SrA. Angela Huguley, an air traffic controller with the 72nd Operations Support Squadron at Tinker AFB. Okla., earlier this month received the Lt. Gen. Gordon A. Blake Aircraft Save Award, a high honor for air traffic controllers. She was recognized for her decisive actions in the control tower at Ali Air Base, Iraq, on Oct. 6, 2008, in ordering an Army RC-12 reconnaissance aircraft to abort a landing in poor visibility conditions when she noticed that the aircraft was mistakenly descending upon one of the base’s closed runway where maintenance personnel were working. “She basically saved 19 people that day,” said Capt. Gregg Potter, commander of the 72nd OSS’ Airfield Operations Flight. Huguley was cited for her “extraordinary dedication to duty and application of air traffic control procedures [that] resulted in the prevention of a catastrophic mishap and loss of life.” She credited her training with preparing her to handle such contingencies. (Tinker report by Howdy Stout)
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.