The Winter Olympics will begin with the opening ceremony on Feb. 6 through Feb. 22, with more than 2,900 athletes from 92 countries and territories competing across 116 events.

Those eligible can stream the full coverage if they have an active ShopMyExchange.com account. Live streams of some practice and warm-up sessions and additional video content including event recaps, highlights, viral moments, interviews and more are included, officials stated in their announcement.

For those who don’t use the free service verified through ShopMyExchange.com, the streaming service through Peacock costs $10.99 per month, with advertising, or $16.99 per month, without advertising, according to the Peacock website.

To access the free streaming from computers or personal devices, viewers can visit NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports App, in the U.S., and choose the Exchange as their service provider. The ShopMyExchange.com site will verify those with an active account.

Content rights restrictions will apply to overseas locations where on-base residents must subscribe to internet service through an authorized provider, officials stated.

For more information on the free viewing, visit the Exchange’s Olympic Hub page, and the NBCOlympics information page.

This partnership between AAFES and NBCUniversal began in 2016, and has alternated between the summer and winter games every two years, with the exception of the Tokyo Games, which were delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said AAFES spokesman Chris Ward.

In the announcement, AAFES director and CEO Tom Shull described the free offering as a “quality-of-life multiplier so the games can be viewed wherever service members and their families are called to serve.”

“We believe moments like the Olympic Games have a unique power to connect people across the world,” Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics, added.

Troops and families are often involved in formal or informal activities to make the holidays better for the military community; whether it’s spouse clubs baking cookies for troops living in barracks, parties for military families to provide food or toys for children.

However, plenty of others are at work during the holidays — and some, all year long — to bring some extra cheer to troops and families.

Here is a curated list of activities that have been happening around the globe this holiday season, including military families who give back to their local community.

Fun, treats and toys

A number of organizations have long-standing traditions of events for military families, not just during the holidays, but all year. The nonprofit Operation Homefront has served more than 13,000 military families at about 100 holiday events across the country this season. Their Holiday Meals for Military primarily supports junior enlisted military families. Families received meal kits (and/or pantry staples) and grocery gift cards.

Armed Services YMCA’s branches around the country provide different Operation Holiday Joy events, such as allowing military families to go in and “shop” for gifts for their children, such as toys, books and bikes. Some chapters, such as Killeen, Texas, near Fort Hood, deliver the fixings for holiday meals. That YMCA chapter alone has provided 2,400 people with holiday meals, while the Alaska Armed Services YMCA hosted a Winter Holiday Train for 450 riders on Dec. 7.

Army Emergency Relief distributed over $150,000 in $100 gift cards to soldiers in 34 Army units around the globe from Germany to Korea, said Sean Ryan, spokesman for AER. Installation sergeants major and installation sergeant Audie Murphy club members helped with the distribution.

The nonprofit Trees for Troops has provided 326,273 fresh Christmas trees to service members since 2005. And while they are still tallying the numbers, they expect to exceed 19,000 trees this year at 94 bases, said Rick Dungey, executive director of Trees for Troops. The trees are supplied by more than 300 family-owned Christmas tree farms in more than 25 states.

Troops are feasting

The Defense Logistics Agency has already delivered the fixings for holiday meals for troops stationed around the world. While planning starts in the spring, they had to pivot to meet challenges, including when the Gerald Ford Carrier Strike Group was diverted to the U.S. Southern Command to support Operation Southern Spear.

Another challenge was avian bird flu import restrictions in Japan, which hindered the prime vendor from finding turkeys for service members there. They located turkeys elsewhere that met the requirements and were able to ship the birds into Japan, officials said in a press release.

Here’s what’s been delivered around the world:

• 101,943 pounds of turkey
• 85,439 pounds of beef
• 40,615 pounds of ham
• 24,495 pounds of shrimp
• 4,339 cans of sweet potatoes
• 6,426 cases of pies and cakes
• 1,496 cases of eggnog
• and other holiday treats

Giving back to others

Military families have a tradition of giving back, and that often steps up during the holidays. Throughout the holiday season, treats and necessities were delivered to veterans at local VA hospitals as well as to families staying at the local Fisher House. Others continued to help feed the needy and bring some Christmas cheer to children’s hospitals or orphanages.

