DLA Land and Maritime Hall of Fame

Karen Kramer began her federal career at the Defense Electronic Supply Center in Kettering, Ohio in 1984. Through the Base Realignment and Closure of 1995 process, she moved to Defense Supply Center Columbus where she became a first line supervisor for the Aerospace Directorate overseeing the Emergency Buy Team. In 2008, Kramer was promoted to be a fluid handling division branch chief in the Aviation Directorate prior to its merge with the Maritime Supplier Operations Directorate. From 2015 until her retirement, Kramer became the Integrated Acquisition/Supply Team Chief in Maritime Supplier Operations, where she oversaw the Emergency Buy Team, the 2nd Look Auto Team, the Maritime Supply Chain Points of Contact and provided procurement support for the shipyard detachments. Kramer established herself as the single point of contact for procurement matters to the shipyard detachments – assisting with matters pertaining to procurement policy, staffing, procurement certification, credentialing and overseeing teams of local buyers. She also oversaw the greatest productivity from the 2nd Look team where award success rates exceeded 95% monthly. This drastically reduced the total number of purchase requests being worked manually in the line organizations allowed the Supplier Operations Directorates to achieve record high levels of material availability and reduced backorders. Her keen focus, leadership, and strategic vision were pivotal to DLA Land and Maritime’s ability to contract, acquire, and deliver critical repair parts to warfighters around the globe. Kramer retired in 2022.

Andy Lancaster began his federal career in 1984, upon his enlistment in the US Navy where he rose up the ranks, retiring as a Lieutenant Cmdr. in 2007. He joined DLA as the Bremerton Site Director for DLA Maritime Puget Sound during the Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Puget’s transition to DLA. He was a key player in the transition of people, processes and technologies at DLA Puget Sound as directed by the Base Realignment and Closure of 2005. His positive attitude and personal engagement with impacted teams had a lasting impact on the success of that transition which continues to have an impact to this day. Lancaster was ultimately promoted to Deputy Director of DLA Maritime Puget Sound where he served as the primary advocate for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility supply support locally and at off-site locations until his retirement.  Lancaster was the lead civilian responsible for directing and managing the integration, development, implementation, and oversight of all customer relationship management activities for the Directorate’s Maritime Detachment. Throughout his career, he continued outstanding level of support to the Navy customer and collaboration with DLA Land and Maritime leadership. Lancaster retired in 2021. 

Eddy Poprock began his federal career as a civil engineer for the Defense Construction Supply Center in Columbus. Over his career he served in many critical positions on the installation - Civil Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Lead Project Engineer in charge of the Engineering and Construction Office, Deputy Facility Engineer, Facility Engineer and finally as the Deputy Site Director. Poprock was recognized many times for his exceptional work, including the Federal Executive Association Supervisory Leadership Award in 2015 and two Superior Civilian Service Awards in 2009 and 2022. Poprock guided the installation through many major changes, like the transition of the installation’s coal-fired Central Heating Plant first to natural gas and eventually replacing it with a more energy-efficient decentralized heating system. He was heavily involved in other major projects that effectively transitioned the installation from a wartime storage site to a modern operations hub for DLA, DOD and Ohio National Guard activities. He guided the dismantling of decades-old warehouses and facilitated the construction of the DSCC Operations Center, Defense Finance Center Columbus, the DSCC Fire Station and the Child Development Center. He facilitated adaptive reuse by converting several warehouses to office space like the renovation of Building 11 to accommodate the DLA Human Resource Center and DLA Training. He spearheaded the creation of the Ohio National Guard/Army Reserve enclave which added four major military missions to the installation including Ohio National Guard Brigade headquarters, United States Property and Fiscal Office Warehouse, the Ohio National Guard Training Institute, and the National Guard Combined Maintenance Facility.  He was also instrumental in the land management that resulted in the building of the Chalmers VA Ambulatory Center on land transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Poprock retired in 2021.

Tammy Sabo began her federal career in 1990, when she was hired to work at the Defense Construction Supply Center under the Outstanding Scholar Program as an Inventory Management Specialist. Sabo worked for two years as an Item Manager until she was promoted to Supply Systems Analyst in 1994.  During her initial tenure as an analyst, Sabo worked on the Project 95 team, which focused on several system development programs designed to automate Planning processes. In 1996, Tammy worked as a Management and Program Analyst for a short stint before returning to her role as Supply Systems Analyst, later known as a Business Process Analyst following the Enterprise Business Systems upgrade.  Sabo eventually became a Senior Supply Systems Analyst, where she provided support to the Land and Maritime Planning community in a variety of ways. She was the systems and planning expert many went to for support in identifying and evaluating system problems and developing new system requirements and process improvements.  She was a leader on the development teams for several key system changes Sabo’s expert knowledge proved pivotal in implementing every phase of the BSM/EBS implementation. Sabo was a vital element to making big transitions smoother, more efficient, and more effective. In her last position as a Supply Systems Analyst for the DLA J343/ Center of Planning Excellence, she continued to apply her deep systems knowledge and proactive problem-solving skills to an even broader set of issues, and the Enterprise Planning team was better for having her influence and guidance. Sabo retired in early 2022.

Griff Warren began his federal career in 1994 as a Navy Supply Corps Lieutenant Cmdr. assigned to a material management unit in the Defense Supply Center Columbus’ Commodity Application Group. He moved to the policy department where he was instrumental in the planning and implementation of merging DSCC with the Defense Electronics Supply Center as directed by Base Realignment and Closure 1992. Capt. Warren returned to DLA Land and Maritime later in his Navy career to lead the Maritime Supplier Operations Directorate where he led the successful implementation of the Enterprise Business Systems Modernization Program.  He was instrumental in the effort to fully realize the Resolution Specialist role for DLA to assist with inventory concerns.  Warren retired from the Navy in 2008 and joined DLA Land and Maritime as Deputy Chief of Staff where he championed many supply chain improvement efforts. Later, while serving as Chief of Staff, Warren pioneered a civilian deployment program which enabled a cadre of associates to lend their expertise to enable continuous supply chain business processes during any emergency or contingency.  In 2018, Warren was selected to coordinate business activities across all supply and demand chains as the Director of Business Operations.  His in-depth knowledge of DLA operations along with his thorough understanding of Service needs with his ability to distill complex data and processes into understandable terms allowed him to support command through numerous engagements with government leaders and industry.  He developed, oversaw, and personally led the DLA Land and Maritime War Room process to fully control the execution of scarce resources to ensure support to the highest priority requirements while balancing the need to maintain overall material availability.  This effort had a direct impact on warfighter readiness during periods of financial austerity. Warren used his Navy background and his astute understanding of supply chain management to make lasting improvements to the operation of DLA L&M while championing multiple efforts and initiatives throughout his career to make indelible marks on the workforce, culture, and operations. Warren retired in late 2022.

Daniel Bell began his federal career in 2001 as an IT specialist with the Defense Supply Center Columbus where he honed his leadership and technical skills in subsequent positions as a public affairs specialist, marketing specialist and supervisor of the Business and Multimedia Support Division for Defense Logistics Agency Installation Management Columbus. In February 2013, he was named deputy site director for DLA Installation Management Columbus and moved to the role of site director in October 2015 where he worked until his retirement in 2021. Bell achieved many accomplishments in his 42 years of service to the Defense Department. His passion was for his people and the safety and security of those working at DSCC. Responsible for the management and oversight of a 550-acre installation, Bell managed more than 350 personnel covering all facets of installation operations including: engineering, security and emergency services, operating equipment, center mail distribution, base supply, graphic arts, photography, installation environment, and Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs. His leadership ensured effective support to more than 30 tenant organizations through the efficient management of five divisions engaged with an operating budget of more than $50M. His team also supported DLA Land and Maritime’s detachments at other locations in the United States including Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine; Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia; Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Hawaii; Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Washington; Aberdeen, Maryland; Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; and Warren, Michigan. 

Kim Burtrum began her federal career in 1985 and retired in 2020 with 35 years of service. Burtrum’s many roles included working in classification and staffing for the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office and the Human Resources Office, then working as a lead management analyst for Maritime Supplier Operations until retirement. Her human resources expertise and knowledge were highly regarded throughout the Defense Logistics Agency community and her dedication to duty and willingness to servehad a positive effect on DLA Land and Maritime Supplier Operations as a whole. She assisted in the transition to Enterprise Business Systems by converting all position descriptions to align with the new system. She was involved in the conversion of the Commodities Directorate to Maritime Supplier Operations, streamlining process flow. She assisted in hiring more than 500 associates in her career; some of those hires were through the Workforce Recruitment Program and the Pathways to Excellence Program. She helped develop the MicroPurchase Team within Maritime; hiring three supervisors, and associated teams of 10-15 people. Once the MPT was staffed, she helped create the MicroPurchase training program. She also participated in the DLA Land and Maritime Academy working group, helped create the STAR Supervisor Binder now used by the Supervisor Council for all DLA Land and Maritime supervisors, onboarded all new employees in her directorate, was a mentor in the Level II Mentorship Program, and acted as a focal point and lead to all management analysts throughout the Defense Supply Center Columbus. 

Daniel Neidert began his federal career in 1985 at Defense Electronics Supply Center in Dayton, Ohio as a GS-5 inventory management specialist. In 1996, when DESC underwent Base Realignment and Closure, Neidert moved to Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime serving in the same capacity as an inventory management specialist. In 2005, he became a customer account specialist in Maritime Customer Operations Army/Navy Foreign Military Sales Team and in 2006 he was selected as a lead customer account specialist. In 2011, Neidert became the supervisory customer relationship specialist for the Foreign Military Sales Cell Team and served in that capacity until his retirement in December 2021. The foreign countries Neidert’s team supported had weapon systems considered obsolete by U.S. military standards, which created major logistic challenges for support. Neidert’s Army/Navy FMS team partnered with other DLA supply chains to obtain parts for these weapon systems through unique procurement authorities and innovative processes. As a result of his efforts, DLA consistently met material availability goals for all FMS Cooperative Logistics Supply Support Agreement program customers. After the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced the termination of foreign military sales shipments into Afghanistan, Neidert’s Army FMS team collaborated with DLA Whole of Government directorate to suspend requisitions. Under his leadership, the Army/Navy FMS team achieved a 100% Life Cycle Logistics certification for required level 1, 2 and 3 requirements, in full support of the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act. During his career, he received numerous accolades, receiving the DLA Superior Civilian Service Award twice. Neidert’s Army/Navy FMS Team was also the recipient of the 2016 Federal Executive Association Excellence in Government Award in the category Excellence in Customer Service for the Columbus and mid-Ohio region, a direct result of the guidance, mentoring and leadership Neidert provided to his team.

