Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James delivers remarks during a luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Dec. 2, 2015. James discussed her recent trip to the Middle East, Africa and Europe, where she met with military and civilian leaders as well as Airmen currently engaged in the fight against Daesh. (U.S. Air Force photo/Jim Varhegyi)SECAF National Press Club Luncheon
                        
                        
                        Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James delivers remarks during a luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Dec. 2, 2015. James discussed her recent trip to the Middle East, Africa and Europe, where she met with military and civilian leaders as well as Airmen currently engaged in the fight against Daesh. (U.S. Air Force photo/Jim Varhegyi)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

James discusses coalition efforts at press club luncheonPublished Dec. 3, 2015
                    
                    By Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs Command Information
            **WASHINGTON (AFNS) --**Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James discussed her two-week trip of seeing firsthand the Air Force’s role in coalition efforts against violent extremist organizations during a National Press Club luncheon Dec. 2.“I had the opportunity to see our Airmen of all ranks serving our nation, doing everything from advising foreign militaries to gathering and analyzing intelligence, coordinating the movement of supplies and equipment and even flying into combat,” James said.James mentioned she learned from several meetings that other nations expressed interest in buying or upgrading equipment along with training and exercises.“I believe the United States is the partner of choice for all (countries),” James said. “Building partnership capacity is really, really important especially in light of our ongoing efforts against violent extremist organizations.”Updating the foreign military sales process by setting a pre-approved technology transfer baseline, James said, would shorten a lengthy process to assess whether a particular capability can be transferred and help build future capacity through foreign military sales.“This is just the beginning of our efforts,” James said.The Air Force, she said, is keeping up the fight and pressure against all violent organizations. Senior commanders have indicated that the airpower strategy of degrading and ultimately destroying Daesh is proceeding at pace and getting the job done.“Daesh no longer has the ability to operate freely in somewhere between 20 to 25 percent of the populated territory it held one year ago in Iraq and Syria,” James said. “Their command and control centers, supply lines, equipment and training sites have been hit.”Deliberate targeting is used daily to detect, identify and develop a plan against the target in sufficient time. There are three steps in the process, such as study and collecting data, observing enemy activity and planning the best suited course of action.“We’re intensifying our efforts as much as possible, particularly as the indigenous ground forces improve and particularly as we get more of these deliberate targets,” James said.James’ team witnessed the essential role the Airmen who control remotely piloted aircraft are to the mission. In the future, a series of new initiatives will be announced to up the ante and alleviate stress from the RPA community.“Ultimately our goal in all of this is to direct some positive change from the top down and we also want to do a good job of listening from the bottom up and directing changes that come directly as suggestions from our Airmen,” James said.James believes the Air Force has many hotspots and challenges to confront, but it’s still the best.“My top three priorities are taking care of people, balancing readiness and modernization so that we get the right mix for today as well as the right mix of investment for tomorrow, and in light of these very tough budget times we're facing, we have to make every dollar count. We have to be efficient,” James said.coalition 



RPA 



intelligence 



airpower 



SecAF Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil