Col. Schulte retires after 34 years Published May 10, 2017 By Staff Sgt. Katrina Heikkinen 434th ARW Public Affairs GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- “No daughter of mine is going into the Air Force enlisted; you’re going in as an officer,” she recalled her father saying.In 1975 she was 18 years old. Preparing to graduate from high school, she wanted to be an Air Force crew chief. She had no problem getting dirty; in fact, she wanted to.“I’ve always loved the Air Force,” she said. “I love the bases, I love the aircraft and I’ve always wanted to be a maintainer because my dad did it.”After spending more than 13 years as a colonel, Col. Anna Schulte wore her Air Force uniform for the last time on April 1, 2017, after serving 34 years in the U.S. Air Force.Schulte, who had been the commander of the 434th Maintenance Group for more than three years, was responsible for the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command.Born in Frankfurt West Germany, Schulte spend the entirety of her childhood surrounded by aircraft and the stories from her father, a career-crew chief, who retired as a chief master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force.“My father work in aircraft maintenance his entire Air Force career,” she said. “I remember him working during Vietnam on the rescue bird for pilots when they ejected into the ocean.”“Because of my parents’ experiences, I have always known about war and the pain it causes people,” Schulte said. “When my dad joined the military, it was very inspirational to me. I saw how hard he worked and the long days he put in at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines during the Vietnam War.”Propelled by her father’s desire for her to become an officer, Schulte went on to graduate from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education in 1979. When plans to become a teacher coincided with the 1979 San Francisco teachers’ strike, her father suggested she apply for Officer Training School and become a pilot.“I was ready to graduate but I washed out before solo phase,” Schulte admitted.Because Schulte had entered the Air Force via OTS, she had no Air Force obligation after washing out of pilot training school.Just when Schulte had assumed her chances of following in her father’s footsteps had disappeared, it turns out it was just getting started.“Major Fudge, who was a squadron commander at the 349th Airlift Wing at Travis Air Force Base and worked with my father, told him that he was looking for maintenance officers,” she added. “So my dad asked me if I was interested and I said ‘Dad, this is what I wanted to do in the first place.”Since 1981 when Schulte joined the Air Force Reserve, the life of an Air Force maintainer and a mother were the only two jobs she would know for the next 34 years. She has served in numerous command and leadership positions to include job control officer, executive officer, chief of logistics maintenance, senior maintenance officer, squadron commander, deputy group commander and group commander. She has deployed in support of Operations Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom and served as the maintenance commander since 2000 at five units including Write-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, and Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, before becoming the 434th Maintenance Group commander in 2014.“I knew I wanted to work in maintenance because my dad did it,” she said. “Everybody in maintenance knows exactly what they have to do; there is a certain way to do maintenance. I liked that. I liked that people knew what was expected of them and they knew they were part of something very important. Every position in the maintenance group is an important position.”Schulte said she believes that every person in the maintenance group is vital for ensuring aircraft are reliable and safe for the aircrew to do any mission they get called upon to do.“I’ve been very lucky because every unit I’ve gone to has always had the potential to be great, and then they’ve become great,” Schulte said. “The only thing I can hope is that I had something to do with that; that I helped them realize or gave them the resources to be successful.”An icon of the Air Force maintenance world, Schulte’s retirement brought hundreds of people in attendance, to include family, friends, Reservists and four Air Force generals.“Anna, you are going to be so very missed,” said Maj. Gen. Patricia Rose, U.S. Air Force Headquarters mobilization assistant to the deputy chief of staff for logistics, engineering and force protection. “I asked colleagues to share some words about you and these are the words I heard: icon, legend, leader. But I think your greatest strength has always been and will most likely continue to be the fact that you care. You’ve been that rare breed of officer who cares equally about the mission and the people.”Schulte is retiring in Dayton, Ohio, with her husband, (Ret.) Lt. Col. John Schulte, where she looks forward to coaching her granddaughter’s soccer team.“The Air Force Reserve is a force unto its own,” Schulte added. “We may be a small percentage but our successes speak volumes. I expect and hope this continues in the years to come. I thank my family and you – my reserve family – for the adventure, support and your friendship.”The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. Men and women from the Hoosier Wing routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission.Stay connected with the 434th ARW on Facebook and Twitter.
