The defense funding bill President Obama just signed will do some helpful things for the country as a whole and Alaskans in particular. It fixes the snafu that left two dozen WWII-era veterans of the Alaska Territorial Guard with lower retirement payments than they deserved. It took a lot of work by Senators Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski to overcome perplexing resistance from the Obama administration on that one.

The bill also has provisions that help ensure better care for those who are injured while serving our country.

"Many wounded service members have been discharged prematurely," Sen. Murkowski noted Wednesday, "and this has compromised their recovery and imposed additional hardships upon them and their families." She worked with Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, to ensure more thorough evaluation and treatment of the nation's wounded warriors. They who give so much for their country deserve the best possible care.

President Obama was pleased with the major thrust of the defense funding bill. He wanted to cut pork-barrel spending on military hardware that doesn't fit today's needs and invest instead in weapons and strategies that enable the country to defend itself against real threats.

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