JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- The first commander of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center completed a distinguished 31-year military career July 22 during a retirement ceremony here.
Maj. Gen. Theresa Carter, who was the primary architect of the AFIMSC organization and served as commander since April 6, 2015, was replaced by Maj. Gen. Bradley Spacy, who had previously served as the AFIMSC director of expeditionary support.
Carter began the monumental task of integrating installation and mission support capabilities into a single intermediate-level headquarters when she left her post as Air Force Civil Engineer in March 2014. She first served as a special assistant to the commander of Air Force Materiel Command, then became the commander of AFIMSC Provisional in August 2014 before taking the reins as the unit’s first commander in April 2015.
In a single year, her leadership took AFIMSC from a concept to initial operations. In the year since, she guided the team’s course to the threshold of full operating capability, which is expected to take place by Oct. 1.
“What she brought to that culminating point in her career truly was a unique set of capabilities,” said Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, AFMC commander, who officiated the retirement ceremony. “I don’t know very many people in my 34 years in the Air Force who have those attributes.”
Carter is a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and attended St. Pius X High School there, which she credits as giving her the foundation to pursue her goals.
“St. Pius was a great school, a small school with great friends and a great atmosphere, and I think it certainly gave me not only the academic record but the rigor and values that set the stage for me to have the fortitude to go on in school in Indiana,” she said.
In Indiana, she started her Air Force journey when she received an ROTC scholarship to attend Purdue University where she majored in industrial engineering. She earned distinguished military graduate honors when she received her degree in 1985 and was commissioned in the Air Force that same year.
Carter said Purdue University provided a great education. She said she had no idea what she was getting into when she applied there, but added she can’t think of a better place she could have gone to experience the opportunities the school provided.
According to an online article from the Purdue College of Engineering, Carter was a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, Golden Key, and Mortar Board, and also served as a residence hall counselor.
As an active alumna, she visited Purdue engineering students throughout her military career and has maintained strong ties with her alma mater. She was inducted into the Purdue ROTC Hall of Fame in 2011 and received the honor of being named a Distinguished Engineering Alumna in 2013.
“I had legendary professors at Purdue, and the student body was equally great” she said. “One of my freshman suitemates became my sister-in-law.”
A favorite quote the general followed in her service to the nation is by President Harry Truman. “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit,” Truman said.
As a career civil engineer, she took that to heart in her positions at installation, major command and Air Staff levels. She served a third of her career in command positions as a commander of a civil engineer squadron, mission support group, two air base wings and AFIMSC.
Her contingency experience includes service in support of Operation Desert Shield, and command of a civil engineer unit during Operation Southern Watch.
In her previous assignment as Air Force Civil Engineer, she was responsible for organizing, training and equipping the 60,000-person civil engineer force and for planning, development, construction, maintenance, utilities and the environmental quality of Air Force bases worldwide.
At AFIMSC, she led the establishment and operation of the first Air Force unit responsible for providing installation and mission support capabilities to 77 Air Force bases, nine major commands and two direct reporting units with an annual budget of $10 billion.
One of six centers assigned to Air Force Materiel Command, the unit’s cross-functional team integrates security forces, civil engineering, base communications, logistics readiness, installation ministry programs, Airmen and family services, operational acquisition and financial management across 10 detachments and six primary subordinate units.
“When you look back at her career, it’s not about how many awards TC (Carter) got and it’s not about how many promotions; it’s about the legacy she has left for our Air Force,” Pawlikowski said.
In describing what gave her the desire to serve, Carter talked about her grandfather’s service in WWI, her father and his service in World War II, her brother, who was a fighter pilot, and her niece, Air Force Capt. Elizabeth Carter, who is a doctor.
When her niece pinned on a retirement pin and saluted her, the general said she owed her a silver dollar. She based the idea on the custom that when you are sworn into the Air Force, you give that person a silver dollar. She said she wanted to start a new tradition and give one to the last person you salute when you retire.
Carter’s effective retirement date is Oct. 1 and she plans to make Colorado Springs, Colorado, her home.