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News | Dec. 19, 2016

Annual agency accomplishments praised

By Dianne Ryder

Defense Logistics Agency Director Lt. Gen. Andrew Busch recognized several individual and team achievements in an annual ceremony, Dec. 15 in the McNamara Complex auditorium.

Busch lauded the honorees’ contributions to DLA’s success during the agency’s 49th Annual DLA Employee Recognition Award Ceremony.

“You are doing fantastic, and it’s great to be able to recognize folks that are here with us today who have done so much to help me be a representative for the great product that we have,” Busch said. “I know that perhaps you don’t extrapolate from the news what we do in this agency, but I can tell you that the combatant commands turn to us for solutions every day.”

Busch talked about DLA’s commitment to all its customers – combatant commanders, the military services and whole-of-government partners, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“The problems we face will merge all of those together [and] will require a change in how we provide our support,” he said, noting that the services seek innovation and reduced costs from DLA.

“Over the last year, we have met those expectations repeatedly in all of the services,” Busch said. “Whereas our customers are our first goal in our strategic plan, people and culture are the second goal.”

Busch noted the award ceremony provided an opportunity to recognize employees on a personal level for all those who have done “superior work.”

Award recipients included:

Ten Outstanding DLA Personnel of the Year:
Dina Edwards, DLA Distribution
Kevin Henderson, DLA Distribution
Sandra Stephens, DLA Distribution
Olivia Wells, DLA Land and Maritime
Jose Acosta, Jr., DLA Distribution
Aysu Cesmebasi, DLA Troop Support
Ivan Badillo Vazquez, DLA Land and Maritime
Susan Lupo, DLA Land and Maritime
Marcia Kicos, DLA Installation Support
Maj. (P) Matthew Miletich, DLA Logistics Operations

DLA Leaders of the Year:
Gregory Coleman, DLA Energy
Daniel Ray, DLA Energy
Kaushal Desai, DLA Troop Support
Gordon B. Hackett III, DLA Logistics Operations
Employee of the Quarter—Annual Winners:
Rowena Gadin, DLA Distribution
Un Chong, Yu, DLA Energy
Tya Dammer, DLA Human Resources

DLA Team Performance Awards:
Small: Europe & Africa Customer Operations Team, DLA Troop Support
Medium: Sustainment Restoration and Modernization Division, DLA Energy
Large: Navy Nuclear Reactor Program Team, DLA Land and Maritime

DLA Service Members of the Year Awards:
Field Grade Officer of the Year: Army Maj. Alex Shimabukuro, DLA Aviation
Company Grade Officer of Year: Navy Lt. Anthony Meyer, DLA Troop Support
Senior NCO of the Year: Army MSgt. Cynthia Gyening, DLA Troop Support
Junior NCO of the Year: Army TSgt. Karla Pelayo, DLA Aviation
DLA Joint Reserve Forces Senior Reserve Officer of the Year: Air Force Lt. Col. Erika Foster, DLA Logistics Operations
DLA Joint Reserve Forces Junior Officer of the Year: Navy Lt. Brian Pietrandrea, DLA Distribution
DLA Joint Reserve Forces Senior Enlisted Member of the Year: Air Force MSgt. Matthew Smith, DLA Land and Maritime
DLA Joint Reserve Forces Junior Enlisted Member of the Year: Naval Reserve Logistics Specialist Luis Sebastian, DLA Distribution

Equal Employment Opportunity Awards:
Outstanding DLA Employee with Disabilities: Frank Moses, Jr., DLA Human Resources
Achievement in EEO by an Employee: Barbara Eberly, DLA Distribution
Achievement in EEO by a Supervisor or Manager: Caroline Watson, DLA Land and Maritime
Achievement in EEO by an Organization (Category 1, Primary Level Field Activity): DLA Land and Maritime

Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Facility/Program Excellence Awards:
Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Facility and Program Excellence Award: DLA Installation Support, San Joaquin Child Development Center, California
Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Facility and Program Excellence Award: DLA Installation Support, The Susquehanna Club, Pennsylvania

DLA Outstanding Police Officer/Unit of the Year Awards:
Police Officer of the Year: Officer Zaria Griffin, DLA Installation Support, San Joaquin, California
Lead Police Officer of the Year: Sgt. Michael Grogan, DLA Installation Support, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania
Supervisory Police Officer of the Year: Lt. Christy Hardt, DLA Installation Support, San Joaquin, California
Firefighter of the Year: Firefighter/Inspector Jeremiah Groom, DLA Installation Support, San Joaquin, California
Fire Officer of the Year: Assistant Chief Gregory Watkins, Jr., DLA Installation Support, San Joaquin, California
Fire Service Instructor of the Year: Burl Danley, DLA Installation Support, San Joaquin, California
Fire Prevention Program of the Year: DLA Installation Support, Columbus, Ohio  
Fire Department of the Year: DLA Installation Support, Richmond, Virginia  
Police Unit of the Year: DLA Installation Support, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania

Acquisition Excellence Awards:
Excellence in Pre-Award Contracting: Subsistence National Contracts Team, DLA Troop Support
Excellence in Contract Administration: Maritime Post Award Team, DLA Land and Maritime
Excellence in Pricing: Hoa Ta, DLA Land and Maritime
Excellence in Procurement Analysis: John Dotchin, DLA Land and Maritime
Excellence in Acquisition Management: Cynthia Obermeyer, DLA Energy
Excellence in Time to Award: Maritime Supplier Operations ­Powered Valves and Marine Hardware Team, DLA Land and Maritime

Outstanding Small Business Awards:
Outstanding Small Business Professional of the Year: Cathy Hampton, DLA Distribution
Outstanding Acquisition Professional Supporting Small Business: Randall Dortch, DLA Aviation

Information Technology Awards:
Information Technology Person of the Year: Joshua Daigle, DLA Information Operations
Information Technology Program Manager of the Year: James Daniels, DLA Information Operations