Tagged: Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

An Ohio native has been confirmed as the next commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, making her the first woman to become a four-star general in the Air Force.

The Columbus Dispatch reports the U.S. Senate confirmed Lt. Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger this week to lead the command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. She was nominated by President Barack Obama in February.

The command develops, procures and maintains Air Force aircraft and weapons programs. It employs about 83,000 people. Wolfenbarger, a native of Greene County in western Ohio, previously served as vice commander of the command and has held several other positions at the base.

She is the second female four-star general in the military.  Army Gen. Ann Dunwoody earned the rank in 2008.

Officials say new cuts announced by the U.S. Air Force will mean a loss of about 800 jobs at Air National guard bases in Ohio and 160 positions at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.

The Air Force on Tuesday announced that President Barack Obama's proposal for the upcoming budget year calls for a reduction of about 10,000 positions nationwide.

In Ohio, the Adjutant General's Department says 846 full- and part-time jobs would be eliminated at Air National Guard bases in Mansfield and Rickenbacker in Columbus. The base in Springfield would lose 47 full-time jobs.

Some of the cuts will be offset by new part-time jobs.