Three airmen were among the seven military members honored May 16 for their volunteer work during a USA Freedom Corps President’s Volunteer Service Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. Maj. Laird Abbott, assigned to the Air Staff, has served as a volunteer firefighter with five fire departments over the course of 20 years. MSgt. Tammy Caban, an Air National Guardsman at the National Guard Bureau, has volunteered with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors since 2004, providing grief assistance, and assists patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in D.C. SMSgt. Rene Rubiella, an Air Force Reservist at Patrick AFB, Fla., volunteers for activities such as Habitat for Humanity and a local soup kitchen. (American Forces Press Service report by USAF TSgt. Adam Stump; NGB report by MSgt. Greg Rudl)
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.