Need For Speed
If I look at the future of conflict, one of the attributes I am focused on is speed—the speed of recognition, the speed of decisions, the speed of action. … The ability for all of us to see and recognize the environment—to be able to work with each other and have the dialogue at the speed of the battle and operate as one—that will be the key. … We need true interoperability… so we can all respond at speed.
— Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin at the Air Force Forum in Tokyo, which included senior leaders from over 20 nations on Oct. 15.
Fight Tonight
You can only train with what you have. We, the headquarters, are going to work those acquisition pieces and eventually provide that capability. But if it doesn’t deliver until tomorrow, figuratively, it doesn’t help those squadrons tonight. So we’re going to focus on tonight.
— New AMC boss Gen. John D. Lamontagne on preparing Airmen to fight with what they have on hand [Oct. 3].
Still Fighting
My hope is that I will have the opportunity to continue to serve. If not, you can be certain I will be working as hard as I can, for as long as I can, to prepare the Department of the Air Force for a conflict that is not inevitable but may be becoming more likely over time. … I will spend whatever time I have left in public service, working as hard as I can to get the Department of the Air Force the resources that it needs to be successful and to successfully deter our adversaries, and if needed, to achieve victory.
— Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall during his keynote speech at AFA’s 2024 ASC Conference [Sept. 16].
Exclusive Club
There are more countries in the world that can produce nuclear weapons than can produce high-
performance, high-reliability jet engines.— Chris Flynn, vice president, military development programs at Pratt & Whitney, commenting at ASC24 on the strength but fragility of the U.S. military engine “ecosystem,” arguing that it needs to be sustained because the projects requiring such engines are diminishing and there are longer periods of time between them.
Global Reach
This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified. … The employment of U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers demonstrates U.S. global strike capabilities to take action against these targets, when necessary, anytime, anywhere.
— Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after being directed by President Joe Biden to use Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers to bomb Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen on Oct. 17.
Bets Down
You have to maintain those relationships to make sure that we’re all communicating, because when you are in an era of scarce resources, you can’t afford to guess wrong.
— Michael R. Gregg, Director of Air Force Research Laboratories Aerospace Systems Directorate, on the need to maintain close communication with industry on what is technologically possible when new threats are being fielded rapidly.
‘Gucci’ Out
Old Big Sexy is going away, but rest assured that the 9th Air Refueling Squadron and the other tanker squadrons, they’re still going to be bringing fuel to the fight in an upgraded capacity.
— Master Sgt. Van Stewart Jr., the flight engineer on the KC-10 Extender’s (nicknamed Gucci) last flight on Sept. 26.