As part of its Year of the Air Force Family initiative, the Air Force has launched a “family road show” by dispatching six representatives to visit USAF installations across the country. “I’m here to celebrate and spread the word about all the services the Air Force offers, and I’m here to talk with airmen and their families and get feedback,” said Michael Bensen, one of the six representatives, during a stop Nov. 3. at Edwards AFB, Calif. Based on the face-to-face contact, Bensen, who is deputy to the commander of the Air Force Services Agency, said he expects to relay back to service leaders the changes that airmen and their families would like. “The Air Force is a great place to work, live, and play—our focus is to make it even better,” he said. (Edwards report by Diane Betzler)
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.