# Troop Support Europe and Africa quality assurance specialist earns Team Member of the Month award

/ Published Oct. 13, 2022
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany, 
A quality assurance specialist at Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Europe and Africa was awarded September Team Member of the Month for his dedication to the organization’s warfighter support mission.

DLA Troop Support E&A Commander Army Lt. Col. Fermin Gonzales Jr. announced Richard Belcher as the organization’s September award recipient Oct. 5 via email. Throughout the month, Belcher provided subject matter expertise and guidance to key customer stakeholders including Europe Command, Africa Command and Army Central, while his team was severely short staffed during the month due to leave and temporary duty travel.

“Rick's steadfast dedication to the Troop Support E&A mission and warfighter support undeniably exemplifies ‘Warfighter Always,’” Gonzales said.

Belcher successfully performed his duties, with no gaps or failure, while balancing several high visibility missions across all three Combatant Commands, according to the announcement.

In September, Belcher worked on two separate bottled water customer complaints in Somalia and Niger and provided guidance to customers, support prime vendors and local public health entities unfamiliar with the sampling process in AFRICOM.

Belcher provided guidance to the DLA contracting officer for global food service on the serviceability of 273,320 pounds of chicken, worth $1.3 million, with quality support concerns for ARCENT customers.

He also helped expedite an urgent initial audit request for 45 incoming containers of operational rations at a support prime vendor warehouse in Bulgaria in support of on-going warfighter operations.

“Rick’s willingness to ask questions that educate and enable our partners, ensures that conditions are set to maintain the safety of our supply chain through inspections and testing; improves what we offer those deployed forward and communicates to the team issues and resolutions that are now more common in our operational theater,” said Army Col. Faith Chamberlain, Commander of DLA Europe and Africa.

Belcher worked closely with Public Health Command-Europe to coordinate the shelf-life extension inspection and load out of $1.12 million worth of cargo, including cereal and dry goods, stored in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization warehouse in Augusta Bay, Italy.

He also answered several requests for information from PHC-E on logistics support in Poland and coordinated collaborative TDY between the Troop Support E&A food safety and quality assurance team and 64th Medical Detachment Veterinary Service for customer site visits in Poland and Kosovo.

“The joint effort with MDVSS provided DLA an opportunity to enhance communication, identify customer concerns, and strengthen relationships with customers,” Gonzales said.

The purpose of the Team Member of the Month award is to recognize non-supervisory Troop Support personnel at all levels for outstanding accomplishments that merit a special recognition as DLA Troop Support Employee of the Month in support of the DLA Employee of the Quarter Program, Gonzales said. Belcher will represent Troop Support E&A for the to be announced DLA Troop Support September Employee of the Month.