Senior DOD leaders and members of Congress, President Bush’s cabinet, and families of Pentagon employees gathered on June 15 for a groundbreaking ceremony, marking the start of construction for the Pentagon Memorial to commemorate the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. “Today we claim this ground for them, for their families, and for the brave servicemen and women who have volunteered to go out to meet our nation’s enemies,” Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said of the victims during his remarks. The memorial will be completed in 2008 and will cover a two acre site with 184 illuminated benches that will represent each of the people killed during the attack.
Airmen and Guardians in the Active and Reserve component, as well as civilian employees, in “mission critical and high-risk populations” are now required to receive influenza vaccinations annually to “preserve force readiness,” according to a recent Department of the Air Force memo.