For example, Air Force’s 492nd Fighter Squadron hosts an annual Christmas party for the East Anglia Children’s Hospices in Cambridge, England.

Operation Santa Claus has provided gifts, toys, backpacks and books to children in remote Alaskan communities since 1956. The Alaska Air and Army National Guard and the Department of Homeland Security, along with volunteers from the Salvation Army and the Alaska National Guard Child and Youth Program, hosted families from Kipnuk and Kwigillingok at the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage, Alaska, on Dec. 14, 2025.

This year’s event supported families who were displaced following Typhoon Halong.

Defense Commissary Agency officials have awarded a contract for the delivery to OnPoint, a delivery service previously known as ChowCall, said Todd Waldemar, founder and CEO of the company. The 70 commissaries that are part of the contract include eight pilot locations that have been offering the delivery service since 2022. Waldemar said the remaining 62 stores will be offering the service by Jan. 11.

“These 70 include the largest military markets, so I estimate that they represent over half of the total [U.S.] military population,” Waldemar said.

A spokesman for commissary officials did not immediately confirm the award of the contract, and it had not been published on Sam.gov by the time this article was published.

The contract includes the flexibility to expand to the remaining 108 commissaries in the United States. That expansion to all 178 commissaries is optional and is up to the commissary agency, Waldemar said.

“But we hope to get delivery in all markets as soon as we can. I think it would be realistic to see all markets have delivery by the summer,” he said, emphasizing that he does not speak for the commissary agency.

Commissary officials are not considering doorstep delivery for overseas commissaries because of overseas regulatory constraints.

The initial contract award is for $14 million, Waldemar said. Delivery will be available within a 20-mile radius of the commissaries.

Commissary officials have provided an online, curbside pickup service for customers for a number of years, and have been working to find a way to provide the delivery service, too.

“We need this. Our customers want and need this contract,” John Hall, director of the Defense Commissary Agency, told a meeting in March.

“I’m really excited about this,” he said at the time.

Under the system, customers order groceries online, which are retrieved by store employees who pick the items and hand the orders over to OnPoint. OnPoint then delivers the groceries to the customer’s location. The delivery can occur as soon as three hours after the order is submitted, depending on the location, because commissaries need the time to pack the order.

The commissary agency will not subsidize the delivery costs for customers. The fee will be $17.75 for those within 10 miles and $31.25 for those within 11 to 20 miles. The commissary agency does not have the flexibility in pricing delivery fees that commercial retailers do, because of their limitations in marking up prices, for example.

Customers pay the delivery fee in addition to the cost of their groceries, the usual 5% commissary surcharge, and any tip for the driver.

OnPoint has been gearing up for the expansion, and is also hiring delivery drivers in all 70 areas, Waldemar said. About 80% of their employees are affiliated with the military, as spouses or veterans, for example. They are paid according to the wage scale under the Service Contract Act, which varies from area to area, and also receive fringe benefits, he said.

ChowCall/OnPoint has delivered more than 40,000 loads of groceries since beginning commissary deliveries in June 2022, Waldemar said.

Customers using the current delivery pilot program range from active-duty families to troops living in barracks, retirees and disabled veterans and people who want to get a head start on shopping or a bite to eat while at work. The service can be especially helpful to young families of troops who are deployed, such as spouses with young children, Waldemar said.

More than 50% of customers using the delivery are within 5 miles of their commissary, he said.

Those eligible for the commissary shopping benefit include active-duty, Guard and Reserve members, military retirees, Medal of Honor recipients and their authorized family members. Veterans with any Veterans Affairs Department-documented, service-connected disability rating are now eligible for commissary shopping, as well as Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war and those who have been approved and designated as the primary caregivers of eligible veterans by the VA.

Waldemar said he has received positive feedback from customers about the delivery, including some disabled veterans who said they depend on the commissary delivery. One veteran who cannot drive called it a lifeline, Waldemar said.

