Continue reading →

Yeah, yeah, I know. The Bahamas. Why? Isn’t that where your grandparents went on their honeymoon? Isn’t that where the stupid “Atlantic” and “Sandals” resorts are can’t we do better than the Bahamas? Well, perhaps you could do different, but you’ll be hard pressed to do better. What the Bahamas have is the benefit of generations of tourism, and therefore it’s like the Caribbean version of Disney world. Those decades of tourism dollars have built the place into a virtual … Continue reading →