Army Gen. William E. Ward, the first-ever boss of US Africa Command, turned over the reins of command to Army Gen. Carter Ham during a ceremony Wednesday at the command’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. Ward, who began his military career in 1971 as an infantry officer, has been at AFRICOM’s helm since the command stood up in October 2007. He is retiring, reports Voice of America. “From the moment he took command,” Ward kept “his eye on the mission—promoting African security by building the capacity of partner nations and organizations,” stated Defense Secretary Robert Gates during the ceremony. Ward attributed AFRICOM’s success to its partnerships. “We make a difference . . . because, by partnering with our friends and teammates, they see the best of America,” he said. Ham most recently served as commander of US Army Europe. (AFPS report by Karen Parrish) (Gates transcript)
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.