Charles Palmer began his federal career as a GS-4 student hire with the Air Force. Upon graduating college, he was converted to a staffing and Equal Employment Opportunity specialist at the Defense Logistics Agency. In 1988, Palmer was selected to be the EEO manager for DLA Systems Automation Center and in 1999 he joined the Defense Supply Center Columbus staff. In his final assignment, Palmer served as the Director of Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity until his retirement in 2021 with 39 years of federal service. Palmer received many awards and accolades during his career including EEO Employee of the Year by the Federal Executive Association in 1991. In 1997 while assigned as Acting Executive Director Business Management he was recognized as the FEA’s Executive of the Year for leading a massive reorganization effort of the information technology organization. Palmer was instrumental in the creation of the “DSCC Way” concept focused on the work environment and valuing respect among all installation employees. He assisted in the creation of the DSCC three tier mentoring program which mirrored the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s affirmative employment three tier entry, mid and high-level grade structure reporting requirements. Under Palmer’s leadership he established new Special Emphasis Program groups for the installation for Asian American Pacific Islanders, European Americans, Veterans, and Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender populations to complement the Federal Women, Black, Hispanic and Disability Employment groups he had already structured.

David Anders began his federal career at Newark Air Force Base in Newark Ohio, where he was an electronic mechanic and repaired circuit boards and mechanical gyros for the F-15 and F-16 guidance systems. The base went through a reduction in force (RIF) and privatization in 1991. Anders transferred to the then Defense Construction Supply Center in April 1991 where he became an inventory and accounting specialist for two years. In 1993, he became an Item Manager and spent the rest of the 1990s traveling around the country briefing critical spares reviews to the US Navy and US Air Force for the H-53 Heavy Lift Helicopter, the F-15 aircraft and T-100 engines. Anders was promoted to an Item Management Multifunctional Supervisor in 2000 and a Supply Planning Supervisor in 2004 where he was responsible for the material availability on several high profile systems and packages. Anders was promoted to Resolution Specialist Branch Chief in 2008. When he took over the branch was understaffed, under graded and had thousands of backlogged workflows. The Land and Maritime Resolution Specialist branch ultimately became the premier inventory and accounting branch in all of DLA with the best accounting accuracy and workflow turn around times.

Linda Johnson began her federal career in 1979 as a summer student hire in the Safety and Health Office. In 1985, she became an inventory management specialist intern in the Directorate of Supply Operations. In 1996, Johnson was selected to her first supervisory position as the Small Craft and Auxiliaries multi-functional supervisor. She progressed to several mid-level supervisory positions, which included branch and division chief positions in both Land and Maritime Supplier Operations Directorates. In 2014, Johnson was selected to a senior leadership position as the deputy director of Land Supplier Operations. In July 2018, Johnson assumed the role of deputy director of Land Customer Operations. Johnson coordinated actions across five DLA supply chains and Army Material Command to support Red River Army Depot’s M1151A1 HMMWV production line, with a total program value of $129.8M. Through multiple lines of effort, DLA was able to meet the DLA Director’s support date goal, five months earlier than the anticipated production resume date. She was also instrumental in creating the Ground Forces Readiness Driver list, which was developed to capture Army and Marine Corps requirements to improve readiness by stabilizing lines of balance for low density systems, help prioritize supply chain workload, consolidate data and track items’ progress over time. Johnson’s additional leadership roles included serving as the executive co-chair for the Supply Management Council. She led the effort to create the first Defense Performance Management and  Appraisal Program performance standards for all DLA Land and Maritime supply community positions. Johnson retired in 2019 with 36 years of service.

Anna Pino started her career in federal service in 1981 as a property disposal clerk for the U.S. Army in Hanau, Germany.   After returning to the United States, she briefly worked for the IRS Collections Agency in Cincinnati, and as a procurement assistant at the Government Printing Office in Columbus.  In 1985, Pino found employment close to home as a supply clerk at Newark Air Force Base.  She was promoted from clerk to supervisory supply technician over the Demand Processing, Research and Records Maintenance Unit.  Pino joined Defense Construction Supply Center in 1991 as a Procurement Clerk after the Newark Air Force Base closure.  She quickly returned to the supply career field serving in Parts Number support, Emergency Supply Operations, and on the Enterprise Conversion Team to Business Systems Modernization. In 2006, she joined the Order Fulfillment Sales Order Processing Branch as the lead supply systems and business process analyst for Order Fulfillment.  Along with the DoD manuals, policies etc., Pino built a family of resources, creating interpersonal relationships across the enterprise. Pino strove to develop her team member capabilities.  She started a weekly “Stump the BPA” tasking the team with a weekly problematic situation that required a deep-dive analysis to identify and resolve issues stopping a sales order from processing.  Pino also developed a repository of information to centralize her knowledge gained throughout her tenure.  This information has been widely used by associates within Order Fulfillment and the supplier, financial and customer facing organizations. Pino retired from DLA Land and Maritime Business Process Support Directorate ending her federal career spanning 39 years.           

Ben Roberts distinguished himself through exceptional service in three prominent senior leadership positions during his career at Land and Maritime: Deputy Director, Maritime Supplier Operations; Deputy Director, Land Supplier Operations and Comptroller.  Roberts’ sustained effectiveness as a leader and mentor left an indelible mark on the workforce and culture at Land and Maritime. Roberts began his DLA career in 1987 as an operations research analyst at DLA's Operations Research Office in Richmond, Virginia, where he analyzed inventory management policies leading to improved business practices for DLA.  In 1997, Mr. Roberts moved to DSCC to lead its Operations Research Branch.  He later moved into a career-broadening position as Budget Officer, which propelled him into his first senior leadership position as the Director of Financial Operations, where he oversaw a $3 billion annual budget. Roberts continued to broaden his supply chain experience by becoming the Deputy Director of Land Supplier Operations.  In this capacity, he was responsible for the procurement and management of 300,000 spare parts supporting land-based weapon systems for the U.S. Armed Forces and its allies.  Finally, he went on to serve as the Deputy Director of Maritime Supplier Operations.  In this capacity, he led the effort to improve material availability to an all-time high of 90.61% and continuously exceeded the joint agreement for DLA Land and Maritime Navy Nuclear Reactor Program availability of 95%. Roberts retired on June 30, 2020, after nearly 33 years of service to DLA; his final 23 years being served at DLA Land and Maritime. 

  Jon Bosworth began his career in the U.S. Army, and after serving three years, transitioned to a reservist role, where he served an additional 18 years, for a total of 21 years in the Army. Bosworth was selected for the DLA Intern Program in Supply Management in 1986. In April 1986, he reported to the Defense Construction Supply Center Directorate of Distribution for duty in the Management Support Office.  For several years he worked on various projects related to depot operations until transitioning to a program analyst position serving as the Depot Resource Advisor.  It is here he began his long association with the Office of Comptroller (later DLA Finance). In 1996, Bosworth joined the Comptroller's office as a financial specialist in the Financial Services Office.  There he worked on material issues, as well as travel and travel card duties.  In 2005, Bosworth was promoted into a business analyst position in Budget where, through various reorganizations and moves, he basically remained for the balance of his employment.  He ended his career as a Lead Business Analyst in the Materiel Branch, Budget Division, DLA Finance.  Along the way, Bosworth was mobilized for the Gulf War serving at a medical material depot in Saudi Arabia until June 1991. Jon Bosworth retired from the Defense Logistics Agency in November 2019 as a lead business analyst in J8C Finance. During his 37 years of service to the Department of Defense, Bosworth was instrumental in supporting the implementation of several major Department of Defense, DLA, and DLA Land and Maritime initiatives.

John Taylor loved his country and spent 25 years in service to it and its’ citizens. He enlisted in the U.S. Army between his junior and senior year of high school in 1980, and it became a career that he loved. Throughout his time in the Army, he was stationed in areas such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq to name a few. He ended up concluding his time in the military as a First Sergeant. Taylor was first hired by DLA as a General Equipment Leader on February 7, 2000. Taylor was promoted to Branch Chief of General Maintenance and Operations in 2014. As the supervisor of the Installation Management Building and Equipment Maintenance Branch, Taylor successfully led a team with very diverse trade skills - equipment mechanics, vehicle inspectors, carpenters, plumbers, painters, and sign makers.  His ability to forge this group into a highly motivated and successful unit by fostering team pride was both recognized and appreciated. While Taylor was very involved with all aspects of base maintenance, the role he most cherished during his 19-year tenure was as the leader of the “Snow Warrior Team” that worked to keep the streets and sidewalks clear during our Central Ohio weather events.  His snow removal team was recognized for their accomplishments on many occasions and continues to provide superior service to this day in honor of his memory. Taylor’s expertise and advice were routinely sought and highly valued.  His creative solutions to unique problems were matched only by his ever present “can do” attitude.  Under Taylor’s leadership his team reassembled the submarine sail that is currently located in Weapons Park – an accomplishment that can only be fully appreciated if one saw the condition of this equipment when it arrived. Taylor was known by the entire Installation as “the guy you could count on for everything”.  From big jobs like snow removal to the smallest of details like applying decals on new police vehicles, Taylor did it all with rare expertise, a positive attitude, and a sincere smile. Unfortunately, in March of 2019 Taylor passed away unexpectedly. The whole community felt the loss. He left behind three children, Jeremiah, Sarah, and Roman, and a loving wife who has since passed as well. His spirit and memory will be part of us, and this Installation, forever. 

 Renee Carter started at the Defense Construction Supply Center in 1976 as a GS-02 Clerk Typist.  After a couple years she was promoted up to a GS-04 supply clerk.  Over the next eight years she gradually progressed up through the organization as a inventory management specialist and was promoted to a supervisory inventory management specialist in 1987 and performed that position until retirement. In support of the deployment of the MRAP weapon systems, the MRAP Integrated Support Team (IST) was created in 2007 in the Land Supplier Operations.  Carter was transferred to the team to be the supply lead of the MRAP IST.  This assignment followed a regular trend for well over a decade of Carter being assigned as the supply lead on multiple different very important projects or teams within the organization. The MRAP IST managed more than 43,800 National Stock Numbers (NSNs) with an $864 million inventory in MRAP parts.  The focus on the MRAP supply chain was undertaken in response to combat casualties caused by enemy roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices (IED) encountered in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Utilizing a “hybrid” supply support strategy, the rapid fielding of MRAP was a major success.  The hybrid supply support solution successfully harnessed both Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) solutions with “organic” wholesale inventory.  This action streamlined fielding of these critical vehicles and accelerated sustainment actions within the supply chain to keep vehicles mission capable under combat conditions.  In September of 2014, Carter identified some anomalies in demand patterns for a grouping of parts in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.  She immediately identified her chain of command and the Business Process Directorate of the concerns. This identification and escalation of the issue quickly assisted in DLA Land and Maritime to take actions to prevent some depletion of stock and to expedite the process of replenishing the stock.  Without the quick identification of the issue and escalation, there would have been a much greater degradation of material support for the US military services. Carter retired from DLA Land and Maritime in January of 2020 after 42 years of exceptional performance. 

