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October 21, 2022 | View in browser

 

Pentagon ‘cautiously encouraged’ by 15% drop in military suicides last year Suicides among active-duty troops in 2021 dropped about 15% compared with the record high recorded the previous year, but defense officials warned the annual report also showed the military’s suicide rate remained on an upward trend during the last decade. Read more >

US military making policy changes to protect abortion access, defend health providers against legal trouble Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo that the updated policies are designed to protect and enhance access to reproductive health for women in the armed forces, including added safeguards for privacy and financial support for service members who must travel to obtain an abortion. Read more >

Luke Air Force Base investigation finds racist text messages were fake An Air Force investigation into a photo of text messages that showed a Black airman at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., was denied a job because of his shaving waiver found the messages were fake, base officials said. Read more >   Transfer of Green Berets, SEALs to Army base in Germany questioned in House funding bill U.S. special operations units poised for a move to a rural part of western Germany could need a special Pentagon waiver that explains why those forces wouldn’t be more useful in countries nearer to Russia. Read more >   NATO chief gives security reassurance to Finland, Sweden as accession waiting game drags out Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO is already treating the two Nordic countries as something akin to full-fledged members. Read more >

Japan’s environment minister pledges deeper dive into Okinawa PFOS blood levels A Japanese cabinet minister has promised to investigate claims made by an Okinawan civic group that high levels of synthetic toxins were detected in the blood of locals living near U.S. military installations. Read more >   ‘US thumbing its nose’ at Russia with missile drills on Hokkaido, security expert says The U.S. Marine Corps last week test-fired missiles on Hokkaido of the same type that have plagued Russian forces at war in Ukraine. Read more >   ‘Priceless collection’: Army museum reopens in South Korea after $2.1 million renovation The museum is dedicated to telling the history of the Eighth Army and the 2nd Infantry Division. Read more >   F-35 pilot ejects before stealth fighter crash at Utah air base The pilot of an F-35A Lightning II survived when the stealth fighter crashed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, according to local TV news reports. Read more >   Air Force baby diagnosed with biliary atresia in Japan awaits liver transplant in Ohio The family flew to Cleveland for the procedure because their insurance provider, Tricare Prime, outsources some coverage in Japan to International SOS, a health and security services firm, which does not certify any hospital in Japan for liver transplants. Read more >   VA accelerates effort to get new employees at their jobs sooner to keep up with health care demands The Department of Veterans Affairs will hold events in November to rush new employees into place and fill vacant posts faster as the agency works to hire 50,000 workers yearly to keep up with the demands and trends affecting veterans' health care. Read more >

 

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