President Obama has nominated Maj. Gen. Robert Otto for promotion to the rank of lieutenant general for his new assignment as deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in Air Force headquarters, announced the Pentagon on April 11. Otto has been commander of the Air Force ISR Agency at JBSA-Lackland, Tex., since July 2011. If the Senate confirms his nomination, Otto would replace Lt. Gen. Larry James, who has been the Air Force’s top ISR official since January 2011.James, a 1978 Air Force Academy graduate, is retiring.
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.