Richard
Eldridge, lead defense travel administrator on Marine Corps Air Station
New River, retired from federal service today and received a
certificate of appreciation for his service.
Eldridge
went to Parris Island in 1983 and later in his career reached the rank
of staff sergeant and commissioned to warrant officer in 1994. He
commissioned because of examples that were set for him.
"The warrant officers I
ran into early in my career were awesome individuals so I wanted to be
like them," said Eldridge. "I was a personnel officer."
As a warrant officer, Eldridge was there for during the beginning of the War on Terror.
"I was on the first East Coast float with 22 Marine Expeditionary Unit after 9/11 in 2002," said Eldridge.
Later on, in 2004, his
duties took him to al Asad, Iraq but he finished his time in the Marine
Corps at New River, where his last official duties were as the director
of IPAC and setting up the Defense Travel System at New River.
"He established the DTS
program from the ground floor when it first started," said Kristal
Humphrey, air station New River director. "He’s very knowledgeable and
supervising him was very hands-off. It’s going to be difficult to
replace him."
After approximately, 24
years in the Marine Corps, he retired as a chief warrant officer 4 and
remained on the air station to continue work as a civilian.
"The transition was
pretty easy, having been here for a fair amount of time I still had my
contacts," said Eldridge. "My role as DTS administrator was taking care
of issues and hosting a help desk service for them. It helped reduce
stress of Marines and admins, and helps them focus on the mission."
Although Eldridge retired after 10 years as a civilian at the air station, he plans to continue work with his family.
"My wife and I are
going to purchase a small business and work together on that. The young
folks I worked with help keep me young," said Eldridge. "I’m going to
miss working with Marines for sure."