Highlight: Honoring EDA Employee Military Contributions: Andrew Fiddes, Attorney Advisor for the Disaster Recovery Program

EDA marks Veteran’s Day and the month of November by recognizing the brave men and women among us who serve in our military. This year, we’d like to highlight and honor Attorney-Advisor Andrew Fiddes for simultaneous roles as both a civil servant and member of the armed forces.

Fiddes is an Attorney-Advisor in EDA’s Office of Chief Counsel, where he supports the Disaster Recovery Program, including CARES Act Recovery Assistance. In addition, Fiddes also serves as Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve.

The ability to serve our nation as both a uniformed and civilian member is the embodiment of ‘service before self,’ Fiddes says. In these dual roles, he responds both to the immediate threat or natural disaster to our country and follows up by supporting the important work of the EDA in achieving long-term economic recovery and resiliency.

Fiddes says the work he’s done in these roles is the ultimate reward, which has allowed him to support operations that save and protect lives, and then--when out of uniform--return communities to economic prosperity through critical investments.

To read more about Fiddes’ background and experience, you can visit his “Spotlight on Commerce” blog post, which highlights the contributions of Department of Commerce Military Veterans this month.