Tyndall AFB, Fla., transitioned from Air Education and Training Command to Air Combat Command on Oct. 1 as part of the Air Force’s F-22 fleet reorganization. Tyndall, currently home to one Raptor training squadron, will receive a combat-coded F-22 squadron from Holloman AFB, N.M. However, there is “no specific timetable” right now for the arrival of those combat-ready jets due to the impact of the budget continuing resolution on the execution of the move, according to an Oct. 1 release. The CR took effect on Oct. 1 in lieu of enacted defense appropriations legislation for Fiscal 2013. The F-22 moves affecting Tyndall—whenever they will occur—make sense, say service officials. “Co-locating a combat-coded F-22 squadron together with F-22s assigned to the formal training unit . . . provides training, maintenance, and operational advantages that benefit combatant commanders and ensure operational readiness,” states the release. The 325th Air Control Squadron, which trains battle managers for assignment to combat air force units, is the only Tyndall-based unit to remain under AETC. (See also Moving Time from the Air Force Magazine’s September 2011 issue.)
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.