DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

The Nation’s Combat Logistics Support Agency July / August 2018

WARFIGHTER FIRST

 Old Stuff,

NEW LIFE

 DLA Disposition Services

 Gives New Purpose to

 Old or Excess Items

Sustained Power

DLA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

Play a Key Role Providing Materials for the 

Rebuilding of the Power Grid in Puerto Rico

Continued Deterrence

One Year Later, DLA Reviews Its Role 

Improving Support to the Nuclear Enterprise

Facility Agility

DLA Sites Use Technology to Fine-tune 

Security, Emergency Response and

Facilities Analysis
DLA DIRECTOR 

Army Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams

DLA VICE DIRECTOR

Ted Case

CHIEF OF STAFF

Kristin K. French

DIRECTOR, PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Joseph M. Yoswa

DEPUTY DIRECTOR, PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Patrick H. Mackin

MANAGING EDITOR

Phil Prater

SENIOR EDITOR

John R. Bell

WRITERS

Beth Reece

Dianne Ryder

LAYOUT AND DESIGN

Paul Henry Crank

LOGLINES

THE OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION OF THE 

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY 

Army Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams

Director, Defense Logistics Agency

From the Director

As we at DLA address the many challenges in our complex world, we 

strive to uphold our vision as a global, agile and innovative agency — 

focused on the warfighter first. From supporting our nuclear enterprise, 

to strengthening our close partnerships with allied nations, to engaging in 

whole-of-government support for civilian federal agencies, DLA is committed 

to delivering world-class logistics that are second to none.

The July-August 2018 issue of Loglines provides an in-depth look at DLA’s 

activities on several fronts, including a perspective from DLA Joint Reserve 

Force Director Navy Rear Adm. Deborah P. Haven. DLA reservists come 

from all walks of life, bringing their ideas and experience from industry, the 

financial sector and many other areas of the business community. At the 

same time, they serve as the bridge between our civilian workforce and active 

duty military. They understand the needs of warfighters because they are 

warfighters, and we simply could not have achieved the successes we have 

without JRF contributions.

Warfighter support is what we do, and we have several stories that 

illustrate recent examples. DLA Aviation’s story about improvements in 

support to the nuclear enterprise is timely, especially after the Department of 

Defense issued its 2018 Nuclear Posture Review in February, calling for more 

modern, flexible and resilient nuclear capabilities. A DLA Distribution article 

describes how military personnel test, maintain, pack and ship parachutes 

and related aerial materials to troops in the field. And a DLA Disposition 

article describes processes for reducing worn-out materials to scrap for 

auction and eventual recycling.

Two articles in this issue detail DLA’s amazing work in support of our 

strong partnerships. Following the destruction to the power grid in Puerto 

Rico caused by Hurricane Maria, DLA Troop Support partnered with the 

Army Corps of Engineers to deliver more than 33 million items in support of 

power grid restoration, including power poles, transformers and conductors. 

On another front, DLA Distribution expedited purchase and shipment of 

nearly 300,000 uniforms to Iraq Security Forces in partnership with the 

Army Security Assistance Command, a great success story for Distribution’s 

Unit Materiel Fielding Point team.

I’m always interested in new programs that can help improve our people 

and culture, and DLA’s new Health of the Agency initiative is meant to do just 

that. The intent is to encourage collaboration between staff members from 

the offices of human resources, diversity, safety, sexual assault prevention 

and response, equal employment opportunity and others to spot trends and 

develop solutions to workforce issues. Health of the Agency assessments will 

be a regular feature as part of DLA’s commitment to keep our people protected, 

resilient and mission-focused as they serve the warfighter and our nation.

These are just a few vignettes in the ongoing story of our nation’s combat 

logistics support agency. We’re a large and complex organization, but as the 

stories in this issue illustrate, DLA is made up of phenomenal individuals 

with a fierce desire to support our men and women in uniform and other 

valued customers. I’m proud of this team of outstanding professionals who 

make up this bold, forward-leaning and innovative organization. 

Enjoy their stories. Warfighter First! LL

LOGLINES is the authorized publication for the Defense 

Logistics Agency’s workforce of federal civilians, activeduty military and Joint Reserve Force augmentees at 

agency activities worldwide and industry customers of 

DLA. Contents of this publication are not necessarily the 

official 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 address below:

Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency 

Office of Public Affairs 

8725 John J. Kingman Road, Suite 2545 

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221

DLA ON THE WEB www.dla.mil www.facebook.com/dla.mil

SUBSCRIBE TO LOGLINES MAGAZINE

If you would like to be on the Loglines mailing list, 

please email loglines@dla.mil with your name, 

organization and complete mailing address.
Old Stuff, New Life ...................................02

DLA Disposition Services gives new purpose to old 

or excess items. 

Sustained Power ......................................08

DLA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers play a key role 

providing materials for the rebuilding of the power grid in 

Puerto Rico. 

Continued Deterrence ........................... 12

DLA’s direct support to nuclear missile programs — one year later.

