Airmen at Andersen AFB, Guam, have completed a $6.1 million project to install four state-of-the-art instrument landing systems at the base’s air field. These new Selex 2100 Series ILS allow pilots to utilize any one of Andersen’s four landing approaches in bad weather and land safely, according to TSgt. Jarrett Blea, noncommissioned officer in charge of the base’s airfield systems. In the past, Andersen’s flightline had only one ILS. This severely limited the options for landing aircraft during the frequent rainstorms associated with Guam. The new capability significantly improves the base’s ability to support the continuous presence of bombers and fighters that operate from there on regular rotations to deter aggression in the region. The project took almost three years of planning and more than 18 months of construction. Andersen is the first Pacific Air Forces base to feature Selex 2100s. (Andersen report by SrA. Shane Dunaway)
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.