Deborah Lee James

  • Federal News Radio anchor Emily Kopp broadcasts live from the 2015 Air Force Association Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition on Monday morning, Sept. 14, 2015, at the National Harbor, Maryland. Among her guests are Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James.

    September 14, 2015
  • The Secretary of the Air Force and its Chief of Staff say a full year continuing resolution would have a significant impact on the service, particularly by slowing down or halting as many as 50 acquisition programs.

    August 26, 2015
  • With or without sequestration, the Pentagon has concluded there is not enough money to go around, and if it’s going to continue to perform its most vital national security tasks, some missions will have to be on the chopping block beginning in 2017.

    June 24, 2015
  • The Air Force announces a nine-step plan to make itself more diverse. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh detail the plan in a memo. Emily Kopp has details on the memo and the rollout with Secretary James at an event Wednesday at the Center for a New American Security. Emily tells In Depth with Francis Rose why the diversity goals aren't limited to one group or another.

    March 05, 2015
  • Troubled by a lack of women and minorities at the Air Force's higher levels, its leaders are rolling out nine initiatives focusing on recruitment, promotions and retention. Some are new ideas; others are existing programs that will be enhanced. That's according to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James. She spoke at an event on women and leadership yesterday, sponsored by the Center for a New American Security. Emily Kopp was there, and joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with a report on it.

    March 05, 2015
  • Ashton Carter, the new Defense secretary, told lawmakers this week that most of DoD's civilian workforce is performing mission-critical functions. But large budgets over the past decade have let the department do a lot of hiring without much thought toward cutting outdated positions, he said.

    March 05, 2015
  • Over five years, Air Force has beat the independent cost estimates in its acquisition programs by a collective $2 billion, according to the service's assistant secretary for acquisition. Some of the savings have been returned to the Air Force's top line, but acquisition managers have been allowed to plow some of the money back into their own programs.

    February 18, 2015
  • As is typical, Defense leaders are not sharing many details about next year's budget proposal prior to its expected February release. But the Air Force is making clear it's gearing up for another fight on BRAC and aircraft divestitures, and thinks it might win this time.

    January 19, 2015
  • A new series of acquisition changes called "Bending the Cost Curve" aims to make the overall Air Force acquisition process more responsive to technological advances, and reduce the time it takes to buy major weapons systems. The Air Force Research Lab will host a technology challenge program with the largest award in military history.

    January 16, 2015
  • The Air Force has a list of priorities for fiscal year 2015. They include eliminating 21 general officer billets, addressing the problems with an aging fleet of aircraft and dealing with a budget designed to shrink the force. Still, Secretary Deborah Lee James says the service is in good shape. As the Air Force celebrates its 67th birthday, James gave Tom Temin a status report on the Federal Drive.

    September 18, 2014
  • After eight months on the job, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin that even though the service is in good shape, it still faces uncertainty around its budget, overseas operations and readiness.

    September 17, 2014
  • The Air Force can't afford the programs it thinks it will need over the next decade. The service's top officer says it's time to reexamine priorities, with a realistic view of the funding it will get from Congress.

    September 17, 2014
  • Service's latest strategy document sees a future in which it will need to be more flexible and adaptable, including in its acquisition and personnel policies and organizational structures.

    July 31, 2014
  • The Air Force will offer early retirement and buyouts to civilian personnel, in order to eliminate nearly 3,500 positions, officials announced Monday. The service estimates the cuts will save the Air Force $1.6 billion over the next five years.

    July 15, 2014