The 673rd Air Base Wing at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and the 78th Civil Engineer Group at Robins AFB, Ga., are among the winners of the 2013 Secretary of Defense Environmental Awards. The wing won the award for sustainability at a non-industrial installation, while the group triumphed in the category of environmental quality at an industrial installation, according to the Pentagon’s April 19 release. Among the environmental accomplishments at JBER, base officials were able to save $73.6 million and reduce methane gas emissions by 13,944 tons via construction of a landfill gas waste-to-energy plant, states the release. At Robins in Fiscal 2012, airmen recycled more than 2,000 tons of materials, diverted 53 percent of solid waste from the landfill, and generated more than $960,000 in total revenue, according to the release. The Defense Department established the annual awards in 1962 to honor individuals, teams, and installations for their achievements and innovative environmental practices and partnerships that promote quality of life and increase efficiencies without compromising mission success.
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.