This yearAca,!a,,cs U.S. Army Europe Supply Excellence Award winners are at it again, and they havenAca,!a,,ct got much to show for it.
Not much, that is, in terms of the excess equipment and supply backlog that U.S. Army Africa, Headquarters Support Company, Supply team has just about eliminated since the command came into being in late 2008.
Aca,!A"Nobody really sees what it was like here two and a half years ago,Aca,!A? said Staff Sgt. Tasha Falcon, HSC Supply Seargent.
In that time, Falcon and her staff have accounted for, documented and removed 3,000 pieces of various equipment valued at $1.6 million from Army AfricaAca,!a,,cs inventory: military end items, computers, digital printers Aca,!" a small mountain range of diverse material that wound up on the supply companyAca,!a,,cs to-do list in mid-2009.
Aca,!A"Nobody ever knew how to turn in equipment, I suppose,Aca,!A? Falcon said.
Aca,!A"When I first got here, there was nothing. The supply room had no system at all. We built this from scratch. ItAca,!a,,cs been about two and a half years of working on it. Now itAca,!a,,cs a question of maintaining,Aca,!A? she said.
Whatever the source of the landslide of stuff that has made its way through the companyAca,!a,,cs motor pool on Caserma Ederle since then, Falcon and her crew have cleaned house with flying colors. HSC Supply has two back-to-back, first-place finishes in the annual Army Supply Excellence Award competition at the USAREUR level to prove it.
With any luck, the HSC Supply Company may go all the way to the winnerAca,!a,,cs circle at the Army level later this year.
Aca,!A"By winning, the Department of the Army will now come down to inspect us. That should be in the November-December timeframe. We donAca,!a,,ct have an exact date yet,Aca,!A? Falcon said.
Aca,!A"Once they come, they do the evaluation. ItAca,!a,,cs not really an inspection; they just talk to you like normal people and evaluate you. But your adrenalineAca,!a,,cs running. Even just getting put into the system, to be evaluated by DA, is an accomplishment. To be able to call home and say, Aca,!EoeHey, Mom, I won this.Aca,!a,,c TheyAca,!a,,cre so proud. ItAca,!a,,cs great.Aca,!A?
Though the big bulge in the pythonAca,!a,,cs belly may have passed, thereAca,!a,,cs always something to prepare for removal from Army AfricaAca,!a,,cs inventory. Falcon and her staff of two soldiers and two contractors have another deadline looming Oct. 1.
Aca,!A"ThatAca,!a,,cs a date we set on the heels of the DA Campaign Plan on Property Accountability to get rid of our excess,Aca,!A? said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Joachim Consiglio, USARAF G-4 Supply Division chief.
In the past week alone, HSC Supply accounted for and emptied three 20-foot cargo trailers, making the property available for removal to the Lerino Supply Support Activity, said Daniel Brown, G-4 Property Book Office.
Aca,!A"There were lots of technical inspections to turn in the paperwork. My main priority is Aca,!" still to do my job, but focus on deadlines,Aca,!A? Falcon said.
Aca,!A"TheyAca,!a,,cve done an outstanding job; in fact, weAca,!a,,cre ahead of schedule,Aca,!A? said Consiglio. Aca,!A"Our end state was Oct. 1, and at the rate the team has been executing, they will exceed the milestone date,Aca,!A? he said.
A visit to the supply company by USARAF Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, in August had a positive effect on the overall process, Falcon said.
Aca,!A"WeAca,!a,,cve always had support, but he put the word out. Everybody was . . . Aca,!EoeWhat can we do to help'Aca,!a,,c So now itAca,!a,,cs a focus,Aca,!A? Falcon said. Aca,!A"By Oct. 1: everything gone. We can take care of it, we can do it right here ourselves.Aca,!A?
And with a little help from Army AfricaAca,!a,,cs friends in USAG Vicenza Directorate of Logistics, said Consiglio.
Aca,!A"Since requesting support from DoL, their director made us the priority for our excess turn-in, and this has been the key enabler in allowing us to surge at such a higher rate. Their staff has been fantastic, from the SSA support to doing technical inspections for us during the 45-day process,Aca,!A? he said.
WhatAca,!a,,cs next after the Oct. 1 finish line'
Aca,!A"Just keeping up on the daily paperwork and the filing system,Aca,!A? said Spc. Benjamin Roalson. Aca,!A"Just the day-to-day thing that keeps us rolling.Aca,!A?
Aca,!A"The next benchmark is preparation for the DA CSA Supply Excellence competition, continual cultural awareness of supply discipline across the command, and monitoring lifecycle replacement,Aca,!A? said Consiglio.
Whatever follows, Falcon will be on the job and taking the lead. The Houston, Texas, native has taken to the trade, and to the Army too.
Aca,!A"IAca,!a,,cm extending. I just got my grade,Aca,!A? Falcon said.
Aca,!A"I really enjoy working supply and logistics. ItAca,!a,,cs hard work; itAca,!a,,cs long hours. I go home at the end of the day thinking thereAca,!a,,cs not enough hours in the day,Aca,!A? she said.
Aca,!A"Logistics is constant, constant, constant.Aca,!A?
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