Eldon Libby, of Paicines, never expected that his daughter Janet Wolfenbarger would rise to the rank of four-star general and head of the Air Force Materiel Command when she entered the Air Force Academy as part of the first class to allow women cadets.
But Libby and his wife Shirley were able to attend the ceremony that promoted their daughter to the highest ranking female in the Air Force and the first female in the Air Force to be promoted to a four-star general last week.
“I never really considered it,” Libby said, of his daughter’s move up through the ranks.
Libby himself served in the Air Force.
“She exceeded anything I did,” he said.
His wife said the family knew that the promotion was in the works for a while, but they couldn’t tell anyone about it. They said the hall at the National Museum of the United States Air Force was filled with more than 1,000 family members and friends as Gen. Donald Hoffman retired and Wolfenbarger was promoted to take his position.
“She has been looking forward to this job and has trained for this job,” Shirley said. “She is very excited to take it…She will be very pleased and she will give it her best because she has always given it her best.”
Wolfenbarger assumed the top position of the major command responsible for the technology, acquisition, test and sustainment of the service’s current and future weapon systems during the ceremonies June 5. Prior to the change of command, Wolfenbarger received her fourth star during a promotion ceremony.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presided over the ceremony, during which he lauded AFMC’s excellence in keeping Air Force weapon systems ready, available and effective, and expressed his confidence that the command is in capable hands with Wolfenbarger.
“We honor Janet Wolfenbarger, an extraordinary public servant and a model Air Force officer,” Schwartz said, according to a press release. “Based on her record, Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and I are entirely confident that she is up to the task of commanding this great organization.”
Wolfenbarger thanked Schwartz and Donley for their faith in her ability to lead AFMC and said she was looking forward to once again being part of the AFMC team.
“This opportunity only really exists because the Air Force has embraced a culture of diversity,” she said, during the ceremony. “This culture has been cultivated over many years, driven by leadership at every level who acknowledge and appreciate the value of contributions from every Airman.
“I promise I will serve in my role as AFMC commander with my absolute best effort,” Wolfenbarger continued. “What’s more, I have total confidence in the men and women of this command. We will always rise to the occasion and accomplish our difficult mission with determination and enthusiasm.”
After serving as the Military Deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition at the Pentagon for the past eight months, Wolfenbarger becomes the eighth AFMC commander since AFMC stood up on July 1, 1992. She will now lead a workforce of approximately 81,000 people and manage an annual budget of about $60 billion.
Despite all her responsibilities with the Air Force, Wolfenbarger will be taking a short break to return to Paicines for the Libby family reunion. She also calls her parents regularly to keep in touch.
“She calls home every Sunday,” Libby said.
Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs spokesperson Kim Dawley contributed to this report.
