National Defense Authorization Act Improvements for Military Families with LTC Kelly Bell

Parenting in Uniform

U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Kelly Bell is a powerful advocate for military women, in particular for pregnant and postpartum mothers in uniform. We discuss the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) signed into law by President Biden on December 27, 2021, and dive into the details of this law as a major win for all military families.
President Biden's Signed NDAA including the following:
- Creates a new category of bereavement leave for military personnel that would permit servicemembers to take up to two weeks of leave in connection with the death of a spouse or child.

- Increases parental leave to 12 weeks for all servicemembers for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. (This is inclusive of the 6 weeks maternity convalescent leave for the birth parent which runs concurrently.)

- Establishes a Basic Needs Allowance to ensure that all servicemembers can meet the basic needs of their families.

- Directs the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretaries of the military departments and Superintendents of the military academies, to develop policy that includes the option to preserve parental guardianship rights of cadets and midshipmen.

- Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a pilot program providing direct hire authority to hire military spouses stationed at a duty station outside of the United States to a term position within the DOD.

To find more about regulations & resources for all branches of the U.S. Military, check out Breastfeeding in Combat Boots.
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