Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne’s latest letter to airmen praises their work and support for the service’s recapitalization efforts, which, he writes, “are bearing fruit, but not at a rate that satisfies me.” Wynne notes that the goal of recapitalizing the aging fleet while maintaining a suitable quality of life for airmen, winning the war on terror, and sustaining Air Force air and space power remains at the mercy of “a future we cannot always control.” Taking a swipe at budgeteers, he points out that it takes “the national will to have a well-equipped Air Force,” and he reminds Congress that USAF “must be allowed to acquire and retire our equipment whether in air, space, missiles, or cyberspace.”
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.