Debra Perry began her Department of Defense career in 1987 as a public affairs specialist at the Defense Construction Supply Center Columbus, writing news and feature articles for The Supply Line magazine. In 1992, Perry was promoted to deputy public affairs officer and became the Command speechwriter, writing everything from speeches for special emphasis programs, the Combined Federal Campaign, and award and retirement ceremonies, to oversight of major presentations for senior military officers, mayors, and congressional leaders. She also became an expert in protocol, helping the installation become a premier host to visiting dignitaries. Perry became public affairs officer in 1999 with aspirations of making The Columbus Federal Voice newspaper a communication platform for all agencies in the Federal Executive Association. She connected with FEA agencies, increasing the newspaper’s distribution to over 8,000 employees throughout Columbus and Central Ohio. As DSCC spokesperson, during the events of 9/11, Perry skillfully controlled the message given to the media, reassuring the safety of installation employees. Perry spearheaded efforts for DSCC/DLA Land and Maritime to win the first of seven Commander-in-Chief's Annual Awards for Installation Excellence, which recognizes outstanding and innovative military installation achievements. In 2009, Perry was promoted to chief of Executive Programs. As DSCC CFC coordinator, she organized the first installation-wide CFC Kick-off, including 12 agency leaders and their coordinators, the Whitehall Yearling High School Marching Band, and the Land and Maritime Commander throwing a pass to a famous The Ohio State University football player. It was the most well-attended CFC event in recent history. Her efforts helped DSCC exceed its 2014 goal of $255,300 for the first time in three years. Perry retired from DLA Land and Maritime in 2015 as Chief of the Executive Programs Office with 37 years of federal service.

Barbara Robertson retired from DLA Land and Maritime in 2018 as the Director of Business Process Support.  During her tenure she served DLA and the warfighter in several other positions to include the deputy director of Land Customer Operations as well as Business Process Support and as the weapons system support manager for the HMMWV. In her very first position at DLA in 1983, Robertson hit the ground running.  She began her career as an item manager with the Army and then worked for the Army Material Command in Germany and then became the AMC liaison at DLA Land and Maritime.  She was then hired by DLA to be a weapons system support manager for the HMMWV.  This was at the height of up armoring HMMWVs for use in Iraq and Robertson worked issue after issue through the supply chains. Robertson worked her way up in the organization by serving as the branch chief BA Systems, division chief Customer Operations, deputy director Customer Operations, deputy director of Business Process Support, and finishing her career as the director of Business Process Support.  In this role, Robertson continually partnered with DLA Land and Maritime functional areas to develop and implement innovative data analysis and methods to improve the organization’s business processes.  She managed four divisional organizations in the areas of supplier and customer support, research, review and analysis, and operations research.

Martha (Marty) Sass retired after more than 37 years of service in July 2011, then returned to DLA Land and Maritime as a retired annuitant between 2012 and 2018. While at DSCC she served as chief of the Pricing Office and Long Term Contract Branch before establishing the Corporate Contract Team during the merger of Defense Construction Supply Center and the Defense Electronics Supply Center.  The team was on the cutting edge of contract innovation, writing long term contracts for items across all DLA supply chains and military services with some of the largest DLA Suppliers.  The team developed new processes, clauses and policy, working with the Contract Policy and Review offices.  Contract efforts involved some of the first contracts for Direct Vendor Delivery/Customer Direct shipments, eliminating the need for Government warehousing of parts and including electronic commerce/ordering.  The team wrote some of the initial commercial long term contracts for entire commercial part catalogs, enabling military from around the world to electronically purchase Government parts as well as commercial part numbers.  While chief of the Tailored Support Team/Unit in the Land Supply chain Sass led her team to write some of the largest long term contracts to support the wartime efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.   During this time Sass was asked to establish the Supplier Relationship Management Program within the Land Supply Chain, resulting in Strategic Supplier Alliances with key suppliers, who became the largest and most strategic suppliers within all of DLA. The SSAs led to a partnership between DLA and the Army to establish the Customer Pay Program, the first of its kind, where, as contracting officer, Sass contracted with AM General to deliver all parts to two Army Repair Depots.  The effort required the contractor to deliver both Government and Contractor-sourced items directly to the repair lines to preclude work stoppages. Following the Marine/Army deployment of multiple variants of the MRAP vehicles to Afghanistan, Sass also led a team to rapidly procure parts to support the vehicles in the area of operations. In 2018 DSCC requested Sass to assist on the Tires Successor Project, where she served as program manager for the source selection project until final contract award.  

Debra Schultz started her DLA career in 1981 as a shipment clerk/data transcriber in the Defense Construction Supply Center Storage and Transportation Directorate. She transferred to the Supply Operations Directorate in 1984 and was selected for the supply systems analyst Intern program in 1988. This promotion coincided with a period of significant technology changes in DLA with the advent of desktop, and eventually web-based computing which impacted every aspect of the remainder of her DLA career. Schultz participated in a number of early desktop computing initiatives including automating mainframe system updates for workload management, assignments and reporting. In 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, she was assigned to a team of supply systems analysts tasked with developing new methods of responding to rapidly changing DLA and DoD reporting requirements. By partnering with mainframe support personnel, they were able to automate this process, enabling some of the first ad-hoc reporting utilities developed at DSCC. These early innovations spawned the creation of DSCC’s “Project 95”, an effort and team designed to leverage these newly acquired capabilities in a series of targeted automation initiatives.  This project, and the teams those members eventually merged with, were responsible for developing over 200 desktop and web-based applications such as the DSCC Flu Shot Scheduler, Visitor Notification, Vehicle Registration, and Message of the Day. During the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, she was acting team lead for the development of several applications in support of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protectant program. These applications played a major role in managing the fielding and sustainment of the MRAP vehicles, as well as helping to plan repair/rebuild depot overhauls for various weapons systems supported by Land and Maritime. Schultz ended her career in DLA Information Operations as a team lead supporting DLA Human Resources applications and web sites. Her team participated in the effort to review and secure all HR systems, web sites and databases, and was among the early adopters of automated application vulnerability scanning tools. Her team also supported the DLA Learning Management System, and participated in a number of major data center migrations and consolidations for the HR applications, including a continuous effort to update and maintain security and privacy policy compliance.  

Susan L. VanMeter retired from DLA Information Operations at DLA Land and Maritime, in 2018 as the portfolio manager for the Enterprise Business System. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, VanMeter achieved many accomplishments during her 41 years of service to the Department of Defense. VanMeter began her federal career in 1977 as a clerk-typist, providing support to the Supply Operations Directorate.  In the early part of VanMeter’s career she steadily rose through the ranks of what would become J6C.  In 1997, VanMeter assumed the position of product manager of the Standard Automated Materiel Management System.  In 2004, DLA began its Business Systems Modernization, which brought forth the retirement of SAMMS.  Under her management, all of DLA’s business lines were migrated from SAMMS into BSM.  Due to her successes in this migration, VanMeter was named the sustainment lead for BSM (later known as the Enterprise Business System) and was responsible for supporting more than 90% of that system. In 2006, VanMeter was named site director of Information Operations at Columbus (J6C).  In this role, she was responsible for DLA Columbus’s IT support needs, along with serving as the system manager for the many important DLA Human Resource applications.  During the last five years of her career, VanMeter served as the Enterprise EBS portfolio manager, managing DLA J6’s largest business application.

Retired Army Col. Steve Bianco, former DLA Land Aberdeen Procurement Detachment deputy director, retired in 2017 from DLA Land and Maritime following 37 years of federal service as an Army officer and a member of the civil service.

 Cathy Fisher-Farlin retired from DSCC in September 2017 as the Order Fulfillment Division Chief in the Business Process Support Directorate. Fisher-Farlin started her 33-year federal career in 1984 as an Item Manager.  Her item management knowledge served as a great foundation as she quickly moved to a Supply System Analyst position in the newly formed Requirements Branch. Cathy was instrumental in the design, development, prototyping and implementation of “Automated AIMS”, the first significant automation in decades, literally taking away the pencils, erasers and green eye shades of legacy logisticians. She was also on the ground floor of replacing SAMMS with Business System Modernization (BSM).  Because of her deep understanding of the requirements area, she served as a Land and Maritime lead developing the Process Maps and Blue Printing the legacy process. Cathy became the go-to system expert and she was held in high esteem by her peers and process owners throughout the Agency due to her exemplary effort on this project. Cathy made an important career shift in 2004 in moving from the system area developing process improvements to the Land Customer Operations area where the new systems were just being implemented.  Cathy’s career culminated in her position as the Order Fulfillment Division Chief. As the first person to fill this newly created position, Cathy had to pave the path on how subprocess owners and process owners would relate and their roles and responsibilities. Thanks to her excellent relationship building skills, Cathy developed the Land and Maritime OF Division into the strongest and most respected in the Agency. 

Milton K. Lewis retired from DLA Land and Maritime in 2017, having served in a Senior Executive Service capacity since 2008 as the organization’s first Acquisition Executive. The entirety of Lewis’ 42-year career was spent in support of the Department of Defense, beginning with a distinguished 29 years in the United States Army, and including several years in a key position with the defense industry. The breadth of Lewis’ defense industry experience and knowledge, along with an exemplary learning history, did well to inform his success, from tactical applications across the spectrum to leadership. He left DLA Land and Maritime with a legacy of acquisition excellence, strategic warfighter support, and meaningful collaboration.

Read more about Milton Lewis' accomplishments.

 

James M. McClaugherty distinguished himself by immense Logistics knowledge and experience coupled with enlightened leadership skills central to DLA Land and Maritime's outstanding support to America's warfighters. His energy and leadership were responsible for his Command's achieving impressive cost and inventory reductions, supporting the DLA Director's efficiency goals. Mr. McClaugherty spearheaded the agency-wide program to sustain the Secretary of Defense's number one weapon system priority - the family of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles resulting in unparalleled logistics support saving countless lives of American and Allied warfighters. A recognized expert in the areas of Organizational Culture and Leadership, Mr. McClaugherty shepherded the DLA Land and Maritime workforce through tumultuous periods of transformation and stress while strengthening workplace culture and improving customer satisfaction measures. His contributions to the Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, and DLA Land and Maritime's mission success have been significant and enduring. Mr. McClaugherty's singularly distinctive accomplishments are in keeping with the highest standards of federal service, and reflect great credit upon himself, the Defense Logistics Agency, and the Defense Department.

Steve Finney held several key positions during his 40-year Tech/Quality focused career. In his final position as the Mechanical Lab chief, Finney was a strong advocate for product testing, championing many high-profile testing issues including machine gun parts that greatly enhanced the product quality of business working with DLA. His hard work and dedication helped strengthen the culture within and among the DLA Product Test Centers.  

