CMSgt. Dwight Dale Badgett, command chief for Air Force Reserve Command, said one suicide is “too many.” On average, about three Reservists a year take their own lives, but there have been two suicides just in the last month, he said. Badgett added that leaders have a responsibility to educate airmen on the opportunities that are available to them. He said: “We have to remove that stigma that we have had in the past that it’s bad to get help. We need airmen to understand that’s it’s a strength, not a weakness.” Other command chiefs participating in a panel Monday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference echoed his concerns, saying programs such as the comprehensive airmen’s fitness program attempt to ensure airmen are well rounded physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
