Two and a half months after the dual-wing reorganization Jan. 15, Brig. Gen. Rosanne Bailey has been busy tackling tough challenges and steering the 435th Air Base Wing and KMC in the right direction as the new commander.
“There are a lot of challenges to get Ramstein into show condition the way a flag ship base should be,” she said. “But we are making good progress. Increasingly people are moving on course in the right direction.”
The division of the 86th Airlift Wing into two wings has worked well, the general said. While the 435th ABW encompasses the support issues, the 86th AW takes care of the operational missions.
“Colonel Kane (86th AW commander) and I have agreed to make this ‘One Team, One Fight.’ Where appropriate, we divide the issues into their respective buckets, or we deal with them together”
For example, recently General Bailey was involved in a crucial personnel issue requiring her immediate attention, while Colonel Kane was directing an equally important humanitarian aid mission to Chad at the exact same time.
“Both missions were completed successfully,” the general said. “We handled both situations perfectly and got the right amount of senior-level attention on both issues.”
General Bailey also serves in a unique position as the KMC commander, which involves two military services and host nationals as well.
“I don’t know of any other community commanders in the Air Force,” she said. “We have an amazing partnership with the German communities at every level. I have received incredibly friendly receptions from mayors and all parts of the community.”
As the commander, General Bailey relies on her troops to get the missions done.
“When in doubt, go back to the basics,” the general advised. “The first set of basics are our Air Force Core Values – Integrity, Service Before Self and Excellence In All We Do, and the courrage to exercise the three core values.”
“Next, people should rely on technical orders, instructions, checklists and other rules that instruct people how to do their jobs. Lastly, people should rely on their team, supervisors or those who have more experience on how to get the job done more efficiently,” the general said.
“It will be hard to find a situation where the right level of guidance is not there,” she said.
With that in mind, many Air Force leaders have stressed the importance of flexibility being the key to airpower, she said.
“We are involved in a time of enormous changes: in the world, Air Force, mission and how we interact with other services,” the general said. “That means sometimes you will be asked to do things that don’t have checklists or technical orders. That’s when you bring in those who might have knowledge about the issue, figure it out and record the lessons for the next person coming along. We have to be able to step out of our comfort zones and invent new ways of doing things to be able to react to change. Don’t be afraid of change.”
General Bailey’s reputation as a commander is “tough, but fair,” she said. “I have very high standards.”
Her high standards also extend to her Airmen.
“I expect people to think ahead of the problem, have knowledge about their jobs appropriate to their skill levels, have a thought to the broader community in the sense of volunteering and participating, and an attitude of growth – completion of Career Development Courses, degrees and professional development. If you are not growing, you are becoming obsolete,” the general said.
In whole, the commander said she is impressed by her people and is pleased with what they are doing.
“My general impressions are – fabulous people, working as hard as they can and turning out amazing performances,” she said.
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Two and a half months after the dual-wing reorganization Jan. 15, Brig. Gen. Rosanne Bailey has been busy tackling tough challenges and steering the 435th Air Base Wing and KMC in the right direction as the new commander.
“There are a lot of challenges to get Ramstein into show condition the way a flag ship base should be,” she said. “But we are making good progress. Increasingly people are moving on course in the right direction.”
The division of the 86th Airlift Wing into two wings has worked well, the general said. While the 435th ABW encompasses the support issues, the 86th AW takes care of the operational missions.
“Colonel Kane (86th AW commander) and I have agreed to make this ‘One Team, One Fight.’ Where appropriate, we divide the issues into their respective buckets, or we deal with them together”
For example, recently General Bailey was involved in a crucial personnel issue requiring her immediate attention, while Colonel Kane was directing an equally important humanitarian aid mission to Chad at the exact same time.
“Both missions were completed successfully,” the general said. “We handled both situations perfectly and got the right amount of senior-level attention on both issues.”
General Bailey also serves in a unique position as the KMC commander, which involves two military services and host nationals as well.
“I don’t know of any other community commanders in the Air Force,” she said. “We have an amazing partnership with the German communities at every level. I have received incredibly friendly receptions from mayors and all parts of the community.”
As the commander, General Bailey relies on her troops to get the missions done.
“When in doubt, go back to the basics,” the general advised. “The first set of basics are our Air Force Core Values – Integrity, Service Before Self and Excellence In All We Do, and the courrage to exercise the three core values.”
“Next, people should rely on technical orders, instructions, checklists and other rules that instruct people how to do their jobs. Lastly, people should rely on their team, supervisors or those who have more experience on how to get the job done more efficiently,” the general said.
“It will be hard to find a situation where the right level of guidance is not there,” she said.
With that in mind, many Air Force leaders have stressed the importance of flexibility being the key to airpower, she said.
“We are involved in a time of enormous changes: in the world, Air Force, mission and how we interact with other services,” the general said. “That means sometimes you will be asked to do things that don’t have checklists or technical orders. That’s when you bring in those who might have knowledge about the issue, figure it out and record the lessons for the next person coming along. We have to be able to step out of our comfort zones and invent new ways of doing things to be able to react to change. Don’t be afraid of change.”
General Bailey’s reputation as a commander is “tough, but fair,” she said. “I have very high standards.”
Her high standards also extend to her Airmen.
“I expect people to think ahead of the problem, have knowledge about their jobs appropriate to their skill levels, have a thought to the broader community in the sense of volunteering and participating, and an attitude of growth – completion of Career Development Courses, degrees and professional development. If you are not growing, you are becoming obsolete,” the general said.
In whole, the commander said she is impressed by her people and is pleased with what they are doing.
“My general impressions are – fabulous people, working as hard as they can and turning out amazing performances,” she said.