Bockford selected executive officer to DeCA director
FORT LEE, Va. – Patrick Bockford has been selected to become the executive officer to the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) director effective Dec. 4.
He follows Robert Culbreth, who was selected in June 2022 as the deputy to the executive director of Sales, Marketing and Logistics Group.
In making the announcement, Bill Moore, DeCA director and CEO, welcomed Bockford to the command team and thanked Culbreth for his service.
“Please join me in congratulating Mr. Bockford,” Moore said. “As my executive officer, I depend on him to counsel and plan my engagement with internal staff and external senior leaders. I’m confident his leadership and experience, both proven commodities as an Army logistics officer and later a senior defense operations analyst, will help us as we continue our transformation of the commissary benefit.
“We also appreciate Robert’s hard work and dedication while transitioning to his new position as the deputy to the executive director of Sales, Marketing and Logistics,” Moore added. “As my exec, he provided valuable analysis to DeCA, Pentagon and congressional leadership on many top-tier projects,” Moore added. “I know his expertise and professionalism is serving MP well.”
As the director’s executive officer, Bockford provides authoritative advice to the director with in-depth analysis of key operational, management and administrative programs and systems. He also assists the director in planning, evaluating, integrating and coordinating activities from internal agency executive directors, area directors and directorate heads as well as actions from the Department of Defense, stakeholders and industry.
Bockford comes from RiverTech, LLC, a commercial firm that supported the Army Futures Command at Fort Lee, Virginia. There, as a senior defense operations analyst, he helped support modernization efforts focused on sustainment and logistics.
From 2000 to 2021, Bockford served on active duty as an Army officer in worldwide assignments focused in logistics, simulations or learning, supported higher-level professional military education and large-scale constructive exercises, and led soldiers in combat. His service included deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terror.
From 2008 to 2011, Bockford taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he led a team that rewrote the first-year military science curriculum to increase the cadets’ preparedness for graduation. This led to him being honored as the department’s instructor of the year.
Bockford’s military career culminated as the director, Logistics Exercise and Simulation Directorate at Fort Lee, Virginia. He retired in 2021 as a lieutenant colonel.
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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.