United States Secretary of the Air Force

Secretary of the Air Force SecAF
Seal of the Department of the Air Force
Flag of the Secretary of the Air Force
Incumbent Deborah Lee James since December 20, 2013
Department of the Air Force
Style	Madam Secretary The Honorable (formal address in writing)
Reports to	Secretary of Defense Deputy Secretary of Defense
Appointer	The President with the advice and consent of the Senate
Term length	No fixed term
Inaugural holder	Stuart Symington
Formation	September 18, 1947
Succession	4th in SecDef succession
Deputy	The Under Secretary (principal civilian deputy) The Chief of Staff (military advisor and deputy)
Salary	Level II of the Executive Schedule
Website	Official Website

The Secretary of the Air Force (SecAF, or SAF/OS) is the Head of the Department of the Air Force, a component organization within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Secretary of the Air Force is appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Secretary reports to the Secretary of Defense and/or the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and is by statute responsible for and has the authority to conduct all the affairs of the Department of the Air Force.

The Secretary works closely with his/her civilian deputy, the Under Secretary of the Air Force; and his/her military deputy, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, who is the senior ranked uniformed officer in the United States Air Force.

The first Secretary of the Air Force, Stuart Symington, was sworn-in on September 18, 1947 upon the re-organization of the Army Air Forces into a military department and a military service of its own, independent of the War Department/Army, with the enactment of the National Security Act. The salary of SECAF IS $179,700, Level II.

On December 13, 2013, Deborah Lee James was confirmed by the United States Senate to be the next Secretary of the Air Force. She was sworn in by Timothy Beyland on December 20. Undersecretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning assumed the role of acting secretary when then-Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley stepped down in June.

President Obama nominated James on August 1, 2013. At that time, she was serving as president of the technology and engineering sector at Science Applications International Corporation.

Responsibilities

The Secretary is the head of the Department of the Air Force, analogous to that of a chief executive officer of a corporation. The Department of the Air Force is defined as a Military Department. It is not limited to the Washington headquarter staffs, rather it is an entity which includes all the components of the United States Air Force and the Air National Guard:

The term 'department', when used with respect to a military department, means the executive part of the department and all field headquarters, forces, reserve components, installations, activities, and functions under the control or supervision of the Secretary of the department.

The exclusive responsibilities of the Secretary of the Air Force are enumerated in Title 10 Section 8013 (b) of the United States Code. They include, but are not limited to:

(1) Recruiting.

(2) Organizing.
(3) Supplying.
(4) Equipping (including research and development).
(5) Training.
(6) Servicing.
(7) Mobilizing.
(8) Demobilizing.
(9) Administering (including the morale and welfare of personnel).
(10) Maintaining.
(11) The construction, outfitting, and repair of military equipment.

(12) The construction, maintenance, and repair of buildings, structures, and utilities and the acquisition of real property and interests in real property necessary to carry out the responsibilities specified in this section.

Stuart Symington is sworn-in as Secretary of the Air Force by Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson on September 18, 1947.

By direction of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force assigns military units of the Department of the Air Force, other than those who carry out the functions listed in 10 USC 8013 (b), to the Unified and Specified Combatant Commands to perform missions assigned to those commands. Air Force units while assigned to Combatant Commands may only be reassigned by authority of the Secretary of Defense.

However, the chain of command for Air Force units for other purposes than the operational direction goes from the President to the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of the Air Force to the Commanders of Air Force Commands. Air Force Officers have to report on any matter to the Secretary, or the Secretary's designate, when requested. The Secretary has the authority to detail, prescribe the duties, and to assign air force service members and civilian employees, and may also change the title of any activity not statutorily designated. The Secretary has several responsibilities under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) with respect to Air Force service members, including to authority to convene General Courts Martial and to commute sentences.

The Secretary of the Air Force may also be assigned additional responsibilities by the President or the Secretary of Defense, e.g. the Secretary is designated as the "DoD Executive Agent for Space", and as such:

...shall develop, coordinate, and integrate plans and programs for space systems and the acquisition of DoD Space Major Defense Acquisition Programs to provide operational space force capabilities to ensure the United States has the space power to achieve its national security objectives.

Office of the Secretary of the Air Force

Office of the Secretary of the Air Force

Agency overview
Formed	1947
Headquarters	Pentagon
Parent agency	Department of the Air Force

The Secretary of the Air Force's principal staff element, the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, has responsibility for acquisition and auditing, comptroller issues (including financial management), inspector general matters, legislative affairs, and public affairs within the Department of the Air Force. The Office of the Secretary of the Air Force is one of the Department of the Air Force's two headquarter staffs at the seat of government, the other one is the Air Staff.

