The Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins AFB, Ga., has requested information from commercial suppliers toward purchasing a new handgun for the Air Force. So far, the 782nd Combat Sustainment Support Squadron only wants to know what’s out there, but it’s looking for something better than the service’s current M9 pistol. For one thing, it must be “reliable in sand and dirt,” have “variable grip sizes,” and be able to “be configured for night aiming.” (If you want to know how far its ammunition should penetrate, read here.) The ALC estimates that the Air Force would need 100,000 over a five-year period. We guess that would be to sustain all the airmen engaged in “in lieu of” taskings, not to mention the growing numbers of battlefield airmen.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.