TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Maj. Gen. Steven Behmer, commander of Fifteenth Air Force, and Chief Master Sgt. Nikki Drago, command chief of Fifteenth Air Force, visited Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, Jan. 6-8, 2026, to assess operations supporting the F-35A Lightning II and emphasize his command’s primary mission: delivering ready forces for combat operations.
During the visit, Behmer and Drago met with Airmen from various operations, maintenance and support squadrons to hear their perspectives directly. He also toured several key units, including the 801st Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) Training Squadron, 325th Security Forces Squadron and 325th Civil Engineer Squadron’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal flight.
As commander, Behmer is responsible for the readiness of 14 wings and more than 47,000 personnel across the numbered Air Force.
“Our focus is simple: make sure the force we send is the force that wins,” Behmer said. “That starts with disciplined training, reliable sustainment and leaders who remove obstacles so Airmen can focus on mission execution.”
Behmer and Drago highlighted Tyndall’s role in fielding fifth-generation capability and the importance of aligning wing-level training and sustainment with Fifteenth Air Force force-generation timelines. They listened to concerns about tempo, training capacity, and discussed steps to better synchronize resources with operational requirements.
“We need to be deliberate about how we generate forces. Timing, training, and logistics all have to come together,” Behmer added. “If any piece is out of sync, readiness degrades.”
“Team Tyndall is doing outstanding work. Their dedication to maintaining high standards and rapidly adopting to challenges sets a model to the rest of the command,” Behmer said.
The visit concluded with a leadership call outlining follow-on actions to improve readiness enablers and streamline deployment processes. Drago reaffirmed that as the Air Force modernizes, delivering ready, deployable combat forces remains the command’s nonnegotiable priority.
“We’re seeing Airmen at every level step up and take ownership of readiness,” Drago said. “The professionalism and care they bring to training and maintenance directly translate into combat power. That’s what keeps our edge.”