AURORA, Colo.—The leaders of the Air Force and Space Force were fired up Monday during their keynote speeches at the service’s spring conference, loudly emphasizing the necessity of a “warrior ethos,” as military leaders adjust their priorities and rhetoric to those of new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The tone of the two speeches at the AFA Warfare Symposium was markedly more aggressive than in recent years, with Air Force Chief Gen. David Allvin describing his service’s job as putting “warheads on foreheads,” and Space Force Chief Gen. Chance Saltzman talking more openly about offensive operations and using “military force to control the space domain.”
During Allvin’s keynote speech, large side screens played a clip from Hegseth’s January confirmation hearing in which the defense secretary lists his priorities: restore the warrior ethos, rebuild the U.S. military, and re-establish deterrence.
Both service officials took the opportunity to point out how their efforts align with the new administration’s priorities. Allvin said that the service’s current overhaul, started last year to prepare for a fight against China, is fully in line with the administration’s goals.
The initiative, called Reoptimizing for Great Power Competition, is on pause until the service’s new secretary and undersecretary are in place and can review it. Once those leaders are confirmed and get a chance to look at the plans, Allvin said he has a “hunch” they’ll tell them to go faster.
“Reviving the warrior ethos—how could it not be more about warrior ethos than to let every airman know what it means to fight as a unit and what’s going to be expected of them [as they’re] focused on the threat? And [we’re] changing the way we bring airmen into our formation to make sure they’re aligned and developed with the warrior ethos in mind,” Allvin said.
And even as the Pentagon reshapes its budget, including a 8% shift in funding, Allvin said there needs to be “more Air Force” to protect the homeland from attacks, provide nuclear deterrence, and offer the president more options. The Air Force must be able to put “the warhead on a forehead, anywhere the president might want,” Allvin said.
On the space front, Saltzman spoke more openly about offensive weapons in space during his keynote than he has previously, repeatedly using the term “space superiority.”
“It is now our job to contest and control the space domain, to fight and win, so that we assure freedom of access for our forces while denying the same to our adversaries. Doing so under the stressing conditions of crisis and conflict requires a purpose-built organization tailor made with the institutions, the equipment, the tactics, the training, the warrior ethos, required to use military force to control the space domain,” Saltzman said.
But unlike previous keynotes packed with standing-room-only crowds, these vehement speeches were delivered to a half-empty ballroom at the Colorado convention center. Conference attendance is noticeably down this year, after President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring government employees to scale back non-essential travel.
