Daily Archives: 25 July 2025

(USAF News) Mr. Matthew Lohmeier was confirmed July 24 by the Senate as 29th Under Secretary of the Air Force, placing a former fighter pilot and Space Force Guardian in the Department’s second highest-ranking civilian leadership post.

With a 52-46 vote, Lohmeier joins the Department of the Air Force with unique experience stemming both from previous active duty assignments with the Air Force and then the Space Force as well as from his career as a public speaker and author.

Articulating his bona fides for the position in his May Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Lohmeier said: “I have accumulated a deep background in strategy, policy, operations, and issues relating to human resources of our Airmen and Guardians. This includes the welfare of the servicemembers and their families.”

A strategic perspective paired with management expertise is essential for fulfilling the Under Secretary role, in which capacity Lohmeier will be responsible for organizing, training and equipping the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. He’ll also oversee more than $200 billion in assets under management for the Department and care for nearly 700,000 active duty, Guard, Reserve, and civilian Airmen and Guardians and their families.

“I’d like to welcome Matt to the team. His prior service makes him an excellent fit to help us strengthen the readiness and warrior ethos of the Air and Space Forces in order to defend our nation,” said Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink.

“I’m impressed by his dedication and focus on service culture and grateful for his advocacy for Department resources and modernization, and I know he will be a great asset to our Total Force Airmen, Guardians, and military families.”

Lohmeier committed to working closely with leaders within both the Department of the Air Force and the Department of Defense to help bring to fruition Secretary Meink’s vision and to synchronize the Department’s efforts across each of their respective portfolios, with particular attention focused on budget, policy, strategy, and personnel.

“Our Airmen and Guardians sacrifice a great deal to serve the American people,” said Lohmeier.

“They deserve all of the best tools, training, and support they need to perform their missions in an increasingly complex and quickly evolving threat environment. I’m honored to work alongside Secretary Meink in service of these great men and women.”

Lohmeier will join Secretary Meink, Air Force Chief of Staff Allvin, and Chief of Space Operations Saltzman in shaping, modernizing and positioning the Air Force and Space Force as needed to defend the nation and its interests.

Lohmeier enters the role of Under Secretary with nearly twenty years of experience in the Department. A native of Arizona, Lohmeier commissioned into the Air Force from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2006. He graduated with a degree in Social Science with a minor in Mandarin Chinese and later earned master’s degrees in Military Operational Art and Science and a Master of Philosophy in Military Strategy from the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, one of the DoD’s premier strategy schools.

As an Airman, Lohmeier logged 1,200 flight hours in the T-38 and F-15C. As a Guardian, Lohmeier commanded a space-based missile warning squadron.

First published on the US Air Force Newsroom

By C. Todd Lopez  |  DOD News (Pentagon)

The Defense Department today gained a new leader as Matthew Lohmeier was confirmed by the Senate to be undersecretary of the Air Force.

Nominated for the position by President Donald J. Trump, Lohmeier is a 2006 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and served in both the United States Air Force and the United States Space Force.

While in uniform, he racked up over 1,200 hours in both the T-38 Talon and F-15C Eagle aircraft and also commanded a space-based missile warning system squadron.

“I’d like to welcome Matt to the team. His prior service makes him an excellent fit to help us strengthen the readiness and warrior ethos of the Air and Space Forces in order to defend our nation,” said Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink.

“I’m impressed by his dedication and focus on service culture and grateful for his advocacy for department resources and modernization, and I know he will be a great asset to our total force airmen, guardians and military families.”

Welcome Matt Lohmeier to the @usairforce & @SpaceForceDoD team! He is going to be great for the Department of the Air Force!

— Office of the Secretary of the Air Force (@SecAFOfficial) July 24, 2025

Working alongside Meink, Lohmeier will be responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the Air Force Department. That role includes the organizing, training and equipping of some 700,000 military and civilian personnel, as well as overseeing more than $200 billion in assets.

As the Air Force’s chief management officer, Lohmeier will also oversee the department’s budget and will be responsible for directing strategy and policy development, risk management, acquisitions, investments and the management of human resources.

While testifying during his confirmation hearing before the Senate on May 1, Lohmeier told lawmakers he’d be an advocate for a larger and better-funded Air Force.

“Every single national security option the president needs is underpinned by air and space power,” Lohmeier said.

