The Air Force is holding a tryout on Dec. 6 at JB Langley-Eustis, Va., for aspiring special operations professionals. “We are looking for America’s best—individuals in top physical condition and ready to take their skills to the next level,” said SMSgt. Ed Edgar of the 317th Recruiting Squadron. He is the Air Force’s chief recruiter in the region including Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Under an initiative known as Air Force Special Operations Orientation, applicants will have the opportunity test their mettle and qualify for positions ranging from pararescue, combat control, tactical air control, and survival instruction, according to a Dec. 4 service release. Each applicant must meet physical, mental, and character requirements to qualify. The physical standards—which include a 500-meter swim, 1.5-mile run, pull-ups, sit-ups, and push-ups—are well above what is expected for a normal military recruit, states the release. “The United States Air Force needs individuals of strong character, with both the physical and intellectual capacity to handle our nation’s toughest assignments,” said Edgar. (Washington, D.C., report by Lt. Col. Ravi Chaudhary)
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.