# Leadership Spotlight: Daral J. Valtinson

/ Published Aug. 28, 2023
BATTLE CREEK, Mich., 

## **Operations Support Branch Chief/OPS Deputy Director****DLA Document Services, Tinker Air Force Base**

**Can you tell us about yourself?**I was born and raised in Minnesota. My brother and sister joined the Army and I decided I would join the Navy following in my father’s footsteps. I’ve been happily married to my wife Jennie for 38 years. We have 4 children, and 3 grandchildren with another soon to be born.

**Describe your job in a sentence or two.**DLA Document Services Operations Deputy Division Chief and Operations Support Branch Chief. OPS Support mission is to help OPS management and the field with equipment life cycle, financial review and reconciliation, and management of OPS programs. 

**How long have you worked for the federal government including military service?** I’ve been with the government for 41 years. I joined the Navy in 1978 and left as an E-6 Machinist Mate in 1988. Between 1988 and 1993 I worked as a contractor supporting the creation and development of Navy technical manuals for submarines and torpedoes. I returned to the federal government in 1993 as an Automated Publishing Equipment Specialist at Bangor, Washington.

**How long have you worked for DLA Disposition Services/Document Services?**I joined the DLA Document Services team in 1993. At that time, it was called Navy Publications and Printing Service.

**What is your favorite thing about your line of work?**The diversity it brings each day. No two days are alike.

**What is the best piece of advice someone has given you?**Watch the pennies and the dollars will follow because every dollar counts.

**Can you summarize your division responsibilities/capabilities?**OPS Support helps OPS management and the field with equipment life cycle, financial review and reconciliation, and management of OPS programs - Cloud Based Enterprise Document Scanning, Mapping, Air Force Technical Orders, and Defense Finance and Accounting Service End of Year requirements. In addition, we will be transitioning the following programs to OPS Support over the next several months, Reutilization Business integration electronic Documents, Acquisition Streamlining and Standardization Information System, and Central Data Library.

**What would you like to accomplish as branch chief?**I want to make sure the right tools and resources are in place for the workforce to accomplish their job efficiently and worry free.  

**What is your message to the DLA Disposition Services workforce?**Change is inevitable. With everything constantly evolving, it makes it impossible to maintain the status quo indefinitely.  

**What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?**Listening. It does no one any good if you are already forming a response before everything is even said.

**Tell us how you approach change.**Change is inevitable. It is important to impart why the change is taking place, the impact it has on the staff, and what the expected outcome will be to the workforce.

**What do you look for when evaluating top talent?**People who are motivated, self-starters with a ”Can Do “ attitude.

**What do you see as your biggest challenge right now?**Getting all of DoD using DLA Document Services for multi-functional devices, printed hard copy output and electronic digital delivery needs per DoDI 5330.03.

**What mistakes have you seen individuals make that prevent them from being successful?**Individuals who do not ask questions and or seek clear guidance if they are uncertain about their task assigned. Not understanding a task can lead to frustration, delays, and rework that could have been easily prevented with proper communication.

**Name your favorite/recent book(s) you have read.**Anything from Dan Brown. I was reading “Angels and Demons” when Pope John Paul II happened to pass away at the same time adding extra intrigue to the story.

**What was your first job?**My first job was with Boys Club as kitchen help where I supported food prep, serving, and cleanup. I was 12 years old and paid $25.00 a week.

**What is your best memory of working with DLA?**Several but one that stands out was after Defense Management Review Decision 998, I was selected as the regional manager for Alaska in 1997 and was tasked to transition the 4 printing plants, 2 plants with the Air Force (Elmendorf and Eielson) and 2 plants with the Army (Richardson and Wainwright) to DLA Document Services (at that time we were called Defense Printing Services) as is where is.

**What did you want to be when you grew up?**I wanted to be an astronaut. I watched the Apollo 11 launch and the moon landing on TV. As a young boy, I was absolutely captivated by the whole experience.

**Who is your hero?**My mother.  She had to put up with a lot from me, my brother, and sister and still kept the household running.

**What is your favorite quote?**There are two:
      - Leadership – “Each of us is a product of all our experiences and all of our interactions with other people.” Colin Powell
      - Business and Success – “Face reality as it is, not as it was, or as you wish it to be.”  Jack Welch