REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- More than 120 co-workers, family and friends gathered in the Villar conference room of the U.S. Army Materiel Command headquarters Aug. 18 to honor and farewell a "tremendously talented" senior executive servant.
Lisha Adams, assistant deputy chief of staff for Logistics Integration, received the Department of the Army Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service and the General Brehon B. Somervell Medallion of Excellence.
"It is a challenging day as we pay tribute and bid farewell to this tremendously talented United States Army senior executive," said Gen. Dennis L. Via, commander of the U.S. Army Materiel Command, who hosted the ceremony.
Adams has 31 years experience of government service supporting Army and joint service programs. While at AMC she was responsible for sustaining the Joint Warfighter, in peace and war, through command and control of supply chain management, depot and National Maintenance Program operations, asset management and distribution, reset, and ammunition/chemical stockpile management.
"During the three and a half years, she has certainly worked hard. She has certainly been dedicated. She has certainly applied not only the best of herself but of the outstanding team she has led," Via said. "As the director of Logistics Integration which houses the logistics functions for our headquarters, she made a tremendous impact on the headquarters and across all of our depots, arsenals and ammunition plants."
Under her leadership, the supply transformation branch received the 2013 Department of Defense Award for Supply Chain Excellence. The plan her staff created reduced $4.5 billion dollars in inventory, cut back orders by 30 percent, and lowered repair and procurement costs.
"In short, Lisha Adams is a leader in every sense of the word and we expect to hear great things from her tenure as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Materiel Readiness," Via said.
Adams took the stage, expressing how humbled and honored she was.
"I could not have done this without many of you in the audience," said Adams. "I know it's more important what you leave behind than what you take with you, but I've learned so much during my time here."
From Via, Adams said she learned purpose. From Lt. Gen. Patricia McQuistion, AMC deputy commanding general, she learned community and continuous improvement. From John Nerger, AMC executive deputy to the commanding general, she learned the importance of relationships. Lastly, from Jim Dwyer, AMC's principal deputy to the chief of staff for operations, she learned the importance of execution.
"From everyone here, I've learned so much," Adams added.
Before departing, Adams told a story from I Chronicles. In this story, King David told Solomon to build a temple and to be brave and courageous in the process.
"That story made me realize that the experiences that I had at [Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command] and AMC have prepared me for the next assignment. You guys have given me the tools and the plans, and now I must be strong and have courage," she concluded.
She is scheduled to begin her duties as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Materiel Readiness in September 2014.
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