# Fourth quarter employees of the quarter

/ Published Nov. 17, 2022
FORT BELVOIR, Va. , 
Defense Logistics Agency Energy is proud to announce the fourth quarter, fiscal year 2022 military, civilian and strategic goals employees of the quarter.

These members went on to compete in the DLA-wide fourth quarter Military and Employee Recognition Program.

**Field Grade Officer Category:**

**Maj Jerry Alefosio,** USAF, DLA Energy Europe & Africa

The fourth quarter of FY22 saw a significant increase of U.S., NATO, and allied presence in the U.S. European Command area of operations. Alefosio sustained all mission demands despite the highest level of theatre fuel requirements in over 30 years. In all, he led his team to provide over 60.2 million gallons of mission essential fuels and still made time to organize a comprehensive 10-day visit by the DLA Energy Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Canlas covering several key locations in four different countries.

**Company Grade Officer Category:**

**Capt Ioan Gaitan**, USAF, DLA Energy Korea

During this period, Gaitan analyzed the Korean theatre’s bulk fuel sustainability, deconflicted critical gaps in host nation support, and ultimately bolstered U.S. Forces Korea’s posture. He was also the only Air Force member selected by the Defense Language Institute to participate in a seven-day board to develop new foreign language proficiency testing. His contributions accelerated the release of the next generation examination.   

**Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Category:**

**MSgt Richard Crom**, USAF, DLA Energy Korea

Crom managed an inventory of $527 million bulk fuel contracts to ensure readiness across South Korea and beyond. He mitigated an important gap through the development of a first-ever Petroleum Operations course and trained 30 augmentees in a critical benchmark effort. Crom applied expert quality assurance and judgement when dispatched to a refinery for a short-notice analysis of critical fuel for secret flight operations.

**Junior Non-Commissioned Officer Category:**

**TSgt Chris Marshall**, USAF, DLA Energy Americas East

In his role as quality assurance representative, Marshall helped manage one the largest Defense Fuel Support Points in the world to help deliver more than 15 million gallons of jet fuel to both DOD sites and DLA contracted locations. He coordinated nine pipeline transfers, 270 fuel tank truck shipments, and six marine tanker/barge vessels, all while completing two college courses and maintaining a 3.7 GPA.

**Category C Civilian (GS13-15/WS) Category:**

**Raul Garcia**, DLA Energy Middle East

As a customer account specialist supervisor, Garcia and his team culminated an eight-month effort to a replace one-time buys with long-term contracts valued at $1.8 million; the effort saves $7.2 million per year while increasing resiliency. Moreover, he authored a Risk Mitigation Plan and executed Proofs of Concept to mitigate vendor integrity threats in the Eastern Syria Security Area, paving the way for much-needed redundant capabilities.

**Category B Civilian (GS/WG/WL 7-12) Category:**

**Darnell Simmons**, DLA Energy Okinawa

Simmons led a team of 52 workers and maintained positive control over a 24-hour Disaster Control Center, six fuel terminals, and three multi-million dollar mooring systems. Hand-picked by command leaders as the new Typhoon Emergency Response Coordinator, he immediately went to work improving theatre response procedures and emergency communication protocols in a region known as the Pacific's “Typhoon Alley.” Further, he tackled the daunting task of updating 48 operational checklists last published in 2013 coordinating with Japanese approval authorities.

**DLA Director’s Strategic Goals Awards**

**Individual Award: Timothy Ward**, DLA Energy Middle East

As the newly hired DLA Energy liaison officer to Kuwait, Ward played an integral role in the success of the United States Air Force Agile Combat Employment (ACE) exercise. Ward coordinated with DLA Energy Middle East to perform quality surveillance on fuel inventory in a local Defense Fuel Support Point to ensure compliance with safety, environmental, and operational mandates. His follow-up efforts validated corrections to 20 discrepancies enabling Al Jaber Air Base to transform from zero fueling operations in six months to issuing over 53,0000 gallons of fuel exercise support.

**Team Award: DLA Energy Korea Logistics Division**

In preparation to hosting a Fuel Exchange reconciliation, DLA Energy Korea’s Inventory Management Branch reviewed 1,239 transactions representing over 1.9 million gallons of petroleum exchanged between the U.S. and the Republic of Korea service components world-wide. The meticulous team-effort enabled the U.S. to recoup $5.6 million in fuel costs and project replacement-in-kind supply of fuel at multiple locations saving more than $3 million in bulk fuel transportation costs. The team went on to review ROK and U.S. transactions from 2017 to present to validate more than $103 million in fuel exchanged over the five-year period.