The Air Force will establish three new Total Force cyber units this year, said Secretary Michael Donley at AFA’s CyberFutures Conference outside of Washington, D.C. This includes an Air National Guard information operations squadron in Washington state, another one in California, and then one Air Force Reserve Command unit that will form an association with the 33rd Network Warfare Squadron at Lackland AFB, Tex., a part of Joint Base San Antonio. In addition, the Air Force plans to expand the Maryland ANG’s 175th NWS, he said during his March 23 address. “We’ve made considerable progress in being able to meet the threats and challenges of cyberspace by fielding a Total Force of over 45,000 trained and certified professionals, equipped to ensure the continuity of operations in cyberspace,” said Donley.
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.