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      Goldfein says Air Force remains fully capable despite operational adjustments for coronavirusPublished April 1, 2020
                    
                    
                    Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
            **ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) --**Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein said April 1 that the Air Force is constantly assessing and adjusting practices to protect Airmen and families from the coronavirus pandemic while also ensuring that all operations continue worldwide.
“We're not doing business as usual. We are doing business as required,” Goldfein said during an hour-long virtual appearance with Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
At the same time, Goldfein acknowledged that the pandemic is “having an impact on readiness” but that adjustments at all levels have compensated for the unexpected demands needed to keep personnel safe from a virus for which there is no vaccine or immunity.
For example, Goldfein said the Air Force has “significantly changed our operations in the missile fields to keep those up and operating.” Beyond that, exercises have been cancelled, all travel has stopped and commanders are aggressively following federal guidelines for disinfecting facilities, maintaining social distance and in some cases, requiring temperature checks of Airmen before they begin each shift.
But because of the variety of missions and locations where the Air Force operates, Goldfein said he has set “right and left bookends” while giving local commanders discretion to shape the guidance so it can protect personnel and maintain missions.
“Every base has a unique dynamic,” Goldfein said. “A one-size-fits-all approach to all situations is doomed to fail.”
The result, he said, is that, “we've changed operations significantly all through this. What I asked the MAJCOM commanders to do so that we were doing this from a senior leadership perspective the right way is, OK, in this environment, let's identify the mission essential tasks that we have got to put resources. ... (But) you all are closer to this than I am.”
Goldfein also said he has told commanders to prepare for a long-term struggle against the coronavirus.
“I look at this virus in the way that it's projected to go going forward. I don't see us getting much better for the next couple of months,” he said, adding that he is “reading the science (and) talking to our docs.”
“I hope I'm wrong,” he said. “But it’s my job not to be an eternal optimist, even though that's my nature. My job is to be the realist.”
The prime example for how the Air Force has adjusted operations while maintaining capability, Goldfein said, is the nuclear deterrent. The Air Force is responsible for two of the three legs of the nuclear force –the ground-based missile system and the fleet of long-range bombers.
“The nation still requires a safe and effective nuclear deterrent. That is ‘job one’ for the Air Force,” he said. “That mission has not slowed down though we have adjusted how we go about it.”
In response to questions from reporters, Goldfein said, “it’s too early” to predict the coronavirus’s impact on the pilot shortage. Though he noted that many commercial pilots are members of the National Guard and that could affect the numbers given that commercial airlines are severely curtailing service.
He also said that he has been in contact with major defense contractors and to date the virus has not had a heavy impact on the supply chain or the Air Force’s ability to get necessary material, parts and munitions.
Goldfein also said that there has been some evidence that adversaries “are trying to take advantage of this situation,” though he offered no detail beyond saying the use of the “information space” is especially prominent.
At the same time, Goldfein said he and other Air Force chiefs from around the world have been in frequent contact to discuss the pandemic, the response and how best to maximize cooperation. The sessions were started by the Italian air chief and have been “a bright spot in terms of international cooperation.”AFWN 



USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies 



CSAF 



Air Force Chief of Staff David L. Goldfein 



readiness 



mission readiness 



leadership 



International Cooperation 



National Guard 



fully capable COVID-19 Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                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 fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                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 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM 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