Harvey Hodak performed as the consummate expert human resources advisor to management, colleagues, employees and labor partners, serving as an honest broker, facilitator and trusted partner throughout his 35-year career.  He served as the human resources representative during the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action where he was responsible for the establishment and transfer of various functions from military departments to DLA Land and Maritime.

Stephen Rodocker, as the first director of the Strategic Acquisition Programs Directorate, both improved business processes, and significantly changed the way DLA does business. Over his 35-year career, his legacy of leadership and contributions to contracting policies, strategies and workforce development left an indelible mark on DLA Land and Maritime and the entire Agency.  

Navy Rear Admiral (Ret.) Linda J. Bird served as the DLA Land and Maritime and Defense Supply Center Columbus commander from July 2003 to July 2005. Bird’s insightful leadership proved essential shortly after she assumed command at Land and Maritime when the organization faced challenges with both an unprecedented demand surge, and an aggressive Business Systems Modernization transformation initiative. Employing what she labeled as the "Leaning Forward" strategy, Bird guided Land and Maritime’s successful response to an unforecasted 22% increase in demand during Fiscal Year 2003. Bird was simultaneously engaged in a wholesale reengineering of her organization’s workforce, processes and technology with Business Systems Modernization and DLA Transformation efforts. Through the Leaning Forward initiative, Land and Maritime awarded approximately 23,000 Purchase Requests and obligated $161.5M, with 80% of those awards generated through an automated procurement process. Bird orchestrated Land and Maritime’s reorganization of its Land, Maritime and Aerospace Weapon Systems Groups to accommodate the adoption of new supply operations software; an initiative that helped reduce production lead times by more than 10%. Bird demonstrated her commitment to DSCC through implementation of new methods of energy conservation. A notable example was revamping steam supply and distribution systems in Buildings 10 and 11. She approved a construction project designed to transfer steam and condensation across an abandoned pipe bridge and directly supply steam to the building. Efficiencies generated from the project increased the life of the boiler, reducing life cycle costs while concurrently increasing energy savings.

Laurie Lipscomb began her federal career as a Clerk Typist in 1982. She was promoted into the Comptroller’s office in 1983 where she spent the next six years.  She quickly moved up the administrative ranks and into a Program Management position where she worked in the Human Resources Management Planning Division.  In 2006, Laurie was promoted to Site Integration Budget Officer where she was responsible for the planning and execution of over $200 million per year for payroll and other operational activities until she retired in 2012.  As a Business Analyst in the Site Integration Program Branch of the Financial Operations Office, Lipscomb performed analysis on the Operating Funds program area of DLA Land and Maritime’s Defense Working Capital Funds (DWCF).  Laurie's focus was to lead her team through all budget processes of the Program Budget Review (PBR) Cycle.  Through her knowledge of program interrelationships, she set the standard for coordinating the preparations of an accurate Operating Funds program plan. In 2010, Lipscomb was awarded the FEA Supervisory Leadership Award, for her hard work and dedication to mentoring and training her staff.  Lipscomb recognized the importance of staff development and was involved in developing the skills of many of the Senior Leaders at Land and Maritime. During her 30-year tenure, Lipscomb served under 13 Commanders.  Lipscomb was deeply loyal to the Department, her direct reports and to the taxpayers. 

Bio to come. 

Starting in November 1986 as an Assistant Counsel for DLA, Susan established herself as a knowledgeable professional across the varied practice areas of personnel, contracts, contract fraud, installation law topics and fiscal law.  She routinely represented DLA before a wide variety of personnel and contract tribunals.  From 1990 to 1999, Susan was Regional Personnel Counsel, for what was then known as the DLA Office of Counsel Columbus Region.  In this capacity, she was responsible for representing management on personnel matters involving not only DSCC, but also DLA and DoD tenant activities in the Columbus region. Throughout her career, Susan’s skills and abilities have been recognized and drawn upon to the benefit of DLA far beyond her duties and assignments in the Columbus legal office. Susan provided legal advice and counsel in the implementation of the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) actions in Columbus as well as in Philadelphia. The DLA Fraud Program also benefitted from Susan’s actions.  Between 1999 and 2006, she served as the Contract Integrity (Fraud) Counsel for DLA Land and Maritime.  Under her leadership, in 2004, the Counterfeit Material/Unauthorized Product Substitution (CM/UPS) team received the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency Award for Excellence. In 2010, the Operational Evaluation Team was established to address counterfeit parts in the DLA supply chains and Susan was asked to participate on the team. She was a major contributor to the effort, which has resulted in significant changes in DLA processes to protect against counterfeit material entering into DLA’s supply chains.  Most recently, in her roles as the Supervisory Acquisition Counsel and, prior to that, the Land Supply Chain Counsel, Susan led her teams to provide outstanding legal support on some of the most highly visible initiatives, including the Congressionally-mandated Tire Privatization Initiative and the Tire Successor Initiative. From January to March 2014, Susan voluntarily assumed the duties of the Acting Chief Counsel for DLA Land and Maritime. 

Donna Shepheard retired from DLA Maritime Portsmouth in July 2015 after serving as Deputy Director since June 2010.  During her 26 years of serving at Portsmouth, she was involved in numerous operational changes and transitions. She led the transfer of function of supply, storage and distribution (SS&D) support for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard from Fleet Industrial Supply Center (FISC), Norfolk to DLA Land and Maritime as directed by the 2005 BRAC and a memorandum from Under Secretary of Defense Michael Wynne. She began her career as a GS-05 Supply Clerk in the Shipping Branch of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Supply Department and worked her way up through the ranks to finish her career as the Deputy Director for DLA Maritime Portsmouth.  In the last few years leading up to her appointment as Deputy, Donna served as the manager for the Administrative Division, the Acquisition Support Division and the Material Movement Division. During her time in management, she was instrumental in ensuring a smooth transition from shipyard Supply Department to Regional Supply Department and then to a detachment of FISC, Norfolk.  While serving as Division Head for the Administrative Division, she was a key player in the Shipyard transition from working capital funding to mission funding. Only one year into her time as Deputy Director for FISC, Donna began the challenging process of the SS&D transfer of function from FISC to DLA.  She led or participated in numerous Integrated Planning Teams to facilitate the transition.  She embraced and supported the new command structure, and reassured the shipyard customer the change would be seamless to them. Donna’s knowledge was always in demand as the subject matter expert for shipyard supply operations.  She assisted the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard San Diego Detachment and DLA Distribution San Diego in defining the Detachment storage and distribution requirements so that DLA Distribution could begin providing that support.  

Barbara Souders began her career as a contract specialist where she gained tactical level procurement experience.  Barbara moved to the analytical community in 1996, to become an Operations Research Analyst.  With this career move, Barbara set out and achieved the embodiment of the term DLA Procurement Analysis by connecting this specialized field to the primary operational functions.  Barbara never held a formal leadership title, choosing instead to rise to the most senior ranks of informal leadership.  In this capacity, Barbara showed how it is possible to influence others without a formal title and yet steer positive mission outcomes. Barbara’s passion was about being the best “do-er of the work.” With this purpose and intention, Barbara had a lasting impact on the DLA mission. Barbara’s customers spanned tactical to strategic levels in the organization, as did her work products.  At the strategic level, Barbara developed the initial reporting and tracking methodology for the Agency “Big Ideas” (later known as Program Cost Reductions).  At the strategic level, Barbara’s influence continues in the Land and Maritime Annual Operating Plan.  She fashioned much of the narrative framework and personally interfaced with Command principals to finalize submissions to DLA HQ.  As a testament of Barbara’s brand reliability and capability, she was routinely tasked directly by the Command principals for strategic reporting and analytics.  One of the products she developed continues today – the Spend Analysis – seen as one of the premier analytical insights used by senior acquisition personnel to evaluate outcomes across key buying categories and specific vendor grouping.  This semi-annual assessment has been an information pillar of the acquisition community and continues to be relied upon to inform acquisition strategic planning. At the operational and tactical levels, Barbara made an enduring impact with analytical products such as the “ACF Button”.  Barbara continues to support the Land and Maritime mission – by establishing and enabling a network of agents who now provide this support in the shadow of her legacy. Barbara has left an unparalleled analytics legacy at DLA Land and Maritime. Barbara passed away May 5, 2016. She is survived by her husband, Michael; parents Anna and Richard Adkins; and siblings Christina (Mark) Totman and Michael (Sharon) Cooper.

From the beginning of her federal career as an acquisition professional, to teaching acquisition professionals and moving on to supervision and management, Regina Westbrook made a lasting impact on the organization and its people in her 31 years of service supporting the DOD and DLA mission. Regina held many positions in her career, achieving a contracting officer’s warrant in 1989, and later serving as an Acquisition Instructor at the DLA Training Facility, before returning to Building 20 in 2002 to supervise an acquisition team. Regina’s team was one of three chosen to participate in the “Concept Demo” for the transition to Business Systems Modernization (BSM). Regina’s expertise and teamwork skills enabled efficient training and rapid problem resolution. She was instrumental in developing instructional materials and led the development of a job aid for clause logic, a database to track issues and feedback, and a website shared with Defense Supply Centers Philadelphia and Richmond for knowledge sharing and promoting enterprise solutions. These tools were essential to the success of BSM.  As an Integrated Supplier Team Chief for Maritime Supplier Operations Raytheon and Switches Team, she was responsible for quality and technical requirements, management and procurement of over 145,000 NSNs spanning over a hundred different stock classes.  Regina encouraged her team to embrace DLA’s strategic focus and utilized the tenets of the Material Cost Reduction initiatives.  Her efforts increased negotiated acquisitions by 25%, achieving over $700,000 in savings from September 2011 to October 2011. Additionally, she led many process improvement initiatives to prioritize administrative discrepancies, standardize offers and improve coordination. In 2011, Regina’s team assumed the management of consumable items for the Long Range Scout Surveillance System (LRAS3) from the U.S. Army.  Her efforts streamlined the procurement procedures with the U.S. Army through the use of Intra-agency Military Interdepartmental Purchase Requests (MIPR). In November 2012, Regina’s problem solving skills were put to the test responding to support requirements related to Hurricane Sandy damage.  With no stock on hand or other lateral support, she coordinated to meet an urgent requirement for 20,000 feet of 500 MCM Copper Cable to support 1.2 megawatt generators located along the east coast.  After 7 hours of duty on the Sunday night shift, the urgently needed material was shipped the next morning to support the recovery efforts.  In recognition of her extraordinary disaster relief efforts, Regina was awarded the DLA Humanitarian Service Medal. Regina’s remarkable service at work is closely linked with her accomplishments outside of work. She is a consummate humanitarian, a positive role model and an accomplished artist and singer. She is a 2010 recipient of the Monterey Bay Artist of the Year award and inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Regina’s accomplishments are a reflection of her tireless effort to make positive changes to DSCC and her community.

