Members of the California Air National Guard’s 163rd Reconnaissance Wing at March Air Reserve Base employed two MQ-1 Predator remotely piloted aircraft during exercise Grizzly Field 2012 to help with search and rescue efforts after a simulated earthquake struck southern California. The Predators provided full-motion video that helped civil and military responders locate mock stranded survivors during the recent exercise, according to an Aug. 9 March release. “The exercise was an overall success,” said Lt. Col. Keith Ward, commander of March’s 163rd Operations Support Squadron. Grizzly Field established a baseline for further integration of civilian disaster-response agencies with Air Guard assets and capabilities, such as overhead FMV, said Col. Randall Ball, 163rd RW commander. (March report by Capt. Perry Covington)
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.