DLA NewsWire
 
  By Compiled by Beth Reece
  **DLA POLICE REUNITE MISSING MAN WITH FAMILY imageDLA POLICE REUNITE MISSING MAN WITH FAMILY** Police at Defense Supply Center Columbus responded to a call at the Yearling Road Gate Jan. 18 after a disoriented, elderly man walked onto the installation trying to get to his father’s house. Officer David Webb was the first on site and realized it was not a normal situation; Sgt. Jerry Pyle arrived shortly after. “The only information he could tell us was his age, 70. He couldn’t tell us his birthday, where he was from or anything else,” Pyle said. The officers were able to obtain his driver’s license and ran it through the database, which provided an alert for a missing person. Family had reported the man as missing from Massillon, Ohio, roughly 48 hours prior and noted he suffers from dementia, high blood pressure and early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He had also been without his medicines for approximately 36 hours. The family was notified that their missing relative was found, and they immediately headed to the installation. The previous day, police had discovered his vehicle on Interstate 670. He had run out of gas, grabbed his gas can and started walking. He was wandering around the city for almost a full day before he arrived at the DSCC gates. Lt. Harry Salcone said the officers’ training was helpful in the situation. One of the initial responding officers recognized the lights and sirens were causing unnecessary agitation, for example. “Webb took action and turned off the overhead — reds and blues — which calmed the man’s anxiety and improved the situation almost immediately,” Pyle said. Salcone also spoke on the response team’s actions. “This is what I would call excellence in action,” he said. “These officers and sergeants responded to an unknown situation, made an evaluation and brought the situation to a logical conclusion. They train for situations like these, but to see it implemented and the positive outcome is what this job is about.” *— Dana Thornbury, DLA Land and Maritime* *More online: go.usa.gov/x9t4U*  **BITUMINOUS COAL REMOVED FROM SHUTTERED POWER PLANT WITH HELP FROM DLA DISPOSITION SERVICES** **DLA DISTRIBUTION AWARDED FOR REDUCING ENERGY USE** Defense Logistics Agency Distribution Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, received the 2016 Federal Energy and Water Management Award for reducing energy use in eight facilities by converting from steam heating to natural gas. The project included the replacement of steam unit heaters with infrared radiant heaters in warehouse areas and the replacement of steam to hot-water converters with high-efficiency condensing hot-water boilers in office and service areas. The activity saved almost $700,000 in utilities from the prior year and reduced energy use by 27 percent. *— DLA Distribution Public Affairs* *More online: go.usa.gov/x9t4m*   **DLA DISTRIBUTION AWARDED FOR REDUCING ENERGY USE imageBITUMINOUS COAL REMOVED FROM SHUTTERED POWER PLANT WITH HELP FROM DLA DISPOSITION SERVICES** A labor-intensive project to remove roughly 18 million pounds of bituminous coal from the Navy’s last coal-fired, steam-producing power plant at Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head in Maryland is now over, thanks to help from Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services. The site opened as a gun-testing range on the Potomac River in the late 1800s and morphed into the home of Navy explosive ordinance disposal research by the 21st century. For many decades, the engineers and scientists who worked with volatile materials used steam heat in their explosives research facilities to minimize the opportunities for accidents. The plant closed a few years ago, but a football-field-sized pile of coal remained until Navy officials turned to DLA for a solution in 2015. DLA Disposition Services personnel helped facilitate removal of the coal by creating and awarding a one-time hazardous sale to Penn Keystone Coal Co., saving the Navy more than $6 million. “The cost savings alone is astronomical,” said Dan Bryan, an agency environmental protection specialist who helped coordinate and monitor more than 300 pickups by the contractor. The only expense incurred by DoD was for the rental of a special front-end loader to help accommodate Penn Keystone’s 10-truck-a-day removal pace. “This was a long-term operation that easily could have broken down and gone sideways,” Bryan said. “We stayed on top of it and removed this coal in a consistent and reliable manner.” Navy facilities officials will soon begin soil remediation to ensure there is no long-term impact on the environment. *— Jake Joy, DLA Disposition Services* *More online: go.usa.gov/x9t2x*  Earth Day 2017 Poster image