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# Defense Distribution San Joaquin wins Commander In Chief's Installation Excellence Award

By Rebecca EigenDLA Distribution

                NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa.  –              
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin announced Defense Distribution Depot San Joaquin as a winner of the annual Commander in Chief’s Installation Excellence Award along with five other installations.

The Commander in Chief's Award for Installation Excellence recognizes the outstanding and innovative efforts of the people who operate and maintain U.S. military installations. Excellent installations improve mission performance and enhance the quality of life for military personal, Defense Department civilians, and their families by providing superior working and living conditions.

Installations competed in various factors of installation management including mission support, energy, quality of life, unit morale, environment, safety and health, security and protection, communications and public relations.

DDJC serves as the primary distribution hub for the western United States, as well as the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. The skilled distribution team at San Joaquin adeptly coordinated various operations, including global storage and distribution, material logistics, wildfire support, and unitized group rations. Their efforts are dedicated to ensuring the timely and reliable delivery of materials to DoD customers, interagency partners, foreign allies, and first-responders.

Along with the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1546 and DLA installation management, DLA San Joaquin demonstrated exceptional expertise in warehousing and overseeing a vast inventory of over 371,000 national stock numbers with an approximate value of $12 billion and successfully dispatched over 1.4 million line items, valued at more than $4.8 billion, showcasing efficiency in handling valuable materials. Their collective efforts made significant and lasting contributions to the national security of the United States and the preparedness of our armed forces, highlighting their commitment and ensuring a strong state of readiness.

The distribution center was chosen to take on two significant whole of government support missions. They were entrusted with the responsibility of providing support for the F35 wholesale distribution mission and the storage and distribution mission for the Veteran's Health Administration. The DDXX Team, one of only two deployable teams across DLA Distribution, has actively participated in training, deployments and various support activities. They seamlessly handled the receiving, storage, construction and shipping of group food rations, consistently meeting the high demands of their customers. The exceptional team has successfully built over 225,000 modules and has impressively fulfilled DLA Troop Support's requirements for an astonishing 98 consecutive months and counting.

DLA San Joaquin’s Installation Management team also implemented several energy conservation projects throughout 2022. They completed several projects that resulted in significant achievements, such as attaining the lowest depot-wide energy use index of 18.75 BTU/sq.ft. within the entire DLA network in fiscal year 2021. The lighting retrofit in two warehouses resulted in an estimated energy savings of 44,000 KWH. Additionally, they introduced the Energy Champion program, which encouraged employees to suggest energy-saving ideas by rewarding them with “energy bucks.” The team has several more additional lighting projects that are expected to create more energy savings.

Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs at DLA San Joaquin remained operational, following the Health Protection Control guidelines. A contactless approach was implemented and successfully used with delivering tickets and items to customers. With the implementation of protocols, instructor-led classes in the fitness center were able to resume, generating significant interest and substantially boosting the utilization of the center. The total number of patron visits for fiscal year 2222 exceeded 11,900. Additionally, the staff organized an intramural sports league, which commenced in October 2022, to further enhance the quality of life on the installation.

Three funds enhanced the quality of life at the installation. The family programs at DLA San Joaquin implemented an Emergency Family Assistance Plan to provide support and care for the workforce and their families during emergencies. The San Joaquin Child Development Center demonstrated exceptional excellence during unprecedented times, delivering outstanding customer service and engaging programs to service members, employees, and civilian patrons of DLA San Joaquin and the Post Restaurant Fund played a vital role in providing food options for the workforce at DLA San Joaquin while adhering to strict COVID-19 protocols.

The Civilian Welfare Fund Committee also volunteered their time and effort to organize a range of events aimed at fostering unit cohesiveness and inclusion for employees and their families. These events included the annual bowling tournament, employee appreciation day, and the holiday social event.

DLA Team San Joaquin’s collaboration with Operation Care and Comfort, a non-profit organization supporting military and veteran personnel, facilitated the distribution of various morale-boosting items to employees.

More than 800 employees on the installation actively took part in the employer trip reduction incentive program to improve the site’s air quality. The site's recycling program also successfully redirected 223 tons of solid waste away from the landfill, aligning with the DoD's annual diversion rate objective.

The installation is an Occupational Safety and Health Administration Voluntary Protection Program Star site and holds the record for being the longest-serving STAR worksite within DLA. Through proactive measures, the total number of reported injuries at San Joaquin went from 63 in fiscal year2020 to 48 in fiscal year 2022, representing a decrease of 24%. Additionally, during fiscal year 2022, team San Joaquin performed 415 inspections at worksites, effectively addressing and resolving more than 340 potential hazards or deficiencies.

DLA San Joaquin Police Department had several accomplishments including successful inauguration of the new access control point in May of this year, diligently carrying out inspections on a remarkable number of commercial and visitor vehicles, reaching a total of 16,901 and being presented with a Congressional Record to honor their dedication and efforts in assisting the Presidential Covid-19 rapid test kit mission to provide free tests to the American public. Their meticulousness and precision resulted in a flawless record of 100% accuracy in completing this important task.The installation’s daily common pperating picture was a valuable communication tool that facilitated effective coordination among managers, operations personnel and the command team. The COVID-19 pandemic-imposed restrictions on communication methods, limiting face-to-face interactions to prevent the spread of the virus. The distribution center remained dedicated and continued to carry out their essential work while adhering to social distancing measures. Throughout this year, teams maintained strong communication channels, ensuring that all personnel were informed about these changes.

The installation maintains ongoing engagement with the local community, actively striving to foster positive relationships through various means such as facility tours, participation in community events, provision of support services and outreach programs. Through the coordination and execution of the 23rd Annual Turkey/Food Drive by the FMWR staff, 172 turkeys and 500 pounds of dry goods were donated, establishing DLA San Joaquin as the largest provider of turkeys to the local food bank that year.

The DLA San Joaquin team also joined forces with Operation Care and Comfort during Employee Appreciation Day to provide their staff with various donated items including movies, school supplies and shirts.

Lastly, the installation hosted more than 40 official tours, providing explanations of their mission and operational processes to essential stakeholders. These tours not only involved military clients but also welcomed visitors from local distribution businesses, community leaders representing civic and fraternal organizations, as well as elected officials.

DLA San Joaquin and other winning installations will receive a commemorative Commander in Chief's Award trophy, flag and a congratulatory letter from the president of the United States.

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