Air 
Force Secretary Michael Donley on Wednesday called on the 1,021 graduates of the Air Force Academy’s Class of 2011 to seek out ways to contribute to the units in which they’ll serve. “In the words of [former Los Angeles Dodgers manager] Tommy Lasorda, there are three types of batters, and by extension, three types of people: Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened,” Donley told the academy’s 53rd graduating class in his commencement address on the Colorado campus. He added, “My advice to you is to be in the first group: we need airmen who make it happen.” The new second lieutenants will step into leadership roles amid an Air Force in transition, as increasing numbers of airmen are entering burgeoning career fields such as cyberspace and remotely piloted aircraft operations, he said. But no matter how advanced is the technology of USAF’s systems, the nation’s security will still rest “on the education, the training, the commitment, and, ultimately, the quality of our airmen,” said Donley. “We are counting on you to use your education and training to the fullest.” (Colorado Springs report by Don Branum)
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.