The Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard has filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County, and the county has counter-filed, taking issue with the state’s right to prevent development around Luke Air Force Base and nearby auxiliary field in Gila Bend, reports the Phoenix Business Journal. As one means to help keep Luke and other Arizona military installations off the BRAC 2005 hit list, the state required land-use plans that would prohibit private development around the installations. Maricopa has flouted that law for four years, according to an Arizona Republic op-ed. The article states: “From Peoria to Goodyear, they changed their general plans and zoning to protect Luke. Maricopa County hasn’t.”
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.