The Air Force will submit its program objective memoranda—its proposed five-year plan—to the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the end of this month, and it may include some buybacks of people and capability, Air Force Reserve chief Lt. Gen. J.J. Jackson said Tuesday. Speaking with reporters after an AFA-sponsored, Air Force breakfast speech in Arlington, Va., Jackson noted that the Fiscal 2016 proposal included adding back “about 2,100 positions” to the Reserve, and “if you watched their testimony, the Chief and the Secretary continue to sound that theme, that our Air Force is too small.” The additional 2,100 positions were meant to help with “cyber units [and] ISR work,” but “a significant part of that is going to F-35 maintenance.” The boost is meant to replace some of the seasoned and new-accession maintainers that USAF wanted to shift from the A-10 to the F-35, he said. More will be needed. Jackson estimated the shortfall to be “anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 in fighter maintainers” across the force,? he said, but he did not describe how many more billets will be sought in the next budget.
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…
