Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said Tuesday there is “no doubt in the [Defense] Department about the validity” of the combat search and rescue mission, and the Air Force is going to buy new rescue helicopters to recapitalize its worn-out HH-60s. He made his comments during an Air Force Association-sponsored Air Force Breakfast Series presentation in Arlington, Va. Just one week ago, the Air Force issued a request for information, seeking input on suitable platforms for the new effort, which is now dubbed the “personnel recovery recapitalization” aircraft. Schwartz said the new platform would be “much less focused” on new development, as the stillborn CSAR-X was. USAF wants something “readily available” and not an elaborately redesigned machine, he noted, reiterating a theme that the service must settle for the adequate and not engage in “wishful thinking” in new acquisitions.
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.