The US will pull its Patriot air and missile defense batteries out of Turkey this October when the current rotation is completed, a joint US-Turkish statement released by the US Embassy Aug. 16 declares. The missile defense units first deployed to southern T?urkey in January 2013 to support the NATO Patriot deployment mission, but the US said the removal from Turkey follows a “review of global missile defense posture,” according to the joint statement. The Patriots will return to the US for modernization upgrades. While the systems will no longer be deployed to Turkey, the US will maintain an in-theater ability to redeploy missile defense capabilities, and is able to sustain the current deployment site at Gaziantep, Turkey, in a “cold-basing” status where the US could redeploy the Patriot system within one week. US Navy Aegis cruisers will also remain in the eastern Mediterranean to support NATO air and missile defense, US and Turkish officials said. The decision to pull out the US Patriot system comes seven months after the Netherlands ended the deployment of its own Patriot systems to Turkey.
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…
