# Recognition, reentry, employee accomplishments highlighted at DLA Troop Support town hall

/ Published May 23, 2022
PHILADELPHIA, 
Employees from the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support attended a town hall meeting virtually and in-person May 10 to learn organizational updates.

Army Brig. Gen. Eric Shirley, DLA Troop Support commander, presented individual and team awards, recognized recent organizational accomplishments, and discussed plans to reenter the workplace after two years of mass telework due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are going to start as we rightly always start, with recognizing the great contributions of our teammates to the success of the Department of Defense, and providing that world-class logistics support to our warfighters,” Shirley said.

Among those recognized was Raymond Finch, Operations and Plans analyst, who earned the DLA Troop Support Individual Innovation award for his work transforming the organization’s Continuity of Operations programs into a more efficient program. The Team Innovation award went to the Medical supply chain’s Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor team, Mary Ann Dimeo, Thomas Drew and Steven Bollendorf, for their work acquiring disposable medical materials during the pandemic. The team was also awarded the Office of Management and Budget’s best-in-class acquisition program designation.

Others recognized were:
      - 2021 Supervisor of The Year, Nora Steigerwalt, Medical Customer Operations director
      - 2021 Employee of The Year, Thomas Heleniak, Medical Tailored Vendor Logistics specialist
      - 2021 Team of The Year, Medical’s Operations Allies Refuge/Operation Allies Welcome team members
      - Philadelphia Federal Executive Board  Excellence in Government Awards winners 

“There is no lack of novel, out-of-the-box, innovative thinking that is provided from this team on a daily basis,” Shirley said. “And it’s great when we can recognize that and say, ‘thank you for what you do.’”

Shirley also discussed recent organizational accomplishments, including support to the U.S. European Command, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and federal COVID-19 response from Troop Support’s supply chains and DLA Troop Support Europe and Africa. He also talked about DLA Troop Support Indo-Pacific’s support of military exercises and to the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawaii, among other accomplishments.

“There’s no end to all the great things that Troop Support’s made happen in the recent term,” Shirley said. “You all have done a great service to our nation during this COVID pandemic. Thank you very much for all you do.”

Reentering the workplace was a hot topic during the town hall with Shirley answering questions about the recent guidance from DLA Headquarters to transition from mass telework to bringing employees back to the office.

“I met with the senior leadership team and laid out initial guidance for DLA Troop Support, which was nested with DLA Headquarters and DoD guidance,” Shirley said.

Focusing on ensuring social distancing and utilizing alternate cohort times for employees in the office, Shirley said the reentry will be deliberate and safe for all employees.

For more information and current guidance about reentry to the workforce, Troop Support employees can visit here.

In closing, Shirley thanked the workforce for their continued efforts and asked that they continue to deliver optimal, global supply chain solutions to enable ready, lethal warfighters and other valued partners.

“We’ve been challenged over the last couple years, and we’ve done remarkably well,” Shirley said. “We owe it to those we support to ensure that we’re, each and every day, committed to showing up, giving our very best-level effort and making it better for the warfighter’s forward.”

Employees can view the town hall in its entirety here.