The Senate voted July 26 to confirm Frank Kendall as the 26th secretary of the Air Force. He succeeds John Roth, who served as acting secretary since Jan. 20.
Kendall comes to the Air Force’s senior-most civilian post after a lifetime of military, industry and public service. He served in the Pentagon’s third-highest leadership position during the Obama administration. He also directed the armed services’ tactical warfare program, and then moved to become assistant deputy undersecretary for Strategic Defense Systems. While working with industry in the 1990s, he served as vice president of engineering at Raytheon Corp.
Kendall graduated from West Point. His 10-year career in uniform included a stint as an instructor at the U.S. Military Academy. He also earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering at California Institute of Technology, a law degree from Georgetown University and an MBA from the C. W. Post campus of Long Island University.