“Our mission is to really solve this problem, and really make a big impact across the whole military for quality of life,” Waldemar said. His company has made over 2 million deliveries of food and merchandise to military bases for 15 years, he said.

“The problem as we see it, is that the delivery of goods and services is either nonexistent or minimal in most military markets,” he said. So those who live and work on military bases do not have as many options as everyone else does, he said, partially because access to military bases is harder.

“We want to solve that problem by giving more options to the military, more options to the dependents in family housing, more options to the young service member who doesn’t have a vehicle, stuck in the barracks.

“My son, for example, just enlisted in the Air Force. He’s living in barracks. He told me the other day, totally unsolicited, ‘Dad I finally understand what your company does,’ because he’s on a base where all he can get is pizza from the gas station down the road.

“That’s it. We want to totally change that. We want to have options, we want to have convenience for everybody that’s on bases.”

Alabama

• Fort Rucker (formerly Fort Novosel)

Arizona

• Davis-Monthan AFB
• Fort Huachuca
• Luke AFB

California

• Camp Pendleton MCB
• Miramar MCAS
• San Diego NB
• Ord Military Community
• Travis AFB

Colorado

• Fort Carson
• Peterson SFB

Connecticut

• New London NSB

Florida

• Eglin AFB
• Hurlburt Field
• Jacksonville NAS
• MacDill AFB
• Patrick SFB
• Pensacola NAS

Georgia

• Fort Benning (formerly Fort Moore)
• Fort Gordon (formerly Fort Eisenhower)
• Fort Stewart

Hawaii

• Hickam JBPHH
• Kaneohe Bay MCBH
• Pearl Harbor JBPHH
• Schofield Barracks

Illinois

• Scott AFB
• Great Lakes NS

Kansas

• Fort Leavenworth
• Fort Riley

Kentucky

• Fort Campbell
• Fort Knox

Louisiana

• Fort Polk (formerly Fort Johnson)
• Barksdale AFB

Maryland

• Andrews AFB
• Fort Meade

Mississippi

• Keesler AFB

Missouri

• Fort Leonard Wood
• Whiteman AFB

Nebraska

• Offutt AFB

Nevada

• Nellis AFB

New Jersey

• McGuire AFB

New York

• Fort Drum
• West Point Military Academy

North Carolina

• Camp Lejeune MCB
• New River MCAS
• Fort Bragg North & South locations (formerly Fort Liberty North & South locations)

North Dakota

• Minot AFB

Ohio

• Wright Patterson AFB

Oklahoma

• Fort Sill
• Tinker AFB

Puerto Rico

• Fort Buchanan

South Carolina

• Shaw AFB

Texas

• Fort Bliss
• Randolph AFB
• Fort Sam Houston
• Lackland AFB
• Fort Hood-Clear Creek location (formerly Fort Cavazos-Clear Creek location)

Virginia

• Fort Eustis
• Langley AFB
• Little Creek JBLCFS
• Norfolk Naval Station
• Oceana NAS
• Fort Belvoir
• Fort Myer
• Fort Lee (formerly Fort Gregg Adams)
• Quantico MCB

Washington

• Fort Lewis Main
• McChord AFB
• Whidbey Island NAS

Even with the shorter timeline, that includes service members on board about a dozen ships participating in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific in their “Southern Spear” operation against drug cartels, which began a few months ago.

The planning for the worldwide holiday food deliveries begins in the spring, when the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support team gets order forecasts from the services. DLA relays the information to their vendors around the world, and they begin ordering products for the meals.

While DLA can’t provide specific numbers of items sent to specific regions, all Navy ships, including those deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility, received their Thanksgiving provisions by the end of October, according to a spokesman for the Defense Logistics Agency. A number of the ships in that area will soon get fresh produce and bakery items from Puerto Rico to supplement their frozen holiday items, he said.

National Guard troops deployed to locations within the U.S. are also getting their holiday meals at those locations. “DLA is tracking that all menu items are projected to be satisfied in full prior to Thanksgiving,” the spokesman said, but numbers weren’t available.

