CAMP PENDLETON – Maj. Gen. Ronald Bailey couldn’t wait to hear “Waltzing Matilda” one last time before handing off command of the 1st Marine Division – the Marine Corps’ oldest and most storied infantry division.
Saluting proudly, Bailey smiled broadly as the 1st Division’s Blue Diamond Band played the battle hymn during Monday’s Change of Command ceremony at Mainside Parade Field at Camp Pendleton.
The song was adopted by the 1st Division in 1943 in Melbourne, Australia, following the Guadalcanal operation. To Bailey and Marines of the 1st Division, the song represents a significant chapter in the history of the Corps.
In a ceremony punctuated by hundreds of Marines from division battalions and regiments standing in formation, Bailey handed over command to Maj. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, who recently returned from Afghanistan, where he served as the operation officer for the ISAF Joint Command in Kabul.
Rewarding and a great honor is how Bailey described the command of the 25,000-strong Marine division for the past two years.
His command also represented a milestone in Corps history as he became the division’s first African American commanding general, a credit to those who came before him, he said – the Montford Point Marines. The Montford Point Marines were the first African American Marines. They entered service from 1942 to 1949.
In a letter written by Gen. James Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, that was read during the ceremony, Bailey was praised for his command of the division.
“You have added to the storied history of both the Marine Corps and the ‘old breed’ and are a direct reflection of your superb leadership during your tenure. First Marine Division’s Forward command posts and units in Afghanistan proved supremely capable of combat operations as well as partnering with and mentoring the Afghan security forces in the Helmand province. The completions of two major division exercises are a testament to the flexibility, resolve and mission focus of the Blue Diamond team.”
Bailey credits his success to a structured and respectful upbringing where he was taught never to quit. That training started at home in Florida, where Bailey – one of four brothers – grew up in a patriotic home where his mother, who he calls “Gunny Mom,” pushed her boys hard and kept them in line with “high and tight” haircuts and singing in the church choir wearing suits.
“I didn’t know I had an option,” he said, smiling, on Friday while he cleaned out the remains of his office at 1st Division Headquarters. Bailey was readying to follow in the footsteps of his teacher-coach father while he was on a football scholarship at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn. But one day at the Student Union, he caught sight of a sharp-looking Marine dressed in blues.
“What do you have for a biology and chemistry major?” Bailey asked the Marine. “He said, ‘Son, I haven’t got anything for you. Go to the Navy.’ As I walked off, I heard him say ‘cause this could be too tough for you.’”
Bailey said he had fallen for the oldest trick in the book and made an immediate about-face. Next thing he knew, he was at Quantico, Va., getting his Afro, beard and goatee shaved and enlisting in officer’s training school.
His first assignment was in Okinawa, Japan, with the 3rd Marine Division to serve with the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, as rifle platoon commander and mortar platoon commander.
It was his next assignment, as a series commander at Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Perris Island, that Bailey calls the “most influential time” of his career. He credits 1st Sgt. James “Mad Dog” Moore with giving him insight into taking care of service staff Marines. Bailey said Lt. Gen. Walter Gaskin, now in Belgium, was instrumental in teaching him his personable leadership style.
Bailey said that mentorship and his understanding of team sports are what helped him become the leader he is now.
“I can relate to the PFC, I don’t close myself off,” Bailey said. “Connect to everyone in your community and you earn the respect because you give respect.”
Lt. Col. David Everly, commander of the 5th Battalion, 11th Marines, said it is Bailey’s fatherly quality he most admires.
“He’s committed to everyone he meets,” Everly said. “He’s committed to help every single individual to being an asset, whether they are in the Marine Corps or in the community. He’s selfless.”
Everly calls Bailey’s role as commanding officer of the 1st Division “an absolutely historical and monumental event.”
“The Marine Corps is about merit and performance, regardless of race or creed,” Everly said. “To have the first African American commanding general shows the organization is committed to finding the best, regardless of race. It goes without saying that, regardless of race or creed, every officer has been inspired by a historical moment like this chapter in division history that has been long coming.”
Contact the writer: 949-492-5152 or eritchie@ocregister.com or twitter.com/lagunaini
