A
irmen asked for a little bit of service history in the Air Force’s latest uniform, and the leadership has responded with a rendition of the uniform worn by the man recognized as the father of the Air Force—Gen. H.H. “Hap” Arnold. The new coat’s moniker is the “Heritage Coat.” Air Education and Training Command is leading the field tests, which begin this fall with the selection of 1,000 airmen to find the right variety of body types, reports SSgt. J.G. Buzanowski. AETC will pare those thousand airmen down to about 400 that will actually begin wearing the Heritage Coat next spring for a 90-day wear test. Once the Heritage Coat passes field muster, the Air Force plans to offer airmen the option to purchase a “higher quality fabric” coat, under a contract with Brooks Brothers, similar to an arrangement the Navy has.
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.