In one last “Chief’s Sight Picture,” dated Aug. 31, then Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper focused on suicide prevention in light of what he termed the Air Force’s “alarmingly high suicide rate in 2004.” He said the rate had gone down in 2005, but “each loss” is “one too many.” He asks airmen to continue to be “great wingmen,” making such action “a habit not just a slogan.” Read our article here on “Suicide in the Ranks.”
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.