RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Brig. Gen. Alfred J. Stewart assumed command of Air Force Recruiting Service during a ceremony here June 2.
General Stewart succeeds Brig. Gen. Suzanne M. Vautrinot, who moves on to become the deputy commander of the Joint Functional Component Command-Network Warfare, U.S. Strategic Command, at Ft. George G. Meade in Maryland.
As AFRS commander, General Stewart is responsible for nearly 2,850 people in more than 1,390 recruiting offices across the United States and overseas. The Air Force has met its recruiting goal each of the last eight years and is on course to meet its fiscal year 2008 enlisted accessions goal of 27,800 airmen. He is the Air Force's 19th recruiting commander since the unit's inception in 1947.
The general's earlier years in his career as a KC-135 copilot from 1982-1984 at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, helped shaped his philosophy.
"(Strategic Air Command) was a 'no excuses' command, and this prepared me for recruiting," he said. "Put your boom down, ready to refuel, period. The bombers will put their bombs on target, and we will win this war. That experience is what shaped me."
Referring to his numerous stateside and overseas assignments and deployments in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, the general said he understands the critical need to find the right people with the right skills at the right time to sustain the combat capability of America's Air Force.
"I have seen the Air Force in action and on every assignment there is one thing in common - amazing Airmen - and recruiting service put those Airmen on our team," General Stewart said. "The only guarantee we have for our continued dominance is the next generation of American Airmen ... I know there are candidates out there looking for a challenge - something special to be a part of. Once they've heard about us - who we are, what we do and why we do it and how important we are to the nation - they'll realize we're the opportunity they've been looking for."
General Stewart most recently was commander of the 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., where he led the efforts of one of Air Mobility Command's two contingency response wings and air mobility operations groups and their subordinate units, providing worldwide expeditionary mobility support. A 1981 Air Force Academy graduate, he is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours in KC-135A, KC-135R, T-1 and C-17 aircraft.