DLA’s Service Readiness Dashboard .... 16

A new tool uses technology to provide in-depth data to the 

military services and other DLA customers. 

Facility Agility ........................................... 18

DLA sites use technology to fine-tune security, emergency 

response and facilities analysis. 

Rigging Victory ........................................26

DLA parachute riggers do more than just pack chutes.

Uniform Operation .................................28

DLA Distribution’s Unit Materiel Fielding Point emphasizes 

global posture and strong partnerships. 

Health of the Agency ..............................32

Leaders use new quarterly assessments and collaboration to 

promote the health of the agency.

02

18

08

28

Features

Departments

A Conversation with ... ...........................23

Navy Rear Adm. Deborah Haven

DLA NewsWire .........................................30

I am DLA ....................................Back Cover

Linda Norman

www.twitter.com/dlamil www.youtube.com/dodlogisticsagency
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Old Stuff,

New Life

Story by Beth Reece

T he recent trend of converting old 

bike parts into chandeliers, wine 

corks into bathmats or shipping 

containers into modern homes proves 

there are clever ways to use what 

might otherwise be useless junk. 

The Defense Logistics Agency 

doesn’t usually know what becomes 

of the military gear it reduces to scrap. 

But recycling unusable or excess items 

conserves natural resources, reduces 

waste sent to landfills and saves money 

so warfighters can buy better stuff. 

The Department of Defense’s 

authority on reutilization and disposal of 

everything from battle-damaged Humvees and worn-out flak vests to office 

furniture is DLA Disposition Services. 

“When a unit is done with a piece 

of property or it doesn’t work anymore, 

they bring it to us and we get rid of it 

for them,” said Vickie Rodgers, deputy 

director for DLA Disposition Services’ 

Central region. “That’s our specialty, and 

we do it in a compliant manner so it’s 

not released to the public until after it’s 

been properly processed.” 

About 90 percent of the items DLA 

scraps are common things like fabric and 

textiles, lead, steel and wood. 

“There’s a wide range of 

classifications for these materials,” said 

Tom Marcum, a lead sales contracting 

officer for DLA Disposition Services. 

“Steel, for example, comes in different 

grades. And then there are also different 

packages of steel, such as shavings, rods 

and bundles.” 

Commodities like fired brass 

casings and aluminum make up the 

other 10 percent of items the agency 

scraps, and they typically 

have higher 
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July / August 2018 3

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DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

values, added Brienne Hallifax, a sales 

contracting officer in the Recycling 

Sales Branch. 

Global Effort

Normal wear and tear of equipment, 

base closures and unit realignments 

make DLA’s scrap mission a steady 

and global endeavor. Property disposal 

specialists are co-located with units 

and deployed overseas to guide troops 

through the turn-in process and 

physically receive property. 

“First, we do our best to 

reutilize excess property 

through our reutilization, transfer and 

donation program, which helps us keep 

as much of the good property as possible in DoD’s hands so we don’t have 

to go out and buy new equipment,” 

Marcum said. 

If the property can’t be reissued 

to other military customers or 

sold to another federal agency, 

disposal specialists arrange for it 

to be mutilated and sold as scrap. 

Tactical materiel and 

controlled property 

such as helicopters and weapons also 

require demilitarization as a condition 

of sale, meaning it has to be stripped of 

offensive and defensive capabilities so it 

can’t be used against U.S. forces.

“If we have an item that’s only 

valued for its material content but is 

still recognizable as that item, then 

DoD regulation stipulates that that 

item has to be scrapped,” Hallifax said. 

“It has to be crushed, torn or cut so it’s 

not recognizable and its form, fit and 

function is destroyed.”

An Iraqi national separates scrap metal to be salvaged 

and recycled into cash while at Forward Operating Base 

Warhorse, located in Diyala, Iraq. 

— Photo by Army Spc. Opal Vaughn
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

programs that helped service members 

stationed there get rid of unwanted 

property that would be impractical and 

expensive to ship back to the United 

States. DLA also established contracts 

with local businesses to sell scrap after 

DLA Disposition Services breaks it down 

and demilitarizes it on-site. And the 

contracts were structured by region 

due to infrastructure challenges and 

instability, Rodgers said.

“We couldn’t have a company in 

Bagram [Airfield, Afghanistan] going 

down to Kandahar or a company in Balad 

[Iraq] going clear up to Tikrit because the 

different religious sects and warlords 

control various sections,” she said. “It’s 

been contentious at times, with warlords 

sometimes holding trucks hostage until 

the drivers pay certain fees.”

Rodgers was one of the first 

employees from DLA Disposition Services 

to arrive in Bagram when the agency 

began offering disposal and reutilization 

services there in 2005. She found piles of 

unusable equipment tossed into vacant 

fields because troops had no other place 

Breaking It Down

DoD’s demilitarization manual outlines the degree and method of demilitarization, which is done with powerful, 

industrial-sized tools like blowtorches, 

cutters and crushers. Just breaking equipment into a few pieces isn’t enough if 

they can be fixed or put back together. 

