Trump chooses spy agency official for Air Force secretary
Troy Meink, a senior leader at the National Reconnaissance Office, is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to serve as secretary of the Air Force.
The former and future commander-in-chief announced his pick Thursday on Truth Social.
“Troy will work with our incredible Secretary of Defense Nominee, Pete Hegseth, to ensure that our Nation’s Air Force is the most effective and deadly force in the World, as we secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH,” Trump wrote.
As the civilian head of the Department of the Air Force — which also includes the Space Force — Meink would be responsible for leading the service during a period of wide-ranging modernization. If confirmed by the Senate, he’d be expected to play a key role in deciding the future of the Next-Generation Air Dominance program. The department is also pursuing Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the B-21 stealth bomber, a Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, AI capabilities, modernized cyber and IT tools, and the DAF Battle Network, among other technologies.
Meink has been serving as principal deputy director of NRO, a position he was appointed to during the first Trump administration in 2020. In that role, he was tasked with “overall day-to-day management of the NRO, with decision responsibility as delegated by the Director,” according to his agency bio.
NRO develops, acquires, launches and operates satellites and ground systems “to see, hear, and sense threats around the world in real time,” according to the organization’s website.
In a prior assignment for the spy agency, Meink was director of geospatial intelligence systems acquisition, overseeing a budget of more than $15 billion.
He also has extensive experience working for the Air Force. He joined the service in 1988 via an ROTC program. Early in his military career he served as a KC-135 tanker navigator and instructor. He completed eight combat and 29 combat support missions during Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Provide Comfort, according to his old Air Force bio.
While serving as a civilian official in the Air Force, he managed “multiple next generation joint research and development programs transitioning global space capabilities, optical sensors, and advanced structures” into Defense Department operations, per his bio. “He subsequently led development for the Military Satellite Communications Joint Program Office and served as program director for the Transformational Satellite Communications System.”
He was also deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for space and director, executive agent for space staff; director of the communications directorate in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for networks and information integration; and NRO’s director of signal intelligence systems acquisition.
Meink’s nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.
His expected selection was previously reported by other news outlets on Thursday prior to Trump’s announcement.
Trump continues to fill out his Pentagon roster. His pick for secretary of defense, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, had his confirmation hearing earlier this week.
The president-elect has also chosen billionaire investor Stephen Feinberg to be deputy secretary of defense; Daniel Driscoll to be secretary of the Army; John Phelan to be secretary of the Navy; Michael Duffey to be undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment; Emil Michael to be undersecretary of defense for research and engineering; and Elbridge “Bridge” Colby to be undersecretary of defense for policy.
