Karen Jowers, Military Times Journalist Profile

Articles

Hegseth orders immediate changes to troops’ household goods program

2 weeks ago | militarytimes.com | Karen Jowers

With peak military moving season in full swing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered immediate changes to the system that moves troops’ household goods, in light of “recent deficiencies” in the performance of the new Global Household Goods Contract, according to a Pentagon memo.
Hegseth orders immediate changes to troops’ household goods program

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Karen Jowers

This article has been updated to include information from HomeSafe Alliance. With peak military moving season in full swing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered immediate changes to the system that moves troops’ household goods, in light of “recent deficiencies” in the performance of the new Global Household Goods Contract, according to a Pentagon memo.
Warren presses Hegseth about fluoridation’s impact on readiness

2 weeks ago | militarytimes.com | Karen Jowers

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has sent a letter pressing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for answers about how potentially ending fluoride use in drinking water, as recently championed by the Trump administration’s health care chief, could undermine military readiness. Warren’s Thursday letter comes as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.
TSA trained to accept military IDs in lieu of REAL IDs, officials say

2 weeks ago | militarytimes.com | Karen Jowers

Military-connected travelers should be able to board domestic flights simply by showing their military ID, as Transportation Security Administration officers are trained to accept them in lieu of a REAL ID, a TSA spokesman said. As of May 7, individuals must show a REAL ID, or acceptable alternative, to board domestic commercial flights, visit military installations and access certain federal facilities. REAL ID driver’s licenses are identified by a star in the upper right-hand corner.
From space to barbed wire, museums welcome military families for free

2 weeks ago | militarytimes.com | Karen Jowers

Want to explore more than 2,000 varieties of barbed wire in the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum? Or get an in-depth look inside the Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington? Then check out this year’s Blue Star Museums program with free opportunities for military families around the country. About 2,000 museums are offering free admission to currently serving military personnel and up to five family members now through Sept. 1, Labor Day.
More than 600 child care slots coming to these military families

2 weeks ago | militarytimes.com | Karen Jowers

A Defense Department pilot program is opening up more than 600 additional child care spaces in three new child care centers for military families in Norfolk, Virginia Beach and the National Capital Region, helping to make a dent in a waiting list that exceeds more than 2,000 in those areas. Defense officials awarded the contract for the pilot program in March 2024 to the nonprofit Armed Services YMCA.
Thousands in West Region being booted out of military’s Tricare

1 month ago | militarytimes.com | Karen Jowers

Thousands of beneficiaries are finding out they are being disenrolled from Tricare health care coverage in the West Region because they didn’t set up recurring payments by an April 30 deadline. “We anticipate the total being approximately 30,000 beneficiaries” who will be disenrolled in the process that is currently under way, TriWest officials said in a statement to Military Times. Those who want to reinstate their coverage must do so by June 30.
Thousands in West Region being booted out of military’s Tricare

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Karen Jowers

Thousands of beneficiaries are finding out they are being disenrolled from Tricare health care coverage in the West Region because they didn’t set up recurring payments by an April 30 deadline. “We anticipate the total being approximately 30,000 beneficiaries” who will be disenrolled in the process that is currently under way, TriWest officials said in a statement to Military Times. Those who want to reinstate their coverage must do so by June 30.
Babysitter sentenced for baby’s death in Hawaii military housing

1 month ago | militarytimes.com | Karen Jowers

A former babysitter has been sentenced to 20 years in prison following her manslaughter conviction in the 2019 overdose death of a 7-month-old baby in privatized military housing in Hawaii. Dixie Denise Villa, 46, was sentenced Wednesday in Hawaii civilian court, more than six years after baby Abigail Lobisch died on Feb. 23, 2019, from an antihistamine overdose in Villa’s unlicensed daycare at her house at Aliamanu Military Reservation in Honolulu.
DOD educator unions sue Trump over collective bargaining rights

1 month ago | militarytimes.com | Karen Jowers

Unions representing thousands of educators in Department of Defense Education Activity schools have filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order excluding certain federal workers from the right to collective bargaining. The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues Trump’s executive order issued on March 27 violates the First and Fifth Amendment rights of educators and their unions.