In one last “Chief’s Sight Picture,” dated Aug. 31, then Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper focused on suicide prevention in light of what he termed the Air Force’s “alarmingly high suicide rate in 2004.” He said the rate had gone down in 2005, but “each loss” is “one too many.” He asks airmen to continue to be “great wingmen,” making such action “a habit not just a slogan.” Read our article here on “Suicide in the Ranks.”
The crash of a T-38 trainer jet this May—which caused a weekslong pause in flights across the fleet—was caused by an improperly installed pin for one of the jet’s horizontal stabilizers, according to a new accident report released Oct. 30. When the pin disengaged midflight, it created the slightest amount…