The U.S. military reanchored its temporary humanitarian pier off the coast of Gaza, less than a week after detaching it ahead of high seas, a defense official said.

On Thursday, the pier was once again unloading aid, according to a U.S. defense official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

However, the aid rolling into Gaza won’t immediately reach the Palestinian people — more than 1 million of whom face “catastrophic levels of hunger,” according to the United Nations World Food Programme.

The WFP is responsible for distributing the humanitarian support but paused its deliveries June 9 due to concerns over worker safety. A day before, Executive Director Cindy McCain said, two warehouses had been hit by rockets, leaving one worker injured.

In the meantime, the crates moving from the pier into Gaza are only filling the nearby storage sites.

Following its completion in mid-May, the pier has been a debacle for the U.S. military. It was damaged by stormy weather little over a week later, leaving it out of commission until June 8. U.S. Central Command announced it would detach the pier last week, expecting rough seas that might again cause damage.

In addition, multiple U.S. service members have sustained noncombatant injuries while working on the humanitarian site.

Since its installation, the pier has only been operational for about 10 days and delivered 3,500 metric tons of aid for further transport the aid into Gaza, according to Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh. The Pentagon insists that the pier is a “temporary measure” and that a sufficient amount of aid can only come through land routes into Gaza.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a briefing that he doesn’t have a date on when the pier will cease operations.

Aside from weather conditions, another concern is when the WFP will resume their distribution.

The same day WFP warehouses were rocketed, an Israeli-held raid rescued four hostages and killed at least 274 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is run by the terrorist group Hamas. The Israeli rescue unit used an area near the pier during its operation, leading WFP to conduct a security review on whether they can safely continue operations.

McCain said in a CBS “Face the Nation” interview that she is unsure how the warehouses got rocketed since they are “deconflicted” from the Israeli military.

In a briefing with reporters last week, Ryder affirmed multiple times that the Israeli Defense Forces used no part of the pier or humanitarian staging ground to launch its hostage-rescue operation.

Reporting by The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Military families and veterans know better than anyone that Veterans Day isn’t just about saving money. But as the cost of living continues to stretch wallets thin, this year’s discounts for the federal holiday could be a chance to snag a complimentary restaurant meal or a cheaper vacation without breaking the bank.

Our annual list of verified Veterans Day deals is here to help you navigate offers from restaurants, hotels, retail establishments and other businesses. If you plan wisely, you could fortify yourself with free breakfast, lunch and dinner while you head to stores with a trove of in-person and online markdowns.

But situations can vary and exclusions may apply: Call ahead to see whether restaurants and shops are open and whether they’re participating in a discount program. Check whether discounts apply to those currently in uniform as well as veterans, and if Guardsmen and Reservists can benefit, too. Ask if family members qualify for free meals as well. Perhaps most importantly, find out what proof of military service you need to provide.

Did we miss something? Email Senior Reporter Karen Jowers at kjowers@militarytimes.com with suggestions.

If you don’t see a favorite establishment on the list, ask them if they have a military discount (even if they don’t have a sign in the store). Just remember that companies aren’t required to offer discounts or deals.

And check out our “Before you go” section at the bottom of this article to save yourself some headaches.

Food and drink

Applebee’s: Offering a free meal for lunch or dinner, from a special menu of eight entrees, to active duty and other veterans on Nov. 11. Dine in only; beverage and gratuity not included. Limit one free meal. Also receive a $5 “bounce-back card” for a future visit within a three-week redemption window. Must provide proof of service.

Black Rifle Coffee: Offering a free 16-oz. coffee beverage to veterans on Nov. 11 at participating Black Rifle Coffee Company stores. Also, participating stores are offering a 20% discount on retail merchandise, through Nov. 13.

Bob Evans: Offering a free meal, from a special menu of seven items, to active duty and other veterans on Nov. 11. Dine in only; beverage and gratuity not included. Must provide proof of service.

Bombshells Restaurant & Bar: Offering free entrees for veterans (not active duty) at all 12 company-owned and franchised locations in Texas on Nov. 11. Other items will be discounted at 20% for active duty and veterans, and accompanying families will receive a 20% discount on entrees and other items. All other days of the year, active duty and other veterans can receive a 20% discount. Check beforehand what identification can be used for the discount.

California Pizza Kitchen: Offering a free nonalcoholic beverage and choice of one entree, from a special menu at participating locations, to active duty and other veterans on Nov. 11. Dine-in only, gratuity and tax not included.

Cotton Patch Cafe: Offering a free Cotton Patch Cafe Chicken Fried Steak or Chicken Fried Chicken to active duty and other veterans on Nov. 11. This deal is available during store hours for dine-in only at all their locations. The stores are located in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

El Fenix: Offering a free meal with choice of Enchilada Plate or Taco Plate, to active duty and other veterans on Nov. 11. Available at all the Texas chain’s restaurants. The deal is available with proof of service, and is dine-in only.

Golden Corral: Offering a free meal at all locations from 5 p.m. to close on Monday, Nov. 13, to all active duty and other veterans for Military Appreciation Night. For more information, visit www.goldencorral.com/military-appreciation.

Hooters: Offering a free dinner entree from the Veterans Day menu, with purchase of a beverage, to active duty and other veterans, on Nov. 11 at participating Hooters locations. Their Veterans Day menu includes five Hooters entrees. A military ID or other proof of service is required. The offer is for dine-in only.

IHOP: Offering free red, white and blueberry pancakes to active duty and other veterans from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 11 at participating locations. Proof of service required.

Kolache Factory: Offering one free kolache and one cup of coffee to active duty and other veterans, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 11. Government-issued military photo ID or DD 214 required.

Legal Sea Foods: Offering a complimentary cup of clam chowder to active duty and other veterans who dine in restaurant Nov. 11. Locations are in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia. Must show proof of service.

Little Caesars: Offering free lunch combo at participating locations while supplies last, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Nov. 11, to active duty and other veterans. Features four slices deep dish pizza with pepperoni, and a 20-ounce Pepsi product. Proof of service required.

Peet’s Coffee: Offering a free small drip coffee or tea on Nov. 11 to active duty and other veterans at participating Peet’s retail coffeebar locations. Must show proof of valid ID showing active military or veteran status.

Red Lobster: Giving away free printed meal vouchers to active duty, veterans and reservists, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time on Saturday, Nov. 11. The vouchers, for Veterans Shrimp & Chips, can be redeemed beginning Monday, Nov. 13 through Sunday, Dec. 10 for dine-in only. A valid military or proof of service required to redeem the voucher.

Sheetz: Offering a free half turkey sub and a regular size fountain drink to active duty and other veterans on Nov. 11. Sheetz is also offering a free car wash to active duty and veterans, using the $9 car wash option, and is only available at Sheetz stores that have a car wash. Proof of service required.

Shoney’s: Offering free “all you care to eat” breakfast bar, to active duty and other veterans, from opening until 11 a.m. on Nov. 11 at participating locations. Beverage and gratuity not included. Proof of service required.

