Two Air Force Space Command space operations squadrons, the 2nd SOPS and 19th SOPS at Schriever AFB, Colo., took charge of the new GPS satellite shortly after its launch March 24. “We’re getting ready to provide its combat effects to warfighters as soon as possible,” said Lt. Col. Douglas Schiess, 2nd SOPS operations officer. The GPS IIR-20(M) spacecraft is the 34th satellite in the GPS constellation, with 31 of those 34 currently transmitting navigation and timing signals to users. AFSPC had planned to launch the satellite in June 2008, but there was a fault with the 40-second timer that triggers separation of the third stage booster that Air Force and contractor engineers had to resolve first, according to Lt. Col. John Wagner, mission director with Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch and Range Systems Wing at Los Angeles AFB, Calif. (Schriever report by SSgt. Don Branum)
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…