William Breil was inducted into the 2016 Hall of Fame class thanks in part to his leadership during several iterations of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) activities at Land and Maritime. His knowledge, political savvy and common sense approach to setbacks during the transitional periods helped to greatly expand DLA’s ability to support the warfighter and the Department of Defense.

During her 28 year career with Land and Maritime, Diane Circle was known as an expert in supply and budget execution. She was considered the subject matter expert on resource management and served as a team leader, mentor, and finally division chief during her tenure. She credits the strong bonds that DLA associates share as the foundation of her success. Diane was an innovative problem solver who had the ability to see the big picture and the desire to help the entire organization.  She was a long time member of the Corporate Investment Board (CIB) and later a member of the MA 90% team.  Both groups had the challenge of balancing the priorities of the organization at the strategic level and making recommendations to improve performance or limit risk. Her innovation also extended to process improvement events.  Including a project she championed that examined material not in “Issuable Condition”.  They saved obligation dollars and additional Lead-Time.  She and her team also developed and implemented the Single Work in Queue (WIQ) Team. As a result of Single WIQ, the number of Purchase Requests (PRs) on hand decreased 40% and average age decreased 38%.   It also generated significant improvement in processing Large PRs, reducing the volume by 69% and the age by 58%. Throughout her tenure, Diane has made significant contributions to DLA Land and Maritime through her dedication to developing associates and future leaders, her strategic focus on mission requirements, her innovative spirit and her stewardship of our resources.  

Joyce Collins retired from DLA Land and Maritime in 2014 as an analyst in the Business Process Support Directorate. Her career with the agency spanned three decades and during the second half of that career she served as an integral member of the Sales Order Processing Branch. Her expertise in order processing system functionality and business capabilities was considered unrivaled within DLA during her time there. Joyce began her career as a General Supply Specialist and progressed to an Inventory Management Supervisor.  Early in the EBS implementation, Joyce understood the importance of a strong foundation for the program and accepted a position as a Business Process Analyst (BPA) where she could help to shape DLA’s modernization effort.  An outspoken champion for the end user and warfighter, her concern and passion always did lay with the welfare of the soldier, sailor and airman.  She gained a reputation for knowledge in the area of requisition processing and a willingness to share that knowledge. Early in her BPA role, Joyce was instrumental in improving the EBS sales order processing.  Joyce was the major reason the efficiency and effectiveness of the requisition processing Interface OF-INT-0055, which processed an average of 1.5M sales orders per month, was a star in DLA.  When she accepted the assignment, she inherited an error rate of just under 5%, Joyce, with her usual understated flair and mastery of analysis, was able to reduce this error rate to less than 0.5%. Joyce served as an integral member of the Sales Order Processing Branch.  Her expertise in order processing system functionality and business capabilities was unrivaled within DLA.  In addition, her understanding and expertise in cross-process functionality made her instrumental in the advancement of Enterprise Business System (EBS). One of Joyce’s last accomplishments before retiring was working with J6 Order Fulfillment to work system issues and change requests. She worked closely with J6 program support to re-design the Material Receipt Acknowledgement (MRA) interface. Her efforts enabled a significant reduction in the MRA failure rate.  Where DLA once experienced failures in the thousands, their experience is now as few as 10 per day. 

Vikki Hawthorne spent nearly 20 of her 30 years at DLA working in the Small Business Office, rising from the position of procurement agent to associate director of Small Business Programs.  During that time she earned a Master of Science degree in Human Resources Administration from Central Michigan University as well as multiple certifications. During her tenure, Vikki Hawthorne rose from the position of Procurement Agent in DCSC Contracting Division II, to Associate Director of the Office of Small Business Programs.  During that time, she earned a Master of Science degree in Human Resources Administration from Central Michigan University as well as a Level III DAWIA Certification.  She consistently applied that training along with her extensive experience in working with suppliers to lead, formulate and establish a number of initiatives that have had a significant and enduring impact on the mission and business practices of the Land and Maritime, as well as the DLA Enterprise.  As a long-time trainer in the delivery of the Training, Knowledge and Opportunity (TKO) seminars, Vikki was responsible for taking that initiative to the next level. She partnered with the Land and Marmite Value Engineering Unit to expand the TKO focus from how to use and navigate DIBBS, by adding modules on topics including the Replenishment Parts Purchase or Borrow (RPPOB) Program, the Breakout Program; and completing SARs (Source Approval Requests).  She also partnered with the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) and their more than 300 local offices. Vikki recorded sessions and arranged to have them housed on APTAC’s national website for on-demand viewing by their small business clients. Vikki built a unique partnership across the DLA Enterprise chartered as the DLA Land and Maritime Small Business Advisory Council (SBAC).  DLA Land and Maritime senior leaders came together monthly to assess opportunities for and impediments to improving the agency’s small business award performance.  Initiatives stemming from the robust discussions in those meetings included the formation of Annual Small Business Action plans for all supply chains and directorates; the online Small Business Toolbox; the Small Business Champion Awards; an inter-departmental “Masters of Metrics” group to formulate goals; and development of the Small Business Essentials online training course for all Acquisition professionals.  Vikki also enhanced the SBAC partnership by arranging for direct dialogue between the Land and Maritime senior leaders and the District SBA Office, Regional representatives of the APTAC community, and the national leadership from Source America.  With Vikki’s tireless guidance and management, these collective efforts resulted in increased awards to small businesses of more than $90M over a two-year period, and the agency ultimately achieving its Small Business Procurement Goal of 54% while also having all-time highs in terms of procurements from suppliers in the socio-economic programs. 

Patricia “Pat” Shields began her federal career working for the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia, and the last twenty-nine were spent with the Defense Supply Center Columbus.  She was involved in the collection, analysis, and synthesis of data for many years and directed the economic analysis for the Operations Center project.  She chaired several teams developing the PLFA Business Plans, including the first that addressed the merged Defense Electronics Supply Center and Defense Construction Supply Center.  Following the merger, Pat and the newly formed Corporate Information Office built the report and analysis capability that resulted in the Corporate Performance Report. In her position as Deputy Director of Maritime Supplier Operations, Pat provided leadership and oversight to 700 acquisition professionals, who annually award over 240K contracts, worth over $1B in support of over 1.5M NIINs for the US joint forces deployed in various theatres throughout the world.  She is also responsible for the full range of the customer support process for Maritime Supplier Operations, including supply planning, technical/quality support and acquisition (to include pre and post award). In this position, Pat led the Maritime Directorate through incredible transformation, and led her teams to achieve tremendous results.  She guided her Directorate through major DLA initiatives such as Operation Full Press, OPORD 12-05, and the Time to Award initiative.  Achieving record numbers on all metrics, her team increased Maritime Material Availability from 84% to over 90%, reduced unfilled orders by 25,000, increased Purchase Request (PR) productivity by more than 1,600 awards per month and reduced PRs on hand from 68,000 to 25,000.  She also implemented dedicated Micro-Purchase and large contracting teams, resulting in an average age of on-hand PRs decreasing from 110 to 65 days. Throughout her career, she remained extremely active in leadership roles throughout DLA by serving as mentor in the Tier II and Tier III programs, becoming the first President of the Leadership Development Program and the first to serve as Executive Champion of the DSCC Culture Council.  Pat also served as the Executive Champion of the Supply Management Council, Executive Sponsor of the Supply Planning Working Group and Executive Champion of the Federal Women’s Program. She retired from DSCC in 2014 as Deputy Director, Maritime Supplier Operations. With a Master’s Degree in Applied Statistics from Purdue University, she achieved many accomplishments in her 35 years of service to the Department of Defense. Throughout her career, she has remained active in many leadership roles while always working to ensure the success of both the organization and its people.  Pat left an indelible mark on the Defense Logistics Agency and the Department of Defense throughout her 35 years of service.

Mr. Stephen Byus began his tenure at DLA Land and Maritime in July 2008 as part of the Defense Supply Center Columbus Corporate Intern Program. He was selected to be a Resolution Specialist and made an immediate impact within the Resolution Specialist Community. Innovations such as the Resolution Specialist Employee Development Team, and the Resolution Specialists Newsletter, the Resolution Connection, helped revitalize the working group and improved the division’s audit readiness. In July 2014, Mr. Byus volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan as a logistics subject matter expert. Tragically, he lost his life when his convoy came under attack by a vehicle carrying improvised explosives. He is the first DLA civilian killed while deployed in support of DLA’s mission. Mr. Byus made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the Defense Logistics Agency, the Department of Defense, and our Nation, and we are all grateful.

Bio to come. 

Patricia Viers-Leonard was a staunch workforce advocate. She served as the president of AFGE Local 1148 representing over 4,000 DLA, DFAS, DCMA and DISA employees and executive vice president of Council 169 and vice chair of AFGE’s DEFCON Steering Group representing over 240,000 DOD employees. Previously served as customer account specialist, Land Customer Operations, Army Industrial Team from 2001 thru 2008. Oversaw and executed day to day requests from Camp Carroll, South Korea, Sierra Army Depot, and CECOM. Expedited and resolved customer issues resulting in satisfaction of customer requisitions, and assisting them in meeting production deadlines. Responded to CRM tickets and made requests of other DLA employees to expedite award and delivery of customer backorders. Prior to that she served as a inventory management specialist on the Land Wheeled Vehicle Team from 2001-02. Prior to that she served in the same position for other areas from 1988-2001. She started her federal service as a clerk/typist in 1977. ​

Bio to come. 

Bio to come. 

Bio to come. 

Kathryn “Kathy” Willyard began her federal career as a temporary Inventory Management Specialist at Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane, Indiana.  While assigned to the DLA Systems Automation Center, Kathy performed as the Team Lead and functional analyst during the initial development and subsequent roll-out of the Defense Integrated Subsistence Management System (DISMS).  Kathy was later selected to the highly-competitive DLA Customer Support Representative position in 1986, where she served until her retirement from Federal Service.  In 2003, Kathy was one of the first DLA civilians to deploy to a combat zone when she volunteered and was selected to go forward into Iraq with the Army’s 3^rd COSCOM which was a groundbreaking achievement for DLA.  Kathy’s performance during this initial DLA integration with the warfighter laid the groundwork for the successful DLA forward presence personnel integration within customer combat zones.  As a CSR for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS), Kathy assisted in numerous shipyard support projects and process improvement initiatives.  One of the most successful was her involvement in the design and implementation of the Emergency Buy process and policy for the Priority Material Office (PMO) which focused on critical, high priority operational naval work-stoppage material.  The success of the PMO initiative set the stage for the creation of the DLA Maritime Shipyard Emergency Buy Team (EBT) focused on reducing the administrative lead time for urgent industrial requirements.  On 22 May 2008, while the USS George Washington was off the Pacific Coast of South America, a fire injured 37 sailors, with no fatalities.  The fire broke out in the ship's air-conditioning and refrigeration space and an auxiliary boiler room.  Directed to repair this carrier, Puget Sound Shipyard required material never designed for replacement such as wire and cabling material.  Kathy worked with experts throughout the entire supply chain including industry, Maritime personnel, Navy Engineering Support Activities and the shipyard engineering and production teams to resolve the significant supportability issues for critical replacement parts.  Kathy was also instrumental in establishing the first Maritime Customer Operations’ Collaboration/Demand Data Exchange (DDE) project between DLA Land and Maritime and Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Keyport.  Always forward-looking, Kathy envisioned the formal Customer Collaboration capability potential during the transition to BSM.  She was paramount in the development and coordination of the Joint Collaboration Agreement between DLA and the customer.  Kathy’s efforts continue today as the NUWC Keyport torpedo’s collaboration initiative boasts a Demand Plan Accuracy (DPA) over 65%, exceeding normal DPA of 58% for non-collaborative items. Kathy demonstrated superior performance as noted by her numerous awards and recognitions. Major awards include the 1996 Federal Manager of the Year from the Federal Managers Association, the 2003 DLA Superior Civilian Service Award and the 2006 DLA Meritorious Civilian Service Award.

