Secretary of the Air Force visits Team Whiteman

by Airman 1st Class Joel Pfiester
509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

6/6/2014 - WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- The Secretary of the Air Force interacted with Airmen and shared her top priorities for the future of the Air Force during her first visit to Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., May 29, 2014.

The 23rd Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James visited Team Whiteman to learn about the B-2 and overall mission of the base, while interacting with Airmen and sharing her vision for tomorrow's Air Force.

James began her day by visiting several different units on base before attending a luncheon with base and community leaders.

"I've had a great morning where I've had the chance to visit with some of our Airmen who are directly involved with the B-2 and the great total force mission here," James said. "So I've got a pretty good overview of what's going on here and I have to tell you across the board I'm totally impressed with what I've seen here at Team Whiteman."

James is responsible for the affairs of the Department of the Air Force, including the organizing, training, equipping and providing for the welfare of its active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian-Airmen and their families.

During a base all-call, James shared her top three priorities covering topics such as the well-being of our Airmen, the budget and proposed future endeavors.

"Priority number one is quite simply taking care of people," James said. "We have to develop them and recruit them. They need to see a path for advancement, training and readiness and they have to be able to take care of their families."

However, rising compensation and continuing to take care of people is a real challenge given the current budget constraints said James.

"We need to make every dollar count. What this means is at all levels we have to make sure that we are good stewards of the tax payers dollars and that we make every dollar count on all levels," James said. "We need to make sure we don't waste money or let major programs continue to go over budget."

Making every dollar count is essential to balancing today's readiness and the needs of today for the needs of tomorrow, said James.

"Now and in 10-20 years from now the Air Force needs to remain on the cutting edge of technological advancements," James said. "We need to have what we need for today's readiness but we also have to provide for tomorrow and we have to do that by investing today."

James discussed several programs that are proposed to be in the works for the future such as a Long Range Strike Bomber which is the future of the bomber world, a Joint Strike Fighter which is the future of the fighter and close-air-support world and even the KC-36 Tanker for the future of the tanker world.

Following the all-call, James thanked Team Whiteman for the job they perform and continue to perform day in and day out.

"This is the way forward and I'm very proud of everything I've learned here and everything you all are doing," James said. "Despite all these challenges we are faced with, we will remain the very best Air Force in the world. Six months from now this fog will have cleared, Congress will have finished its work and we will carry on."