DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY MAY - JUNE 2009
DIRECTOR IRECTOR

T

his spring I visited at length with 

many of the Defense Logistics 

Agency’s stakeholders overseas — 

our DLA support team members, 

deployed civilians and military service 

members — and heard much about the 

incredible support this Agency provides 

to war¿ ghters. Despite the challenges 

inherent in providing logistics support 

in an austere environment, our team 

members routinely go beyond the call to 

ensure each Soldier, Sailor, Airman or 

Marine has what they need to be missionready. 

As successful as we have been, the 

time is again ripe for improvement as we 

strive to take DLA support to the next 

level. The changing face of operations 

Navy Vice Adm. Alan S. Thompson, SC, USN

Director, Defense Logistics Agency

Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency

Of¿ ce of Public Affairs

8725 John J. Kingman Road

Suite 2545

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221

703-767-6200

E-mail loglines@dla.mil

in the Middle East places DLA squarely 

at the forefront of increasing sustainment requirements in Afghanistan and 

a drawdown of forces in Iraq. Pursuing 

initiatives outlined in my 2009 Director’s 

from the

DLA Director

Navy Vice Adm. Alan S. Thompson

DLA Vice Director

Air Force Maj. Gen. Arthur B. Morrill III

Director, Public Affairs

Douglas Ide

Deputy Director, Public Affairs

Jack Hooper

Loglines Staff

Managing Editor Kathleen T. Rhem

Editor Heather Athey

Writer Beth Reece

Writer Jonathan Stack

Layout/Design Paul Henry Crank

Loglines is the authorized publication for the 

Defense Logistics Agency’s work force of federal 

civilians, active-duty military and Joint Reserve 

Forces augmentees at Agency activities worldwide 

and industry customers of DLA. Contents of this 

publication are not necessarily the of¿ cial views of, 

or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the Defense Logistics Agency. 

Loglines is prepared electronically, using desktop publishing applications; no commercial typesetting costs are involved. Photos not credited are 

courtesy of Agency sources.

Submissions and correspondence may be sent 

to the following address:

business process improvements are well 

known throughout the Defense Department, our additional re¿ nements aim to 

maximize system performance, ensuring 

proper stewardship of a multimilliondollar taxpayer investment and continued 

customer support.

Doing what is right for the Defense 

Department and the members of our allvolunteer military reÀ ects DLA’s outward 

focus — we are about what we do for others, and DLA is about its customers, the 

combatant commanders and the forces 

on the ground. It is with these stakeholders in mind that the Agency is pursuing 

a continuous process improvement in all 

areas to streamline its business operations and remove inputs and practices 

that do not add value for customers. 

I am continually impressed by our team’s 

commitment to being a high-performing, 

customer-focused and globally responsive 

organization. 

Official Flagship Publication of the Defense Logistics Agency

LOGLINES OGLINES

Guidance and my four strategic focus 

areas — war¿ ghter support enhancements, stewardship improvements, 

business process re¿ nements and workforce development — will ensure DLA is 

strongly positioned to meet the changing 

needs of America’s armed forces.

The Agency is already moving portable living structures into Afghanistan 

ahead of an expected troop surge and 

will continue to work with its strategic 

partners at the U.S. Transportation Command to smoothly transfer and preposition supplies, especially food and lumber, 

despite the country’s poor transportation 

infrastructure.

Here at home, work continues on our 

Enterprise Business System. While DLA’s 
Loglines O May - June 2009 1

Getting Lean

Contents

Process Improvement: Work Better, Work Faster 2

Streamlining projects gives employees tools to improve war¿ ghter 

support.

Lean, Mean Machine 10

Richmond supply center ramps up training, pares down processes to 

eliminate waste and speed material to troops.

Charting a Course for Success 12

Distribution center uses tailored approach to improve processes, 

results for war¿ ghters across its network.

In Sync: Afghan Supply Lines 14

Distribution operations center merges transport, supply ops to prep 

for Afghan troop surge.

Touch and Go 18

Richmond supply center helps keep military aircraft À ying high.

Feeding the Force 24

Expanded menus, faster service keep troops fed worldwide.

Director Visits Deployed Teams 33

Navy Vice Adm. Alan Thompson pays a visit to operations in 

Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.

Lifeline 34

Manufacturing program works with military arsenals, repair depots 

to fabricate parts and keep war¿ ghters ready.

Fixer-Uppers 36

Humvees get new parts, paint and are readied for sale to Iraqi army.

DLA NewsWire 28

Ten Questions with ... 30

DEPARTMENTS

Front Cover

— Photo illustration by Paul Henry Crank

May - June 2009

pg 2

pg 10

pg 18

pg 34
2 www.dla.mil www

PROCESS

IMPROVEMENT

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ames Stamper had big ideas in 

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customers, employees and supervisors, 

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DLA, where customers’ evolving needs 

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employees once used informal methods to improve customer support, they 

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Work Better, Work Faster Story by Beth Reece

LEAN

Eliminating Non-value Activities

UÊ Identify the Value Stream

UÊ Eliminate Over-Production

UÊ Eliminate Over-Processing

UÊ Create Process Flow

UÊ Create Pull System

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helps employees see beyond a problem’s 

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“Most of the time when we use unstructured methods to solve a problem, 

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root cause of the problem so you solve 

it, not keep putting bandages over it,” 

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2008, with a surge in employee-awareness training throughout the Agency’s 

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Since then, the Agency has increased 

its number of “green belts” and “black 

belts,” employees who are trained and 

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concept has been getting our employees trained so they know how to go 

about improving their processes,” said 

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who think like they do, who can be equal 

partners in Lean events that improve 

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Reducing Process Variation

UÊ Consistent Repeatable Processes

UÊ Process Design / Redesign

UÊ Defect Prevention

UÊ Statistical Analysis

UÊ Voice of the Customer

THEORY OF CONSTRAINTS

Constraint Mitigation

UÊ Identify the Constraint

UÊ Exploit the Constraint

UÊ Subordinate to the Constraint

UÊ Elevate the System’s Constraint

UÊ Repeat Step 1

 (the constraint has probably moved)

 METHODOLOGIES

CONTINUOUS PROCESS

IMPROVEMENT

TRAINED

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406 Green Belts

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At the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, 

workers partner with officials from the 

Defense Supply Center Richmond, Va., 

to improve turn-around time for items 

the company provides on long-term 

contracts for the supply center.
4 www.dla.mil www.dla.mil

As the Agency works toward meeting 

goals set forth by DLA Director Navy Vice 

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eliminates waste and improves speed; Six 

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necks, or things that hinder processes 

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projects, however, follow a structured 

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“Our customers want 

suppliers who think like 

they do, who can be equal 

partners in Lean events that 

improve supply-distribution 

processes.”

— James Stamper

The C-5 Galaxy Programmed Depot Maintenance Team at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., 

improved processes through Lean initiatives 

and increased the capacity to do unprogrammed C-5 work.

Sue Sapp
Loglines Loglines O May - June 2009 May - June 2009 ay - June 2009 5

“First, we de¿ ne what we’re doing. 

What is the issue? What is it we’re trying to get better at, and by how much?” 

Knaggs said.

Both Knaggs and Stamper agreed 

that this ¿ rst phase, when team members 

create a problem statement and de¿ ne 

project goals, is most dif¿ cult.

“Just saying a process takes too long 

isn’t enough information. You need to 

de¿ ne the problem statement to include: 

How long does the process take? How 

long should it take? And what’s the extent 

of the impact of taking the time it does?” 

Stamper said. 

Because project teams include a wellrounded mix of subject matter experts, 

process owners and sometimes customers, getting everyone to agree can also 

be a challenge, said Kevin Quick, the 

Agency’s newly appointed CPI chief. 

“It can be dif¿ cult getting all the 

stakeholders involved and getting them 

to agree on the scope of their project,” he 

said. 

With the problem and goal de¿ ned, 

team members then measure and analyze 

the process by building a value stream 

map, which charts the current steps and 

delays from the beginning to the end of 

the process. Process mapping should also 

be done for the “to be” or desired state.

Identifying each step of the current 

process makes it easier for team members 

to pinpoint non-value-added steps that, if 

changed or removed, would lead to overall process improvement, Stamper said.

In the “improve” phase, solutions are 

recommended along with suggestions on 

how the organization can adapt to those 

changes. Team members then monitor 

the improvements through the control 

phase.

“And just because we’ve put improvements in place doesn’t mean that next 

year or next month we can’t come up 

with as good or better outcomes to shave 

even more inef¿ ciencies from the same 

process,” Stamper said. 

Processes that already seem successful may also bene¿ t from CPI.

“You don’t always have to have a problem, but it’s true that problems are usually 

what get people going, as in, ‘I got yelled 

at, and I want it to stop,’” Knaggs said. 

“If you did a formal review of your 

job, you’d probably ¿ nd that a percentAugust 2006: internal procedures involve receive, store, pick, pack, ship and track. Turn around time is 14.3 days.

February 2007: process consolidation and streamlining, Turn around time is reduced to 3.7 days.

Today: additional streamlining of procedures reduces turn around time to 1.7 days.

Sikorsky consolidates three 

warehouse operations into a new 

logistics provider - New Breed

November 2006 Lean event 

takes place with participation 

from Defense Distribution 

Center, Defense Contract 

Management Agency, Defense 

Supply Center Richmond, Va., 

New Breed and Sikorsky

Event generates 45 improvement 

ideas, 27 action items resulting 

in a leadtime reduction from 13.4 

days to 1.7 days per shipment

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY / SIKORSKY

CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

Successful Lean Event
6 www.dla.mil www.dla.mil

age of it doesn’t make sense and could be 

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ally save time going a different route or 

Gary Langstaff of Sikorsky Support Services, 

Inc. completes a pre-flight maintenance 

inspection on the main rotor assembly of a 

UH-1N Huey helicopter at Fairchild Air Force 

Base, Wash. Defense Supply Center Richmond, Va., partnered with Sikorsky in 2006 

to decrease the average turnaround time for 

fixed-wing and helicopter parts.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine
Loglines Loglines Loglines O May - June 2009 May - June 2009 ay - June 2009 7

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small-business process has always been 

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helicopter parts, to decrease the average 

turnaround time in Sikorsky’s shipping 

department from almost two weeks to 

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Continuous Process Improvement events 

can help eliminate waste and improve speed 

at such warehouses as this one at Incirlik Air 

Base, Turkey, where Air Force Senior Airman 

Sandra Sandoval, 39th Logistics Readiness 

Squadron, operates a 4,000-pound forklift 

to move stock.

DSCR’s Small Business 

Office and Aviation Supplier 

Operations Directorate 

used CPI to reduce the 

center’s subcontracting 

review process by 37 

percent last year.

Air Force Senior Airman Benjamin Wilson

— continued on page 9
8 www.dla.mil www.dla.mil .dla.mil

QUICK CHANGE QUICK CHANGE UICK CHANGE

G

etting the wave of Continuous Process Improvement to roll across 

the Defense Logistics Agency enterprise depends on the concept 

becoming ingrained in the Agency’s daily work, offi cials said.

And planners admit doing so will require a cultural revolution 

of sorts, after which the work force will look for ways to continuously 

improve the support it provides to warfi ghters.

The Agency’s senior staff recently selected a leader for this cultural movement — an experienced CPI practitioner who they believe 

possesses the enthusiasm and charisma to get folks to jump on the 

streamlining band wagon, coupled with a dose of realism that recognizes that both short- and long-term milestones are what will make the 

concepts stick at DLA. 

Kevin Quick has been part of DLA for almost 11 years, managing 

the Agency’s information technology investments and later driving CPI 

training and implementation in the Information Operations Directorate. 

Before that, he was a DLA customer, a telecommunications specialist 

in the Air Force. 

Jeff Curtis, Enterprise Transformation director and Quick’s boss, 

said his new hire has his hands full as CPI chief for the entire Agency. 

Quick said he anticipates his biggest challenge will be to develop 

the framework and strategy by which the concept will be implemented 

throughout the enterprise. 

“CPI isn’t a buzzword, but a new way of thinking how we, as DLA 

employees, can continuously improve the service we provide to our 

customers,” Quick said. “I don’t expect this to be an overnight success, but our continued efforts in the CPI arena across the enterprise 

will lead to signifi cant performance benefi ts at the operational level 

to our customers and employees.”

DLA is at a point where it is looking to transition from being a 

transactional user of the CPI tools to being actually transformed by 

CPI, Curtis said. This presents a signifi cant challenge for everyone at 

DLA charged with implementing the concept, but also a tremendous 

opportunity, he said.

“The biggest opportunity, and a signifi cant challenge in its own 

right, is to strike a balance in a number of areas to maximize CPI progress and acceptance by the work force,” Curtis said. “And Kevin possesses the right mix of technical and people skills to guide us through 

this transition.”

Areas where the CPI team will aim to strike a balance include the 

mix of DLA-owned capabilities versus bringing in contractors to facilitate the efforts; encouraging grass-roots CPI efforts at the Agency’s 

fi eld sites versus a centralized process, and the degree to which project results are measured and monitored, Curtis said.

Though he faces a daunting task — leading a signifi cant transition 

at a geographically and technically diverse organization — Quick said 

the outcome is worth the work involved.

“There’s a chance here for creating a very positive change, in 

the form of increased customer satisfaction due to our business process performance enhancements,” Quick said. “I also hope to see 

DLA employees gratifi ed to know they were empowered to make a 

change to the way we do business and that their idea improved the 

Agency’s overall ability to provide the best warfi ghter support possible.”

— Heather Athey 

Numerical control programmer John Wilbanks (left) and machinist Michael Barnes discuss the T-38 Talon trainer aircraft project at Tinker Air Force 

Base, Okla. Nearly every step in the supply-distribution process can benefi t from a Continuous Process Improvement project.

Margo Wright
Loglines Loglines Loglines

O May - June 2009 May - June 2009 ay - June 2009

9

is streamlining processes for customers 

and vendors by creating a standard set of 

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Air Force Senior Airman Taneshia Steward 

repacks plane parts at the newest 379th 

Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron 

storage facility in Southwest Asia. Storing 

prepositioned aircraft parts in warehouses 

on location improves the speed at which 

mechanics get the parts they need.

Air Force Senior Airman Erik Hofmeyer

“CPI is becoming infectious at 

DRMS. People are seeing they 

really can make a difference, 

and there are differences 

being made.”

— Dean Newsome

— continued from page 7
10 www.dla.mil www.dla.mil

Continuous Process Improvement events at the 

Defense Supply Center Richmond, Va., have 

enabled the center to streamline processes and 

improve aviation parts support to warfighters, 

like those here working on an engine cowling. 

— Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Briana C. Brotzman

LEAN, M
Loglines Loglines O May - June 2009 May - June 2009 ay - June 2009 11

T

hirty-six and a half hours — a bit 

less than two days. That’s how 

long it used to take each month for 

members of the Defense Supply 

Center Richmond, Va., to monitor more than 800 cylinders ¿ lled with 

ozone-depleting substances for chemical 

seeps. Now it takes just 2.5 hours.

Each 2,000-pound-capacity cylinder must be inspected in 14 different 

places for these seeps, referred to as such 

because the cylinders contain gases and 

vapors, unlike liquids, which could be 

seen escaping the containers.

Because of the manpower and 

materials involved in conducting these 

inspections, the process was targeted for 

streamlining through the use of Continuous Process Improvement tools.

When the process experts put their 

heads together, they came up with a way 

to pare the inspection time down to 2.5 

hours per month — a 94 percent improvement time, said Jorge Betancourt, a 

mechanical engineer in DSCR’s Aviation 

Engineering Directorate who facilitated 

the streamlining project. 

Key to removing so much time from 

the process were plastic bags costing 

$.29 each, which the team realized could 

be ¿ tted and sealed to each side of the 

cylinders. The bags reduced the number 

of inspection areas from 14 to just two, 

into which monitoring probes could be 

inserted to determine instantly if there 

Story by Will Daniel, Amy Clement and Heather Athey

Will Daniel and Amy Clement work for the Defense Supply 

Center Richmond Public Affairs Offi ce.

was any seepage.

“If you simply look at the man hours 

saved, minus the cost of materials, we 

came up with a half-million-dollar savings over a 10-year period,” he said. 

Cost and time savings and improving 

work À ow are just a few of the bene¿ ts 

the Richmond supply center, home to 

the Defense Logistics Agency’s aviation 

supply chain, has achieved in 2008 by 

conducting 110 streamlining projects 

throughout its business process areas. 

Using Continuous Process Improvement tools like Lean and Six Sigma, more 

than 800 of the center’s employees have 

worked to eliminate non-value-added 

inputs to provide better support to customers and in some cases make processes 

safer for the teams who work them. 

“It’s one of those things that seems so 

obvious and has been staring at us,” said 

Steve Thien, a program manager for the 

Ozone Depleting Substance Of¿ ce. “[The 

new process] is so much faster, easier 

and safer now, and it’s resulted in a more 

accurate test.”

CPI is a way of thinking differently 

about the way we do business and support war¿ ghters, DLA Director Navy Vice 

Adm. Alan Thompson said in a speech 

to center employees. “The more ef¿ cient 

we can become, the better support we 

provide. It’s that simple.”

The concept has been in practice 

at DSCR since 2004, and the number 

of employees seeking training to conduct streamlining projects has climbed 

EAN MACHINE AN MACHINE
12 www.dla.mil www.dla.mil .dla.mil

steadily. In 2008, 127 team members 

sought classroom training on CPI, and 

the supply center has hosted the training 

for members of other DLA organizations. 

All told, the 110 CPI projects conducted in Richmond are expected to save 

DLA $8.1 million, almost four times 

the $2.2 million cost DSCR incurred to 

conduct the studies. And the team earned 

a Defense Logistics Agency Team Award 

for its work. 

“As an organization whose mission 

is critical to winning the global war on 

terrorism, Continuous Process Improvement is no longer an option,” said Air 

Force Brig. Gen. Andrew Busch, the 

supply center’s commander. “Our supply 

and demand chain must use every tool at 

Of¿ ce, employees worked a streamlining 

project alongside DLA stakeholders from 

private industry to create a new standardized support analysis format, which 

is used when the of¿ ce’s team members 

work with industry partners through 

direct sales partnership agreements. 

These agreements allow DLA to act as a 

primary or secondary source of supply to 

defense companies that are trying to meet 

war¿ ghter orders. 

The partnerships are a result of 

maintenance, repair, overhaul and 

performance-based logistics contracts 

each military service awards to an industry partner, planners said, and the project 

aimed to eliminate work done twice by 

business-development specialists on the 

same analysis.

Customers did not need all the data 

that was being collected, so the Business 

Development Of¿ ce’s specialists were 

spending an hour or more to delete irrelevant data, said H.E. Rowland, facilitator 

our discretion to eliminate waste, speed 

delivery of material to where it’s needed 

and punch holes in those bottlenecks that 

prevent aircraft from À ying.” 

The center stood up a separate of¿ ce 

to house a project speci¿ cally dedicated 

to building ef¿ ciencies in supply execution management using a CPI tool called 

“Drum, Buffer, Rope,” which controls the 

release of work, limiting work in progress 

to maximize throughput and create a 

uniform system of priorities for employees so everyone works on the right tasks 

in the right order.

Of¿ cials said the results from DBR are 

promising, and with ¿ ve divisions in Aviation Supplier Operations working through 

the tool’s implementation, they expect to 

see faster purchase request awards that 

are executed closer to the dates on which 

supplies are needed by customers and a 

shortened supply pipeline.

In the center’s Business Development 

(Clockwise from left) Green belt students Air 

Force Maj. Michael Barnes, Bruce Ellrich, 

Casandra Elmore and Paul Woodlief work 

through a simulated manufacturing process 

during process improvement training. 

“Our supply and demand chain must use every tool at our 

discretion to eliminate waste, speed delivery of material to 

where it’s needed and punch holes in those bottlenecks 

that prevent aircraft from fl ying.”

— Air Force Brig. Gen. Andrew Busch

A t an organization located in Richmond, 

Va., managers know to within a 15- 

minute window how long it will take 

workers there to fi nish a specifi c task.

These managers aren’t mathematicians — they’re practitioners within a process-improvement culture that allows them 

to develop tools to target and connect specifi c resources, like personnel and materials, to different types and levels of work at 

the Defense Distribution Mapping Activity. 

“We are able to assign the exact number of people to different distribution tasks 

and can predict within a quarter hour when 

we will fi nish. On slow days, we are able to 

send extra people to support the inventory 

team, to training, or to facilities and re-warehousing projects,” said Navy Cmdr. John 

Palmer, the activity’s commander. 

As one of the Defense Distribution 

Center’s 25 distribution facilities, DDMA is 

the Defense Logistics Agency’s worldwide 

Charting a Course harting a Course 

for Success or Success

By Stacy Umstead 

Defense Distribution Center Public Affairs

Will Daniel
Loglines Loglines O May - June 2009 May - June 2009 ay - June 2009 13

for the project. As a result of the streamlining, the team was able to narrow the 

number of data categories collected from 

48 to just 12.

Looking inside the Agency as well 

as outside to industry partners is part of 

DLA’s outward focus to ensure it uses 

all inputs necessary to achieve the best 

outcomes for war¿ ghters and its other 

customers, of¿ cials said. 

And just because a process has been 

streamlined once doesn’t mean the 

center’s team thinks that mission is accomplished. Although an organization 

can have a reasonably good process, that 

doesn’t mean it won’t bene¿ t from review 

and improvement, said Chris Knaggs, 

aviation supply chain CPI program 

manager.

“We’ve taken some [projects] 

through two or three iterations looking 

for more improvement,” Knaggs said. 

“We win part of the battle, let the process run for a few months and then take 

stock again. We need to be braver; 

we’ll go in and look at the process 

again and ¿ nd a little bit more to 

trim,” he said. 

As the way of thinking becomes 

part of daily life at Richmond, employees are seeing opportunities for 

improvement.

“Lean has become a requirement, but I don’t think we ought 

to look at it that way,” Thien said. 

“I think we ought to be seeing it as 

an opportunity. Most of your great 

ideas come from the people on the 

À oor; they are the ones doing the 

work every day.” 

Norm Young, a contractor in the 

Ozone Depleting Substance Offi ce of Aviation Engineering, uses 

a leak-monitoring device to check 

2,000-pound-capacity cylinders for 

gas seeps at Defense Distribution 

Depot Richmond, Va. The ODS 

offi ce must inspect more than 800 

cylinders on a monthly basis. 

wholesale and retail distributor for geospatial 

mapping products. Its work force of about 

150 employees typically fi lls more than 1 million requisitions per year via nine retail map 

support offi ces located in seven countries. 

Palmer said he and his DDMA team have 

achieved some impressive results using 

Continuous Process Improvement principles 

and tools. 

“We had great success in our fi rst year 

— far beyond our expectations,” he said. 

DDMA’s employees have completed 

Phase I, Foundations, which results in 

standard and stable processes on all 

outbound processes. When the team 

executed Phase II, Knowing Your Business, 

it saw results related to effective work force 

allocation by constantly knowing the current 

state of the business. Phase III, Waves, 

resulted in a better fl ow and greater sense 

of customer needs throughout the operation 

via the use of small batch processing in 

selection, packing and shipping, Palmer said. 

The improved effi ciency permits DDMA 

to prudently apply the proper level of resources to the various distribution tasks. 

This optimization results in faster and more 

accurate distribution of geospatial information and services to warfi ghters.

The experience at the mapping facility is 

a success brought about by the Defense Distribution Center using CPI across its network 

of distribution centers, which offi cials said 

has enabled them to improve processes and 

increase warfi ghter support. 

At DDC, the improvement push is known 

as the DDC System, which is intended to help 

the center pursue its long-term strategic goal 

of operational excellence, said Kevin Cummings, program manager for organizational 

development. 

“The goals of operational excellence are 

to continuously improve operations across 

the areas of safety, cost, quality, productivity 

and on-time performance,” he said.

To design and develop the DDC System, 

Cummings and his team used the continuous 

improvement experiences from distribution 

centers in San Joaquin, Calif.; Susquehanna, 

Pa.; Red River, Texas; Albany, Ga.; Norfolk, 

Va.; Germersheim, Germany; and the Defense Distribution Mapping Activity, along 

with available research from academia and 

industry. DDC seeks work force-driven effi ciency across all processes and practices 

throughout the network of 25 distribution 

centers through continuous examination and 

improvement. Using this knowledge, planners constructed the system on the CPI principles of just-in-time, built-in-quality, standardization, visualization, and problem solving and the foundational values of respect 

for people, customer fi rst and continuous 

improvement, Cummings said. 

In order to support the strategic goals 

of operational excellence, the DDC System 

is intended to align leadership and training 

opportunities to help a high-performance 

culture emerge, in which employees follow 

standard work and are constantly on the 

lookout for problems and opportunities to 

improve their work.

Fundamentally, Cummings said, the 

DDC operational excellence strategy required work to be designed and operated in 

a way such that issues become readily apparent, that problems can be contained and 

solved immediately, and that knowledge is 

accumulated and shared across the organization. Also critical to the organization’s 

success is having leaders that train, coach, 

assist and teach the above capabilities to 

their staffs.

“[National Football League Hall of 

Fame coach] Vince Lombardi once said, 

‘Individual commitment to a group effort — 

that is what makes a team work, a company 

work, a society work, a civilization work.’ 

He was right in his assessment about what 

makes a company work, and DDC’s senior 

leadership must actively cultivate and 

support that commitment to a group effort,” 

Cummings said. 

Steve Thien
14 www.dla.mil

A

s 17,000 Soldiers and Marines 

prepare to deploy to Afghanistan 

this spring and summer, logisticians are orchestrating the shipment of such critical supplies as 

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Afghan Supply Lines Story by Beth Reece

14 www.dla.mil
Loglines O May - June 2009 15

over there, 

which allows us 

to fuse our information and be persistent,” 

added Heinrich, who 

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Loglines O May - June 2009 15

Army Sgt. Johnathan Wojciehowski, from 3rd 

Flight Platoon, Bravo Company, 6th Battalion, 

101st Airborne Division, scans the terrain out of 

the back of a CH-47 Chinook aircraft delivering 

supplies to the outlying forward operating bases 

in Eastern Afghanistan.

Soldiers ride inside a CH-47 Chinook aircraft during a 

re-supply mission to outlying forward operating bases 

in Eastern Afghanistan.

Supplies procured by the Defense Logistics 

Agency parachute from an aircraft over Forward Operating Base Mizan, Afghanistan, 

Feb. 14. 

— Army Sgt. Christopher S. Barnhart

Army Staff Sgt. Carrie Fox-Gutierrez Army Staff Sgt. Carrie Fox-Gutierrez
16 www.dla.mil

“As the lead logistics provider for the 

military services, we are very focused on 

supporting the reduction of forces in Iraq 

and the plus-up of forces in Afghanistan. 

There are a lot of different dimensions to 

that, and DLA is the critical enabler. We 

really have to get this right,” Thompson 

told employees during a Director’s Call 

early this spring. 

Proven Success

The CDDOC is the ¿ rst operation 

of its kind to be used in wartime, Heinrich said. It was established in 2004 at 

USCENTCOM’s request with the goal 

of achieving shorter delivery times and 

lower costs. The admiral said he believes 

the CDDOC has already made big improvements.

 The CDDOC lets DLA members see 

how the supplies they procure are actually sent to customers, and that challenges them to evaluate Agency processes and 

occasionally make adjustments that speed 

delivery, he added.

One example of this involved the Defense Distribution Depot Kuwait, Southwest Asia. Small changes at the organization shortened the time it takes to prepare 

pallets for shipment. 

