Lt. Gen. James F. Jackson became chief of the Air Force Reserve and assumed command of Air Force Reserve Command in a ceremony at the Museum of Aviation July 30. He replaced Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner, Jr., who retired from the Air Force with 39 years of military service. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry O. Spencer officiated the ceremony. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Alexy Saltekoff) Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry Spencer, left, passes the Air Force Reserve Command flag to Lt. Gen. James Jackson, who accepts command of AFRC July 30, 2012. Spencer presided at the change of command and the retirement of Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner Jr. at the Museum of Aviation, adjacent to Robins Air Force Base, Ga. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Alexy Saltekoff) Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry Spencer presents the Distinguished Service Medal to Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner Jr., who retired from the Air Force with 39 years of military service. Spencer presided at the retirement in the Museum of Aviation, adjacent to Robins Air Force Base, Ga., July 30, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Alexy Saltekoff) Jackson takes helm of AF Reserve Command 7/30/2012 - ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Lt. Gen. James F. Jackson became chief of Air Force Reserve and assumed command of Air Force Reserve Command in a ceremony July 30 at the Museum of Aviation. He replaced Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr., who retired from the Air Force with 39 years of military service after the change of command. Stenner had served as chief and commander since June 2008. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry O. Spencer, officiated the ceremony. As the chief of Air Force Reserve, Jackson serves as the principal adviser on Reserve matters to the Air Force chief of staff. As AFRC commander, he supervises 71,400 reservists in the Selected Reserve assigned to command units and the Individual Mobilization Augmentee program. "The challenges will continue," Jackson said at the change of command ceremony. "I will do my best to lead us all to success. "I will not overlook that the Reserve's strength is based on a careful balance of family, employer and military responsibilities - the triad we always talk about. I will focus on projecting those strengths of Citizen Airmen where they will most benefit the continued security of our nation and its interests." Jackson became the deputy to the chief of Air Force Reserve in the Pentagon in May 2010. When he assumed command of AFRC, he became the chief of Air Force Reserve. He is a 1978 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He completed more than 14 years on active duty, including flying tours in Europe and the Pacific, before joining the Air Force Reserve in 1992. Jackson has held numerous wing leadership and command positions, as well as staff assignments at Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, Headquarters U.S. Pacific Command and Headquarters U.S. Air Force. "I believe George Washington explained it well as he spoke of his Continental soldiers in the war of independence," Jackson said. "His soldiers were farmers, clerks, lawyers, shopkeepers and factory workers. He said, 'When we assumed the soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen.' "Indeed, in today's Air Force Reserve, the Airman is the citizen and the citizen is the Airman."