Commander speaks to Congress about Air Force Reserve

Published April 1, 2009
By Lt. Col. Ann Peru Knabe
Office of Air Force Reserve Strategic Communication

WASHINGTON -- Two units received a "positive plug" in the congressional record when the commander of Air Force Reserve Command testified March 25 before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr. touted the strong Yellow Ribbon Program partnership initiatives between the 910th Airlift Wing at Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, and the 911th AW at Pittsburgh International Airport ARS, Pa.

These C-130 units share resources and subject matter experts for Yellow Ribbon events because they are only 75 miles apart.

The 910th AW is also developing a Yellow Ribbon committee that pulls from different branches of service in Ohio. Together the different services will work with a joint goal of helping servicemembers and families during the entire deployment cycle.

In addition to talking about the program that supports reservists and their families, the chief of Air Force Reserve fielded questions about employer support, unit deployments and the unique contributions the command brings to the fight.

The general told the subcommittee that the Air Force Reserve trains to respond to crisis.

"Our combat search-and-rescue helicopters have been very involved in almost every one of these kinds of disasters," he said, referring to the command's support after Hurricane Katrina. "We know our spray mission at Youngstown is going to be called upon almost immediately afterwards to start making sure that we don't have infestations that we've had with the bugs and disease.

"We also know that our lift capacity is going to be just as essential as anything else that's in there as the supplies continue to get to where they need to be," said General Stenner.

He explained how the command prepositions and pre-stages aircraft and Airmen as far as they can go before an appropriate order allows them to get the job done.

General Stenner told the committee that the Air Force Reserve represents 14 percent of the total Air Force personnel for just a little more than 5 percent of the military personnel budget. He said the Air Force Reserve "is a very cost-effective way to deliver that capability that the combatant commanders need."

The general shared his priorities for the Air Force Reserve with the subcommittee members.

"We are first and foremost a strategic reserve, which we are leveraging on a daily basis to provide that operational capability and be that operational force that we are around the world today," he said. "And we will continue to do that, and retain and recruit the best and the brightest."

The general presented the Air Force Reserve as a dynamic force that's everywhere it needs to be, moving people and growing in new locations while adding new capabilities.

He said the combination of unit reservists and individual mobilization augmentees brings a dramatic capability to the Air Force.

"I believe that we are funded appropriately to be that tier one force that can join our two component partners in the National Guard and the Regular Air Force to seamlessly provide that capability, as we are showing on a daily basis," he said.

"Whether it's deployed or whether it's in place at the home station, the capability we provide from home station is sometimes a bit unnoticed as well because we do fight in place with our mobility forces and our space forces and our cyber forces, our ICBM forces ... all which we play a part in as a three component Air Force."

General Stenner later testified before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel. He answered questions about suicide rates in the Air Force Reserve, a question that was posed to all reserve component chiefs.

The general said that Air Force reservists "watch out for each other." He said there is no direct relationship between Air Reserve Component deployments and suicide rates, and that the Air Force Reserve is really a "microcosm of society."

When asked about retention beyond 20-years of service, he told the subcommittee that Airmen want to stay. He said predictability of deployments was an important factor in reservists' careers, and a six-month notice gives them more time to prepare.

General Stenner praised Air Force Reserve Command's Airmen during both sessions.

"We are very, very proud of the 67,400 men and women who are around the world today doing what the nation needs us to do," he said.

On average, the chief of Air Force Reserve testifies to congressional committees about four times a year. (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)