The Air Force needs to revitalize its squadrons because their cohesion has been inadvertently picked apart through years of wartime deployments. This has long-standing repercussions for the force, as squadrons are the service’s organizational building block, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said in a June 17 interview with Air Force Magazine. “The squadron is the foundational unit of our Air Force,” Welsh said. “It is the fighting unit of our Air Force.” Nonstop combat deployments to myriad locations—combined with a shrinking manpower pool and inconsistent demands between various specialties—have damaged squadron cohesion and unity, he said. This matters because airmen derive much of their “pride, morale, legacy, [and] focus on heritage, the profession of arms, taking care of individuals and families,” through their relations with their squadrons, he said. “The squadrons have to work,” and getting a sense of normalcy back is going to be a long term focus.
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…
