ORLANDO — Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger, the first female Air Force four-star general in history and the head of Air Force Materiel Command, will retire this year, she announced today at the Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando.
Her replacement will be Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, currently the top military acquisition official in the service, according to Gen. Mark Welsh, Air Force chief of staff.
Speaking at a panel of three- and four-star generals, Wolfenbarger praised her team at AFMC and thanked them for their dedication, while also acknowledging her historic role by saying “it’s been an honor to be the first a couple of times.”
Digital Show Daily: Complete coverage of AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium
Wolfenbarger’s tenure at AFMC was smooth, although challenged by sequestration, which put many of the programs her team was guiding into disarray. Her biggest mark left behind will likely be the massive reorganization of AFMC into a 5-center construct, which the service has thanked for helping to streamline program management.
Welsh told Defense News after the announcement that he will miss Wolfenbarger’s “energy, her commitment, her passion for this and her years of experience in that particular arena.”
“The good news is she has worked awfully hard as part of this reforming of AFMC, she was at the center of all that planning, and then had the ability to step into the leadership role and watch the implementation and execution for the last couple of years, so she’s made just a remarkable contribution to our Air Force for the long term.”
Pawlikowski has been in her current role for less than a year, but is ideally suited for the role. From June of 2011 until June of 2014, she was Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center and Program Executive Officer for Space, where she oversaw the Air Force’s space acquisitions. She has also drawn very positive reviews from industry insiders for her time in DC, with executives who have dealt with her calling her a positive influence as the service tries to change longstanding acquisition challenges.
Welsh said he was “excited” about Pawlikowski’s move, but added that her replacement will not be named until a potential successor has been identified to the Senate.
“Ellen is a no-nonsense, straightforward, big thinking officer and I think she’s going to be an exceptional leader to follow Janet and keep this momentum going,” he said. “AFMC will be very well served by its new commander.”
“This is a sad day in that we lose a great officer, but as is so often the case, a great day that another steps in and keeps charging.”
Pawlikowski now becomes the third female four-star general in USAF history, and, depending on when she is confirmed, the second in less than a year. In Oct., Gen. Lori Robinson pinned on her fourth star and took over as commander of Pacific Air Forces; observers of the service believe she is well positioned to become the first female cChief of sStaff.
The current cChief of sStaff, meanwhile, says he hopes that the next decade will see a rise of top women officers.
“This isn’t going to be a big deal in the future,” Welsh said. “It’s a big deal now because it hasn’t happened in the past.”
“Remember that in our combat forces, the first women who went into the force are just reaching the 1-star rank. None of them have been promoted yet,” Welsh said. “I think in the next year and two years you’ll start to see them being promoted to general office positions.”
“It’s still another 10-12 years beyond that before they’re competing for four-star jobs,” he added. “This is just the leading edge. This is not going to be an exceptional occurrence in the future, and it shouldn’t be. We have immensely talented women in the service. The great thing about our service is it just doesn’t matter — if you’re good, you’re good.”
USAF Material Command Head Retiring