“Those big sheets of metal you see 

on the sides of an up-armored vehicle to 

protect soldiers from bullets, for example 

— they’re cut down into certain-sized 

pieces,” Rodgers said. “You might be able 

to hold one of those pieces out in front 

of you, but I’ve got the rest and it’s all cut 

down into scraps, so you can’t use it to 

shield yourself.” 

Seemingly innocuous items like 

copper wire used in construction projects 

during the early years of Operation Iraqi 

Freedom and timers found in microwave 

ovens or washers and dryers can’t just 

be tossed in the trash. Such parts were 

considered valuable assets to insurgents, 

who repurposed them in improvised 

explosive devices until officials instituted 

a new policy to remove or destroy them 

so they didn’t leak into enemy hands. 

In the U.S. and its territories, DLA 

manages scrap through its Scrap and 

Salvage Recycling contract with a public 

company that assists in removing scrap 

property from 75 locations and sells it to 

other companies and local scrap buyers, 

sometimes through online auctions. 

Although contractors are responsible 

for completing demilitarization, DLA 

monitors the process to ensure it meets 

standards set by DoD, the Environmental 

Protection Agency and the Occupational 

Health and Safety Administration.

DLA gets a percentage of sales 

made through the SSR contract, and 

the going rates vary depending on 

factors such as metal prices published 

by the American Metals Market, as 

well as the demand for a particular 

commodity, Hallifax said. About 324 

million pounds of scrap was handled 

through the SSR contract in fiscal 

2017, up from 240 million pounds in 

fiscal 2013. The increase is partly due 

to stronger efforts from the services to 

shed aging and obsolete equipment.

A similar process is used to manage 

scrap in Europe, where robust recycling 

programs have long been in place, 

Marcum said. And strict environmental 

guidelines in countries like Germany also 

lead to more stringent processes. 

“The way scrap is handled there is a 

lot cleaner than the way it’s handled in 

the U.S.,” Marcum said. “It’s containerized by category and the containers are 

covered,” also adding that host-nation 

regulations and Status of Forces Agreements also influence scrap procedures. 

Starting From Scratch

But such programs and policies 

didn’t exist in Afghanistan and Iraq 

when the wars there began in 2001 

and 2003. To find new ways of recycling 

and handling scrap in the Middle East, 

DLA worked with State Department 

officials and local leaders to build 

A forklift driven by Army Pfc. Cody Taylor, wheeled vehicle 

mechanic, Materiel Readiness Branch, 1st Cavalry Division 

Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade, flips a vehicle as part 

of the Afghan National Defense Security Forces 1050 DEMIL 

Program at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.

Members of the DLA Disposition Services team in 

Afghanistan proved they’re willing to leave their comfort 

zone to support military customers when the team traveled 

to Camp Moorhead to conduct demilitarization of gear 

designated to become scrap. The demilitarization process 

normally takes place at one of four DLA Disposition facilities 

still in existence in Afghanistan.

Army Cpl. Michael Smith
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Army Sgt. Gaelen Lowers

to store it. Remnants of Russian fighter 

jets and landmines also littered the base. 

“We were able to work with the local 

authorities to methodically and strategically go through and clean those areas,” 

she said. “We also created an operation 

where customers knew they could bring 

their stuff to us for processing and it 

wouldn’t end up in the wrong hands.” 

Millions In, Millions Out

In Iraq, DLA Disposition Services 

employees moved about a million 

pounds of scrap a week during the 

height of the drawdown, when troops 

operated from over 500 locations, 

including small forward operating 

bases and outposts. As a member of 

DLA’s Disposal Remediation Team in 

2009, Marcum went out on over 15 

missions to facilitate the closure of 

larger bases while his team members 

traveled the country providing disposal 

guidance to troops.

During the drawdown in Afghanistan, 

the agency took in a million-plus pounds 

of scrap per week at four sites and seven 

small hub sites, said Greg Dangremond, 

DLA Disposition Services’ site chief at 

Bagram Air Force Base. Now it averages 

100,000 to 300,000 pounds a week and 

operates just two fully functional yards 

with two offshoots.

Materiel that continues to come in 

daily includes battle damaged equipment 

that Dangremond’s staff certifies 

as having no unexploded ordnance, 

ammunition or radiation hazards before 

demilitarization begins. Furniture, tents, 

tires and parachutes are other examples. 

“Just yesterday, we took in 22 

vehicles from the Afghan National Army,” 

Dangremond said. “You’re probably 

picturing a vehicle that’s operational, but 

by the time we get something from the 

Afghans, they’ve taken off anything that 

might be usable. So they were pretty 

much just shells — nothing but scrap.”

 Though recycling still has a long way 

to go in Afghanistan, Rodgers said the 

economy there is benefiting from the 

scrap programs DLA has established. And 

money the agency earns by selling scrap 

to local companies also helps pay for 

operating costs while getting materiel off 

unit property books.

“After we’ve shredded, smashed and 

cut all this materiel down, we have to 

have an outlet for it, some place for it to 

go, so the contractors pay us a certain 

amount to come take it away and then 

they’re free to market it,” Rodgers said. 

