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# DLA Distribution soldier named 2018 OSD Senior Enlisted Member of the Year

By Beth Reece

Army Master Sgt. Kahlil Warner joined the Army halfway through his senior year to escape the homelessness and crime staining the lives of teens in Atlanta, Georgia. He didn’t want to become a statistic, so he left for boot camp in 2002. It’s a choice he’s proud of.

“I got a wife and four kids out of it, and my career is going pretty good,” he said. “I think I got a good deal.”

The 34-year-old noncommissioned officer-in-charge of current operations at Defense Logistics Agency Distribution has also made history, becoming DLA’s first soldier to be named Senior Enlisted Member of the Year by the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Warner was nominated for the title after being named DLA’s 2018 Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year and appeared before an OSD board mid-February. He learned about his selection in a surprise phone call from DLA Director Army Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams.

“Master Sgt. Warner is head and shoulders above the NCOs I’ve typically served with,” said Army Col. Fredric Maddox, director of DLA Distribution Joint Logistics Operations. “He is the type of NCO you hope to be assigned with, who can easily handle their responsibility, improve other NCOs around him and assist you in moving the organization forward,” Maddox said.

Warner helps monitor global operational support at 25 distribution centers and 30 depots, a job normally reserved for master sergeants that he began in May 2017 as a sergeant first class.

A competitive nature and desire to earn more stripes prompted Warner to put his knowledge and experience up against that of other soldiers. He was evaluated by a panel of military judges on military bearing, self-expression, general military knowledge, and leadership qualities and potential.

Trick questions and board members’ scrutiny are nothing new to Warner. Overcoming mental and physical challenges led to his induction into the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club, a private organization for NCOs whose leadership achievements and performance merit special recognition, according to www.audiemurphy.com. Just being at the Pentagon for the OSD board was a big test in achieving his latest accolade, Warner said.

“The hardest part was not freaking out when I got inside the building. Being able to walk through those doors is one of the items on my bucket list, so I had to work to keep my composure and calm down before facing the board,” he said.

Warner will return to the Pentagon late April or early May to be formally recognized.

“Although I wasn’t on the panel, I assume they witnessed his presence, heard how polished he sounds, and were impressed by the complexity and depth of his answers,” Maddox said, adding that Warner’s selection proves DLA has top-notch individuals working to support the nation’s warfighters.

Logistics was the only job recruiters offered Warner when he joined the Army. Though he considered switching his occupational specialty to a more hands-on job like combat arms when he was a sergeant, he decided to stay in logistics because it gave him a multitude of marketable skills. He was surprised, however, when he received orders for DLA from the 75th Ranger Regiment.

“I didn’t know what DLA was at the time. Being in special operations, we had LNOs [liaison officers] who did the ordering and talking for us,” he said.

Now, Warner said he understands logistics from a strategic perspective.

“When I get back to Army units I can harp on our guys about filling out MILSTRIP [Military Standard Requisitioning and Issue Procedures] codes correctly or to not keep pushing the button to order 10 parts because they haven’t gotten it yet,” Warner added.

Warner’s next assignment will be as first sergeant for the 526th Composite Supply Company at Fort Riley, Kansas.

“It’s probably one of the best moves for me,” he said. But a job offer at the Pentagon? “I’d be tempted to take that instead.”

 

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