Frank Kendall, secretary of the U.S. Air Force and a 2024 Wash100 awardee, traveled to the Sixteenth Air Force, or Air Forces Cyber, to hear and give updates on the information warfare organization.
Kendall reportedly held an all-call to answer questions regarding Air Forces Cyber, known as AFCYBER, elevation in response to cyber forces’ impact on gaining an advantage in the Great Power Competition, the Air Force said Thursday.
“We are in a Great Power Competition and we must treat it very seriously. I do not want to live in a world where we back down. If we don’t prepare ourselves and demonstrate that we’re here to fight, and if we do fight, we’re here to win,” Kendall said.
Air Forces Cyber
AFCYBER is an information warfare organization that supports the Air Force by implementing capabilities throughout service branches operations, activities and investments.
During Kendall’s Sixteenth Air Force visit, he witnessed how AFCYBER organizations use distinct systems to counter enemies in the information landscape. The DAF Secretary received mission briefings on the Sixteenth Air Force 616th Operations Center and the 67th and 688th Cyberspace Wing.
Lt. Gen. Thomas Hensley, Sixteenth Air Forces Cyber commander, said, “Secretary Kendall has the responsibility of overseeing the Department of the Air Force, as well as the Space Force and I think we’re all tracking his top three priorities: China, China, China.”
“Looking at the current strategic environment, and looking at the future strategic environment,” Hensley added, “he has a very aggressive goal based on his vision of reoptimizing the entire Air Force for Great Power Competition.”
As part of Kendall’s plans to reoptimize for Great Power Competition, he believes that advancing cyber systems is the next step in gaining a competitive advantage over adversaries.
“At the end of the day what drives the decision is going to be what’s going to make us more competitive, what’s going to put us in a better position to compete with China, not just in near term, but over long-term strategic competition,” noted Kendall.