The Air Force recently formed the 959th Medical Group to organize airmen to work with Army units at the San Antonio Military Medical Center complex on the grounds of JB San Antonio, Tex. This move is one of the final steps in the organizational consolidation of the Wilford Hall Medical Center at JBSA-Lackland and Brooke Army Medical Center at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston into SAMMC as part of BRAC 2005, states Lackland’s Dec. 7 release. The new group, which will report to Lackland’s 59th Medical Wing, will provide better management of the airmen assigned to SAMMC, states the release. “With nearly 2,000 Air Force members integrating into SAMMC, our Army and Air Force medical officers, enlisted [personnel], civilians, and civil service members are equal partners in a high-performing health care team,” said Maj. Gen Byron Hepburn, 59th MDW commander. “Along with the 59th Medical Wing, we will continue to be the largest deployment platform for the medical service” and “continue to provide the highest medical care for the San Antonio Military Health System,” said Col. Lisa Schmidt, the group’s commander. (Lackland report by SSgt. Kevin Iinuma)
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.