United States Secretary of the Air Force

The secretary is the head of the Department of the Air Force. The Department of the Air Force is defined as a Military Department.[4] It is not limited to the Washington headquarters staffs, rather it is an entity which includes all the components of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, including their reserve components:

The term 'department', when used with respect to a military department, means the executive part of the department and all field headquarters, forces, reserve components, installations, activities, and functions under the control or supervision of the Secretary of the department.[5]

The exclusive responsibilities of the secretary of the Air Force are enumerated in 10 U.S.C. § 9013(b) of the United States Code. They include, but are not limited to:

(1) Recruiting.
(2) Organizing.
(3) Supplying.
(4) Equipping (including research and development).
(5) Training.
(6) Servicing.
(7) Mobilizing.
(8) Demobilizing.
(9) Administering (including the morale and welfare of personnel).
(10) Maintaining.
(11) The construction, outfitting, and repair of military equipment.

(12) The construction, maintenance, and repair of buildings, structures, and utilities and the acquisition of real property and interests in real property necessary to carry out the responsibilities specified in this section.[3]

By direction of the secretary of defense, the secretary of the Air Force assigns military units of the Air Force and Space Force, other than those who carry out the functions listed in 10 U.S.C. § 9013(b), to the Unified and Specified Combatant Commands to perform missions assigned to those commands. Air Force and Space Force units while assigned to Combatant Commands may only be reassigned by authority of the secretary of defense.[6]

However, the chain of command for Air Force and Space Force units for other purposes than the operational direction goes from the president to the secretary of defense to the secretary of the Air Force to the commanders of Air Force and Space Force Commands.[7] Air Force and Space Force officers have to report on any matter to the secretary, or the secretary's designate, when requested. The secretary has the authority to detail, prescribe the duties, and to assign Air Force and Space Force service members and civilian employees, and may also change the title of any activity not statutorily designated.[8] The secretary has several responsibilities under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) with respect to Air Force and Space Force service members, including the authority to convene general courts martial and to commute sentences.

The secretary of the Air Force may also be assigned additional responsibilities by the president or the secretary of defense,[9] e.g. the secretary is designated as the "DoD Executive Agent for Space", and as such:

... shall develop, coordinate, and integrate plans and programs for space systems and the acquisition of DoD Space Major Defense Acquisition Programs to provide operational space force capabilities to ensure the United States has the space power to achieve its national security objectives.[10][11]

Office of the Secretary of the Air Force

Agency overview
Formed	1947
Headquarters	Pentagon
Parent agency	Department of the Air Force

Secretary of The Air Force Verne Orr with Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff General David C. Jones and  Air Force Chief of Staff General Lew Allen and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General Robert C. Mathis at Bolling Air Force Base on May 28, 1982.

The secretary of the Air Force's principal staff element, the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, has responsibility for acquisition and auditing, comptroller issues (including financial management), inspector general matters, legislative affairs, and public affairs within the Department of the Air Force. The Office of the Secretary of the Air Force is one of the Department of the Air Force's three headquarter staffs at the seat of government, with the others being the Air Staff and the Office of the Chief of Space Operations.

• Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service

• Title 10 United States Code
  • Subtitle A – General Military Law
    • CHAPTER 1 – DEFINITIONS
      • § 101. Definitions
    • CHAPTER 6 – COMBATANT COMMANDERS
      • § 162. Combatant command: assigned forces; chain of command
  • Subtitle D – Air Force
    • CHAPTER 903 – DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
      • § 9011. Organization
      • § 9013. Secretary of the Air Force
      • § 9014. Office of the Secretary of the Air Force
      • § 9015. Under Secretary of the Air Force
    • CHAPTER 905 – THE AIR STAFF
      • § 9032. The Air Staff: general duties
      • § 9033. Chief of Staff
• Executive Order 12909, Order of Succession of Officers To Act as Secretary of the Air Force
• Department of Defense Directive (DODD) 5100.1, Functions of the Department of Defense and Its Major Components, August 1 2002.
• Department of Defense Directive (DODD) 5101.2, DoD Executive Agent for Space, June 3 2003.

• Leaders Through the Years, 2012 USAF Almanac
• US Air Force Senior Leadership at archive.today (archived December 12, 2012)