# Employee Spotlight: Andres Gerena

/ Published June 2, 2021
Richmond, Va., 
**Name:** Andres Gerena

**Organization**: DLA Aviation at Cherry Point, North Carolina

**Years of Service:** six years as a federal government employee, with two and a half years at DLA Aviation.

**What is your job title, and what do you do, specifically?** I am a sustainment specialist.  I advise and support the site commander on matters pertaining to retail planning and forecasting in support of Navy Fleet Readiness Center East’s scheduled and unscheduled depot level maintenance, repair, overhaul, and manufacturing for aircraft, engines, component workload and indirect material requirements. I review the gross demand plan for accuracy in support of scheduled maintenance.

**What do you like most about your job?**What I enjoy most about my job is that I am able to provide a service for our warfighters. I ensure that needed material is available that directly affects the warfighters’ readiness and ability to be able to perform at the highest levels required of our warfighters.

**What is your fondest memory of working for DLA Aviation?**My fondest memory would be how welcoming my co-workers have been since coming aboard DLA Aviation at Cherry Point. They made it a very seamless transition for me and have been very willing to assist me in learning as much as possible to be able to perform my duties. They are a true team-oriented group of people that I have the pleasure of working with.

**What aspect(s) of your current job gives you the most personal satisfaction?  Why?**Being able to directly affect the warfighter and their readiness gives me pride. Knowing that every time I am able to find a hard-to-get piece of material that allows for the warfighter to have a needed asset is why I do what is necessary every day.

**If you could speak directly to the warfighters you support, what would you tell them?**I would tell the warfighter that I appreciate everything that they give of themselves every day for our freedom. I would let them know that what they do does not go unnoticed and that we are here to support them in every way that we can.

**What was your first job?**My first paying job was as a United States Marine. I enlisted straight out of high school at the age of seventeen and have not looked back. I have had the pleasure of working with some of the finest men and women that our country has to offer.

**What are some of your passions outside of work?**My passions outside of work are family and traveling. After having to spend so much time away from my family due to military requirements, I enjoy spending time with them and making up for lost time. I do not regret what I have done in the past but look forward to spending time with family and enjoying life. Traveling to different places allows me the opportunity to spend that time with family and enjoy life’s little pleasures.

**What’s the most thrilling/adventurous thing you have ever done?**The most adventurous thing that I have done in my life would be sky diving. It was a once in a lifetime experience that was well worth facing the fear. The adrenaline rush that one receives in the few seconds of a free fall was a big rush.

**Who is the most influential person in your life...past or present?**Don’t want to sound like a cliché but my mother is my most influential person. She is a strong woman that gives of herself daily for others. She was a single parent who at times worked three jobs to provide for her family. She has given me my work ethic and I try to ensure that she is proud of me every day. 

**Who is your favorite actor or actress and why?**Oprah Winfrey ranks high on my list of favorite actresses, but it’s not for what she has done on screen but for what she has done off screen. Her philanthropic prowess makes her stand out to me, as she has been known to provide for others through education (400 scholarships to Morehouse College, building of a school in South Africa), in arts and culture (Smithsonian Museum donations, National Underground Railroad Center), and as humanitarian assistance in general.

**What is your favorite military aircraft?  Why?**I am biased when it comes to military aircraft as I have spent a large portion of my life working on a recently retired aircraft, the Marine Corps  CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter. This aircraft’s capability is wide ranged, as it was able to provide troop transport, medical evacuations, firefighting, and external supply deliveries to name a few. The length of service of this aircraft shows that it was worth the investment the government made in keeping this aircraft around from the 1960’s till the 2010’s. Love that aircraft.

**What is/are your favorite book(s), television show(s) or movie(s)?**My favorite book is “Don Quixote,” television show would be “Dexter” and movie would be “The Godfather.”