The 5th Special Operations Squadron of Air Force Reserve Command’s 919th Special Operations Wing formally transferred its flag May 23 from Duke Field, Fla., downstate to Hurlburt Field, its new home. The flag transfer was made in the squadron’s final MC-130P Combat Shadow flight. Having shed its MC-130Ps, the 5th SOS will settle into its new role within Hurlburt’s Air Force Special Operations Training Center, where squadron personnel will augment training units for the U-28 light transport aircraft, AC-130U gunship, and aviation foreign internal defense. Squadron members, almost all of which have extensive combat experience, will still perform combat tours. The squadron’s move is part of the broader ongoing integration of the 919th SOW into Hurlburt’s 1st SOW. (Hurlburt report by Jasmine DeNamur)
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.