Thank you for that kind introduction. I am grateful to the Bellevue and Greater Omaha Chambers of Commerce for hosting us today.

Senator Nelson, Mayor Fahey, Mayor Babbitt, Mr. Brown, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here today - I appreciate the support that you provide to our men and women in uniform.

Thank you

It is wonderful to be back in Omaha to share in Air Force week. We are grateful to Bellevue, the greater Omaha community, and several communities across the river in Iowa, for being such gracious hosts to the tremendous series of events taking place all week.

Thank you, too, for your many efforts to demonstrate your support for our men and women in uniform, and the civilians with whom they serve. Your encouragement to our military members, Department of Defense civilians, and their families makes a noticeable difference in their quality of life. Our service members, civilian employees, and their families are grateful for your efforts, especially as the operational tempo at Offutt Air Force Base keeps pace with our commitments to winning the Global War on Terror.

I hope some of you had the opportunity to join Governor [Dave] Heineman and General [Kevin] Chilton [commander, U.S. Strategic Command] for the opening ceremonies on Saturday at Rosenblatt Stadium, and that you will be able to join for the many other activities taking place across the greater Omaha area.

Veterans, Wounded Warriors and Community Care

Just before lunch, I was able to visit with some of our veterans at the Omaha Veterans Administration Hospital. Over the past few weeks, I have also had opportunities to meet with wounded warriors from our conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I find the energy and enthusiasm of our wounded warriors to be absolutely inspirational. These men and women, and their families, are focused on recovery.

Many also aim to rejoin their comrades in arms for the Joint fight. I am tremendously impressed with their drive, tenacity, and commitment to their country.

In Washington, a senior Department of Defense - Veterans Administration Senior Oversight Council is working hard to expand access to medical care in needed areas ... such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury ... and streamline the transition between Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs systems.

But local communities are also absolutely critical to caring for and encouraging our wounded warriors. The outreach that comes to our wounded warriors from local civic groups, as well as caring individuals acting autonomously, plays an important role in their recovery. These local efforts help wounded warriors return to military service or transition to productive civilian life.

For example, I understand that just a few weeks ago, Omaha hosted the 28th National Veterans Wheelchair Games, with an outpouring of volunteers from the local communities. Your support enabled over 500 wheelchair athletes to share the spirit of competitiveness and camaraderie found in military units worldwide.

I also understand that at least one local non-profit group, Quality Life International, is applying holistic approaches to assist two Army and two Navy wounded warriors recover from Traumatic Brain Injuries, enabling their transition into a healthy, productive, and rewarding civilian life.

So to all in this audience who reach out to our wounded warriors and their families - whether as individuals who volunteer, employers who encourage their employees to be involved in wounded warrior recovery, or civic groups and businesses that support our wounded warrior programs - thank you for your involvement. Your efforts at the local level make a difference.

Your Air Force Today

I am proud to be back serving with the finest Air Force in the world. As I get up to speed on the many challenges facing our Air Force, I am heartened by the tremendous contributions that our Airmen make to the Joint team across the spectrum of conflict - whether delivering humanitarian relief, maintaining a watchful eye over adversaries, sustaining our strategic deterrence posture, or delivering precision strike.

Our Air Force has changed since the last time that I served as acting secretary.

We are a more expeditionary force, deployed to dozens of locations across the globe. Indeed, in the Middle East, we have been continuously deployed for nearly 18 years as part of a Joint effort to enhance stability in that region.

We are also a smaller force, having reduced our ranks following the end of the Cold War.

We are a more coherent force. With Total Force Integration, the Joint team sees no difference between our active, Guard, and Reserve components. All deliver air, space or cyber power to Joint commanders.

We are also a force that has made great strides in operational effectiveness. By leveraging unmanned aircraft system technologies, reachback, and our communications infrastructure, we have radically reduced the time gap between sensors and shooters.

We are a force that has revamped the aerial medical evacuation mission, leveraging our strategic airlift fleet to quickly move wounded warriors from theater to medical centers closer to home.

We are a force that infused a "back to basics" approach across the satellite launch mission area, greatly improving our track record. We now have 57 consecutive successful launches in national security space by emphasizing strong systems engineering fundamentals in our space launch processes--from design to execution.

We are also a force that has moved with our Joint partners into net-centric operations that greatly increase our flexibility and adaptability, but also introduce cyber vulnerabilities.

Nuclear Enterprise

Like the Department of Defense as a whole, we are a force that de-emphasized the nuclear deterrence mission more than we might have intended, but we are working hard to bring greater attention and focus to this all-important mission area. Indeed, the National Defense Strategy recently published by Secretary of Defense [Robert] Gates reiterates our nation's commitment to maintaining our nuclear arsenal as a primary deterrent to nuclear attack, and the New Triad remains a cornerstone of strategic deterrence.