Ms. Marjorie Banks was known as the “TQM” lady long before process improvement was popular.  She is one of the first proponents of Investment in Excellence (IE) and Total Quality Management, and the first official TQM Facilitator hired at DCSC.  As such, she taught hundreds of employees and senior leadership how to practice TQM concepts and create process improvement teams.  Margie, as she was called, exemplified quality and excellence in every role and position that she held during her 21 years of federal service. She began working as a Key Punch Operator at the Depot in 1960 where she earned top dollar at $1.69 per hour.  After managing a family of 4, she returned to the workforce as a GS-02 Procurement File Clerk.  Then her career excelled to a GS-11 Property Disposal Management Analyst and finally to a GS-12 Management Program Analyst.  Throughout her career, Margie always put people first whether she was a teacher, facilitator, mentor, analyst, friend, or confidant. Her legacy as an IE Instructor and TQM Facilitator was recognized and acknowledged by senior leadership throughout the Installation.  The IE course was designed to change mindsets, and in doing so, it enhanced the individual’s skills and abilities to function in a management environment using quality concepts.  Every student of total quality management understood Margie’s mantra to ‘work the process because the process works.’  She taught employees and senior leadership to value and affirm the individual contributions of co-workers and subordinates. As a TQM facilitator and teacher, Margie was pursued by every director in the organization.  Her reputation for resolving conflict during the ‘storming’ phase of group interaction became her fame.  She worked to establish Process Improvement Teams and Quality Circles at DCSC, the Defense Distribution Depot Columbus Ohio (DDCO) and the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS).  At one point there were nearly 200 Quality Circles and Process Action Teams on the Installation. Perhaps one of her most noteworthy projects was the Warthog Wall in the Building 20 cafeteria.  The wall was created to root-out the warts in DSCC systems and processes.  Employees would actually write the problem on the wall and teams would review and offer solutions to solve the problems.  Margie even appointed someone to draw ‘Rooty’ the Warthog, which became the mascot for the wall.  As a result of her efforts, people were communicating about process problems and developing ideas on how to improve or resolve them. Margie also helped establish Quality Management Boards to oversee and maintain quality projects.  She worked with a facilitator team to train leadership in group dynamics, listening skills, effective writing, data collection and analysis, creative problems solving and effective briefing techniques.  She also co-authored the TQM training manual for DSCC on quality customer service for managers and supervisors. Margie made a positive impact to the DCSC, DSCC, DDCO and DRMS mission by helping leadership and employees understand the value of process improvement as it relates to the individual employee.  As a result of her efforts, she was recognized for developing the Total Quality Management Program for DSCC.  Today, those same principles are captured in the Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) programs throughout the Enterprise. 

Yvonne Mattison-Pardon retired from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Land and Maritime, Maritime Customer Operations Directorate, in 2011 after over 32 years of dedicated federal service. She started her career as a GS-2 in 1979 with the Defense Construction Supply Center Office of the Comptroller, working in the Finance and Accounting department for two years. She accepted a GS-4 position at the Defense Investigative Services and in 1983 accepted a GS-5 position with the DCSC, Stock Control Division, Inventory and Accounting Department, which is now the Resolution Specialist Area. Her concern for the warfighter earned her a promotion to GS-7 in the Emergency Supply Operations Center. In 1987, Yvonne was promoted to GS-09 and took over as the Priority 01 Monitor, briefing command on the high priority backorders on a regular basis. In 1989 she was promoted to a Weapons System Analyst Position GS-11. In recognition of her skill in dealing with and leading associates, she was asked to return to Inventory and Accounting as a supervisor where she was instrumental in assisting senior leaders in gathering data in support of a proposed upgrade for the Inventory and Accounting associates. During the realignment of the supply center into the weapons system support and core team concept in 1996, Yvonne was assigned to a Process Action Team (PAT) to help develop processes and procedures for the new core team concept. The new core teams consisted of buyers, technicians, inventory managers, and quality assurance specialists working together to support specific weapons systems. Yvonne’s PAT developed a manual, Heighted Management Document, for the teams to use to process Issue Priority Group 1 requirements. In 2002, Yvonne was promoted to GS-12 and finished her career in Maritime Customer Operations as the Lead on the Trident Submarine Supply Support Team. She was instrumental in founding the Land and Maritime Culture Council, served as a past African-American Employment Program Manager, and a Combined Federal Campaign Loaned Executive. She was the 2009 recipient of the Columbus Rotary Club “Service Above Self Award” and the “Woman of the Year” in 2011.

Ms. Dorothy Cage-Evans distinguished herself in the planning, management and implementation of a broad range of programs. She was the first Joint Interservice Resource Study Group representative Defense Interservice Support Program Manager, and received recognition for her exceptional performance.  Ms. Cage-Evans is also fondly remembered for greatly impacting the success and popularity of the DSCC Combined Federal Campaign, US Savings Bond and Operation Feed Campaigns. She will also receive a special commendation from Congresswoman Beatty.

During his first DLA role as Commander of then-Defense Supply Center Columbus ending in 2003, and later as DLA’s Director from November 2008-November 2011, Vice Admiral Thompson epitomized mission achievement and strategic planning leadership in times of significant logistics support and cost efficiency challenges. He drove major improvements at Columbus in materiel availability while reducing costs and won the Commander-in-Chief’s Installation Excellence Award. As DLA Director he focused on warfighter support enhancements, stewardship excellence and workforce development, achieving exceptional results in near-term effectiveness and efficiency while positioning DLA and its personnel to best serve DoD’s future needs. Record materiel availability rates, improvements in depot maintenance support, fulfillment of unprecedented forward requirements for CENTCOM, and innovative Humanitarian relief efforts resulted in the Agency’s receipt of the Joint Meritorious Unit Award. He also led a major impact on DoD supply chain management planning via Secretary Gates’ Efficiencies initiative and critical joint supply and distribution policy reviews. His pro-active leadership, strategic vision, hands-on engagement and collaborative emphasis provided a superb legacy. The Agency continues to build on his many contributions while he personally still serves the DLA team through the DLA Foundation.

Read more about Vice Adm. Thompson's accomplishments.

Ms. Sherri Young had a reputation for completing the mission despite the challenges.  Although she was always a top performer, even while working at the Defense Electronics Supply Center; it was her assignment at the Columbus Base Realignment and Closure Office that brought significant recognition to Ms. Young’s ability to respond to customer questions and concerns.  Her leadership, technical expertise and intense dedication enabled DSCC to position itself to receive many of its new missions and positions gained from BRAC 2005.

Carol Black was a DSCC Contract specialist who was a Value Engineering Million Dollar Club member and winner of numerous Sustained Superior performance awards. She was a superior trainer and tutor who taught hundreds of employees how to write high quality contracts.

Dennis C. Canterbury retired from Defense Supply Center Columbus, Ohio, now DLA Land and Maritime, as the special assistant to the commander. He distinguished himself by exceptional service to DLA while serving as the director, Transformation and Transition; chief of staff; deputy chief of staff; deputy director and director for readiness and business operations; and lastly special assistant to the commander. Mr. Canterbury inspired DSCC’s culture journey. He was articulate, passionate and inspirational with his messages. The litany of his creations – the social contract, supervisory surveys, 360 surveys, culture academies, Culture Council, culture-related awards and recognitions – are impressive and even more so considering how they have been replicated and imitated at other sites and at the enterprise level. The punctuation point to Mr. Canterbury’s persuasive leadership style was his steadfast walking the talk. Under his effective coaching, DSCC began its culture initiatives 12-18 months ahead of the rest of DLA and showed consistent progress with its Denison culture scores. Mr. Canterbury was a preeminent strategic thinker. Not surprisingly, he contributed to the understanding and cascading of DLA’s Strategic Management System. He was the chief intellect and point of contact in making inputs to DLA Headquarters on the agency’s strategic plan. Locally he was the champion of the learning and growth quadrant of the Balanced Scorecard upon its introduction into DLA. His final assignment was to serve on the agency’s working group to identify redundant and competing initiatives, finally preparing a prioritized list of initiatives worthy of survival in a resource-constrained environment.

Cheryle Casey began her career at the Defense Electronics Supply Center in Dayton, Ohio in 1973 while pursuing her Masters in Science Degree from Wright State University. After the closing of DESC in 1996, she transferred to DSCC, where she completed 34 years of federal service. During her tenure as the IST Chief in Maritime at the Defense Supply Center Columbus, she made an incredible impact on her colleagues at the NAVICP. She took a profound interest in supporting the Navy Nuclear Reactor Program as the key member of the DSCC support team. During her time as the branch chief in electronics she understood the strategic importance of their program and took a proactive approach to get the Navy NRP proper support. Her dedication in resolving their support issues and priority documents through planning and coordination resulted in the overall success of meeting 95 percent of SMA requirements. She held many positions at DSCC and always made the position more soldier friendly by getting involved with the customer and streamlining any and all support in that area. She was the go-to person and was constantly looking for new ways to expedite DSCC’s mission to the warfighter. Casey is fondly remembered by her co-workers as a superior supervisor and manager, strong mentor, teacher, mother, and beloved friend. Her unwavering customer focus, tireless energy, and amazing ability to get others to achieve more than perhaps they thought they could, earned her the respect and admiration of her colleagues and associates. She worked until her death in 2007.

Dr. Ivan Hall’s more than 30 years of dedicated service to the Federal Government began in 1979 with the Defense Contract Management Command and culminated in 2009 as Deputy Director of Land Supplier Operations, at Defense Supply Center Columbus. He left an enduring legacy, transforming the Center into a high-quality, innovative, and award-winning team that ultimately increased the readiness and survivability of U.S. Forces as they engaged in two major conflicts. He established models for prime vendor support contracts and lead-time-reduction processes that are still in use today. Dr. Hall’s passion for the Agency’s mission is only matched by his passion for developing people. His establishment of the Defense Supply Center Columbus Readiness Academy and countless other training initiatives revitalized DLA’s Acquisition Workforce and built leaders who continue to carry on his dedication to providing unparalleled, cost-effective support to the Warfighter.

