At Tinker and the Primes, the Air Force and industry team up to sustain the ‘arsenal of freedom’

Midwest City, Okla. — A push to accelerate recapitalization, boost capacity and strengthen government–industry ties dominated the 21st annual Tinker and the Primes Conference, held Aug. 4-6 and hosted by the Midwest City Chamber of Commerce.

Under Secretary of the Air Force Matt Lohmeier opened the week with a keynote framing the stakes for modernization and sustainment. Citing mounting strain on the force, he quoted Rep. August Pfluger: “Our system should be blinking red. We’re achieving extraordinary results, but our force and fleet are wearing out faster than they can be replaced.”

Lohmeier argued that predictable funding and long-term agreements are central to unlocking industry investment and throughput. “If we are able to commit to multiyear contracts with the long-term funding to match, we can stop the yearly headaches and broken promises when it’s time to balance the budget at the end of each year,” he said. “Providing a steady, predictable demand signal to our industry partners, I hear it everywhere I go, particularly those partners being in the supply chain can help bring increased investment, increased capacity, and increase supply chain resilience over the long term.” He added, “If industry doesn’t have to worry about us abandoning the shopping cart and checkout every year, they can add new factories, invest in capacity, and sub-tier suppliers where the bottlenecks really live, and attract and retain the skilled workforce that we desperately need working on these problems.”

Those changes, he said, are critical as the service fields sixth-generation capabilities, including the B-21 Raider, while continuing to sustain legacy platforms that remain in high demand.

Leaders from Tinker Air Force Base detailed how those imperatives are being translated at the depot and installation levels. Brig. Gen. Lindsay Droz, commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex, described efforts to keep an aging fleet mission-ready even as the enterprise prepares for advanced systems—and highlighted the people making it happen. She recognized team members who returned a B-1B Lancer from desert storage to active service, and outlined how the complex is pushing repair capacity closer to operators through Forward Air Logistics Complex Operational Nodes, or FALCON. “The FALCONs are where we can send the team out and set up a repair capability, intercept some of that depot-level maintenance closer to the operational need, prevent the parts from having to be shipped back here, get those repairs done, and get them back to the warfighter faster,” Droz said.

Col. Cisco Harris, Tinker installation and 72nd Air Base Wing commander, underscored the base’s reliance on Oklahoma’s talent pipeline and its partnership with local educators. “Government and industry are not separate entities in the business of national defense,” Harris said. “History proves that only together we contribute an indispensable alliance. And that is why this year’s theme, ‘resilient by design, pride for readiness,’ resonates so deeply.”

Preparing for new missions such as the B-21 Raider is reshaping the skill mix across the maintenance and engineering workforce, Harris said, pointing to a future that blends hands-on trades and digital expertise. “One day, we will mainly remove panels for B-52s with screwdrivers, and the next day, software coders and engineers will conduct a safe inspection with sensors and laptops,” he said.

The installation’s recruiting and training push is already drawing strong interest. A recent Air Force Sustainment Center Tinker Civilian Hiring Event drew more than 4,000 applications, with another 1,300 people attending an in-person information fair to learn how to prepare for future openings.

Harris closed with a warning against complacency as the service seeks to optimize its partnerships and processes before a crisis demands it. “When the next conflict breaks, the outcome will not be decided by what we build then, it will be decided by what we forge today. We must not wait for a crisis to break before we optimize our rails.”