According to Lt. Gen. Stephen Speakes, the Army’s top planner, the ground force does not seek to expand on the backs of the Air Force and Navy. (The Marine Corps, like the Army, is slated for expansion.) “We’re not into a zero-sum game, in which we are trying to take from the other services,” said Speakes, in a meeting with Washington reporters. Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army Chief of Staff, has been “real clear” that the Army needs “a very healthy and robust” Air Force and Navy contribution to combat operations. “What we’re asking for, then, is for Americans to make a decision about priorities”—i.e., to decide to spend more on the armed forces. “In recent years, we’ve spent more on Christmas [presents and parties] than we have on national defense. “It’s an issue of how much Americans want to put into defense, not our capability to do it.”
Pentagon Releases Cost of Living, BAH Rates for 2026
Dec. 30, 2025
The Pentagon will pay cost of living allowances to 127,000 service members in the continental U.S. in 2026, an increase of 66,000 members in 2025. Airmen and Guardians across the U.S. will also receive an average increase of 4.2 percent for their Basic Housing Allowance, compared to the 5.4 percent…
