# DLA Distribution Commanding Officer visits DLA Distribution San Joaquin

/ Published Aug. 13, 2018
TRACY, Calif., 
DLA Distribution San Joaquin’s leadership team and employees had the opportunity to host DLA Distribution Commanding Officer Navy Rear Adm. Kevin Jones during his first trip to the Tracy, California distribution center July 31 – Aug.1. Jones spent two days on site receiving briefs, touring mission areas and conducted a Town Hall for the San Joaquin team. 

“Team San Joaquin was honored to host our DLA Distribution Commanding Officer during his site visit,” said DLA Distribution San Joaquin commander Marine Col. Andre Harrell. “We were expressly grateful for having our commanding officer visit Team San Joaquin.”

His morning kicked off with Harrell providing the command overview and explaining the mission and capabilities of the distribution center. 

Upon conclusion of the command overview, he conducted a Town Hall with the distribution center employees discussing his command philosophy and our institutional leadership tenets, in addition to presenting the Global Distribution Excellence awards and his Commander’s Coin for six deserving employees.  

Culture:  Our people are the most important assets. Distribution is a workplace that promotes integrity, teamwork, trust, respect and accountability and we must empower our people. When this comes together, we have fostered a positive culture.

Customer: The Warfighter is why we are here. We must have a mission focus 24/7. It is imperative that we strive to meet their needs and integrate with the customer through the building and foster of supported/supporting relationships. Lastly, we must always continue to improve our processes.

Command: Our actions are important. In order to foster a positive image and reputation, we must continue to do the right things. Readiness is vital to ensure we are the most efficient and effective organization. A strong unit identity is important. Everyone in the command should be extremely proud of DLA Distribution and DLA Distribution San Joaquin. We must continue to focus on creating a strong sense of esprit de corps and our overall performance will increase.

After having lunch with the leadership team and command staff, Jones went on a windshield tour of the installation that pointed out the way forward for the installation. After the driving tour, he had the opportunity to walk through key warehouses in the mission area. 

First, he toured Small Parcel Receiving, Mechanized Storage, Foreign Military Sales and Mechanized Packing operations (Bin Division). The Bin Division serves as the primary hub of receipt, storage, issue and packing activities in preparation for shipment within DLA Distribution San Joaquin. 

The next stop was the Freight Terminal. This is where the Dedicated Truck Program serves CONUS customers and features both customized ad predictable delivery schedules, reduced transit times, and items packed to suit the warfighter while lowering operational costs. 

Next, he toured the Consolidation and Containerization Point where he was briefed on the redesign in progress. The new layout will lead to a 35 percent increase in processing capability, 10 percent increase in cube utilization per seavan, and substantial improvements to quality without additional resources. The Director was also provided a quick tour of the Unitized Group Ration operation before his departure

Upon conclusion of the Consolidation and Containerization Point, Jones toured the Unitized Group Rations Area.  San Joaquin is the sole DoD provider of UGR-Heat & Serve and M-Rations which provide subsistence to our warfighters.

His last stop was the Wildland Fire Mission. Here he had the opportunity to speak with the hard working team that fulfills orders for the wildland firefighters battling the horrific fires throughout California and across the United States. Since 2014, San Joaquin has been supporting the US Forest Service and the National Cache System in providing supply and transportation support for the Wildfire Mission.

Jones’ second day at the distribution center consisted of hosting the DLA Director Army Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams along with the San Joaquin Commander.