The 2007 defense authorization bill, now awaiting President Bush’s signature, pushes forward any decision on whether to elevate the status of the chief of the National Guard Bureau. The measure calls for the Congressionally chartered Commission on the National Guard and Reserves to submit a report by March 1, 2007, on the ramifications of the issue. This decision by the House-Senate conference committee did not sit well with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), one of the key proponents for what is termed the National Guard empowerment reforms. Leahy wrote in a three-page statement: “I have been around here over 30 years, and almost every Senator here knows the National Guard as well as any commission member. We don’t need to wait, and we don’t need to study the question of enhancing the Guard further. This is a terrible blow against rational defense policy-making.”
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…
