{"id":34473,"date":"2021-01-15T23:15:45","date_gmt":"2021-01-15T23:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/01\/15\/barretts-legacy-an-influential-if-quiet-air-force-secretary\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:07:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:07:26","slug":"barretts-legacy-an-influential-if-quiet-air-force-secretary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/01\/15\/barretts-legacy-an-influential-if-quiet-air-force-secretary\/","title":{"rendered":"Barrett\u2019s legacy: an influential, if quiet, Air Force secretary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As her tenure as Air Force secretary comes to an end, experts say <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/10\/18\/the-air-force-has-a-new-secretary-barbara-barrett-sworn-in\/\" target=_blank>Barbara Barrett<\/a>, who kept a lower profile than her predecessors, will be remembered for several important accomplishments, including the quiet, steady stand-up of the Space Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In interviews with Air Force Times, Hawk Carlisle, president of the National Defense Industrial Association, and defense policy expert John Venable of the Heritage Foundation said that splitting part of the Air Force into the military\u2019s sixth service could have gone awry in many ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But, they said, the Department of the Air Force made it happen without significant public ruptures, which they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/air\/2019\/10\/16\/barbara-barrett-confirmed-as-next-air-force-secretary\/\" target=_blank>credited to Barrett\u2019s<\/a> behind-the-scenes leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen you throw a wrench in the works with a significant organizational change like this one, it causes folks to rise up and fight it,\u201d Venable, a former Air Force fighter pilot, said in an interview Wednesday. \u201cYou didn\u2019t catch wind of that. I never read an article that said, \u2018The Air Force is tearing itself apart in this birthing process of the Space Force.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force held a socially distanced farewell ceremony Thursday for Barrett, as well as other top officials such as acquisition chief Will Roper and assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs Shon Manasco, at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington DC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are a better Air Force because of Secretary Barrett\u2019s passion, commitment, leadership and heart,\u201d Chief of Staff Gen. Charles \u201cCQ\u201d Brown said at the ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brown said he saw during their trips how deeply Barrett cared for airmen and their families. He also lauded Barrett for her leadership during the turmoil of 2020, including the coronavirus pandemic and the racial unrest that followed the death of George Floyd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen our nation faced the greatest pandemic it\u2019s seen in 100 years, the department didn\u2019t slow down, it accelerated,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWhen George Floyd was murdered, and our airmen were hurting and wanted a voice, you gave it to them. You led the Department of Defense\u2019s work on diversity and inclusion, to ensure meaningful, measurable and sustainable improvements became an enduring part of our military.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/05\/21\/trump-taps-barbara-barrett-former-aerospace-corporation-chair-as-next-air-force-secretary\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Barbara_Barrett_web.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Trump taps Barbara Barrett, former Aerospace Corporation chairwoman, as next Air Force secretary<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Trump revealed his choice for the 25th Air Force secretary in a tweet Tuesday afternoon, shortly after the conclusion of a farewell ceremony for departing SECAF Heather Wilson.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In her remarks, Barrett praised the airmen she helped lead, and said she leaves confident the nation is safe because of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere is one eye-watering constant across the Air and Space Forces: the universality that these are good people,\u201d she said. \u201cI have worked at numerous businesses, I have been a member of dozens of groups, and I have been part of myriad organizations, but I have never been part of any entity where there is such consistency of good intent and effort to be the best, together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Barrett-farewell-2.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-65431\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Barrett-farewell-2.jpg.jpg 3000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Barrett-farewell-2.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Barrett-farewell-2.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Barrett-farewell-2.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Barrett-farewell-2.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Barrett-farewell-2.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3000px) 100vw, 3000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. Raymond, left, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., right, and other senior Air Force civilian officials applaud Secretary of the Air Force Barbara M. Barrett during her farewell ceremony at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., Jan. 14, 2021. (Eric Dietrich\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barrett, who became the Air Force\u2019s 25th secretary in October 2019, will leave next week, shortly before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated. Biden has not yet announced his pick for Air Force secretary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carlisle and Venable said that Barrett kept a relatively low profile in the Pentagon, but guided several moves that will have long-lasting effects on the Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Barrett came in as secretary, Carlisle said, the hunt was already under way for the Air Force\u2019s next chief of staff, and Brown, then commander of Pacific Air Forces, was at or near the top of the list. Barrett helped ensure his historic nomination by President Trump and confirmation as the service\u2019s 22nd chief of staff, as well as the first-ever Black officer to head any military service, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barrett\u2019s shepherding of Brown, a highly respected officer whose selection was widely praised, through the nomination process and into the Air Force\u2019s top uniformed position ensures the service is left with a steady and skilled leader for years to come, Carlisle said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the time came to create the Space Force, Carlisle said, one of Barrett\u2019s most significant contributions was to ensure it was on an equal footing with the Air Force from which it was created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By not allowing it to become a junior service within the Department of the Air Force, the Space Force and Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond now have an equal voice when it comes to making decisions, Carlisle said. This, he said, gives the Space Force comparable stature to that enjoyed by the Marine Corps within the Department of the Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Creating the Space Force wasn\u2019t easy, Carlisle said. Not all of the Air Force was on board with the idea of creating a separate service, he said. But Barrett got it done in exceptionally rapid time, especially when compared to the seven years it took to create U.S. Special Operations Command after the catastrophic 1980 mission to rescue U.S. hostages in Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe clearly had her finger on the pulse, at all the levels, to make sure there wasn\u2019t that undercurrent of disagreement,\u201d Carlisle said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an administration where senior leaders often ran the risk of provoking the ire of President Trump \u2014 sometimes quite publicly \u2014 Barrett seems to have always stayed on his good side, Carlisle said. That was no mean feat, particularly since Trump made creating the Space Force one of his signature projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under her watch, the Air Force recently chose the Army\u2019s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, as the new headquarters of U.S. Space Command. That decision is already proving controversial, though, as lawmakers in Colorado \u2014 which also was vying for Space Command\u2019s headquarters \u2014 are alleging Alabama was chosen for political reasons and calling on the incoming Biden administration to reconsider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That will also be part of Barrett\u2019s legacy, Carlisle said, and it remains to be seen how the Space Command controversy will end up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Venable lauded Barrett\u2019s Air Force for enacting some of the biggest changes to the officer personnel system in a generation by getting rid of below-the-zone promotions and breaking the larger Line of the Air Force group into smaller, better-defined competitive categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These kind of changes to the details can sometimes be stymied within an organization, Venable said, but Barrett deserves credit for ensuring the officer changes became reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe stepped into a situation where there was a lot going on, a lot of work to be done, and she stepped up,\u201d Carlisle said. \u201cI hope history will show that she was a very, very good secretary of the Air Force.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Standing up the Space Force could have gone wrong in many ways, experts said, but Barrett ensured its creation was a success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":65426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,24,88,16,26,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3320],"class_list":["post-34473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"BACILP6OEVBWZPRPTLRC5ST5TM","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/01\/15\/barretts-legacy-an-influential-if-quiet-air-force-secretary\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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