Tuesday kicks off two days of celebration in the Washington, D.C., area in honor of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II. These women flew non-combat military missions to free their male counterparts for combat. President Obama last July signed legislation into law awarding them a Congressional Gold Medal. On Tuesday, there will be a wreath laying and remembrance ceremony at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va., for the 38 WASPs who died in the line of duty. A reception will follow at Arlington National Cemetery. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz is scheduled to be at the reception and make brief remarks. On Wednesday, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and he are scheduled to attend the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in the US Capitol building where the surviving WASPs will receive their medals. Donley will speak there, we are told. (Women’s Memorial release)
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.