Construction of the Air Force Technical Applications Center’s new headquarters complex is set to begin next spring at Patrick AFB, Fla. This will be the Air Force’s largest construction project within the United States, reported FloridaToday.com, citing Brig. Gen. Ed Wilson, Patrick’s base commander. “It’s a $150 million-plus project,” he said. AFTAC is the surveillance organization that monitors for nuclear weapon detonations worldwide and nuclear treaty compliance. Its new HQ complex will comprise at least three buildings and a parking garage. It will be located farther west on base property, at a greater distance to a busy public road than the current four-story headquarters building. The Air Force anticipates that the construction will be done by the end of 2012. AFTAC employs about 940 military and civilian personnel.
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.