MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE ALBANY -- Roosevelt Howard is the Executive Assistant to the Commanding Officers at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany.
Howard says the journey to get where he is today as the executive assistant began six years ago when Commander Col. Trimble asked him to become the permanent assistant after Mrs. Laura Thorne retired. In his position, Howard gets to meet all the commanding officers and sergeant majors who come aboard. Being a retired Marine helps him in his role – the communication level is much higher, and it is easier to understand the acronyms and Marine lingo used throughout the office on a regular basis.
Howard works closely with the directors, the deputies and civilian personnel and says his philosophy is simple, “I don’t come (just) to work every day; I come to serve the people around me and help everyone I can.”
When he first got to MCLB Albany, he asked a lot of questions, and it was the first time during his tenure with the federal government where no one had an answer. He said that he did not want to be the person without an answer.
“Each and every day, to get up and to breathe and to get up and come to work is a proud moment for me. To see all the faces, to enjoy fellowship every day coming to work and then going back home to enjoy family just to return to do it all again the next day – that’s my proud moment. I am just thankful for being selected as the employee of the year, but I give all of that accomplishment back to those who helped me and never said no, every time I asked for different things, or asked for help,” adds Howard.