Commander shares vision with reservists in Utah

Published Feb. 10, 2009
By Bryan Magaña
419th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- When the commander of Air Force Reserve Command visited here in early February, he got to see the realization of a vision he helped build as AFRC director of plans and programs at Robins AFB, Ga., from 2003 to 2006.

Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr. envisioned Total Force Integration of Air Force Reserve and Regular Air Force fighter wings working together to streamline and increase combat capabilities.

Integrating the Reserve's 419th Fighter Wing with Air Combat Command's 388th FW was the first of its kind. It set the standard for other classic associate fighter units.

In June 2007, the 419th FW said goodbye to the last of its F-16s, which were assigned to other Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units. Wing reservists began sharing F-16s with the 388th FW. Since then, maintenance and operations people have been working and deploying side by side.

"These organizations have done great work and have made tremendous strides toward this association concept," said General Stenner, who served as the 419th Operations Group commander from July 1994 to December 1995. "This team has broken ground, and it's just been one milestone after another."

With more than 130 TFI initiatives already under way, the association at Hill AFB will be "the template, benchmark and lens through which we will look at every new mission," the general said.

He noted that the Air Force Reserve will continue to adapt to change, adjusting to meet the needs of a force that is becoming more operational.

"The Air Force Reserve that I joined 28 years ago was truly a strategic reserve," he said. "But the Reserve of today is a force that is used daily. It is an operational force, not just a strategic force. We will continue in that direction."

As the military becomes more dependent on the skills and experience of reservists, the need for TFI will only become greater.

"This will never slow down," General Stenner said. "As the world changes and as the requirements for our nation's defense change, we will evolve and look at more TFI opportunities."

The end state of TFI, General Stenner said, is increased combat capability. As he met with 419th FW reservists, it became clearer: TFI can work.

"When I look at the [419th FW] facilities, I see that folks have been collocated with like functions," he said. "I see that things have been looked at with a lens of efficiency. I see that the work places have been organized, not only by collocating, but by actually changing work processes."

By nature, TFI demands a paradox of familiarity with change. But General Stenner said there are certain Reserve values that remain rock-solid.

"The evolution of TFI has to still consider the fact that we are traditional reservists - Citizen Airmen - and have responsibilities in other arenas of our lives," he said.

He said reservists must continue to balance their military duties with the needs of their families and civilian employers.

"That is the Citizen Airman - the capability that you bring in a military capacity, balanced with civilian jobs and family," General Stenner told reservists at a commander's call Feb. 8. "I want to make sure that we as a reserve highlight that, and do not destroy that reserve triad." (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)