UPDATE on Independence Day Plus Seven: The last work day for Gen. Michael Moseley as Chief of Staff is today July 2, according to his spokeswoman Maj. DeDe Halfhill. There had been talk that Moseley’s last day in office would be June 27, but this didn’t pan out, Halfhill said. Moseley’s retirement ceremony will occur on July 11; his formal retirement date is still Aug. 1, Halfhill confirmed. But, in contrast to what we understood before, Moseley will remain Chief of Staff until Aug. 1 or until the Senate confirms and the President appoints a new CSAF, whichever comes first, she said. Gen Norton Schwartz, head of US Transportation Command, whom Defense Secretary Robert Gates recommended to the White House as Moseley’s successor, still has not been nominated by the President. If the nomination, confirmation, and appointment process is not complete come Aug, 1, it looks right now as if Gen. Duncan McNabb, the current vice chief of staff, would become Acting Chief of Staff. McNabb himself has been identified by Gates to serve as the next TRANSCOM boss, but like Schwartz, not yet nominated by the White House. Further, Lt. Gen. William Fraser, McNabb’s would-be replacement in the Air Staff’s No. 2 post, has yet to be nominated, too. Right now, Fraser is assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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.