Commander's Blog

Hello, Team! As I've said often since arriving back at Fort Detrick, I'm very happy to be leading such a dedicated group of men and women here at USAMMDA, and I'm just as pleased to be continuing with the blog established by COL Geesey. I certainly agree this is a great way to communicate current events, issues and information to our group and beyond.

Like all of you, I'm just a regular person trying to do his best in serving his country. Each morning, I put on my uniform as the USAMMDA commander so we can continue our important mission to protect and preserve our Warfighters. But at the end of the day, I rush home to see my family, just like many people do. To be our best at work, it's important to balance our workload with family time, interests, hobbies and exercise, so we can be better rounded and ready to tackle whatever comes our way.

In my role as commander, I look to provide the leadership, guidance and resources that will help to maintain efficiency and effectiveness in our daily work. We're all part of the same team – one team, one mission – to keep our military healthy and keep our nation strong. While many of our products take time to realize, we always have to be ready for any task we're given, so that our Warfighters can be ready when they're called to action.

Although these things may take years to come to fruition, each incremental step along the way is a step in the right direction. We can compare our efforts to a well-organized football team that takes the field for an offensive drive – they are counting the yards, not the miles, towards the goal. Eventually, they'll get that ball into the end zone, and so do we, regardless of how many downs it takes! When it means saving lives, the effort is worth it all.

If you looked at my Command Philosophy, you read that my five pillars for success include Teamwork, Communication, Innovation, Dignity and Respect, and Life Balance. I believe that if we work together, adhering to this strategy, we'll continue to run as a well-oiled machine. Given the great history of this organization, and the tremendous amount of success we've seen over the years, I have no doubt more great things lie ahead for our team.

And speaking of our great team, recently we lost a valued member, Cathy McDermott. Cathy's many contributions to USAMMDA and USAMRMC helped us to advance that ball down the field, and we can honor her service by letting her memory guide us forward on this important mission of ours. As long as we keep heading towards that goal line together, Cathy's influence won't be forgotten.

Let's always remember that we're saving lives with everything we do here at USAMMDA.

COL Ryan Bailey