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Air Force Pilots Now Can Start Mental Health Treatment and Won't Immediately Be Pulled from Flight Status

An Air Force policy change will allow pilots to receive 60 days of mental health treatment without being taken out of flight status, a notable policy update as the service works to destigmatize airmen seeking care.

Prior to the policy update, which was publicized in a May 1 press release, if an airman began seeking treatment for mental health-related illnesses or concerns, they would then need a return-to-duty waiver to fly, a requirement that often kept pilots grounded for extended periods.

The update to the Air Force's Medical Standards Directory and Aerospace Medicine Waiver Guide now allows airmen to "receive 60 days of treatment for mental health concerns" before that waiver to return to the skies would be necessary, the service said in a news release last week .

Read Next: Special Operations Airman Shot and Killed by Florida Police During Disturbance in Apartment Building

"This change benefits airmen across the Air Force seeking treatment for stress, post-traumatic stress and other mental health-related maladies," the service said in the release.

Maj. Jane Marlow, a C-130J Super Hercules pilot and one of the leaders on the working group evaluating the policy, said airmen seeking medical attention under the old policy would sometimes be grounded for months after seeking treatment.

"Like so many of my peers, I delayed seeking care until I was in a non-flying assignment because I knew that, as a pilot, the moment I picked up the phone to schedule that appointment, I would be grounded for an indefinite period," Marlow said in the news release. "I knew that I was, without a doubt, a safer pilot, a better leader, and a stronger wingman because of the care I received -- yet I was still required to spend months in a non-flying status because of my diagnosis."

Those long delays in resuming flight status in the past have harmed careers, hindering training and eligibility for different opportunities, the service said. Under the policy change, there is no mandatory waiting period, and flight surgeons can submit a waiver without any wait for a pilot to return to flight.

A comprehensive study from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences released last month analyzed Air Force suicides in 2020 and found that dozens of factors contributed to the 117 department-wide suicides that year, including "stigma about mental health" and "problems with mental health care access" among them, the findings showed.

According to the 2022 Pentagon suicide report, the latest military-wide data available, active-duty service member deaths increased slightly from the prior year to 331, up from 328 in 2021, Military.com reported .

Gen. Mike Minihan, the four-star commander of Air Mobility Command, has openly advocated for changes to the Air Force's mental health policies, highlighting his own mental health struggles in the process. This latest policy revision was spearheaded by his command's "Warrior Mental Health" working group, according to the news release.

"If you want to look at a pilot with PTSD, you're looking at one right now," Minihan said during a conference at MacDill Air Force Base , Florida, last month. "This policy affects me and, if it affects me, it affects someone in your unit. They have it, haven't sought help for it and [are] suffering in silence."

Veterans and service members experiencing a mental health emergency can call the Veteran Crisis Line, 988 and press 1. Help also is available by text, 838255, and via chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net.

Related: Overall Military Suicide Rate Dropped, But Active-Duty Deaths Increased Slightly, Pentagon Reports

Thomas Novelly

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Most Air Guard members affected by proposal to shift to Space Force would rather retrain or retire, officials say

Air Force Staff Sgt. Rhyan Acey performs maintenance on the AN/TSQ-180 Milstar Communications Vehicle on July 30, 2021, for the 233rd Space Group at Greeley Air National Guard Station, Colo. The 233rd Space Group was the first National Guard unit to assume a U.S. Space Command mission. (Amanda Geiger/Air National Guard)

Air National Guard leaders estimated up to 70% of their space-focused airmen would resist a transfer to Space Force should Congress approve an Air Force proposal to move 14 Guard units into the newest service branch.

“Without these transfers, the Space Force will have a capability and readiness gap that will take seven to 10 years and cost taxpayers approximately $1 billion to fix,” Brig. Gen. Michael Bruno of the Colorado National Guard and director of the state’s Joint Staff said Friday during a call with reporters that included Guard members and leaders from Colorado, Alaska and Hawaii. “As I speak, Air National Guard members from Colorado are currently deployed overseas in harm’s way while providing critical space capabilities in support of combatant commanders. Yet, these space professionals may not have a military job to come back to when they return.”

The proposal would move the units into the Space Force as part of the service’s plan to allow for full-time or part-time service and move more space operations into the new service branch. However, the framework for part-time guardians is years away, according to the Air Force. Troops who serve on active duty have different obligations than the Guard, such as working full time for the military and moving every three years as opposed to working within their state on a part-time or as-needed basis.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall wrote Friday in a letter to concerned governors that Guard members will have the opportunity to volunteer for the Space Force or retrain and remain in the Air National Guard. Units will also remain at their current locations.

As of Tuesday, 140 House lawmakers, senators and governors — Republicans and Democrats — have expressed concerns about the proposal.

The two sides do not even agree on the number of affected personnel. The Air Force said it would impact 578 airmen, and National Guard leaders put the estimate at roughly 1,000.

The fears among Guard members include forced moves from the state where they serve now or being forced to resign from full-time civilian employment, according to troops who spoke Friday. A survey of affected troops found 70% would rather retrain or retire than be transferred into the active-duty Space Force, Bruno said.

