Gen. Herbert Carlisle, Pacific Air Forces commander, presented the Distinguished Flying Cross to MSgt. Richard Joy and SSgt. Tyson Reams during an Oct. 29 ceremony at Kadena AB, Japan. He recognized these airmen for their heroic actions in combat while deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, in 2010. Joy, an HH-60G aerial gunner with Kadena’s 33rd Rescue Squadron, distinguished himself by performing a precision hover and hoist on extreme mountainous terrain under direct enemy fire, according to an Oct. 30 Kadena release. “Without Joy’s actions, many of the men on the mission would not have survived,” states the release. Reams, a 33rd RQS HH-60G flight engineer, flew two mass-casualty evacuation missions in support of a coalition operation in the Watapur Valley. “For more than nine hours, Reams provided accurate power calculations in high-altitude landing zones, along with a steadily increasing number of wounded troops,” states the release. (Kadena report by A1C Malia Jenkins)
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…
