ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Three Air Force Reserve officers have been selected to lead active-duty units under the voluntary Extended Active Duty tour program.
EAD tours assign Reservists to active duty units to help meet active force requirements. The assignments are part of a larger initiative to leverage Total Force capabilities that includes assigning active-duty officers to lead Air Force Reserve units.
Reservists recently selected to command active duty units are:
Col. Michael Hernandez, 482nd Fighter Wing vice commander, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, will command the 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.
Lt. Col. Matthew Bianchini, 514th Maintenance Squadron commander, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, will lead the 736th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Dover AFB, Delaware.
Maj. Albert Knapp, Air Force Reserve Command Directorate for Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection executive officer, will command the 56th Maintenance Squadron, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico.
They join Lt Col. Michael Giedt, who is currently on an EAD tour as deputy commander of the 23rd Maintenance Squadron, Moody AFB, Georgia.
“Their selection speaks highly of their qualifications and continued outstanding performance,” said Lt. Gen. James F. Jackson, Air Force Reserve Command commander and chief of Air Force Reserve. “I am confident they will excel in these command opportunities.”
Hernandez is the first Air Reserve Component colonel in recent history selected to lead a regular Air Force wing. His career has been a blend of Total Force assignments. He spent 16-and-a-half years on active duty, is a former active duty F-22 squadron commander and has racked up more than 2,900 flying hours in the F-22, F-16 and T-38.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity the Air Force is giving me to lead the wing,” he said. “This is another example of the Air Force’s commitment to the Total Force.”
The selections are part of a growing crossflow of active-duty and Reserve members, as several active duty officers are filling billets in the Air Force Reserve.
Col. Robert Bruckner is a RegAF officer and the 919th Special Operations Wing (AFRC) vice commander, Duke Field, Florida. Lt Col. Stuart Rubio is an AD member from AMC’s squadron commander list and will lead 815th Airlift Squadron (AFRC), Keesler AFB, Mississippi.
Several other Reservists are completing tours in active duty command billets. Col. Jim Lackey just finished a tour as the active duty vice wing commander at Vance AFB, Oklahoma; Col. Robert Graham is currently the 436th Airlift Wing vice commander at Dover AFB, Delaware. They join a growing list of Reserve officers serving as vice, operations group, and squadron commanders where the Air Force Reserve has associate units.
“These actions serve to strengthen the Air Force enterprise to help build the future force we need,” said Jackson.
Integrating Air Force Reserve and active-duty Airmen falls in line with Total Force Initiatives outlined in the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force that calls for increasing integration of Reserve, Guard, and Active Component Airmen at headquarters and units, and increasing the number of integrated or multi-component (“associate”) units.
The Air Force “unequivocally relies on three strong components,” states Deborah James, Secretary of the Air Force, in the 2015 USAF Posture Statement. “The Air Force is absolutely committed to leveraging the distinct and complementary characteristics of its Total Force more effectively…and to do that, Airmen must be postured to operate cohesively and seamlessly as one team.“
Col. Dawn Wallace, director of Air Force Reserve Senior Leader Management, said the “One Air Force” objective directs increased opportunities for component integration. “It is less about supporting the use of Reservists in active duty positions, and more about the Total Force integration and leveraging the strengths of each component and individual talent,” she said.
Each of the Air Force Reserve selectees brings extensive experience to the positions and go through a rigorous screening process. Candidates are selected by their Development Teams and must be on the AFRC Command Screening Board list. The names are then vetted and approved by a panel of general officers. After that, the active duty command screening board considers them for assignment to fill command opportunities.
Both Knapp and Bianchini come highly qualified. With a combined 52 years of maintenance experience on multiple airframes and multiple deployments to Southwest Asia, they understand the rigors and responsibilities of command.
“Wing commanders have to have faith and hire us based on record only,” said Knapp about the selection process.
“I’m excited and energized,” said Bianchini, a maintainer for 27 years. He served 12 years as an enlisted guidance and control technician, got commissioned in 1998 and has held command positions at two Reserve wings, served as a Pentagon action officer and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. “This is an awesome opportunity that I hope opens more doors for other Reservists.”
The Kirtland assignment brings familiarity, but a different perspective for Knapp. He walked the hangars at Kirtland as an enlisted guidance and control technician working on MH-53 and H-3 helicopters in the 1990s. After commissioning in 2002, Knapp served as a Traditional Reserve logistics officer and was an airframe and power plant mechanic in between his Reserve duty. He went on to become an Air Reserve Technician, deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and led maintainers as a squadron commander at MacDill AFB, Florida.
“I think we are forging new ground [with the EAD program] that will open opportunities that didn't exist in the past”, he said. “Anything is possible. I’m beyond excited and ready to go do this job.”