On June 4, 18 airm
en assigned to the 48th Equipment Maintenance Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, Britain, together with personnel from Britain’s American Air Museum in Duxford, rolled out a newly painted F-15A during a ceremony at the museum. This F-15A will now be on permanent display outside the museum. The airmen, each a corrosion control specialist, volunteered about 70 hours each of their off-duty time over a period of eight weeks to restore the aircraft to the original markings of the 5th Fighter Intercept Squadron, the “Spittin’ Kittens,” to which it was assigned in December 1981. It had been painted in the scheme and markings of the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, a former unit at Bitburg AB, Germany. “When those hangar doors opened and the sun hit that aircraft, I thought, ‘What an awesome display,'” said TSgt. Timothy Leddick who served as the lead supervisor for the project. He continued, “I felt very proud to be part of the restoration team alongside the other volunteers from RAF Lakenheath and the Duxford staff.” (Lakenheath report by Capt. Alysia Harvey)
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.