The 3rd Combat Communications Group’s Combat Readiness School at Tinker AFB, Okla., last week graduated its final class of battlefield communications specialists before ceasing operations. “It’s been a good feeling to teach airmen skills that could potentially save their lives,” said school Commandant MSgt. Matt Smith in Tinker’s Aug. 3 release. Air Force Space Command plans to inactivate the 3rd CCG to match reductions in the combat air forces. Under the plan, the 3rd CCG’s activities would shift to the 5th CCG at Robins AFB, Ga., which has its own combat readiness school. Tinker’s school began its two-week pre-deployment course in the early 1990s to teach airmen to establish and defend a communications emplacement in the field, states the release. The course, taught six times a year, culminated in a 36-hour field exercise. The final class graduated on July 27. (Tinker report by Micah Garbarino)
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…
