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***image1***Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley visited with Airmen from U.S. Air Forces in Europe and toured the base Oct. 10 as part of his first overseas trip since being confirmed secretary of the Air Force earlier this month.
Secretary Donley, the 22nd Air Force secretary, visited with Airmen at Ramstein as well as the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. One of the highlights of his visit was a special Airmen’s call, where the secretary was able to not only thank USAFE Airmen for their ongoing support to the joint warfighter, but also address Air Force leadership’s top priorities for the future.
“This is the perfect place to start an overseas trip,” said Secretary Donley, who last visited Ramstein during his time as acting secretary in 1993. “Ramstein is like Grand Central Station … between supporting the warfighter downrange, supporting our NATO partners, and getting AFRICOM (U.S. Africa Command) off the ground … the scope of the mission is very impressive. You are building on U.S. national security interests in many directions at the same time.”
He discussed several topics, including refocusing the nuclear enterprise, strengthening the acquisition process and supporting the joint warfighter.
“We must restore the Air Force focus on nuclear enterprise. It’s a critical capability and a mission that demands perfection,” Secretary Donley said, adding that the service will soon stand up a command to address some of these issues. The command will be tasked with uniting the long-range bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities under one roof.
And while the service is no stranger to the acquisition process, it’s one that needs strengthening, the secretary said.
“The Air Force has a problem with its aging inventory,” he said, specifically discussing the need for a new tanker. “The Air Force needs that tanker; the joint warfighter needs that tanker.”
But the focus of discussion was not just on fixing historical issues; Secretary Donley also talked about new horizons, like the unmanned aircraft systems program, space programs and the cyber domain.
“The UAS is something that’s really changed in terms of providing support to the warfighter,” he said, adding that the focus needs to be on “how we take our new capabilities and embed them into the Air Force institution for the future.”
While many current issues are focused on systems and technology, Secretary Donley also stressed the importance of the Air Force’s most important resource – Airmen – and the plan to stabilize personnel numbers.
With a current end strength still under the 330,000 goal, the service has work to do in building up the numbers, particularly in critical career fields, he said.
He said the Air Force has programmed more dollars for retention bonuses to help with those high-demand, low-density career fields.
“We’re looking at critical mission areas like the UAS and maintainers … where we need to beef up,” the secretary said.
Though much has changed in terms of the look of the base since the last time the secretary was at Ramstein, two things have remained constant: the scope of the mission and the quality of the personnel.
“I’m proud to be back. Thank you for everything you do every day,” he said.
Secretary Donley served as the acting secretary from June 21 until his confirmation by the Senate
Oct. 2.
