Top Air Force leader to visit Wright-Patt

Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson will travel to Wright-Patterson later this month, the military branch has confirmed.

Wilson, a former New Mexico congresswoman and a prior Air Force officer, received Senate confirmation for the top civilian post in the service branch in May.

An exact date for her arrival was not released.

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“The Air Force secretary is the highest ranking official with the Air Force and she will be making many decisions that will be affecting Wright-Patterson and its missions,” said Michael Gessel, Dayton Development Coalition vice president of federal programs.

The secretary’s visit will give her a better understanding of what the Miami Valley base does when funding and policy issues are made, he added.

This will mark the first visit of a secretary of the Air Force since the former holder of the post, Deborah Lee James, visited the military installation last June to attend a ceremony marking the addition of a new hangar at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

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Current Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein visited the base in April to attend a ceremony that marked the 75th anniversary of the Doolittle Raiders bombing run against Japan in retaliation for the Japanese surprise attack against the U.S. fleet and American warplanes at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

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