Capt. Ian Matson of the 213th Space Warning Squadron in the Alaska Air National Guard said he spent nearly 10 years on active duty. During an assignment in Alaska, he jumped on an opportunity to stay in the state through the Air National Guard, and he’s been there for more than three years. To retrain within the Guard would be to lose a job that he enjoys and to go on active duty could pull him from his family.

“Having my family here by my side where I can go home every night to them is what makes me want to stay in the Alaska Air National Guard,” he said.

The states with space units are Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, New York and Ohio.

The affected Guard units, which now provide 60% of the Space Force’s electromagnetic warfare capability and 33% of U.S. space capabilities, such as deconflicting GPS issues, missile warning, satellite communications and terrestrial weather effects on operations. Guard units have been performing space missions for nearly 30 years, Bruno said.

While these Guard units serve space-focused missions primarily on the federal level, they also provide support to the states, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Monday during a call with reporters. The 233rd Space Group, which is part of the Colorado National Guard, has participated in every state-sponsored mission since 2000, he said. That includes response to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and providing satellite-based fire operations during wildfire season.

“The importance of space resources to firefighting and natural disasters is essential for states like ours and many others,” said Polis, who has a meeting Wednesday with Kendall to address the issue.

Staff Sgt. Robert Brown, a member of the 233rd group, said he prefers the Guard over active duty because he can continue to live near the orthopedic specialists who provide medical treatment for his young son.

“My wife and I are expecting a daughter in just about a month. That really enforces our need to stay,” he said.

Governors losing control over some Guard troops has led the governors of all 50 states and five U.S. territories to write to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and President Joe Biden to challenge the move. Fifty-three governors did so in a joint letter to Austin last week through the Council of Governors, an advisory board of state governors for the Defense Department.

The council was not contacted prior to Kendall approving the proposal March 15, the governors said. The proposal is now with Congress as part of this year’s budget discussions and is separate from stalled legislation that would create a Space National Guard.

On Monday, a group of 56 House members and 29 senators sent a letter urging the House and Senate Armed Services committees to reject the proposal.

“There are seven states that have space missions, and 53 governors who are opposed to the proposal. That should tell you everything about how dangerous [and] how much of an existential threat this proposal is to the authority of the governors and to the National Guard,” Bruno said.

In Kendall’s response Friday to the governors’ letter, he wrote the move of the units “would help complete the work of standing up the U.S. Space Force” and is “essential to the unity of command and mission success.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who was on the call Monday alongside Polis, said Kendall’s response failed to address the root of their concerns.

“He was saying that the proposal would be negligible, and that’s deeply disappointing,” Cox said.

previous coverage

• Ohio governor opposes push to move Guard units into the Space Force

related stories

• Space Force budget decreases despite need to compete against China

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The power of relationships and partnerships forged by special ops

In over three decades of being privileged to serve in U.S. special operations forces (SOF), I witnessed many forms of power in dozens of campaigns, battles, and other operations across four continents. These ranged from physical, kinetic power, to the use of technology, information, intelligence and others. Whether this power was tactically, operationally, or strategically employed, each form was often profoundly impressive.

And yet, I came to realize that one type of power often stood alone and, in many ways, was more important than all the rest. Ironically, it was also the least tangible or physical. Its dimensions cannot by measured by a micrometer, or its existence weighed on any scale. Indeed, its strength lies in the fact that it is deeply emotional, psychological, and highly personal.

This vital form of intangible power originates from the thoughtful, deliberate, and persistent creation of relationships that lead to partnerships, and this intentional effort is irreplaceable for advancing and protecting U.S. national security interests. The history of special operations in the U.S. is replete with examples that demonstrate how vital this can be, and I offer two specific examples that are illuminating and instructive.

As a very young Army Special Forces officer in the 1980′s oriented on the Pacific region, my colleagues and I frequently deployed to train with the Philippine Scout Rangers, the Philippine Marines, and other formations of their armed forces. This cultivated a broad network of strong friendships that flourished on both sides for decades. When relations between the U.S. and the Philippines significantly dwindled after 1991 because of the closure of Subic Bay and Clark Air Force Base as U.S. installations, the American-Philippines relationship deteriorated even more sharply during the six years President Duterte was in office . And yet, the personal bonds of friendship and shared experiences between U.S. special operations forces and the Armed Forces of the Philippines endured, however informally. Subsequently, in 2014 when the Islamic State dramatically emerged to threaten the Philippines , this enduring informal network of American special operators and Philippine military personnel became indispensable in combating this threat by enabling a very rapid renewal of a strong and effective operational partnership. This was most vividly demonstrated during the battle for Marawi City in Mindanao , and ultimately enabled the Philippines to defeat ISIS. Strong relationships continue to pay dividends today to enable an ever-stronger strategic partnership between the U.S. and the Philippines in their combined efforts to contest China, which blasted water cannons at Philippine vessels and rammed one carrying Philippine Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Romeo Brawner in December 2023.

Another powerful example flows from the counter-ISIS fight in Iraq and Syria. After the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, special operations personnel spent years in combat alongside both the Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi special operators combatting insurgents and Al-Qaeda networks. This led to deep personal bonds of trust and affection across these forces that endured for years and remained intact long after the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq in 2011. Then, in 2014 when ISIS suddenly emerged to seize the city of Mosul and begin marching toward Baghdad, the hasty redeployment of American special operations forces into Iraq quickly became operationally and strategically effective because of the enduring relationships between these forces, despite years of physical separation. Both the Peshmerga and Iraqi operators welcomed their American counterparts with open arms, and neither side had to waste time in developing trust or having to learn about what each side had to contribute to the fight. Instead, all were able to join forces rapidly and effectively in a committed partnership that endures to this day.

These examples illustrate how strategically irreplaceable these deeply committed relationships can be, and how they can blossom into strategic partnerships. The special operations community always appreciates that such relationships in another land require long-term investments of time, demonstrated reliability, and persistent presence whenever possible. Doing so, simply put, is part of SOF’s “DNA.”

Just as importantly, these SOF practices can provide invaluable advantages, opportunities, and outcomes for more than just U.S. military goals. For decades, U.S. SOF has deliberately invested in consistent integration and collaboration with many other U.S. agencies and departments, ranging from intelligence agencies to the State Department and its foreign service, and beyond. Today, a vast network of personal relationships persists between U.S. SOF and dozens of U.S. interagency partner organizations. In many cases, these relationships were initiated during deployments in combat environments over the past two decades. Most importantly, just as this practice enabled U.S. SOF to develop strategic partnerships with global actors, so has this practice with other agencies fostered genuine operational and strategic partnerships that directly enable both U.S. SOF, and these civilian agencies, to become far more effective.

Today, the entire U.S. military is a well-resourced and highly skilled enterprise. Amidst a world marked by escalating mistrust, instability and the proliferation of violence sponsored by both nation-states and extremists, all military branches are now urgently seeking new ways to achieve tactical, operational, and strategic advantages. Accordingly, the old saying that protecting America and her interests requires harnessing “all instruments of national power” is even more true than ever before.

U.S. special operations forces contribute to all these efforts in numerous ways. However, its enduring strength lies in its time-proven ability, skill, and enthusiasm for deliberately cultivating long-term and deep relationships. By intentionally nourishing these relationships, the special operations community aims to evolve them toward someday becoming genuine operational and strategic partnerships. In so doing, U.S. SOF enhances and enriches its contribution to all of America’s efforts to deter aggression, or should those efforts fail, to swiftly and decisively respond to threats, protect national interests and promote stability worldwide.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael K. Nagata , enlisted in 1982, attended Army Officer Candidate School and later volunteered for U.S. Army Special Forces. Throughout his 38-year career, he served in many special operations and interagency roles, participating in dozens of contingency and combat operations abroad. His final assignment was Director of Strategic Operational Planning at the National Counterterrorism Center. Today, he works as the strategic advisor and senior vice president for CACI International, a defense and technology company that provides significant capabilities and assistance for U.S. SOF and other national security needs.

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Air Force airman killed by Florida deputies who were at wrong apartment, attorney says

An Air Force airman who was fatally shot at his Okaloosa County, Florida, apartment Friday was killed by a deputy after law enforcement burst into the wrong home, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said Wednesday.

A woman said that she was on a FaceTime video call with Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, when he was killed and that he was alone and there was no disturbance, which law enforcement said was the reason for the call, Crump said.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said that Friday afternoon, “our deputy responded to a call of a disturbance in progress where he encountered an armed man,” and the deputy shot him.

According to the woman on the FaceTime call, whom Crump did not identify, Fortson heard a knock at his door, asked “Who is it?” got no response and could not see anyone through the peephole, Crump said in a statement.

There was a second, aggressive knock, Crump said, citing the woman’s account.

“Concerned, he did what any other law-abiding citizen would do and retrieved his legally-owned gun, but as he was walking back to the living room, police burst through the door. When they saw the gun, they shot Roger six times,” Crump said in the statement.

"The witness has said that she saw Roger on the ground stating, 'I can’t breathe,' after he was shot," Crump said. “She has also said the police were in the wrong apartment as there was no disturbance in the apartment and he was alone."

A sheriff’s spokesperson Friday night did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the claim that police were at the wrong apartment.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it is investigating the shooting at the request of the sheriff's department. It did not provide any additional information, citing the active investigation.

The state attorney's office is also conducting an independent review, the sheriff’s office said.

Sheriff Eric Aden said in a statement that “all of us at the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office are saddened about the fatal officer involved shooting over the weekend.”

“At this time, we humbly ask for our community’s patience as we work to understand the facts that resulted in this tragic event,” he said.

Hurlburt Field, the Air Force base where Fortson was assigned, said in a statement that Fortson entered active duty on Nov. 19, 2019. He was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron.

“The 1st Special Operations Wing’s priorities are providing casualty affairs service to the family, supporting the squadron during this tragic time, and ensuring resources are available for all who are impacted,” the base said.

Okaloosa County is in the Florida Panhandle, east of Pensacola.

Phil Helsel is a reporter for NBC News.

Assignment editor