Wynne-Lose, or ….:

Oct. 7, 2005

The Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday took up Michael Wynne’s nomination to be Secretary of the Air Force. Though Sen. Carl Levin, the ranking Democrat, thought Wynne’s involvement in the tanker controversy would be a non-issue (DR, 10/06/05), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) couldn’t pass it up. McCain, who led the attack on the Air Force over the propriety of a tanker-lease deal, also demanded assurances that Wynne had a plan to overcome cost overruns in several major USAF programs. Wynne assured him that he planned to balance technology, requirements, and schedules. He emphasized the need to give program managers more authority to say “no” to add-ons to control costs.

Related Content

Virtual Events: Bridenstine and Raymond on Mitchell’s Space Power Forum

Sept. 21, 2020
Today, the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute will host a Space Power Forum about NASA and U.S. Space Force Partnership in Space featuring NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and USSF Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond. Event video will tentatively be posted to the think tank's website and…

Rolls-Royce, Air Force Nearing Deal on VR Engine Training for Some C-130Js

Sept. 21, 2020
The Air Force and Rolls-Royce are finalizing a contract for new Virtual Reality Maintenance Training Software for the C-130J’s AE 2100 engines, giving Airmen the chance to virtually “break open” and train on power plants as opposed to working on an aircraft’s real engine. The software system, combined with off-the-shelf…

Air Force to Test Weapons Swarming Software in October

Sept. 21, 2020
Air Force researchers in October will test whether a software version of the service’s developmental weapons swarm can make its way through a combat mission and reroute itself as conditions change. The demonstration is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Golden Horde initiative, a high-profile project to create munition…

USAF Wants Promotions to Be More Equitable, Brown Says

Sept. 21, 2020
USAF is exploring ways to make promotions less biased based on Air Force Specialty Codes and other demographics, Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown Jr. told reporters on Sept. 16. “We started to look at how we bring folks in and open up the candidate pool in certain…

Space Force Focuses on Threat as It Builds Training

Sept. 21, 2020
The U.S. Space Force is leveraging what has been learned at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and using the Air Force model as it works to determine how best to train space professionals going forward, Maj. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt, director of operations and communications for the Space Force, said…

How Social Distancing Helped the Air Force Fix Lackland’s Dorms

Sept. 21, 2020
A tent city erected at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, on April 28 not only gave Air Education and Training Command “swing space” to ensure its Basic Military Training recruits and tech school students heeded COVID-19-era social distancing mandates, but it also gave the command a chance to make much-needed…

BMT Is Ending at Keesler—for Now

Sept. 21, 2020
Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., will welcome its final Basic Military Training flight of 2020 in the last week of September, with graduation slated for before Thanksgiving, 2nd Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Andrea D. Tullos told reporters on Sept. 21. “We'll then take about 90 days to do an…

Snapshot: DOD and COVID-19

Sept. 20, 2020
Here's a look at how the Defense Department is being impacted by and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Soldier’s Death Spurs Harder Look at Military Sexual Assault Across DOD

Sept. 18, 2020
The Air Force has more to do to lead by example, and to create a culture where people feel comfortable discussing sexual assault and other forms of violence with their superiors, service leadership said. The death of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old Soldier who disappeared from Fort Hood, Texas,…