Air Force Reserve Command, starting this year, is creating 446 new authorizations for RED HORSE squadrons to address a lingering shortage for rapid-response civil engineer skills. “The combatant commanders requested more RED HORSE capability,” said Lt. Col. Joe Ballard, chief of the civil engineer’s readiness division at AFRC headquarters. “A lot of the work going on in Iraq and Afghanistan is reconstruction and force beddown.” In October, the command will start converting prime base engineer emergency force squadrons at Charleston AFB, S.C., and Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., to RED HORSE units. The Air Force picked Charleston and Seymour Johnson because the bases are near major ports for moving the RED HORSE’s heavy building and repair equipment and have excellent recruiting and combat readiness histories. Officials expect these new units to absorb some Reservists that lost positions under BRAC 2005. AFRC also plans to restructure existing RED HORSE units, moving the 556th RED HORSE at Lackland AFB, Tex., to Hurlburt Field, Fla., where it will associate with Air Combat Command’s 823rd RHS, and formally linking the 555th RHS at Nellis AFB, Nev., with ACC’s 820th RHS at Nellis.(Robins report by SSgt. Drew Nystrom)
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…