Sizzler: Offering a free lunch to active duty and other veterans, until 4 p.m. Nov. 11, from a choice of three menu entrees. All Sizzler locations are participating, except those in Utah, Idaho, and Puerto Rico., will be offering a free lunch to any active duty military or veteran until 4:00 p.m.

Smoothie King: The smoothie chain is offering a free 20-oz. red, white or blue smoothie to active duty and other veterans on Nov. 11.

Snuffer’s: Offering one free burger or sandwich on Nov. 11, to active duty and other veterans who dine in at one of these Texas restaurants. Must provide proof of service.

Starbucks: Offering a free 12-oz. hot brewed coffee or iced coffee at participating stores to active duty, veterans and military spouses on Nov. 11. Available for café and drive-through orders only.

Tuscan Brands Restaurants: Offering a free family-style meal to veterans and their guest from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Nov. 10, at their locations in Boston, Burlington and Newburyport, Massachusetts; and Salem and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. RSVP by calling the restaurant or online at tuscanbrands.com/veteransday. The restaurants include Tuscan Kitchen, Tuscan Sea Grill & Bar and Toscana Italian Chop House & Wine Bar.

Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux: Offering a free Scholarship Burger to all active duty and other veterans on Nov. 11, with proof of service.

Wendy’s: Offering active duty and other veterans a free breakfast combo, at participating locations during breakfast hours, Nov. 11. Combo includes coffee or soft drink, breakfast sandwich and seasoned potatoes. Present military ID or Veterans Advantage card; veterans may also get the deal by showing their VetRewards card at the register.

White Castle: Offering a free individual combo meal or breakfast combo meal to active duty and other veterans on Nov. 11 at participating restaurants. Proof of service is requested.

Recreation & travel

AmericanForcesTravel.com: This Defense Department site offers discounts year-round on airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruises and event tickets for active duty, retirees, Guard and reserve, Coast Guard, veterans with service-connected disabilities, and other eligible Morale, Welfare and Recreation patrons.

Buena Park, California: The SoCal city has pulled together a number of discounts and deals from local businesses for currently serving and other veterans, for a trip that can be planned at any time through the end of the year, ranging from hotel deals, restaurant deals, and discounts at local attractions. For a full list of military deals, visit https://www.visitbuenapark.com/usmilitarydeals.

Margaritaville at Sea: Offering active duty and other veterans the new Heroes Pass, for $299, with unlimited cruises to the Bahamas from the Port of Palm Beach now through the end of 2024. Passholders and one guest can get unlimited, non-consecutive, sailings aboard the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise. Of note: Sailings booked with this pass can only be booked 24 to 72 hours in advance, so it’s best for those with flexible schedules. The short cruise itineraries make it possible to sail to the Bahamas multiple times a year without using up weeks of vacation time. Through the company’s partnership with GovX, qualifying guests can purchase the Heroes Pass online at margaritavilleatsea.com/current-offers/2024-heroes-pass while supplies last. Guests can also visit MargaritavilleatSea.com for more details and reservations. The price doesn’t include taxes, fees, and port expenses, which must be paid for each guest at time of booking. Limited quantities are available;. November and December 2023 sailings included. Limited blackout dates. 2024 passes expire 12/31/2024.

Mount Vernon: Offering free admission to active duty and other veterans on Nov. 11. Tickets may be picked up upon arrival. Free tickets do not extend to service members’ family members or guests. More information about this Virginia attraction is available at https://www.mountvernon.org/plan-your-visit/calendar/events/mount-vernon-salutes-veterans/

National Parks: All national parks that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone on Veterans Day.

Vail Resorts: Current price of Epic Military Pass is $172 per person for the 2023/2024 season, and can be locked in until Nov. 19. This pass provides unlimited, unrestricted access to 41 resorts— including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Park City, Whistler Blackcomb and Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis. The $172 applies to active duty and their dependents and retirees and their dependents. Veterans and their dependents pay $552 per person for the pass.

VetTix.org: Offers tickets year-round to all military and veterans, including immediate family of troops killed in action. Vet Tix secures tickets to sporting events, concerts, performing arts, educational and family activities across the nation. Tickets are free, with a small delivery fee.

World of Coca-Cola: Offering up to four general admission tickets at half-price to active duty and other veterans, through Sunday, Nov. 13. (The service members/veterans can visit the attraction free of charge year-round.) The discounted tickets must be purchased online in advance; use the promo code VETS2023 at checkout. You’ll be asked to show your military identification when you arrive at the attraction.

Retail

Academy Sports + Outdoors: Offering 10% discount to currently serving military and other veterans through Nov. 12. The discount is applied to the entire purchase, both in store and online. To use the discount online, verify your status with the id.me buttons on the shopping cart page, then copy and paste the promo code into the promo code section on the Shopping Cart page for single-use redemption.

Army & Air Force Exchange Service, or AAFES: Veterans Day savings in brick-and-mortar stores as well at ShopMyExchange.com, to include $300 savings on Samsung Crystal UHD Smart TVs, $900 savings on HP Omen Gaming laptops; $300 off Apple MacBook Air Models with M2 chip; 20% off select Yeti hard-side or soft-side coolers; $130 off Bissell Revolution Hydrosteam Pet Vacuum; additional 20% off on Levis, American Eagle and Lucky; all Bath and Body Works hand soaps for $3.50; $20 off 1.7 oz. Victoria’s Secret Eau de Parfum and $25 off 3.4 oz. bottle. Active duty service members and retirees and their families, veterans with service-connected disabilities and DoD civilians can shop at AAFES stores on base, as well as online. Honorably discharged veterans can shop online at ShopMyExchange.com as well as the other online exchanges, mynavyexchange.com and shopcgx.com.

Happiestbaby.com: Offering 20% military discount on purchase of SNOO bed. Military service is verified through SheerID.

Home Depot: Offering a 10% discount year-round to active duty and other veterans and their spouses. Available online, in the mobile app and in-store. Those eligible receive a maximum $400 maximum discount per year, which resets each calendar year. To enroll, visit homedepot.com/auth/view/signin or open the Home Depot mobile app. Login to your existing personal account or create a new account. Go to the Military Discount page, select “verify military status” and follow the on-screen instructions to complete military verification. Once you’ve successfully completed each step, your personal account on HomeDepot.com will reflect your verified military status. Home Depot uses Sheer ID to verify status.

Lowe’s: Offering a 10% discount year-round to active duty members, veterans and their spouses, with no limit on the maximum amount of discount on eligible items. Visit Lowes.com/military to enroll. Select Verify with ID.me and follow the on-screen instructions to complete military verification. After you’ve been verified, you’ll be asked to create a personal account on Lowes.com or log in to your existing personal account on Lowes.com and follow the on-screen instructions

Parsons Xtreme Golf: Offering 40% off apparel and accessories through Nov. 15 to military and veterans. Offers year-round discounts on select clubs and apparel. Verified online through ID.me.