In addition to the 152,626 pounds of turkey, including whole and roasted, here’s what’s arrived for the troops’ menus specifically at overseas locations:

• 124,022 pounds of beef
• 66,054 pounds of ham
• 38,081 pounds of shrimp
• 6,512 cans of sweet potatoes
• 15,282 cases of pies and cakes
• 792 cases of eggnog
• and other holiday treats

DLA is unable to track precise numbers for amounts of food provided for Thanksgiving feasts for troops at stateside locations, the spokesman said.

The government shutdown didn’t affect the preparations for the holiday meals, he confirmed. Much of the work is done well ahead of time, and Defense Department guidance exempted any operations related to troop feeding from being affected.

The offer was announced Oct. 6 to provide financial relief during the government shutdown. There was an immediate spike in the number of families using their Military Star card at commissaries, said Lee Kelley, principal director in the office of military community and family policy, during a family forum Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army.

When eligible customers use their Military Star card at the commissary through Oct. 31, there is no interest charged and no payments required for three months. The offer applies to commissary purchases made between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31. Existing and new Military Star card holders can take advantage of the offer.

In the eight days after the offer was announced Oct. 6, commissary sales using the Military Star card were up by 13.9%, compared to the same period in the prior year, said Julie Mitchell, spokesman for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which manages the credit card.

Here’s how it works

The Military Star card can be used at any of the military exchanges, their online stores and commissaries, as well as morale, welfare and recreation activities and other retail locations and eateries on base.

Troops and families who use the credit card to make other purchases in addition to commissary purchases will still benefit from the offer. According to AAFES, the payment a customer makes on the credit card bill is applied first to the part of the balance with the highest interest rate.

Regardless of whether a customer makes a new purchase at a location besides the commissary, or has a balance from those purchases elsewhere, their minimum payment and any additional payment would be applied first to those purchases with the higher interest rate, not the commissary purchase, for 90 days.

For example, if the customer has a $200 previous balance on their credit card, and then makes a $100 purchase at the commissary before Oct. 31, a payment toward their credit card will be applied to the previous $200 balance.

The current interest rate for the Military Star card is 14.24%. According to a Bankrate.com study, the average retail credit card charges 30.14% in 2025. All Military Star card holders get the same interest rate, regardless of rank or credit score.

Once the 90 days is up, no back interest will be charged, but customers will pay interest on any remaining balances going forward.

Those eligible for the Military Star card are active duty, Guard and Reserve personnel, retirees and their families and survivors, as well as Purple Heart recipients, disabled veterans and certain others.

For currently serving military members, the monthly premiums for Service Members’ Group Life Insurance, or SGLI, coverage will decrease from 6 cents to 5 cents per $1,000.

In addition to a monthly premium, service members also pay $1 per month for SGLI Traumatic Injury Protection coverage.

For example, with the drop in premiums, a service member with the maximum SGLI coverage of $500,000 will now pay $26 per month — including the $1 for Traumatic SGLI — down from the current $31.

All service members pay the same rate, regardless of age, with coverage available in increments of $50,000.

The reductions are the result of the “sound financial standing” of the insurance programs, according to the Department of Veteran Affairs, which administers the programs.

The reductions will be automatic, meaning troops and veterans don’t need to take any action.

Family Service Members’ Group Life Insurance

For spouses covered by Family SGLI, premiums will decrease by an average of 13%, ranging between 11% and 22%, according to the VA. Rates vary by the spouse’s age. For example, premiums for a spouse under the age of 35 will drop from $4.50 to $4 per month for the maximum $100,000 of coverage.

Premiums for spouses between the ages of 40 and 44 will drop from $7 to $6.20 per month.

If the spouse is in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, or DEERS, the premium is automatically deducted from the service member’s pay. If the spouse isn’t in DEERS, the service member is still responsible for paying the premiums.

Coverage for spouses is available in increments starting at $10,000.

Veterans Group Life Insurance

For veterans covered by Veterans Group Life Insurance, or VGLI, the decreases will average about 11%, with reductions ranging from 2% to 17%. VGLI premiums vary by age.

