Spotlight on Donald Martin, WAC’s Final Mile Manager and U.S. Army Veteran

This Friday, we pay special respect to the veterans who have selflessly served our country. And to help celebrate Veterans Day from our little corner of the world, we’re turning the spotlight to WAC’s Final Mile Manager Donald Martin. Donald served for five years in the Army as part of the 4th of the 42nd Field Artillery Unit. 

Today, we’re fortunate to have Donald as part of the WAC team. His problem-solving prowess and love of working with people are two qualities that make him such an integral part of WAC’s Supply Chain and Operations team. Based outside of Jacksonville, FL, Donald is the final WAC point of contact between you and your box of seafood — the one who ensures that the delivery makes that home stretch to your doorstep. 

We recently spoke with Donald about how his service in the military has shaped his life; how he and his family enjoy epic, multi-species seafood dinners together (so that everyone gets their favorite fish!); and the DIY secret sauce he mixes up for his signature air-fried rockfish po’ boy sandwich. 

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When did you join the Army and what were your duties? 

I joined the Army one week out of high school, on June 6th 1996. I was 17. I was what’s called a 13 Fox, which is a Fire Support Specialist. When you hear that job you think of firefighter, but that is not what it is. My job was to work in artillery, to support the infantry in calling air strikes, mortar gunfire. Things like that. 

I spent 5 years in the military, and I got out in February 2001. I have not served time in combat.

Where were you stationed, and what was your day-to-day experience in the military like?

I was stationed in Fort Hood, TX, and I was there the entire five years. My unit that I went into is 4-42FA: 4th of the 42nd Field Artillery Unit. 

We spent a lot of time training. Out of my five years in the Army, I spent three years training in the field — in the woods, in the Mojave Desert. Day to day, I was on a mechanized unit, which means you’re on a 113 vehicle — basically, a big aluminum can with tracks. Our vehicles aren’t very fast, so it’s not good if you get seen. But that’s our job, not to get seen.

We’d spend our mornings at the motor pool, where our vehicles were stored, doing maintenance, making sure the oil was changed. We’d inspect things to see if there was anything that needed to be fixed. We would do this at least twice a week, to make sure stuff didn’t walk off or we didn’t lose anything as we were working on it, because at any time we could be called to go. 

Any highlights you’d like to share from your military career? 

The unit I went in was one of the worst artillery units when we first started. All of the units are ranked in the Army Times. But we started doing Task Force 21 [a war game designed to help digitize the military]. We became one of the best artillery units. We even got a President’s Award for being one of the best artillery units in the Army. 

How has your time in the military shaped who you are today? 

One of the two biggest things I learned in the military is attention to detail. That has helped me in my career, no matter what I’ve done. In the military, you’ve got to pay attention to what’s going on. You’ve got to pay attention to your surroundings. You’ve got to be super dialed in and focused. It’s a matter of life and death if you don’t. 

That attention to detail is something I use in my job today. I’ve got to be focused in on the different zip codes that I’m working in, the warehouses that I’m working with, to make sure that our members are getting their fish.  

Another thing is diversity. Working and trusting the person next to you, no matter their religious belief, no matter their personal belief, no matter if they’re male, female, it doesn’t matter. We’re all on the same team, and you’ve got to support and love each other no matter what. 

Those are the two biggest things that have helped me succeed in my life in the last 21 years that I’ve been out. 

What do you do as part of the Wild Alaskan Company Team? 

My official title is Final Mile Manager. 

My job is to find new carriers, find our trouble zip codes, and figure out why our orders get delayed or get stopped — and how to fix them and get them to our members. My favorite part of the job is the fact that everyday I get to interact with so many different Wild Alaskan team members to help figure out what’s happened to one of our member’s packages, and how we can make their experience better to fix it every time. I love working with people.  

Any favorite moments when working as a Final Mile Manager? 

So far the best day that I’ve had is when Aileen [WAC’s Member Experience Manager] reached out to me about a member who had issues with getting to the end of her driveway, to get her box. The member needed the box to be delivered by the door, and had tried three times and it hadn’t been done.  

So I went to my rep for one of our carrier services, and I said, “Listen, I need white glove service on this. I need it delivered in front of her door, no more than 2 or 3 feet away, so that she can get her fish inside her home.” They followed my request step by step, and I tracked it to make sure it was 100% perfect for this customer that’s been trying to get our fish.

It’s rewarding to know that I had a part in making sure that member was happy, to see the message that she sent back to Aileen for her gratitude — that nobody else has brought her packages to her door like we did.

What’s your favorite species of WAC seafood?

It’s a toss-up between two: the rockfish and the weathervane scallops.

Rockfish is my favorite fish. I’ve overcooked it, and it does not come out dry. I love the fact that I can mess up, and it’s still good. Plus, I like the flavor. I’ll air fry it with lemon and garlic, and then I’ll put it on a po’ boy sandwich. Because of the way it’s shaped, it fits perfectly on a nice hoagie roll. I’ll add some tartar sauce — I actually mix my tartar sauce and my cocktail sauce together, and then spread it on there with some mild cheddar cheese. 

For scallops, I’m a butter-garlic mixture guy. In the pan, pan-sear ‘em, and I will eat them plain, nothing on it. Just… that’s it.

My usual box is a combo white box. And once every three months, I order just the salmon box, just for my wife. 

Does your family enjoy WAC seafood?

My wife loves salmon — coho or sockeye, she loves them both.  

My oldest daughter loves salmon, too. She wraps it in foil with lemon, garlic, onion and bell peppers. Or recently, she’s been cooking Sockeye Salmon Strips in an air fryer for her salad.

My son doesn’t care, it doesn’t matter. He likes all the fish. If you ask him which one do you like, he says, “All of them.”  

My middle daughter is the only one that says, “I’m not down for fish.” But she loves crab legs! For her birthday, that’s what we had — we had a crab boil with Dungeness and snow crab. The snow crab was so good. She said it was the best snow crab she’d ever had. 

My youngest loves rockfish. Just the rockfish. She doesn’t want any other fish than the rockfish. 

What’s a family dinner like?

When we cook and eat fish together, we don’t make just one type of fish. We actually make multiple fish at one time because everybody’s taste buds are different. 

We’ll have Pacific cod, Pacific halibut, rockfish, and salmon, all at one time at one dinner, with some sides. Usually the sides are corn on the cob, or my wife will make Velveeta shells and cheese to go with my fish. And then sometimes we’ll have peas because my younger daughter loves sweet peas. That’s what we usually have. 

And the po’ boy — that’s actually lunch for the next day. So I always make sure there’s enough rockfish leftover for the next day for me to have my po’ boy. Nobody else eats it like I do. They think my mixture of cocktail and tartar sauce is weird.

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To satisfy your craving for a meal like Donald’s air-fried po’ boy, I suggest this cornmeal-crusted wild Alaska pollock this weekend. 

Or, go with Donald’s laid back approach: a little garlic, a little lemon, a quick spin in the air fryer until the rockfish is hot and flaky, then layer that fillet onto a soft hoagie roll with a little cheese and tartar sauce — and maybe a little cocktail sauce too!

Before I sign off this week, I also want to extend a big shout out to our members who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces! We see you, appreciate you, and thank you for your service from the bottom of our hearts. Happy Veterans Day from this fish family! 

Live Wild,

Monica

Pictured above: Donald Martin in Homer this past summer, enjoying the mountain view from across Kachemak Bay.