The active
duty and reserve components are mixing and matching C-130 Hercules units and airmen in new ways, including forming the first active associate Herk unit with the newly relocated Air Force Reserve Command 440th Airlift Wing at Pope AFB, N.C. The 440th moved its flag from Wisconsin to North Carolina in June and is now flying missions out of Pope. Capt. Rickardo Bodden reports that the Reserve wing’s operations group will comprise four squadrons, two Reserve and two active, each supply one airlift and one aeromedical evacuation squadron. Following on the heels of the 440th active associate arrangement will be a similar one for AFRC’s 302nd AW at Peterson AFB, Colo. And, there will be a C-130 air reserve component associate lash-up between AFRC’s 914th AW and the New York Air National Guard’s 107th Air Refueling Wing, which loses its KC-135 tankers under BRAC 2005. New York lawmakers questioned the Air Force in the spring about specific details for that association, but apparently it is still a work in progress.
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…

