Little Rock civilian earns DOD award

Published Oct. 27, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Nestor Cruz
19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. -- A Defense Logistics Agency employee here earned the DLA Superior Civilian Service Award and the Secretary of Defense Global War on Terrorism Medal.

Victor Ambegia, Disposition Services Little Rock, earned the award and medal for his service and achievements during deployments to Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan.

DLA leaders say the award and medal speak of Mr. Ambegia's dedication to the mission as well as his total support for the war fighter's needs.

The work Mr. Ambegia performed during his deployment despite the conditions and daily challenges was the key element which helped him earn well-deserved recognition, said Gail Brown, DLA Disposition Services Red River area manager.

"The working hours in a deployed location are long and the work days are normally seven days a week," Ms. Brown added.

Mr. Ambegia believes civilians make significant contributions to the war effort.

"Everybody plays an important role in the area of responsibility," said Mr. Ambegia. "A lot of the personnel who are working in the DLA for disposition services are also civilian expeditionary workforce members who actually deploy. As simple as [the job] was, to me it was so important."

As a civilian expeditionary workforce member, Mr. Ambegia volunteers to deploy to the AOR in support of military war fighters.

"[While deployed] I started doing what I would normally do for DLA which is property disposal and disposition of hazardous materials that had accumulated out there over several years," he said. "There's always going to be excess property, even in a warzone."

Mr. Ambegia remains dedicated to his work, believing his contributions help save lives, especially those serving in deployed areas.

"Our focus has always been to provide logistic support for the war fighter," he said. "It's not a very complex job, but whatever little effort we provide is really important."
A retired senior NCO, Mr. Ambegia still felt obligated to serve his country.

"After getting out of the Air Force, I started looking at USAjobs.com and found there were federal jobs available," said Mr. Ambegia. He started working for the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office in Guam.

"Our agency went through a name change and we are no longer called DRMO but now called Disposition Services," said Mr. Ambegia.

Mr. Ambegia said he will continue providing support to military members through his work with DLA.

"I think there's something very important about the work done within the DLA because along with the name change the Department of Defense has gotten wiser on how excess property is disposed," he said.