“The president has nominated me for this important position with the trust that I will be a driving force behind a culture of integrity in the Department of the Air Force.

This includes eliminating all unnecessary distractions and enabling military members to focus on their mission.”

The new Air Force undersecretary also testified that, in addition to aligning with the president’s peace through strength agenda, he is also aligned with the goals of the defense secretary.

“Secretary [Pete] Hegseth has said his priorities include restoring the warrior ethos and a focus on war fighting, rebuilding the military and re-establishing deterrence,” Lohmeier said.

“I am firmly aligned with those priorities, and there are unique ways in which they must be accomplished in the Air and Space Forces … all of my efforts will be nested within that framework.”

The United States has identified China as a pacing threat, and Lohmeier told lawmakers he has a unique perspective on that threat, which was formed through his own experiences during his time at the Air Force Academy, and then later as a commissioned officer.

He speaks Mandarin, and as part of his time at the Air Force Academy, he participated in an exchange program with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force Academy in China.

“I lived in the dorms with … cadets, attended their classes — even aeronautical engineering — did [physical training] with those cadets in the snow, [and] ate in their chow hall,” Lohmeier told senators in May during his nomination hearing.

After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 2006, Lohmeier spent time as a T-38 Talon instructor pilot and then moved to an assignment at Kadena Air Base, Japan, where he flew the F-15C aircraft.

“That assignment served as yet another reminder to me of the threat posed by the PRC to our allies and our strategic partners, as well as to our own economic prosperity and military interests at home and abroad,” Lohmeier said.

“I am keenly aware of that threat, and I understand the need for ready Air and Space Forces, well-trained and equipped to meet the China challenge, to deter any aggression and, if needed, to defeat that aggression.”

Following his time in the F-15C, Lohmeier transferred to Air Force Space Command. Then, when the U.S. Space Force was established in 2019, he took a command position leading a combined operation of U.S. and allied partners in control of $18 billion in space-based missile warning architecture.

“I speak the language of both the Air Force and the Space Force,” Lohmeier said. “I am air-minded and space-minded. I understand the necessity of the United States’ superiority in both of those warfighting domains.”

First published on DOD’s website

It’s an honor to serve with you, Mr. Secretary!

— Matt Lohmeier 🇺🇸 (@matthewlohmeier) July 24, 2025

By Shawn Fleetwood  |  The Federalist

In a 52-46 vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed former Space Force Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier as the next under secretary of the Air Force. The vote came along partisan lines, with Republicans supporting Lohmeier’s nomination and Democrats opposing.

Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., did not vote on the nomination.

“Congrats to Hulett, Wyoming’s Matthew Lohmeier and family as he is confirmed by the US Senate to be Under Secretary of the US Air Force!” Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wy., wrote in a congratulatory tweet.

Lohmeier’s nomination was advanced to the full Senate by the Senate Armed Services Committee alongside several other military-related nominees in May. The committee did not release a full vote tally, only saying that Lohmeier’s nomination was reported “favorably” in a roll call vote.

A former fighter pilot for the Air Force and later the Space Force, Lohmeier was removed from service under the Biden administration in May 2021 after espousing concerns about the military’s embrace of Marxist ideology. The lieutenant colonel specifically criticized the force’s obsession with DEI racism and critical race theory.

Meanwhile, Gen. Stephen Whiting — who reportedly played a role in Lohmeier’s dismissal — was promoted to lead U.S. Space Force Command by President Joe Biden. Whiting has a history of using his position to advance DEI throughout the service, as The Federalist previously reported.

During his May 1 confirmation hearing, Lohmeier spoke about the importance of maintaining an “apolitical” military,” a belief he said “was one of the driving, motivating factors” behind his advocacy for such ideals following his separation from the force. Amid aggressive questioning from committee Democrats, he further emphasized that he was “never publicly critical of [his] chain of command [and] was never publicly critical of [his] senior leaders while [he] served in the uniform.”

The former lieutenant colonel also pledged to eliminate “all unnecessary distractions and enabl[e] military members to focus on their mission” — echoing sentiments previously expressed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to restore a “warrior ethos” to the Pentagon.

As under secretary of the Air Force, Lohmeier will serve under Air Force Secretary Troy Meink. The latter was confirmed by the Senate (74-25) in May.

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood

First published on The Federalist