The Outstanding Airmen

We looked back on the past 12 months to find the stories that resonated the most with you, our audience, and these 10 topped the list. Maybe you missed one the first time around, or perhaps you’d like to revisit a favorite.

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.

President-elect Donald Trump announced his choices to fill out the top positions on his Pentagon team Dec. 22, but the next Secretary of the Air Force remains a notable vacancy.  

The F-35 Joint Program Office has agreed in principal to pay up to $11.8 billion for the next 145 F-35s from manufacturer Lockheed Martin—but final details on the deal won’t be hammered out until the spring.  The action specifies that...

The Air Force is partially reopening the competition for its Next-Generation Ejection Seat program, giving vendors the chance to offer their solutions for a new seat for the F-16 while sticking with its choice for the F-15. 

“Military history shows that the best defense is almost always a maneuvering offense supported by solid logistics. This was true for mechanized land warfare, air combat, and naval operations since World War II. It will also be true as the world veers closer to military conflict in space,” writes Aidan…

When 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh became the first ever active service member crowned Miss America on Jan. 14, top Air Force officials recognized a rare opportunity to reach women and girls who otherwise might not consider military service as an option.

Four Russian warplanes entered the Air Defense Identification Zone off the coast of Alaska on Dec. 18, North American Aerospace Defense Command announced—the first such incident in three months. 

“The Space Force is now five years old, yet most Americans don’t even know it exists, not to mention what it does or why we need it. That’s an uncomfortable fact and a problem for the entire nation that every Guardian needs to understand and take seriously,” writes retired USSF…