Lawmakers want some assurance that USAF has not “prematurely ruled out” adding Transformational Satellite-like capabilities to the more mature Advanced Extremely High Frequency or Wideband Gapfiller satellites to satisfy the military’s global communications needs. (AEHF is slated to replace Milstar communications satellites, beginning in 2008, and to be replaced itself by TSAT. WGS is an interim, largely commercial product, bridging the gap between current high-data rate broadcast systems and TSAT.) The 2006 defense spending bill expresses Congressional concern that TSAT lacks “technical maturity.” Appropriators cut the TSAT program by $400 million, despite threat of an Administration veto. (President Bush has signed the bill into law.) Oh, lawmakers also want an independent review on this program.
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…
