Four individuals were added to the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Hall of Fame and join the exclusive ranks of some of the organization’s finest former employees.
The contributions of Mara Bailey, John McAndrews, Gary Shute and Army Col. John Smith to the agency and the workforce were honored during an induction ceremony Nov. 29.
Army Brig. Gen. Charles Hamilton, DLA Troop Support commander, officiated the ceremony and said that the honorees are leaders that should be an inspiration to others.
“The men and women who are inducted made efforts that were absolutely critical in ensuring first-rate support to America’s fighting forces and other customers around the globe,” Hamilton said. “They have led by example and infused a positive attitude throughout their teams and organizations.”
Bailey retired in 2011 as a division chief with the Construction and Equipment supply chain. She played a role in establishing the marine lifesaving and diving prime vendor program and shaping the supply chain’s item planning division.
Bailey said that as she rose through the ranks, her supervisors stressed the importance of always finding the right answer to any logistics problem and she passed those lessons on to her subordinates.
“I hope that I had imparted that same spirit of excellence to always find the right answer and that it is our duty to these great men and women in uniform to get the right part, at the right price, on time,” Bailey said.
McAndrews retired in 2013 as the acting director of plans and integration for the Clothing and Textiles supply chain and said that mentoring his employees was the best part of his job.
He spoke about a time when he was a young supervisor and the commander made a lasting impression by stopping into his office just to talk and see how things were going.
“That made a huge difference in how I see general officers,” McAndrews said. “I would still ask any manager out there to just go and sit with your employees sometime and just say, ‘just tell me what’s going on.’”
Shute retired in 2013 as the director of supplier operations for C&T and had held 13 supervisory positions as a federal employee.
“Eighty percent of my career was spent as a supervisor,” Shute said. “Imagine all that time that I’m totally dependent on other people to be successful and let their success carry over to me.”
Shute said that he would spend his time helping his subordinates with work issues and help them through their personal issues as well.
Shute said it was rewarding enough when they thanked him for his help.
Smith served as the chief food safety officer and senior veterinarian in the Subsistence supply chain from July 2006 to July 2011 and was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame.
During his time with Subsistence, Smith was responsible for the Department of Defense Hazardous Food and Drug Recall program, the only global food safety recall system, and was the supply chain’s focal point for all quality and technical policies.
The DLA Troop Support Hall of Fame was established in 1994 to recognize former members of the workforce who made significant contributions to the agency.