BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –
A rural county in the North Carolina hills recently singled out the work of Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services field personnel and the utility of the agency’s Law Enforcement Support Office in an open letter to its sitting Congresswoman.
Ashe County Sheriff’s Office began requesting excess military equipment through DLA in 2018, according to Sgt. Brian Blanco, who serves as his department’s property screener and supervises the county’s school resource officer program. He specifically praised North Carolina’s governor-appointed state coordinators for federal excess property and DLA Disposition Services employees Jess Horvath at Camp Lejeune and Keneicsha Monroe at Fort Bragg, calling their support “immeasurable.”
“They answer emails within minutes, are always reachable by telephone for guidance and advice and their dedication is felt all the way over here in the High Country through the items they’ve been able to help me acquire for my deputies,” Blanco wrote.
Blanco cited several positive community impacts military equipment donations have made within the county of roughly 27,000 residents. As the remnants of Hurricane Helene deluged the county in late September 2024, Blanco said the sheriff’s office deployed an excess military Polaris off-road vehicle to ascend a mountain and reestablish emergency response communications after a critical county radio tower lost power during the height of the storm. The office has acquired radio communications headsets used by its SWAT team, cold weather clothing used by patrol officers through the winter, spotlights used for missing persons searches, and tool kits deputies have used to assist citizens with minor home and auto repairs.
Blanco cited a Chevy Malibu acquired from the DLA Disposition Services site at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, currently used by officers commuting to training classes and to transport mental health commitments. Also, when facing a budget crunch in 2023, they secured 33 unused excess Dell desktop computers from DLA’s Fort Bragg property site. He said the devices are currently used by patrol officers, detectives and Ashe County School Resource Officers for duties like report writing, monitoring school security cameras, and logging evidence.
“Ours is not a large law enforcement agency with deep pockets, able to immediately purchase any and all equipment that our deputies may need or want on the spot,” Blanco wrote. “Our agency prides itself on being fiscally responsible with our citizens’ tax dollars and so, when possible, we look for alternate methods to secure needed equipment. That’s where the 1033 Program and LESO have proven so valuable over the years.”
Excess War Department supplies and equipment originally worth about $8.5 billion have been made available to communities and their law enforcement authorities in recent decades through DLA Disposition Services, LESO, and the Congressional “Section 1033” National Defense Authorization that authorizes it.
The vast majority of the excess property requested by qualified recipients are considered donations – items like generators, flood light kits, utility trailers, rigid inflatable boats, and sump pumps. These items no longer meet DOW mission requirements but may still offer operational value in a non-military scenario. A small percentage of requested equipment is considered controlled property provided as a loan from DLA – items like night vision optics or mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles that currently must be returned to the agency when they are no longer needed.