Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Maj. Matthew Baller is the Defense Commissary Agency’s new senior enlisted...... read more read more
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By DeCA Corporate Communications
FORT LEE, Va. – Army Sgt. Maj. Matthew Baller recently completed two years as the Defense Commissary Agency’s senior enlisted advisor for overseas operations as he prepares to retire from military service after over 31 years.
Baller’s retirement is effective Jan. 1, 2023. Marine Master Gunnery Sgt. Anthony Polk, former logistics chief for the 3rd Marine Division G-4 at Okinawa, Japan, has been onboard since Aug. 8 as Baller’s replacement at DeCA Europe headquarters on Kapaun Air Station, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
“Sgt. Maj. Baller did a great job for the Defense Commissary Agency as our uniformed liaison, advising our store operations leadership on the concerns of our stakeholders and patrons overseas, while helping us promote the benefit to our audience in Europe and the Pacific,” said Michael J. Dowling, deputy director and COO. “We thank him for his more than 30 years of military service and wish him the best in his future career.”
On Aug. 16, Dowling presented Baller with the Defense Meritorious Service Medal in a virtual ceremony during an agency senior staff meeting.
As the agency’s senior enlisted advisor for overseas operations, Baller advised the executive director of the Store Operations Group on service members’ needs related to the commissary benefit. He also served as the agency’s overseas liaison to senior leaders of the armed services supported by the 57 overseas commissaries in DeCA’s Europe and Pacific areas.
Baller has served as DeCA’s senior enlisted advisor for operations since July 2020. Before joining the agency, he served as the interim command sergeant major of Regional Health Command-Europe, from January to July 2020 in direct support of the response to the Coronavirus-19 pandemic. From April 2017 to January 2020 he served nearly three years as command sergeant major of the 30th Medical Brigade, Sembach, Germany.
“Arriving to DeCA over two years ago with no prior knowledge of how our commissaries operate, I was in complete amazement at the incredible commitment our commissary employees demonstrate each and every day,” Baller said. “Not fazed by the COVID-19 global pandemic, they displayed heroic-like attributes in delivering a grocery benefit when most places were closed. Like our medical personnel, to me, our commissary employees were true frontline heroes to our military communities, and I will never forget their personal sacrifices.”
The commissaries’ selfless service begins with 67 percent of the workforce having a direct connection to the military as spouses, retirees, family members, Guardsmen, reservists or veterans, Baller said.
“Nowhere else in the world will you find a grocery chain or store that understands first hand, the personal and family sacrifices our service members and families endure throughout their service,” he added. “When you shop the commissary, not only are you getting your groceries at a 23.7 percent savings, you are also being greeted and served by exceptional associates who are committed to ensuring you enjoy your well-deserved commissary benefit for the rest of your life – again a commitment you won’t find anywhere else.”
Baller entered the Army in 1991 and attended basic combat training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and advanced individual training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where he graduated as a behavioral health specialist. He has held a variety of leadership and expertise broadening assignments in the continental United States and overseas.
In 1999, he deployed to Eagle Base, Bosnia, where he served as the detachment sergeant for a Combat Stress Control Detachment in support of Stabilization Force-6 (SFOR6). From October 2005 to November 2006, he deployed to Abu Ghraib, Iraq, where he served as a member of the Behavioral Science Consultation Team (BSCT) in support of the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center (JIDC) during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
He deployed again to Victory Base, Iraq, from September 2009 to September 2010 as the first sergeant for the 550th Area Support Medical Company. While serving as the command sergeant major for the 10th Combat Support Hospital in December 2015, he deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, where he served as the command sergeant major for the U.S. Military Hospital-Kuwait for nine months.
After 31 years of military service, Baller said he’ll miss the people, all the lifelong friends he and his family have met in their travels around the world. And he feels fortunate that the commissary agency was his final tour in uniform.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to my military career than that with Team DeCA,” he said. “I’ve learned firsthand the amount of work it takes to get groceries on shelves in austere military locations all over the world.
“I am so thankful for our DeCA leaders who continually work to improve my grocery benefit,” Baller added. “I’m super excited to see future changes in commissaries around the world as I transition into the next chapter of my life and enjoy my commissary benefit as a retiree.”
-DeCA-
About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.
| Date Taken: | 08.22.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.22.2022 13:37 |
| Story ID: | 427771 |
| Location: | FORT LEE, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 66 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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