Oct. 16, 2019 Senate confirms Barrett to be Air Force secretary The 85 to 7 vote makes Barbara Barrett the third consecutive woman confirmed to lead the Air Force and its 685,000 total force Airmen. Barrett replaces Heather Wilson who resigned in May. Undersecretary Matthew Donovan served as acting secretary in the interim.
March 13, 2019 Air Force’s fiscal 2020 budget focuses on modernization, readiness, confronting global threats The Air Force’s budget would rise to $165 billion in fiscal year 2020 under the White House spending plan unveiled March 12, a $10 billion increase that allows the service to grow, modernize and effectively adapt to an array of changing global threats.