Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Sheyla Baez Ramirez held her first town hall with the Fort McCoy workforce July 25 in building 905 to take an opportunity to introduce herself to the community.
Baez took command of the garrison on July 19 and has been busy learning more and more every day about Fort McCoy, she said.
As garrison commander, Baez is responsible for day-to-day operations and management of the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin. A garrison commander also represents the Army and the installation in the surrounding community, approves and issues garrison policies in accordance with respective Army regulations, approves and issues policies for the civilian workforce, and supports mobilization station requirements.
According to her biography, Baez arrives to Fort McCoy after previously serving as chief, Reserve Program, U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command at Fort Belvoir, Va.
Also, according to the biography, she earned her commission as a military intelligence officer through the ROTC in 1999. Baez holds a bachelor of arts degree in psychology/mental health from the University of Puerto Rico, Cayey, Puerto Rico, and a master of arts in Strategic Studies from the Army War College, Carlisle, Penn. See more of the biography at https://home.army.mil/mccoy/about/leadership/garrison-commander.
Baez shared a lot of information about herself, such as how her last names are arranged. She said in her native Puerto Rico, it’s customary for children to take the last names of both of the parents. In her case, her father’s last name is Baez and her mother’s last name is Ramirez.
Baez also talked about how important family is to her, how she’s looking forward to working with the workforce, and more. She also discussed some of her command philosophy.
“One of the main things in my philosophy … is that I care about people,” Baez said. “You are the center of gravity of what we do. Without you, we cannot make our mission. And one of the things I look for in people is leaders.
“I’m not looking at directors as (the only) leaders,” she said. “Yes, they are leaders, but every individual here is a leader. You’re … a section leader. You’re leader at home. You are a leader at church. Every individual here is a leader.”
Baez mentioned having attended the Monroe County Fair as part of a garrison command team community relations effort and having two teenage girls approach her and ask to have their photo taken with her.
“I said sure you can take a picture with me, and that made me feel really good,” Baez said. “Not because of me and not because of my position, but because here were two young teenagers looking up to me, and looking into themselves, and saying, ‘I can do something.’ I think that is an important thing about people. We all can inspire people. And we can aspire to be great. … I challenge you to use all those abilities you have to be a leader.”
Baez also said that every job done by every Fort McCoy Soldier, civilian, contractor — every member of the team — is important. She said she appreciates the work of everyone and wants everyone to be at their best.
“I want you to do your job and be proud and do the best that you can,” Baez said. “It doesn’t matter which area you work; I want you to do the best job possible. … Every single employee here at Fort McCoy is important.”
More town hall meetings will take place in the future as needed to keep the Fort McCoy workforce informed on ongoing issues, news, and policies and procedures.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
