Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, the director of the National Guard Bureau, says there is no going back for the nation’s reserve forces, returning to a strategic reserve vice the operational reserve it has become. According to an Aug. 13 NGB report in a speech to the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States earlier this month, McKinley said: “We can’t be relegated to obsolete and incompatible equipment like we were during the Cold War. We have proven that that old way of doing business does not work in today’s environment.” Maintaining this new reserve force, he said, requires that it “modernize at a proportional rate to the active component.” And that goes for training, too. McKinley explained, “In an era of persistent conflict, we need a predictable rotational model, and we must maintain proficiency and interoperability with the rest of the force.” (NGB report by Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke)
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…
