2024 Highlights: Pacific

From the volcanic heights of Maui to the sparkling beaches of Okinawa, Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services personnel working across the vast Indo-Pacific made 2024 another noteworthy year in reverse logistics support for the U.S. military and its warfighters.

A key highlight was the adoption of Warehouse Management System by field sites across the region. The lengthy WMS rollout was a hefty undertaking and one of the region's most critical successes, thanks to personnel like Okinawa site Operations Chief Hunter Higgins, who was named employee of the quarter early in the year. Higgins was cited for a "smooth" site transition to WMS and extensive related inventory requirements, the development of visit itineraries for visiting agency leadership, and for providing substantial cost savings in disposal support to the III Marine Expeditionary Force.

When it comes to assisting the Marine Corps, Region Director Faron Cordrey shared some of the organization's future support goals in Australia back in August. For about a decade, troops attached to Marine Rotational Force - Darwin have cycled through the sparsely-populated northernmost reaches of the country to train alongside the Australian Defence Force. The agency is hoping to reach a deal to provide property disposal and disposition support there for the foreseeable future.

"We're working with the [ADF] to leverage their capabilities to support DOD requirements," said Cordrey. "Our goal is to work with Australian military logisticians to have an agreement in place within the next year to support long-term property disposal needs."

Back on U.S. soil, the Pearl Harbor team provided support across the Hawaiian Islands to all branches of the military and local whole-of-government customers. Two noteworthy projects involved the island of Maui. In late spring, site personnel assisted the 15th Space Surveillance Squadron and the Maui Space Surveillance Complex with removal of contaminated fuel from near the summit of Haleakalā National Park. Later in the summer, site personnel were back in Maui again to arrange for an emergency donation of Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command wastewater centrifuges to the Lahaina Wastewater Treatment Plant after a catastrophic failure of their dewatering system. Pearl Harbor Operations Monitor Gilbert Delagente and Property Disposal Specialist Aaron Pooloa were later "coined" by DLA Logistics Operations Director Maj. Gen. David Sanford for their efforts.

Across the Korean peninsula, Gimcheon site employees handled several substantive efforts during the year, including the demilitarization and scrapping of tactical vehicles for the U.S. Army. Next year, Cordrey said the entire region expects to support the expansion of the Army's Rapid Removal of Excess, or R2E, effort that was first piloted at Fort Liberty and Fort Stewart about a year ago.

In addition to Higgins' award, Okinawa's Masayoshi Kinjo earned an Employee of the Quarter nod for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, and his site colleague Eric Marley was recognized for his quick response to a vehicle accident outside his home that put a local boy in the hospital in May.

"Team Pacific continues to excel and it's all due to the awesome people that get it done day after day," Cordrey said. "The field leadership team in Pacific is the best it's ever been, and it has attracted top talent from both within and outside the agency who want to be part of the super-charged PAC team. This dynamic talent surge has enabled Pacific to continue to foster strong customer relationships and exceed warfighter expectations!"