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Kendall, Brown, Raymond outline changes need to defend nation
by Charles Pope
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (AFNS)—Speaking separately at an influential gathering two blocks from the White House March 9, the Department of the Air Force’s highest-ranking civilian and military leaders offered emphatic variations on a similar theme – the need to modernize faster, think faster, and nurture the cultures needed to confront potential threats and adversaries.
“I am focused on modernization,” Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said during a keynote address closing the 13th Annual Defense Programs Conference staged by McAleese and Associates.
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entering its third week and China’s continued military expansion and modernization, no one has to look far to understand why, he said.
“It’s still China, China, China for me,” Kendall said in outlining the challenges he’s focused on. “Russia … is a significant power to be concerned with. We’ve had a wake-up call; we’ve had an emotional event that says, ‘Yes, war at scale among great powers, among modern powers can actually happen.’ It can also happen in the Pacific.”
China, he said, “Has vastly more resources than Russia does and has been investing for almost 30 years to field forces that can keep the United States out of that region, (and) defeat us if we try to interfere in something they might do. So, the threats are increasing over time.”
Those realities, as well as others, including North Korea, are the catalyst for Kendall’s “Seven Operational Imperatives,” his blueprint for reshaping the Air and Space Forces to meet challenges now and in the future.
Those themes – the need for urgent change to reshape the Air and Space Forces amid China’s rise and Russia’s ambition – as well as hardening operations in space were the focus in remarks earlier in the day from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., and Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond.
Photo by Eric Dietrich
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall speaks during the McAleese FY2023 Defense Program Conference in Washington, D.C., March 9, 2022. Kendall spoke about the challenges and priorities for the Department of the Air Force.
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