Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall highlighted air mobility force's growing role in Great Power Competition in his keynote address during the Airlift/Tanker Association Symposium Nov. 1, 2024, in Grapevine, Texas.
"If I can point to one change that I've personally experienced, it might be increased appreciation for our nation's air mobility capability, for the people who provide that capability and perhaps most importantly, for the increased operational risk facing the mobility community" he said.
Since Spring 2022, the Department of the Air Force has mobility on their high-priority operational initiatives, according to Kendall.
"We did so with what we called a 'cross cutting operational enabler' for our list of high-priority operational problems we needed to address," Kendall said. "We also initiated the Next Generation Aerial Refueling System Analysis of Alternatives shortly thereafter as a direct result of the increasing counter-air threat to our tankers."
During his speech, Kendall reiterated the importance of recognizing the People's Republic of China as a strategic competitor and the modernization efforts the Department has learned are necessary to mitigate counter-air and other threats a peer conflict can pose to weapon systems and people.
"The enterprise-wide effort that I've seen over the last year to reoptimize our force and point it at our pacing threat has demonstrated this sense of urgency," Kendall said. "Air Mobility Command has taken full ownership and led the way."
Kendall looked to history to explain the dangers of complacency. He used anecdotes from World War II to demonstrate how adaptation and addressing lessons learned are the best way to win against a formidable opponent.
"The [United States] has been remarkably successful in its employment of air mobility, both transport and tanker operations," he said. "For a long time, we've been able to conduct these operations largely without interference from adversaries. From the first Gulf War, through the mission in Kabul, we've been able to operate relatively freely…China has, like the Soviet Union, adapted. So must we. Complacency, or resistance to change, would be a serious mistake."
During his speech, he also addressed his three main pillars: modernization and improving competitive advantage; organization, training, innovation under the rubric of Reoptimizing for Great Power Competition; and the adequacy of the resources made available to Department of the Air Force.
The secretary discussed the department's efforts in finding a combination of the next generation aircraft, which includes NGAS, to find cost effective modernization solutions. Kendall also addressed transitioning the force to a wartime posture, the force's progress in eliminating technical "debt," and improving cyber security resilience.
"One fact highly relevant to this community does stand out as we consider the threat environment in the Pacific - we must have a more resilient tanking capability," he said.
Kendall spoke about airbase resilience and how resourcing, organizing and training to support Agile Combat Employment can help reinforce this operational imperative. He also discussed the importance of threat mitigation-from missiles to hypersonic weapons-and how addressing this has been a joint effort between the Air Force and the Army.
"The need for improved connectivity and some degree of enhanced self-protection measures appears to be attractive from both an affordability and cost-effectiveness perspectives," Kendall said. "It is also something that can be accomplished in relatively short timeframes at relatively low cost...The needed program of modernization will only grow in the years to come."
Kendall acknowledged that the mission does not stop and concluded with his appreciation of the Total Force mobility team that employs aircrew on the road one out of every three days, on average, to provide global reach, anytime, anywhere.
"To prevent a war, we have to be ready, and the more ready we are, the less likely a war will become, and the higher our chances of victory will be," Kendall said. "That's our job, that's why we have a military, an Air Force and a mobility force."
