The Senate yesterday confirmed Michael Donley to be the 22nd Air Force Secretary and Lt. Gen. William Fraser, III, for appointment to the rank of rank of general to be the new vice chief of staff. President Bush must now officially appoint both men for them to assume their new positions. Donley, who has been the Acting Secretary since June 21, was nominated on June 26 and appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing on July 22. He succeeds Michael Wynne who left the Air Force’s top position in June. Fraser has been serving as the assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He will take over for Gen. Duncan McNabb who became commander of US Transportation Command last month. The Air Force said in a release that it anticipates Fraser assuming his new position on Oct. 9; it did not provide a similar date for Donley in the separate release on his confirmation.
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.