Wing mission in line with Air Force Reserve Published May 5, 2011 By Col. Eric S. Overturf 442nd Fighter Wing commander WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- In April we had the honor of hosting Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner during his visit to the 442nd Fighter Wing. General Stenner currently serves as the Air Force Reserve Command commander and he is chief of the AF Reserve, but he has strong ties to Whiteman as a former 442nd FW commander who worked with many of you in the '90s. During his short stay, General Stenner had the opportunity to speak to some of you and answer your questions at a town-hall meeting. Unfortunately the general's itinerary didn't allow him to visit the wing on a main unit training assembly, but still, nearly 150 reservists - mostly maintainers - worked the alternate UTA that weekend. General Stenner's memory of his time with this wing was alive and well at the town hall meeting, especially as several familiar faces stood up to ask him some challenging questions. General Stenner discussed the importance of the mission here at Whiteman and told us he understands and empathizes with the high ops tempo each of you faces. From inspections to deployments, reservists play an important role in each of the service's core functions and provide an assured, predictable and sustainable source of combat power for today's mission. General Stenner also talked about how the Air Force Reserve has evolved into a fully engaged operational partner in the three- component Air Force, and he highlighted his priorities for the AF Reserve: 1. Maintain a strategic reserve while providing an operational, combat-ready force 2. Preserve the viability of the reserve triad 3. Broaden total-force integration opportunities 4. Champion equipment and facilities modernization General Stenner commented that our mission to Train and Deploy Ready Reservists and our 2011 wing priorities are aligned with his overarching priorities, and he reminded us that the AF Reserve is unique in its experience and equally as unique in its challenges. Sixty-eight percent of today's Air Force Reserve is made up of traditional reservists, who are highly trained and maintain a high level of expertise in their positions. However, General Stenner said that a high level of training comes with challenges like high ops tempo, mobilizations, and at times, a lack of time for individual career training. These challenges are a result of several factors including increased training requirements and a constrained fiscal budget. The general said one of the greatest challenges facing reserve leaders today is trying to give reservists the flexibility they need to serve in a way that balances their commitments to family, military and civilian employers, while still ensuring training requirements are met. Managing this "triad of service" is definitely something that 442nd FW Citizen Airmen are familiar with. I realize you are often required to complete a myriad of training events from CBTs to job-qualification training - in addition to inspection preparation - all in one weekend a month and two weeks a year. I also realize the last three years of inspection preparation has taken a toll, not only on you, but also on your families and civilian employers. Thanks for your sacrifice, and please let your loved ones and employers know we are grateful for the critical role they play in our nation's defense by supporting your military service. We're just a few months away from putting this operational readiness inspection preparation phase behind us! General Stenner said the Air Force is currently working on ways to help reduce our ops tempo by restructuring deployments and mobilizations to make life easier and more predictable for you, your family and your employer. For you - the reservist - his focus is force readiness - ensuring that you are prepared to do your job with the adequate training to keep yourself, your fellow Airmen and our resources safe. Secondly, for your families, he said force support is his focus. Resiliency, reintegration and the Presidential Study Directive-9, which researched what the government can do to support military families (including National Guard and Reserve families,) are all avenues the AF Reserve is using to make life easier for your families. Finally, the Air Force Reserve recently stood up a Force Generation Center to coordinate effective and efficient use of resources to get you in theater quickly and get you out equally as quickly during deployments - all while effectively supporting the mission. General Stenner also discussed some legislative successes, including paid inactive duty for training travel, the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, the Yellow Ribbon Programs for deploying military members and their families, and the seasoning training program, which enables new reservists to quickly gain knowledge and experience in their career fields. General Stenner also discussed force development, and emphasized the importance of job skills training, professional military education, civilian education and career-broadening assignments for our future senior leaders in the enlisted and officer force. As I listened to General Stenner's town hall meeting and his breakfast with our senior-enlisted leaders, I was proud to hear you discussing issues with the general. It was obvious to me how much you care about finding ways to make this a better place to work and serve our nation. Thanks especially to those of you who stood up to ask challenging and thought-provoking questions at the town hall meeting; General Stenner truly loves the Air Force Reserve and cares about the Airmen who have laid the foundation for this mission, and he wants our inputs on how to make things better. We can't solve any of the problems we don't know about, so please keep your ideas coming. I am proud to be the commander of the best wing in the Air Force Reserve - and I had no problem conveying that to General Stenner during his visit. Thank you for all you do.