The New York Air National Guard’s 174th Fighter Wing at Hancock Field near Syracuse flew its last F-16 missions last week, sending off its last fighters on March 6, according to a Post-Standard report. Media were on hand March 2 as many of the unit’s veteran pilots took their final flights in the unit’s Vipers. Per BRAC 2005, the 174th FW had to shed its fighters. Since learning its fate, the unit has picked up a new mission, operating the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted vehicle. It began flying MQ-9 combat missions over Afghanistan in December 2009.
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.