Academy cadets get lunch-time treat, witness history

  • Published
  • By Butch Wehry
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  The new secretary of the Air Force was sworn in at the academy’s Mitchell Hall cadet dining facility today during the cadet noon meal.
 
Michael W. Wynne was sworn in by acting Secretary of the Air Force Pete Geren.
 
Secretary Wynne said he accepted the mantel with great pride and added he could not think of a better place to accept his new position then at the academy. He stressed integrity, trust and character as traits people are measured by in a world of jointness and information fusion. 

“We will be totally reliant on the word of others,” he said. “If we cannot trust, we cannot fight. Lives, and our country, may well lie in the balance.” 

The secretary said he internalized the Honor Code long ago. 

“This is about standards,” he said. “We must set goals, disseminate the knowledge and tools and then hold to the standards of performance. 

“It is about mutual respect, starting with self,” he said. “Leadership, delegation and performance can be taught well enough in academics, but it must be experiences in life.”
 
Mr. Geren noted that Secretary Wynne’s father is a retired Air Force officer, and his brother was an Air Force Academy graduate who rests in the academy’s cemetery.
 
“I charge you with this,” said Secretary Wynne, “this is your academy, for you to set the standard for belonging, for you to set the exemplary standard, for you to revere its ethics and its values: Integrity First, Service Before Self and Excellence In All We Do.
 
“We may face situations where you might ask, yourself ‘What would General LeMay do,’ or, ‘If you want to be joint,’ what would Admiral Hyman Rickover do? General (T. Michael) Moseley and I don’t have to look too far; your Air Force is performing magnificently during nearly 15 years of active warfare." 

Secretary Wynne was confirmed by the Senate Oct. 28. He had served as the principal undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics since July 2001. 

During his distinguished career, Secretary Wynne worked for defense contractors Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. 

As secretary of the Air Force, he will be responsible for the affairs of the Department of the Air Force, including the organizing, training, equipping and providing for the welfare of its nearly 370,000 men and women on active duty, 180,000 members of the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve, 160,000 civilians and their families. 

“It will be my honor to serve with you,” he said. 

Secretary Wynne then showed his true Air Force colors by calling upon the Falcon cheerleaders to help him rally the cadets for the upcoming Air Force vs. Army game. 

“...Go Air Force! Beat Army!” they chanted.