ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —
The Honorable Kristyn Jones, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller, performing the duties of under secretary of the Air Force, toured the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility May 1-9.
Jones met with Airmen, Guardians, joint service members, and military families at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; Joint Region Marianas, Guam; Kadena Air Base, Japan; and U.S. Forces Japan.
At each location in this priority theater, she communicated the Department of the Air Force’s mandate to project power and expand combat capability across the region and the joint force. She spoke with commanders to better understand their resource requirements and their challenges in preparing for the strategic pacing challenge presented by the People’s Republic of China. During her meetings with Airmen, Guardians and their families, Jones further emphasized the importance of people – the Department’s most valuable resource.
“Visiting our Airmen and Guardians serving in the Indo-Pacific provided me with firsthand knowledge to inform resourcing discussions at headquarters,” Jones said. “It is our responsibility to provide our service members and their families with what they need to execute demanding daily missions while preparing for future conflicts per the National Defense Strategy,”
Jones’s visit focused on a wide range of Department capabilities enabling the joint force, from maintaining base infrastructure and aircraft to ensuring uninterrupted operations of satellites in orbit.
While in Hawaii, she met with Pacific Air Forces leadership to better understand the major command’s overall infrastructure, mission challenges, and opportunities relative to the pacing challenge.
In Guam, Jones toured Anderson Air Force Base to better understand fuel and munitions storage capacity and the mission of the 21st Space Operations Squadron. In addition, Jones met with telecommunications and power providers, who maintain the critical infrastructure for an increasingly networked global joint force. A stop at Tinian further reinforced the recurring theme of the criticality of infrastructure. Jones reflected on the Guam portion of her trip in a statement in late May.
“Our Airmen and Guardians operating out of Guam rely on us to resource a resilient base and resilient people in the face of the pacing challenge, as well as natural disasters such as Typhoon Mawar,” Jones said.
While in Japan, she visited the largest U.S. military installation in the Indo-Pacific and the Air Force’s largest wing at Kadena Air Base, and she spent time with Soldiers from the Army’s 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery.
“The joint force depends on our ability to project credible airpower throughout the Indo-Pacific, and our ability to do so relies heavily on Team Kadena,” Jones said. “I’m proud of our ability to integrate seamlessly with our sister services at joint installations and on the battlefield, which will be critical to staying ahead of our competitors.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has often said the United States’s network of allies and partners is the country’s main advantage over any potential challenger, and each installation is maintaining and strengthening these vital regional relationships.
“More importantly, strategic bases in this theater enable us to work side-by-side with those who help us meet the challenge of maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Jones said.
Whether stationed at Guam, Tinian, Japan, or Hawaii, Airmen and Guardians are advancing Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall‘s Seven Operational Imperatives, which lay the path for the Department to implement the National Defense Strategy.
“Meeting with the various U.S. units, allies, and partners was invaluable,” Jones said. “Our Airmen, Guardians, and their families are our most valuable resource. Their commitment to securing credible power projection and expanding combat capability remains unmatched. As a Department, we must remain committed to getting our people the necessary resources.”
*If you or anyone you know were impacted by Typhoon Mawar, please visit Andersen AFB Facebook page or their website for additional information and helpful resources. Links:
https://www.facebook.com/Andersen36WG/
