The unique skills of AFSOC’s 6th Special Operations Squadron, DOD’s sole unit for providing aviation foreign internal defense training, are in high demand, said Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster, head of Air Force Special Operations Command. The command has been working to double its FID manpower, and, at the same time, is consolidating advisory training at the Air Force Special Operations Training Center and developing a better language instruction capability, he said Tuesday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference. In fact, Wurster said he “would like to have a better way to teach people language,” citing that as one of his most pressing requirements. The most important tool for the combat FID mission is language, because it generates instant credibility, Wurster explained, adding that it’s very easy to take a guy who flew MH-53 Pave Lows and adapt him to fly night assaults with a Mi-17, but it is difficult to teach him to speak and think in Pashto at night in the mountains, far from friendly forces.
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…