Samsung: Through the Military Offers Program, active and veteran service members and their families can get up to 30% discount on phones, tablets, smartwatches and more when shopping on Samsung.com. This includes products such as Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip5, Galaxy Z Fold5, Galaxy S23 series and Galaxy Tab S9 series. In addition, veterans can get up to 40% off Samsung products through Veterans Advantage. To get the discount, veterans must be enrolled in Veterans Advantage’s VetBenefits program.

Sleep Number: Offering 20% discount on most Sleep Number smart beds, bases, furniture, and bedding to military and veterans. Military service is verified through SheerID for promo code.

Staples: Offering a 25% discount on all in-store purchases through Nov. 11, to active duty and other veterans and their families. Some items are excluded from the discount. Valid military identification required. Present this coupon at checkout.

Target: Offering active duty and other veterans, as well as their spouses and children, a 10% discount on the full basket, which can be used twice through Nov. 11. Some exclusions apply. To redeem the offer, verify eligibility by registering at www.target.com/circle/military. Once verified, customers can also add veteran or dependent status as part of their Target customer profile, and be eligible for future offers for verified military and veteran guests through Target Circle.

Tractor Supply Co.: Offering a 15% discount in stores to active duty and other veterans and their dependents on Nov. 11 with valid military ID or proof of service.

Under Armour: Offering double its usual in-store military discount for active duty and other veterans, military spouses and family members, through Nov. 19. The discount is upped from 20% to 40% at all UA Brand Houses and online, and from 10% to 20% at all UA Factory Houses. Eligibility is verified through ID.me.

Walgreens: Offering 20% discount on regularly priced, eligible items in store from Nov. 10-Nov. 13 to active duty and other veterans and their dependents. Proof of service required. There are exclusions, such as prescriptions, alcohol, dairy, tobacco, gift cards and a number of other items.

Services

Goodyear Auto Service and Just Tires: Offering “Free Car Care Check for Vets,” for currently serving and other veterans from Nov. 10–Nov. 14. Includes free checks of tires, brakes, alignment, fuel system and fluid checks at their locations nationwide, plus an additional 10% off tires and services. Those who can’t get their car in by Nov. 14 can make an appointment by Nov. 14 and get the discount and free services before Nov. 19. Starting Nov. 10, visit goodyearautoservice.com or justtires.com for more information and to book an appointment. Proof of service required.

Great Clips: On Nov. 11, currently serving military and other veterans can get a free haircut or a free haircut card to use later, at any U.S. Great Clips salon. Also, non-military customers who get a haircut on Veterans Day at Great Clips can get a free haircut card to give to a service member or veteran. The cards can be redeemed from Nov. 12–Dec. 1 at any Great Clips salon in the U.S.

Before you go

• Check the fine print and call the participating organization to be sure the offer is available at the time you plan to arrive. That’s especially important in these times of supply chain issues and labor shortages.

• Let the host, cashier, attendant, reservation agent or other relevant employee know up front that you want the discount or deal.

• “Free” isn’t always completely free. A free meal doesn’t always come with a drink, for instance. Be prepared to pay for extras such as taxes (and tip). Most restaurants require patrons to dine in for the deal.

• Call ahead to local establishments to be sure they are aware of, and are participating in, national chain programs. Confirm availability and what type of ID is required.

• Not all offers apply to veterans of all stripes. Be sure you are eligible and you have the appropriate ID/paperwork.

• Not all discounts apply to the entire party. Be sure you’re clear whether family members or guests are covered in the discount.

• It doesn’t hurt to ask a company whether they offer a military discount before you book a reservation or order from your waitress. But don’t act like you expect it.

The “minor” injuries occurred following separate strikes on al-Tanf garrison in Syria and al-Asad air base in Iraq on Oct. 17 and 18, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement Wednesday, adding that everyone has since returned to duty.

“It is important to note, in some cases service members may report injuries such as TBI several days after attacks occur, so numbers may change,” he said.

Ryder told reporters during a briefing Tuesday that U.S. Central Command is working on a total number of strikes over the past two weeks, as bases in Iraq and Syria have detected more possible attacks as well as thwarted some.

Defense officials have attributed the uptick to U.S. support to Israel in its war with Hamas.

“We see a prospect for much more significant escalation against U.S. forces and personnel in the near term,” a senior defense official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, told reporters on Monday. “And let’s be clear about it: the road leads back to Iran. Iran funded, armed, equipped and trained militias and proxy forces all across the region.”

“This was the worst permanent change of station move of my 21-year career,” he said. “This consumed our lives over 2½ years.”

While it’s not known how common these moving disasters are — with problems from start to finish — military families’ issues with household goods shipments have been persistent enough to convince U.S. Transportation Command to overhaul the way it handles military moves. This family’s horrible experience shows why change is needed, Frey said.

When he received his PCS orders in 2020, Frey was just finishing a year-long unaccompanied tour in South Korea. He returned to the United States in the midst of the pandemic, so some of the move dates were affected by various quarantines. A housing crunch also hampered their ability to find a suitable place to live, so their household goods were put into storage for about a month while they occupied a friend’s trailer.

The family finally moved into their new home in Kentucky and the movers arrived Nov. 17, 2020. That’s when the Freys discovered that their belongings had been damaged or destroyed — by water, mold and other means, with much of their wooden furniture broken into pieces. Not long afterward, due to the water and mold damage, everything was removed for inspection and remediation. Their house, too, required remediation because of the mold that had been brought in on their belongings, so the family moved to a hotel where they spent the next 126 days. To make matters even worse, the movers also damaged floors, walls and doors of their house, Frey alleged.

When the movers brought back the supposedly remediated household goods on Jan. 15, 2021, their belongings were in even worse condition. Again, they were sent back for inspection and remediation.

The Freys soon filed a claim for loss of belongings valued at $152,167. Little did they know that their misery was only beginning.

To illustrate the epic, 2½-year battle for restitution that ensued, Frey shared a 69-page, single-spaced timeline of the events and details of phone calls, emails and correspondence with dozens of people.

Once he turned over the claim to the Army claims office, his claim was settled within a few months, and the Army paid him $100,000 due to the “extraordinary circumstances” of the move, the only time it has done so since it began tracking such extraordinary cases in July 2022. Information was not available from the other service branches about whether they’ve paid any household goods claims reaching the maximum when the claim is turned over to the military claims office for resolution.

“There are so many moving parts to the claims process,” Frey said. “In my opinion, it’s very complex and convoluted. I don’t want this to happen to other military families.”

He added that he is especially concerned about younger troops who might not feel empowered to push back and question decisions from moving companies.

‘Devastating’

The Freys didn’t receive their final shipment until May 15, 2021, after the second mold remediation. But even then, many of their belongings were damaged, Frey said.

They had already begun the painstaking task of filing a claim. More than 100 boxes were unaccounted for, and the packers at the front end hadn’t properly marked boxes or inventory sheets, he said.

