DFAS volunteers assist in FEMA surge

Courtesy Photo | More than 200 DFAS employees applied to be volunteers for the FEMA directed relief effort in September 2017. Armed with little information, few requirements, only 24 hours to respond and an overwhelming desire to help, 10 people took a leap of faith to project the DFAS values of service and integrity to a much broader audience. (DoD Photo by Sara Limon-Hernandez, Defense Military Pay Office, Fort Bliss)  

INDIANAPOLIS, IN, UNITED STATES

01.17.2018

Story by Damon Hill 

Defense Finance and Accounting Service

INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 17, 2018 – When the call went out to assist communities impacted by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, more than 200 DFAS employees volunteered.
This was the first time the Department of Homeland Security's Surge Capacity Force was open to the entire federal workforce, and 10 DFAS employees were selected to join. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's personnel mobilization training center in Anniston, Alabama, provided the 4,000 volunteers the necessary training, skill assessment and duty assignments before they deployed to the disaster areas.
Each volunteer would spend 45 days supporting the disaster recovery efforts, in a variety of locales and in an even wider variety of roles.
Armed with little information, few requirements, only 24 hours to respond and an overwhelming desire to help, 10 people took a leap of faith to project the DFAS values of service and integrity to a much broader audience.
The following employees were selected to represent DFAS:
Cornell Alex Bosley, Operations, DFAS Columbus
Enrique Ruiz-Perez, Enterprise Management Services, DFAS Columbus
Kirk Shelby, Information and Technology, DFAS Columbus
Brooke Miller, Accounting Operations, DFAS Columbus
Lisa Hallis, Finance Operations, DFAS Cleveland
Sara Limon-Hernandez, Finance Operations-Military Pay, Fort Bliss
Robin Smith, Accounting Operations, DFAS Indianapolis
Joy Hughes, Enterprise Standards and Solutions, DFAS Indianapolis
Todd Mero, Operations-Facilities, DFAS Limestone
Bernard Boris, Accounts Receivable, DFAS Rome
All of the selectees quickly became familiar with what it meant to be "FEMA flexible," as the need for bodies to fill a wide array of tasks meant that volunteers needed to adapt to changing conditions and requirements in order to provide the most value exactly when and where they were needed.
This was especially true for Robin Smith, a systems accountant in Integrated Systems Support Division at DFAS Indianapolis.
"When we were being briefed before being deployed, Carrie (Sheets) and Marcie (Stoner) were relaying information they were receiving from FEMA," she said. They said "we would be going to a warmer/hot climate" like Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands, and they needed to pack accordingly.
"Not once was Carson City, Nevada, ever mentioned in any of our conversations," Smith said.
She ended up working in a recovery service center in Carson City, handling calls from hurricane survivors applying for disaster assistance.
"I had to purchase a new winter jacket and I added several new sweaters to my closet," she noted.
Adapting to that flexibility did nothing to discourage her or any of the volunteers from commenting on what an amazing and rewarding experience it was.
"This experience was most rewarding, and I feel it was a privilege and honor to work with FEMA," said Lisa Hallis, a military pay technician in Retired and Annuity Pay at DFAS Cleveland. "I listened to countless survivors sharing their trauma from the hurricane and current life status. Many were in tents, hotels, trailers or homeless. We reached out to local churches to help the homeless, and completed applications (for assistance) for those in hotels, trailers and tents. I cannot tell you how many survivors cried while telling their stories of events."
Whether it was volunteers unloading and organizing supplies in Lakeland, Florida, or working 12-hour days in Shelby, Texas, registering survivors looking for disaster assistance, or writing field report summaries in Miami, every employee seemed to have had a meaningful experience doing all the little things that needed to be done in a disaster response, no matter how un-glamorous those tasks may have seemed.
One volunteer, however, did get the opportunity to exercise a needed skill, using her proficiency in speaking Spanish to communicate with survivors in small villages among the mountains of Puerto Rico.
Sara Limon-Hernandez, a military pay supervisor in Finance Operations for the Defense Military Pay Office at Fort Bliss, Texas, was part of a team working to register survivors for disaster assistance and provide as many basic supplies as possible.
A typical day included a 90-minute trip into the mountains along muddy, damaged roads, in vehicles loaded with MREs, water and snacks to distribute to the many households in need. Her team would fill out paper applications for assistance for the affected families because internet service was often unavailable. Then they would notify local government officials of anyone in dire medical need.
"When dealing with the local community, we were always welcomed, and the survivors would be very pleased to see us," Limon-Hernandez said. "It was always a heartfelt experience dealing with the community. At times, we had survivors crying as they described their losses.
"Other times, we had them offering us coconuts or coffee and welcoming us into their homes. Each day it amazed me how the survivors were so resourceful, positive and optimistic," she said.
"Every day my heart went out to the people of Puerto Rico," she said. "I am very grateful that I was given the opportunity to help. This experience has made me more humble and very appreciative of what we take for granted every day."
Considering that providing disaster recovery support isn't a typical DFAS mission, all of the volunteers commented on how much it meant to them to have the team back home working diligently to ensure that everything from pay to travel and lodging went as smoothly and seamlessly as possible.
Carrie Sheets and Marcie Stoner, human resources specialists in the Staffing and Classification Program Office, were the agency POCs who organized the effort and kept in contact with the volunteers throughout their deployment.
The team especially recognized the efforts of Dora Winter and her staff, who were key in navigating the Defense Travel System and meeting the ever-changing needs and frequent travel demands that came from being moved to where volunteers were needed most.
"It was truly heartening to see how many DFAS employees requested to be FEMA volunteers," Sheets said. "The response was overwhelming. The 10 DFAS hurricane volunteers truly represented our agency well. The employees that deployed would be great mentors if DFAS were asked to provide volunteers in the future."
DFAS has long espoused the values of integrity and service as they relate to serving financial customers. By participating in this volunteer effort, DFAS employees have embraced those values and applied them to a much broader, and appreciative, audience.

• Date Taken: 01.17.2018
• Date Posted: 12.31.2018 17:35
• Story ID: 305933
• Location: INDIANAPOLIS, IN, US