Richmond, Va. –
Friends, family and colleagues recognized Air Force Col. Rod Bloker, industrial support activity commander, Defense Logistics Agency Aviation at Warner Robins, during his retirement ceremony March 30 held at the Museum of Aviation near Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.
As the ISA commander, Bloker provides retail support for maintenance activities at the air logistics complex. His responsibilities cover order fulfillment and collaborative customer demand planning to sustain future industrial maintenance workload, as well as receipt, storage and issue of material.
Bloker is also DLA’s senior representative on the Air Force base, and is responsible for coordinating the activities of more than 750 personnel throughout more than 50 installation facilities as they support the agency’s customers.
“I am extremely proud of the team and the collaborative environment at the Warner Robins ALC,” said Bloker. “I am proud that we are seen as a ‘can do’ organization and a mission partner that gets things done. I really believe the enterprise knows we can be counted on, and this reliability is what I am so proud of.”
Bloker’s advice to his successor is this: “Airpower starts with the parts! This ALC cannot fulfill its mission without the retail operation that our team provides.”
He added, “We have great mission partners. Airpower is a team sport, and everyone at Warner Robins [ALC] treats their mission partners as true teammates.”
Bloker joined the Air Force in October 1990, earning his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Central Florida. He entered active duty in 1992 as a missile combat crew member stationed at Malmstron Air Force Base, Montana.
Bloker’s career assignments over the past 26 years include stints at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico; Doha, Qatar; Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina; Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; Osan Air Base, Korea; Lajes Field-Azores, Portugal; Ramstein Air Base, Germany; and Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, his previous station before arriving at Robins Air Force Base.
The youngest child of a U.S. Marine and World War II veteran, and a hardworking mother of eight, Bloker fell in love with military service as an ROTC student. As a teenager he decided he’d become an engineer and help build the first space station. Life, and the Air Force, had other plans for him.
Though his parents have both passed away, Bloker said he continues to be motivated by their example. As for professional mentors, he said, “I try to learn from everyone and from every relationship.”
After retirement, Bloker will join the Federal Aviation Administration’s Enterprise Services Center as deputy program manager in Oklahoma City. “I did not have plans to retire, until this opportunity came up,” he said. “I am reluctant to retire as I will miss serving in the Air Force.”