Nine Air National Guard officers helped the Air Force determine whether it could open to non-rated officers the previously rated-only air liaison officer position, which was a special duty for rated officers. The Air Guard ALOs proved the concept, and the service just selected a new crop of non-rated officers to attend tactical air control party training. If they pass, they will serve in the new ALO career field (Air Force Specialty Code 13L). One of the Air Guardsmen, Lt. Col. William Wheeler, has served as an ALO for nearly 20 years and currently commands the Illinois ANG’s 168th Air Support Operations Squadron. Continue
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.