The services and industry need to take the Defense Department’s drive for efficiency seriously, warned Ash Carter, Pentagon acquisition czar. He told attendees at AFA’s Air & Space Conference on Wednesday that the drive to find $100 billion in savings is solely focused on having “growth in that part of the budget that really matters”—recapitalizing worn-out systems and providing new cutting-edge technologies. The alternative, he said, is “broken and canceled programs” and “erosion of the taxpayer’s confidence” in DOD’s capacity to spend tax dollars wisely, which is “not good for us.”
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…
