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Clearwater Woman Is A General Among Men

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 23, 2008

She is one of the highest-ranking women in the U.S. military. Barbara Faulkenberry, who grew up in Clearwater, doesn't dwell on that distinction during routine workdays. But early mornings? Quiet moments? Those can be different.

"Sometimes, when I glance at my uniform hanging up, it doesn't seem real," said Faulkenberry, 48, who was promoted to brigadier general in November during a traditional pinning-on ceremony at Scott Air Force Base near St. Louis. "It's beyond my imagination. I feel like I've been given this great honor, this great responsibility."

Next month, Faulkenberry will attend her 30-year reunion at Clearwater High School, where she's best remembered as class salutatorian, a national-level racquetball player and co-captain of the basketball team.

To friends, she's still Barb — funny, sincere, dependable, modest, kind to all.

But here's the new reality.

"She's an incredible role model in this nation, absolutely," said Jill Strumpf, Faulkenberry's former Clearwater basketball teammate.

Faulkenberry is among 23 female generals out of 282 in the Air Force. In the entire U.S. military force of 1.5 million, there are 896 generals. Only 44 are women.

"In this day and age, we need leaders and mentors who stand for something, and you sensed that she did, almost immediately," said Milt Barnwell, a retired master sergeant, who first encountered Faulkenberry at Robins Air Force Base in 1982.

Months earlier, she had been part of only the third Air Force Academy class with female graduates. Faulkenberry entered active duty as a second lieutenant navigator — she didn't meet eyesight standards for pilot — and flew all over the world with Barnwell's crew in a KC-135 refueling tanker.

Barnwell's wife once predicted that Faulkenberry would become a general. Faulkenberry laughed it off, saying it would never happen. Along the way, she worked at the Pentagon. She was deployed as a commander during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. She was in charge of a base with a population that approached 3,000.

"I'm not sure I saw any of it happening — and certainly not making general officer," Faulkenberry said.

Midway through her initial six-year service commitment, Faulkenberry purchased a specially designed necklace — a bicycle pendant inscribed with "1988." That was the year of her planned discharge. She would bike around the country, rewarding herself, letting loose, slowly plotting a course for her life.

The course changed.

Maybe it was the regular promotions. Maybe it was acquiring responsibilities that seemed unusual for her age. Maybe it was the encouragement she could give to young airmen. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush, which, in her mind, couldn't be replicated.

Maybe it just fit.

"In 29 years with the Air Force, I've seen good leaders and bad leaders," said Chief Master Sgt. Jim Morman of McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kan. "Gen. Faulkenberry is the best leader I have ever seen. She has her finger on the pulse of her people. She was born to do this."

Faulkenberry's high school friends didn't understand her initial path. This was the United States in the post-Vietnam era, and even she sensed negativity toward the military. But now she believes the American public, more than ever, can respect the work of servicemen by separating the people from administrative policy.

"I think it's wonderful that we as a nation have the cookouts and the beach outings on this holiday," Faulkenberry said. "But it should also be a time to reflect. My hope for [Memorial Day] is that we all take time to attend a parade, talk to an older person, visit a nursing home and speak with a veteran.

"These are great Americans living among us. It's sobering to think of their sacrifices. This nation, when you boil it down, is still about the people."

A People Person

The people.

To friends and associates who know her best, Faulkenberry's career highlight is her attention to people.

"Barbara is just a wonderful human being, regardless of her talent, regardless of her rank," said longtime friend Celia Slater of Dunedin. At her father's funeral, Slater will never forget the sight of Faulkenberry, in full uniform, saluting the casket, then presenting a flag to her brothers.

Faulkenberry, stationed in Alabama, drove through the night to get there.

Airmen were once startled to see Faulkenberry arrive at the base on Christmas Eve. She was delivering home-baked cookies to those on duty.

As a wing commander at Scott, Faulkenberry was spotted stopping her car, helping an elderly woman who struggled pulling her garbage cans to the curb in the early morning.

