IMCOM commander tours USAG Ansbach, recognizes hard work of Soldiers, Civilian professionals

Lt. Gen. Kenneth R. Dahl, commander of Installation Management Command, speaks with U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach senior leaders during his visit to the USAG Ansbach area of operations in Germany, July 27, 2017. (U.S. Army photo by Stephen Baack, USAG Ansbach Public Affairs)

Story by Stephen Baack and Pamela Portland, USAG Ansbach Public Affairs

ANSBACH, Germany (July 28, 2017) — The commander of U.S. Army Installation Management Command spoke with junior- and senior-level Soldiers and Civilian professionals during his visit to the U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach area of operations July 27.

For Lt. Gen. Kenneth R. Dahl, this visit marks his first to Ansbach since taking on the role of IMCOM commander in November 2015.

This year, Dahl launched IMCOM’s Service Culture Initiative, a campaign that places an increased emphasis on customer service excellence, employee recognition and caring leaders, amid an environment of reduced resources and personnel throughout IMCOM.

Dahl spent the day with the USAG Ansbach command group and senior staff members, and later met with leaders from both the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade at Katterbach Kaserne and the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade rotational unit at Storck Barracks. His 10th CAB visit included a walking tour of Storck Barracks and Illesheim Army Airfield with the brigade’s leaders and lunch at the Flight Line Dining Facility with some of the brigade’s Soldiers.

While at lunch, Dahl talked to junior- and senior-enlisted Soldiers and officers about the challenge of zeroing in the right quality-of-life standards. He stressed the importance of selfless service and carrying on the mission in an austere and ever-changing environment of diminished resources. Serving the nation as members of the military, he said, means being “rugged professionals.”

In a gathering with USAG Ansbach senior leaders later that afternoon, Dahl conveyed how impressed he is with what the workforce accomplishes every day with less and less, and that those cuts allowed for growth in other areas of the Army — including on the battlefield.

“We had to cut 1,000 people from IMCOM — 25 percent from IMCOM Headquarters — and it was painful, but the positive impact of what we had to do is already being felt in the Army because we gave the Army those 1,000 positions and the Army was able to resource other missions contributing to critical combat power,” Dahl told the garrison staff. “So, it was painful, but it had a high payoff for the security of the U.S. and our Allies.”

Before Dahl departed, he took time to present coins to four USAG Ansbach employees for their continued dedication, hard work and excellence. He recognized the following professionals: Charles Williams, sports coordinator with Bunch Fitness Center at Storck Barracks; Staff Sgt. Rodney Robinson, housing inspector with the USAG Ansbach Directorate of Public Works; Mohamad Alkadri, plans and operations specialist for USAG Ansbach; and Stefan Groetschel, fire chief at the USAG Ansbach Directorate of Emergency Services.

USAG Ansbach, which is one of seven IMCOM installations in Europe and one of 75 worldwide, supports IMCOM’s mission of “integrating and delivering base support to enable readiness for a globally-responsive Army.”

Lt. Gen. Kenneth R. Dahl, center, commander of Installation Management Command, talks to Soldiers during lunch at Storck Barracks near Illesheim, Germany, July 27, 2017. Dahl, who visited the U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach area of operations, discussed quality-of-life-standards with junior- and senior-enlisted Soldiers and officers. At left (to Dahl’s right) sits Michael D. Formica, director of IMCOM-Europe. To Dahl’s left is Col. Clair Gill, 10th CAB commander. (U.S. Army photo by Stephen Baack, USAG Ansbach Public Affairs)