However, unlike service members’ rates, VGLI rates increase every five years as the veteran ages, starting at age 30. For veterans age 29 and younger, the monthly cost for $500,000 of coverage will be $30, a decrease of $5 from the current premium. For $100,000 of coverage, the cost will be $6 per month, down by $1.

For veterans age 40 to 44, the monthly premium for $500,000 of coverage will drop by $10 to $70. Meanwhile, for those 80 and older, the monthly premium for $500,000 will decrease from $2,250 to $2,200.

SGLI coverage doesn’t automatically carry over after leaving the military. Everyone leaving the military with SGLI coverage qualifies to sign up for VGLI, with certain time limits. However, VGLI is more expensive than SGLI, so experts advise shopping around for other life insurance options. An advantage of VGLI is that those who sign up within 240 days of leaving the military don’t need to prove they’re in good health.

The special enrollment period for health care flexible spending accounts will run from March 3 through March 31.

In essence, a health care flexible spending account, or FSA, is a savings account that can be used to pay for items not covered by health or dental insurance. Such accounts have been available for years to employees of many federal agencies and private companies.

Service members can contribute any amount between $100 and $3,300 in pretax earnings this year toward eligible out-of-pocket health care expenses. The Internal Revenue Service determines eligible expenses and contribution limits, the latter of which may vary by tax year.

By contributing to FSAs, the taxable income decreases by the contribution amount. Savings average 30% on eligible health care expenses, according to the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program, or FSAFEDS, which administers the FSA program for the Defense Department and other federal agencies.

Savings depend on a variety of factors, including individual and household tax situations.

In an example provided by the Defense Department, if a service member’s annual salary is $50,000 and they contribute $3,300 to a health care FSA and also $5,000 to a dependent care FSA, they will only be taxed on an income of $41,700.

Defense officials began offering service members dependent care FSAs, which help defray the cost of dependent care, in 2024.

If a married service member and their spouse are both eligible to enroll in a health care FSA through their employers and maintain two separate accounts, the household can contribute between $200 and $6,600 per year.

Health care FSAs will be available to members of the active component and reservists performing Active Guard and Reserve duty, including members of the National Guard performing such duty. U.S. Coast Guard reservists, including Reserve component managers, performing active duty for more than 180 days are also eligible.

Although this year’s FSA period covers approximately 10 months, service members can still contribute up to the annual maximum of $3,300 during that period. It’s automatically deducted from each paycheck or accelerated over fewer pay periods and deposited into the service member’s FSA.

Once enrolled, service members have between the date following enrollment and Dec. 31, 2025, to spend their funds. Claims for expenses must be submitted no later than April 30 of the following year. Service members must submit receipts with their claims for reimbursement. They can carry over up to $660 of unused funds into the next year if they reenroll in a health care FSA.

The health care FSA program is not part of Tricare.

More than 300 health care expenses are eligible for reimbursement through the FSA, including co-pays and deductibles; out-of-pocket costs for braces; glasses and contact lenses; prescription drugs; over-the-counter medicines; bandages; and wellness treatments such as acupuncture, massage and chiropractic care. Other expenses, such as condoms, over-the-counter pregnancy tests and menstrual care products, are also eligible.

Service members can enroll online at fsafeds.gov. Here’s how to enroll:

• Select “Qualifying Life Event,” or QLE, from the “Enroll in a Plan” drop-down menu.
• Select the QLE titled “Special Enrollment Period for Members of the Uniformed Services March 3-31.”
• Enter the date of enrollment as the QLE event date.
• Follow the remaining instructions.

The FSA will be activated within a few business days of enrollment. The “election effective date” will be updated to the date of the day after enrollment.

Defense officials advise service members and their spouses to speak with a tax consultant or personal financial manager for an understanding of how the FSA might affect their family’s finances and tax situation. These services are available at no charge to service members and their families through Military OneSource and the Office of Financial Readiness.

Meanwhile, service members can start gathering previous health care expense receipts and pricing items to prepare for the special enrollment period.

