JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall made his first visit to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, Sept. 23, 2022, to observe the missions of Air Combat Command headquarters and four ACC wings.
During his time at JBLE-Langley, Kendall visited several units where he discussed key issues, emphasized strategic intent, recognized Airmen and discussed the way ahead during an all-call.
“It’s always great to get out and talk to people and hear their feedback on the things we’re working on,” Kendall said.
The secretary’s first stop was the 497th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, where he observed what Airmen in the intelligence community are doing to maintain their status as a global leader in networked ISR operations, from humanitarian assistance to major world conflict.
After several stops throughout Langley, including Kendall held an all-call with Airmen and Guardians across JBLE, detailing his vision for the force.
“I’d like to discuss a little bit more about my priorities and what I’m trying to accomplish in my tenure,” Kendall said, explaining his goals for the future force through seven “operational imperatives,” which are:
- Defining Resilient and Effective Space Order of Battle and Architectures;
- Achieving Operationally Optimized Advanced Battle Management Systems / Air Force Joint All-Domain Command and Control;
- Defining the Next Generation Air Dominance System-of-Systems;
- Achieving Moving Target Engagement at Scale in a Challenging Operational Environment;
- Defining optimized resilient basing, sustainment and communications in a contested environment;
- Defining the B-21 Long Range Strike Family of Systems;
- Readiness of the Department of the Air Force to transition to a wartime posture against a peer competitor.
Kendall used these imperatives to highlight the importance of ACC’s role as the primary provider of combat air power – something he witnessed firsthand during his visit; however, this could not be accomplished without the teamwork of Airmen and Soldiers across the base.
“It's an honor to have Secretary Kendall visit Joint Base Langley-Eustis," said U.S. Air Force Col. Gregory Beaulieu, JBLE installation commander. “This is an opportunity to showcase how we integrate and optimize five wings, seven brigades and more than 60 mission partners, including Air Combat Command headquarters.”
Kendall’s final stop was to the 1st Fighter Wing, home of the only service-retained F-22 combat wing. During his visit, 1st FW leaders showcased how current and future Raptor Agile Capability Release modifications to the F-22’s hardware and software over the next decade will enable them to continue delivering airpower worldwide at a moment’s notice to keep pace with our adversaries.
“We want Secretary Kendall to leave here with a better understanding of some of our challenges and where we need his advocacy, but more importantly, we want to leave a lasting impression of the phenomenal job our service members and civilians do to deliver global air power from right here in Hampton Roads,” Beaulieu said.