Verbatim

Champagne Corks at the Chinese Embassy

There are three entities I worry about with these Senate holds, and first and foremost would be our professional officer corps. … People who raised their right hand and … who will take a bullet for the nation, the Constitution, but when it comes to dragging their family through a briar patch and putting 5,000 volts through kids’ schools, and spouse employment … each one has their own individual red line. … We’re on the fringe of losing a generation of champions. Second, … allies and partners. …They look to us for a beacon of confidence and competence of a military hitting on all eight cylinders. And I would say, the dynamic we’re in right now does not instill confidence. Some of them are interested and vexed. Some of them are downright concerned. … And third, … our adversaries. Where our allies and partners look for confidence, our adversaries look for weakness, and they look for fractures, and this situation is … instilling confidence in our adversaries. If you drive north of the National Cathedral, up Connecticut Avenue, that popping sound you hear is not gunfire. It is champagne corks in the Chinese embassy.

Gen. Mark D. Kelly, Commander, Air Combat Command, press conference at ASC23, Sept. 14.

Let Freedom Ring

If we abandon the core principles of the [U.N. Charter] to appease an aggressor, can any member state in this body feel confident that they are protected?… If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure? I’d respectfully suggest the answer is no. We must stand up to this naked aggression today and deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow.”

President Joe Biden addressing the United Nations General Assembly encouraging continued support for Ukraine Sept. 19.

Is USAF in a Recruiting Crisis?

I’m not alarmed by [our] situation. We put a lot less resources into recruiting than the other services do, and with a relatively modest increase in resources, I think we could do much better. A lot of recruiting is face-to-face conversations, and the numbers of people you have out on the ground doing things matters.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, press conference at ASC23, Sept. 11.

Tell a Friend

[In] 1995, if there were 100 people in the room and I asked how many had a parent who served or is serving, 40 hands would have gone up. I ask that question now … and about 13 or 14 hands go up. There’s nobody in their family that’s telling their story. … Out of that generational disconnection, comes unfamiliarity with what a job in the Air Force entails.

Brig. Gen. Christopher Amrhein, Commander of the U.S. Air Force Recruiting Service, speaking at ASC23 on Sept. 11.

B-21 Copycats Beware

This program is not a wind-up toy, where you crank the spring on it, you drop the contract off, and come back in 10 years to see: how close to the mark did it end up? We haven’t approached it that way. It needs to be actively managed. We need to look for opportunities to go faster, to be better, and we need to seize those opportunities on an ongoing basis. … For the adversary out there, this comes with a lot of … hard-earned experience that I don’t think anybody’s going to copy anytime soon.

William Bailey, Director and Program Executive Officer, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, panel discussion on the B-21 Raider, at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference (ASC23), Sept. 13.

Much Obliged

I am concerned about the growing relationship between Russia and Iran and the drones being supplied to Russia. Who would have ever thought that the Russian Federation would need to go to Iran for military capabilities, and yet we’re there. That means that Russia actually owes Iran something. I’m concerned about the level of collaboration that might happen.

Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, the head of U.S. Air Forces Central, during a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi on Sept. 24.

Above and Beyond

I may have enlisted in military service in 1994, but I had not joined the profession of arms until years later. Becoming a principled public servant helped give me purpose, and an initial four-year contract turned into a lifelong commitment. … So today after 29 years of service, I stand here to say that … I [am] still here for one reason, and that is you, the Guardians of the Space Force and your families, and the importance that you hold to our nation.

Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John Bentivegna, speaking at the change of responsibility ceremony, Sept. 15, at Joint Base Andrews, Md.