1 February 2016

Pentagon’s New Policies Aimed at Making Military More Family-Friendly

by Jessica Mendoza, Christian Science Monitor

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter on Thursday announced a series of new policies intended to support service members and their families, including expanding paid maternity leave and access to child care and family planning options.

“[O]ur calculation is quite simple,” Secretary Carter said. “We want our people to be able to balance two of the most solemn commitments they could ever make: a commitment to serve their country and a commitment to start and support a family.”

The initiatives – the latest out of the Pentagon’s “Force of the Future” program – bear out the military’s ongoing discussion about how to involve women more in the effort to strengthen the joint force, observers say. The new measures are also a nod to the need to be more family-friendly to compete for and retain the best talent, they note…

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