{"id":29132,"date":"2019-10-18T19:29:19","date_gmt":"2019-10-18T19:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/18\/the-air-force-has-a-new-secretary-barbara-barrett-sworn-in\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:06:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:06:36","slug":"the-air-force-has-a-new-secretary-barbara-barrett-sworn-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/10\/18\/the-air-force-has-a-new-secretary-barbara-barrett-sworn-in\/","title":{"rendered":"The Air Force has a new secretary; Barbara Barrett sworn in"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Barbara Barrett was sworn in as the 25th secretary of the Air Force<\/a> on Friday, two days after the Senate voted to confirm her 85-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barrett, the fourth woman to serve as the Air Force\u2019s top civilian leader<\/a>, posted a video of her taking her oath of office at the Pentagon<\/a> on her official Twitter account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m conscious of the extraordinary privilege of working with the men & women of the @usairforce,\u201d she said in the tweet with her video. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot to do & I\u2019m ready to get to work!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later that afternoon, Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein welcomed her to the Air Force in a tweet, and shared a photo of the pair walking through the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe men and women of our Air Force are in capable hands under her leadership \u2014 welcome to the team!\u201d Goldfein wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett and Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein walk through the Pentagon on Oct. 18. (Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Barrett is an instrument-rated pilot who in 2009 trained at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, and Kazakhstan, and was certified for space travel. She is also the first civilian woman to land in an F\/A-18 Hornet on an aircraft carrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\t