The Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Maxwell AFB, Ala., has just graduated its largest class ever, according to CMSgt. Alex Perry, academy commandant. But the next class may be even larger, he said. There were 457 students who graduated from the six-week class that concluded July 21, said Perry. Normally the cap is 450 students divided into 30 flights. But the decision was made to accept the extra seven students and create an extra flight to accommodate them, he said. That expansion “worked out very well,” he noted. Perry said goal for the incoming August class is 32 flights serving 476 students. The academy aims to graduate 2,200 students annually, he said. (Maxwell report by Carl Bergquist)
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.