The latest increment of airmen deployed to the 385th Air Expeditionary Group headquartered at Incirlik AB, Turkey, have flown 1,800 sorties for a total of 3,600 hours, hauled 65.6 million pounds of cargo, and off-loaded 21 million pounds of fuel over the course of four months. SSgt. Jeff Nevison reports that the group comprises the 90th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, rotationally staffed by Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command airmen who deploy from two weeks to 30 days and the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at Al Udeid AB, Qatar, and 817th EAS at Incirlik (with a detachment at Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan), manned by active duty airmen on 120-day tours. The reservists fly and maintain KC-135 tankers, and the active duty airmen fly and maintain C-17s. Since the creation of the 385th AEG at Incirlik about two years ago, units from Charleston AFB, S.C. and McChord AFB, Wash., have supplied the C-17 personnel and aircraft, but Stars and Stripes reports that McGuire AFB, N.J. will soon join that rotation.
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…
