Posted on Apr 10, 2019
Deborah Lee James, 23rd SECAF was here 4/17/19 to discuss her upcoming book release & answer questions.
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Deborah Lee James, 23rd Secretary of the Air Force here to discuss my upcoming book release https://rly.pt/AimHigh and answer questions concerning how to navigate your career?
Deborah Lee James has a three-decade track record of leading, transforming and driving lasting change in the US government and in private industry. As only the second woman in history to lead a branch of the male dominated US military, Deborah faced high stakes challenges as Secretary of the Air Force, the CEO equivalent of a 660,000, $140 billion enterprise. For three years during a period of unprecedented political dysfunction, she led the effort to recruit, train and equip the premier air, space and cyber force on the planet, sending forces forward to combat ISIS in the Middle East, reassure European allies against a resurgent Russia and preparing forces for possible combat operations on the Korean Peninsula. Earlier in her career, Deborah was a senior executive at defense giant, SAIC, where she led a $2 billion enterprise during a time of enormous change within the company. Along the way, Deborah raised two children as a single mother.
Through personal stories from her days as a young professional, as a business leader at SAIC and from the halls of the Pentagon, Deborah reveals her approach to surviving, thriving and leading through change and dysfunction at the intersection of politics, business, and family.
Deborah Lee James has a three-decade track record of leading, transforming and driving lasting change in the US government and in private industry. As only the second woman in history to lead a branch of the male dominated US military, Deborah faced high stakes challenges as Secretary of the Air Force, the CEO equivalent of a 660,000, $140 billion enterprise. For three years during a period of unprecedented political dysfunction, she led the effort to recruit, train and equip the premier air, space and cyber force on the planet, sending forces forward to combat ISIS in the Middle East, reassure European allies against a resurgent Russia and preparing forces for possible combat operations on the Korean Peninsula. Earlier in her career, Deborah was a senior executive at defense giant, SAIC, where she led a $2 billion enterprise during a time of enormous change within the company. Along the way, Deborah raised two children as a single mother.
Through personal stories from her days as a young professional, as a business leader at SAIC and from the halls of the Pentagon, Deborah reveals her approach to surviving, thriving and leading through change and dysfunction at the intersection of politics, business, and family.
Reading
Mentorship
Civilian Career
Career Advice
Transition
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 27
I'm a DAV with 30% disability compensation from the VA. I also lose 30% of my retired pay. A rip off big time. H.R.303 (Retired Pay Restoration Act) had been introduced in Congress back in 2017 to correct this situation but nothing happens. Can you do anything about this gross injustice to me and many DAVs like me?
Deborah James
Thanks Mark--hope you will read it and give me feedback.
Seeing the current leadership team battling an aircrew retention crisis, do you have any regrets about the way the Air Force handled the RIF/VSP in 2013?
Deborah James
I do. 2013 was the year of sequestration which created havoc with so many programs across the government. I became Secretary in Dec 2013, inherited the budget that contained personnel reductions and set off to explain the plan to the Force and to Congress. The idea was that given limited budgets, it was better to have a smaller but highly ready force (vice a larger and unready force). Made good sense to me but what I discovered over time (mostly through my travels to the field) was that it was not working as hoped. We still had many of the same units but now these units all had holes in them from those who had either voluntarily or involuntarily departed. Airmen were consumed with their futures--would they have a place in the USAF? About 6 months in, I stopped the downsizing and we began to grow again modestly. That growth has continued. As for the aircrew crisis, I'm sure the downsizing played into certain aspects (like maintainer shortages and skill mismatches) but when it comes to the overall pilot shortage, I believe that mostly is occurring due to airline hiring; frequent deployments; and unhappiness over additional duties (anything that takes away from flying time).
No questions madam secretary, hope that your book is a huge success. Have a great afternoon ma'am.
SAC, TAC, and MAC died in 1992 when their names were changed. Will you please seriously consider restoring the names of our MAJCOMs and undoing this past name changing mistake? It would be a.minimal cost and have a major impact on USAF tradition. Thank you for Aiming High with my beloved Air Force!!! USAF Veteran 1977-1989.
I got hurt on duty and could no longer perform my job. My first sergeant told me he would let me out early, give me my gi bill and honorable discharge. He lied to me. He gave me an honorable(general) which disqualified me for the gi bill I paid $1200 into. I found out later I should've gotten an honorable medical discharge. How do I right this wrong?
Deborah James
My best advice is to look into putting together a package to go to the Board for Correction of Military records. As a start, go to NOLO.com "Requesting Corrections to Veterans Military Records from the BCMR or DRB"". You can read through the information and see if it might apply to you. It is not easy to get this done; many people also consult attorneys. Sorry I cannot help more on this one.
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