A fruit of hard conversations and “analytical rigor” by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and his team, the “IDO” office is expected to help give the Air Force the tools it needs to emerge victorious from the “most intense conceivable military operations,” said Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics.
Headquartered at Wright-Patterson, the office will have 200 employees by mid-2025, working with the Air Force’s new Integrated Capabilities Command (ICC) to help the service develop the weapons and capabilities needed to win wars against China, Russia and any evolving global threat.
“Starting today, we will have those tools,” Hunter said at a formal stand-up ceremony at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
“The threat we’re facing is, let’s just say, concerning,” said Gen. Duke Z. Richardson, AFMC commander, who will be the IDO’s Capability Development Executive Officer. “We need to respond.”
Gentry will work closely with Richardson and Maj. Gen. Mark Mitchum, provisional commander of the ICC.
Gentry was promoted to tier 2 seniority within the Senior Executive Service as the inaugural IDO director, making her the civilian executive equivalent of a two-star general, which in the Air Force is a major general.
“You’re looking at a general,” Richardson said in his remarks at the Air Force Museum introducing Gentry.
Gentry has a career history heavy on services rendered at Wright-Patterson — including stints at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center — and the Pentagon. She is a materials engineer, a chemical engineer and an executive with an M.B.A. Before this most recent promotion, she directed the AFRL Sensors Directorate at Wright-Patt.
In her remarks, Gentry reflected on the date. A year ago, a 10-person team gathered in a small conference room brainstorming the proposal that would result in the creation of the IDO, she said. From there, a growing team brought on new colleagues, secured funding and created a portfolio of responsibilities.
“Those teammates worked tirelessly to get the IDO to where it is today,” she said.
Among its responsibilities, the new office will help oversee early systems acquisition prototyping, experimentation, and engineering.
IDO BY THE NUMBERS
- 200 employees by mid-2025.
- $309 million this fiscal year and $1.4 billion across the FYDP (Future Years Defense Program, a Department of Defense projection over five years).
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