NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. –
United States Marine Corps Col. Andre T. Harrell was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal in a ceremony held at DLA Distribution San Joaquin, California, Aug. 16.
“Dre is an exceptional leader who has demonstrated unprecedented performance comparable to only a select few officers I have ever had the privilege of serving alongside,” said Rear Adm. Kevin M. Jones, Supply Corps, U.S. Navy, Commander, DLA Distribution. “He is among the top one percent of officers I have observed during my 29 years of Service.”
According to the award citation Harrell distinguished himself with exceptionally meritorious service as the commander of DLA Distribution San Joaquin, California, from July 2016 to August 2019.
Harrell served as both the Installation/Base commander and the strategic distribution platform commander for over 1,400 government, contractor, and military personnel. Harrell also oversaw 10 DLA organizations and three Army units aboard the installation. DLA Distribution San Joaquin, California, is one of two Strategic Distribution Platforms within the DLA Distribution network with responsibility of providing distribution support to the United States Northern Command and United States Indo-Pacific Command customers. DDJC has the assigned mission of providing strategic distribution support to 16,000 customer globally and four theater consolidation shipping points, 12 break bulk points, and 4,000 Department of Defense account activity codes in the Pacific theater. Additionally, Colonel Harrell is responsible for the storage, inventory, and distribution of 400,000 national stock numbers valued at approximately $8 billion, and receives and ships more three million line items valued in excess of $5 billion per year. During Harrell’s tenure, the initiatives he planned and directed allowed DLA to extend its reach and enterprise by providing accurate and cost effective logistics support to requesting service components. Under his command, DLA Distribution San Joaquin has garnered unprecedented recognition and honors receiving over 100 DOD, DLA, and Distribution awards during his command tenure. In particular, Harrell oversaw the design and implementation of the new consolidation and containerization point redesign project that improved processing capability by 75 percent for air and surface shipments. Harrell partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to support the wildland fire mission during his time in command and was an avid and proactive member of the Tracy Chamber of Commerce and supported the community by giving guest speeches for local holiday and recognition events and volunteering his time to support local charity events.
Harrell was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1970. He graduated from August Martin High School in Jamaica, Queens, New York, in 1988 and later attended Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Florida, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Management in 1993.
Harrell plans to retire from the U.S. Marine Corps later this year.