Twitter
Facebook
Army Lt. Col. Sherdrick Rankin (right), new commander of DLA Troop Support Europe & Africa, accepts the colors from Col. Theodore Shinkle, DLA Europe & Africa commander, during a change of command ceremony July 12 in Kaiserslautern. Rankin took over command from Lt. Col. Shane Cuéllar (far left).
The charge to deliver food, uniforms, medical items and more to ensure the combat readiness of America’s warfighters throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East changed hands July 12.
Army Lt. Col. Sherdrick Rankin assumed command of the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Europe and Africa from Lt. Col. Shane Cuéllar during a change of command ceremony in Kaiserslautern.
Col. Theodore Shinkle, DLA Europe and Africa commander, officiated the ceremony. He thanked Cuéllar for his “innovative and often brilliant leadership” as the DLA Troop Support Europe and Africa team supported all four military services in three combatant commands’ areas of operations through five supply chains: subsistence, clothing and textiles, construction and equipment, medical and industrial hardware.
“He set the standard,” Shinkle said about Cuéllar, “for DLA and the commitment to warfighter readiness.”
During his three years in command, DLA Troop Support Europe and Africa has supported more than 100 multinational exercises, processed more than 63,800 food service orders per year and supported more than 260 locations.
“I, like most military members in this room, have been a recipient of DLA support, but didn’t really know where it all came from,” Cuéllar said.
He talked about, when as a captain in Kuwait preparing to go to Baghdad in 2003, receiving 1,000 pallets in five days from a DLA vendor. Then through the same support program that the pallets were ordered from — the Maintenance, Repair and Operations program — DLA delivered 20 large Alaska shelter tents to Kenya in 35 days while Cuéllar was in command.
“So how do all of these supplies get to the flightline, foxhole and carrier deck?” Cuéllar asked.
“The professionals of DLA Troop Support Europe and Africa,” he answered.
In his next assignment, Cuéllar will be the director of logistics for Special Operations Command – Forward North and West Africa in Baumholder.
Rankin previously served as the executive officer to the senior logistician at U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida. He was an enlisted petroleum supply specialist before being commissioned as an Army Quartermaster officer in 2001.
“To the service members and civilians of Troop Support,” he said, “I look forward to serving with you and continuing to provide the first-class logistics support that you have come to be known for.”
