Airmen with the 443rd Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, recently conducted the first live-fire training to teach unit members how to respond to a shooter on base. NATO Training Command-Afghanistan initiated this training in response to the tragic shooting at Kabul International Airport in April that cost the lives of eight US airmen and one US contractor at the hands of an irate Afghan air force officer. The three days of instruction were meant to help improve adviser reaction to such a scenario with activities like rapid-fire drills, quick-fire reaction drills, and seated reaction drills. MSgt. Terry Gilbert of Kandahar’s 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group, said future plans include incorporating “some building clearing techniques, assault maneuvers, and more advanced weapons handling.” (Kabul report by Capt. Jamie Humphries)
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.