“By the time they pay their drivers and 

run the gamut between roadside bombs 

and all the other stuff, they can’t afford 

to pay us much and they’re not going to 

make much when selling. But again, it 

helps us get rid of the materiel and gets 

some money into their economy.”

Full-circle Logistics

Ships are another major component 

of DLA’s scrap mission. Scraps and the 

proceeds from selling them belong to 

the contractor who wins the contract to 

tear the vessel apart, while DLA receives 

the amount the contractor bid for the 

project. The advantage is cost avoidance 

rather than revenue, said Carl Workman, 

a sales contracting officer and property 

disposal specialist. 

“It saves money for the Navy because 

the figures for taking these ships apart 

Charles Miller, a Fleet Readiness Center Southeast material 

identifier, washes a bin of aluminum scraps. Washing the 

scraps removes oil residue and dust so the metal can be 

taken to DLA Disposition Services for resale.

A foreign national augmentee at a mobile redistribution 

yard tightens the straps on a load of scrap metal at Joint 

Base Balad, Iraq. The scrap metal is to be delivered to DLA 

Disposition Services so that it can be disposed of properly.

Clifford Davis

Courtesy Photo
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Courtesy Photos

of needing the expertise to properly 

dismantle ships, which can take as long 

as eight months.

“The contractor does all of that, so 

we avoid the huge cost of sending a 

plethora of cutters and welders to do 

the job,” Workman added. “And they will 

responsibly remediate all of the known 

and encountered hazardous conditions, 

such as asbestos, oils and waste water 

in the tanks. They’ve already got the 

experience to do these things.” 

DLA Disposition Services awarded a 

contract in 2014 for the destruction and 

scrapping of six Navy ships, including the 

418-foot USS Forrest Sherman and 567-

foot USS Thomas S. Gates.

“What they actually do is chunk these 

ships into pieces,” Workman explained. 

“They’ll cut off the mast, the radars and 

other things at the top then start moving 

down through the bridge. It’s kind of like 

cutting something into puzzle pieces. 

Then they throw it down on the pier and 

cut it up from there because it’s a lot safer 

to do once they’ve got it on the ground.”

The final ship in the contract, the 

USS Doyle, is being scrapped this 

summer. Workman anticipates the Navy 

will request a follow-on contract for 

additional ships in the coming years. 

Spared From the Junkyard

Electronics have also become a key 

commodity in DLA’s scrap program, but 

rather than break things like computers and cellphones into lots of little 

pieces, the agency began using certified e-recyclers to repair government 

computers and make them available to 

other users.

“We’re trying to keep as much 

waste out to the landfill as possible,” 

Marcum said. “While a computer monitor might be beyond its lifecycle for the 

government, a private citizen might be 

able to get another year of service out 

of it buying it from a reseller.” 

The program has been a success 

since it launched in 2015, he added.

Even property such as dilapidated 

plywood structures and broken tanks 

can serve a second purpose before it’s 

“WE’RE TRYING TO KEEP AS MUCH WASTE OUT OF THE LANDFILL AS POSSIBLE.”

 — TOM MARCUM

varies between $2 and $3 million,” 

Workman said. “So if the Navy were to 

get funding from Congress to do this, 

it would cost the service lots of money, 

whereas we’re actually able to make a 

little bit of money by allowing companies 

to bid on the contract to break the ships 

apart and sell the scraps.”

The arrangement also relieves DLA 

DLA Disposition Services arranges for the time-consuming, 

labor-intensive scrapping of Navy ships such as the USS 

Jarrett, shown here. The process begins with the mast and 

radars and progresses to the bridge, allowing workers to cut 

the ship apart in chunks. 
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July / August 2018 7

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local law enforcement officers who’ve 

received much needed equipment to 

ensure public safety. 

He’s also one of a handful of 

employees who once conducted public 

auctions, an experience he said allowed 

for transparency by showing what 

happens to equipment paid for by 

Americans’ tax dollars. 

“I know just how important our 

mission is to warfighter support because 

I’ve seen the operation from both sides 

of the fence as an active-duty soldier and 

as a civilian employee,” Workman said. 

“It’s been rewarding to be part of such an 

important worldwide mission.” LL

diminished to scrap by posing as range 

targets. When the agency couldn’t 

remove an armored personnel carrier 

from a base in Iraq, for example, troops 

used it for target practice.

“In that situation, being in a contingency environment early on, we didn’t 

have the means to demilitarize these 

items,” Marcum said. “Instead, they were 

used in a live-fire exercise on the range, 

giving troops realistic targets. It gave 

them a chance to practice their skills and 

helped us with the destruction process.”

In October, disposal service 

specialists at Kandahar created smallarms targets for forces assigned to 

Train, Advise and Assist CommandSouth. The team used plasma cutters 

to cut pieces from steel sheets and 

draw target diagrams that were placed 

near guard towers where guards could 

use them for live-fire practice. Rescue 

and recovery teams have even used 

scrap-bound vehicles to hone metalcutting skills. 

Disposal specialists like Luis Peña, 

who takes care of disposition efforts 

in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands, have spent the last decade 

proving that DLA can handle much 

more than military gear by assisting 

in the aftermath of natural disasters 

such as hurricanes and earthquakes. 

When Hurricane Maria struck Puerto 

Rico last fall, cutting off communication and causing widespread supply 

shortages, Peña coordinated the 

removal of numerous truckloads of 

storm debris. 

While dealing with the military’s 

junk may seem like dirty, tiresome 

work, many DLA Disposition Services 

employees find their work gratifying. 

Workman, who’s been with the agency 

for 15 years following a 20-year Army 

career, said he’s seen firsthand the 

grateful response of troops who’re 

thankful to have DLA employees by 

their side in contingency environments 

as well as the relief of federal and 

Inductees into the Defense Logistics Agency’s 2018 Hall of Fame have been announced by DLA 

Director Army Lt. Gen. Darrell Williams. The DLA Hall of Fame recognizes former DLA civilian and 

military team members who made significant or lasting contributions to the agency and its mission.

The new honorees are:

 

• Lillie Mae Brown

former supervisory distribution facilities specialist

for DLA Aviation

• Donna Davis

former deputy executive director of Materiel Policy,

Process and Assessment

in Logistics Operations

• Army Maj. Gen. Robert Gaskill

retired, former deputy director of DLA

2018 DLA Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

• Larry Glasco

former deputy director of DLA Logistics 

Operations

• Army Gen. Gustave Perna

former commander of Defense Supply Center 

Philadelphia/DLA Troop Support

Courtesy Photo

DLA Disposition Services representative Luis Peña has 

responsibility for coordinating the removal of scrap from 

military sites across Puerto Rico, a job made more crucial 

after the devastation of the 2017 hurricane season.
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Sustai

An electrical worker labors on a utility pole, perched high on a bluff, to 

restore power to 51 clients in Orocovis, Puerto Rico. The workers were 

contracted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through a mission 

assignment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a 

result of Hurricane Maria. 

— Photo Courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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July / August 2018 9

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ned Power

Story by Jason Kaneshiro

DLA Troop Support Public Affairs

PUERTO RICO POWER GRID REENERGIZES WITH DLA-PROVIDED MATERIALS 

T he power grid in Puerto Rico was 

destroyed when Hurricane Maria 

struck in September last year, 

leaving most residents of the American 

territory without power. The combined 

efforts of multiple agencies have 

resulted in the near full restoration of 

electric power to the island.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

led the reconstruction mission, and the 

Defense Logistics Agency played a key 

role providing materials for the rebuilding.

As of May 3, the power grid had 

been more than 98 percent restored, 

according to USACE.

“The Construction and Equipment 

supply chain has provided the 

majority of the material to the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers for this 

mission,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Sue 

McMullen, chief executive agent for 

barrier material with C&E. This supply 

line is one of five managed by DLA 

Troop Support, headquartered in 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

McMullen was part of a rotation of 

personnel that served as a DLA liaison 

to the power-grid mission in Puerto 

Rico. A DLA rapid deployment team 

first arrived in Puerto Rico just after the 

disaster in early October to streamline 

communication between DLA and the 

agencies they were supporting.

The presence of a DLA liaison made 

communication and coordination 

between USACE and DLA easier, said 

Army Capt. John Berg, Task Force 

Power Restoration material manager. 

“The DLA team, both stateside 

and their liaison officer, was always 

available and ready to do all they could 

to provide the island with the critical 

Federal Emergency Management Agency contractors 

unload utility poles from the barge Atlanta Bridge at Port 

of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Dave Palmer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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materials we requested as quickly as 

possible,” Berg said.

As of late April, more than 33 million 

items have been delivered in support 

of the power grid restoration mission, 

including power poles, transformers 

and conductors. The task force and the 

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority 

worked together to ensure the items 

met the technical specifications for the 

island’s grid.

When Rhonda Mustafaa, interim 

officer in charge of Task Force Power 

Restoration Bill of Materials, arrived in 

Puerto Rico in January, only 62 percent 

of the island had electrical service.

As of May this year, the task force 

had restored power to nearly 1.5 

million people, or over 98 percent of 

the power grid.” 

MORE THAN 33 MILLION ITEMS HAVE BEEN DELIVERED IN 

SUPPORT OF THE POWER GRID RESTORATION MISSION, 

INCLUDING POWER POLES, TRANSFORMERS AND CONDUCTORS.

The task force has performed 

well considering the magnitude of 

destruction to the island and power 

grid, Mustafaa said.

Complicating their task was the 

depletion of emergency supplies 

caused by wildfires in the American 

West, followed by Hurricanes Irma, 

Harvey and then Maria. The series of 

disasters used up many items needed 

to restore power grids, such as poles, 

transformers, insulators and wire. 

This situation was unprecedented and 

greatly contributed to long production 

lead times and subsequent deliveries to 

the island, Mustafaa said.

