That’s
the message delivered by Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff, Feb. 20 during a town hall meeting with airmen at Lackland AFB, Tex. “I think the fundamental thing is that everybody counts,” Schwartz said. He continued, “No one, no job, no specialty is more important than any other. Everyone matters.” While airmen are a major part of the success of the US military in the wars overseas and “should be proud of that,” Schwartz told the airmen not to measure their worth by their proximity to the fight. The Air Force, he continued, is “a magnificent institution” that offers limitless possibilities for airmen. That said, Schwartz said the Air Force’s evaluation system, for both enlisted and officers, needs revamping. “Not everyone is a five,” he said, adding, “We need to be honest with ourselves and we need to be authentic how we rate each other.” (Lackland report by SSgt. Matthew Bates)
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.