The coming year is full of challenges.

It has been more than a year since I became chief of Air Force Reserve and assumed command of Air Force Reserve Command. As I did so, I made a number of commitments and asked that you do the same so the Air Force Reserve could help make the U.S. Air Force a more sustainable, capable and effective fighting force. Now is a good time to take stock in where we have been and where we are going in the next year.

From the outset, I emphasized the need to communicate. For that to happen, I stated, "It is essential that you are aware of these policies, benefits, incentives and protections affecting your service and that you provide me with feedback as to whether these are meeting your needs."

To the first end, you have probably noticed by now that you are receiving E-notes from me. I initiated the E-note program so I could communicate directly with you. I use it to provide timely information on the array of benefits and policies affecting your service. It also provides a unique open channel for you to ask questions and receive authoritative answers in a timely manner. Keep your comments and questions coming.

As for more statistically oriented feedback, we have adopted the Air Force internal communication assessment group processes through which 1,300 of you provide feedback on issues affecting your service, Air Force career, families and civilian jobs. Through this program, you have told us that your civilian employers are generally supportive of your military service but that relationships can be improved by routinely recognizing and thanking our employers. Equally important, about half of Reservists rate the impact of their absence for military service as causing substantial problems with their employers. In addition, the majority of you support surveying civilian employers, which we plan on accomplishing in the near future.

I thank you for your continued participation in this program. Your responses will help us help you meet the challenges you are facing in not only these important relationships but all aspects of your service.

I promised to create more opportunities for you to serve by expanding into all Air Force mission areas. I am advocating for more than 4,200 additional manpower positions over the next five years. Additionally, we are exploring dozens of association initiatives that Reservists have suggested. Both the manpower increases and the association initiatives involve partnering with the regular Air Force and Air National Guard to perform not only conventional operations but greater involvement in nuclear, unmanned aerial systems/intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, space, cyber, irregular warfare, and building partnership capacity missions.

I promised to provide clear expectations and layout requirements to move along your chosen career path. To grow new leaders to manage this expanding force, I continue to stress force development for all our members: officer, enlisted and civilian.

Our officer corps is already benefiting from the guidance provided by the development teams. Our enlisted corps will begin to do the same now that I approved the enlisted force development concept of operations last month. Our air reserve technicians and Title V civilians already benefit from their well-established development programs.

In addition to force development guidance, I am taking steps to provide greater opportunities to serve while encouraging our members to gain a greater breadth of experience by pursuing jobs with increased responsibility.

The initial commitments I made last year are now part of a much larger initiative that I call "AFR 2012: Full Operational Capability." My goal is to restructure the Air Force Reserve to provide a more sustainable, capable and effective fighting force optimized for today's security and fiscal environments.

Creating these new structures requires doing away with outdated Cold War structures and management processes. This initiative seeks to retool the Air Force Reserve Command, Air Reserve Personnel Center and Reserve Air Staff to eliminate inefficiencies caused by redundant layers of management.

It has been a busy and, I believe, successful year, and I am grateful for your hard work. As I have outlined here, we have many challenges to meet and much work to do in the coming year. I ask that each of you continue to perform the mission in the excellent fashion you have always demonstrated and continue to provide us feedback so we can enable you to serve the way you desire. As always, I thank you for your service.

By Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr.

Commander, Air Force Reserve Command