“DDKS produces about 60 pallets each 

day for air delivery, and when you send a 

pallet via air, there’s an expectation that 

it’s going to get there fast,” Heinrich said.

Pallets built at DDKS were being 

weighed and measured on the air¿ eld, 

then offered for bid to commercial carriers. 

“But the CDDOC started looking at the 

process and asked, ‘What if we did all this 

at DDKS?’” he said. “‘Can we improve the 

process?’”

Two months later, DDKS had installed 

the Air Mobility Command’s Global Air 

Transportation Execution System, which 

gives visibility of pallets awaiting shipment.

“So we were able to report those 

air pallets as soon as they were built at 

DDKS to the people who offer them to 

commercial carriers,” Heinrich said. 

“What took about seven and a half days 

now takes about two days.”

Partnerships generated at the 

CDDOC are being used now as DDKS 

assumes management of a former Navyowned warehouse in Bahrain. 

“Today when folks in Bahrain 

requisition material from Kuwait, we À y 

Army Staff Sgt. Thomas Marstin, of Company 

B, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, enjoys 

the view from an M939 5-ton truck at Forward 

Operating Base Lane, in Zabul province, 

Afghanistan, Feb. 15. The Defense Logistics 

Agency is planning for increased demands of 

food, building supplies, fuel and spare parts 

for additional troops expected to arrive in 

Afghanistan by midsummer.

Army Staff Sgt. Adam Mancini
Loglines O May - June 2009 17

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The CENTCOM Deployment Distribution Operations Center has 

also improved end-to-end distribution by increasing cargo visibility 

and maximizing airlift assets.

Navy Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7 use an up-armored excavator to fill Hesco barriers at a forward operating 

base in the Helmand province of Afghanistan Jan. 25. The Defense Logistics Agency began shipping construction materials early this year in 

anticipation of 17,000 Soldiers and Marines scheduled to deploy there by summer.

Military rations are delivered via a CH-47 

Chinook helicopter to a remote area in the 

Nuristan province, Afghanistan.

Army Staff Sgt. Isaac A. Graham Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael B. Lavender
18 www.dla.mil

Jay Miles, a customer support representative at Defense 

Logistics Agency Jacksonville, Fla., and June Tillett, organic manufacturing program manager at Fleet Readiness 

Center Southeast, discuss problems with the right hand 

engine mount on an F-18 Hornet aircraft. 
Loglines O May - June 2009 19

TOUCH AND OUCH AND 

GO

F

inding spare parts for antique cars can be a challenge, 

but locating repair parts for aircraft that are more than 

30 years old — that takes determination, know-how and 

sometimes a bit of luck. 

Brenda Lynn knows buying spare parts for old 

planes can be tricky. Many of the aircraft she supports in the 

Air Force À eet have been in service for at least three decades. 

As an avionics parts supportability specialist at Hill Air Force 

Base, Utah, Lynn knows time is a critical element; repairs must 

be made promptly so that aircraft can return to service. Ensuring parts are on hand requires careful planning and teamwork 

between maintenance and logistics personnel, she said. 

Lynn is one of more than 200 Defense Logistics AgencyOgden employees supporting the 309th Maintenance Wing at 

Hill. These DLA employees work under the Agency’s Defense 

Supply Center Richmond, Va. DSCR is home to DLA’s military 

aviation supply and demand chain support.

Much of Lynn’s job involves making sure end items are 

supported so production lines keep humming — now and into 

the future, she said. Normally, usage of parts drives replacement stocks; if many are used, the replacement factor increases. 

However, that’s not always the case; situations can change 

quickly, and DLA has to be ready to respond.

“Some parts haven’t failed in years, so there’s been no 

demand and no usage contracts. With aged parts, it’s also 

Story by Defense Supply Center Richmond Public Affairs and Heather Athey

Photos by Debra Bingham

Loglines O May - June 2009 19

sometimes dif¿ cult to ¿ nd vendors that will submit a bid, gear up 

a production line and manufacture the item again, Lynn said.

Even with the challenges, the Richmond supply center’s team 

members are proud to support the nation’s war¿ ghters and to do 

what it takes to keep planes, helicopters and other military aircraft aloft. As the Defense Department’s primary source of supply 

for more than 1.3 million repair parts and operating supply 

items, DSCR is the single touch point for the Agency’s aviation 

customers, providing about $3.4 billion in products and services 

to 24,000-plus customers annually. Last year alone, the center 

¿ lled 5.3 million requisitions.

Keeping Military Aircraft Flying High

Defense Supply Center Richmond

Mark Kinsley, a product material technician at Defense Logistics 

Agency Oklahoma City, transports aircraft engine parts requested by 

mechanics at Oklahoma Air Logistics Center. DLA Oklahoma City is 

managed by Defense Supply Center Richmond, Va., which oversees 

the Agency’s aviation supply and demand chain. 
20 www.dla.mil

Branching Out ranching Out

At its core, DSCR’s mission is supplying products with direct 

aviation application, including 840,000 military-unique items 

supporting more than 1,300 major aviation weapons systems. 

These items include critical safety-of-À ight air frame structural 

components, airframes, landing gear, propeller systems and 

aircraft engine parts. 

But the center also manages commodities like chemicals, 

electrical hardware, and batteries; maps in digital and hardcopy 

formats; industrial plant equipment, including lathes and metalworking machinery; and environmental products. 

20 www.dla.mil

DSCR FAST FACTS SCR FAST FACTS

Center employees processed 

5.3 million requisitions and 

supported more than 24,000 

customers in fi scal 2008.

A CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter undergoes 

long-term preservation upgrade at Fleet Readiness Center East at Cherry Point, N.C. Defense 

Logistics Agency Cherry Point personnel help 

ensure the mechanics get needed parts on time.

Bret Saul, a sheet metal worker on the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter 

production line at Cherry Point, N.C., talks with Lisa Sharkey, a Defense 

Logistics Agency equipment specialist, and Bill Frye, a DLA customer 

support representative, about problems with a helicopter mold used 

to make the aircraft’s lower left hand window.

And while the hub of the aviation supply chain is based 

in Virginia, its people are located at sites across the country. 

Within the past two years, DSCR’s footprint and work force have 

grown due to 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decisions, 

which directed that selected depot-level reparable procurement 

and consumable-item management, and supply, storage and 

distribution activities transfer from the military services to the 

Agency. 

The supply center now manages operations at six DLA supply, 

storage and distribution detachments located across the United 

States and is slated to pick up another before the completion of 

the realignment actions in 2011. The initiative consolidated all 

supply, storage and distribution functions supporting industrial 

activities, including those internal to the maintenance depots and 

shipyards and at intermediate maintenance-level sites.

 “The BRAC 2005 authors envisioned this transfer would 

remove the barriers between retail and wholesale supply and improve the effectiveness 

and ef¿ ciency of the supply chain in support of the DOD industrial activities,” said 

Marine Col. Gary Wiest, deputy commander 

for operations at DSCR, who also oversees 

operations at the Aviation Supply Chain’s 
Loglines O May - June 2009 21

DSCR FAST FACTS SCR FAST FACTS

Loglines O May - June 2009 21

Defense Supply Center efense Supply Center

Richmond, Virginia ichmond, Virginia

Mission:

To provide best value aviation weapon systems 

and environmental logistics support to 

America’s armed forces — on land, at sea 

and in the air.

Core Business:

Supplying products with a direct application

to aviation. 

Headquarters:

Richmond, Va.

Locations:

z Aviation Supply Chain Site Columbus, Ohio

z Aviation Supply Chain Site Philadelphia

z Industrial Plant Equipment Division, 

Aviation Supplier Operations, 

Mechanicsburg, Pa.

z DLA Warner Robins, 

Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

z DLA Oklahoma City, 

Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.

z DLA Ogden, 

Hill Air Force Base, Utah

z DLA Cherry Point, Marine Corps Air Station 

Cherry Point, N.C.

z DLA Jacksonville, Naval Air Station 

Jacksonville, Fla.

z DLA North Island, 

San Diego, Calif.

z DLA Huntsville, 

Redstone Arsenal, Ala.

z DLA Philadelphia

Employees:

3,899 federal*

38 military

 (* Total aviation supply chain)

DSCR Business Units:

Aviation Supplier Operations Directorate

Aviation Customer Operations Directorate

Aviation Engineering Directorate

Strategic Acquisition Directorate

Business Process Support Directorate

Procurement Process Support Directorate

Financial Operations 

Information Operations Richmond

Total product and service support provided to 

military services exceeds $3.4 billion annually.

At the CH-46 Sea Knight production line at Fleet Readiness Center East at 

Cherry Point, N.C. Defense Logistics Agency Cherry Point personnel help 

ensure the mechanics get the parts they need when they need them.

SS&D detachments. “From a DLA perspective, this transfer adds a vital 

new mission, but just as important this transfer brings a new group of 

extremely talented and experienced employees to the DLA team.”

The ultimate goal of the transfers is to improve support to war¿ ghters, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Andrew Busch, the center’s commander. 

“It’s not about doing DLA takeovers. Our goal is to work together 

with retail supply professionals and ¿ nd inventory ef¿ ciencies that will 

support our military customers. ... We’re not going to turn switches and 

knobs to make things better, because there’s no crisis here, ... just an 

opportunity to take a fresh look at old problems,” he said.

