Members of the 16th Space Control Squadron and Air Force Reserve Command’s 380th SPCS from Peterson AFB, Colo., recently broke ground on a Rapid Attack, Identification, Detection, and Reporting System site in Hawaii. The two units cooperate under a reserve association. About one year from now, they will begin protecting US military satellite communication links from a central location at Peterson by detecting, characterizing, and locating sources of electromagnetic interference, such as Satcom jammers, via several RAIDRS remote monitoring sites that the Air Force is establishing worldwide. “In the case of something hostile, we can provide decision makers with information as to where the hostile action is coming from,” said Lt. Col. Roger Sherman, 16th SPCS commander. Groundbreaking for a RAIDRS site in Florida is slated for September. The Hawaii groundbreaking ceremony took place on July 28. (Peterson report by Lea Johnson)
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.