And With Congress

And With Congress: Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said he isn’t quite sure why the Air Force has a “trust” issue with Congress, a problem which came up in his confirmation hearings in July. “The feeling is, the Air Force doesn’t … tell the whole story or tries to slant the story,” Welsh said in a press conference after his speech to AFA’s Air & Space Conference Tuesday. “I don’t know anybody in the Air Force who does that. I certainly do not. And if I see it, I won’t allow it to happen,” and neither will Secretary Michael B. Donley, Welsh said. He’s really not sure how to rebuild the trust, he said, adding he thinks the solution is to simply meet regularly with members of Congress and their legislative assistants. “I need to know how they think,” he said, and maintain lines of communication. Part of it, too, is the jargon, he said, admitting that even he doesn’t understand much of what the Air Force is saying. “New terminology slips in … [and] unfortunately, there aren’t enough people who will stop the conversation and say, ‘what are you talking about?’ ”