150308‐N‐KE519‐136 EAST CHINA SEA (March 8, 2015) ‐A Sailor signals to the pilot of a V‐22 Osprey helicopter attached to the Flying Tigers of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 262 during flight operations aboard the forward deployed amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD 20). Green Bay is currently underway in the 7th Fleet Area of Operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Edward Guttierrez III/Released)A Thunderbirds fan shows off his autographed poster during the Nascar Kobalt Tools 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 8, 2015. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Manuel J. Martinez, Released)Crewmembers from the Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay take a dip in Lake Erie at sunset with the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Griffon and the motor vessel Algoma Hansa in the background, March 8, 2015. The crews of the Brstol Bay and Griffon created a path through the ice the during the day, before taking a break in the evening and waiting out the wind, which was closing lanes as fast as they were created by the ice breakers. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Gould)150308-N-WC566-149 PEARL HARBOR (March 8, 2015) – Chief petty officers congratulate retired Chief Boatswain’s Mate Jim Castaneda during an honorary chief petty officer pinning ceremony at Ford Island, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The pinning ceremony was held in honor of Castaneda, who was medically retired after suffering a debilitating stroke during active duty service in 2010. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Gabrielle Joyner/Released)150309-N-NT265-087 EAST CHINA SEA (March 9, 2015) – A Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), assigned to Naval Beach Unit (NBU) 7, sits in the well deck of the forward-deployed Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48). Ashland is currently underway in the 7th Fleet Area of Operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Christian Senyk/Released)150308-N-VO234-171 JIKDO ISLAND, Republic of Korea (March 8, 2015) Marine Capt. Alan Murphy, joint terminal attack controller for 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, Foal Eagle Detachment, currently embarked aboard the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), performs a sight survey on Jikdo Island as part of a training exercise during Foal Eagle 2015. Foal Eagle is a series of annual training events that are defense-oriented and designed to increase readiness and maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula while strengthening the ROK-U.S. alliance and promoting regional peace and stability. Fort Worth is currently on a 16-month rotational deployment in support of the U.S. Navy’s strategic rebalance and is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet across the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Conor Minto/Released)Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, greets an Iraqi defense official March 9 at the Ministry of Defense in Baghdad. While in Iraq, Dempsey met with U.S. and Iraqi political and military leaders to discuss the way forward in Operation Inherent Resolve.U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jacob Kasarda, assigned to U.S. Army Garrison Benelux, practices his sight picture on a M240 machine gun during Installation Management Command-Europe Best Warrior Competition at the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, March 9, 2015. (U.S. Army photo by Visual Information Specialist Markus Rauchenberger/released)Pfc. James Armentrout, a paratrooper with Company B, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade fires an AT-4 anti-tank weapon during a live-fire event here March 9. The brigade is conducting a multitude of training events in preparation for several multinational training events throughout Europe. The 173rd Airborne Brigade provides ready troops to deploy within 18 hours, anywhere in the U.S. European, Africa and Central Command areas of responsibility. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brett Hurd)LEBEDYNSKE, UKRAINE - MARCH 09: A Ukrainian soldier from the Azov Battalion jumps rope in a school gymnasium before being sent back to the front lines on March 9, 2015 in Lebedynske, Ukraine. The Ukrainian Army is currently fighting pro-Russian rebels for control of the village of Shyrokyne, east of the port city of Mariupol. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)Members of the Iraqi paramilitary Popular Mobilisation units, which are dominated by Shiite militias, celebrate after regaining control of the village of Albu Ajil, near the city of Tikrit, from jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group, on March 9, 2015. Some 30,000 Iraqi soldiers, police and the increasingly influential paramilitary Popular Mobilisation units, which are dominated by Shiite militias, have been involved in a week-old operation to recapture Tikrit, one of the jihadists' main hubs since they overran large parts of Iraq nine months ago. AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYEAHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty ImagesTOPSHOTS
Wounded soldiers train for the wheelchair basketball during the 5th annual Marine Corps Trials, hosted by the Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, California on March 5, 2015. The trials are an 8-sport Paralympic-style invitational event involving more than 300 wounded, ill, or injured Marines and international competitors from the US, Australia, Colombia, France, Georgia, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. AFP PHOTO/ MARK RALSTONMARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
The Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program aimed to help financially strapped veterans get lower interest rates and avoid eviction from their homes.
Officials are examining facilities across the military medical system, which could mean closing some facilities or downgrading some hospitals to clinics.
