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      Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson laughs with Women's Auxiliary Service Pilot Jane Doyle while she autographs a T-shirt following a group portrait of women aviators in Oshkosh, Wisc., July 26, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)SecAF Visits Oshkosh Experimental Aircraft Association
                        
                        
                        Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson laughs with Women's Auxiliary Service Pilot Jane Doyle while she autographs a T-shirt following a group portrait of women aviators in Oshkosh, Wisc., July 26, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson encourages Wisconsin Civil Air Patrol Cadet Hamilton at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture 2017 in Oshkosh, Wisc., July 26, 2017.  (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)SecAF Visits Oshkosh Experimental Aircraft Association
                        
                        
                        Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson encourages Wisconsin Civil Air Patrol Cadet Hamilton at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture 2017 in Oshkosh, Wisc., July 26, 2017.  (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson learns about innovative development using virtual reality during the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture 2017 in Oshkosh, Wisc., July 26, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)SecAF Visits Oshkosh Experimental Aircraft Association
                        
                        
                        Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson learns about innovative development using virtual reality during the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture 2017 in Oshkosh, Wisc., July 26, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Multiple B-25s simulate the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture 2017 night show in Oshkosh, Wisc., July 26, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)SecAF Visits Oshkosh Experimental Aircraft Association
                        
                        
                        Multiple B-25s simulate the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture 2017 night show in Oshkosh, Wisc., July 26, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

SecAF celebrates aviation heritage, meets with aviation leaders at OshkoshPublished July 27, 2017
                    
                    By   Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
            **OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN (AFNS) --**Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson visited Wisconsin July 26-27, 2017 to celebrate aviators’ shared heritage with generations of Airmen at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture Oshkosh 2017.
Wilson met with Airmen of all ages from retired Lt. Col. Dick Cole, the last living Doolittle Raider, to a group of high school girls in EAA’s Women Soar You Soar program.
“Meeting Dick Cole and offering a toast to the men in Doolittle’s Raiders was a great honor for me,” said Wilson. “The Air Force turns 70 this year, and men like Lt. Col. Cole are the giants whose shoulders we built upon when we created a separate force. The courage and dedication to service of Jimmy Doolittle’s Raiders inspire the next generation of Airmen.”
On April 18, 1942, 80 men achieved the unimaginable when they took off from an aircraft carrier on a top secret mission to bomb Japan. These men, led by Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, came to be known as the Doolittle Raiders. 
The raid was extremely important in the development of American air power. It marked the first combat use of strategic bombardment by the then U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II. While the attack itself caused little actual damage to the Japanese war industry, the psychological impact on the Japanese military, and the American public, proved to be immense. It forced the Japanese military to pull forces back from the front lines to protect the home islands, and showed Americans that the war could be won.
“The Doolittle Raid was a remarkable example of what American Airmen can achieve when their leadership empowers them to innovate,” said Wilson. “That mission continues to inspire Airmen today who are creating new tactics for remotely piloted aircraft, designing new techniques to leverage our space assets and using technology in ways we never would have thought possible only a few years ago. Our job as leaders is to enable innovation in order to increase the lethality of the force.”
At the event, Wilson also met with commercial innovators who are advancing unmanned technology and advanced simulation. 
“We need to engage the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators,” said Wilson. “We need to innovate faster than the enemy, and a lot of that innovation is going to be coming from outside the Air Force. We need to get out where they are and not make them come to us through a bureaucratic process.”
Wilson also met with the EAA chief executive officer, Jack Pelton, and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association CEO and president, Mark Baker, to talk about the nation’s pilot shortage and discuss ways the Air Force and commercial and private aviators can work together to attract more of the nation’s brightest young men and women to a career in aviation.
The secretary’s visit to Oshkosh comes at a time when the service is facing a shortage in pilots and major airline hiring has continued to increase. The Air Force is pursuing a variety of initiatives to retain its current pilots, but will also have to train more pilots in the years to come. 
Wilson also spent time with Air Force recruiters, met with the head of the Wisconsin Air National Guard and presented the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz award to Wisconsin Civil Air Patrol cadet Noa G. Bender.
EAA’s AirVenture at Oshkosh is one of the world’s premier events for aviation enthusiasts, drawing more than a half million people and 10,000 people every year. Beyond displays and demonstrations, attendees can participate in forums and workshops with leaders in aviation and technology.SecAF 



Secretary of the Air Force 



Heather Wilson 



Oshkosh 



Experimental Aircraft Association 



AirVenture 



doolittle raiders 



EAA 



Women Soar You Soar 



technology 



Aviation 



demostrations 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