Under BRAC 2005, all work related to the management of consumable items was transferred from the military services to DLA under the 

Consumable Item Transfer mandate. That means DLA can buy these 

items in bulk to secure better prices and pass those savings along to 

customers, while managing an inventory better aligned with customers’ 

demand and decreasing customer wait time for consumable items.

Buying in bulk is also part of the depot-level reparable procurement 

management mandate. DLRs are parts used by the military services that 

can be repaired and reused, like engine components, transmissions and 

starters, and DSCR assumed management of these items at ¿ ve detachments colocated with major aviation commands.

“This transition will allow us to now become a single face for the 

Department of Defense to suppliers, giving us more leveraged buying 

power. We will be able to reduce prices, reduce inventory and improve 

our processes,” said Yvette Burke, the center’s senior acquisition executive. 

Lining Up for Success ining Up for Success

The center’s leaders are working to keep the structure of the organization aligned so it is À exible enough to meet the varying demands 
22 www.dla.mil

Defense Logistics Agency Jacksonville, Fla., 

employees Julie Brewer (left), an inventory support supervisor, and Cynthia Patrick, a supply 

technician, review the supporting documents 

and delivery information on a part headed to the 

production line. 

placed on it by customers. Of the center’s six directorates, 

Aviation Customer Operations is the prime point of entry for all 

assigned customer issues related to logistics support and service 

across DLA’s eight supply chains. Once contacted, the directorate maps customers to the appropriate Agency supply activity 

by their speci¿ c Department of Defense Activity Address Code. 

There are more than 22,000 DODAACs assigned to Aviation 

Customer Operations. 

The directorate manages customer cells, support teams and 

item plan ning teams, provides integrated logistics support, and 

has Air Force, Navy and Army customer-facing divisions. Among 

its resources for meeting cradle-to-grave customer needs are 

resource-management, item-planning and customer support 

divisions and a business development of¿ ce. 

Also part of the customer-operations directorate is the DSCR 

mapping division, which provides hard-copy aeronautical, 

topographic and hydrographic maps and map-related products 

to customers and is the supply chain manager for 87,000 maps 

and map products. 

The Strategic Acquisition Directorate, activated in March, 

manages supplier relationships and develops strategic and joint 

opportunities for improving war¿ ghter support. It’s also the 

focal point for procurement strategic planning for all DLRs from 

the four military services. 

Strategic Acquisition also includes aviation original equipment manufacturer divisions, which work with large original 

equipment manufacturers in the aviation supply chain to manage 

national stock numbers that are only provided by the speci¿ c 

OEM. Each of the integrated supplier teams in the division has 

a long-term contract and a strategic supplier alliance with the 

manufacturer with whom it works to ensure a continuous supply 

of sole-source parts for war¿ ghters now and into the future. 

Although the center is divided into many targeted support 

areas, its leaders know it’s the team members 

who staff each section who provide the key ingredient for sustaining world-class war¿ ghter 

support.

Navy Capt. Michelle Skubic, director of the 

Aviation Supplier Operations Directorate, said 

she wants to promote a work environment 

where team members know that their input is 

valuable.

“I know what it’s like to need the part to 

get the planes À ying, the ships moving and 

the troops supported,” she said. “You can’t 

overstate how important our role is here. As I 

walk around this organization, I see the pride 

our work force has in supporting the force. It’s 

so evident that they see the connection of their 

work to the war¿ ghter.”

DSCR FAST FACTS SCR FAST FACTS

Support includes military-unique 

items for more than 1,300 major 

aviation weapon systems.
Loglines Loglines O May - June 2009 May - June 2009 23

Roberto Arenas and Ron Gay, tools and parts 

attendants at Defense Logistics Agency Cherry 

Point, N.C., measure sheet metal for use on 

aircraft wings.

Joseph Stevens, a sheet metal mechanic at Fleet Readiness Center 

Jacksonville, Fla., prepares to install a center barrel on an F-18 Hornet. Managed by the Defense Supply Center Richmond, Va., Defense 

Logistics Agency Jacksonville supports FRC mechanics with spare 

and repair parts.

Pursuing Excellence ursuing Excellence

Stewardship of taxpayer dollars and natural resources are 

two of the Richmond center’s hallmarks, with great care taken 

by employees at all levels to ensure processes run smoothly 

and give customers the best value for their money. Both Busch 

and Deputy Commander Kathy Cutler said they are committed 

to creating a culture of continuous improvement at the center, 

where employees at all levels are empowered to drive innovation 

and trim non-value-added inputs from daily work processes. 

Center employees conducted more than 110 streamlining 

events in 2008, designed to optimize the processes used each day to keep war¿ ghters mission 

ready using methodologies from the Continuous 

Process Improvement concept.

“[CPI] is the key to getting the ‘right done 

right,’ both timely and economically, while providing the value and quality our war¿ ghter deserves,” 

said Jorge Betancourt, a mechanical engineer in 

DSCR’s Aviation Engineering Directorate. 

Doing what’s right and responsible is also 

behind the center’s drive for environmental excellence. Recognized by numerous national conservation organizations, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Wildlife Council, 

the center’s 600-plus-acre compound is home to 

a teeming wildlife and native plant population.

[See related story, “Breeding Ground” in the 

March-April 2009 issue of Loglines]

Richmond’s other environmental efforts include reusing 

building materials during construction projects on the facility, 

creating natural barriers to minimize storm-water runoff from 

parking lots, conducting a comprehensive recycling program, 

and using electric vehicles to travel from building to building. 

Recycling and the use of “green” products are part of DSCR’s 

overall sustainability objectives, said Valerie Dingle-Smith, 

an environmental protection specialist with the Environment, 

Safety and Occupational Health Of¿ ce. 

“We want to keep as much trash that can be recycled out of 

land¿ lls and reuse it in another form, thereby saving our natural 

resources and minimizing what [DSCR has] to pay for disposal,” 

she said.

DSCR also offers environmentally preferable products to 

meet war¿ ghters’ needs, including the Agency’s biggest selling 

green item — re-re¿ ned lubricating oil, which is available in 

several grades and packaged in a variety of ways. 

Stretching Forward tretching Forward

DSCR’s focus for the future is clear: to continue ¿ nding ways 

to provide the best support possible to the nation’s armed forces, 

whether from the Virginia-based center, on site with military 

customers or deployed forward alongside war¿ ghters on the 

front lines. 

“War¿ ghter support is paramount,” Busch said. “Everything 

we do should be focused on them.” 
24 www.dla.mil

FEEDIN
Loglines O May - June 2009 25

F

rom Mongolian barbecues hosted 

aboard Navy ships at sea to lobster 

tails served in the middle of the 

desert in Iraq — military provisions have come a long way from 

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many choices in the food they received,” 

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Supplier Operations at the Defense 

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If a dining facility manager ordered 

ketchup, for example, he got a generic 

brand made according to Defense DepartPHQWVSHFL¿FDWLRQV$QGZKHQWURRSV

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like Heinz and Sara Lee to self-heating 

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now rely more on industry to provide 

products, and the quality of food has imSURYHG ́'DOH\VDLG3&XVWRPHUVDWLVIDFWLRQKDVLQFUHDVHGWUHPHQGRXVO\ ́

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And that helps us to accomplish our mission: to feed the Airmen in the dorms and 

keep them from having to go off base to 

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Prime Vendors

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of using government depots to store and 

ship food to military facilities, subsistence 

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distributors procured, stored and shipped 

items to restaurants and supermarkets 

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and we said, ‘Why not just get out of the 

depot business and allow those guys to 

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storage requirements and spoilage costs 

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who manage and supply food in regions 

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Dining facility managers order from 

prime vendors on Mondays for Wednesday deliveries and on Wednesdays for 

)ULGD\GHOLYHULHV7KHWZRGD\WXUQaround works well for dining facilities 

that have little storage space, Daley said, 

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Starkey serves 

himself salad at a dining facility on Asad Air 

Base, Iraq. Defense Supply Center Philadelphia acquires most produce from local 

markets for troops deployed to Iraq and 

Afghanistan.

Marine Cpl. Jose J. Aguirre
26 www.dla.mil

A Marine eats a fi eld ration provided by the Defense Supply 

Center Philadelphia during a 

break from .50-caliber machine 

gun marksmanship training 

near Camp Lemonier, Djibouti.

Partnerships between Defense Supply Center 

Philadelphia and prime vendors allow dining 

facility managers to order fresh ingredients 

twice a week so they can prepare meals that 

are healthy and appealing to patrons.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Kenny Holston

Navy Petty Offi cer 2nd Class Jesse B. Awalt

and most vendors also accept last-minute 

emergency orders. 

Depending on their locations, dining 

facility managers can choose from 700 to 

50,000 items from vendor catalogs that 

are updated weekly. 

“A lot of people think that we, DSCP 

or DLA, control the menus in dining facilities, but dining facility managers decide 

with dieticians what’s good and what’s 

healthy for the troops. We just provide 

the stock with the help of our vendors,” 

said John Sheehan, chief of DSCP’s Garrison Feeding Division.

Prime vendors must comply with 

food safety and handling regulations 

mandated by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture. To ensure they do, DSCP occasionally pulls products from the shelves for 

quality checks. 

“We’ll actually go out to a prime 

vendor facility and take a cut of meat to 

inspect it,” Sheehan said. 

