Much Appreciated
"You've demonstrated over the past decade just how great an Air Force we have, just how skilled you are at expeditionary warfare. It's very impressive, and I want you to know it's much appreciated by your higher headquarters."
—Air Force Secretary Michael Donley addressing airmen at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, during a visit there with CMSAF James Roy, Dec. 29, 2012.

On the Record

Seeking a Permanent Solution
"Our troops have shouldered an unfairly large share of budget cuts to date, in addition to the strains of combat. Rather than shield a wartime military from further reductions, this deal leaves the force vulnerable to sequestration's devastating and arbitrary cuts and it leaves Congress and the President with much work to do to end the crisis."
—Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), House Armed Services Committee chairman, in a Jan. 1, 2013, statement calling for a deal that would eliminate the looming budget sequester and not just delay its implementation as did the legislation agreed to by the House and Senate on that same day.