Base commander talks vision with 2 NEWS

WRIGHT PATTERSON AFB (WDTN) - She's the newest commander at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and she's taking over at a critical time.

Formerly a member of AFRL in the late 90s, Colonel Cassie Barlow Has returned to oversee over 27,000 Employees with a financial impact estimated at $4.7 billion annually. With that to consider, she said developing community partnerships is essential.

"Specifically we are going to be focusing on partnerships we have with our emergency responders," she said, using a recent car crash as an example. "There was a major car accident last night off base. We were the first responders."

Barlow hopes the new re-route of 444 , which begins October 9, will highlight that partnership with the city of Fairborn and Wright State University's first responder training facility called Calamityville.

Barlow takes over during uncertain times, as looming government cutbacks threaten the base's 10 core missions.

"What that entails is looking at every single process on this installation and everything we do and trying to make it more efficient," she explained.