MILWAUKEE COUNTY

Air Force secretary says at EAA AirVenture that policy on transgender people unchanged for now

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

OSHKOSH - One day after President Donald Trump tweeted his aim to bar transgender people from serving in the military, U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said Thursday that the Air Force policy would remain unchanged until the Defense Department gets further guidance from the White House.

"The (Air Force) chief of staff and I this morning just sent out guidance that says all airmen will be treated with dignity and respect," Wilson said in an interview Thursday at EAA AirVenture. "That our current policy will not change until we get further guidance from the secretary of defense — and the secretary of defense and the office of the secretary of defense is working with the White House on what the commander-in-chief’s policy and guidance is," Wilson said.

Wilson echoed other branches of the military Thursday seeking to reassure transgender troops that their jobs and health care are safe, at least for now.

Wilson, 56, spent a few days at AirVenture this week to meet with EAA and Civil Air Patrol members, take part in commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the Air Force and the 75th anniversary of the 8th Air Force, hand out awards and visit with recruiters, pilots and aviation enthusiasts.

The 1982 Air Force Academy graduate oversees a $132 billion budget and 660,000 active duty, guard, reserves and civilian employees. She was the president of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology when Defense Secretary Jim Mattis recruited her earlier this year to become Air Force secretary.

Soon after she was confirmed by Congress in May she realized that the Air Force was grappling with an aging fleet of planes — the average age is 27 years — as well as a workforce facing a critical shortage of pilots.

"I was surprised at the low levels of readiness and concerned about it, so our top priority is to restore readiness so we win any fight, any time. The second clear area of focus is the need to modernize so we can improve the lethality of the force," Wilson said.

Pilots are leaving the military because of multiple deployments in the last decade, often at the urging of their families. Meanwhile, airlines are hiring pilots at an unprecedented rate to fill openings from a large number of airline pilots reaching mandatory retirement age. Most airlines have boosted hiring requirements to include a minimum of 1,500 hours flight time.

"It's hard to get that if you're not in the service. The source of pilots has narrowed and so we (the military) are a good source," Wilson said.

That was one of her missions at AirVenture — to discuss with civilian aviation authorities ways to get more people interested in flying.

She has requested funding to add 4,000 active duty troops as well as to ramp up replacing older jets and planes. What hasn't surprised her, she said, is the quality of people in the Air Force.

"When I was a young officer, some of the senior officers had had Vietnam experience but that was a long way in their rearview mirror. Everyone in the Air Force today pretty much has current combat experience. One of the things that combat does is it separates the wheat from the chaff. So we have a very good team," she said.

The New Hampshire native secured a spot in flight school after graduating from the Air Force Academy as well as a Rhodes Scholarship. She chose to become a Rhodes Scholar, earning a master's and doctorate in international relations at Oxford University in England and then served as a planning officer at NATO headquarters in Britain.

Also on her résumé is a stint on the National Security Council as director of defense policy and arms control under President George H.W. Bush and representing New Mexico's 1st Congressional District from 1998 to 2009, serving on the armed services committee.

Another goal as Air Force secretary is to reduce the bureaucracy she says is chasing away good airmen who are fed up with too many regulations. Wilson learned that the Air Force's 1,306 instructions equate to 130,000 requirements at the wing level, often requirements that are unclear. Micromanaging means the Air Force has lost focus on the importance of training and educating airmen, she said.

At the time she had the opportunity to become an Air Force pilot in the early 1980s, women were not allowed to fly combat missions. Wilson said she has no regrets because the Rhodes Scholarship was a great opportunity. She has since earned an instrument-rated private pilot's license and enjoys flying around South Dakota's Black Hills in her Cessna 152.

She's also an EAA member as was her late father. This was her first visit to the Oshkosh aviation convention.