Staying strategic in an operational world

Published Sept. 21, 2009
By Master Sgt. Paul Dean
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

WASHINGTON -- The Air Force Reserve is not interested in a tiered readiness level, according to Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner, chief of Air Force Reserve and commander of Air Force Reserve Command.

"We are a seamless partner," said General Stenner in a speech Sept. 15 during the Air Force Association's 2009 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition held at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. "We must turn challenges into opportunities, and opportunities into measurable objectives as we continue to improve the way the Air Force Reserve feeds the fight."

The key priorities of Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz are interwoven into the major command goals and objectives of the Air Force Reserve, said General Stenner. However, the management of Citizen Airmen and their resources often detours him as he works toward the same destination.

The general's first challenge and opportunity these days is to provide and maintain a strategic reserve force that can be, and is, used around the world. This strategic force must also be sustainable, said General Stenner.

Obstacles in the path of a sustained strategic force include the ongoing high operations tempo, whereby if the force is overused in its entirety "or if any component of it is overused, the whole thing breaks," said General Stenner.

Working toward solving potential threats to the integrity of a sustainable strategic reserve, General Stenner is using hard data, proven management tools, feedback from his "nine partnered major commands" and "application of sound military judgment."

The primary focus of sustainability is an analysis of low density, high demand jobs, comparing today's toolset to current and potential threats, and trying to anticipate shortfalls, the general said.

"Look to the future program to fix it. We are all getting together with all of the combatant commands and asking 'What do you need? What will you need?'

"We have to know what we will need to fight the fights, because when the system is stressed there are only two options: the tempo goes down--not likely, or the talent pool has to increase, which takes a lot of time."

Any increase to the talent pool, which the Reserve will undertake Oct. 1 because of its end-strength cap, means more people will assume "triad" responsibilities: balancing family life, military life and civilian work obligations.

The Reserve is collecting data designed to help make sure programs are in place that make the triad easier to manage and also to allow open communication with political leaders who are asking how to build stronger bridges between the Reserve and civilian employers.

Looking for answers about the military leg of the triad, why people join and what keeps them in, the general commissioned an independent survey that revealed the most important things to his citizen Airmen are a sense of patriotism and the chance to earn a retirement. This information will help with recruiting and retention.

General Stenner is now ready to ask employers to verify his suspicions about their greatest needs: predictability in knowing when an Airman will deploy; an understanding of why "their" Airman is needed; a true sense of how long the Airman will be gone; and truth in lending about when they will have to go again.

Addressing the family balance leg of the triad, the general is committed to using best practices from all branches and components that can be helpful to Citizen Airmen, he said.

The third of General Stenner's current challenges and opportunities is acquisition, one of Mr. Donley and General Schwartz's key priorities.

This challenge is also markedly different for the Reserve, said General Stenner. The budget and appropriations process does not work the same for the Air Force Reserve as it does for the active duty component.

"But we must not do things one component at a time," said General Stenner. "We are doing things as one Air Force. We have to rebuild and modernize. We must also synchronize."

Synchronization is the key to any challenge facing the Air Force, said General Stenner.

"This is all about getting the most capability in the most effective and efficient manner. We will work together through the details, then as an Air Force we will continue to win."