Charles Everett Bullard, now 87, was a C-47 maintainer back in World War II with the 440th Troop Carrier Group that operated from Pope Army Air Field, N.C. Sixty-five years later, Bullard has taken a ride on a C-130 transport flown by the airmen of Air Force Reserve Command’s 440th Airlift Wing, the current incarnation of his old unit at Pope, now an Air Force base. Bullard got this opportunity as part of a visit sponsored by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve initiative that gives employers and business leaders who employ USAF reservists an up-close look at the units in which their employees serve. Bullard was honored as a 440th AW honorary command chief for his July flight. (Pope report by Jerry Green)
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…

