BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –
The Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services’ Mid-America region had what Region Director Jessie Parisano called “a great 2024.”
“We completed the Warehouse Management System rollout, and since then, our team has been producing and supporting the warfighter with zero degradation to the mission,” she said.
Another customer-driven project that several of her sites supported in 2024 was the Army’s Rapid Removal of Excess, or R2E, effort.
Joe Cervi, area manager for DLA Disposition Services at Colorado Springs, reflected on Mid-America’s R2E support for the Army.
“As a region, we have received more than 20,000-line items of property from the Army under this program just this year,” Cervi said.
Cervi said his local team worked with area soldiers and came up with a plan to train them both at the site and at Army motor pools in addition to providing all facets of disposal services representative assistance.
The training included equipment identification, document preparation, demilitarization compliance instruction, and property transport.
Cervi modified Colorado Springs’ schedule to allow for turn-ins as property met the requirements for disposal.
“Our streamlined processes made possible a highly efficient disposal evolution in the use of U.S. Army and DLA resources,” he said.
Parisano said another milestone for the year were the facilities improvements made at Fort Cavazos in Texas. She said a new fire suppression system was installed, but an outdoor project will have the biggest impact.
“They repaved the yard,” Parisano said. “The process flow of property through the yard has greatly improved. They increased the parking space, and that parking lot was graveled before; now it’s paved.”
In workforce development, Parisano said the San Antonio team hosted Army Lt. Col. Juan Talamantes through the DOD SkillBridge program, which matches servicemembers who have 180 days or less of service remaining with partner organizations in a variety of fields that offer real-world training and work experience.
Parisano said that once Talamantes retired from the Army, he was offered a leadership position within DLA Disposition Services.
Parisano said that Mid-America is looking forward to 2025. The new year will present new opportunities and challenges, including more sites that will tackle R2E with the Army, keep supporting the warfighter, and keep saving taxpayer dollars.
Parisano said that the Mid-America crew is developing a plan to address each of the four imperatives from DLA Director Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly’s recently released Strategic Plan for 2025-2030.
The first imperative focuses on people, which Parisano said would be addressed by a focus on training, including WMS.
“We are also going to focus on improving our expeditionary civilian preparedness at the regional level to ensure that our teammates are always ready,” she said.