Faulkenberry's pinning-on ceremony, normally a one-hour event, became eight separate events stretched over four days.

"People were calling it 'The Faulkenberry Production' because so many people from Barbara's life were there," said Faulkenberry's older sister, Teresa, an accountant in Tallahassee.

"When she became a general, I think it was the most moving ceremony I have ever witnessed," said retired Col. Ken Reinert, who once served under Faulkenberry. Rudyard "Kipling wrote about walking with kings but never losing the common touch. That's her."

To pin the stars on her uniform, Faulkenberry chose retired Lt. Col. Herschel Malvin, 86, who flew 50 European bombing missions during World War II. He gets around now with a walker.

She chose Staff Sgt. Israel Del Toro, who was burned in an explosion during combat in Afghanistan in 2005. Seventy percent of Del Toro's body, including his face, suffered third-degree burns. He received the Purple Heart.

And she chose her parents, Gene and Mary Faulkenberry, who moved from Clearwater in 1985 to live on an 80-acre farm in Longjack, Mo., that has been in the family nearly two centuries.

In her speech, Faulkenberry said she owed her stars to each of the airmen under her command.

"So what do these stars mean to me?" Faulkenberry said. "These stars amaze me … these stars inspire me … finally, they humble me.

"I will wear them with honor on behalf of airmen — those I've led who have performed so admirably, those who have mentored me, and those no longer in our midst."

Her words hit all the right notes.

No one was surprised by that.

Least of all, Faulkenberry's mother.

Built For Excellence

At Faulkenberry's middle school, the class officers gave speeches. One teenager read from prepared notes, never making eye contact. Another stammered.

Faulkenberry took the podium as if she belonged.

"Barbara didn't look at notes, and she didn't hesitate," Faulkenberry's mother said. "My eyes just popped open. 'This is my daughter?' It was like an awakening. I began to notice these special qualities in her."

Such as athletic ability.

Faulkenberry, self-taught, worked into a racquetball player who was rarely beaten. Early in her career, the Air Force sent her to tournaments, happily showcasing her talent. She was the 12-time interservice racquetball champion.

Such as industriousness.

Never afraid of hard work, Faulkenberry built her own lawn-care business while in high school, using the money to finance her racquetball trips.

Such as doing the right thing.

Strumpf remembers Faulkenberry as part of a tight group of teenage girls who sometimes cruised around Clearwater. "We were good kids, but my gosh, nobody dared to even drop anything out the window," Strumpf said. "Barb would make you stop the car, then and there, to pick it up. She was pretty precise about things."

When told that story about the young Barbara Faulkenberry, her Air Force colleagues laughed knowingly.

"It was never about Barb — ever," Reinert said. "She uses her position not for her but to help others. She has no agenda. She's not a self-promoter. She should write a book about leadership. I mean that.

"She presided over my retirement, and she made me look like a guy who walks on water. My family and friends were there. I felt like a ballplayer getting a hit in his last at-bat, then walking out of the stadium to a cheering crowd. You think I'm not going to follow her? I'd follow her anywhere."

Next month, Faulkenberry will head home to her reunion, not to flaunt her stars but to enjoy old friends. If they ask, she'll say her ascension to general was due to preparation, good fortune, the right mix of high-profile assignments, but mostly the work of airmen under her command.

Any other explanation, as Faulkenberry says, doesn't seem real.

Many days, after awakening at 5:30 a.m., she rides her bicycle eight miles to the base. She attends Cardinals and Rams games. College football is a favorite.

"I have a high-profile position, but I do a lot of normal things, a lot of things that don't seem that special," Faulkenberry said.

Her friends know better.

"Barbara has great accomplishments, but she'll never brag on herself," Strumpf said. "Well, I can. I can tell people about my friend, a woman, who is a general. Being around her, she never makes it like it's a big deal. But I think it's amazing."

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353 or jjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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