Ann C. Bradway distinguished herself in assignments to line and staff units at Defense Supply Center Columbus, Ohio, and DLA Headquarters over a 36-year career. Frequently hand-selected by managers and commanders to blaze a trail on strategic and transformational programs, Bradway made meaningful contributions to Weapon System Management, Consumable Item Transfer, Business Systems Modernization Concept Demonstration, and the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle program. In 1988, Bradway accepted an assignment at DLA Headquarters at Cameron Station, in Alexandria, Va., as a supply management representative where she led a number of agencywide logistics programs, including the agency’s first realignment of federal supply classes between centers and the initial consumable-item transfers from the services to DLA. In 2002, Bradway was appointed as the director of the Maritime Supplier Operations Group. She blazed the trail in this key transformational leadership position, enabling the successful roll out of the largest enterprise resource planning effort ever attempted in the Department of Defense. Also praiseworthy during this assignment was Bradway’s leadership in logistics support to the Navy’s premier Nuclear Reactor Program, maintaining very high performance requirements as well as her leadership overseeing the negotiation of several strategic partnerships with key suppliers. 

Ms. Mary Ann Skocik served as the director of Civilian Personnel for Defense Supply Center Columbus from 1987 - 2002. She served as the principal staff advisor to the Commander and Deputy Commander, DSCC which is a National Inventory Control Point (ICP), Depot, and host for over 25 tenant activities. Directed staff coordination and integration of the DSCC staff, which included the command group, fifteen directorates, and eight special staff sections. Supervised three directorates and six staff sections. Prior to joining the staff at DSCC, she was the director of Civilian Personnel at DCASR in Atlanta, Georgia, director of Employee/Labor Relations and Staffing DCASR in Los Angeles, California and worked in various Equal Employment Opportunity positions throughout the U.S., and spent several years as a¨ teacher for DOD Dependent Schools in Kassel, Germany.

Ronald I. Bayless served as the director of the Operations Support Group at Defense Supply Center Columbus, Ohio, capping off an impressive 49 years with the military and the Defense Logistics Agency. For almost 50 years, he was an outstanding proponent of doing things right the first time and ensuring military customers, and ultimately warfighters, were provided with parts of the highest quality and reliability. Today, organizations he led affect virtually every military system in the field and in production. Bayless was a key figure throughout his long and distinguished career for the unrelenting pursuit of quality as it applies to the needs of the Department of Defense and its customers.

Mrs. Valorie Perry Freeman began her federal service as a management analyst in 1981 at the Defense Construction Supply Center, Office of Plans and Management. She served in many capacities such as teacher, facilitator, mentor, supervisor and confidant, making a positive impact on the DSCC, DLA Training Center and DLA missions. Mrs. Freeman was one of the first proponents of Total Quality Management, and taught hundreds of associates how to practice TQM concepts and create process improvement teams. She helped to establish Quality Management Boards where she trained leadership in group dynamics, listening skills and creative problem solving. She also co-authored a training manual for DSCC on quality customer service for managers and supervisors. Her commitment to leadership principles resulted in the establishment of what is now known as the DSCC Level III Mentoring Program for Leaders. Mrs. Freeman believed in excellence and she accomplished it in every job that she held in her career. She loved her family and was very active in her church serving as an ordained minister and Sunday school teacher where she incorporated all of the training techniques and principles into the lives of many young ministers. She worked until her death in January 2007.

Betty Brewer began her career in federal service in 1963 at the Defense Construction Supply Center as a administrative professional. For 18 years, her skill and leadership was evident as she assisted seven commanders of DCSC and the Defense Supply Center Columbus by managing their schedules, correspondence and internal and external policies. She also maintained corporate knowledge and helped ensure a smooth transition when senior leadership changed. In the late 1980s when plans were being made to add new buildings on the installation, Brewer organized and documented high level planning meetings among U.S. Congressman John Kasich's office, DLA Headquarters, the DoD Comptroller and DCSC officials. She also played a critical role on the transition team during the merger of the Defense Electronics Supply Center and DCSC. Her work ethic and coordination was vital to the mission transfer, relocation of the workforce and logistics planning that enabled the two organizations to merge major activities to become the DSCC organization. For more than 44 years, Brewer made lasting contributions in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Women's Auxiliary. Along with serving as state president, she also held several national offices including legislative director, publicity director, membership director and national council member. She retired from federal service in 2003. 

Darrell Hill began his career in federal service in 1972 in the Directorate of Engineering Standardization at the Defense Electronics Supply Center in Kettering, Ohio. In 1986, he was selected as Chief of the Microelectronics Branch in the Qualification Division of the Directorate of Engineering Standardization. During his tenure he was instrumental in establishing a stand-alone section to deal with the rapidly developing hybrid microcircuit technology, which led to the Hybrid Microcircuit Branch. He excelled in this position and resolved many quality issues that improved the overall quality of components used in many critical weapons systems. Hill served his country on a national level by working with the Office of the Secretary of Defense as a technical consultant on the international microelectronic industrial base, and again during Acquisition Reform efforts for electronic component programs managed by DESC and DSCC. He championed the use of the Qualified Manufacturers List that resulted in innovative practices, such as Technology review Boards, test optimization, self audits and the use of statistical process techniques. Hill is held in high esteem by his peers and colleagues and is considered throughout the electronics industry as the "Father of the QML." His leadership style exhibited innovation, teamwork, guidance and support, which was key to propelling the programs and the people he managed to ever-higher levels of performance. He retired from federal service in 2004.

Thomas Henthorn  began his career in federal service as a mechanical engineering trainee at the Defense Construction Supply Center in 1963. He eventually became section chief of the directorate. In 1978, he became the Value Engineering Office Manager. Four years later, the VE office won the first of five straight DoD VE Awards for an Outstanding Organization, which was the highest recognition for VE within the DoD. This achievement was clearly a reflection of his leadership and outstanding application of VE methodology. During the 11 years under his management, VE reported a 517% increase in annual savings resulting in more than $273 million in total savings. Henthorn's career has been marked by technical excellence, the highest ethical standards, excellent advice, and consistent work for the benefit of the warfighter. He was instrumental on the DCSC steering group that planned and implemented the merger of the Defense Electronics Supply Center and DCSC. His leadership through that turbulent time helped lay the foundation for the world-class organization DSCC has become. After the merger, Henthorn became the co-director of Commodities. He ended his career as Director of Corporate Information. He retired from federal service in 1998. 

Donna Huff began her career in federal service in 1954 as a clerk-stenographer. During the course of her career she rose to the position of Chief of Base Contracting. In this position, Huff oversaw all actions related to acquisition planning, solicitation, negotiation, contract award administration and functions for architecture, engineering and construction, supply service contracts/agreements, IT purchases, and Morale Welfare and Recreation service contracts at DCSC. She was responsible for numerous mission critical projects including the information and technology purchases that supported DCSC and installation tenants, the service and construction contracts and agreements supporting the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which was established on Fifth Avenue. During her last two years as chief, her office was responsible for the acquisition and administration of approximately 54 engineering projects estimated at $4.7 million. These were in addition to recurring service agreements and new orders for needed supplies and services. Huff was responsible for writing the procedures and the implementation of the Government Purchase Cards at DCSC. The first account was established in 1993. Huff assured that contracting actions followed all applicable regulations, as well as protected the interest of the government. She led a staff of contracting officers that awarded contracts in a timely manner and usually ahead of established timelines. She retired from federal service in 1993. 

Air Force Maj. Gen. Mary L. Saunders served as Commander of Defense Supply Center Columbus, Ohio, now called DLA Land and Maritime, and Vice Director of DLA. She left her mark in the areas of performance, transformation and culture. Her charismatic leadership style built a unique trust with managers, employees, customers and suppliers that produced extraordinary results. Under her command, DSCC achieved the best weapon system support statistics in DLA during that period: the highest supply availability, highest number of weapon systems above goal, and lowest number of backorders. During operations in Kosovo, DSCC received more than 55,000 requisitions and responded with an 87 percent fill rate. She established DSCC’s three tiered formal mentoring program. After a brief assignment to the Pentagon, General Saunders returned to DLA in 2002 as Vice Director and worked to improve the agency’s performance, transformation and culture during times of epic change. Her focus and determination directly led to universally acclaimed combat logistics support across all DLA supply chains during operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, as well as humanitarian relief efforts in response to natural disasters and other emergencies. She also led the agency’s transformative Enterprise Resource Planning implementation, a leading edge business practice that dramatically reshaped the agency and revolutionized military logistics. She also instituted organizational-level Denison culture surveys throughout DLA.

Arthur H. Bland was a trailblazer at Defense Supply Center Columbus, Ohio, from 1951 to 1990. Devotion to duty and progress were the hallmarks of Bland’s long and distinguished career as a government employee. His energy and intense focus on the future contributed to his success and admiration from all those with whom he worked. His pioneering work with the DLA Standard Automated Material Management System, cataloging, automated data exchange, quality improvement, and supply management contributed to the foundation upon which the current DLA organization has been built. Bland was also responsible for the first consolidated federal cataloging system policy manual. Bland was also the first African American member of the Bexley-Whitehall Rotary Club and served on its Board of Directors. 

U.S. Army Colonel Mike Dougherty came to Defense Supply Center Columbus in 1995 as the Director of the Land-based Weapons Systems Group. During his tenure, Col. Dougherty demonstrated superlative leadership and unparalelled professionalism in leading the land group to unsurpassed levels of achievement.  His careful planning, consistent leadership and exemplary mission execution had a direct effect in improving readiness rates for the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps. His astute administrative and leadership acumen helped supply availability consistently rise to new heights, while backorders were significantly reduced, and new business arrangements through the use of long term contracts flourished. As a result  DSCC achieved significantly improved customer support. Col. Dougherty displayed a rare combination of business savvy, boundless energy and personal concern for the success and well being of all who worked with and for him. He retired from the Army in 2000. 

James Gambert began his DLA career in 1987 as Director of Plans and Programs at the Defense electronics Supply Center in Dayton, Ohio, where he championed new studies and capabilities of operations research. Later he played a critical role in the merger of DESC with DCSC after the BRAC decision of 1993 when he managed Project 1440, which impacted every DESC associate. He came to DCSC in 1994 as Deputy Director of the Maritime Operations Group and a year later became the Director of the DSCC Operations Support Group. This move gave him the opportunity to oversee the merger of DCSC's Technical Operations Directorate with DESC's Engineering Support Directorate into the Operations Support Group. Although the functions were the same at both centers, significant differences in management style, processes and positions existed. Gambert guided the blending of the two organizations into the largest combined organization at DCSC. He retired from federal service in 2003. 

