Gina Ortiz Jones, undersecretary of the Air Force, meets with airmen on Jan. 9, 2023, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Jones is stepping down from the job, the Air Force announced Feb. 13. (Hannah Carranza/U.S. Air Force)
Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones, a champion of broader diversity efforts and the first openly gay undersecretary, is stepping down as the service’s second-highest ranking civilian effective March 6.
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall praised Jones’ leadership in a brief statement Monday about her departure.
Kendall called her “a tireless advocate” and said she had enabled airmen, guardians and their families “to serve to their full potential.”
The Senate confirmed Jones in July 2021, making her the sixth woman to hold the post since 1947.
Jones was forced to hide her sexual orientation as a young ROTC college cadet and, from 2003 to 2006, while serving as an Air Force intelligence officer during “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“I had to sign a piece of paper saying that I would not engage in homosexual behavior because DADT applied to me even as a cadet,” Jones told a panel of LGBTQ+ community members, veterans and government leaders in 2021. “It became clear to me that an opportunity to get an education and serve our country all goes away just because we didn’t have leaders with the courage to say anybody ready and willing to serve their country should have the opportunity to do so.”
The since-repealed Defense Department policy prevented lesbian, gay and bisexual military personnel from disclosing their sexuality while serving their country. Violating the policy carried the threat of discharge.
During her tenure as undersecretary, the Air Force and the Space Force began allowing pregnant women to apply for Air Force Officer Training School.
Previously, pregnant enlisted airmen, guardians and civilians had to wait until 12 months postpartum to begin the commissioning process.
And in August 2022, the Air Force and Space Force announced new recruiting demographic targets to increase the number of minority airmen and guardians in jobs traditionally held by white men.
When the Air Force announced in January that it was hiring more special agents to investigate allegations of domestic violence, Jones said the goal was to support survivors and prevent such crimes from happening.
“This is a warfighting issue, a readiness issue and a leadership issue,” Jones said in an Air Force statement.
Kristyn Jones, the Air Force’s comptroller and chief financial officer, will become acting undersecretary, according to the service statement.
Kristyn Jones has served as the principal financial adviser to the Air Force secretary, Air Force chief of staff and chief of space operations since May 2022. She’ll be the fourth acting undersecretary since 2019.
