The Air Force has selected Maj. Josh Wood, currently serving as the weapons chief for the 56th Operations Support Squadron at Luke AFB, Ariz., for its fledgling F-35 strike fighter force. He will join the F-35 team at Eglin AFB, Fla., after a one-year short tour in South Korea, set to begin in about a month. The service last year announced selection of two other Luke veterans—Lt. Col. Stephen Pieper and Maj. Chad Lewis— for the F-35 program. And, as we reported last fall, various news reports have identified other pilots tapped for the initial F-35 instructor cadre. (Includes 56th Fighter Wing report by Justin Oakes)
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.