Wolfenbarger becomes highest ranking woman in the United States
Air Force
When Janet Wolfenbarger first signed on to be an Air Force cadet
as a member of the first class to accept women in 1976, she said
she was committed for five years.
”
If someone had asked me after graduation if I was going spend
the last couple decades in the (Air Force), I don’t know,
”
she said.
”
But some point very early on, I decided I would. I have had so
many responsibilities and vibrant projects.
”
Wolfenbarger becomes highest ranking woman in the United States Air Force
When Janet Wolfenbarger first signed on to be an Air Force cadet as a member of the first class to accept women in 1976, she said she was committed for five years.
“If someone had asked me after graduation if I was going spend the last couple decades in the (Air Force), I don’t know,” she said. “But some point very early on, I decided I would. I have had so many responsibilities and vibrant projects.”
Three decades later, Wolfenbarger, the daughter of Shirley and Eldon Libby of Paicines, was promoted to lieutenant general in December. It made her the highest ranking woman in the Air Force as a three-star general. She got word of her nomination by President Barack Obama before she even had been confirmed to the post of a two-star general.
“Up to two star, you are promoted based on past performance and also based on future potential,” she said. “Boards meet to select all the people at that point in their career that should be considered.”
To become a three-star general, it is contingent upon a position available at that level and a nomination by the president. There are a finite number of generals allowed in each branch of the U.S. military so Wolfenbarger’s nomination process started as another general announced his retirement. After the president nominates a candidate, it has to be approved by the Senate arms committee and then the entire Senate.
During that time, Wolfenbarger had to keep the nomination to herself.
“They do encourage you not to say anything,” she said, noting that she didn’t tell anyone, with one exception. “My husband knew, but not my daughter. We worried about a 12-year-old keeping it a secret.”
She got news that her nomination had been approved in December and her promotion ceremony was scheduled weeks after at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. She said her immediate family was able to make it out, including her parents, siblings and their families, as well as some aunts and uncles, even though they had just a few weeks to plan the trip.
Though her time in San Benito County was limited growing up, her family does have roots in the area, including the land in Paicines where her parents have a log home on a hill. Unlike the log cabin Wolfenbarger imagined when her parents talked of building a house that way, the home actually is large. Completed in 1999, Wolfenbarger said her mother wanted it to be big enough that all the Libby children could return with their families once a year for an annual family reunion. This year, 75 people showed up for the yearly event.
Wolfenbarger recollected how others in the area have taken pride in her accomplishments, too.
“My father, and he has brothers who live in the area, have a barber they use in Hollister,” she said, of B&R Barber Shop on Fifth Street. “He has my picture and my biography up there on the wall.”
During her visit last week for the reunion, Wolfenbarger stopped in to see him and say hello. They exchanged a few words and she gave him one of her military coins.
“Even the establishment has been supportive of me,” she said.
For her most recent assignment at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, Wolfenbarger worked on several tasks. First she was involved on a project of process work improvement, which she explained as looking at the life-cycle management of weapons systems. She worked with a team to look at every aspect from research and development to distribution and maintenance of weapons.
“It was pretty exciting,” she said. “I was really dedicated to that for five or six months. Then I was asked to work as director of staff.”
She split her time between both for a while, and once she was promoted to lieutenant general., she became the vice commander for the Air Force center where she works. Working closely with the four-star general on site, she oversees 8,000 people and 10 centers in the geographical region. They include a research lab, product centers, flight centers, Air Force security systems and the Air Force museum, among others.
Wolfenbarger had a chance to check out Air Force One on one of her assignments, but she laughed as she added the president wasn’t on it at the time.
“It’s an impressive airplane,” she said.
As a member of the military, Wolfenbarger said she and the others on the base see it as their job to work with the president as commander in chief.
“We don’t get into politics,” she said. “But it does seem when you look back on history how the country in different environmental circumstances has reacted. Some have been very supportive and some haven’t been.”
She added that some of the changes to budget may be related to the economy, especially during tough times. She said that she is always sensitive to the fact that it is taxpayer money being used.
In her role as vice commander she has more influence over the decisions made.
“From the Air Force Material Command, I have a chance to help communicate and make the right decisions,” she said. “I help execute the command mission. It’s a great opportunity to understand it from a much broader perspective.”
One of the parts of her job that came as a surprise is that the vice commanders from the different centers meet up to discuss issues facing the Air Force.
“I didn’t realize that was part of the job ahead of time, but it’s been another wonderful opportunity to broaden my horizon,” she said.
The job requires long hours and travel, but Wolfenbarger said her family, which includes husband Craig and daughter Callie, have been supportive. Craig is retired from the Air Force so Wolfenbarger said he takes care of Callie, 12, and helps her with her homework when Wolfenbarger has to be away. It is a reversal of roles from when Callie was a toddler. When Callie was 2, Craig was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base while Wolfenbarger was in Dayton. Wolfenbarger relied on the Air Force day care and the help of a friend when she needed to travel or work late.
“He has been willing to help with the family side of things,” Wolfenbarger said of her husband. “It gives me such a peace of mind.”
Much of Wolfenbarger’s career has been spent in Dayton, Ohio, though she said traditional military careers have people moving every to two three years. She even spent some of her teenage years in Dayton when her father was stationed there during his Air Force years. She attended Beavercreek High School.
“They invited me to come back to be the commencement speaker,” she said. “I know they mostly just wanted to get out, as high school students do, but I shared a little bit of advice.”
She said some of the parents came up to her afterward and thanked her.
“I offer some evidence of the kind of success you can achieve,” she said.
Though she is the highest-ranking woman in the Air Force, she said she tends not to think of herself that way.
“I think more of being a three-star general, with the greater responsibility and ranking,” she said. “I think I am wonderful evidence that a career in the military is not limited by gender or culture. If you are willing to work hard, you can do it.”