Operations in Afghanistan and Iraq 

were the ¿ rst conÀ icts to test prime 

vendors’ ability to support troops in 

combat. Most of the food DSCP provides 

in Southwest Asia is ordered from the 

United States by prime vendors located 

in theater. 

“But in Iraq and Afghanistan we buy 

a lot of local market stuff, like produce, 

milk and some bakery products that 

make sense to get locally,” Daley said. 

Center employees also deploy to 

the battle¿ eld to establish local vendor 

relationships.

“We constantly have people deployed. 

They make sure that the forward operating bases and dining facilities have what 

they need,” Daley said. 

Military Rations

For troops who can’t get to a dining 

facility, DSCP provides ¿ eld rations, the 

only food product still made according to 

government speci¿ cations.

Individual rations include MREs 

and the newer First Strike Rations. 

MREs come in 24 varieties and contain 

about 1,250 calories. DSCP also provides 

Kosher MREs, cold-weather MREs and 

Alternative Regionally Customized Meals, 

which are vegetarian rations for detainees 

at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station.

Designed for troops in the ¿ rst 72 
Loglines O May - June 2009 27

lunch and dinner menus. UGRs can feed 

50 people. 

Holiday Meals

Whether troops are stationed in 

Afghanistan, South Korea or Fort Bragg, 

N.C., they can expect DSCP to provide 

the best possible meals for Thanksgiving 

and Christmas. 

“Nobody is thinking about the holidays when we are,” said Ray Miller, the 

center’s director of subsistence.

DSCP’s Menu Review Board works 

with the military services as early as April 

to set holiday menus. Many ingredients 

are on hand at prime vendor locations by 

September, and bigger dining facilities 

start receiving high-volume items like 

turkeys and large beef roasts in October.

“Putting together these meals is 

quite the challenge, especially for some 

of the bigger dining facilities in Iraq 

and Afghanistan, where holiday meals 

are served all day to accommodate service members working different shifts,” 

Miller said.

For service members stationed in 

remote areas without a dining facility, 

DSCP purchases special editions of the 

Unitized Group Ration. 

With more than 300 employees making sure troops have fresh, quality meals 

at the best price — in dining facilities and 

in the ¿ eld — Daley said the Philadelphia 

team is dedicated to feeding America’s 

service members.

“We get letters all the time from Iraq 

and Afghanistan. Customers are constantly telling us that the food is just great,” he 

said. “That’s important to us.” 

hours of deployment, First Strike Rations 

contain 2,900 calories and are half the 

weight and size of MREs. Each ration 

equals three meals. They have more carbohydrates, less packaging and require no 

preparation, utensils or cleanup. 

“They’re meant for a Soldier on the 

go, someone who is going to be burning 

up a lot of calories,” Sheehan said.

Unitized Group Rations give onthe-move troops with ¿ eld kitchens the 

opportunity for a hot meal. These heatand-serve rations can be prepared quickly 

and contain a main course, side dishes, 

dessert, drink mixes and other ingredients. They have seven breakfast and 14 

Army 1st Air Cavalry Brigade staff offi cers 

serve the Thanksgiving meal to Soldiers, 

civilians and contractors at a dining facility 

in Iraq. The food served was supplied by the 

Defense Supply Center Philadelphia.

Army Cpl. Nathan Hoskins
28 www.dla.mil

DLA NewsWire LA NewsWire

28 www.dla.mil

The Floating Pier

The Defense Logistics Agency and the 

military services are working together 

to create a closer connection between customers’ demands and available supplies. 

The Agency’s Defense Supply Center 

Columbus, Ohio, recently stood up the 

¿ rst depot-level reparable detachments, 

drawing 41 Navy and 52 Army Tankautomotive and Armaments Command 

Contracting Center employees into the 

Agency’s work force.

The new organizations, known as DLA 

Mechanicsburg, based at the Naval Inventory Control Point, Mechanicsburg, Pa., 

and DLA Warren, based in Warren, Mich., 

are the ¿ rst two depot-level reparable sites 

activated by DSCC as directed by 2005 

Base Realignment and Closure legislation. 

DLRs are spare parts that can be 

repaired and reused, such as engine components, transmissions and vehicle starters. The BRAC decisions recommended 

the military services transfer procurement functions for DLRs to DLA to save 

money, enhance operations and provide 

the Defense Department greater leverage 

in negotiating terms and conditions for 

contract prices with industry. 

Doug Nevins, director of DLR procurement operations at DLA Mechanicsburg, said this is an evolutionary change 

to help enable joint acquisition and that 

he and his team are excited to be at the 

leading edge. 

“If we can help the Defense Department truly leverage its buying power, 

then we can truly help the war¿ ghter,” 

he said. “It may sound easy, but it’s not. 

The services all have different cultures, 

missions and needs. DOD is a huge 

enterprise, but every journey begins with 

a single step, and we get to be part of the 

¿ rst steps toward true jointness.” 

Planners said the transition will 

combine military service and DLA best 

practices for managing functions and 

The Improved Navy Lighterage System sits 

off the coast of San Diego alongside the 

SS Chesapeake, which is outfi tted with an 

offshore petroleum discharge system, during the Joint Logistics Over the Shore 2008 

exercise based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. 

The Improved Navy Lighterage System is a 

fl oating pier with interchangeable modules 

used to transfer cargo from sealift ships 

to shore areas where conventional port 

facilities may be damaged, inadequate or 

nonexistent. The SS Chesapeake is practicing providing bulk fuel, supplied by the 

Defense Energy Support Center, across 

severe unimproved theater entry ports 

and supporting refuel-at-sea operations.

— Photo by Luther Hankins

Columbus Supply 

Center Activates 

Detachments
Loglines Loglines O May - June 2009 May - June 2009 29

Compiled by DLA Public Affairs 

Alliance Strengthens Warfi ghter Support

ing of¿ cers to expand the number of 

sole-source items covered by their existing long-term contracts,” Ramsey said.

Along with those efforts, the company is working to help contracting 

of¿ cers develop a robust, time-de¿ nite 

direct vendor delivery program for some 

items on those long-term contracts, she 

continued.

Rockwell Collins has a long history 

of supporting war¿ ghters, dating back to 

1933 when founder Arthur Collins supplied radio communication equipment 

to Navy Rear Adm. Richard Byrd during 

his South Pole expedition, said Leann 

Ridgeway, who signed the agreement on 

behalf of the company. 

The company currently supplies 

communication systems and aviation 

electronics to the military through DSCC 

and ranks among the top 20 largest 

suppliers to the maritime supply chain 

in terms of the dollar value of items sold, 

Ramsey said.

Great Lakes 

Production Facility 

Churns Out Navy 

Books 

The Great Lakes, Ill., of¿ ce of the Document Automation and Production Service recently produced a full-color book 

to commemorate the commissioning of 

the USS Freedom, the Navy’s ¿ rst littoral 

combat ship. 

As DAPS’ center of excellence for color 

printing, the production facility uses the 

latest in digital color printing technology.

Producing the book required more 

than 530,000 press impressions, equal 

to 100 hours of continuous running time 

on a digital color production press. Once 

printed, the books were cut to size and 

translucent pages inserted by hand before 

they were delivered to the Navy customer. 

DAPS is the document solutions 

provider to the Department of Defense. 

With the establishment of the center 

of excellence at DAPS Great Lakes, the 

agency expanded its services to continue 

providing high-quality color documents to 

customers.

L

eaders at the Defense Supply Center 

Columbus, Ohio, recently forged a 

long-term partnership with a company 

known for going the distance to support 

war¿ ghters. 

The supply chain alliance established 

with Rockwell Collins is aimed at improving administrative and production lead 

times to speed delivery of supplies to war-

¿ ghters.

“The intent of a supply chain alliance is to establish a long-term working 

partnership with existing suppliers,” said 

Donna Ramsey, supplier relationship 

manager in Maritime Supplier Operations at DSCC. The alliance incorporates 

both the pricing and delivery terms of the 

existing long-term contract and contains 

an agreement to partner in supporting 

new initiatives designed to improve war-

¿ ghter support, she said. 

“Rockwell Collins has exhibited their 

commitment to foster this partnership by 

working diligently with DSCC’s contractmission support and that the transfer of 

functions is transparent to customers, 

who will continue to receive the same 

superior level of service. 

“Now we’ll not only be able to buy 

for the Army, but for all of the military 

commands. It expands our mission 

capability, and while we’ll be buying a lot 

of the same parts, it will probably be in 

larger quantities because we’ll be able to 

bring multiple contracts together,” said 

contract specialist Leah Bourdeau, a DLA 

Warren employee.

“DLA Warren buyers should now be 

able to ¿ nd better price and cost breaks 

on the larger quantities they can now 

purchase as DLA buyers,” said Jeffrey 

Hoenscheid, a contract specialist and 

price analyst at DLA Warren.

Although the employees now work 

under the DLA umbrella, DSCC Commander Army Brig. Gen. Patricia McQuistion reminded them they are still 

serving the same war¿ ghters. 

“The À ags may change, but your mission has not,” she said during the Warren 

detachment’s activation ceremony. “Let 

us never forget that what we do here 

is important — important for the war-

¿ ghter, important for our country and 

important for our freedom.” 

