Branson Veterans Task Force
Women Veterans
Posted 2/7/2012 Updated 2/8/2012
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2/7/2012 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- President Barack Obama nominated Air Force Lt. Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger for promotion Feb. 6, which, pending Senate approval, would make her the first female four-star general in Air Force history.
Wolfenbarger currently serves as the military deputy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition here and she is one of four female lieutenant generals in the Air Force.
"I am humbled and honored to have been nominated by the President to the rank of general and to serve as commander of Air Force Materiel Command. I look forward to participating in the Senate confirmation process when the time comes. At present, I remain focused on the important Air Force acquisition work I've been charged with," Wolfenbarger said.
A Beavercreek, Ohio, native, Wolfenbarger was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1980 after graduating in the first class with female cadets at the Air Force Academy.
She also holds a graduate degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
The general has held several positions in the F-22 System Program Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; served as the F-22 lead program element monitor at the Pentagon, and was the B-2 system program director for the Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB.
She commanded ASC's C-17 Systems Group, Mobility Systems Wing and was the service's director of the Air Force Acquisition Center of Excellence at the Pentagon, then served as director of the headquarters AFMC Intelligence and Requirements Directorate, Wright-Patterson AFB.
Prior to her current assignment, Wolfenbarger was the vice commander of AFMC, Wright-Patterson AFB.
She has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Achievement Medal, the National Defense Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Medal.
Wolfenbarger received her third star in December 2009 and became the Air Force's highest-ranking woman in January 2010.
(Courtesy of Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs)
Rose Petal Ceremony and Luncheon 2012
Reserve the date today! This year’s Rose Petal Ceremony and Luncheon will be held November 9
at the Stone Castle Hotel. Major General (Retired) Rita Aragon, veteran
and award-winning author Merline Lovelace, and Missouri’s Women
Veterans Coordinator Amy Bennett are all slated to speak at the events.
For more information, contact Barb Riggle at the Branson Veterans Task Force office at 417.337.8387.
2011 Rose Petal Ceremony and Luncheon - Pictures and Notes
May 25, 2012, to Shirley Janes, 10903 Suanis Ct., St. Louis, MO 63123.
Block 1 - Rose Petal Ceremony & Luncheon - Stone Castle Hotel on November 9, 2011
Amy Bennett, Women Veteran’s Coordinator for the State of Missouri, was the keynote speaker at the Rose Petal Ceremony. Amy served in the United States Air Force from 1993 – 1997. As an E-4, her job was Inventory Management Specialist.
Bennett
has been with the Missouri Veterans Commission since 2010, first as a
Veterans Service Officer and as of April, 2011, Women Veterans
Coordinator. In her current position she conducts outreaches for women
veterans in Missouri, prepares reports to include statistical data
reflecting the number of women veterans and is senior editor for the
quarterly Missouri Women Veterans Newsletter.
Major (Retired) Vicki Jones attended Rotary Wing Flight School (helicopter training) at Fort Rucker, Alabama. She graduated as an Army Aviator in September 1982. She has the distinction of being the first female helicopter pilot in the Oklahoma Army National Guard, and the first Native American female helicopter pilot in both the Oklahoma Army National Guard, and the U.S. Army.
Her assignments have included Medical Platoon Leader, Aviation Operations Officer, Battalion S-1 (Personnel Officer), and Recruiting/ Retention Operations Officer. She retired from the Oklahoma Army National Guard in 2007.
She
holds the Senior Army Aviator Badge with over 1,500 flight hours. She
was the first female soldier to graduate from the Army accredited
Oklahoma National Guard Air Assault School and earned the Air Assault
Badge. Major Jones has also earned the U.S. Army Meritorious Service
Medal, the Army Achievement Medal (4 awards), and the Army Recruiting
Badge.
Block 2 - Parade - on the Duck - photos taken before the parade
Right
after I left the Rose Petal, I received a phone call from Betty Carroll
in Harrison, AR. She wanted to bring her friend, Miss June, to some of
the women's events. Miss June is a WWII veteran who is currently living
in a nursing home. She is Betty's friend.
She came up for the Women Veteran's Mini-reunion at the Golden Corral
and again for the parade. She had the opportunity to meet some of you. I
hope she can return next year for the Rose Petal Ceremony. She appears
in the photos of the duck.
