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Air Force Col. George “Dutch” Dietrich III took command from Col. Brian Bruckbauer during a change-of-command ceremony officiated by Air Force Lt. Gen. Russell Handy, Alaskan NORAD Region, Alaskan Command and Eleventh Air Force commander.
“It’s a huge day for the men and women in this air base wing as we mark this historic leadership transition, at the finest joint base in the Department of Defense,” Handy said. “‘Dutch’ has as strong and a diverse background in leadership as anyone I’ve ever worked with, a master of legislation and a mission support hero, but it doesn’t stop there.
“He has developed a deep understanding of every weapons system in the United States Air Force and has been the number-one officer at every level in every job he has ever worked in, including command at the squadron and group level,” Handy said.
Dietrich’s last assignment was commander of the 60th Mission Support Group at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. As commander, he directed 2,200 personnel in six squadrons responsible for civil engineer, communications, contracting, logistics readiness, personnel, security, and supporting services.
“I do feel that my most recent experience as a mission support group commander, essentially being in charge of upkeep and maintenance of the installation as well as all the services provided on that installation, was a fantastic experience [before] going into this job,” Dietrich said. “I had a lot of experience working with a very supportive local community and building community partnerships, but what’s new about this assignment is the numerous on-base mission partners that I will be working with and supporting.”
As 673d ABW commander, Dietrich is in charge of more than 5,500 military and civilian personnel, supporting America’s arctic warriors and their families, and four groups operating and maintaining the joint base.
Additionally, the installation hosts the headquarters for the U.S. Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, U.S. Army Alaska and the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region.
“I believe JBER’s reputation precedes it; I believe JBER is pretty much the exemplary model for joint basing in the [Department of Defense],” Dietrich said. “My vision is to take that even further and demonstrate the efficiencies and effectiveness of joint basing, and make this base a showcase for the DoD.”
Dietrich said his number-one priority is enabling mission partners’ support to accomplish the everyday mission on JBER. His second priority is to overcome the challenges of fiscal and resource restraints by being creative and innovative while making this installation the benchmark for the DoD.
Dietrich said with the support and partnerships shared with the wing, mission partners, and the community, he doesn’t anticipate many challenges, outside of the same corporate-level challenges affecting the entire Air Force.
“[At my last location] we had a great relationship with our local community partners, and as the lead for the wing, I have lots of experience working with local partners and civic leaders,” Dietrich said. “This is my first experience with a joint base, but I’m looking forward to establishing and building those relationships with the numerous mission partners on JBER.”
| Date Taken: | 07.11.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.14.2016 17:24 |
| Story ID: | 204003 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, AK, US |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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