Air Force R
eserve Command on July 11 formally activated the 476th Fighter Group at Moody AFB, Ga., where the unit’s 76th Fighter Squadron, 476th Maintenance Squadron, and 476th Aerospace Medicine Flight will participate in A-10C Warthog operations with the active duty 23rd Wing. AFRC began working in June 2007 toward standup of the 476th FG, which embraces the Flying Tiger heritage of World War II fame through the newly re-formed 76th FS, by establishing a detachment at Moody to pave the way for transfer of some Reservists from the 442nd Fighter Wing at Whiteman AFB, Mo. The 442nd FW still serves as the parent wing for the 476th FG, which still is in the process of adding personnel. Col. Greg Eckfeld, group commander, said, “My future challenge and primary goals are, first, recruiting and then integrating traditional Reservists and Air Reserve Technicians into the busy operations tempo of the 23rd Wing.” The 76th FG will be the first Reserve A-10 associate unit, according to Col. Mark Clemons, 442nd FW commander. (442nd FW report by MSgt. Bill Huntington)
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.