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The Senate today confirmed Troy E. Meink, the National Reconnaissance Office’s principal deputy director, to serve as the 27th Secretary of the Air Force.
Meink succeeds Frank Kendall III, who stepped down in January after serving as Air Force secretary under President Joe Biden.
Gary A. Ashworth, an Air Force veteran who was the Pentagon’s assistant secretary for acquisition, currently serves as acting secretary.
Meink will serve as the civilian head of the Air Force and Space Force. A start date has not yet been announced.
Retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, the NGAUS president, said the association looks forward to working with Meink on the many issues that impact the Air National Guard and the nation.
For much of the last decade, Meink has worked at the NRO, leaving briefly in 2013 and 2014 to serve as deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for space.
While in the Air Force, he was a KC-135 Stratotanker navigator and instructor and then lead test engineer for the design and evaluation of ballistic missile test vehicles for the Missile Defense Agency.
As a rated officer, he completed 100 sorties, including eight combat and 29 combat support missions in support of operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Provide Comfort, according to his Air Force bio.
Meink comes into the top role at a time when the Air Force is trying to finance a critical need to recapitalize its aging aircraft fleet. This includes the Air National Guard, which operates some of the oldest aircraft in the service’s inventory.
In his nomination hearing March 27, Meink stressed the importance of producing new tankers to replace the aging aircraft.
“[The KC-135] is getting pretty old and we’re going to have to replace those,” he said, “which means we have to get the new tanker into full-production.”
Meink told the Senate Armed Services Committee that his goal as secretary would be “to organize, train and equip the Department of the Air Force to have the lethality needed to deter all potential aggressors, and if necessary, win in conflict.”
In response to advance policy questions, Meink said there is a need to “streamline the budgeting and acquisition process, tailor or risk management approach, increase the level of competition, broaden our industry base and ensure we are recruiting and retaining the needed talent.”
He also underscored how “critically important” the Guard is to the Total Force.
“The Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve provide strategic depth and operational capacity across all mission sets, domains, and capabilities of the Total Force,” Meink said in his written testimony.
Meink also holds master’s and doctoral degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering at Ohio State University. He has also been awarded three patents and designed, built and flown two experimental aircraft.
─ By Jennifer Hickey
