FORT BELVOIR, Virginia –
The DLA Distribution Expeditionary Team was recognized for
their contributions to Operation United Assistance, receiving the DLA Team
Performance Award during an awards ceremony Dec. 10.
Members of the 27-person team attended the 48th Annual
Employee Recognition Program at the McNamara Headquarters Complex to receive
the award from DLA director Air Force Lt. Gen. Andy Busch, in honor of being
one of the first organizations in Africa
in the fight against Ebola.
In August 2014, DLA received the presidential order to
support Operation United Assistance. The
director immediately dispatched the DLA Distribution Expeditionary team to
support the construction of Ebola Treatment Units, or ETUs, in Liberia and Senegal.
Beginning September 24, team members were mobilized from New
Cumberland, Pa., to Monrovia, Liberia, and Dakar, Senegal. Once on the ground, the team was led by
Marine Maj. John Simpson, the first to volunteer despite being new to DLA.
Although the environment they were operating in was
primitive with regard to infrastructure, with roads full of potholes and ruts, and
fuel and modern warehouses were scarce, the team immediately got to work to
prepare warehouses to receive cargo and find a way to transport items to future
ETU sites.
With minimal materiel handling equipment, and in 100-degree
heat and occasional heavy rains, the team offloaded hundreds of containers and
stowed them in austere warehouses to await distribution.
Members also invented field-expedient procedures to enable
the delivery of 3,500 lb. containers to remote areas. Without a reliable communications network and
utilizing an underdeveloped road system in which a 60-mile trip could take two
weeks, team members devised convoy procedures to enable a degree of situational
awareness. Even with such obstacles,
every single Ebola Treatment Unit was constructed on time.
In total, the team tenaciously planned and completed 1,300
transportation missions supporting the construction and operation of 15 ETUs.
“The DLA Distribution Expeditionary Team truly distinguished
itself during this mission. Despite
operating in an extremely austere environment, they focused on the task at hand
and truly proved that Distribution can operate at the tip of the spear,” said
DLA Distribution chief integration officer Perry Knight.