The 82nd Dental Squadron at Sheppard AFB, Tex., opened its new dental officers’ residency suite on Sept. 28. Not only will the facility increase the quality of care at the dental clinic for airmen at Sheppard, it will also allow for the expansion of the current residency program there from four dental residents to six who may graduate each year. “It’s going to help us do an even better job than we’re already doing getting our folks medically ready to go down range,” said Brig. Gen. O.G. Mannon, commander of Sheppard’s 82nd Training Wing, parent unit of the dental squadron. Since there is a shortage of dental officers across the Air Force, this expansion will mean better access to care for all airmen, not just those stationed at Sheppard, he said. (Sheppard report by A1C Matthew Varga)
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.