Air Force Academy Grad Must Be Confirmed By The U.S. Senate

President Donald Trump has nominate Heather Wilson to be the next Secretary of the Air Force.

"Heather Wilson is going to make an outstanding secretary of the Air Force," Trump said in a statement Monday announcing his planned nomination. "Her distinguished military service, high level of knowledge, and success in so many different fields gives me great confidence that she will lead our nation's Air Force with the greatest competence and integrity."

Wilson is an Air Force Academy graduate who is currently president of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, SD, a position she has held since 2013.

Previously, she served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1998 to 2009. She was the first female U.S. military veteran to be elected to a full term in the U.S. House.

"America and our vital national interests continue to be threatened," Wilson said in a statement released to the media. "I will do my best, working with our men and women in the military, to strengthen American air and space power to keep the country safe."

The Air Force Times reports that, if confirmed, she would be the first Air Force Academy graduate to serve as secretary. She graduated from the academy in 1982, part of only the third class to admit women.

The statement from the Trump administration said that Wilson comes from a family of aviators, and is herself an instrument-rated private pilot.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.af.mil