Secretary of the Air Force visits Holloman, WSMR

  • Published
  • By Mr. Arlan Ponder
  • 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The Honorable Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne stopped by Holloman Air Force Base Thursday morning on his way to White Sands Missile Range to review a small-diameter bomb test.

Secretary Wynne was greeted by a rifle cordon presented by Holloman's Steel Talon Honor Guard before Lt. General Norman Seip, 12th Air Force commander, and Brig. General David Goldfein, 49th Fighter Wing commander, officially welcomed him to the base. His initial visit to Holloman was short as he made his way to four awaiting UH-1 helicopters for the flight over to White Sands Missile Range.

Upon his arrival at WSMR, he was greeted by Brig. General Richard McCabe, commanding general, White Sands Missile Range, along with several personnel from Boeing involved with the focused lethality munition test.

Before touching down again at Holloman, the secretary was treated to an aerial tour of the many improvements made at the base over the last year.

"I appreciate the aerial tour of the base," the secretary said. "I especially appreciate you setting up the herd of Oryx for me to see. This has been a marvelous visit."

Secretary Wynne was especially impressed by the outstanding efforts being made to bring Holloman, WSMR and Fort Bliss together in joint training. The process is called the Joint Task Training Initiative and has been a major part of the vision of the future for Holloman. Through the JTTI, bases represented by all branches of the military from Texas to Arizona will take part in training that will allow a more realistic experience.

During a briefing by General Goldfein on the JTTI, the 49 FW commander told Mr. Wynne the focus of JTTI was "to tie together the region to merge forces to be more effective." He said if you looked at the globe you wouldn't find this much military diversity anywhere on it.

Secretary Wynne said following the briefing. "A lot can be done synergy wise here, all across the board from NASA, Army, Air Force, Navy and the Germans. We're heading more and more into the computer and virtual strategies and I appreciate all that Team Holloman, Team WSMR and Team Fort Bliss are doing."

The general also debuted a one-minute presentation called the Hollomogordo Minute, which will be shown when Holloman represents Air Combat Command in the Air Force Installation Excellence Award competition.

Before Secretary Wynne departed General Goldfein presented him with a jar of radar absorbing material or "stealth in a jar".

"I look forward to (General Goldfein) coming to Washington. I think he will do an outstanding job for us," Secretary Wynne said.

Secretary Wynne is the 21st Secretary and was confirmed on Nov. 3, 2005. He is responsible for the affairs of the Department of the Air Force, including the organizing, training, equipping and providing for the welfare of its nearly 370,000 men and women on active duty, 180,000 members of the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve, 160,000 civilians, and their families. With an annual budget of approximately $110 billion, he ensures the Air Force can meet its current and future operational requirements.