Meanwhile, when the items were being inspected and/or remediated and repacked, the movers “mixed everything up,” Frey’s wife, Debbie, said. “That was the hardest part. … The only thing that was sort of kept together was the clothes. … We had kitchen items that were in with bathroom stuff, with books and DVDs all mixed together. Our stuff was just jumbled up in boxes.”

Frey’s shipment from his yearlong tour in South Korea, which had arrived in good condition, was also removed from the house for inspection and remediation if needed.

That shipment also disappeared.

“We had to provide estimates of things like how many T-shirts we owned, how many pairs of pants, how many glasses you had in your cupboard,” Debbie Frey said. “That’s not something you sit there and think about every day. … It makes it very hard to estimate what you have and don’t have.”

She described the whole situation as “devastating. … It was definitely the sense of loss that you have. It’s really hard to overcome that, to get past that.”

Of all the losses, she said, “the one that hurt the most was a christening gown.”

“It was handed down from my great-great-grandmother, who actually handmade the lace on it, handmade the christening gown. We had hand-carried it, but then it was removed from the house [when mold remediation was required], and then lost. Every person in our family had worn it. My son had worn it. Every kid in our family had worn it, and it got lost.”

An inspector’s words say it all

On Jan. 15, 2021, when the moving company brought remediated household goods back to the Frey’s house, an Army quality assurance inspector described the sight when the doors to the van were opened:

“It was apparent that the shipment had been handled haphazardly and there were several boxes open with contents spilling out, footprints on top of [household goods], a television loaded upside down in the box, all mattresses were uncovered completely, a sofa was tossed upside down on top of other items in the truck, dining room chairs were hanging off other boxes, shelves were uncovered and broken, Bar-B-Q grill had all wheels broken off it and rolling in the truck.

“Totes were loaded on their sides with contents spilling into the trailer and contents were in complete disarray. Once I asked the driver to open the back door, it was obvious there was water and mold damage to the entire shipment. Boxes were soaked through and some blankets in the back were saturated with water that was dripping down furniture and into boxes.”

As Frey later found out, their belongings were left in a truck that had a gap through which rainwater poured. The shipment was taken to a climate-controlled warehouse for more inspection and remediation.

All told, after intense effort and endless aggravation, he received $150,359.

For various reasons, the moving company eventually reimbursed him $31,959, or 21% of his claim, although a company’s maximum liability for a service member’s household goods loss is $75,000.

After unsuccessfully battling to get more, Frey transferred his claim to the Army in October 2022. And in March of this year, almost two years after final delivery, he received $100,000 from Army Claims Service.

Because the Army classified his losses as arising from “extraordinary circumstances,” it was able to reimburse him the maximum allowable by law, rather than the $40,000 maximum for a typical move. Frey’s final step was submitting a claim to his insurance company, and on May 10 he received another $18,400 from USAA.

Following the rules?

TRANSCOM booked Ackley Enterprises to handle the Freys’ move, one of about 800 command-approved transportation service providers. As the primary moving company, Ackley was accountable for the Freys’ move.

Ackley has an agreement with Total Military Management, a move management company, to handle services such as the claims process. Ackley hires local moving companies to do the actual work.

On April 5, 2022, an Army official told Total Military Management: “This claim has taken far too long. Unless [your transportation service provider] makes a good faith settlement offer very soon, I will have to report this to TRANSCOM.”

Frey said he was pleased, throughout the ordeal, with the response from Army civilians, who helped him deal with claims questions and communicate with the companies involved. Leadership was supportive by giving him a compassionate reassignment, sending him to a unit with a lesser operational tempo so he could devote the time needed to deal with the fallout of the move.

Meanwhile, TRANSCOM officials had issued a letter of warning to Ackley Enterprises Inc. in January 2021 as a result of the Freys’ experience, according to TRANSCOM spokesman Andre Kok.

In response to Military Times’ questions, Tom Ackley, owner of Ackley Moving Services, also known as Ackley Enterprises, said, “We have reviewed this move with TMM and the Army [military claims office], and while we wish there had been no damage issues on this move, we are confident the claims settlement process was properly handled in accordance with [Defense Personal Property Program] business rules.”

Asked about the Freys’ experience with the claims process, Matt Connell, CEO and cofounder of Total Military Management, said, “TMM settles all claims in accordance to the [Defense Personal Property Program] business rules. … In this specific case TMM processed the claim under the direct oversight of the Army military claims office, and we have not been provided any information pertaining to the settlement that the Army MCO has made.”

Hope for the future?

The new TRANSCOM contract consolidates management of the moving process — including warehouse services — under one company, HomeSafe Alliance. The command will continue to provide oversight, but the contractor will be fully responsible, bringing accountability to the program, officials have said.

Most service members won’t move under this new set-up until the peak season of 2024, but HomeSafe is preparing to gradually phase in some domestic moves starting later this year. International moves under the contract are scheduled to begin later.

In addition to providing better moves for service members, the new contract aims to improve the claims process, according to TRANSCOM spokesman Kok.

HomeSafe Alliance CEO Al Thompson said troops will find that submitting a claim and getting a settlement will be streamlined and faster. A new HomeSafe Connect app will give service members an opportunity to start with a much more accurate and clear inventory description, including the condition of the property, before it leaves a residence. Photos can be uploaded in the app, too. Service members and spouses can quickly review the mover’s information to confirm the condition of the property, he said.

If damage occurs, they can file a claim on the app.

“Part of our contractual responsibility is to rapidly process the claim,” Thompson said.

If they are unsatisfied, service members will still have the ability to submit their claim to their military claims office.

“I hope it protects the service member,” Frey said. “We serve the government. We have to make a PCS move every couple of years. It’s not a choice. We’re told to move.”

TRANSCOM also changed some rules for moving companies regarding mold claims, Kok said. They took effect May 15. Kok said Frey contacted TRANSCOM at the end of 2022 to share his experience and provide suggestions for improving the mold claims process.

“Coincidentally, the Defense Personal Property Management Office had already begun making several proposed adjustments to our business rules for moving companies regarding mold claims,” he noted.

Among those changes:

• When containers show signs of contamination, such as water saturation or mold growth, the company must contact the responsible military transportation office within two government days of discovery.
• The company will continue shipping goods to a location determined by the company and the transportation office, but won’t deliver to a residence before the shipment has been inspected.
• When mold is discovered, the company will notify the service member, the military claims office and the inspecting transportation office and update the transportation office with findings within 48 hours.
• Before undertaking remediation work, the company must contact and schedule the services of a qualified mold remediation firm within three government business days from the government official’s direction, to get an itemized written estimate.

Things Frey wishes he had known

Frey admits he was perhaps his own worst enemy during part of the process.

“I was told you get full replacement value from the moving company, and once you transfer it to the Army, you’re only going to get depreciated value,” he said. “I wanted to get full replacement value and maximum liability.”

He didn’t realize the Army could pay up to $100,000 if the claim was related to “extraordinary circumstances.” So, he didn’t officially turn the claim over to the Army as soon as he could have, while going back and forth for months with Total Military Management.

