While the US welcomes Turkey’s decision to open its airfields to coalition aircraft for combat operations against ISIS, Turkey needs to do more in the fight against the terrorist group, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in an Aug. 19 Pentagon briefing. The country’s involvement in Operation Inherent Resolve was overdue when it began flying airstrikes in July, and now Turkey needs to work more on securing its border with Syria, he said. ISIS recruits use the porous border to join the group in Syria, and Turkey needs to step up to block these routes, said Carter. Turkey, just last month, agreed to let the US Air Force begin flying combat flights from Incirlik Air Base, and the Pentagon has said its agreement with the country leaves open the possibility that additional bases could be used for airstrike sorties and other missions, such as search and rescue.
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.