“The vast majority of the material 

had to be manufactured from 

scratch, only after the requirements 

were clearly identified and technical 

specifications were defined,” 

Mustafaa said.

Puerto Rico’s location was 

another hurdle, limiting the modes of 

transportation available for shipping 

critical materials.

(Left) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers uses helicopters 

to place poles and electrical power lines in the mountain 

community of San German, Puerto Rico, in February.

(Above) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractors work to 

restore the electrical grid in the Villa Alegria neighborhood 

of Caguas, Puerto Rico.

Dave Palmer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Maj. Michael N. Meyer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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July / August 2018 11

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“The primary limiting factor to our 

progress has always been the delivery of 

materials,” Mustafaa said. “Although this 

has improved significantly, it was a key 

contributing factor to our ability to expedite materials and distribute accordingly.” 

Despite the challenges, Berg said 

he hoped that people would be aware 

of what the task force ultimately 

accomplished in restoring a destroyed 

power grid.

The working relationships among 

the agencies in the task force have 

only become more effective as they 

continue to overcome difficult terrain 

and challenging logistics, Berg said.

“I want people to remember how 

differing agencies came together to 

support their fellow Americans that 

were disrupted by these catastrophic 

storms,” Berg said. “We continue to 

work with the same purpose and vigor 

today as we did on Day One, and will 

continue to finish strong.”

Working with USACE has been 

a rewarding experience, said John 

Finchen, the DLA liaison to the 

task force.

“The interactions in the office were 

that of a true team,” Finchen said. “It 

was an amazing experience to see the 

actions and opinions of all the people 

around the table come together.”

The task force included members 

from the U.S. Army Reserve 

and National Guard, USACE, DLA, the 

Department of Energy, private industry 

and local authorities.

Finchen said that the mission is proof that 

DLA remains ready to support the warfighter 

and other government agencies in response 

to disasters and humanitarian efforts.

“Over time here on the team I have had 

the opportunity to see the percentages of 

energized homes increase daily,” Finchen 

said. “I’ll remember all of the people that 

worked behind the scenes to make this 

mission a success.” LL

Eduardo Martinez, Federal Emergency Management Agency

DLA Troop Support helped deliver more than 33 million items 

for power restoration in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. 

View the video at

https://youtu.be/chIfJt2rSlc
page

12 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Continued 

DeterRence

Story by Cathy Hopkins, DLA Aviation Public Affairs

A LOOK AT 

DLA’S DIRECT 

SUPPORT TO 

NUCLEAR 

MISSILE 

PROGRAMS

ONE YEAR 

LATER

T he Defense Logistics Agency under 

one name or another has supported 

warfighter readiness since just 

after World War II. Today, DLA’s 27,000 

employees do their part for readiness on 

all fronts, including nuclear readiness. 

Earlier this year, the Department 

of Defense issued its 2018 Nuclear 

Posture Review, describing U.S. efforts 

to maintain security while deterring 

future threats. 

Between 2015 and 2017, DLA invested more than $125 million in additional 

repair parts inventory to improve its support to the DoD Nuclear Enterprise. This 

includes maintaining the readiness of the 

U.S. nuclear triad of submarines, bombers 

and intercontinental ballistic missiles. 

One year later, two DLA personnel at 

DLA Aviation at Ogden, Utah, reflected 

on the results of DLA’s investment. Chris 

Guzman, DLA customer support manager 

and Travis Nelson, chief of the Storage 

and Distribution Division, discussed how 

DLA is improving its support.

Last year, Guzman said the 309th 

Missile Maintenance Group at the Ogden 

Air Logistics Complex asked DLA to provide services as if its ICBM launch facilities 

and control centers were to be inducted 

into programmed depot maintenance. 

DLA Aviation at Ogden became the 

agency’s lead, supporting the industrial 

customer in the 309th and fielding the 

first retail support for ICBM PDM.

The 91st Missile Wing’s Missile Maintenance Teams of 

Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, are responsible for 

maintaining the top three components of the Minuteman 

III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. MMT is part of the 

91st Maintenance Group, the backbone of the 91st MW. 

The group is responsible for providing maintenance and 

logistics support to the wing’s ICBM fleet.

— Photo by Air Force Airman 1st Class Kristoffer Kaubisch
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July / August 2018 13

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

The PDM initiative launched last 

year includes depot maintenance 

planning, financial management and 

materiel support.

Nelson operates DLA’s point-of-use 

shop supporting the ICBM launch facility 

and launch control center PDM efforts at 

Ogden. He said the idea to develop retail 

PDM maintenance came from a conversation with the customers who receive 

parts piecemeal through commercial distribution or transactions, instead of one 

set with all needed parts. DLA explored 

ways to provide the customer’s desired 

level of support. 

Determining what DLA could do “was 

a monumental task,” Nelson said. 

“It took a lot of knowledge and 

research to ... ensure [DLA] not only 

supports customer requirements but 

does so in the most cost advantageous 

way,” he said. “Our question was, how do 

we package and deliver all the needed 

parts in one fell swoop?”