After the special enrollment period ends, service members can next enroll in a health care FSA during federal benefits open season between mid-November and mid-December. There are also certain qualifying life circumstances that allow service members to change their elections throughout the calendar year.

Federal agencies “shall” allow military spouses to continue working remotely, and agencies may continue appointing spouses to remote work positions, according to a memo issued Wednesday by Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM.

The new guidance clarifies a Jan. 27 memo from OPM and the Office of Management and Budget that included a footnote stating agencies “should also exclude military spouses working remotely based on the Military Spouse Employment Act” from the return-to-office requirement.

The Jan. 27 memo directed agencies to prepare plans to return all eligible employees to in-person work, with exceptions for those excused for compelling reasons certified by the agency head and employee supervisor. It further noted military spouses working remotely had a compelling reason not to return to in-person work and agencies “should” exempt them from the requirement.

In the wake of the Jan. 27 memo, some military spouses with federal jobs experienced uncertainty and angst about the new policy requiring in-person work. Advocates were concerned the guidance didn’t explicitly require federal agencies to exempt military spouses from the return-to-office requirement, potentially leading to inconsistent policies across agencies.

Being able to work remotely, whether in the continental U.S. or overseas, allows military spouses to continue their careers despite frequent moves to new duty stations with their service members. Working remotely opens up more opportunities for military spouses who can be appointed to remote work positions.

Military spouses have long battled problems with unemployment, largely associated with these frequent moves. The military spouse unemployment rate has remained stubbornly above 20%, according to Defense Department surveys.

The new guidance applies to spouses of active-duty members, spouses of deceased service members who died while on active duty and haven’t remarried and spouses of disabled service members who retired or otherwise left the service with a 100% disability rating. It also applies to spouses of U.S. Foreign Service members on overseas assignments.

The guidance also clarifies that agencies must allow military spouses to continue working remotely regardless of whether they were appointed under the Military Spouse Employment Act and covers those appointed under other appropriate hiring authorities. That applies to future appointments of military spouses to remote work positions.

While many beneficiaries will see a small decrease in their premiums, the biggest changes affect active-duty families and certain Reserve members and their families in pay grades E-4 and below. Active duty families in those ranks with more than one family member insured will see a drop of 29%, from $31.46 to $22.48, a difference of $8.98. Previous rates didn’t vary by rank.

The new monthly rates take effect March 1, but families will see the change in their February bill because it’s a pay-ahead program. The February bill covers March coverage. Reductions, which depend on service members’ status, rank and enrollment type, range from $0.57 to $8.98 a month, compared to the previous rates that were implemented in November, which also reflected reductions.

The program is a voluntary dental plan available to active-duty family members, National Guard and Reserve members and their family members. Those eligible can enroll at any time.

In addition to monthly premiums, beneficiaries also pay co-payments for certain services, which have remained the same under the new contract, such as 20% for basic restorative services. There is no co-pay for diagnostic and preventive services, and there is no annual deductible.

The program also now offers more dentists, including specialists, closer to beneficiaries, according to Tricare officials. It also allows those covered to have online appointments with dentists for checkups, planning care and other basic services.

United Concordia will continue to administer the Tricare Dental Program. These rates are effective through Feb. 28, 2026.

United Concordia has dentists in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Beneficiaries overseas can also search for a provider in their country in United Concordia’s online list of Tricare OCONUS Preferred Dentists.

Tricare dental coverage, which is separate from Tricare medical coverage, requires separate enrollment.

Active-duty members receive most of their dental care at military clinics under the Active Duty Dental Program.

