# DLA Energy senior leaders present Annual Operating Plan

/ Published Jan. 31, 2017
FORT BELVOIR, Virginia, Strategic and operational issues dominated the annual operating plan at Defense Logistics Agency Energy at the McNamara Headquarters complex at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Jan. 30.DLA Energy Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Martin Chapin and senior leadership across the organization briefed the DLA Director Air Force Lt. Gen. Andy Busch on the major strategic and operational objectives the organization is working on.“We’re making sure we’re looking ahead and supporting the Warfighter on a daily basis,” Chapin said. “Energy is in a good place, we do the mission well and the team is supporting you.”Energy leadership briefed the DLA Commander on Energy’s progress with implementing the fiscal year 2017 director’s intent and annual guidance.“This is your chance to report on your contract with the boss,” said DLA Vice Director Ted Case. “We are looking for where you are with your contract.”The DLA Energy 2016-2018 lines of effort crosswalk items included seven lines of effort and 16 items of action based on the director’s five strategic goals. The DLA goal area of Warfighter first has three DLA Energy lines of effort. They are; developing an Energy future roadmap, executive agency initiatives and develop a resilient and redundant Energy supply chain.Director of Customer Operations Air Force Col. Todd Cheney briefed the DLA director on the Global Petroleum Distribution Plan, an initiative under the Energy future roadmap. The GPDP will assist the joint petroleum community in prioritizing resources to modify the petroleum distribution supply chain in support of shaping the global battlespace to meet tomorrow’s challenges, Cheney said.“We will identify key storage and distribution nodes as they are today and how they need to be aligned in the next eight to ten years,” Cheney said. “This will identify construction projects and contracting actions to modify our supply chain.”Elements of the plan include the establishment of Duqm, Oman and the commercialization of the petroleum supply chain in Japan, Cheney added.Transitioning to the DLA goal area of people and culture, three separate Energy briefings highlighted the organization’s talent management and development efforts.Commander’s Action Group Strategic Integration Office Team Lead Consondra Davis briefed the audience on DLA Energy’s focus efforts to create a benchmark, talent development program that will analyze succession plans to identify skill gaps and develop strategies to ensure uninterrupted workforce proficiencies. She also outlined efforts to improve the culture and climate in DLA Energy as part of improvements identified in the 2016 Denison survey.“We will brief the critical succession plan and roadmap template in the supervisor’s town hall scheduled for Feb. 14,” Davis said. “Our end state is to complete 14 different actions and improve scores in all categories of the 2018 Denison survey. We are working towards those goals with our monthly brown- bag mentoring lunches and posting resiliency blogs to the workforce.”DLA Energy Quality Director Pam Serino reinforced the theme of talent management and development in her brief on the Quality Assurance Representative Development program.“One of the key drivers of the QAR program is that 63 percent of QARs are within retirement age,” Serino said. “We need to bring in younger people into the QAR field.”The reinstatement of the QAR development program, according to Serino, will establish a training program that incorporates all aspects of quality performance and improve the career path and succession plan for a QAR journeyman to train to become a supervisor and eventually rise to the position of manager. Audit readiness and efforts to improve DLA Energy’s culture of continuous improvement rounded out the AOP review.After the final presentation, Busch thanked the Energy leadership team for their efforts.“When I look at Energy and its strong goals, I think we’re in a good spot with the combatant commands,” Busch said. “Your work on audit is strong and you are embracing continuous process improvement. I appreciate your focus on people and culture.”“I am very pleased with the outcome of the AOP,” Chapin said. “We were in synch with what the director wanted. The team did an awesome job and I want to thank everyone for their efforts.”