Enlisted Air Force ranks are categorized into three levels: airmen (pay grades E-1 through E-4), noncommissioned officers (E-5 and E-6), and senior noncommissioned officers (E-7 through E-9). Some personnel can enlist at an advanced rank if they have college credits or have participated in Junior ROTC. The highest advanced rank one can enlist with under these programs is airman first class (E-3). The Air Force offers accelerated promotion for service members who agree to enlist for six years. Under this program, enlistees who enter service as an airman basic (E-1) are promoted to airman (E-2) after basic training is finished,…
Within the Air Force, officer ranks follow a clear-cut structure, divided into three categories: company grade, field grade, and general officers. Company grade officers range from O-1 to O-3. Climbing the ranks, next are field grade officers, in the O-4 to O-6 range, taking the helm of mid-level command. Finally, at the top of the hierarchy are general officers, O-7 and above, who oversee strategy. Air Force Company Grade Officer Ranks Second Lieutenant (O-1) The rank of second lieutenant is shown through a single gold bar. Proper forms of address include “second lieutenant” or “lieutenant.” Commissioned airmen sometimes may skip…
I got my first Swiss Army knife at a flea market when I was about 11 years old. I have no clue which model it was, but it had the basic tools we typically see nestled between those familiar red handle scales, such as a knife blade, can opener, bottle opener, and corkscrew. I beat the hell out of that knife for a few years. It whittled hundreds of sticks into sharp points. I used it to open cans of Dinty Moore or Chef Boyardee I’d brought to the campfire. It trimmed rope we used in countless forts in the…
Iowa’s always been pretty decent when it comes to gun laws, but the state has made a couple of major improvements over the past few years. In 2021, the state’s permitless carry law kicked in, and the following year voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that declares firearm ownership a fundamental individual right and mandating that courts apply “strict scrutiny” to any future gun control legislation. Those advances could be in danger, though, unless Iowa gun owners turn out in force this November. While Democrat candidates like Christina Bohannan and Josh Turek don’t…
A veteran with mobility issues who served in Operation Desert Storm said he has lost more than $150,000 after a construction project went awry. Ed Smith, 73, of Kansas City, and his family claim they began building another home on their second lot last year. But the family alleged the contractors they hired to complete the project took the $157,000 and did not complete it after over a year. The money was reportedly was paid from Smith’s retirement funds. “In exchange for $157,000 of my dad’s complete retirement funds, we have a hole in our backyard in the wrong place,”…
Support us! GearJunkie may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More It can be tricky to find a reliable pair of hiking shorts — especially for women like me. In fact, I’ve been trying for years to find a pair of outdoor shorts with the right fit. I have bought, tried on, and returned so many pairs of women’s shorts on REI’s website that I wonder if I’m flagged in their system. My body isn’t proportional between my hips, waist, and butt, and women’s clothing sizes are wildly inconsistent across brands, making it close to impossible…
Widows of service members who died while serving our country are often faced with a difficult choice, years after their loss. By federal law, a financial benefit known as Dependency and Indemnity Compensation or DIC, equating to about $1,700 per month, ends as soon as a surviving military spouse remarries, or stays in place as long as the spouse remains single through age 55. The organization known as the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) has been urging lawmakers to protect the DIC benefit, rather than strip it away, no matter a surviving spouse’s marital status. “The compensation is intended…
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U.S. Navy veteran John Donovan is the newest national commander of the nearly 1 million-member DAV (Disabled American Veterans). The Arkansas native, who himself is disabled, was unanimously elected Aug. 5 during the organization’s 104th national convention, held in Orlando, Fla. He was previously elected as national senior vice commander at DAV’s 2025 national convention in Las Vegas, and most recently served as adjutant for the Department of Arkansas and vice chairperson of DAV’s national board of directors. He also previously served as a national executive committee member for District 21 from 2019 to 2021 and was on DAV’s national…
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Watch full video on YouTube
Watch full video on YouTube
Marines now have a new tool in their pocket for staying squared away on uniform and grooming standards. Marine Corps Education Command launched the official Marine Corps Uniform App on June 29, 2026, giving service members quick access to key guidance from Marine Corps Order 1020.34 while they are away from their computers or on the move. The free app is available now in the Apple App Store, with an Android version planned for fiscal year 2027. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Adam Korolev. Brigadier General Matthew W. Tracy, commanding general of Education Command and president of the Marine…
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Watch full video on YouTube
A permanent change of station move, or PCS move, isn’t a one-time expense. It’s a major event that can stretch across two or three months, and even experienced military families routinely underestimate the costs. The good news is that PCS spending can be more predictable if you know what to plan for. Here’s how to build a budget that your family can use during the PCS season. How Much Does a Typical PCS Move Cost? The total cost of a PCS move varies significantly based on your family size, rank, distance and moving logistics. On average, military families spend between…
All jobs in the military carry real risks, but some jobs are much riskier than others. Here are 10 of the most dangerous: 1. Pararescue U.S. Air Force pararescuemen and a simulated ‘survivor’ watch as an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter comes in for a landing. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Taylor/U.S. Air Force photo) Pararescue jumpers are basically the world’s best ambulance service. They fly, climb and march to battlefields, catastrophic weather areas and disaster zones to save wounded and isolated people during firefights or other emergencies. 2. Special Operations While this is lumping a few separate jobs together, troops…
A weird Idaho spring turned one big bear into a pile of sweet meat, 11 pints of bear grease, and a batch of cracklings worth fighting over. Here is how to render bear fat cleanly, safely, and deliciously without wasting the good stuff. A Weird Idaho Spring Made One Seriously Fat Bear It’s been a weird weather year in Idaho: The winter was warm with little snow, and the spring has been long. I anticipate that the deer and elk populations will have had less winter kill and plenty of feed through the spring. It seems like bears have had…
The 2018 movie “7 Days in Entebbe” tells the story of Operation Thunderbolt, the daring 1976 rescue of 94 Israeli passengers and 12 crew members from an Air France flight grounded in Uganda after a hijacking by German PLO sympathizers. Inspired by the movie, we’ve got a list of the 10 greatest operation names in military history. The Entebbe raid was an enormous story back in 1976 — so big that it wasn’t totally overshadowed by the fact that the raid took place on the American Bicentennial on July 4, 1976. The popular fascination with the successful raid inspired two…
We were deep in Nepal, backpacking through the Himalayas. The cool evening air blew across the terrace overlooking lush green mountains as we unfurled the Exped Cassira two-person tent. In a matter of minutes, we had the tent set up and the vestibules wide open, letting in air and offering us views of the countryside. We spent 5 days trekking through Nepal, using the new Cassira as our base camp, and it performed well. In rain and wind, it kept the elements out and provided a relaxing place to rest after a long day on the trail. While customers know…
Say what you want about him, but Rep. Thomas Massie has been a strong defender of gun rights. Say what you want about him, but Sen. John Cornyn has not.Both men, however, were defeated in their primaries. Other than both having an “R” after their name, they didn’t have much else in common, and for at least one anti-gun group, the fact that they both lost while being diametrically opposed on the issue of guns is evidence of…something.One of the nation’s leading gun safety groups has a message for Republicans: Tuesday’s results show you don’t have…
