AF welcomes newest 3-star general to lead manpower, personnel, services

By Tech. Sgt. Bryan Franks, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs Command Information / Published November 17, 2015

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein welcomed the newest lieutenant general to the Air Force, who will serve as the 31st Air Force deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, during a Nov. 16 ceremony at the Pentagon.

With her new title, Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso is responsible for comprehensive plans and policies covering all life cycles of military and civilian personnel management, which includes military and civilian end strength management, education and training, compensation, resource allocation, and the worldwide Air Force services program. She is the first female to hold the position.

Grosso said that the Air Force has given her opportunities of increasing responsibility and authority in the manpower, personnel and services arena, including command opportunity positions to prepare her for her new role.

“I never aspired to be a three star,” Grosso said. “I always aspired to be a good Airman and do the best I could in the job the Air Force asked me to do.”

Grosso marked the occasion in front of a host of co-workers, friends and family, who she said were part of the inspiration that kept her moving forward.

“I grew up with an amazing group of role models that were all of my mom’s friends,” Grosso said. “I saw these amazing women and the things they were doing in their lives -- I believed I could do whatever I wanted to do in this world. It never occurred to me to limit myself based on my gender.”

As the new deputy, Grosso said that developing the plans to expand on the Human Capital Annex of the Air Force’s Strategic Master Plan is going to be a huge part of her job to make sure the Air Force is not only capable today, but in the midterm and far-term, and she is excited about the opportunity.

“I have served in positions that didn’t even exist when I was a second lieutenant and you don’t know what this world looks like far into the future,” Grosso said. “The Air Force has such tremendous opportunities for men and women, of all ages and colors, military and civilian.”

Over the span of 29 years, Grosso has held several command and staff positions most recently serving as the Air Force’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program director.

“To me, the sky is the limit and so my advice is to never hesitate to go through a door, especially if it’s really scary to go through, because the less you know about something the more you grow and I will guarantee you will probably look back on that as your best assignment ever,” she said.