Sequence of Events
| Arrival of the Official Party |
*National Anthems
|
|
| *Invocation |
Lt. Col. Robert Ginsburg
|
| Remarks |
U.S. Army Col. Tracy L. Yates
DLA Europe & Africa Commander
|
Presentation of Award
|
|
| Remarks |
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael W. Zdrojesky
DLA Distribution Europe, Commander
|
Change of Command
|
|
| Remarks |
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Joseph M. Bower
DLA Distribution Europe, Commander
|
*Service Medley
|
* Indicates to please stand
Ceremony Host: Col. Tracy Yates
Army Col. Tracy Yates is a native of Wheeling, West Virginia. She enlisted in the Army in 1999 and served as an Administrative Assistant at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. She graduated from Officer Candidate School in 2003 and upon graduation was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Transportation Corps. In 2006, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Austin Peay State University and earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Columbia Southern University in 2012. Her military education includes the Administrative Specialist Course, the Professional Leadership Development Course, the Transportation Officer Basic Course, the Combined Logistics Captains’ Career Course, the Command and General Staff College, the Joint and Combined Warfighting School (JPME-II), and the Army War College.
Yates’ previous assignments include Platoon Leader and Executive Officer, 372nd Cargo Transfer Company, Ft. Campbell, KY; Support Operations Transportation Officer and Commander, Company B, 526th Brigade Support Battalion, Fort Campbell, KY; Support Operations Plans Officer and Battalion S3, Group Support Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Secretary of the General Staff Operations Officer and Logistics Cost Sharing Manager J4, United States Forces Korea, Yongsan, South Korea; Brigade S3, 16th Sustainment Brigade, Baumholder, Germany; Executive Officer, 39th Transportation Battalion, Kaiserslautern, Germany; Secretary of the General Staff, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Kaiserslautern, Germany; Joint Strategic Plans Officer, Defense Logistics Agency Europe and Africa, Kaiserslautern, Germany; Distribution Integration Branch Chief, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Kaiserslautern, Germany; Battalion Commander, Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Europe and Africa; Assistant Executive Officer to the Commanding General United States Army Materiel Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama; Plans, Exercises, Programs, and Policies Division Chief (G45), U.S. Army Central and Third Army, Shaw Air Force Base, Sumter, SC. Her combat service includes four deployments to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Yates’ awards and decorations include Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2 OLC), Meritorious Service Medal (3 OLC), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (6 OLC), Joint Service Achievement Medal (1 OLC), Army Achievement Medal (3 OLC), Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, the Army Parachutist Badge and Air Assault Badge. Her unit awards include the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Commendation, and Army Superior Unit Award.
She is currently the Regional Commander of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Europe & Africa (E&A) at Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Outgoing Commander: U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael W. Zdrojesky
Army Lt. Col. Michael Zdrojesky assumed command of Defense Logistics Agency Distribution Europe in Germersheim, Germany, July 8, 2024.
Zdrojesky is a native of East Greenville, Pennsylvania. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Millersville University and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps, in 2006. Zdrojesky also holds a Masters of Business Administration from American Military University.
His previous assignments include: Platoon Leader, 623rd Quartermaster Company and 612th Quartermaster Company, 189th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 82nd Sustainment Brigade; Logistics Transition Team Leader, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Arabian Peninsula; Support Operations Aerial Delivery Officer 264th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 82nd Sustainment Brigade; Service Detachment Commander, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne); Team Leader, Defense POW/ MIA Accounting Agency; Operations Officer and Executive Officer, Group Support Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne); Logistics Plans Officer and Commander’s Action Group Engagements Director, Special Operations Command – Pacific; and most recently Chief of Support, Command Assessment Program, Deputy Chief of Staff G-1, Department of the Army.
Zdrojesky has deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and other activities in the EUCOM and CENTCOM AOR.
He is a graduate of the Quartermaster Officer Basic Course, Combined Logistics Captains Career Course and Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
His awards and decorations include two Joint Meritorious Unit Awards, Bronze Star Medal, two Defense Meritorious Service Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, and Iraq Campaign Medal. He also has been awarded the Parachutist Badge, Parachute Rigger Badge, Army Staff Identification Badge, and Irish Defense Forces Parachute Wings.
Incoming Commander: U.S. Army Lt. Col. Joseph M. Bower
Army Lt. Col. Joseph Bower, a native of Toledo, Ohio, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps upon his graduation from the University of Toledo in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. He is a graduate of the Quartermaster Officer Basic Course, the Combined Logistics Captains Career Course, and the Army Command and General Staff Officer College. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from the College of William and Mary as a 2023 graduate of the MG James Wright Fellowship program.
He assumed command of DLA Distribution Europe in July 2026. Prior to his current assignment, he served as an Operations Officer and the Strategic Engagements Division Chief for U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, which was later redesignated as the U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command.
His previous assignments include: Distribution Platoon Leader and Executive Officer, B Company, 70th Brigade Support Battalion, Camp Casey, Republic of Korea; Executive Officer, 549th Quartermaster Company, Fort Carson, Colorado; Supply Management Officer, 68th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, Fort Carson; Deputy Brigade S4 and Budget Officer, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas; Commander, Delta Forward Support Company, 5-4 Cavalry Squadron, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division; Strategic Engagements Division Chief, U.S. Army South, San Antonio, Texas; Battalion Executive Officer, 25th Infantry Division Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Brigade S4, 25th Infantry Division Artillery; and Deputy G4, 25th Infantry Division.
Bower has deployed to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn and has served in various roles supporting exercises and operations in the U.S. Africa, Indo-Pacific, and Southern Command areas of responsibility.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, the Iraq Campaign Medal, and the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge (Silver).
DLA Distribution Europe
DLA Distribution Europe, located in Germersheim, Germany, is DLA Distribution's largest distribution facility on the European continent and a forward deployed Theater Distribution Platform. As an integral part of the Defense Logistics Agency's worldwide network of 24 distribution centers, the organization provides initial surge capability during the transition to war phase, seamless joint theater distribution, and innovative support of DLA and service-managed materiel to all four service component warfighters and government partners throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Strategically positioned near the Rhine River and Ramstein Air Base in central Europe, it's distribution facilities take advantage of readily available air, road, rail, and barge modes of transportation, as well as enabling the critical theater break-bulk mission performed by the Theater Consolidation and Shipping Point.
Current commodities distributed by DLA Distribution Europe are repair parts, barrier and construction material, clothing and textiles, packaged POL, operational rations, and humanitarian relief support.