Nelson said he posed the question 

to his employees, who came up with the 

idea of creating a self-contained build 

set somewhat like a shop service center, 

with all the parts the mechanics need in 

one place. 

The idea resulted in a developmental 

package of almost 300 parts approved 

by the Air Force engineering community, 

supporting 23 maintenance tasks. 

The concept met the 309th’s goal to 

have parts delivered to the site, by task, 

enabling depot field teams to do maintenance more efficiently and eliminating 

supply wait times, Guzman said. 

DLA-owned build sets are customized 

and configured at DLA Aviation at Ogden 

on Hill Air Force Base. Parts are kept in 

the DLA wholesale supply chain on the 

base, ready to replenish retail stock.

“Delivery is based on a program 

depot maintenance schedule,” Nelson 

said. “But behind the scenes, we need 

to work with materiel management and 

DLA Distribution to ensure materiel is 

available in the SSC for the build sets 

before they have to deploy to get to the 

site on schedule.” 

The build set consists of both 

repairable and consumable parts, 

transported by DLA Distribution on 

48-foot flatbed trucks to launch facilities 

at Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming; 

Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana; 

and Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota.

Nelson said the team first had to 

solve problems caused by a lack of 

historical use and existing DLA and Air 

Force stockpiles. They also had to figure 

out how to maintain inventory integrity in 

order to bill customers accurately.

He said DLA owns materiel in the 

build set when it’s sent out, which is 

different from normal agency inventory management processes where 

the customer requisitions a part and 

pays for it before delivery. Here, the 

Air Force doesn’t own build set parts 

until it uses them and the service isn’t 

billed until the build set is inventoried 

when it returns to Hill Air Force Base. 

With the new build sets, DLA can now 

monitor and purchase based on fill 

and use rates.

When the built sets return from the 

sites, a full inventory is conducted and the 

customer is billed for parts used. Then 

the build set is resupplied and returned to 

inventory for reissue.

Since last year’s initial collaborations 

with the Air Force engineering community 

and first steps to lay out stock for the LF 

container build sets, both agencies have 

continually made refinements. 

After about three build sets had been 

sent to the Air Force bases tasked with 

performing ICBM PDM, the Air Force 

decided to change from the developTHE IDEA TO DEVELOP RETAIL PDM MAINTENANCE CAME FROM A CONVERSATION WITH 

THE CUSTOMERS WHO RECEIVE PARTS PIECEMEAL THROUGH COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTION 

OR TRANSACTIONS, INSTEAD OF ONE SET WITH ALL NEEDED PARTS. 

Senior Airman Edgar Beckford, 90th Missile Maintenance 

Squadron topside technician, opens the launcher closure 

door to a missile silo in the F. E. Warren Air Force Base 

missile complex in Wyoming. Missile maintenance teams 

perform periodic maintenance to maintain the on-alert 

status for launch facilities, ensuring the success of the 

nuclear deterrence mission.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Braydon Williams
page

14 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

a BOM was made based on inaccurate or 

insufficient technical data packages, but 

they worked through the problems. In the 

first third of 2018, the fill rate for build 

sets was just over 84 percent. 

“In fact, the last three shipments 

average fill rates of 86.2 percent,” 

Guzman said.

The initiative has minimized 

equipment handling, reduced costs for 

unused items, saved labor hours, raised 

visibility of parts shortages, guaranteed 

constant visibility of inventory and 

reduced storage requirements. DLA 

Director Army Lt. Gen. Darrell Williams 

awarded this cross-functional team 

his Director’s Strategic Goals: Process 

Excellence Award for its efforts.

The internal team consists of 

personnel working at DLA Distribution 

Hill; DLA Aviation at Ogden’s Storage 

and Distribution Branch, Material 

Management Branch and Planning and 

Support Branch; and the DLA Aviation 

Nuclear Enterprise Support Office. 

The implementation of LF PDM 

was a collaboration among DLA’s 

suppliers, customers and three of its 

major subordinate commands that 

provide parts support for the build sets. 

DLA Aviation supplies 63 of the needed 

items, each identified by a national stock 

number. DLA Troop Support supplies 

129 items, and DLA Land and Maritime 

supplies 26. 

Despite their success, the team is 

always looking for improvements. One 

is to buy single items to meet build-set 

needs, Guzman said. 

“During proof of principle, DLA had to 

put a box of 100 pieces in the containers 

for a task requiring one bolt,” he explained. 

“Now the activity can put in one bolt, 

billed as part of indirect costs of the 

mental packages to a maintenance bill of 

materials in late May 2017.

To this day, DLA and Air Force 

personnel continue modifying the list 

of needed parts referred to as a bill 

of materials. DLA Aviation is working 

with the Air Force revalidating the 

BOM against its own drawings and 

technical data part numbers, even 

while it continues to send the existing 

containers to the maintainers, who in 

turn help finesse the required parts and 

quantities needed as they perform their 

maintenance tasks.

“Our employees really earn their 

way; we set challenges, and they help 

generate solutions,” Nelson said. “The 

most important skill set my inventory 

team has is their ability to think 

innovatively and their willingness to 

assume accountability.” 