Composition

The Office of the Secretary of the Air Force is composed of:

• Under Secretary of the Air Force
  • The Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs
  • The Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space Programs
• Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition
• Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller
• Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics
• Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs
• General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force
• Inspector General of the Air Force
• Chief of Legislative Liaison
• Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force
• Auditor General of the Department of the Air Force
• Air Reserve Forces Policy Committee

Chronological list of Secretaries of the Air Force

No.	Image	Name	Term of Office			Secretaries of Defense serving under:	President appointed by:
			Began	Ended	Days of Service
1		W. Stuart Symington	September 18, 1947	April 24, 1950		James Forrestal Louis Johnson	Harry S. Truman
2		Thomas K. Finletter	April 24, 1950	January 20, 1953		Louis Johnson George Marshall Robert Lovett
3		Harold E. Talbott	February 4, 1953	August 13, 1955		Charles Wilson	Dwight D. Eisenhower
4		Donald A. Quarles	August 15, 1955	April 30, 1957
5		James H. Douglas, Jr.	May 1, 1957	December 10, 1959		Charles Wilson Neil McElroy Thomas Gates
6	75px	Dudley C. Sharp	December 11, 1959	January 20, 1961		Thomas Gates
7		Eugene M. Zuckert	January 24, 1961	September 30, 1965		Robert McNamara	John F. Kennedy
8		Harold Brown	October 1, 1965	February 15, 1969		Robert McNamara Clark Clifford Mel Laird	Lyndon B. Johnson
9		Robert C. Seamans, Jr.	February 15, 1969	May 15, 1973		Mel Laird Elliot Richardson	Richard M. Nixon
(acting)		John L. McLucas	May 15, 1973	July 18, 1973		Elliot Richardson James Schlesinger
10			July 18, 1973	November 23, 1975		James Schlesinger Donald Rumsfeld
(acting)		James W. Plummer	November 24, 1975	January 1, 1976		Donald Rumsfeld	Gerald Ford
11		Thomas C. Reed	January 2, 1976	April 6, 1977		Donald Rumsfeld Harold Brown
12		John C. Stetson	April 6, 1977	May 18, 1979		Harold Brown	Jimmy Carter
(acting)		Hans Mark	May 18, 1979	July 26, 1979
13			July 26, 1979	February 9, 1981		Harold Brown Caspar Weinberger
14	75px	Verne Orr	February 9, 1981	November 30, 1985		Caspar Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
15	75px	Russell A. Rourke	December 9, 1985	April 6, 1986
(acting)	75px	Edward C. Aldridge Jr.	April 6, 1986	June 8, 1986
16			June 9, 1986	December 16, 1988		Caspar Weinberger Frank Carlucci
(acting)		James F. McGovern	December 16, 1988	April 29, 1989		Frank Carlucci Dick Cheney
(acting)		John J. Welch, Jr.	April 29, 1989	May 21, 1989		Dick Cheney	George H. W. Bush
17	75px	Donald B. Rice	May 1, 1989	January 20, 1993
(acting)		Michael B. Donley	January 20, 1993	July 13, 1993		Les Aspin	Bill Clinton
(acting)		Merrill A. McPeak	July 14, 1993	August 5, 1993
18		Sheila E. Widnall	August 6, 1993	October 31, 1997		Les Aspin William Perry William Cohen
(acting)		F. Whitten Peters	November 1, 1997	July 30, 1999		William Cohen
19			July 30, 1999	January 20, 2001
(acting)		Lawrence J. Delaney	January 21, 2001	May 31, 2001		Donald Rumsfeld	George W. Bush
20		James G. Roche	June 1, 2001	January 20, 2005
(acting)	75px	Peter B. Teets	January 20, 2005	March 25, 2005
(acting)		Michael Montelongo	March 25, 2005	March 28, 2005
(acting)		Michael L. Dominguez	March 28, 2005	July 29, 2005
(acting)	75px	Pete Geren	July 29, 2005	November 4, 2005
21		Michael Wynne	November 4, 2005	June 20, 2008		Donald Rumsfeld Robert Gates
(acting)		Michael B. Donley	June 21, 2008	October 2, 2008		Robert Gates Leon Panetta Chuck Hagel
22			October 2, 2008	June 21, 2013
(acting)	75px	Eric Fanning	June 21, 2013	December 20, 2013		Chuck Hagel Ashton Carter	Barack Obama
23		Deborah Lee James	December 20, 2013	Incumbent

See also

• Air Force Cross (United States)
• Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service

References

• Title 10 United States Code
  • Subtitle A - General Military Law
    • CHAPTER 1 - DEFINITIONS
      • § 101. Definitions
  • Subtitle D - Air Force
    • CHAPTER 6 - COMBATANT COMMANDERS
      • § 162. Combatant command: assigned forces; chain of command
    • CHAPTER 803 - DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
      • § 8011. Organization.
      • § 8013. Secretary of the Air Force.
      • § 8014. Office of the Secretary of the Air Force.
      • § 8015. Under Secretary of the Air Force.
    • CHAPTER 805 - THE AIR STAFF
      • § 8032. The Air Staff: general duties
      • § 8033. Chief of Staff
• Executive Order 12909, Order of Succession of Officers To Act as Secretary of the Air Force
• Department of Defense Directive (DODD) 5100.1, Functions of the Department of Defense and Its Major Components, August 1 2002.
• Department of Defense Directive (DODD) 5101.2, DoD Executive Agent for Space, June 3 2003.

External links

• Leaders Through the Years, 2012 USAF Almanac
• US Air Force Senior Leadership