# The Power of RED: How a Simple Tradition Boosts Morale and Builds Camaraderie

/ Published April 14, 2023
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. , 
Every Friday, Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services employees across the world wear something red to show support and remember everyone deployed.

                DLA Disposition Services Mid-America team members L. Elaine Major, Heath Buswell, and Chandler Vargas wear RED on a Friday to Remember Everyone Deployed.                            230405-D-DO441-005                            DLA Disposition Services Mid-America team members L. Elaine Major, Heath Buswell, and Chandler Vargas wear RED on a Friday to Remember Everyone Deployed.            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Mid-AmericaVIRIN: 230405-D-DO441-005This initiative, known as R.E.D. (Remember Everyone Deployed) Friday, is a powerful morale booster that demonstrates the connection between the DLA Disposition Services’ workforce and the mission of supporting the Warfighter. Within Disposition Services, more than 60% of employees are veterans and many have friends, family and co-workers deployed.

The connection between the uniform and the mission is profound within DLA Disposition Services. R.E.D. Friday is a reminder of the camaraderie and shared experiences of deployments and a way to maintain that connection and support for those who are still in harm's way.

L. Elaine Major is a DLA Disposition Services resource analyst stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. She also serves a Command Chief in the Air Force Reserves at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas.

Major wears red every Friday to show support for those who are deployed.

                DLA Disposition Services team members at Fort Riley, Kansas Remembering Everyone Deployed on a Friday by wearing RED.. (L to R) Billy Sapp, Aulii Fuller, Heath Buswell, Alan Robison, Matthew Bailey, La’Tresha James, Jeffery Bennett, Tommy Anderson, and Herbert Mullen.                            230324-D-DO441-007                            DLA Disposition Services team members at Fort Riley, Kansas Remembering Everyone Deployed on a Friday by wearing RED.. (L to R) Billy Sapp, Aulii Fuller, Heath Buswell, Alan Robison, Matthew Bailey, La’Tresha James, Jeffery Bennett, Tommy Anderson, and Herbert Mullen.            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Fort RileyVIRIN: 230324-D-DO441-007She was part of a Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron commonly referred to as Red Horse, the Air Force's heavy-construction units.

Major said her unit, 560 Red Horse out of Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina, recently lost a member that she had deployed with. Her personal connection to the mission and the loss of her colleague has given even more significance to this weekly tradition.

                DLA Disposition Services team members at Fort Sam Houston, Texas wear RED to Remember Everyone Deployed on Friday. (L to R) Dimitrios Ybarra, Michael “Mike” Kancilja, Ruben Lopezlugo, Epimenio Gonzlez, Christina Demarco, Correen “Coree” Scivoletti, Edward Scivoletti, Clement Acheampong, Frank Alverez.                            DLA Disposition Services Fort Sam Houston, Texas                            DLA Disposition Services team members at Fort Sam Houston, Texas wear RED to Remember Everyone Deployed on Friday. (L to R) Dimitrios Ybarra, Michael “Mike” Kancilja, Ruben Lopezlugo, Epimenio Gonzlez, Christina Demarco, Correen “Coree” Scivoletti, Edward Scivoletti, Clement Acheampong, Frank Alverez.            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Fort Sam HoustonVIRIN: 230405-D-DO441-016For the families of those who are deployed, R.E.D. Friday is a source of comfort and pride. They know that their loved ones are not forgotten, and that there are people all over the world who are thinking of them and praying for their safe return.

“The two most important words in the English language are thank you,” said Army Col. Andre Toussaint, DLA Disposition Services deputy director. “Folks thinking about RED is a way of telling us thank you.”

Toussaint added that when he wears his uniform in public people often thank him for his service and that, he says, never gets old to him.

He added that seeing people wear red on Fridays brings the point home that the people on deployments are not forgotten back home. “I am deploying again next year, at my next assignment, so even when I go on this next deployment, I will know that we are not forgotten.”