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# Hispanic Heritage Month Employee Spotlight – Lydia Gomez Ortiz 

By Pamela SmithDLA Aviation Public Affairs Office

                RICHMOND, Va.   –              
*National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed yearly from September 15 to October 15. It is a time to celebrate the achievements, histories, traditions, and cultural diversity of Hispanic Americans whose heritage is rooted in 20 Latin American countries and territories.*

*In observance of 2023’s Hispanic Heritage Month, Defense Logistics Agency Aviation will feature employees of Hispanic heritage to appear in spotlights.*

**Name:**Lydia Gomez Ortiz

**Job title:**Supervisory Quality Assurance Specialist

**Organization:**Aviation Production Support Division, Engineering Directorate, DLA Aviation

**How long have you worked for DLA?**16 years

**Please describe your job in a sentence or two.** I supervise a team of five product specialists who manage the source approval request program. We evaluate proposals from new suppliers competing to be an approved source for a national stock number. Our intent is to promote competition by procuring material from multiple sources of supply when possible.

**How do you support the warfighter?**I support the warfighter by expanding competition in government procurements. This reduces costs and shortens lead times to get the warfighter their material.

**The theme for this Hispanic Heritage Month in 2023 is “Todos Somos, Somos Uno – We Are All, We Are One." In your words, briefly explain what this means to you?**To me “we are all, we are one” means that all Hispanics are just one culture. As Hispanics, we like to share and represent our culture every place that we go, and we feel very proud of everything that embodies us such as our food, music, and history.

**Tell us something unique about your heritage or country of origin.**Puerto Rico was under the Spanish regime for 400 years until the Spanish-American War, where after Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States. In 1917 Puerto Ricans became U.S. Citizens, and we have been serving in the U.S. military and fighting alongside American soldiers since World War I.

**What is one thing you'd like others to know about your heritage?** Puerto Ricans have a diverse and inclusive culture. We are mixture of Taino, Spanish and African descendants, and we are joyful people that love music and embrace our cultural traditions.

One Puerto Rican tradition is that we put up Christmas trees and decorations by Thanksgiving and we continue the celebration until mid-January. On January 6th we celebrate Three Kings Day, or Reyes Magos, that marks the arrival of the three wise men who brought gifts to the newborn Jesus. The night before, children go out to their backyards and cut grass or hay and place it under the Christmas tree as a gift for the tired camels and in exchange for presents. Following Three Kings Day, the celebration is extended for another eight days called The Octavitas. During that time, a music festival called Las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian, or Sanse, will take place and mark the end of the Christmas celebration.

**Why is it important to you that we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month?**It is important that we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month because Hispanics have contributed to the development of this country in areas such as military, science, and the aerospace industry. We are a hardworking and loyal people that feel proud of serving others, and our contributions to the development of the United States spans over many centuries.

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