Maj. Gen. Erika Stueterman, USAF (Ret) in February spoke about her experiences as a spouse and mother while rising to a top slot in the U.S. Air Force in a recent Lafayette-area presentation.
The event, sponsored by the Women's Veteran Organization in Tippecanoe County and the Military Family Research Institute, took place in February and was especially timely, given that March is Women in the Military month. In addition, much attention has been given to women in the armed forces and the recent decision to allow women in combat roles from which they were previously barred.
Maj. Gen. Steuterman retired as the Mobilization Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D. C. She assisted in wwweloping, integrating, evaluating, and analyzing the U.S. Air Force Future Years Defense Program that exceeds $822 billion, and the Air Force Long-Range Plan to support national security objectives and military strategy.
Commissioned through the ROTC program at Purdue in May 197, her active-duty assignments included time spent at the Strategic Air Command’s 7th Bombardment Wing at Carswell Air Force Base as Chief of Combat Intelligence and wing executive officer. She has been an individual mobilization augmentee to the Defense Intelligence Agency as Reserve Air Attaché, Commandant of the Squadron Officer School, and the Deputy Political Adviser at Headquarters U.S. European Command.
Maj. Gen. Steuterman also served as mobilization assistant to the Director of Intelligence at Headquarters USEUCOM; Commander, Air Intelligence Agency; Director, National Security Agency; Vice Commander, Air Force Space Command; and Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.
She was inducted into Purdue’s ROTC Hall of Fame (2005) and an Old Master (2011), and she served on the ROTC Hall of Fame Committee.
While a student at Purdue, Maj. Gen. Steuterman was an Old Masters Hostess, participated in band, ROTC Arnold Air Society, and Mortar Board. She is a life member of the Reserve Officer Association. She is on the Board of Directors for the Wabash Center and on the Advisory Council for the Tippecanoe Adult Guardianship Services.