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News | Dec. 4, 2018

Troop Support Pacific commander awards soldiers for maritime exercise contributions

By Alexandria Brimage-Gray Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support

The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Pacific commander awarded nine soldiers from the Public Health Activity Hawaii, Schofield Barracks, the Joint Service Achievement Medal and five soldiers’ certificates of achievement for their contributions to the biennial Rim of the Pacific exercise, Nov. 21, 2018 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickman, Hawaii.

Navy Cmdr. Shani LeBlanc, DLA Troop Support Pacific commander, hosted the ceremony and expressed her gratitude to the soldiers, for serving as food service inspectors during the exercise.

“We only get this assistance every other year and we could not actually put the products in front of the soldiers, sailors and Marines without them inspecting it to make sure the quality of the subsistence is where it needs to be,” Leblanc said. “For RIMPAC specifically, the amount of subsistence that goes through the piers is unbelievable and we could not do this without that team.”

RIMPAC is the world's largest international maritime exercise that takes place in the Hawaiian Islands every two years. The exercise provides joint service and partner nation participants the opportunity to foster cooperative relationships that are critical to the safety and security of sea lanes on the world's interconnected oceans.

The soldiers examined over $4 million of food items provided by the Subsistence supply chain, in support of 54 maritime units, 18 multinational land units and 25,000 personnel from 27 nations, said Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Edwin Evangelista, DLA Troop Support Subsistence quality assurance officer.

“Their dedication to food safety and food defense resulted in zero foodborne illnesses reported during the exercise while ensuring that the warfighters received the highest quality subsistence available in the region, all which greatly enhanced the effectiveness of our Pacific warfighters’ training,” Evangelista said.

The awardees were:

JOINT SERVICE ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL

Army Sgt. 1st Class Derick Yates

Army Sgt.  Shaylee Ramirez

Army Sgt.  Bryan Marshall

Army Sgt.  Castonia Ming

Army Sgt.  John Davis

Army Sgt. Adrian Midgett

Army Sgt. Jann Rezzi Le

Army Sgt. Garry Sutton

Army Spc. Amanda Wancho

 

CERTIFICATE OF ACHEIVEMENT

Army Capt. Jeramie Abel

Army Sgt. Trevor Johnson

Army Sgt. Vincent Kacerguis

Army Sgt. Patric Berry

Army Spc. Jazzmon Brunson