Frank Kendall III is the Biden Administration’s Nominee to be Secretary of the Air Force, succeeding Barbara M. Barrett in the Role if Confirmed, Administration Officials said.

Kendall, 71, a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, served as the No. 3 Official in the Pentagon for Four years in the Obama Administration, responsible for All matters pertaining to Research and Engineering, Sustainment, Testing, Contract Administration and Logistics. Immediately following his Tenure as Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (AT&L), the Expansive Job was Legislatively Split into: Acquisition and Sustainment, and Research and Technology. He was an Advisor to the Biden Campaign on National Security and Defense Issues.

In other Pentagon jobs, Kendall was Director of Tactical Warfare Programs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and was Assistant Deputy Undersecretary for Strategic Defense Systems. He served 10 years on Active Duty with the Army, during which he taught Engineering at West Point.

Kendall holds a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering from CalTech and an MBA from C.W. Post Center of Long Island University, as well as a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He has done extensive Pro-Bono work on Human Rights Law.

If confirmed, Kendall “would be facing a familiar challenge of declining defense budgets at a critical time for the Department of the Air Force and its fledgling U.S. Space Force,” said former Service Undersecretary, Matthew P. Donovan, who is now Director of AFA’s Mitchell Institute Spacepower Advantage Research Center. “He would need to strongly support all Airmen and Guardians, staunchly advocate for the crucial importance of air and space power in support of the joint warfighter and great power competition, and set clear visions for the future” of both the Air Force and Space Force, said Donovan.

Gina Ortiz Jones, a former Air Force Officer who recently held a Position in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, was Nominated as Undersecretary.

Jones, 40, was the 2018 Democratic Candidate for Texas’s 23rd District House Seat, which she narrowly Lost to Incumbent William Hurd. In a Second run for the Seat in 2019, she did Not Win the Democratic Primary.

In keeping with the Biden Administration’s Effort to appoint Leaders who “look like America,” Jones would be the First Openly Gay Person of Color to hold the Undersecretary Position. She is of Filipino Descent.

A Native of San Antonio, Texas, Jones received an AFROTC Scholarship to attend Boston University, where she Graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in East Asian studies and a Master’s in Mathematics.

She served in the Air Force Three years as an Intelligence Officer, Deploying to Iraq and reaching the Rank of Captain.

Jones received a Master’s from the Army Command and General Staff College. As a Student and on Active Duty, she was required to Conceal her Sexual Identity under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” Policy.

She later worked as a Civilian for U.S. Africa Command and the Defense Intelligence Agency, where she Specialized in Latin American Affairs.

In late 2016, Jones joined the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and stayed on into the Trump Administration. She left in 2017 to seek the Seat in Congress.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker