SecAF addresses challenges ahead with community leaders and Airmen

  • Published
  • By Marie Vanover
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND, N.M. --  Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley visited Kirtland Air Force Base Oct. 13-14 to meet with base leadership, speak with Airmen serving here and address members of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce.

During his visit, Secretary Donley visited multiple base organizations, including the 377th Air Base Wing, Air Force Safety Center, Air Force Inspection Agency, and Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center.

The Secretary was the keynote speaker at the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce Banquet, where he spoke to about 400 attendees on the changing nature of warfare and the challenges for today's Air Force. He remarked about the historical relationship between the base and the city, which goes back to 1939.

"Kirtland is a unique base with capabilities from across every core function of our Air Force -- the air base wing, nuclear systems wing, special operations wing, space development and test wing, and Air National Guard wing - all exist at this location, along with four centers of excellence, two research lab directorates and three agencies, plus the Department of Energy and the Sandia National Laboratories," he said. He thanked the people in the audience for their leadership and efforts on behalf of the Air Force, emphasizing the important role they play in support of Airmen and national security.

During an All-Call with uniformed Airmen and civilians from across the base, Secretary Donley spoke of the budget constraints the Air Force faces today. He said he expects the Air Force will become more productive and proficient in its roles and combat capabilities to meet the challenges ahead. He cited the partnership between the 58th Special Operations Wing and the 150th Fighter Wing as an example of things to come as the Air Force adjusts.

"Airmen make the mission happen," he said, adding that caring for them is a top priority. He said privatized housing, upgraded fitness centers, improved health care facilities, and resources to build and renovate dormitories as some of the initiatives underway.

During a question and answer session, the Secretary responded to questions on the new physical fitness standards, the future of dining facilities, deployment ops tempo, quality of life, and virtual exercises.
After the All-Call, the Secretary had lunch with base Airmen and civilians and went from table-to-table to talk with them. After lunch, he opened up the floor to questions. A noncommissioned officer thanked him for all the programs supporting family members of deployed Airmen. The NCO, who recently returned from a deployment and had left her 4-year old son behind, said, "Those programs helped me stay focused on the mission while I was deployed."

Sidebar
During the SecAF All-Call, attendees asked the Secretary about a variety of issues, to include these:
Q1. Why did the physical fitness test standards change?
A1. We wanted to standardize testing throughout the Air Force and maintain a tighter control of those standards across the service to ensure our Airmen are ready to be deployed anytime/anywhere. We continue to review the standards and we discussed the program at a senior leader conference earlier this month. We plan to review the data at the one-year point and, if necessary, modify the program.

Q2. What is the status of the dining facilities? Will they all close?
A2. Dining hall facilities are facing challenges across the Air Force and no one size fits all. Each major command will evaluate requirements and determine what is best for each installation. As a result, some units may close, but it will be a base-by-base decision. At some point though, as facility usage decreases, it is not cost-effective to keep them open.

Q3. With the drawdown in Iraq, will we see any relief in our operations tempo?
A3. Not in the immediate future. There are currently still 6,000 Airmen in Iraq, in addition to our other commitments in Afghanistan and around the world. It is a very high ops tempo and it is a challenge in making it all work. However, by going to 180-day deployments, it helps us meet the requirements we already have and at the same time, provides stabilization for time at home.

Q4. How will the budget cuts affect our qualify of life?
A4. It's not about budget cuts; it's about the Air Force budget flattening out following a period of rapid budget growth after 9-11. The challenge is how to continue to change and reshape our Air Force to accommodate our new missions with a flat budget and active-duty end strength? This is one of the major reasons to develop greater efficiencies, like using less fuel and finding energy alternatives. The resources we save can then be moved to operations support. We also must continue to evaluate and/or scrub low-priority and no-value-added programs and projects.