Donald Napper served four years of active duty with the U.S. Air Force and 26 years with the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He began his DLA career in 1982 at the Defense Construction Supply Center. He left a positive legacy that lives on through those who worked with him and knew of his dedication to the warfighter, his pursuit of innovation in work processes and the genuine kindness and respect he showed to all of his fellow asociates. Napper managed the Aviation “Guns” team, DSCC-AAAA, which was also known as the “A” team. As Team Chief, he created a sense of team identity among all members of the unit and worked dilligently to build solid customer relationships due to superb technical knowledge, willingness to listen and ability to communicate effectively. He forged an aliance with engineers from Warner Robins Air Force Base that significantly improved timeliness of first article tests. As a result, when gun items migrated to the Land Directorate, the relationships with Warner Robins remained intact and allowed for a smooth and successful transition. He retired from federal service in 2004.  

Carmelita Riley began her career in federal service in 1966 at the Defense Contruction Supply Center. She served her country by her dual status as union president and as a contracting specialist. She is best known for being a union activist and was the first female to hold the office of President of the AFGE Local 1148. Some of her significant accomplishments include the flex time/alternate work schedule policies that are enjoyed as a benefit for all DSCC associates. Riley’s efforts began a wave of improvements in work/life balance throughout DLA. She also established the scholarship committee in 1972. She was instrumental in the union’s transition from warehouse offices to Building 20 in 1993. She retired from federal service in 1996. She continued to be active in her community until her death in 2005.  

Terry Rippl began his DLA career in 1977 at the Defense Construction Supply Center as a mechanical engineer. During his tenure, he held numerous positions and achieved a variety of awards and honors, but it was the deployment of Business Systems Modernization that made Rippl’s courage, conviction, dedication and perseverance as a laeder shine. When BSM was deployed in July 2002, Rippl served in a dual-hatted role in the Maritime Directorate. Despite his very demanding assignments he was the premier BSM advocate by helping BSM first-line supervisors, BSM product specialists and the BSM acquisition workforce achieve success as these functional areas experienced numerous problems with software and ancillary sustems support. Rippl promoted a “can-do” atmosphere and stimulated continuous improvement in BSM performance. He organized meetings to discuss problems and solutions, and orchestrated a “dig-out” plan that enabled product specialists to reduce their primary workload by 81.5%, while still earning their collateral duties. He retired from federal service in 2004.  

Vice Admiral Joseph Stewart, USMM, served as the commander of the Defense Depot Columbus Ohio from 1987-1990. During his tenure VADM Stewart, who was then a Col., U.S. Marine Corps, began a series of initiatives and programs to realign the depot’s operating divisions and branches, which expedited requisition processing, increased productivity and reduced costs throughout the entire organization. He was instrumental in transforming the DDCO from manual processing to major automated processing systems such as DLA Warehousing and Shipping Procedures. He is also responsible for the upgrade of DDCO’s work sites and quality of life for associates. These included the addition of 550,000 high-rise bin locations, new office construction, new break modules, the painting of warehouse ceilings and walls, and the construction of a modern 200,000 square foot general purpose warehouse, which was the first on the DCSC installation in 49 years. Additionally, DDCO managed the DLA War Reserve Storage facility in Piketon, Ohio. VADM Stewart’s knowledge of depot workload capacity and processing procedures was instrumental in providing the leadership for DDCO to meet the challenges during the nation’s critical needs. While serving as commander, Marine Corps Logistics Bases in Albany, Georgia, VADM Stewart continued to support the relationship established between the Marine Corps and DCSC.  

Marilyn Barnett became the first civilian woman to head a DLA primary level field activity as the administrator of the Defense National Stockpile Center in 1991. As the deputy commander of the Defense Supply Center Columbus, Barnett successfully managed a complex merger of the Defense Electronics Supply Center and Defense Construction Supply Center. Barnett began her career in federal service working at the Defense Electronics Supply Center in Dayton and later held jobs at the Food and Drug Administration, DLA Headquarters and the Defense Construction Supply Center. As DCSC Deputy Commander, Barnett worked diligently to reduce operational costs and customer prices. She helped reinvent DLA's business methods under the agency's Buy Response Vice Inventory Initiative. She also implemented state of the art electronic commerce/electronic data interchange technologies. Barnett pioneered a new DLA cooperative business venture called Prime Vendor/Virtual Prime Vendor to reduce DoD  infrastructure. She retired from  federal service in 1998. 

Pamela Cooper was inducted into the DLA Hall of Fame for her exceptional leadership, dedicated service, and numerous contributions in support of the missions of the Defense Logistics Agency.  Cooper served as a role model and inspiration to everyone. Through her tenacity, perseverance, and continued self improvement, she demonstrated that hard work and focused effort are rewarded. Her thirty-five years of loyal service to this great Nation has immeasurably contributed to the readiness posture of the Armed Forces and its ultimate defense of this Nation. Cooper began her career in federal service at the Defense Industrial Clearance Office as a GS-1 under a six-month temporary appointment. She joined the procurement division at the Defense Construction Supply Center in 1976 as a GS-4 and steadily worked her way up through the ranks, becoming Deputy Director of the Maritime Weapon Systems Group in April 1999. Under her watch, Maritime improved its support to the warfighter by forging strong bonds with DLA's Navy customers, streamlining acquisition procedures and spearheading the transition to DLA's Business Systems Modernization effort. Cooper was a pioneer in paving the way for women's roles and responsibilities within DCSC and her astute business acumen had significant positive mission impact during her three decades of service. She retired from federal service in 2002. 

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John Dreska, served as the 13th commander of the Defense Construction Supply Center from 1987-1990. Under his watch, he introduced a series of new programs and initiatives to improve supply availability and reduce lead times, which helped reestablish DCSC's credibility with its customers. Programs such as "Top 25 Backorder Item Review" dramatically increased supply availability and significantly reduced lead times through concentrated actions to expedite procurements by increasing tech data reviews and sourcing initiatives. He also initiated the DLA Pre-Award Contracting System to ensure the best possible contracting practices were used by contracting employees for all awards across DLA. He is noted for establishing the Defense Finance Center, which was the precursor of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, and for establishing a War Reserve storage facility in Piketon, Ohio in concert with the Defense Depot, Columbus. Dreska retired from the Army in 1993. Dreska, also served as commander, New Cumberland Army Depot, from 1981-1983. Dreska had the vision and initiative to plan, organize, secure funding, and break ground on Defense Distribution Region East (DDRE). Today, the Defense Depot Susquehanna Pennsylvania (DDSP-formerly DDRE) is now DLA's flagship distribution center and the most automated, efficient, important depot in all of DLA. 

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Ernest Elliot, Supply Corps, led a revolution in business process improvements incorporating the latest technology associated with Activity Based Costing and data mining. DSCC led the way within DLA to design an Agency prototype in ABC techniques, reducing operating costs by re-engineering those processes that produce the highest cost per output. Data mining complemented the use of ABC techniques by improving the ability to identify relationships and patterns within extremely large databases and resulted in improved customer support by better identifying relationships and predictors of problems for spare parts requirements. Elliot served as the 15th commander of the Defense Supply Center Columbus from 1994-1997. As commander, he oversaw the merger of the Defense Electronics Supply Center in Kettering, Ohio with the Defense Construction Supply Center which formed DSCC. Elliot was instrumental in the development of DSCC's integrated workstation technology, which established the foundation for our computer operations used throughout the organization today. Elliot led a revolution in business process improvements and acquisition reform, enabling DSCC and DLA to mature into one of the most reliable, responsive and innovative providers of supply support in the DoD. Elliot retired from the Navy in 1997. 

Henry T. Flint, better known as "H.T.," began his civil service career in 1946 at the former U.S. Army Columbus General Depot after four years in the U.S. Navy. Unlike many of today's career-hoppers, who generally become restless after a short time with one organization, Flint's entire civil service career was with one organization: the Depot. His career at the Depot spanned five decades and 27 positions. Flint distinguished himself in many notable ways. As deputy commander, Flint's knowledge of depot workload capacity and processing procedures was influential in helping DDCO achieve its mission. He was instrumental in improving quality of life enhancements for employees. He served as president of the AFGE Local 1148 and he played a major role in building harmonious relationships between the local union and DDCO management. He retired from federal service in 1995. 

John Groseclose began his career in federal service as a mechanical engineer in the Technical Operations Directorate at the Defense Construction Supply Center in 1967. He became the first civilian director of the Office of Installation Services in 1990, and was known as the "Mayor" of DCSC. As director he brought the Defense Finance and Accounting Service operations online and was instrumental in the creation of the Child Development Center, the DISA Computer MegaCenter and the DSCC Operations Center. His uncanny visionary accomplishments in facility planning and infrastructure management laid the foundation for DSCC's modern facilities. He retired from federal service in 1993. 

Kenneth McLain began his career in federal service at the Defense Construction Supply Center as a automotive engineer in 1964. During that same period he graduated from Franklin University Law School and became a member of the Ohio State Bar Association.  McLain became director of Technical Operations at DCSC in 1975 and served there until his retirement in 1993. As director, he was responsible for provisioning, standardization, quality, technical data repository, cataloging, value engineering, packaging, and technical support to both supply operations and procurement.  He oversaw the development of the Cataloging Tools on Line System, the establishment of the Field Functional Lab and Shop to support customer readiness, and the formulation of a training program designed to bring more women into technical fields. He retired from federal service in 1993. Although McLain passed away in 1995, the innovative programs he initiated continue to have a significant impact on current DLA and DoD missions and operations. 

Robert Cooper began his career in federal service in the engineering department of the former Defense Electronics Supply Center in Kettering, Ohio in 1945. Cooper was instrumental in the creation and ongoing development of key programs that are still used in the electronics procurement arena today. He developed the Standard Microcircuit Drawing Program, made numerous advancements in military specifications for the microcircuits used in many weapons systems and supported the Diminishing Manufacturing Source effort by designing a long-term humidity-controlled storage system for microcircuits. Cooper was well respected in both the workplace and the community, where he was one of the founders of the “Urban People” project in Dayton to address the lack of housing for low-income families. He retired from federal service in 1989.  

Frances Scranton began her career in federal service career in 1944 as a temporary clerk at Wright-Patterson Field, Dayton, Ohio. In 1946, she became a clerk-typist at the Columbus General Depot. Her career spanned over five decades where she worked in various positions at DCSC ad DDCO.  Her transportation innovations included downgrading air eligible cargo to surface cargo and introducing a volume discount which combined saved $750K. In 1995, she became the deputy commander for the Defense Depot Columbus as the Depot downsized to its new mission. Despite the decrease in personnel and increase in workload, Scranton's leadership helped the Depot achieve best overall performance on DLA's measures of merit; resulting in the Depot receiving the DLA Director's Award for Organizational Excellence. She retired from federal service in 1997.