One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 131 years of family serving family
Who he is: Anthony Hanna, motor vehicle operator, March Air Reserve Base/West Coast Distribution Center
Years with the Exchange: 19. Hanna began as a Dayton terminal driver working out of Fort Campbell in Kentucky. He has worked out of March ARB since 2016.
Military background: Hanna’s father served in the Army, leading to Hanna having the full military brat experience. The family lived in Fort Ord, California; Fort Lewis, Washington; and Hanna’s dad had three tours in Germany.
“We moved every three to four years,” Hanna said. “I used to go into the PX with my mom and dad, especially around school time. That’s where my mom bought all the clothes for us and I came from a family of seven children, so we really relied on the PX and their discounts.”
After college, Hanna followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Army.
“I did two tours in Germany, one in Korea and one tour at Fort Ord, where I lived one block away from where my dad had his military quarters.”
He also received Exchange support—in a familiar way.
“My wife and I would go to the Exchange and buy stuff when it was time for the kids to go to school. We’d go in there to buy clothes and whatever stuff they needed.”
How he joined the Exchange: After he retired from the Army as a first sergeant, Hanna attended a job fair. “I’d had some experience driving the Patriot missile system, and somebody at the job fair told me about a company called Roehl and said I might be able to try out driving a truck.”
He got the job. Six months later, his mother-in-law passed away. The company denied his request for time off.
“I said, ‘Well, I have to go to Germany to help bury my mother-in-law.’ And they said, ‘The truck can’t sit more than three days.’ I said, ‘Sorry, I have to do this. I can’t let my wife go by herself.’”
Shortly afterward, he saw an online posting for an Exchange job. “I applied and two days later, I got a call from Danny Watkins, who was the manager out of the Dayton switchpoint. He hired me to work at Fort Campbell.”
Hanna had been at Fort Campbell a few years when he heard from the fleet manager that there was a job opening at March Air Reserve. “I said, ‘ Keep me in mind, because March is only a 20-mile drive from where I grew up.’ Six months later, he called me up and said, ‘You still want the job?’ So I moved out here.”
Favorite route: “After I did my store deliveries at Fort Campbell, I used to pick up what they called the Bourbon Belt. Jack Daniel’s, Jim Beam and other distilleries were all along there. It was interesting because I got to see how everything was done.”
Current routes: March ARB is in Riverside County, California, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles but still considered part of the Greater Los Angeles metro area. “It can be very hectic,” Hanna said. “Because we go anywhere from San Diego almost to Santa Barbara picking up stuff.”
San Diego is about 90 miles from March and Santa Barbara is about 160 miles. But in the Greater Los Angeles area, distances are only part of the story.
“The toughest part of working here is the traffic,” Hanna said. “You can plan your route and say, ‘OK, it’s going to take me 45 minutes to an hour to get to Compton,’ and then traffic is so bad that it takes you three hours.”
The West Coast DC connection: March is Hanna’s duty station, but he’s officially based out of the West Coast DC, nearly 400 miles away. “We’re what you call domicile drivers. Every once in a while, we’ll take loaded trailers up to the West Coast Distribution Center. It saves the long-distance drivers the hassle of having to come down here all the time and pick up a loaded trailer.”
Family serving family: “I consider everybody I work with as family. Most of the times, if you treat people they way you like to be treated, it’s a win-win situation.”
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