Deborah Lee James

Deborah Roche Lee James (born November 25, 1958) is the 23rd Secretary of the Air Force. James has 30 years of senior homeland and national security experience in the U.S. federal government and the private sector. Prior to be named Secretary of the Air Force, she served as President of Science Applications International Corporation's Technical and Engineering Sector, where she was responsible for 8,700 employees and more than $2 billion in revenue. James is the second woman (after Sheila Widnall 1993-1997) appointed to be the Secretary of the Air Force.

Early life
James was born in New Jersey in 1958. She earned her B.A. (1979) in Comparative Area Studies from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She later earned her Masters Degree (1981) in International Affairs from Columbia University in New York City.

Secretary of the Air Force
James' first days in office saw her dealing with a service that was reeling from the impact of Budget sequestration in 2013, continued troubles with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, and a drug and cheating scandal with the LGM-30 Minuteman force. James has cited USAF inattention to the nuclear mission, to the point of using a simple test score as "a top differentiator, if not the sole differentiator on who gets promoted."

In January and again in July, James visited the three Air Force bases that operate intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, with a determination to work with both Airmen and other senior Air Force leaders to provide fixes to the challenges faced. In 2014, she said that she expected the Force to downsize, but "remain highly capable and on the cutting edge of technology." To do so, she and Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Mark A. Welsh III rolled out a strategic framework for the future of the service. A Call To the Future articulates where the U.S. Air Force wants to be in the future.