Promising to continue the kind of efficient military-supply operations that have won Defense Distribution Depot San Joaquin numerous honors in recent years, U.S. Army Col. David Rodriguez assumed command of the depot Tuesday.

Rodriguez succeeds Army Col. J. Douglas Serrano as commander of the Defense Logistic Agency’s principal West Coast supply installation with 1,500 employees working at the Tracy and Lathrop sites.

During the ceremonies in the depot’s new Building 56 storage and shipping center at the Tracy facility on Chrisman Road, Serrano, commander for the past three years, retired from the Army after 27 years of active duty.

Rodriguez, a native of Brooklyn, entered the Army in 1983 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of Puerto Rico, where he received a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

He has served as a military logistics officer in the U.S., Germany and El Salvador and was assigned to DLA headquarters at Ft. Belvoir, Va., while serving as interim commander of the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service in Battle Creek, Mich.

Glenn Moore/Tracy Press

TAKE THE FLAG:Col. David Rodriguez (at right) hands the command flag to Sgt. 1st Class Jose Rosario as Rodriguez took command of the Defense Distribution Depot San Joaquin.

He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Tarleton State University and has graduated from the Command and General Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Army Brig. Gen. Lynn A. Collyar, commander of the Defense Distribution Center in New Cumberland, Pa., of which the Tracy-based San Joaquin depot is a part, conducted the change-of-command ceremony.

“Accomplishments of DDJC (the military initials for the depot) over the last three years under Col. Serrano have been significant,” he said. “The 1,500 employees here have handled 12 million items received and shipped in the past three years, shipping $11 billion worth of supplies to military units around the world.”

He noted that the San Joaquin Depot won President Bush’s Award for Installation Excellence in 2005, received the gold-level Eureka Award from the California Council of Performance Excellence in 2006 and has been chosen to compete in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award this year.

During his retirement ceremony, Serrano was presented the Legion of Merit medal for his achievements as depot commander during the past three years. He and his family plan to live in Florida.