Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr. speaks during last year’s Air Force Reserve Command Senior Leaders Conference as Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley looks on. During Stenner’s four-year tenure as AFRC commander and chief of Air Force Reserve, the command has undergone some signifcant changes and achieved some important milestones. Perhaps the most important is the successful implementation of his Air Force Reserve 2012 initiative.
In June 2008, Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr. became the 27th person to lead the Air Force Reserve. He is set to retire and relinquish his dual position as Air Force Reserve Command commander and chief of Air Force Reserve to Maj. Gen. James F. Jackson.
During Stenner’s four-year tenure, the Air Force Reserve has undergone some significant changes and achieved some important milestones. Perhaps his most important accomplishment, and the one thing that the general will be most remembered for, is the successful implementation of his Air Force Reserve 2012 initiative.
Under this series of projects, he led AFRC to achieving full operational capability, making the Reserve a full-component partner and the single manager of readiness, predictability and generation of Reserve capability. This marked a significant change in the way reservists are managed and Reserve capabilities are made available to other Air Force major commands and combatant commanders to accomplish emerging and steady-state missions.
Under Stenner’s leadership, the command continued to expand its involvement in total force integration, increasing associations with both the regular Air Force and the Air National Guard. He led Air Force Reserve efforts to support the Air Force’s No. 1 priority, which is continuing to strengthen the nuclear enterprise. He worked to stand up the first-ever reserve component B-52 associate unit that is responsible for both conventional and nuclear missions.
The general rebuilt the Reserve’s infrastructure to meet both the strategic and operational demands of the nation’s defense. This included streamlining staffing procedures, rebuilding both the Office of Air Force Reserve and the Reserve advisor/mobilization assistant programs, revamping the mission and structure of the numbered air forces, and standing up a new Force Generation Center. The FGC serves as the single path to request and receive, as well as oversee and deliver, Air Force Reserve forces and capabilities.
In preparation for his retirement and change of command, Stenner sat down with Betty Kennedy, the command’s director of historical services, for an interview. To read the interview, go to http://www.arpc.afrc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123304759.
