Obama nominee could become Air Force’s first female General

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2012 – President Barack Obama has nominated Lt. Gen. Janet C. Wolfenbarger to the rank of general, and as commander of Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta announced today.

The promotion would make Wolfenbarger the Air Force’s first female four-star general.

"The secretary strongly supports the president's nomination, and he believes that General Wolfenbarger is an outstanding Air Force officer," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said today. "The fact that she would be the first woman to wear a fourth star in the Air Force, if confirmed, is a testament to her skills, experience and dedication."

If confirmed by the Senate, Wolfenbarger would become the military’s second female officer to receive four stars behind Army Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, commander of Army Materiel Command, who was promoted to general in 2008.

As the military deputy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition in the Pentagon, Wolfenbarger is responsible for research and development, test, production, and modernization of Air Force programs worth more than $40 billion annually.

A 1980 Air Force Academy graduate, Wolfenbarger began her career in acquisitions as an engineer at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. She has held a variety of assignments at headquarters Electronic Security Command and Air Force Systems Command.

Wolfenbarger has had oversight of the F-22 program at Wright-Patterson and in the Pentagon, and was program director for the B-2 aeronautical systems at Wright-Patterson. She commanded the Aeronautical Systems Center’s C-17 Systems Group, Mobility Systems Wing.

Wolfenbarger was director of the Air Force Acquisition Center of Excellence at the Pentagon, then served as director of the Headquarters AFMC Intelligence and Requirements Directorate at Wright-Patterson. She was the vice commander of Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson before taking her current position.

Wolfenbarger holds master’s degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in national resource strategy from the National Defense University.

By Lisa Daniel

American Forces Press Service