Air Force Materiel Command vice commander reflects on tenure,
transition to new assignment
By Monica D. Morales, Air Force Materiel Command Public
Affairs
Special to the Pinnacle
Progress
– that’s the legacy Air Force Materiel Command Vice Commander
Lt. Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger said she hopes to leave behind as her
tenure at Headquarters AFMC draws to a close this week.
Air Force Materiel Command vice commander reflects on tenure, transition to new assignment
By Monica D. Morales, Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs
Special to the Pinnacle
Progress – that’s the legacy Air Force Materiel Command Vice Commander Lt. Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger said she hopes to leave behind as her tenure at Headquarters AFMC draws to a close this week.
“As I look back on this time frame, my hope is that I will be remembered not only for taking care of the command’s mission, but also for the progress made in process improvement activities that are truly making our Air Force better,” the general said during a recent interview.
Wolfenbarger is the daughter of Shirley and Eldon Libby, of Paicines. Her military career began after she graduated high school, when she enrolled at the Air Force Academy, in 1976. It was the first year the institution accepted female cadets.
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.
This week General Wolfenbarger departs from Headquarters AFMC to fill the post of the military deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
On Aug. 2, the Senate confirmed the reassignment of General Wolfenbarger from AFMC vice commander to military deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. Upon assuming her duties as AFMC vice commander in December 2009, the general became the Air Force’s highest ranking woman.
As vice commander, General Wolfenbarger holds responsibility for providing research and development, acquisition management, test and evaluation, and logistics support for a variety of Air Force aircraft and weapon systems.
The general is quick to highlight that professionalism and dedication stand out foremost in her mind as the defining characteristics of AFMC’s civilian and military members.
“I have appreciated the opportunity to engage with our very capable and professional AFMC workforce, and each day serves to remind me of the expertise and dedication our people bring to the AFMC mission,” she said.
Before walking the halls of the headquarters building one last time before stepping into her new position, General Wolfenbarger shares a final message with the more than 80,000 personnel of AFMC.
“Recognize and take pride in the role you play in executing AFMC’s mission,” Wolfenbarger said. “It’s important to understand just how critical your role is to our Air Force and, ultimately, to our nation.”
During her 20-month assignment as vice commander, the command made significant strides toward achieving Integrated Lifecycle Management and refining the requirements generation process. Much of the progress within these domains, she said, reaches far beyond the scope of AFMC.
General Wolfenbarger said that chief among the command’s accomplishments during her time at AFMC is the conversion of the command structure from wings, groups and squadrons to directorates, divisions and branches.
“We went through one of the largest single, simultaneous reorganizations in our command’s history,” the general said.
The command-wide reorganization was driven in part by the Acquisition Improvement Plan, or AIP, goal calling for clear chains of command that allow for authority and accountability within organizations. The AIP is a significant effort launched by Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz in May 2009 to help the service recapture acquisition excellence.
The command restructure also created new slots for Program Executive Officers, or PEOs – the senior officials responsible for acquisition program execution. In turn, these changes established a more manageable span of control for PEOs and instituted stronger functional management throughout the command.
This transition resulted in advancements toward Integrated Lifecycle Management, which the general said is truly the “business that this command is all about.”
The second AIP goal executed by the command during General Wolfenbarger’s leadership fell within the requirements generation process, specifically by documenting roles and responsibilities for the AFMC commander – an arena in which AFMC had not previously held a role.
“This allowed, within our Air Force, the AFMC four-star’s voice to be heard in the lifecycle management community, in a way that didn’t exist in the past,” the general said. “That really brings us to more feasible, more executable program requirements that serve our Air Force much better than in the past.”
Added focus and attention on air logistics centers’ performance also resulted in initiatives that honed in on part shortages and manpower.
“During my time at AFMC, we’ve witnessed the air logistics centers pull out the stops to meet customer expectations and, in particular, to support our warfighters in the area of responsibility,” she said.
While these accomplishments serve as great strides for the command, General Wolfenbarger noted that her role as the AFMC vice commander also provided her with a broader, more “seasoned understanding” of the Air Force and Defense Department – an element she said is critical to her new job at the Pentagon.
“As a major command vice commander, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in a whole host of forums and undertakings directed by Air Force senior leadership. That has resulted, for me, in a much deeper understanding of Air Force-wide challenges and not just those unique to AFMC,” she said.
