Colonel Bareihs takes command of 80th FTW

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lieutenant Sara Harper
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  In addition to leading the world's premier international pilot training program, taking care of people and building strong working partnerships between NATO allies will be the primary focus areas for the new commander of the 80th Flying Training Wing.

Col. Dieter Bareihs, a 1990 graduate of the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program, took command June 24. He said the opportunity he had as a student to work in an international environment has been a definite advantage throughout his career.

"Look at the conflicts we're engaged in now and in the recent past--it's all coalition based," he said. "And in my opinion it's going to stay that way in the future. The exposure students from all the participating nations get not only to the language, culture and customs but the unique capabilities and perspectives different countries bring to the table is a great advantage during those operations."

Colonel Bareihs said building those relationships through programs like ENJJPT is more critical than ever.

"When I went through as a student, we had a lot more bases in Europe than we do now," he said. "There's a big difference in terms of the capacity to build partnerships. While years ago we were able to build relationships because we had bases over there, today a lot of that partnership-building has shifted to the ENJJPT program and the mission of this wing."

The chance to be part of that was one reason he was excited to return to Sheppard and the 80th as the wing commander. Working with the people of the 80th was the other.

"All the memories I have here are good ones," said Colonel Bareihs. "They all contain people, some instructors or my fellow students, and I still keep in touch with a lot of the students that I went through training with."

The new commander said he isn't coming to the job with any preconceived notions or radical ideas for change.

"I'm coming into this job with my eyes wide open," he said. "I'm a fan of if it's not broken, don't fix it. But I am always looking for ways to make things better and I want to build on the success and momentum that Colonel Schneider established in his tenure. Most of all, I look forward to challenging young Airmen and helping them to grow and realize their full potential as well as working with our international NATO partners and learning from them.

"To put it simply, my goal for the wing is to stay focused on the mission and do whatever I can to take care of the Airmen and their families," said Colonel Bareihs.

While he said the base has changed over the 21 years since he was here as a student, Colonel Bareihs said he's looking forward to seeing the wing, the base and the community from a new perspective.

"The base itself seems bigger to me now, and maybe that's because when I was here my focus was on this little corner of the base," the colonel said. "And working with the local community is one aspect that as a student I was never exposed to, so I'm looking forward to working with them."