A Texas-size welcome to the AFRC commander

NAS FORT WORTH JRB, Texas -- The commander of Air Force Reserve Command received a Texas-size welcome when he visited Citizen Airmen assigned to 10th Air Force and 301st Fighter Wing here April 21.

Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner, Jr., used this time to hold a town hall meeting to address Air Force reservists and civilians about the current state of the Air Force Reserve, along with areas the command is focusing on.

He spoke about his goal for the command to become an assured, predictable and sustainable combat power through expansion in the total-force enterprise.

General Stenner said in order for the command to become predictable, we need to have the right mix of tools from the Regular, Guard and Reserve components to balance our current operational requirements.

"Predictability is not only good for the Reserve component, but good for all three components," General Stenner said.

He unveiled his vision for the command in 2012, called AFR2012, stating that AFRC will become a full-partner major command and maintain its own force readiness with the goal of attaining a fully operational capability.

The general stated that AFR2012 is designed not only to take care of reservists by making the process for deployment easier on them, but their families and employers as well.

"Everybody wants to know when you're going and when you're coming back," he said.

With the help of the AFR2012 plan and a new Force Generation Center, the general said that AFRC will provide forces directly to combatant commanders, which will make for a more predictable and sustainable operations reserve force.

"This future operational force will sustain the health of the strategic reserve in support of future surge requirements," General Stenner said.

By streamlining the processes of force management we maintain a system that is conducive to the blueprint of the strategic reserve, as well as day-to-day operations, he said.

General Stenner said that, "what's right for our Air Force Reserve family is for the headquarters and leadership to take care of you when things adjust and things change."

In order for our command to be operationally ready, the general encouraged airmen to continue taking care of not only themselves by furthering their professional and civilian education, but also their families and civilian employers.

"They are as much part of the fabric of this nation's defense as we are," he said. "That teamwork together is how we are delivering the war-fighting capability to the warfighters at every corner of the globe."