“Once I got it to the Army, everything was fine,” he said.

There were also questions about the timeliness of the claims and whether the clock was tied to the November 2020 attempted delivery or when their last few items were delivered in May 2021. While Frey was told in an email that the claims clock starts with the final delivery, the law says the claims clock starts with the date of initial delivery.

This is unfair, he argues, because for six months he couldn’t see his belongings to know what was damaged or missing.

“For all types of loss and damage claims, if a customer has been working with their [moving company] for at least 30 days and is not satisfied with the offer and/or interaction, then they are welcome and encouraged to transfer to the [military claims office] for help with resolving the claim,” Kok said.

The determination about extraordinary circumstances is always made by the military claims office community, he said.

Frey submitted his claim to the Army claims office in October 2022, and by late February 2023 Army officials had determined he would receive the $100,000 maximum. In most, but not all, cases, the claims office will go back to the moving company for reimbursement, Kok said.

In Frey’s case, the Army was unable to seek reimbursement, said spokeswoman Lt. Col. Lindsey Elder.

The Army claims office didn’t start tracking catastrophic losses until July 2022, Elder said. Since then, the Army has considered 20 claims for losses deemed catastrophic, but Frey’s was unique in that it involved mold, she said.

“This is the only time that the Army’s Center for Personnel Claims Support has paid the $100,000 maximum for a claim,” she said.

The Freys also found out too late that — because their son, Connor, was then 16 — they could have gotten two hotel rooms paid for by the moving company when they were displaced because of the mold. It was difficult for everyone to be in one room, with no kitchen, for 126 days, Frey said.

Frey has put in his retirement papers, in anticipation of retiring in May 2024. “If this all hadn’t happened, I might have stayed in. I don’t know,” Frey said.

“But I’m definitely ready for retirement.”

The new approach would leave behind aid to Ukraine, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP lawmakers, but the plan would increase federal disaster assistance by $16 billion, meeting President Joe Biden’s full request. The package was approved 335-91, with most Republicans and almost all Democrats supporting.

With hours to go before the midnight deadline to fund the government, the Senate was also in for a rare weekend session and prepared to act next.

“We’re going to do our job,” McCarthy said before the House vote. “We’re going to be adults in the room. And we’re going to keep government open.”

With no deal in place before Sunday, federal workers will face furloughs, more than 2 million active-duty and reserve military troops will work without pay and programs and services that Americans rely on from coast to coast will begin to face shutdown disruptions.

The House measure would fund government at current 2023 levels for 45 days, through Nov. 17, moving closer to the bipartisan approach in the Senate. But the Senate package would have added $6 billion for Ukraine to fight the war against Russia and $6 billion for U.S. disaster relief.

Both chambers came to a standstill as lawmakers assessed their options, some decrying the loss of Ukraine aid.

“The American people deserve better,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, warning in a lengthy floor speech that “extreme” Republicans were risking shutdown.

For the House package to be approved, McCarthy, R-Calif., was forced to rely on Democrats because the speaker’s hard-right flank has said it will oppose any short-term funding measure, denying him the votes needed from his slim majority. It’s a move that risks his job amid calls for his ouster.

After leaving his right-flank behind, McCarthy is almost certain to be facing a motion to try to remove from office, though it is not at all certain there would be enough votes to topple the speaker. Most Republicans voted for the package Saturday while 90 opposed.

“If somebody wants to remove me because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try,” McCarthy said of the threat to oust him. “But I think this country is too important.”

The White House was tracking the developments on Capitol Hill and aides were briefing the president, who was spending the weekend in Washington.

The quick pivot comes after the collapse Friday of McCarthy’s earlier plan to pass a Republican-only bill with steep spending cuts up to 30% to most government agencies that the White House and Democrats rejected as too extreme.

“Our options are slipping away every minute,” said one senior Republican, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida.

The federal government is heading straight into a shutdown that poses grave uncertainty for federal workers in states all across America and the people who depend on them — from troops to border control agents to office workers, scientists and others.

Families that rely on Head Start for children, food benefits and countless other programs large and small are confronting potential interruptions or outright closures. At the airports, Transportation Security Administration officers and air traffic controllers are expected to work without pay, but travelers could face delays in updating their U.S. passports or other travel documents.

An earlier McCarthy plan to keep the government open collapsed Friday due to opposition from a faction of 21 hard-right holdouts despite steep spending cuts of nearly 30% to many agencies and severe border security provisions.

The White House has brushed aside McCarthy’s overtures to meet with Biden after the speaker walked away from the debt deal they brokered earlier this year that set budget levels.

Catering to his hard-right flank, McCarthy had returned to the spending limits the conservatives demanded back in January as part of the deal-making to help him become the House speaker.

After Friday’s vote, McCarthy’s chief Republican critic, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, said the speaker’s bill “went down in flames as I’ve told you all week it would.”

Gaetz has warned he will file a motion calling a vote to oust the speaker.

Some of the Republican holdouts, including Gaetz, are allies of former President Donald Trump, who is Biden’s chief rival in the 2024 race. Trump has been encouraging the Republicans to fight hard for their priorities and even to “shut it down.”

At an early closed-door meeting at the Capitol, several House Republicans, particularly those facing tough reelections next year, urged their colleagues to find a way to prevent a shutdown.

“All of us have a responsibility to lead and to govern,” said Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York.

But the lone Democrat to vote against the package, Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois, the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, called it a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin and “Putin-sympathizers everywhere.” He said, “Protecting Ukraine is in our national interest.”

That’s changed over the past decade, with the increased spread of falsehoods about election integrity leading to a loss of confidence among voters, Scanlan said. His proposed solution? Bring one of America’s most trusted communities into the process: enlist veterans and military spouses to help organize and watch the vote.

Misinformation about elections reached a climax in 2020, when former President Donald Trump and his supporters falsely claimed he lost because of widespread voter fraud. New Hampshire was one of many states Trump targeted with claims of election fraud that were later investigated and rejected by officials he had appointed. He contended that his loss in the state was due to voter fraud in the town of Windham – an assertion that was debunked through a forensic audit. Still, hundreds of people sent messages of outrage to election officials in the suburban town.

Scanlan, a Republican, blames rhetoric from both political parties for the now widespread distrust in the voting process.

“The issue of misinformation has been growing,” Scanlan said. “We saw it nationally first, where there was a loss of confidence in elections because of messaging from top elected officials in both parties. That has filtered into New Hampshire as well.”

To fortify New Hampshire voters against misinformation in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, Scanlan is working with We the Veterans, a non-partisan nonprofit that recruited 63,000 veterans and military family members to work the polls during the 2022 midterms through its Vet the Vote campaign.

Scanlan wants to encourage New Hampshire veterans to volunteer during the 2024 election. He’s also embarking on a plan to educate veterans about the voting process in the state, with the hope that they spread the message to their communities. The idea is to use their trusted status in society to guard against unsubstantiated claims of vote tampering.

