More than 240 airmen and a small group of B-2A stealth bombers from the 393rd Bomb Squadron at Whiteman AFB, Mo., have arrived at Andersen AFB, Guam, for a several-month deployment in a normal rotation of US combat forces to bolster the Western Pacific region as part of the US strategy to help deter aggression there. The Whiteman contingent relieved an expeditionary unit of airmen and B-52H bombers from the 20th BS at Barksdale AFB, La., that arrived on Guam last fall. This Pacific tour marks the second time that B-2s have been paired with F-22 fighters on Guam. The F-22s touched down in January from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. (Andersen report)
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.