PACAF launches Iron Athena program to address female readiness, retention barriers Published Oct. 31, 2024 By Senior Master Sgt. Robert Webb Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- The Pacific Air Forces commander signed an organizational charter Oct. 30 marking the start of a focused initiative to address readiness and retention barriers faced by female Airmen and their families.U.S. Air Force Gen. Kevin Schneider signed the Iron Athena charter, named after the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, aiming to improve quality of life for PACAF servicemembers by removing gender and family-centric challenges that affect mission readiness. Iron Athena follows the model pioneered by Sword Athena, which Air Combat Command established in 2020 to focus on issues impacting female Airmen. “PACAF operates in an expansive and distinct area of operations where our Airmen face unique challenges,” Schneider said. “Iron Athena will help us to focus on these issues so we can take positive and meaningful steps toward removing barriers to performance.”Iron Athena’s approach leverages a Weapons and Tactics Conference framework, organizing mission-specific working groups that provide inputs from across PACAF. These groups use a grassroots structure to identify issues and propose actionable solutions to the issues that female Airmen might face. The program empowers Airmen at all levels to voice concerns that impact their operational readiness and professional growth.“I’m very excited to bring Iron Athena online along with other teammates for the Pacific Airmen,” said Maj. Jungmoo Lee, Iron Athena co-lead. “This program will seek to improve the mission readiness and resiliency of all Airmen in PACAF through a bottom-up approach, with team members from all levels of the organization working together to present solutions to the unique challenges our families face here at PACAF.”The next step for Iron Athena is to recruit volunteers across PACAF to facilitate the program, as well as gather topics to help frame the Fiscal Year 2025 working groups. The Athena construct has permeated across the Air Force, with Major Commands tackling readiness barriers unique to their mission set. In addition to Iron Athena, other Athena programs include Dagger Athena at Air Force Special Operations Command; Reach Athena at Air Mobility Command; Torch Athena at Air Education and Training Command; ARC Athena for Guard and Reserve members; and FALCON Athena at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Together, these programs reflect a shared commitment across the Air Force to address challenges that impact readiness, retention, and quality of life.To become part of the Iron Athena initiative, email Maj. Jungmoo Lee and Senior Master Sgt. Rebecca Hudalla at Jungmoo.lee.2@us.af.mil and rebecca.hudalla@us.af.mil.