“We want to use the opportunity to educate voters generally, and to do that through veterans,” Scanlan said. “They can talk to people in their community, and because of the roles they have played, they’re respected. People look up to veterans.”

Through the initiative, We the Veterans will use its vast network to contact veterans in New Hampshire and try to get them interested in the election process.

The group, anticipating election misinformation and a shortage of poll workers in 2024, is already coordinating efforts to recruit veterans and military families to volunteer for the next presidential election. New Hampshire is one of five states where We the Veterans has launched campaigns so far. To fund this initiative, the group works with partners, including the National Football League. The Department of Homeland Security granted We the Veterans $388,500 to fund some of its other efforts, such as educational programs about voting and civic engagement.

“Veterans and military families can be incredibly impactful in the upcoming presidential election to remind Americans that yes, our votes are free and fair, and yes, our elections are secure,” said Ellen Gustafson, a co-founder of We the Veterans. “Especially if the people there making it all happen are people that you trust the most: veterans and military family members.”

In addition to New Hampshire, the group launched initiatives in Michigan, Florida, Nevada and New Jersey. Several localities are also working with the nonprofit, including the city of Dallas; Los Angeles County; Clark County in Nevada; Allegheny County in Pennsylvania; and Maricopa County in Arizona.

We the Veterans is focusing on areas of the country where many veterans live, such as the Los Angeles area, as well as states and counties that were bombarded with election misinformation in 2020. One such place is Maricopa County, where President Joe Biden won in 2020, helping him to clinch the battleground state.

Soon after Arizona was called for Biden, some Republicans pushed to undo the results, claiming the election was stolen from Trump. However, an audit commissioned by Republicans validated Biden’s win. During the midterm elections two years later, elections officials in the county were on guard and aggressively defended against more accusations about the voting process. In their preparations for 2024, they’re seeking assistance from We the Veterans.

“Maricopa obviously has had its challenges with election misinformation,” Gustafson said. “They’ve been a really great partner, and we’re trying to see how we can help.”

Local elections officials across the country, expecting a shortage of poll workers next year, have reached out to Gustafson with pleas for help with recruiting veterans and military family members as soon as possible.

The U.S. experienced a dearth of volunteers in the 2022 midterms, in part because of threats directed at poll workers, Kim Wyman, the senior advisor for election security at the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said at the time. The threats aren’t abating. According to an April report by the Brennan Center for Justice, 30% of local elections officials have been abused, harassed or threatened because of their jobs. Over half of officials are concerned that the threats will harm retention and recruitment, the report states.

“Some people are probably thinking, ‘Are you kidding me? You’re recruiting me for a one-day job in 2024 right now?’ Yes, actually, we are,” Gustafson said. “We want to hear what local officials need and be part of the solution, and what we’re hearing is, ‘Please start now.’”

Along with recruiting poll workers, We the Veterans is preparing for 2024 by reaching out to larger swaths of veteran and military communities to educate them about the election processes in their states. While many veterans won’t be able to volunteer as poll workers, they might be willing to learn more about voting and pass on that information to skeptics, Gustafson said.

One of the group’s first attempts at that type of education will happen this September in New Hampshire, when the state will hold a voter education event in collaboration with We the Veterans.

Scanlan’s office is planning to set up a polling place the same way they would during an actual election. Officials will give tours, explaining each step of the process and the checks and balances involved. The state will have a film crew at the event to record everything, and the video will be shared on YouTube in order to reach a larger audience, Scanlan said.

We the Veterans is tasked with getting veterans and military family members to attend the event in New Hampshire. The group is also planning to host more educational events across the country later this year and into 2024.

“We’ll explain the fact that everything that happens in a polling place is observable, and the only thing that’s secret about the election is how an individual marks their ballot,” Scanlan said. “Hopefully, we can engage more people to participate in the election process.”

Scanlan served eight terms in the New Hampshire House of Representatives before joining the Secretary of State’s office in 2002 as deputy secretary. The legislature elected Scanlan as Secretary of State at the start of 2022. One of his first moves was to establish the Commission on Voter Confidence, which traveled the state last year to ask residents how the government could help people have more trust in the election process.

The biggest takeaway from the commission’s work was the need to shed light on how voting works, Scanlan said.

“We have to do a better job with being transparent,” he said. “When the voter either cannot see what’s going on or they don’t understand what’s going on, that causes doubt and allows for conspiracy theories.”

Scanlan is hoping his work ahead of the 2024 election – including his partnership with We the Veterans – will become a model for other states to follow. He’s presenting his methods next week in Washington, D.C., during a conference of the National Association of Secretaries of State.

This story was updated to describe changes in how We the Veterans is using DHS funding.

This story was produced in partnership with Military Veterans in Journalism. Please send tips to MVJ-Tips@militarytimes.com.

What was really happening? Parade preparations for Flag Day and the U.S. Army’s birthday in historic Philadelphia. The military vehicles were on the move as part of the city’s annual Stars and Stripes Festival, held this year on June 14, when members of the Pennsylvania National Guard showed off military equipment to the public, according to Maj. Travis Mueller, a Pennsylvania National Guard public affairs officer.

Heading into the July Fourth holiday Tuesday, more troops and military equipment will be present in urban areas as part of citywide celebrations, including the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, the National Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C., and the Armed Forces River Parade in San Antonio. Military flyovers are being planned for events across Oregon, Colorado and Vermont, among other states.

These celebrations offer more opportunity for the spread of rumors like those that took hold in Philadelphia. One way to stand down the panic? If you see military troops in your city or town, check out local law enforcement and local military bases’ social media accounts, or states’ National Guard pages on Twitter and Facebook, where public affairs officers often post about service members and equipment appearing in public before planned activities.

The unsubstantiated rumors of martial law sparked by troops spotted on Philly streets is just one of many incidents of such images spawning disinformation online. Such conspiracies go back to the 1970s, when so-called “black helicopters” became a symbol of a military takeover of the U.S. But they’ve grown in frequency since 2020, when myths about voter fraud eroded the public’s confidence in U.S. democracy, experts said.

“The whole idea is quite preposterous. We’re so far from any situation in which martial law would be declared that it’s laughable,” said William Banks, a Syracuse University law professor who wrote a book about the domestic role of the U.S. military. “The fact that it’s become a part of disinformation campaigns is concerning.”

In addition to parades and other public events sparking concerns, the arrival of summer – annual training season for the National Guard and Reserve – means more troops on the move and more conjecture about a military takeover.

“What people are seeing now is what people have seen every summer for as long as I’ve been alive,” Banks said. “Folks are taking their summer National Guard duty right now and riding convoys to wherever they’re going to be. For many of us, it’s a regular scene in the summer on the highways.”

Rumors spread online this month when a military convoy was spotted on state roads near Idaho Falls. The Idaho National Guard had posted the planned movement on its Facebook page on June 13, alerting the public that its 148th Field Artillery Regiment would be moving tracked vehicles the next day from its training area back to its armory. “Don’t be alarmed!” the post warned. Still, a video of the convoy was posted by a worried onlooker and went viral on social media. One post that received more than one million views warned, “BREAKING NEWS! Tank group on the highway in Idaho falls today!”

