Nearing her first anniversary as the 23rd Air Force secretary, Deborah Lee James took to social media today to answer questions from airmen across the globe on topics ranging from budget and pay to promotions and force shaping.
Her hour-long global town hall meeting, “Open Door with Secretary James,” enabled live-broadcast access and real-time responses through the hash tag “#SecAfchat” as questions rolled in through Facebook, Twitter, Skype and video.
James explained that aside from focusing on budget and policy issues, her other emphasis as secretary has been interacting with airmen and their leaders in the field, an effort she noted has so far included visits to 57 bases, 26 states and U.S. territories, as well as to Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Korea.
She reported that while Air Force priorities during her tenure include striking the right balance between current and future readiness, and making every dollar count, taking care of people is perhaps the most critical.
Turning the tide of sex assault
James described stamping out sexual assault, for example, as a huge priority for the Defense Department and the Air Force, which through heightened awareness and training has “turned the corner” to reduce incidents and increase victims’ confidence in the reporting system.
“One of the things I do at every base is meet privately with those who are on … the front line of defense of this war -- the sexual assault and response coordinators … victim advocates and special victims counsel as well,” she said.
But the effort is far from over, James maintained.
“Are we done yet? No. Is it good enough? Absolutely not. Do we have to keep on it? You better believe it,” she said, noting the need for persistent leadership and focus. “… [T]hose who have been in the field for some number of years now report to me that we are night and day as compared to say five or six years ago with respect to leadership involvement, training materials, victim care and how the [Office of Special Investigations] investigates cases,” she noted.
Promotion system focuses on feedback, performance
Similar improvements, James explained, are also underway for the Weighted Airman Promotion System, which will positively affect enlistments by focusing on performance and ensuring continuous, effective and fair feedback between a supervisor and an airman.
The new system, she said, is designed to discourage inflated grades. “If everybody gets the same grade,” she said, “and it’s a top grade in every respect, then really what do those grades mean?”
The secretary emphasized that the new system won’t impact future enlistments.
“We want to continue to focus on … high-quality young people who score well on their entrance exam … have completed a high-school program … and we want airmen in the future to believe in our core values and live them: integrity, service before self and excellence in all we do,” the secretary said.
Whether downrange in the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, humanitarian air drops throughout the Pacific or assisting in the fight against Ebola in West Africa, the Air Force is leading the way, James said.
“Without question … we are the best Air Force on the planet, second to none,” James said, “first and foremost, because of our airmen – the quality people, the dedication, the passion and I have seen this in spades … in all of my travels.”
(Follow Amaani Lyle on Twitter: @LyleDODNews)