Commander of AFRC visits 927th

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Shawn Rhodes
  • 927th Air Refueling Wing
MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. --  Normally, Sr. Airman Regina Nolting, a reservist with the 927th Aerospace medicine Squadron, wakes up to a quiet breakfast of oatmeal and fruit. As a reservist, Nolting serves her country in a part-time status, so she never imagined she would be sharing breakfast recently with the highest-ranking reservist in the Air Force: Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner, Chief of Air Force Reserve and commander, Air Force Reserve Command.

The general splits his time between the Pentagon and Robins AFB, located in Georgia. He took time out of his schedule to visit many reservists and their units around the country recently. Nolting and other members of the 927th were able to meet with the general and gain a new perspective on their role in the Air Force Reserves.

Although he manages tens of thousands of people, General Stenner sat down to breakfast with junior enlisted members of the unit during his visit. Nolting was among those selected to speak with the highest-ranking Air Force Reserve commander.

"Initially I was intimidated by his rank but after he entered the room and shook each of our hands with a smile I was put at ease by how personable and down to earth he was," Nolting said. "By that first impression I could tell it was going to be a relaxed experience."

Many reservists never have the opportunity to meet with the person whose decisions change their lives and dictate how they serve their country. The general thanked the troops for joining him that morning and asked them to tell him the concerns they had that he could address or help with.

"There was an opportunity for us to ask him questions, and even though he was on a tight schedule he delayed leaving to answer," Nolting said. "Not only that, but he was interested in giving us the right answer and the questions he didn't have an answer for, he (promised to) follow up with an answer or resolution."

Nolting echoed the comments of others at the breakfast when she said that as a young Airman who wants to make a career in the Air Force, it was great to hear how Stenner moved up the ranks.

"To see the responsibilities he has now and the ease in which he seems to balance them makes me want to be the best that I can be," Nolting said.
After breakfast, the general met with wing leadership to discuss their challenges and concerns. From there, he was off to the base theater where members of the 927th ARW and reservists from other organizations on MacDill had gathered.

Stenner began by thanking the gathered troops for their service and telling them how valuable they were to their nation.
"Countries are relying more and more on reserve components to do their nations' business and bidding," Stenner said. "We have to keep the folks we've got. That's the depth that the reserve and guard bring."

Issues on the top of everyone's mind included the budget cuts being considered in Congress. Stenner addressed the concerns by saying "I will stand tall that we will keep faith with the folks that are part of this system right now."

Another concern of the reservists was the increased dwell-to-deployment ratio being proposed as the military mobilizes reservists more frequently. Stenner said that leadership was researching the new requirements to make sure they did not negatively affect reservists.

"What could break the strategic force? The dwell." Stenner said. The 'dwell' refers to the ratio of time reservists spend at home and deployed. "If we don't monitor and manage it well ... we have got to understand our capacity and how to use it so we don't break it."

Wing leadership was grateful to have the general visit the troops, because it provided a way for the troops to be thanked by the very person asking them to sacrifice.
"Having your boss thank you for your service as Stenner thanked our Airmen is great," said Col. Dave Pavey, commander of the 927th ARW. "The general came away with a pretty good understanding of how challenging it was to stay mission-ready, and thanked us for doing so. Our Airmen's time is one of our most precious commodities."