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Pentagon has identified the airman in southern Afghanistan April 4 who died from wounds caused by an improvised explosive device as SSgt. Phillip A. Myers, 30, of Hopewell, Va. Air Forces Central announced April 4 that he had been killed, but withheld his name until next of kin were notified. Myers had deployed to Kandahar from RAF Lakenheath, Britain, where the explosive ordnance disposal technician served with the 48th Civil Engineer Squadron. Myers received a Bronze Star medal in March 2008 for his actions during a previous deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom. RAF Lakenheath also selected Myers as its outstanding civil engineer military technician, presenting him the 2008 Maj. Gen. Eugene A. Lupia Award.
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.