Maj. Gen. Alfred Flowers, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for budget, has been selected for induction into the Order of the Sword, the highest honor the noncommissioned force can bestow on an officer. CMSgt. James Cody, command chief for Air Education and Training Command, informed Flowers of his selection at the Pentagon last week. “I don’t think there’s any command in our United States Air Force that’s more important to all of us than [Air] Education and Training Command,” Flowers said, with a nod to airmen undergoing basic training. “That is what it’s all about,” he added. Before serving in the Air Force office of financial management, Flowers commanded 2nd Air Force. Flowers will officially be inducted into the Order of the Sword in April. (Pentagon report by SMSgt. David Byron)
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.