Lt. Col. Duston Ashton and Maj. Nichole Oliver, both of Air University’s LeMay Center at Maxwell AFB, Ala., on Nov. 13 received Bronze Star Medals for their meritorious service during deployments to Iraq. Ashton, an instructor in the LeMay Center’s warfighting education directorate, served for a year in Baghdad as a training program manager. His efforts resulted in Iraq’s first three student pilot training classes and the commissioning of 275 Iraqi cadets. Oliver, the joint intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance doctrine branch chief in the LeMay Center’s doctrine development directorate, was the chief of operations to the intelligence director in a joint task force in Iraq. Her intelligence support led to decisive combat operations against enemy leadership. (Maxwell report by Capt. Jenny Lovett)
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…
