18th MDG welcomes new commander

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jason Lake
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Col. Barbara King took command of the 18th Medical Group from Col. Frederick Schaefer during a change of command ceremony at the Rocker NCO Club June 25.

Colonel King recently served as the Director of Dental Programs and Resources for the Air Force Medical Support Agency at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington D.C.

"Taking command of the 18th MDG is a rare privilege," Colonel King said shortly after taking the group guidon from Brig. Gen. Ken Wilsbach, 18th Wing commander. "My husband and I look forward to being part of the great mission here."

As the new commander, Colonel King manages nearly 500 health care professionals who are tasked with providing care for more than 55,000 beneficiaries at the largest outpatient clinic in Pacific Air Forces. She is also charged with managing the second largest neonatal intensive care unit in the Air Force, a dental laboratory and the only aeromedical staging flight in the Western Pacific.

"[Colonel King] has a great reputation and we're very fortunate to have her," explained General Wilsbach who presided over the ceremony. "She's an innovator, which is something I love. She's inheriting [an 18th MDG] that's in great shape and I have no doubt she will take [the group] to new heights."

Colonel King, a dental surgeon, received her commission as a captain shortly after finishing her doctor of dental surgery degree at Baylor College of Dentistry in 1986. Some of her other base assignments include: Travis AFB, Calif.; Little Rock AFB, Ark.; Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea; and Andrews AFB, Md.

Before heading to his next assignment at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., Colonel Schaefer was presented the Legion of Merit award by General Wilsbach for his nearly three years of service at Kadena.

During his tenure here, Colonel Schaefer played a key role in developing Pacific Air Forces' $250,000 centralized fitness program that laid the framework for the Air Force's new centralized program. He also spearheaded a $200,000 facility project that bedded down an $18 million patient movement inventory, or 40 percent of Pacific Command's contingency aeromedical evacuation assets.

The medical group also garnered an 89 percent Health Services Inspection score, a three-year accreditation from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, and a two-year clinical laboratory accreditation from the College of American Pathologists - all while ensuring the deployment of more than 3,700 servicemembers for contingency and humanitarian operations.

The colonel personally thanked those under his command for their hard work and dedication while providing "peacetime care and wartime support."

"The scope of the medical group and its responsibilities are profound," he said after receiving a standing ovation and cheers from his staff. "You all have done great things and you made it look easy."