— Debra Perry and John Foreman

Defense Supply Center Columbus 

Public Affairs Offi ce

— Keith Beebe 

Document Automation and Production Service

Public Affairs Offi cer

— Leah Hout

Defense Supply Center Columbus

Public Affairs Offi ce
30 www.dla.mil

TEN QUESTIONS WITH. . .

1. You started at the Defense 

Logistics Agency 22 years ago 

as a co-op student at the Defense 

Supply Center Columbus, Ohio, 

before coming to headquarters and 

assuming increasing responsibility until selected for your current 

position. How did these experiences prepare you to lead Agency 

transformational efforts?

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and eventually to headquarters, 

where I worked in the Acquisition 

Management, Logistics Operations 

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experiences, and I’ve learned a lot 

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transformation — planned and unplanned — but DLA always takes care 

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to meet increasing demands; that’s 

what makes understanding and apSO\LQJ&RQWLQXRXV3URFHVV,PSURYHPHQWVRLPSRUWDQW&3,WRROVVXSSRUW

DLA as we adjust to the reality 

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continue to talk about a “higher” 

operations tempo; the pace at which 

JEFF CURTIS

Enterprise Transformation director talks Continuous Process Improvement 

and what the concept means for warfighter support.

Logistics Solutions Continuous Process Improvement Increasing Demands 

DLA performs is quite simply the 

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because it provides structure for 

ongoing transformation and ensures 

we can continue to do more and 

provide more for customers without 

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2. What is Continuous Process 

Improvement?

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that uses proven methods to achieve 

DLA’s overarching goal of transforming business processes and organi-

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WRROVLQFUHDVHHI¿FLHQF\E\VWUHDPOLQing operational and administrative 

business processes critical to ensuring the Agency is capable of effectively implementing logistics solutions 

IRUZDU¿JKWHUV

Photos by Jonathan Stack
Loglines O May - June 2009 31

by DLA Public Affairs

3. How does CPI support the 

Agency’s mission, vision and 

war¿ghters?

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and focusing critical organizational 

priorities, while ensuring the customHU¶VYRLFHLVDOZD\VKHDUG&RQQHFWLQJ

the processes selected for improvement with the Agency’s strategic plan 

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concept different from other business 

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target DLA’s mission-essential work 

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process speed and agility, reliability, 

quality, and reduced cost of product 

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4. CPI has removed non-value 

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What drove DLA to start using 

these tools?

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range of tools and methods from 

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responsibility to improve quality, 

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suited for improving our supply 

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organizational processes and the 

cost of our actions and inactions to 

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the most of our available resources 

and engage customers, vendors 

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5. How important is employee 

and senior leader buy-in to CPI’s 

success?

Senior leader buy-in and employee engagement are critical to 

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are supportive of a culture of continuous improvement and value-added 

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of trained Lean Six Sigma black 

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facilitators in their organizations, and 

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unique, and sometimes challenging, is the sheer level of employee 

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matter experts, DLA team members 

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knowledge to implement changes 

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32 www.dla.mil

TEN QUESTIONS WITH. . .

Process Improvement Logistics Solutions Increasing Demands Critical 

CPI is a journey we will 

be on for a long time. It’s 

not a short-term program 

but a way of thinking 

differently about the way 

we conduct business and 

support warfighters.

6. What keeps CPI from adding to 

the Agency’s primary work of supporting war¿ghters?

Once employees are familiar with 

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is so much a part of how business is 

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employees use the concepts without 

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steps from processes and thinking 

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can accomplish more with the same 

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employees the best possible stewards 

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program but a way of thinking differently about the way we conduct 

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7. What changes can employees expect to see as DLA pursues process 

improvement?

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change as the techniques and concepts become part of life at DLA and 

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the immediate future, we’ll be doing 

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tools, encouraging their integration 

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8. What resources are available to 

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of online courses offered through 

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organization wants to continuously 

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Loglines O May - June 2009 33

N

avy Vice Admiral Alan Thompson, director, Defense Logistics Agency, and Army Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dowd, U.S. 

Central Command J-4, and their teams recently traveled 

to the USCENTCOM area of responsibility to get a better understanding of the logistics challenges in the region and 

visit forward-deployed DLA support teams. Their trip began in 

Afghanistan, then continued on to Iraq and Kuwait. 

While in southern Afghanistan, Thompson began his visit 

by participating in a joint planning session aimed at addressing 

material requirements related to Kandahar Air¿ eld’s South Park 

expansion. This action will expand the current base footprint by 

roughly 1,000 acres, making room for additional warehousing, 

repair facilities and Defense Reutilization and Marketing Of¿ ce 

operations. Following that, the director visited the air¿ eld and 

the Supreme Class IV material warehouse, where he was briefed 

on troop support services. Supreme is a contract logistics company that provides class I (subsistence) and IV (personal demand 

items) support to U.S. forces in Afghanistan. 

Then the team À ew north to snowy Bagram Air Base. They 

stopped by the 401st Army Field Sustainment Brigade Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle ¿ elding and repair site, where 

they were briefed on recent improvements to MRAP vehicles. 

Next, Thompson discussed future sustainment operations with 

Joint Task Force-101, Joint Logistics Command and senior leadership from Supreme. The team went on to visit DRMO-Bagram and 

stop by the 401st AFSB headquarters, where the director talked to

DLA Support Team — Afghanistan members about the challenges 

they confront working in an austere operating environment. 

“I am very impressed with the combat logistics support our 

forward-deployed DLA team members are providing. They are 

facing some very severe obstacles: climate, terrain and distance,” 

he commented.

The visit shifted focus from Operation Enduring Freedom 

to Operation Iraqi Freedom when the group traveled to Iraq. 

Thompson and Dowd met with DST-Iraq members at Camp Victory and participated in the Multi-National Force — Iraq daily 

battle update brief. Senior leaders discussed theater operations, 

current political events, equipment retrograde and reposturing. 

Afterward, the director met with Army Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, 

commanding general of the Multi-National Security and Transition Command — Iraq, and Lt. Gen. Abdullah Khamees, deputy 

chief of staff for logistics, Iraqi army, at Forward Operating Base 

Phoenix to discuss DLA support in transforming the Taji military base into a maintenance and supply depot, training hub and 

schoolhouse for Iraqi logisticians. 

The team then took a helicopter ride out to the Taji National 

Supply Depot to observe the Iraqi army’s receiving, storage and 

distribution processes. The DLA team is working side by side with 

Iraqi forces making recommendations to improve operations. 

“The work our DLA team is doing here truly is the backbone 

to a successful logistics mission transfer from U.S. forces to Iraqi 

forces,” Thompson said. 

The ¿ nal stop of the day was Taji National Maintenance 

Depot, where Army Materiel Command trains Iraqi mechanics 

on maintenance and repair of M1114 Humvees. 

Moving on to Joint Base Balad, Thompson visited the 3rd 

Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) and toured their tactical operations center. The TOC is the command and control 

center for logistics operations, where staffers track, manage and 

oversee status of all readiness and sustainment throughout Iraq. 

Next, a stop at DRMO Balad highlighted the retrograde challenges due to the volume of scrap metal, tires and material awaiting 

demilitarization. The team then met with the 402nd Army Field 

Support Brigade to discuss MRAP maintenance and theaterprovided equipment support. 

The ¿ nal leg of the trip brought the team to Camp Arifjan in 

Kuwait, where Thompson discussed the status of the Northern 

Distribution Network and equipment disposition in Kuwait with 

senior leaders from Army Central Command and USCENTCOM’s Deployment and Distribution Operations Center. The 

director spoke to DLA employees stationed at the 41-acre DRMO 

site, where a team of 25 members processes close to 2 million 

pounds of material each week. 

Next, the 4th Sustainment Brigade provided an in-depth 

brief on the challenges they face on their long-haul convoys into 

Iraq. The trip wrapped up with briefs and dinner with DLA representatives and members of the DLA Support Team-Kuwait, at 

the Defense Distribution Depot Kuwait, Southwest Asia, Defense 

Supply Center Philadelphia Class I (subsistence) team and the 

Defense Energy Support Center-Kuwait. 

“Similar to the DSTs in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Kuwait 

DST clearly provided DLA a much-needed, forward-deployed 

daily interface with our war¿ ghting partners,” Thompson said. 

“It is a key element to DLA’s success in the CENTCOM AOR.” 

DLA currently has 70 dedicated civilian and military volunteers serving six- to 12-month assignments in support of OEF 

and OIF in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.

Army Brig. Gen. Steven Salazar (right), director general of the Coalition 

Army Advisory Training Team, a part of Multi-National Security Transition Command — Iraq, welcomes Navy Vice Adm. Alan Thompson, 

director of the Defense Logistics Agency, to Taji, Iraq. 

