U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor announced that the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed the U.S. House of Representatives today, includes a pay increase for servicemembers, important new investments for special operations, authorizes replacement of the Air Force’s KC-135 tankers with new KC-46 aerial refueling tankers, and provides significant polices for MacDill Air Force Base and servicemembers.  The bill now moves to the U.S. Senate for a vote and then to the President’s desk.

“MacDill Air Force Base and its missions are strengthened and our men and women in uniform and their families remain a top priority under the 2015 Act,” U.S. Rep. Castor said. “Specifically for our community, U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) will receive greater investments to develop the unique skills, agility and equipment necessary to address the unconventional and complicated threats to America’s national security.”  The Act authorizes $7.7 billion for SOCOM. 

The Act also authorizes $26 million in additional funding for behavioral and psychological health programs and initiatives, specifically for special operations forces.

“We are concerned about higher suicide rates among special forces compared to military overall. Additional resources for behavioral and psychological health for special forces will build upon our community efforts to seek solutions in military and veteran suicides,” U.S. Rep. Castor said. “Numerous organizations in Tampa Bay – from mission commanders at MacDill to USF mental health researchers to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay looking to reach more than 300,000 veterans and military members in our region – came together at a roundtable discussion I hosted recently. Many had never met but want to further collaborate to prevent more suicides in our community.”

The Act also authorizes $2.2 billion in procurement and development funds for the KC-46A – the Air Force’s next generation aerial refueling aircraft – and the replacement for KC-135. U.S. Rep. Castor shared good news relating to the MacDill Means Mobility effort earlier in the year when she announced that MacDill would receive additional KC-135 aircraft in future years as the Air Force begins the multi-decade tanker replacement.

Other important provisions of the Act: 

• Authorizes a number of specific activities relating to the Islamic State in Iraq, but none of these are considered a broader authorization to use military force (AUMF) against ISIL. Despite Rep. Castor’s view that debate on an AUMF relating to ISIS should have taken place this fall, Congress will likely debate the matter in January. The NDAA authorizes the $3.4 billion request for sustaining U.S. personnel forward-deployed to the Middle East, providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms, replenishing munitions expended while conducting airstrikes against ISIL, and financing operations and maintenance costs for air, ground and naval operations to date.
• Authorizes and extends a critical special operations counterterrorism authority – the so-called 1208 authority – which permits special operations forces to work with indigenous or surrogate forces in support of ongoing U.S. operations. The authority is used throughout the Middle East and Africa, and the NDAA would extend the authority through 2017 and raise the authorized amount from $50 million to $75 million. The NDAA also provides the Commander of United States Special Operations Command with enhanced rapid acquisition authority.
• Sexual assault, sexual harassment and domestic violence policies are modernized in the Act, while U.S. Rep. Castor believes they could be stronger still.
• The busy Mission Support Facility at MacDill Air Force Base also should be in line for review under a Castor priority to address the black mold in the building. The Act encourages the “Department of Defense and the military departments to continue taking cost-effective, timely, and appropriate actions to prevent the formation of, and remediate reported cases of, indoor mold in facilities located on military installations.”

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