Reserve commander visits Luke

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Susan Stout
  • 944th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  The commander of Air Force Reserve Command addressed Team Luke at a Warrior Call during a visit to Luke Air Force Base May 28. 

Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner Jr. thanked the audience of active duty, reservists and civilians for each of their contributions to the Total Force. 

The general described his first visit to Luke July 1, 1974. He and his classmates drove from undergraduate pilot training in Mississippi and arrived at midnight. The temperature was over 115 degrees. He laughed and said, "I thought, 'welcome to Luke!'" 

After pilot training, General Stenner traveled the world, serving in command positions in Germany, Indiana, Missouri and Utah. He came back to Luke in 1995 to serve as the special assistant to the commander of the 944th Fighter Wing and then as commander of the 944th Operations Group. 

"This is like a homecoming to me," he said. "I have a house here. My children went to college in Arizona." 

General Stenner discussed the challenges that reservists face in balancing their families, civilian jobs and military jobs. Having served in all three components of the Air Force (active duty, Reserve and Guard), General Stenner still works to maintain career balance. 

In addition to serving as the AFRC commander, General Stenner has another role as Chief, Air Force Reserve, where he serves as the principal Reserve adviser to the Air Force Chief of Staff. 

As such, he discussed the different ways of associating the three components. 

"Each has its benefits and drawbacks," he said. "We are working to mix and match the active duty, Guard and Reserve components to fulfill our missions." 

Recently General Stenner discussed with the commander of Air Education and Training Command, Gen. Stephen Lorenz, the future of Total Force and the operations at Luke. 

"There are three cultures (active duty, Reserve and Guard) and there is goodness in each component," General Stenner said. "We want to make the best use of what we have to support the combat forces. The Total Force at Luke is a perfect example of what we hope to model across the Air Force." 

This was General Stenner's first visit to Luke since leaving the 944th FW in 1997. He said, "This will not be my last (visit to Luke.) You all are doing great things and I appreciate the hard work and dedication to the Air Force."