Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson Says She Will Resign

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Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson speaks with airmen at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida on Oct. 14, 2018. MUST CREDIT: U.S. Air Force handout photo by Senior Airman Joseph Pick
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Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, one of the first officials to join the Trump administration in the Pentagon, said Friday she has informed President Donald Trump she will resign, as the University of Texas System announced she has been named the sole finalist to become president of its campus in El Paso,Texas.

Wilson submitted a resignation letter and released a statement Friday morning in which she said it was a privilege to serve alongside U.S. airmen over the two previous years and that she is “proud of the progress we have made to restore our nation’s defense.”

“We have improved the readiness of the force; we have cut years out of acquisition schedules and gotten better prices through competition; we have repealed hundreds of superfluous regulations; and we have strengthened our ability to deter and dominate in space,” she said.

News of the resignation, first reported by Reuters, came just after the University of Texas Board of Regents voted unanimously to select her to lead UTEP. The university said in a news release Friday that the regents’ decision followed an executive session last week in which they interviewed candidates and considered recommendations from a presidential search advisory committee.

“Dr. Wilson’s broad experience in the highest levels of university leadership, and state and national government – whether securing federal grant awards, advising our nation’s most important national research laboratories, raising philanthropic dollars or running large, dynamic organizations – will help ensure that UTEP continues its remarkable trajectory as a nationally recognized public research institution,” regents’ chairman Kevin Eltife said in a statement. “Most importantly, she is deeply committed to student success and has dedicated her life to enhancing upward mobility opportunities for individuals.”

Wilson, a former Republican congresswoman from New Mexico, said in her letter of resignation that she expects the board will take a final vote on her candidacy in 21 days, as Texas state law dictates. She plans to remain as Air Force secretary until May 31, which “should allow sufficient time for a smooth transition and ensure effective advocacy during upcoming Congressional hearings,” she wrote.

Wilson’s decision comes after Jim Mattis resigned as defense secretary in December, citing policy disagreements with the president. Mattis had recruited her to become Air Force secretary, she told The Washington Post in 2017. She had served as the president of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology for the previous four years.

Wilson did not cite any disagreements with Trump in her letter of resignation, and wrote that she believes American higher education “needs strong leaders to meet the challenges of the 21st century.”

“I very much appreciate the opportunity to have served,” she wrote. “I remain a strong advocate for our nation’s defense and an Airman for life.”

Trump, who praised Mattis when he resigned, only to criticize him days later, recognized Wilson for her service on Friday after her announcement.

“Congratulations to Heather Wilson, who is the sole finalist to become the next President of University of Texas at El Paso effective September 1, 2019,” Trump said on Twitter. “Heather has done an absolutely fantastic job as Secretary of the Air Force, and I know she will be equally great in the very important world of higher education. A strong thank you to Heather for her service.”

 (c) 2019, The Washington Post · Dan Lamothe, Paul Sonne 

{Matzav.com}


2 COMMENTS

  1. Heather has been looking for a way out ever since the President announced his intent to form a United States Space Force. She thought it would usurp USAF’s role in space – a role it performs badly, which is the reason for the Space Force. Sorry, Heather, you lose.

  2. She’s not ready to get suicided by the Deep State who believe they “own” the Space Force and are doing everything to stop Trump from creating one just like they stopped all previous presidents.

    “The real purpose in Trump proposing the Space Force is that he wants to accelerate the disclosure process by which the technologies and know-how that are used in the Air Force’s Secret Space Program, are taken away from the multiple bureaucracies and corporations that secretly run it – the Military Industrial Complex/Deep State.ˮ

    “Making it all the more real, the Space Force plan pits Mr. Trump against his natural enemy: the “deep state” within the federal government. The deep state is also the keeper of alien secrets, according to UFO researchers.”

    Read: Tom DeLonge & UFO Disclosure: Rocking the Secret Space Programs Boat
    Listen to: “Trump’s Plan for US Space Force challenges Deep State Secrecy.”

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