A few days later, some social media accounts shared videos of low-flying helicopters in the Bay Area, describing their presence as an “undeclared military drill.” The MV-22 Ospreys and Sikorsky White Hawks seen over Marin County, California, on June 16, were security for President Joe Biden’s planned fundraising visit, the San Francisco Gate reported.

In February, false reports spread that combat had come to San Diego’s shores, when the U.S. Army Special Operations Command conducted training around the city. This despite the city’s high concentration of military bases and routine exercises, and an advisory issued in advance by Naval Base Coronado. Residents told local television stations they were caught off guard by low-flying helicopters and explosions.

Adding to the confusion? Several social media accounts – some of them verified on Twitter and boasting tens of thousands of followers – have falsely claimed that all of these movements are signs the military is preparing for an impending violent event and the invocation of martial law.

“Inconceivable” and “utterly absurd” is how legal expert and retired Army officer Geoffrey Corn describes the various martial law conspiracies. If ever anyone tried to illegally invoke martial law, it would be stopped by military leaders, Congress and the courts, said Corn, director of the Center for Military Law and Policy at Texas Tech University.

“The leaders of the DOD would look at this and say, ‘We don’t have legal authority to do what you’re asking,’” Corn said, adding that “As soon as Congress got wind of it, it would create a political crisis,” and the federal courts would shut it down.

A rise in martial law conspiracies

The presence of military equipment has been a long-standing trigger for conspiracies. Stories of black helicopters and their role in covert operations started in the ‘70s but gained more attention in 1995, when former Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, held congressional hearings about black helicopters allegedly targeting ranches in the rural West.

False claims about alleged government preparations to declare martial law are becoming an uncomfortable American tradition. In 2015, U.S. Army Special Operations was preparing to hold what it called a routine multi-state training exercise called Operation Jade Helm, spurring rumors of a covert effort to impose martial law. Such was the widespread panic that the Texas governor deployed the Texas state guard to monitor special operations troops. In 2018, former CIA director Michael Hayden attributed the Jade Helm panic to Russian disinformation targeting Texas, according to the Texas Tribune.

While these types of conspiracies date back decades, rumors of the government invoking martial law have been on the rise since former national security adviser Michael Flynn publicly called for former President Donald Trump to impose martial law to force a new election after his 2020 loss, said Syracuse University law professor Banks. Flynn’s status in the conservative movement and experience as an Army lieutenant general lent weight to his espoused theories that ballot tampering had lost Trump the election – theories proven false by multiple state and federal investigations.

At the time, Flynn retweeted an ad from a conservative political organization that called on Trump to suspend the Constitution, declare martial law and order the military to oversee a new election.

“Flynn called over and over and over again in 2020 for the invocation of martial law,” Banks said. “He’s a widely followed guy in certain circles and by virtue of his rank, he had a lot of credibility.”

The Covid-19 pandemic also gave rise to false claims about martial law being declared to invoke a nationwide quarantine – some of the rumors reaching so many people that the National Security Council spoke out to debunk them. “Text message rumors of a national #quarantine are FAKE. There is no national lockdown,” the NSC tweeted.

The Pentagon also debunked other viral claims about impending martial law in 2020, including one Twitter post that showed a video of Army equipment being moved by rail with the comment, “Coming soon?” Then-Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman said the video showed joint light tactical vehicles being transported by Army Material Command from a factory in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to then-Fort Bragg, now-Fort Liberty, North Carolina.

Former Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, has been working to counter some of the conspiracies he sees online, while battling his own frustration that so many fellow Americans could be so gullible.

“I think there is a real importance in exposing the ludicrous-y of it,” he told Military Times.

Kinzinger put that in practice, responding sarcastically, he thought, to a tweet about the alleged impending military takeover of Philadelphia. “As a Guardsman let me just say, this is exactly what you think it is and not drill weekend or summer training. No, it’s a takeover of whatever you love by whoever you hate.” That sarcasm was lost on some, who took his post to be confirmation of their worst fears.

Kinzinger has battled what he sees as a flood of disinformation that has enveloped his party, including debunked claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. He was one of only two Republicans on the congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and ultimately left Congress over his party’s embrace of such claims.

“You can fight to try to tell the truth, you can fight against the cancer in the Republican Party of lies of conspiracy of dishonesty,” Kinzinger told ABC “This Week” when he announced he was leaving Congress.

He wants to see the military be similarly pro-active to spot disinformation about military activities online, and act swiftly to correct the record.

“I think it’s important for people to see that when they hear something like the government is going to take over Philadelphia, that they actually are aware of what that conspiracy is before they just take someone’s word for it,” he said.

Retired Army colonel David Maxwell, a former U.S. Army Green Beret, cautioned against vilifying or attacking believers in unfounded conspiracy theories.

“We are naturally suspicious of the government,” said Maxwell of his fellow American citizens.

“This disinformation reinforces that idea that we have to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, but we don’t realize that the enemy that is attacking us is not our government, not our military, but the outside forces. That is the real paradox,” said Maxwell, now a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based think tank, Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

He suggested attacking the baseless claims themselves with a four-pronged strategy, represented by the somewhat unwieldy acronym R-U-E-A: recognizing adversarial strategies, understanding how those adversaries implement their plans, exposing those plans to the affected public and finally attacking the bad actor’s strategy to undermine its efforts.

On the positive side, the U.S. has “very engaged citizenry,” he said. But it’s “informed by bad ideas and influenced by Russia and China, Iran and North Korea,” as well as other bad actors.

A brief history of U.S. martial law

Since the United States was founded on July 4, 1776, martial law has been enacted at least 68 times. The figure varies because one state’s governor allegedly declared martial law 30 times, but official records don’t show all of these declarations. A few of these declarations made their mark on what the U.S. could see today.

General Andrew Jackson declared martial law for the first time in U.S. history in 1814 before the Battle of New Orleans to guard Louisiana territory from British attack. Local authorities and members of the press criticized the general’s controversial actions.

Until the mid-1800′s, martial law couldn’t be declared because it was incompatible with the U.S. Constitution, according to Joseph Nunn, counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice, a non-partisan law and policy institute. In a seminal case, Luther v. Borden, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 1849 to rule in favor of an entity attempting to declare martial law to prevent a state government overthrow. Based on that case, all U.S. states theoretically have the legal ability to declare martial law when warranted, which helps explain why 57 of those 68 cases of martial law were declared by states.

Nunn said the federal level is a different story. The U.S. government has declared martial law 11 times since 1776, but that was more than two centuries ago, and the Supreme Court hasn’t clearly defined whether it currently has the legal authority to do so.

“Martial law is a historical phenomenon … largely confined to the period between the start of the Civil War and the end of World War II,” Nunn said.

