That reportedly is the sentiment being expressed by Bay County officials in Florida who want the Air Force to consider Tyndall Air Force Base as a potential alternative site to Eglin Air Force Base for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter international and joint schoolhouse. Officials in Valparaiso are pursuing a second lawsuit that would prohibit the Air Force from fulfilling its JSF schoolhouse plans for Eglin, reports the Northwest Florida Daily News. A concerted effort by Eglin-area supporters of the JSF plan apparently failed to sway Valparaiso city officials. Now, however, Bay County commissioners have sent a letter to the Air Force suggesting Tyndall would be ideal considering it already hosts F-22 advance flying training and will give up its F-15 advanced flying training role in the near future.
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.