New monthly rates for the Tricare Dental Program

Active-duty families, E-4 and below

• Sponsor only: Doesn’t apply
• One family member: $8.65; down from $12.10
• More than one family member: $22.48; down from $31.46

Active-duty families, E-5 and above

• Sponsor only: Doesn’t apply
• One family member: $11.53; down from $12.10.
• More than one family member: $29.98; down from $31.46

Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve (mobilization), E-4 and below

• Sponsor only: $8.65; down from $12.10
• One family member: $28.82; down from $30.25
• Family: $74.94; down from $78.64
• Sponsor and family: $83.59; down from $90.74

Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve (mobilization), E-5 and above

• Sponsor only: $11.53; down from $12.10
• One family member: $28.82; down from $30.25
• Family: $74.94; down from $78.64
• Sponsor and family: $86.47; down from $90.74

Individual Ready Reserve (nonmobilization)

• Sponsor only: $28.82; down from $30.25
• One family member: $28.82; down from $30.25
• Family: $74.94; down from $78.64
• Sponsor and family: $103.76; down from $108.89

The average scores of students in Department of Defense Education Activity schools ranged from 14 to 25 points higher than the national averages in math and reading in the two grades of students who took the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests. DODEA students were ranked at the top of the states in each of the tests.

The NAEP tests were administered across the country between January and March 2024. The NAEP is the only nationally representative assessment of what American students know and can do in various subject areas, and they’re conducted periodically.

Not all students take the NAEP. In most cases, it’s a representative sample of students, but in DODEA schools, all the students in the designated grades take the test that particular year.

With scores increasing or decreasing by one point – or remaining the same – in each of the tests, students in DOD schools held their own in comparison to their scores in 2022, the last time the tests were administered. That year, DOD schools also led the nation in reading and math scores for 4th and 8th graders.

“I am delighted that DODEA has once again performed exceptionally well on the National Assessment of Educational Progress,” said DODEA Director Beth Schiavino-Narvaez, in an announcement of the results. “Credit for this success belongs to our incredible teachers, administrators, and staff of DODEA, and most importantly to our students and their families, for all their hard work and dedication.”

While the gap is widening between DODEA and the nation’s public schools, it’s largely due to the lack of progress in the public schools. The results for the nation as a whole show that “the nation’s 4th and 8th graders are not making the level of progress needed to regain ground lost during the pandemic,” officials with the National Center for Education Statistics said in a press release.

The military’s school system continued to focus on in-person learning while navigating the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

DODEA operates 161 accredited schools in 11 foreign countries, seven states, Guam and Puerto Rico, including the DODEA Virtual School. There are nearly 900,000 military school-age children, and of those, about 65,000 attend DODEA schools.

Because there are relatively few DODEA schools and military families move frequently, children transition in and out of DODEA schools. It remains to be seen whether there will be lasting effects on military children because of remote learning in public schools they attended during COVID-19, before enrolling into a DODEA school.

“That’s a good question to ask. Any analysis of DODEA school scores needs to take into account that the majority of students are not in DODEA for a long time,” said Eileen Huck, acting director of government relations for the National Military Family Association. “Kids are generally only in DODEA schools for a short period of time. They have one or two school years before they transition into the next school district after a military move.”

The NAEP math and reading scale scores range from 0 to 500. The DODEA scores in reading and math have generally remained steady since 2017. The NAEP also separates the scores into categories of those students performing at or above the basic level, at or above proficient or at an advanced level.

Among the findings in reading:

• The average score in reading for DODEA 4th graders was 234, which is 20 points higher than their counterparts in the nation’s public schools. In 2024, 48% of DODEA 4th graders performed at or above the NAEP proficient level in reading, compared to 30% in the nation’s public schools.
• The average score in reading for DODEA 8th graders was 282, which is 25 points higher than their counterparts in the nation’s public schools. In 2024, 53% of DODEA 8th graders scored at or above NAEP proficient levels in reading, compared to 29% in the nation’s public schools.

In math:

• The average score for DODEA 4th graders in math was 251, which is 14 points higher than their counterparts in the nation’s public schools. In 2024, 54% of DODEA 4th graders scored at or above NAEP proficient levels in math, compared to 39% in the nation’s public schools.
• The average score for DODEA 8th graders in math was 291, which was 19 points higher than their counterparts in the nation’s public schools. In 2024, 41% of DODEA 8th graders scored at or above the NAEP proficient levels in math, compared to 27% of their counterparts in the nation’s public schools.