When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

Lt. Gen. (ret) David Deptula sat down with Patrick McSpadden in the War on the Rocks studio for a wide-ranging conversation. Deptula highlights the Air Force’s current challenges and addresses what it will take to fix them. The duo discuss everything from previous missions to Deptula’s advice for current Airmen, even delving into his favorite D.C. gems for food and drinks. You don’t want to miss this special episode of Airman Pulse.

Note: This is a free episode of the members-only Airman Pulse podcast. If you’d like to hear more interesting conversations about life in the Air Force, you can become a member to unlock this show, as well as the other Armed Services Podcasts. The 2026 Mitchell Institute Airpower Forum mentioned in the episode has already taken place at the time of publication. Additionally, the links to the readings mentioned in today’s episode can be found below.

https://www.lri.fr/~mbl/Stanford/CS477/papers/Kuhn-SSR-2ndEd.pdf

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davedeptula/2026/01/12/a-15-trillion-defense-budget-implications-for-the-air-force-and-space-force/

Image: Jerry Morrison via DVIDS