# Distinguished speakers to share strategic insight at supply chain conference

/ Published March 6, 2024
COLUMBUS, Ohio, 
*Editor’s note: This is the second article in a six-part series as Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime prepares for the 2024 DLA Supply Chain Alliance Conference and Exhibition. The first article can be read**here**.*

Attendees of the DLA Supply Chain Alliance Conference and Exhibition, scheduled for April 23-24 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, will have the opportunity to hear from dynamic speakers from across the Defense Department and industry with expertise in logistics and acquisition.

These leaders will provide critical perspectives on various elements of the end-to-end DOD supply chain, highlighting sustainment aspects of the National Military Strategy and DOD’s first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy.

Jeremy Swonger, an industry engagement manager for DLA Land and Maritime, said the impressive group of speakers reflects a resolute alliance for warfighter readiness.

Speakers include:

**Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly, DLA director.**Simerly assumed command of the nation’s combat logistics support agency last month. He previously commanded the Army Combined Arms Support Command Sustainment Center of Excellence from 2021 to 2023. He also served as commander of DLA Troop Support from July 2017 to June 2019.

**Ohio Governor Mike DeWine**. DeWine is the 70th governor of Ohio. He served as the 50th Attorney General of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, and in both houses of Congress: in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1991 and in the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2007.

**Army Maj. Gen. Robert L. Edmonson II, commanding general,****U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command and Senior Commander of Aberdeen Proving Ground.** As the commanding general of a two-star global command, Edmonson serves as the U.S. Army’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance and medical materiel integrator. He is responsible for enabling the Army’s warfighting readiness by providing sustainable global C5ISR and medical materiel support.

**Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Keith Reventlow, commanding general, Marine Corps Logistics Command.** Reventlow leads a two-star major command ensuring that Marines across the globe have every measure of logistical support to accomplish their mission. He has served at all levels of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, and previously commanded DLA Distribution in San Joaquin, California, from 2013 to 2016.

**Army Brig. Gen. Gail Atkins, commander, DLA Land and Maritime and Defense Supply Center Columbus.**Atkins oversees the end-to-end integration of the Land and Maritime supply chains delivering repair parts to all military services. DLA Land and Maritime’s core functions include purchasing materiel, monitoring inventory levels, maintaining technical data, and assuring quality conformance of approximately 2.5 million spare and repair parts used by more than 21,000 military units and federal and civilian agencies.

**Air Force Brig. Gen. Sean K. Tyler, commander, DLA Aviation and Defense Supply Center Richmond.**Tyler oversees the combat logistics and supply chain for aviation and nuclear assets across DOD. He is the U.S. military's integrated material manager for more than 1.8 million national stock number items, industrial retail supply and depot-level reparable acquisitions and leads a team of civilian and military personnel supporting more than 2,341 weapons systems.

**Kenneth Watson, deputy commander, DLA Land and Maritime.**Watson is co-responsible for the logistics operations of nearly 2,700 joint military and civilian professionals at 30 locations worldwide. He is directly responsible for supply chain functions to include management of almost 2.5 million spare and repair parts.

**David Koch, chief, DLA Research and Development.**Koch leads the Research and Development program at DLA. He maintains oversight of programs focused on Castings, Forgings, Batteries, Additive Manufacturing, Military Uniforms, Combat Rations, Micro-electronics, Energy, Storage and Distribution, and other areas charged with fostering innovation in logistics and supply chain management.

**The Honorable David Norquist, president and CEO, NDIA.**Norquist has more than 30 years of public and private sector experience in national security and federal financial management. He previously served as the 34th Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2019 to 2021 and was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Defense Department. From 2017 until 2019 as the Under Secretary of Defense and chief financial officer, he supported the National Defense Strategy through the development and execution of DOD’s annual budget.

**Pete Steen, Global Strategy and Economics advisor****, Joint Staff, Strategy, Plans and Policy Directorate, Director's Advisory Group.** Steen provides the Joint Staff with analysis of the nexus of economy/energy/finance and U.S. national security, and methodological support to Joint Staff decisions in support of national security strategies, policies and decisions. He is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, specializing in the nexus of economy and national security.

**Marion Whicker, executive deputy to the commanding general, Army Materiel Command.** Whicker is responsible for materiel life cycle management, acquisition support, personnel and resource management, industrial base operations and enterprise integration for a globally reaching command. She previously served as the executive director of the Integrated Logistics Support Center, U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, where she oversaw readiness for the majority of Army maintenance, fielding, new equipment training, supply chain management and system readiness.

**Charles Ormsby, chief, Manufacturing and Industrial Technologies Division, Air Force Research Laboratory.** Ormsby leads a team responsible for defining and executing Air Force Manufacturing Technology research. Additionally, Ormsby leads the Defense Production Act Title III Executive Agent Program Office and is the Air Force principal member of the DOD Joint Defense Manufacturing Technology Development Panel.

In addition, the event will feature a presentation on the Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative for Veterans program:

**Dr. Craig Bryan,****division director for Recovery and Resilience, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.** Bryan is a military veteran and board-certified clinical psychologist with expertise in cognitive-behavioral treatments for individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts and post-traumatic stress disorder. He conducts research to help military veterans, first responders and other adults who are dealing with mental health issues.

More information on the 2024 DLA Supply Chain Alliance Conference and Exhibition can be found here. Speakers’ full bios can be found here. To register, visit https://www.ndia.org/events/2024/4/23/4780---dla