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# Commentary: My first week with DLA

By Shawn J. JonesDLA Troop Support Public Affairs

                PHILADELPHIA  –              

**Shawn J. Jones began working as  public affairs specialist with DLA Troop Support last week.*

As the new guy, I get all the new-guy questions. But one really stopped me in my tracks.

“How was your first week with DLA?”

Now hold on a second. 

My first week *with***DLA?

I know it was meant as a polite, small-talk question. And I provided a polite, small-talk response. But the truth of the matter is that I’ve been *with***DLA for longer than a week. 

Much longer.

When an assembly line of syringe-wielding medical technicians turned my shoulder into a pin cushion during basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, I was *with* DLA Troop Support’s Medical supply chain.

When I stripped out a fastener while performing maintenance on an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, and my team had just the spare part we needed to repair the jet without delay, I was *with***DLA Troop Support’s Industrial Hardware supply chain.

When I helped build defensive fortifications and perimeters using razor wire, sand-filled barriers and what felt like seven million sand bags during a training exercise at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, I was *with***DLA Troop Support’s Construction and Equipment supply chain.

When I filled my belly with a cold drink and a warm meal in far-flung locales like Iraq, Kuwait, Kenya, Djibouti and Qatar, I was *with***DLA Troop Support’s Subsistence supply chain.

And when I dressed for duty before meeting the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I was *with***DLA Troop Support’s Clothing and Textiles supply chain.

I’ve been *with* DLA on duty, I’ve been *with***DLA off duty and I’ve been *with*DLA as I slept. I’ve been with DLA as an active-duty airman and a Reserve airman. I’ve been *with***DLA in 17 different states, and I’ve been *with***DLA in 11 different countries.

So how was my first week with DLA? 

It went well, but the details are a little fuzzy. After all, it was almost two decades ago.

**Jones spent more than nine years in the active duty Air Force before becoming a Reservist in 2009. He currently serves as a career advisor with 514th Operations Group at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.*

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My first week with DLA.DLA Troop SupportSubsistenceClothing & TextilesConstruction & EquipmentMedicalIndustrial Hardware