The 79th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., welcomed the Air Force’s first combat-coded HC-130J Combat King II personnel recovery aircraft into the service’s inventory during a ceremony at the base. “This aircraft means enhanced survivability for our HH-60s and our Guardian Angels,” said Col. Jason Hanover, 563rd Rescue Group commander, at the Nov. 15 induction ceremony. “It is a C-130 variant, but the differences make it an entirely different aircraft,” he added. Tail number 5707 is the third of four Lockheed Martin-built HC-130Js supplied to the Air Force thus far, according to the company. The three other Combat King IIs are intended for training at Davis-Monthan and Kirtland AFB, N.M. Overall, the Air Force plans to procure 37 HC-130Js to replace its legacy HC-130N/Ps. Fifteen of the C-130Js are already on order. The first HC-130J off of Lockheed Martin’s production line in Marietta, Ga., arrived at Davis-Monthan in September 2011. (Davis-Monthan report by SrA. Michael Washburn)
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.