Commander, Air Force Materiel Command

General Janet Wolfenbarger pioneered air, space, and cyberspace power throughout her 35-year career. She was a member of the first class of women admitted to the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in 1976. She was the first female 4-Star General in the United States Air Force and the first female to command an Air Force Major Command (MAJCOM). The daughter of an Air Force pilot, General Wolfenbarger graduated from Beavercreek High School in Beavercreek, Ohio in 1976 and then in 1980 she graduated from the USAFA with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering Sciences. She began her Acquisitions career as an Engineer within the Armament Division at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. After her second assignment as a Communication Systems Development Officer at Kelly AFB, Texas, she attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she received her first master’s degree. As she rose throughout the ranks, General Wolfenbarger held a variety of assignments between the Electronic Security Command and the Air Force Systems Command. The General held several positions within the F-22 System Program Office (SPO) at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, serving as the Chief, Plans and Strategy Division, Vehicle Analysis and Integration Team, and Subsystems Team. General Wolfenbarger was selected to attend National Defense University, receiving an additional master’s degree with a follow-on assignment as the F-22 Program Element Monitor at the Pentagon in Washington DC Subsequently, she held multiple positions within the B-2 SPO, first as the Chief for the B-2 Air Vehicle Team and later as the System Program Director. She also commanded the C-17 Systems Group. The General served as Director of the Air Force Acquisition Center of Excellence and Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) Intelligence and Requirements Directorate. She later became the AFMC Vice Commander at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Before taking command of the AFMC, she served as the first female Military Deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, the Pentagon, Washington, DC. In 2012, General Wolfenbarger became the first female Air Force 4-Star General and began her last assignment as the Commander of the Air Force Material Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The command employed over 80,000 military, civilian, and contractor personnel and managed an annual budget of $60 billion. AFMC executes the critical mission of warfighter support through leading-edge science and technology, cradle-to-grave life cycle weapon systems management, world-class developmental test and evaluation, and world-class depot maintenance and supply chain management. Throughout her career, in addition to the previously mentioned master’s degrees from MIT and the National Defense University, General Wolfenbarger received an Honorary Doctorate from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Since her retirement in 2015, she has served as the chair for the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services and on the Board of Directors for various financial and engineering firms.