Photo By Michael Mascari | (Front to rear) Michael Hamm (MAST), David Pate, Robert Kilgore, James Butler, And...... read more read more
It is often said good things come in threes. For Donald Dillon, they come in fives.
When Area Maintenance Support Activity (AMSA) 147G won the US Army Reserve-level Chief of Staff Army Award for Maintenance Excellence (AAME), none of its customers were surprised. It was one of five prestigious awards that Dillon, the AMSA 147G Shop Supervisor, has been able to claim in recent months.
Dillon recently received the 81st Regional Support Command’s Civilian of the Year Award while at a workshop at Fort Jackson.
His civilian award is a reflection of his leadership at the AMSA, which is competing at the Department of the Army level for Chief of Staff Award for Maintenance Excellence.
In true Army Reserve form, he is twice the citizen. He was able to duplicate the maintenance magic with his Reserve unit, the 844th Engineer Battalion, Knoxville, Tenn., As Maintenance Supervisor, he led the unit to an AAME on the military side, as well as the Army Supply Excellence Award (SEA).
“I’m just happy my guys are being recognized for their hard work and dedication,” Dillon said about the accolades. “It’s not about me, it’s about what they did. I have one of the best facilities and group of employees in the country.”
81st RSC Director of Logistics Ardis Ferguson and his deputy, Gregg Charvoz, presented Dillon with the Civilian award, the Commanders Award for Civilian Service (the civilian equivalent to an Army Commendation Medal) and presented the shop with a trophy, and a plaque for USARC-level and 81st RSC-level honors.
Although serving a diverse customer base presents a lot of challenges and demands from customers, Dillon said the shop’s standard is quality work in a reasonable time frame with 100% customer satisfaction.
Reserve component units face a lot of challenges and they count on strong customer service and support from the AMSA. Many of the units have Annual Training twice per year and don’t have the funds available to be self-sufficient (for maintenance). They struggle to meet all the demands of training and the ability to fix their equipment. Technical inspections, repairs and are very difficult and time consuming, especially for units with minimal full-time support.
Mechanic David Pate appreciates the shop recognition, but said the AMSA is not in it for recognition, but to ensure safety and readiness. He said the employees are continually watching over each other to prevent problems down the road for Soldiers.
“Attention to detail is extremely important,” Pate said. A mistake can injure someone or cost them their life. If you don’t put a drive line on properly or put a tire on right and mess the bearings up, you can cause a catastrophic accident. We are professionals, we’ve all been doing this a long time and we oversee each other to make sure everything’s done right and everyone can perform their mission safely.”
According to Dillon, the shop has an impeccable record. There have been no equipment breakdowns enroute to training exercises in over three years for the units they regularly support. Their customer base also includes units from other components.
“We do support and recovery operations for units coming through our area that do break down,” Dillon said. “We will fix it and send them on their way, even when they don’t have all the parts they need, we will take care of them. We help Marines, National Guard units, anyone that needs it. We will support them.”
In addition to an excellent maintenance record, Dillon, his employees and the Soldiers in his unit are extremely active in the community.
“Anyone can have a good maintenance program. What sets us apart is our customer service and involvement in our community,” Dillon explained.
They regularly perform repairs of facilities and the local school district, lead toy drives for the Niswonger Children’s Hospital and St. Jude’s hospitals in Johnson City, work with residents of a local retirement home and lend a hand whenever they identify a need. Many including Dillon coach local Little League teams.
Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Martinez, the motor sergeant for the 733 Engineer Company in Greeneville, Tenn., has worked with Dillon in his down trace units for more than ten years, and his unit is an AMSA customer. He said he was not at all surprised the shop and Dillon received these honors.
“One thing that sticks out to me about him and his shop is the dedication 24/7 to the community and to his Soldiers,” said Sergeant First Class Joseph Martinez. “He’s willing to do anything. The AMSA is the same way. They’ve always helped us out with equipment whether we are at the facility or on the road. They always provide any support we need, and they always provide support to the community.”
Donald’s trophy case includes two AAMEs for his military reserve unit (the 844th Engineer Battalion,) at the USARC-level, in addition to the AMSA victory on the Civilian side. His shop has won the 81st RSC-level Army Award for Supply Excellence (AASE) twice, and his unit captured AASE at the USARC Level.
The DA level award will be announced later this summer.
| Date Taken: | 06.30.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.12.2016 11:31 |
| Story ID: | 202866 |
| Location: | JOHNSON CITY, TN, US |
| Web Views: | 66 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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