DLA regional commanders: We couldn’t function without Troop Support
The Defense Logistics Agency’s regional commanders expressed their gratitude for the efforts of the DLA Troop Support workforce during a visit Dec. 2. “Working in [U.S. Central Command], where there’s been active war for the last nearly 15 years, we live and die by these supply chains,” said Army Col. Derrin Williams, DLA Central commander. Williams was joined by Army Col. Elizabeth Keough, DLA Europe and Africa commander, and Army Col. Richard Ellis, DLA Pacific commander. They are DLA’s senior representatives in their respective regions. While spending the week at DLA Headquarters in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, the three commanders traveled to Philadelphia to meet with representatives of DLA Troop Support’s five supply chains and tour the flag room. “We mainly wanted to come say thanks,” Keough said. “We couldn’t function without the work that Troop Support does.” Williams’s gratitude for the Clothing and Textiles supply chain was personal. He was shot by a sniper while deployed to Iraq. But thanks to body armor provided through C&T, the impact was minimized, he said. “I appreciate the time that goes into testing the [Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert] plates,” Williams told Keith Ford, C&T deputy director. “I appreciate you making sure it’s right.” Keough specifically thanked Mary Martin, with the Medical supply chain’s Plans and Integration division, by presenting her a commander’s coin for her work in support of Operation United Assistance. OUA was the Defense Department mission in West Africa to help stop the spread of the deadly Ebola virus Martin oversaw the transportation of personal protective equipment for personnel from DOD, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Public Health Service. Medical provided more than 1.4 million protective suits, in addition to surgical gloves and surgical masks in support of OUA, Martin said.