Although the Air 
Force has not made a decision yet whether to adopt the Heritage Coat, the airmen who sampled it during a wear test gave it high marks. According to feedback from some 350 male and female airmen who wore the coat on a trial basis at various bases and locations nationwide, 92 percent of the participants deemed the coat suitable as a military uniform, 72 percent preferred its overall design to the current service coat, and two-thirds thought the Air Force should adopt it. Three versions were tested: fabric belt and slide buckle, honor guard style belt and buckle, and four-button, no belt. The no-belt style was most popular with about 71 percent preferring it. (For more on the Heritage Coat and USAF uniform issues, read In Search of the Perfect Uniform from January’s issue of Air Force Magazine.) (Air Force report by TSgt. Amaani Lyle)
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.