Afghanistan: Pentagon budget would affect cost of living for troops and families --- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Monday proposed trimming the Defense Department’s personnel costs with cuts in military benefits, pay and troop numbers. -- The Pentagon’s 2015 budget request, due for release next Tuesday, would reduce housing allowances, increase health-care fees for active-duty families and military retirees, slash commissary subsidies by 71 percent and place a one-year hold on pay raises for the highest-ranking officers. The plan also calls for shrinking the Army to its smallest size in 74 years. -- Many of the changes would increase the cost of living for U.S. troops, veterans and their families. Military groups have said they will fight those proposals. -- “Washington is trying to balance the budget on the backs of those who have sacrificed the most,” said Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America chief executive Paul Rieckhoff. “We know the Defense Department must make difficult budget decisions, but these cuts would hit service members, making it harder for them and their families to make ends meet.” -- Hagel defended some of the Pentagon proposals while outlining them Monday at a news conference. -- “We recognize that no one serving our nation in uniform today is overpaid for what they do for our country,” the Pentagon chief said. “But if we continue on the current course without making these modest adjustments now, the choices will only grow more difficult and more painful down the road.” -- The Pentagon plan would also reduce subsidies for the commissaries where troops can buy discounted groceries, lowering the amount from $1.4 billion to $400 million over three years. Hagel said the stores would still pay no rent or taxes, and the stores in rural areas and overseas would continue to receive direct financial support.