Michael B. Donley

United States Secretary of the Air Force

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Secretary of the Air Force
Incumbent: The Honorable Michael B. Donley since: 21 June 2008 (Acting) 2 October 2008
First	Stuart Symington
Formation	1947
Website	www.af.mil

The Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF, or SAF/OS) is the Head of the Department of the Air Force of the United States of America, a military department (i.e. sub-cabinet level) that is a component organization of the Department of Defense. The Secretary of the Air Force is appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advise and consent of the Senate.^[1] He or She 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.^[2]
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.

Contents [show]

[edit] 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^[3]. 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.[4]

”

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.[5]

”

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 re-assigned by authority of the Secretary of Defense^[6].
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^[7]. 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.^[8]
The Secretary of the Air Force may also be assigned additional responsibilities by the President or the Secretary of Defense^[9], 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.[10]

”

[edit] Office of the Secretary 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 is the Air Staff.

[edit] Composition

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

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

[edit] Chronological list of Secretaries of the Air Force

#	Picture	Name	Term of Office	Served under	Under the direction of
1		Stuart Symington	September 18, 1947 – April 24, 1950	Harry S. Truman	James Forrestal Louis Johnson
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	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Charles Wilson
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		Dudley C. Sharp	December 11, 1959 – January 20, 1961		Thomas Gates
7		Eugene M. Zuckert	January 24, 1961 – September 30, 1965	John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson	Robert McNamara
8		Harold Brown	October 1, 1965 – February 15, 1969	Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon	Robert McNamara Clark Clifford Mel Laird
9		Robert C. Seamans, Jr.	February 15, 1969 – May 15, 1973	Richard M. Nixon	Mel Laird Elliot Richardson
(acting)		John L. McLucas	May 15, 1973 – July 18, 1973		Elliot Richardson James Schlesinger
10			July 18, 1973 – November 23, 1975	Richard M. Nixon and Gerald Ford	James Schlesinger Donald Rumsfeld
(acting)		James W. Plummer	November 24, 1975 – January 1, 1976	Gerald Ford	Donald Rumsfeld
11		Thomas C. Reed	January 2, 1976 – April 6, 1977	Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter	Donald Rumsfeld Harold Brown
12		John C. Stetson	April 6, 1977 – May 18, 1979	Jimmy Carter	Harold Brown
(acting)		Hans Mark	May 18, 1979 – July 26, 1979
13			July 26, 1979 – February 9, 1981	Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan	Harold Brown Caspar Weinberger
14		Verne Orr	February 9, 1981 – November 30, 1985	Ronald Reagan	Caspar Weinberger
15		Russell A. Rourke	December 9, 1985 – April 6, 1986
(acting)		Edward C. Aldridge Jr.	April 8, 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	Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush	Frank Carlucci Dick Cheney
(acting)		John J. Welch Jr.	April 29, 1989 – May 21, 1989	George H. W. Bush	Dick Cheney
17		Donald B. Rice	May 1, 1989 – January 20, 1993
(acting)		Michael B. Donley	January 20, 1993 – July 13, 1993	Bill Clinton	Les Aspin
(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	George W. Bush	Donald Rumsfeld
20		James G. Roche	June 1, 2001 – January 20, 2005
(acting)		Peter B. Teets	January 20, 2005 – March 25, 2005
(acting)		Michael Montelongo	March 25– March 28, 2005
(acting)		Michael L. Dominguez	March 28, 2005 – July 29, 2005
(acting)		Pete Geren [11]	July 29, 2005 – November 4, 2005
21		Michael Wynne	November 4, 2005 – June 5, 2008		Donald Rumsfeld Robert Gates
(acting)		Michael B. Donley	June 9, 2008 – October 2, 2008		Robert Gates
22			October 2, 2008 – present	George W. Bush and Barack Obama

[edit] 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
• 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.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ 10 USC 8013 (a)
2. ^ 10 USC 8013 (a)-(b)
3. ^ 10 USC 101 (a)(8)
4. ^ 10 USC 101 (a)(6)
5. ^ 10 USC 8013 (b)
6. ^ 10 USC 162 (a)
7. ^ DODD 5100.1, 6.1.
8. ^ 10 USC 8013 (f-g)
9. ^ 10 USC 8013 (d)
10. ^ DODD 5101.2, 3. MISSION
11. ^ DefenseLink News Article: Army Secretary Resigns in Wake of Walter Reed Outpatient-Care Shortfalls

[edit] External links

	United States Air Force portal
	Military of the United States portal

• Air Force History: Secretaries of the Air Force
• US Air Force Senior Leadership
• Executive Order 12909, Order of Succession of Officers To Act as Secretary of the Air Force

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Categories: United States Air Force | United States Secretaries of the Air Force | Lists of government ministers | 1947 establishments