PHILADELPHIA –
The commander of Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support called for employees in Kaiserslautern, Germany to extend dignity and respect to all.
"No one should go to work feeling like they don't want to be there," Army Brig. Gen. Charles Hamilton told DLA Troop Support Europe and Africa employees Feb. 9 during his first visit to the region as commander.
Hamilton projected dignity and respect throughout the week he spent with the workforce there and while visiting customers, said Army Master Sgt. Elizabeth Gilbert, senior noncommissioned officer at DLA Troop Support Europe and Africa.
“People found him a genuinely concerned and approachable leader,” she said.
During informal conversations, official counseling sessions and meetings with senior combatant command leaders, Hamilton put a human touch on everything the Troop Support Europe and Africa team does to support the warfighter, said Maria Caro-Stumpf, a marketing specialist with DLA Troop Support Europe and Africa.
“He gave a sense to each one of us that we are valuable,” Caro-Stumpf said.
Hamilton talked about DLA Troop Support’s three lines of effort to meet the agency’s strategic goals during a town hall with employees at the regional command’s headquarters in Kaiserslautern:
- Line of Effort 1: Support Joint Forces
- Line of Effort 2: Workforce Development
- Line of Effort 3: Better Business Practices
Hamilton also visited several customers in the region, including senior logisticians from U.S. Africa Command and U.S. European Command.
DLA Distribution Europe is reducing customer wait time, Hamilton learned at their facility in Germersheim, by leveraging their forward locations and using a dedicated truck network, which makes 43 stops per week across Europe.
“(Hamilton) was very knowledgeable on (DLA) Distribution operations in general and made insightful observations on our depot’s execution of our core mission and its impact on the readiness of the three combatant commands that we support,” said Paul Abel DDE deputy commander.
Hamilton also visited the U.S. Army Medical Material Center, Europe in Pirmasens, Germany, which manages medical supplies for DLA in the region. He also saw the Army and Air Force Exchange Service Warrior Center on Kaiserslautern, which helps wounded soldiers obtain new and replacement uniform items.
Throughout his visit, Hamilton carried the charge for dignity and respect everywhere he went.
“That was the consensus from the workforce here,” Caro-Stumpf said. “Personable, sincere, receptive to concerns and caring are just some of the adjectives employees here shared about him.”