Air Force secretary talks readiness at JBER

Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson visited with Airmen at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Aug. 8 through 10.

During her visit, Wilson engaged with local leaders, visited several units to see highlights of their unique capabilities, and hosted a town hall meeting at which she spoke about her priorities and engaged in a question-and-answer session.

“Alaska is strategically important to the United States and air defense,” Wilson said during a press conference. “Today I have spent a lot

of time with the F-22 [Raptor] and with the [Alaska National] Guard. I also talked with a lot of Airmen

about the future of the Air Force

and about some of things were working on.”

One thing being worked on is the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2019.

“With the national defense authorization act just having been completed, we hope to get a budget on time this year,” Wilson said. “That budget will include an increase in end-strength for the Air Force of about 4,000 people.”

Wilson also discussed readiness and training.

“For us readiness is first and foremost; it’s about getting the people to be able to do the job,” Wilson said. “The second piece is training; we need to make sure our Airmen have the opportunity to train for the fights we might expect in the future.

“Of course Alaska plays a tremendous role in that, with the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex and the kind of training we are able to do here.”

At a town hall meeting later in the day, Wilson discussed current changes in the works, and encouraged Airmen to maintain their readiness and spark innovative ideas with each other.

“My message to you all is don’t wait for us,” Wilson said. “We are moving forward as quickly as we can to get greater authority at lower levels in the Air Force. We want you all to move out and get after the mission based on our values.”

She mentioned that Airmen have asked her what she hopes for from them.

“I expect you to live by our values,” Wilson said. “Live by our

values every day, and we will continue to have the best Air Force in the world.”

During the town hall meeting Wilson also stressed how important it is for new ideas to be heard and for good ideas to be implemented as quickly as possible.

“We have to innovate faster than our adversaries,” Wilson said. “This means we are going to have to free up some of the constraints we have experienced in the past.”

During her time as secretary, Wilson has been able to rescind more than 200 Air Force Instructions which were found to be hindering Airmen’s overall success.

Fifteen months after her confirmation, Wilson made good on her promise to Alaska’s senators that she would visit.

“It’s been a wonderful day in Alaska, having also had an opportunity to meet with members of the community and great supporters of our Airmen and of course at this joint base, our Soldiers as well,” Wilson said.