Employee Spotlight: Arthur Ford

RICHMOND, Va. -

Employee Spotlight focuses on outstanding nonsupervisory Defense Logistics Agency personnel across DLA Aviation and at Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia. Organizational directors may nominate employees to be featured in this column by contacting DLA Aviation Public Affairs at [email protected]

Name: Arthur Ford

Organization: DLA Aviation at Oklahoma City

Years of service at DLA: 16 years

What is your job title, and what do you do specifically? I am customer support specialist, and my job is to represent DLA Aviation as a single face to the industrial customer. I ensure the timely processing of customer orders so that the customer has access to the material and account and order information.

How do you support the warfighter? I support the warfighter by keeping communication open and keeping their parts moving. This is done by monitoring the materiel and providing our customers with the most up-to-date status items needed. As an example, I brief an Air Force director in the 546th Propulsion Maintenance Squadron at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, regarding our Depot Repair Enhancement Program (DREP), where we address the health of national stock numbers on back order that have the potential to cause delays or work stoppages. At the DREP, we're able to get in front of the problem and find possible workarounds before a backorder stops an engine being built.

What do you like most about your job, and why? I enjoy talking face-to-face with our customers when they need answers or information about their parts. This interaction, over time, builds their trust and confidence in me.

If you could speak directly to the warfighters you support, what would you tell them? No lipstick here - what we tell you is the coldhearted truth!

Professionally, where do you see yourself five years from now? I'll be retired and look forward to not waking to an alarm clock! Eventually, I will volunteer at my church with programs that run during working days or wherever needed.

What is your favorite military aircraft? Why? The Air Force E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) is my favorite. While in the Air Force, I was the AWACS crew chief for 11 years out of 20, starting at Kadena Air Base in Japan from 1885-1989 and then here at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma from 1997-2005.

What's the most thrilling/adventurous thing you have ever done? When I turned 50, I started cycling, and it's been a joy, from casual rides to main cycling events here in Oklahoma. So far, my longest distance on a bike is 50 miles at the Dehydrator in Duncan. I also usually ride in May's Valley Rally event in Paul Valley. I'm riding in the 2024 Red Bud Classic in Oklahoma City this year. But my favorite is the Chickasha bike ride because it combines a block party with cycling, hosting roughly 30 food trucks and entertainment.

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