As we reported Thursday, airmen were among the lead elements sent to Haiti following a massive Jan. 12 earthquake, including airmen of the 720th Special Tactics Group flying Wednesday aboard two 15th Special Operations Squadron MC-130Hs, both from Hurlburt Field, Fla. The 720th STG are providing airfield assessment, emergency medical care, and weather observations to aid continuing air support, which, in a Pentagon briefing (transcript) Wednesday, Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser, US Southern Command boss, said was critical because “a lot of the immediate effort from an international basis” would need to employ the airfield. The Ohio Air National Guard’s 179th Airlift Wing has sent C-130s into Haiti, after stopping in Florida to pick up search and rescue and communications teams. The 12th Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale AFB, Calif., has sent a Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle to provide imagery to aid relief efforts. (AFSOC report by SrA. David Salanitri; USSOUTHCOM AFPS report; Beale report by TSgt. Luke Johnson)
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.