The Army is preparing to formally join the Pentagon’s AirSea Battle operational concept, reported the Washington Times. The land service will soon issue a memo outlining how it will implement its role in the concept, according to the newspaper’s Sept. 30 report. In 2009, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates directed the Air Force and Navy to create AirSea Battle, which emphasizes operations in anti-access and area-denial environments. Due to the concept’s emphasis on integrating air and naval assets more closely, the Army did not play a large role in its formulation, according to the newspaper. But already last November, Defense Department officials told reporters that efforts were under way to bring the Army into the construct. (See also No One Left Out and Breaking Down AirSea Battle.)
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.