Back United States Secretary of the Air Force German Secretario de la Fuerza Aérea de los Estados Unidos Spanish وزیر نیروی هوایی ایالات متحده آمریکا FA Yhdysvaltain ilmavoimaministeri Finnish Secrétaire à la Force aérienne des États-Unis French מזכיר חיל האוויר של ארצות הברית HE Segretario all'aeronautica degli Stati Uniti d'America Italian アメリカ合衆国空軍長官 Japanese Setiausaha Tentera Udara Amerika Syarikat Malay Lijst van Amerikaanse ministers van de Luchtmacht Dutch

United States Secretary of the Air Force

Secretary of the Air Force
Seal of the Department of the Air Force
Flag of the secretary
Incumbent
Frank Kendall III
since July 28, 2021
Department of the Air Force
StyleMr. Secretary
The Honorable
(formal address in writing)
Reports toSecretary of Defense
Deputy Secretary of Defense
AppointerThe President
with the advice and consent of the Senate
Term lengthNo fixed term
PrecursorSecretary of War
Inaugural holderStuart Symington
FormationSeptember 18, 1947 (1947-09-18)
Succession3rd in SecDef succession
DeputyThe Under Secretary
(principal civilian deputy)
The Chief of Staff
(military deputy)
The Chief of Space Operations (military deputy)
SalaryExecutive Schedule, Level II
WebsiteOffice of the Secretary

The Secretary of the Air Force, sometimes referred to as the Secretary of the Department of the Air Force,[1] (SecAF, or SAF/OS) is the head of the Department of the Air Force and the service secretary for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. The secretary of the Air Force is a civilian appointed by the president, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.[2] The secretary reports to the secretary of defense and/or the deputy secretary of defense, and is by statute responsible for and has the authority to conduct all the affairs of the Department of the Air Force.[2][3]

The secretary works closely with their civilian deputy, the under secretary of the Air Force; and their military deputies, the chief of staff of the Air Force and the chief of space operations.

The first secretary of the Air Force, Stuart Symington, was sworn in on September 18, 1947, upon the split and re-organization of the Department of War and Army Air Forces into an air military department and a military service of its own, with the enactment of the National Security Act.

On July 26, 2021 the United States Senate confirmed Frank Kendall III as the next Secretary of the Air Force. On July 28, 2021, Kendall was sworn in as the 26th Secretary of the Air Force.

  1. ^ "Department of Defense Instruction Number 3100.12" (PDF). Executive Services Directorate. September 14, 2000. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 13, 2023.
  2. ^ a b 10 U.S.C. § 9013(a)
  3. ^ 10 U.S.C. § 9013(b)