Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Ken Wilsbach used firsthand accounts of Airmen who served during Operation Epic Fury to define the path forward for the service in his keynote address, Sept. 14, at the 2026 Air & Space Forces Association Air, Space & Cyber Conference.
"We must be ready to fight, built to endure, and integrated to win," Wilsbach told Airmen, Guardians, allies, partners and industry leaders.
Wilsbach noted that for 250 years Americans have answered the call to defend an idea unlike any in history - from crossing frozen rivers with Gen. George Washington, storming the beaches of Normandy, flying over Korea and Vietnam, standing alert throughout the Cold War, and answering the call after 9/11.
"Today, that responsibility belongs to another generation of Americans who volunteered knowing the world isn't becoming safer," he said. "Strategic competition is intensifying, warfare continues to evolve, and yet they raised their right hands anyway."
After thanking AFA for its support to Airmen, Guardians and their families, he praised Airmen he met during a recent trip to the Middle East.
"Wherever I went, I saw Airmen with that steely-eyed look of warriors determined to get the mission done and protect their fellow Airmen," Wilsbach said.
Scale, precision and speed
Operation Epic Fury will be studied for its scale, precision and speed, Wilsbach said. In 38 days of combat operations, the Joint Force struck more than 13,000 military objectives. Five hundred aircraft executed 10,000 sorties - an average of more than 250 every day.
Airmen accomplished this through 1,200 Alarm Reds, 48 airfield repairs and more than 420 reportable Explosive Ordnance Disposal "long lonely walks."
Behind those numbers were thousands of decisions made by Airmen who kept the mission moving while the enemy tried to stop them.
F-15E crew chief "Garrett" launched four Strike Eagles on the second day of operations during an airfield attack. Hundreds of miles away and also under fire, senior airmen "Shanea" and "Nolan" tracked a swarm of enemy drones headed toward their base and shot down 10.
"There were moments when they were afraid, and most people would be," Wilsbach said. "But courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is overcoming it. They stayed locked on, trusted their training, and did the job everyone around them was counting on."
Point defense as a core function
"For decades, American air and space power has often operated from a position of sanctuary. Those days are over," Wilsbach said. "We can no longer treat point defense as a side hustle. We must make it a core function of air and space power."
He announced two major initiatives:
- Establishment of the Point Defense Weapon System, bringing together kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities to enhance air base security.
- A new career field of point defense Airmen, operational in two years. The first career field managers were present in the audience and received a round of applause.
Built to endure
Wilsbach shared stories of weapons loaders and bomber crews who demonstrated endurance as they launched from home station, crossed oceans, struck military objectives and returned from sorties lasting more than 30 hours.
Technical sergeant "Collin" established two explosive operating locations and assembled more than 1,700 2,000-pound weapons and more than 600 JASSMs for the largest contingency bomber force in decades.
B-1 pilot "Rocket" flew a 34-hour combat mission during which jet fuel leaked across his windscreen, forcing him to "literally refuel by braille."
Senior airman "Peter" moved heavy ordnance and Patriot equipment while ballistic missiles and attack drones targeted his airfield and destroyed his living quarters.
MQ-9 pilot "Suit" planned and launched a combat sortie during an active attack on his airfield, then recovered another Reaper.
Integrated to win
Fighters, bombers, tankers, ISR, cyber, space and rescue forces become more effective when integrated across time, distance and domains, Wilsbach said.
Air battle manager "Peaches" led 134 joint and coalition operators in controlling 1,000 one-way attack drones and 1,200 enemy ballistic missile threats, then helped coordinate the 50-plus-hour Dude 44 combat search-and-rescue effort involving 176 aircraft - fighters, bombers, tankers, intelligence platforms and Air Force Special Operations Command forces.
"Operation Epic Fury was not the story of one airplane, one weapon or one career field," Wilsbach said. "It was 'Garrett' getting an F-15 airborne while rounds were inbound. It was 'Shanea' and 'Nolan' defending hundreds of their fellow Airmen. It was 'Collin' answering a midnight call to build the weapons bombers needed. It was 'Rocket' and a tanker crew keeping a bomber in the fight. It was 'Peter' returning to the flight line after his hooch was destroyed. It was 'Suit' using an MQ-9 to help commanders understand what was happening while his own airfield was under attack. And it was 'Peaches' synchronizing aircraft to bring two Americans home. Around them were tens of thousands more."
Those stories capture the Air Force's three imperatives: ready to fight, built to endure and integrated to win.
"Our Airmen carry that legacy forward," Wilsbach said. "They turn airplanes into combat power, information into decisions, logistics into endurance and technology into advantage. They bring those capabilities together when the stakes are highest and the outcome matters most. Fight's On!"
