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SECAF addresses top priorities during Tinker AFB visit

  • Published
  • By Micah Garbarino
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  During a town hall meeting here Oct. 24, Airmen got to hear about the Air Force's current and future priorities from the new man in charge, Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley.

Six days after he was officially sworn in, Secretary Donley visited Tinker AFB along with Lt. Gen. Terry Gabreski, vice commander of Air Force Materiel Command, for a ceremony celebrating the lease partnership that made the new Tinker Aerospace Complex a reality. The event was hosted by Maj. Gen. Loren Reno, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center commander.

During the town hall, Secretary Donley stressed what an important role the men and women of Tinker play in supporting the warfighter.

"It's been a great opportunity to see all the capabilities here at Tinker AFB," he said. "When I was downrange (in Southwest Asia) I was able to see all the big aircraft that you work on here. I want you to know that the warfighters appreciate the work you do to keep these aircraft flying. You are making a difference here."

He praised the OC-ALC for leading the way in efforts to streamline maintenance processes, saving taxpayers' money. Secretary Donley highlighted the B-1 Programmed Depot Maintenance line that recently won a Shingo Prize Bronze Medal.

"It really reflects very well on your commitment to excellence in everything you do, and a commitment to continuous improvement on leaning-out these lines," he said. "Coming to work every day thinking, 'How can we do this better? How can we do this cheaper, and get it out to the warfighter'."

Secretary Donley then moved on to address important issues currently facing the Air Force. He said that the service's number one priority is re-focusing the nuclear enterprise. He and other senior Air Force leaders will lay out a roadmap to achieve that goal.

"There is a full gamut of things we need to address to re-establish our credibility as the premier provider of two of the three legs of the nation's deterrent force," Secretary Donley said.

Reports on the Air Force's nuclear programs indicated that the enterprise has had logistics problems for the past 15 years, said Secretary Donley. Because of this, the Air Force will centralize sustainment for nuclear programs at the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland AFB, N.M.

The Air Force is proposing the creation of Global Strike Command, which will bring intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear-coded bombers together under one organizational chain. The service will also create a new staff-level office (A-10), standardize the inspection processes and form a nuclear oversight board to advise senior leaders on the nuclear enterprise and progress of the roadmap, Secretary Donley said.

"This will provide focus to the nuclear mission so that it will not get confused with other business, missions and functions across our Air Force," he said. "There will be a single commander and we will have focus on that mission."

Another priority is ensuring the Air Force is contributing all it can to the Global War on Terror. Secretary Donley recently returned from a trip to Southwest Asia where he had a chance to meet with deployed troops and tour wings "engaged in the fight".

Getting troops and supplies to the theater, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, special operations, aeromedical evacuation and Air Force-run hospitals are all missions the Air Force is excelling in. Because of the Air Force, wounded troops have a better chance of surviving now more than ever before, said Secretary Donley.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and the service the operators provide from CONUS bases, thousands of miles away, is something the warfighters "love and want more of," Secretary Donley said.

"So, from deployment to the theater, all the integrated operations in-theater, and re-deployment back, with respect to the Global War on Terror, the United States Air Force is 'all-in'."

Several Airmen had the opportunity to ask questions, two of which focused on the country's current financial situation and what it means for the Air Force funding maintenance, new programs and pay and benefits.

"I would like to figure out ways to get the modernization program more robust. We have been funded pretty well, but it is going to be a challenge," Secretary Donley said. "We may have to figure out how to work through investment challenges with the same level of resources we've had the last few years. So, that's a concern."

With regard to pay and benefits, the Secretary said Congress had been very generous, approving a 3.9 percent pay increase for service members and pushing through an improved GI Bill pay system that is scheduled to be implemented next year.

"I, like many other parts of the defense leadership, am waiting to figure out what a new administration may want to do with the federal budget, and what impact the current financial crisis, and the nation's response to that, will have on federal spending and how that will affect defense spending," Secretary Donley said.