AUGUST 20, 2026 – Legacy and next-generation sustainment needs were key discussion topics at the 21st annual Tinker and the Primes Conference held in Midwest City Aug. 4-6.
The conference, hosted by the Midwest City Chamber of Commerce, allows government and industry leaders to come together to discuss current and future needs and how together they can sustain America’s airpower advantage.
Under Secretary of the Air Force Matt Lohmeier gave his keynote address at the beginning of the week, speaking on the Air Force’s need to rapidly recapitalize and increase capacity, and the Department of War’s drive to change its acquisition strategy, shifting to a wartime footing.
Lohmeier, quoting Rep. August Pfluger, said, “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.”
To address this, he listed changes the Air Force needs when doing business.
“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,” Lohmeier 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.”
The changes will be essential as the Air Force begins fielding sixth-generation platforms including the B-21 Raider and F-47.
At the operational level, leaders from Tinker Air Force Base spoke about their mission needs.
Brig. Gen. Lindsay Droz, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex commander, spoke about how the complex is sustaining an aging fleet while preparing for next-generation systems. She also focused on the personnel making it possible.
Droz named some of the individuals responsible for bringing a B-1B Lancer back from storage in the Arizona desert and restoring it to active service.
Droz also detailed how the OC-ALC is bringing depot-level maintenance services closer to the fight 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.
All the OC-ALC’s work would not be possible without the personnel talent pool located in Oklahoma. Col. Cisco Harris, Tinker installation and 72nd Air Base Wing commander, spoke about the inseparable bond between the people of Oklahoma and national defense.
“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.”
To prepare for new missions such as the B-21 Raider, Harris spoke about the aggressive training and modernization of the Team Tinker workforce.
“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,” Harris said.
He spoke about how Tinker is building a multigenerational blue-collar and white-collar workforce, working in close collaboration with Oklahoma’s colleges and trade schools.
That partnership is already bearing fruit. During a recent Air Force Sustainment Center Tinker Civilian Hiring Event, more than 4,000 applications were received, with another 1,300 people attending an in-person information fair to learn more about how they can better prepare themselves for future openings.
Harris’s closing words summed up the Air Force’s urgency to optimize its industry partnerships in a call to action.
“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.”
By Paul Shirk
72nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs