Harold Washington Professional Achievement Award

Lieutenant Colonel Henri L. Bailey, III, BA '62

Henri L. Bailey, III was born July 19, 1938 in Washington, D.C. at the Freedmen’s Hospital.  He lived his first two years in Washington with his parents and his paternal grandmother, then went for approximately nine months to live with his maternal grandparents in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  In February of 1941 the family moved to Maywood, Illinois where his father had accepted a job as a research chemist.  Bailey went to grammar school, high school and college in Illinois.  He was graduated from the Saint Philip Basilica High School in Chicago, Illinois.  After high school he attended Princeton University for a short time, then returned to Chicago where he attended and was graduated from Roosevelt University.  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Sociology and Psychology in January 1962.

On March  31, 1962, Bailey was sworn into the United States Air Force as a Staff Sergeant at the Recruiting Main Station, Chicago, Illinois and departed for Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas to attend the Officer Training School, USAF.  He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, USAFR, on December 14, 1962.  While at the Officer Training School, Bailey revised the out-processing procedure and cut the time to out-process a class of 800-900 individuals from nine hours to 45 minutes.  While at Lackland, he provided information that convinced his friend, Jacques Paul Klein, later a Major General, USAFR and Ambassador, US Department of State, to join the Air Force and to apply for Intelligence.

Bailey attended Undergraduate Navigator Training at James Connolly Air Force Base in Waco, Texas and received his navigator rating in September, 1964.  He was assigned as a tactical navigator to the 39th Troop Carrier Squadron, TAC, Lockbourne AFB, Ohio, to fly the C-130A, Hercules.  He received his initial check-out as a fully qualified tactical navigator enroute to the Dominican Republic during the invasion.  He continued to fly missions into the Dominican Republic until the termination of that conflict.  While assigned to the 39th, Bailey spent a lot of time on temporary duty to Evreux-Fauville Air Base in France.  He was Corridor Qualified to navigate aircraft in the Berlin Corridors and had a number of missions into Berlin. He also flew missions all over Europe and North Africa from Scandinavia to Turkey.  The 39th also sent Bailey on temporary duty to Howard AFB, Canal Zone to fly embassy support missions throughout Central and South America.  During this time he was promoted to First Lieutenant, USAFR

Bailey was reassigned and reported to the 21st Tactical Airlift Squadron, PACAF, at Naha Air Base, Okinawa in June of 1966.  He was assigned to that unit until December of 1968.  The mission of the 21st was to provide tactical airlift support to US Forces anywhere in Asia.  During the years that Bailey was assigned to the 21st, the primary emphasis was Southeast Asia.  He went on Temporary Duty to Danang AB, RVN, Saigon Airport, RVN, Bien Hoa AB, RVN, and Cam Rahn Bay AB, RVN from whence he flew all over South Vietnam as a member of a crew qualified for short field landings and take-offs.  In total, Bailey accumulated 1,763 hours of combat and combat support time.  Within that total, he supported the 3rd Marine Division at Khe Sahn, RVN and had 28 parachute drop deliveries to combat units in various parts of South Vietnam.  He was also promoted to Captain and received a commission in the Regular Air Force.  At Cam Rahn Bay, he met Captain, later Brigadier General, James T. Boddie, Jr, who was to become a life-long friend.

Additional Temporary Duty took Bailey’s crew to Ubon Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand to fly flare/FAC (Forward Air Controller) missions over Laos and North Vietnam.  They spent a total of six months in that duty.  When they arrived at Ubon, the Operational Navigation Chart for Laos and western North Vietnam was blank save for latitude and longitude lines so that strike aircraft could mark the location of three classified TACAN stations.  Pilots were somewhat displeased that if they had to evacuate their aircraft that they wouldn’t know where they were to escape and evade.  Bailey used his radar to sketch a geographic relief map of the entire area.  Intelligence sent that map back to the charting service and it was used by pilots for two and one-half years until the charting service was able to produce an accurate satellite map of the area.

The sketched map came in handy on one of the missions in Northern Laos.  The North Vietnamese launched two Mig-19’s to intercept and destroy the FAC aircraft and the accompanying strike aircraft.  The aircraft were supporting the defense of a Special Forces camp.  The strike aircraft, an A-26 and two A1Es, were brought into close formation at night and, then, flew below the mountain tops so the Migs couldn’t find them with their intercept radars.  The formation remained below the horizons of the  North Vietnamese GCI sites.  When the Migs reached minimum fuel and had to depart, the formation returned to support of the Special Forces camp with excellent tactical results.

 On another mission, Bailey determined to re-examine some old storage sites that Intelligence had determined were no longer in use.  Bailey had a hunch that they had been undisturbed for too long a period of time.  That night each site observed had intense defensive fire. A reconnaissance plane verified that the areas were stocked with supplies.  This was shortly before the Tet Offensive of 1968.

On another occasion, the crew was requested in the Parrot’s Beak section of western South Vietnam.  It required very high level approval for diversion of a mission to another country from that where the original assignment was given.  Verification was received and the crew proceeded to that area.  Passive electronic defensive equipment indicated that the aircraft was directly over a radar directed 57mm anti-aircraft site which had locked onto it.  Bailey quickly turned the electronic gear from passive to active just as the site began to fire.  The equipment did its work and jammed and broke the link between the radar and the gun and swung the muzzle 180 degrees from the FAC aircraft.  Attacking Army troops captured the site the next morning and had their picture taken with the broken gun.

While assigned to the 21st Tactical Airlift Squadron, Bailey was also sent on missions to the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan and Korea.  He was a Senior Airlift Controller at Osan AB, Korea for six weeks following the loss of the Naval Intelligence Ship Pueblo.  His job entailed providing in-country airlift of troops brought in from the United States by airlines and by Military Airlift Command.  During his entire assignment to the 21st Tactical Airlift Squadron, Bailey also served as one of the assistant administrative Officers for the squadron.

In December of 1968, Captain Bailey was reassigned to the 63rd Military Airlift Squadron at Norton AFB, California and to the C-141A aircraft.  He was quickly qualified as a strategic navigator and was air-drop qualified.  He later became an Instructor Navigator.   He also became an assistant administrative officer for the squadron.  During this time he completed the Air Force Administrative Officer Course and was later made the squadron Administrative Officer.  Bailey was on a nuclear qualified crew.  As Administrative Officer, he was responsible for the squadron Human Reliability Program.  It was well organized and administered and after a program inspection was adjudged to be one of the best in the entire Air Force.  On two occasions, students in the Air Force Human Reliability Officer Course were brought to see the program and how it was operated.  The squadron was noted for having its paperwork in on time and properly executed.  It was while assigned to Norton Air Force Base that Captain Bailey married Miss Carolyn Elizabeth Ladd of Pensacola, Florida in August, 1969.  They had met in Okinawa where she was teaching school for the Department of Defense Overseas Dependent School System.  Their first child, Henri Louis Bailey, IV was born on October 26, 1971.

In 1972, Captain Bailey was reassigned to the Directorate of Personnel, Headquarters, Military Airlift Command at Scott AFB, Illinois to be the command’s first race relations education officer.  He was assigned to work under Lieutenant Colonel, Later Brigadier General, David M. Hall, who had been his roommate at Ubon Royal Thai AB, Thailand.

Captain Bailey rose to the occasion with the help of his inspired teammates in MAC Social Actions and produced a highly effective race relations program based upon DOD guidance and utilizing small group interactions along lines explored and expounded by Carl Rogers.  The Phase I Program trained more than 82,000 MAC personnel, world-wide.  The Phase II Program reached more than 96,000 MAC personnel, world-wide.  The MAC Social Actions staff was the first Major Command Social Actions staff to produce a Social Actions Ops Plan.  Captain Bailey wrote the Race Relations Education portion of the plan.  Captain Bailey also wrote the script for an Air Force film entitled COMAC on Social Actions.  The film was used for two years.

While stationed at Scott AFB, Illinois, Captain Bailey completed an MBA degree at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, completed Squadron Officer School and Air Command and Staff College, was promoted to the rank of Major and completed Industrial College of the Armed Forces.  He also completed two Air Force Race Relations Instructor courses, the Defense Race Relations Instructor Course, the Air Force Introduction to Electronic Data Processing Course, the Introduction to Computer Systems Analyst Course, and the Professional Military Personnel Officer Course.  Bailey also completed all of the coursework for a PhD in Business at Saint Louis University.  His family was expanded by the birth of their second son, Shawn Howard Bailey on June 6, 1974.  One of the highlights of the MAC Headquarters assignment was a temporary duty assignment to Headquarters USAF to be on a personnel planning Task Force. One of Major Bailey’s mentors at Scott was the Vice Commander of MAC, Lieutenant General, later General, Daniel James, Jr.  He had met General James while flying missions at Ubon where, then Colonel, James was the Vice Commander of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing.  General James had also known Mrs. Bailey since she had been a little girl growing up in Pensacola, Florida.  Mrs. Helen Carlton, the wife of the Commander of the Military Airlift Command, General Paul K. Carlton, also admired Mrs. Bailey.  As a result, Mrs. Bailey became the Vice President of the Scott AFB Officers Wives Club.

In 1976, it was time for Major Bailey to return to a flying assignment.  He received orders to Homestead AFB, Florida for transition to Weapon Systems Officer in the F-4E,

Phantom II, aircraft.  It was a one-year upgrade program and as ranking officer, Major Bailey was the Class Commander.  It was the largest class in RTU history up to that point and was notable in that not one officer was involuntarily eliminated from the program.  Only one officer was eliminated and that was as a result of a self-elimination.  During the tour at Homestead AFB, Florida, Major Bailey came out on the Lieutenant Colonel promotion list two years below the zone. 

Major Bailey received orders to the 57th Fighter Interceptor Squadron in Keflavik, Iceland for a one-year remote tour.  Enroute, he attended the Air Interceptor School at Tyndall AFB, Florida.  At Keflavik he served as Weapon System Officer and as Squadron Executive Officer.  When he arrived at Keflavik in June of 1977, the 57thFIS was flying the F-4C Phantom II.  Shortly after arrival the squadron was given orders to transition to the F-4E and given one year to complete the transition.  Major Bailey was a part of the team that planned the conversion and it was completed in three months.  In April of 1978, Major Bailey assumed the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.  He completed his remote tour in June of 1978 and departed Iceland for Washington, D.C.

In July of 1978, Lieutenant Colonel Bailey reported to the Directorate of Personnel, Headquarters USAF to take charge of the Race Relations Education Program worldwide.  He was successful in having a conference with attendance from commands from around the globe to re-write the USAF Social Actions Manual with input from those who had to live under it and use it.  He wrote the first US Air Force policy on sexual harassment, which was signed by both the Secretary and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force.  He also broadened the internal personnel reporting system to allow the Chief of Staff to have a better handle on the management of diversity in Air Force assignments and promotions.  In 1979, Bailey was transferred to the Directorate of Programs, Headquarters, USAF where he had the mixed duties of helping to construct the Operational Program for the US Air Force and managing the manpower, training and medical programs.  He was a part of the team that transferred Air Force Programs from a manual system to a computerized operation.  During this period he was a member of the Personnel Panel of the Air Force Board.  Bailey voluntarily retired from the Air Force on July 31, 1982.  He was a Master Navigator and Weapon Systems Officer with more than 7,000 hours of flying time.

During his career Lieutenant Colonel Bailey received many awards and decorations.  In order of precedence they were:  Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with 13 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Presidential Unit Citation with one oak leaf cluster, Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with five oak leaf clusters, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with one service star, National Defense Service Medal, Combat Readiness Medal, Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon with three oak leaf clusters, Vietnam Service Medal with 13 service stars, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon,  Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with palm, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

To an alumnus/alumna who has achieved professional distinction

 

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