For decades, our ICBM force and nuclear bomber force have served as part of the strategic backstop of America's deterrence posture. This is a mission that we take seriously, and it has held my utmost attention since the first day I assumed office.

I know that many in this room are particularly concerned about our strategic deterrence posture. Offutt Airfield - now Offutt Air Force Base - and the communities surrounding it have long played a leading role in our nation's nuclear deterrence posture. So I would like to talk specifically about actions that we are taking in the nuclear mission area.

During my first full week in office, I directed the Vice Chief of Staff to establish an Air Force Nuclear Task Force. The intent of the Nuclear Task Force is to strengthen performance in our nuclear mission, as well as determine the long term actions necessary to rebuild the nuclear enterprise.

The Air Force has been working for some time to correct deficiencies in our nuclear mission area. Several initiatives related to improving policy, procedures, logistics, sustainment, and other important matters for the nuclear enterprise are already complete, and others are ongoing.

The Nuclear Task Force is reviewing the Air Force nuclear enterprise across the spectrum of doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities. We are also reviewing the inspection process for our units involved in the nuclear mission.

The Task Force will deliver a draft roadmap for our nuclear enterprise. We will then pause to assess our progress and incorporate recommendations from a panel led by former Secretary of Defense Jim Schlesinger. Then, General [Norton] Schwartz - whom we will welcome as the 19th Chief of Staff of the Air Force tomorrow - and I will gather the Air Force senior leadership to finalize our way ahead on the nuclear enterprise.

I am pleased with the progress that the Task Force has made to date and look forward to sharing more details as we move forward to strengthen our performance in the nuclear mission.

Additional Challenges

We are a force with additional challenges.

For example, we must maintain our focus on current operations, while planning for future threats. We maintain aging fleets, while simultaneously recapitalizing. We are migrating supplemental funding to the Air Force base budget, while managing rising operational costs - including personnel, medical care and fuel. We are meeting new mission requirements in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, space, and cyber, while preparing for the transition to a new administration. We must look at these challenges from an enterprise perspective to achieve appropriate balance.

Commitment and Core Values

Although much has changed about our Air Force during the past 15 years, much remains the same. The importance of our core values has not changed, nor has the high quality of the Airmen attracted to military service.

We remain a force of motivated and dedicated personnel. Their families are devoted to their country and express great pride in their sons, daughters, husbands and wives in uniform.

We remain a force of volunteers, and our personnel and family readiness programs must keep pace accordingly.

We remain a force that is fully committed to winning today's Joint fight, preparing for tomorrow's emerging national security challenges, and leaning forward to care for our people and their families, especially our wounded warriors.

Just as 15 years ago, we are a force that cherishes our core values of Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do, and adheres to our own high standards. Our commitment to high standards represents itself in a culture of personal ethics and accountability, and is demonstrated by our daily performance.

Finally, we're still an Air force that fights from its bases, and often from CONUS [continental United States].

Thank you to Bellevue and Greater Omaha Community for being a Model for Community Relations

Before I close today, I would like to thank the Bellevue and Greater Omaha communities - including reaching into Iowa - for your close relationship with Team Offutt.

The Bellevue and Greater Omaha communities are known across the Department of Defense for their strong support of the military.

From school systems that recognize the unique circumstances faced by many military children ... to annual appreciation days ... to sharing your feedback on our nation's defense posture, I appreciate how you care for our military members and their families.

I am also grateful that you warmly accept our military members, civilian employees and their families as volunteers in your civic groups. You enable them to feel a strong sense of community even though they may find themselves far from home. So thank you.

Conclusion

Every day, today's Airmen demonstrate their selfless dedication to their country and the Joint fight. They make tremendous contributions to deterring our adversaries, defending the homeland, supporting the Global War on Terror, and preparing for future military operations across the spectrum of conflict.

The Air Force has experienced difficulties during the past months, but from the Secretary of Defense all the way to the most junior Airman on the flightline, we are ready to move forward. We are learning important lessons from these experiences, and applying this knowledge to strengthen the institution.

I have benefited from many conversations about our Air Force during the past weeks. Throughout, I have been humbled by the tremendous support that has been expressed for our Air Force as an institution, and especially the Airmen who deliver air, space, and cyber capabilities to the Joint team.

I am confident in the ability of our Airmen to handle any challenge we place before them, and I look forward to working with our many stakeholders as we strengthen the great institution of the United States Air Force. Thank you for your continued support of America's Airmen and the Joint team, especially the important missions centered right here in the Greater Omaha area.

I look forward to your questions.

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