On Dec. 7, 1941, immediately after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii’s governor declared martial law on the islands. U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt approved the move, and the islands remained under military rule for nearly three years. Civilians charged with crimes went before military tribunals and the military controlled more mundane aspects of life, like traffic, parking and trash pickup.

After Hawaii, the use of state- or territory- level martial law ticked up, particularly as civil unrest grew during the Civil Rights Movement, but the actual implementation of martial law looked less like all-out military rule and more like a state governor calling upon the national guard for riot control.

When groups peddle claims that a military exercise schemes to declare martial law, Nunn said they likely think of the military rule in Hawaii and not the more frequently exhibited use of controlling riots. The most recent declaration of martial law in U.S. history happened in Maryland about 60 years ago, when the government imposed martial law that lasted over a year in the town of Cambridge, during the racially-charged civil unrest known as the Cambridge Riot of 1963.

Unlikelihood of martial law in modern-day U.S.

What stands in the way of declaring martial law? All the federal and state bodies that are already in charge, enforcing their own laws with their own forces, like the police departments that now exist in all 50 states, Nunn said. “Their resources are so large and so heavily armed… you don’t necessarily need the military to come to a situation with federal force,” he added.

“Martial law is the absence of law,” legal scholar Banks said. “So, if martial law should ever be invoked, it should be in situations of a very extreme breakdown in civil authority, where the government isn’t operating and can’t operate normally, and where the courts are no longer open and operating.”

That would only conceivably happen in cases like a catastrophic nuclear attack or a plague that kills a majority of the population, said retired Army officer Corn.

In any other instance, Corn believes a declaration of martial law would prompt immediate legal challenges, and that troops would balk.

“I think military leadership would refuse to obey,” Corn said. “The military’s oath is to the Constitution, and we would expect that any military leaders – advised on what the limits of their legal authority are domestically – would step up and not follow such an order.”

Those serving as Maritime Cyber Warfare Officers and in the cyber warfare technician rating will focus on both offensive and defensive cyberspace operations, and initially will draw from Information Warfare Officers and sailors serving in the Cryptologic Technician-Networks rating, who currently carry the bulk of the Navy’s cyber role.

The new designator and rating are intended to streamline cyber responsibilities and capabilities more efficiently, Vice Adm. Kelly Aeschbach, commander of Naval Information Forces and the Navy’s Information Boss, told reporters Friday.

“The Maritime Cyber Warfare Officer is really going to take the offensive and defensive operating components out of those two designators and provide us with someone who can focus full time on how we maneuver on the net,” Aeschbach said. “And they will lead teams that are delivering our capabilities that are hunting forward…through cyber commands techniques on how we protect our interests.”

“That will alleviate the demand we were putting on other designators that already have really tremendous responsibilities,” Aeschbach said.

Aeschbach said that those in the new rating and designator would predominantly be assigned to shore billets such as staff positions and leadership positions, and instructor billets. However, she said there would be increased opportunities to serve at sea as both the rating and designator mature.

Applications for redesignation for officers are open for the next 90 days as part of a lateral transfer for Information Warfare Officer qualified line officers with documented cyber-focused training. Redesignation applications from all communities will commence in February 2024.

“We also will start taking direct accessions next year, where we will have quotas at the Naval Academy, across the NROTC, and also for Officer Candidate School,” Aeschbach said. “So we can also afford new folks coming in the Navy the opportunity to compete to go directly into the designator.”

The Navy is aiming to fill approximately 300 officer billets for the new designator over the next two years, with the possibility of expanding to up to 500 billets over time, Aeschbach said.

“It’s going to be just a lot of discussion in terms of mentoring, how we advise folks, whether they’re good candidates, and how we get this initial group of officers established by the end of the year, so we can start focusing on their identity…and the kind of training they need to excel over time,” Aeschbach told reporters.

Meanwhile, the new enlisted rating will absorb all the billets and personnel assigned to the Cryptologic Technician-Networks rating, accounting for more than 2,000 sailors. Given that more than 90% of the work sailors assigned to the CTN rating conducted was already classified as cyber, Aeschbach said the new rating more accurately describes the cyber roles that those assigned to the CTN rating were already completing.

But, the service guaranteed that doing so will not negatively impact the careers of those in the CTN rating.

“During the process of establishing the CWT rating, we have been committed to a ‘do no harm’ approach to CTN Sailors,” NAVIFOR Force Master Chief Laura Nunley said in a Navy news release. “No Sailor’s advancement opportunity or Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB) will be affected by this rating establishment. All rating specific incentive pays currently entitled to CTN Sailors will be awarded to CWT Sailors.”

Nunley told reporters Friday that the Navy is examining ways to expand opportunities for sailors to cross-rate into the CWT rating, as well as recruiting efforts to bring new sailors into the rating.

Creating the cyber warfare technician rating stems from requirements included in the National Defense Authorization Act approved in December 2022, and was crafted with input from leaders within the CTN rating, Nunley said.

The bonus announcement coincides with recruiting challenges across the services, which military leaders attribute to more thorough medical screenings, fewer Americans eligible to serve, and low civilian unemployment.

Sailors may couple the bonus with the maximum student loan repayment under the Enlisted Loan Repayment Program, in which the Navy covers college tuition loans — such as Stafford Student Loans — that were taken out prior to the sailor enlisting for active duty.

“The maximum current enlistment bonus is $75,000, and the maximum loan repayment is $65,000,” said Rear Adm. Lex Walker, commander of Navy Recruiting Command, in a Navy news release. “They are not mutually exclusive, so if a Future Sailor maximizes both, that … adds up to a life-altering $140,000 and the opportunity to serve in the world’s finest Navy.”

The Navy in February 2022 raised the maximum enlistment bonus to $50,000. Cdmr. Dave Benham, a spokesman for Navy Recruiting Command, told Navy Times at the time that he was not aware of any other previous instances in which enlistment bonuses had reached $50,000. Enlistment bonus and loan repayment program messages list the max at $40,000, dating back to 2006.

Exact amounts for bonuses are contingent upon when an applicant enters the Delayed Entry Program, ship date and the effective message at the time of classification. The Delayed Entry Program allows someone to join the Navy prior to the day they ship out to basic training.

Prior service members are not eligible for the bonuses if they received such a bonus during their first enlistment.

The Navy hit its active-duty enlisted recruitment goals for FY22, but was forced to drain its Delayed Entry Program to the lowest level in 40 years to meet those targets. The Navy did not reach targets for active duty and Navy Reserve officers, or Reserve enlisted personnel, in FY22.

The Navy’s FY24 budget request aims to increase its active duty end strength by more than 5,000 sailors, primarily through enlistment bonuses.

“Faced with a challenging recruiting environment, the Navy increased enlistment bonuses in FY 2022 and will continue to do so as necessary,” the budget document says. “Retention has also been difficult with a strong national economy, so bonuses and incentives to retain our current naval force [are] a priority.

“To attract the most talented and diverse workforce, the Navy continues to evaluate its compensation package and admission requirements, and how it reaches potential recruits through advertising and career events.”