WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s monthslong hold on military promotions in 2023 upended some military families’ lives but did not endanger military readiness, according to a government watchdog report.
The Government Accountability Office report found that the hold did not create challenges to military readiness and the Pentagon’s ability to meet missions, despite Department of Defense officials warning in 2023 that the hold could pose risks to national security.
“A DOD official from the office that oversees the strategic and operational readiness of the services also told us that the readiness data did not show an impact on unit readiness stemming from the 2023 hold,” the report read.
However, the blockade on military promotions did impact military families, according to the report.
Tuberville started the military promotion blockade, which lasted 10 months and impacted more than 400 senior military leader nominations, in opposition to the Pentagon’s rules that allowed servicemembers and their families to get reimbursed for traveling out of state for an abortion or reproductive care.
The Pentagon reversed the policy in January, which Tuberville said at the time proved his hold was “worth it.”
The report found that the hold disrupted the promotion cycle for some officers and disrupted the flow of leadership across the Department of Defense. This resulted in some officers’ pay raises being delayed. The report estimated the raises could have ranged from $350 to $2,106 per month.
The blockade also had varying effects on military families, with some experiencing little impact and others unable to move or find schooling for their children or jobs for their spouses.
“DOD officials cited military families’ inability to move to planned duty stations, enroll children at their next schools on time, and seek new spousal employment opportunities as financial and personal challenges stemming from the hold,” the report read.
One example highlighted how the Marine Corps cancelled an officer’s planned move because the officer was needed to fill a position whose nomination was on hold. The officer’s items had already been shipped in anticipation of the move. While another officer’s child couldn’t enroll in a new school because of the hold.
The report also noted that “officers with elderly parents, family members with medical conditions, school-age children, and spouses with employment opportunities faced hardships due to the instability as a result of the hold.”
The report notes that the DOD took multiple steps to mitigate the potential negative impacts that could result from the hold. They included asking incumbents to stay in place until their successor was confirmed, having some officers work in an acting or temporary capacity, and creating special assistant roles so officers and families could stay or move to their planned duty stations.