Navy Petty Offi cer 1st Class Jason Winn

DIRECTOR VISITS IRECTOR VISITS 

DEPLOYED TEAMS EPLOYED TEAMS

Story by Navy Lt. Karlie McClelland
34 www.dla.mil

LIFELINE

Story by Jonathan Stack

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things one associates with heOLFRSWHUV5RWRUV"<HV9HUWLFDO

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holding those wings to the aircraft deteULRUDWHGGXULQJDÀLJKWHYHU\RQHRI

the choppers faced grounding until they 

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needed for the helicopters to get the green 

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increased demand for the item by more 

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support the increased demand, and without 

replacement, all aircraft failing inspection 

would be 

grounded, said 

William Jahna, Organic 

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requested that DLA manufacture the 

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remedied the issue and kept the helicopWHUVÀ\LQJ

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each of DLA’s supply centers, is a lifeline 

for military service maintainers who have 

reached the end of viable options for 

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While the Agency’s procurement 

laws and policies dictate private industry 

shall be the primary source of supply for 

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existing industrial base cannot produce 

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with public manufacturers to acquire or 

reverse engineer DLA-managed comPRGLWLHV7KHVHSDUWVDUHIDEULFDWHG

at military arsenals, repair depots and 

other Defense Department-operated 

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“When contractors default, industry 

chooses to forego bidding on items, or 

military readiness demands delivery 

schedules that cannot be met by the 

NATO Photo

34 www.dla.mil
Loglines O May - June 2009 35

established procurement process, organic 

manufacturing may be 

the only viable alternative,” Jahna said. 

Organic manufacturing bene¿ ts both DLA and war¿ ghters 

by providing the necessary assets to the 

Defense Department, allowing the military services to maintain readiness at all 

times, he said.

In order to use the program, an 

Agency application group associate 

submits a request and justi¿ cation to the 

Organic Manufacturing Program Of¿ ce. 

The program of¿ ce then determines 

if there is good reason to use organic 

manufacturing and solicits the approved 

facility for that particular national stock 

numbered part. 

If there is an app roved facility available, the program of¿ ce then solicits the 

organic manufacturing site to complete 

the project. Afterward, the of¿ ce forwards 

the quote to the original submitter for authorization to award the funding, usually 

by military interdepartmental purchase 

request, or MIPR.

A submitting agency then evaluates 

the quote and determines if it meets its 

needs. If it does, the program of¿ ce coordinates the manufacturing MIPR with the 

organic manufacturing site. Afterward, 

it is the program of¿ ce’s responsibility 

to ensure the items are delivered and the 

manufacturer is paid.

If there isn’t an approved organic 

manufacturing facility for the item, the 

Organic Manufacturing Program Of¿ ce 

will attempt to ¿ nd a manufacturing site 

with the capability to manufacture the 

part. This information will be provided 

to the product specialist and forwarded 

to DLA’s engineering support activity to 

assist with obtaining an approved source 

for the item.

Additional benefi ts include: 

– Coordination of work 

with organic sites; 

– Authentication and validation 

of part information;

– Follow-up on requests for 

quotes and project orders; 

– Service as a focal point for 

all incoming and outgoing 

information to track each project; 

– Maintenance of a listing of 

organic manufacturing sites, points 

of contact and their capabilities;

– Maintenance of a database on 

items manufactured organically; 

– Promotion of the process 

within the product centers 

and organic sites; and 

– Assistance to Defense 

Logistics Agency headquarters 

in developing and updating the 

Organic Manufacturing Policy 

for the Department of Defense.

Jahna said there is no average time 

from start to ¿ nish for the process because of the potential for requested items 

to vary in size and complexity. 

“Start to ¿ nish could be one week to a 

year for a single item,” he said. “Our goal 

and timeline in this of¿ ce is one work day 

for all actions.”

In ¿ scal 2008, the Organic Manufacturing Program at Defense Supply 

Center Richmond completed 315 project 

orders at a cost of $21.6 million, and 

the program at Defense Supply Center 

Columbus, Ohio, completed 73 project 

orders at a cost of $10.3 million, program 

of¿ cials said.

DLA has also made use of the Army’s 

organic manufacturing capabilities. The 

DSCC’s Organic Manufacturing Program 

Of¿ ce was contacted in ¿ scal 2008 to 

coordinate the organic manufacturing of 

component parts for an M2 .50-caliber 

Browning machine gun overhaul kit. 

“Of the 95 required [national stock 

numbers] that make up the overhaul kit, 

several items were not going to be available to complete the kits in time to meet 

[¿ scal 2008 and 2009] depot production 

requirements at Anniston Army Depot, 

Ala.,” said Jeffery Culbertson, DSCC Organic Manufacturing Program manager.

He said the program manager coordinated the solicitation, source approval 

and subsequent funding of Army organic 

manufacturing facilities at Rock Island 

Arsenal, Ill., and Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., 

to manufacture the parts required to 

complete the kits.

“When warfighters in the field receive and use identified products made 

in an organic manufacturing facility, 

they can rest assured that it is a quality 

product,” said Everett Henry, an organic MIPR coordinator at the Richmond 

supply center. 

ORGANIC 

MANUFACTURING 

PROGRAM

A Soldier ensures a .50-caliber Browning 

machine gun functions properly. The Defense 

Supply Center Columbus, Ohio’s Organic 

Manufacturing Program Office provided 

support to the Army in fi scal 2008 by manufacturing six missing parts to complete an 

overhaul kit for depot-level use.

The Marine Corps and Navy’s CH-46 Sea Knight fl eet was almost grounded 

because of deteriorating fi ttings holding the stub wings to the aircraft. The 

services turned to the Defense Supply Center Richmond, Va.’s Organic 

Manufacturing Program Offi ce to deliver the parts to remedy the issue and 

keep the helicopters fl ying.

Army Sgt. David Hodge

Loglines O May - June 2009 35
36 www.dla.mil

T

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Some are driven into the building; 

others limp in under their own 

power; and still others are hauled 

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abused and war-weary Humvees get the 

opportunity to live again through the 

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Defense Logistics Agency-provided parts 

to refurbish the up-armored, high-mobility, 

multipurpose wheeled vehicles no longer 

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decked out like a large-scale, full-service 

auto mechanic’s garage, and features 

accommodations for the mechanics, who 

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Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. Richard Sater works for the 

Defense Logistics Agency’s Joint Reserve Force.

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ees conduct initial vehicle inspections 

and begin the process of refurbishing 

everything — from springs to seats and 

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Each vehicle undergoes a full technical inspection, and 21 parts undergo 

mandatory replacement, among them the 

brake shoes and pads, suspension system 

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FIXER-UPPERS

Story and Photo by Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. Richard Sater
Loglines O May - June 2009 37

tator of sorts, and the Agency’s advisor 

to both the Army Materiel Command 

and Multi-National Security Transition 

Command — Iraq for the project. 

There are two production lines 

housed in the building: a heavy one 

capable of servicing seven to 10 vehicles 

at a time and a speed line, which handles 

about 20 Humvees at a time. The initial 

inspection determines the repair needs of 

the vehicles and whether or not they have 

to go through the heavy repair line. 

All vehicles go through the speed line 

for body work to remove battle damage, 

for work on the air conditioning systems 

and to apply a fresh coat of paint, Brumley said. 

Of¿ cials said the M1114 program is 

proving a solid success since its inception 

in 2008. The ¿ rst refurbished Humvees 

were ready for sale in February 2008, 

and to date, the Iraqi government has 

acquired more than 3,000 of the uparmored vehicles for its army’s soldiers 

to use while on patrol, replacing a À eet of 

mostly unprotected pickup trucks.

The program’s current goal is about 

400 vehicles per month. 

“There are roadblocks every now and 

then,” Kennedy-Bey said, “but we haven’t 

missed a deadline yet.” 

and ready for replacement because the 

vehicles were not originally designed to 

be operated with the extra weight of the 

added armor plating, Brumley said.

More than 100 shipping containers full of DLA-provided spare parts 

circle the lot at the repair facility. The 

containers include everything necessary 

to rebuild a Humvee, many of which 

suffer from the same ailments — they 

need replacement springs, tires, lower 

ball joints and window glass, as well as 

suspension systems. 

DLA supplies 98 percent of the parts 

for refurbishing the Humvees, DLA 

liaison Army Chief Warrant Of¿ cer 4 

Brian Kennedy-Bey said. “Tires, starters, suspension kits, generators — almost 

everything.”

Kennedy-Bey — on a six-month 

deployment from the Defense Supply 

Center Columbus, Ohio, home to DLA’s 

Land Supply Chain and the heart of 

worldwide Humvee support — is a faciliDLA supplies 98 percent of the 

parts for refurbishing Humvees 

under the M1114 program, 

including tires, starters, 

suspension kits and generators.

The Defense Logistics Agency is providing 

repair and spare parts support to the M1114 

program, which refurbishes Humvees no 

longer needed by U.S. forces and prepares 

them for sale to the Iraqi Army.
I AM

My name is: 

Suzanne H. Walls-Kershaw

I am:

The supervisory integrated supplier team chief for the dress 

Uniforms team within the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia’s Clothing 

and Textiles Directorate.

Describe your job in a sentence:

I am responsible for supply planning and contracting for the acquisition 

of dress uniform end items such as coats, trousers, slacks, skirts and 

the fabric required to manufacture these items.

How long have you worked for DLA? 

I began working for DLA in 1984 as a small-business specialist for the 

Defense Contract Administrative Services Region, Philadelphia .

What’s your favorite thing about working at DLA? 

The opportunity to use my creativity to address day-to-day challenges. 

What’s your best memory of working here? 

Over the years, I have served as a mentor to many 

employees, and it has been encouraging to see them be 

promoted to positions of greater responsibility, to graduate 

from college and to persevere with their everyday challenges. 

I truly value my working relationships and strive each day to 

lead by example.

How do you make a difference to warfi ghters? 

My team works hard to maintain our textile industrial base 

to ensure continued production of the coats, trousers, slacks 

and skirts required by our military service members.

ha

d production

by our military servic