# Aviation Employee Spotlight: Andre Desima

/ Published Nov. 14, 2016
RICHMOND, Va., 
*Employee Spotlight regularly features outstanding non-supervisory personnel from throughout the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation and DLA Installation Support at Richmond teams. Organizational directors may submit names of employees they wish to feature in this column to DLA Aviation Public Affairs. For more information, call (804) 279-3139.*

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**Name:** Andre D. Desima

**Organization:** Supplier Support Division II, Supplier Operations Commodities Directorate, Defense Logistics Agency Aviation

**Years of Service:** 20 years active Army, 4 years as a federal civilian, with the last 3 at DLA.

**What is your job title, and what do you do, specifically?**I am a team lead in the Supplier Operations Commodities Directorate. I have oversight of the following projects: First Article Testing (FAT) Delinquency, Material Availability Degraders, and I manage lists for quality notifications, contract closeout, over-procurement oversight, Contract Deficiency Reports, the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System and assessing official miscellaneous training. 

**What do you like most about your job?**I do enjoy coming to work because I get to influence production. The end-state for the current FAT Delinquency project is to influence production; which in turn provides much needed parts to the warfighter. I also enjoy the daily interactions with the administrators, and most importantly the sharing of information from those interactions.

**What kind(s) of training and education helps your work performance in your current role?**The Defense Acquisition University training certainly helps; however, it’s the information gained on the floor, from peers, subordinates, and the administrators alike that synthesizes the learning. My service training also helps in dealing with the different personalities throughout a given day, and building an effective team. 

**What would you say has been your major contributions to your organization this year in your job?**I observed the section when I came in, and realized early on we needed to look at many of the processes with new eyes, and asked why we were doing things a certain way. I really harped on getting the best bang for our buck, meaning working the areas where we can influence the most, and the FAT project touches just about every aspect while positively effecting final production. The data suggests FAT Delinquencies are down 19 percent from the previous year.

**What was your first job?**My first job was working with my brother as an apprentice electrician.

**Where do you see yourself five years from now?**Hopefully still making a difference here at DLA Aviation.

**Do you have an unfulfilled wish?**Yes. World peace.

**What is the most surprising/unexpected thing others don’t know about you?**I love golfing.

**What’s your biggest pet peeve?**When people call me by saying, “Hey.”

**What are some of your passions outside of work?**History. I like to research history.
**What’s the most thrilling/adventurous thing you have ever done?**I was stuck alone with the workers for two days at 10,500 feet in Yalumet, Papua New Guinea after the helicopter dropped me off during a re-supply run. The chopper was unable to return for two days due to weather