The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing launched a new centralized repair facility in Southwest Asia for HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters. “Long term, this is going to be a huge gain for the Air Force,” said Maj. Michael Campos, 386th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron commander. “This small team is, at the end of the day, going to get the combat search and rescue assets in the [area of responsibility] back into the fight quicker.” Comprised of a total of four airmen—two maintainers and two supply personnel—the facility is collocated with an Army theater aviation support unit, allowing it to take advantage of the land service’s UH-60 Blackhawk supply chain in theater. Before the CRF, airmen had to return Pave Hawk engines and components to the United States for service. (386th AEW report by SSgt. Patrice Clarke)
Suicide rates in the Air Force are starting to drop after back-to-back years of exceptionally high rates as the department enacts new policies to address the problem. There were more than 100 suicides in the Air Force in both 2019 and 2020, causing leaders to order a “tactical pause” to…