Secretary of the Air Force talks with Airmen while visiting Vance AFB

  • Published
  • By Joe B. Wiles
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFNS) --  "We're committed to ensuring that the United States continues to have the world's finest Air Force for generations to come," said Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley during his stop here July 27.

Donley spent three hours at Vance AFB, accompanied by Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Roy and Chief Master Sgt. William Turner, the command chief for the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

"Your hard work here at Vance ... generating the finest pilots in the world will help make that goal a reality," the secretary said to more than 500 active duty Airmen, government civilians, contractors and family members during an "all call."

In addition to receiving a mission briefing about the 71st Flying Training Wing here, Donley toured the flying squadrons and the maintenance unit that support the wing's training of more than 400 Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and allied student pilots each year. Vance is home to the only joint specialized undergraduate pilot training program in the Air Force.

During the "all call," Donley answered questions about the MC-12, budget challenges, and maintaining a balanced force structure through the planned drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The MC-12 is the military version of the Hawker Beechcraft Super King Air 350, which contains a system for providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support directly to ground forces.

"The MC-12 is a huge success story for our Air Force," Donley said. "It went from concept to fielding in eight and a half months. It was a remarkable accomplishment."

New pilots and experienced instructor pilots from Vance deploy in support of the MC-12 mission on a regular basis. The MC-12 mission is getting good reviews from the ground forces.

"They love what these Airmen are delivering for them," Donley said.

The secretary also addressed budget challenges, which will come on several fronts for the Air Force in the coming years.

"Just last year, Admiral (Mike) Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, identified the national debt as the single biggest threat to our national security," Donley said.

President Barack Obama wants to take up to $400 billion out of the defense budget by 2023, he added.

"Getting our nation's fiscal house in order is not a one or two year drill," the secretary said. "It is going to take a little while."

Taking care of the men and women doing the work is job number one, Donley said.

"We need to keep faith with you," he said. "But we also have the responsibility to get your pay and benefits packages sustainable going forward, so we're concerned about rising personnel costs.

"Our Air Force is already smaller than it was in the 1990s, by 20 percent or so, with older equipment and a security environment that still looks pretty challenging," Donley said.

The U.S. is not quite done with the international terrorism challenge from al-Qaida and its affiliates, he continued. Facing those challenges is going to take some work.

"Pop-up issues like Libya show we don't get a break from international security problems just because we have to turn attention to our fiscal challenges," Donley said. "The world will go on and we'll have to continue to meet the requirements of making sure our national security work gets done."