To our Airmen and Guardians, our civilian employees, and their families,

I am both honored and excited to have been appointed the 27th Secretary of the Air Force. Honored because I am joining an amazing team comprised of the most talented, capable, and lethal air and space professionals the world has ever seen. Excited because, together, we have a unique opportunity to make a lasting impact on our national security. The United States faces incredibly dynamic and complex threats that demand our immediate focus. In this environment, the Department of the Air Force will play a central role in the President’s mission of defending the homeland, deterring all potential aggressors, and, when needed, winning decisively in conflict.

Our strategy to meet this challenge starts with you, our Airmen, Guardians, and civilians. The systems that we operate and develop are the most complex in our history, so we will ensure you have the resources and training needed to succeed.

We must innovate faster than our adversaries and deliver on our modernization promises. We have already begun the largest-ever transformation in both air and space in our nation’s history, extending across all mission areas. The resulting programs must execute on schedule, within budget, and deliver capabilities that ensure air and space superiority for decades to come.

However, our adversaries are not sitting idle as we modernize our force. Increasing our readiness across the Department is critical. We must be prepared to fight and win today.

My wife Jean and I look forward to being a part of the Department of the Air Force team. Thank you for all your families do in service to our great nation. Peace through Strength.

Troy E. Meink

Secretary of the Air Force