Nelson said his employees are 

constantly on the lookout to verify 

the correct parts are entering the 

supply chain. In recent months, they’ve 

worked with Government Industry 

Date Exchange Program and DLA Stock 

Readiness, using multiple databases to 

identify suspect parts as soon as possible 

and to ensure those parts don’t get into 

the supply system.

Guzman said revalidation allows DLA 

to procure specific nuclear requirements 

to meet configuration management 

mandates. It also may soon result in 

decreased supportability while DLA 

procures new stock and a temporary 

situation of old excess stock, but this was 

a risk the agency was willing to assume 

to meet the Air Force’s initial needs this 

past year.

Changes in the BOM may result in 

additional investment strategies under 

new or modified contracts. 

“Stock levels will be re-baselined 

after BOM validation,” Guzman said. 

“Some BOM items are also being 

considered for inclusion in Captains of 

Industry/Supplier Capability Contracts 

and for reverse engineering and organic 

manufacture processing to shorten 

procurement lead times.” 

Both DLA and the Air Force 

experienced challenges as the switch to 

DLA ALL SEASON 

SAFETY CAMPAIGN

PRESERVING OUR

MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE

...OUR PEOPLE

Courtesy Photo

Christopher Jenkins, material support specialist, Storage and 

Distribution Division, DLA Aviation at Ogden, Utah, secures 

material in a container in preparation for transportation. 

The container is part of a build set of material supporting 

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program depot maintenance 

for Air Force launch facilities.
page

July / August 2018 15

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

integrated prime vendor contract for that 

part instead of the customer having to 

submit a requisition for 100 parts that 

may sit around.”

Performance improvements continue 

to increase ahead of this April BOM revalidation, with the introduction this past 

August of an Air Force-managed depotlevel reparable into the build set: the 

Launch Equipment Room Shock Isolator.

Adding LER SIs increased the number 

of bolts, screws and nuts used in the build 

set to attach the LER SI. Removing an old 

LER SI from the LF and replacing it with 

a LER SI DLR allows DLA Distribution to 

pick up the LER SI carcass as it’s pulled 

from the silo and return it to Hill Air Force 

Base without waiting for all maintenance 

to be completed and the build set 

container to be returned to DLA Aviation 

at Ogden. This enables faster reinduction 

of the LER SI into the supply system. 

Another problem with using build sets 

to perform PDM is the actual time the 

build set is at the Air Force wing location. 

Guzman said the maintenance totals 51 

flow days. Flow days are measured from 

when the site is opened and maintenance 

begins until repairs are completed. DLA 

sends out the build sets a week before 

maintenance starts. 

“There are sometimes delays that 

are weather related, due to Air Force 

schedule adjustments, or competition 

for resources, guards and technicians,” 

Guzman said.

Because delays happen for a variety 

of reasons, DLA Aviation has 12 LF build 

sets available and will send three to four 

sets to a site depending on the site’s 

maintenance schedule needs. Each 

build set is designed to support one 

PDM for an LF — the missile silos and 

the attached buildings — or for an LCC, 

where the crew stands watch and, if 

ordered, launches the missile.

The ICBMs are now on an eight-year 

cycle of PDM for 450 launch facilities and 

45 launch-control centers. 

While DLA Aviation has been 

delivering LF build sets the past year, 

build and delivery of sets supporting 

maintenance of LCC are still pending an 

Air Force start date. LL

Editor’s Note –

Learn more about ICBM PDM in the May-June 

2017 Loglines story “Sustain and Deter.”

Senior Airman Andrew Parrish, 90th Missile Maintenance 

Squadron topside technician, performs maintenance on 

the forward section of a reentry system in the F. E. Warren 

Air Force Base missile complex in Wyoming. The 90th 

MMXS maintains approximately 150 Minuteman III ICBMs. 

Missile maintenance teams perform periodic maintenance 

to maintain the on-alert status for launch facilities, ensuring 

the success of the nuclear deterrence mission.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Braydon Williams

An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile 

launches during an operational test from Vandenberg Air 

Force Base, California.

Michael Peterson
page

16 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

DLA’s Service REadiness

Dashboard

Anew Defense Logistics Agency tool 

known as the Service Readiness 

Dashboard merges the military 

services’ readiness data with DLA 

business metrics for a near real-time 

view of the status of key weapons 

systems and platforms. 

The digital Dashboard provides 

a common framework for DLA and 

military officials striving for lethality 

— one of three goals outlined in the 

National Defense Strategy — and 

increases the agency’s ability to 

evaluate and address supply shortfalls, 

said DLA Director 

Army Lt. Gen. 

Darrell Williams. 

 “Our Service 

Readiness 

Dashboard will 

have a dramatic 

impact on the way 

DLA does business, 

transforming 

us from an 

organization 

that only had 

the capability to 

collectively look at 

ourselves and our 

performance on a 

monthly or quarterly 

basis into one that 

can now see it every 

single day,” he said.

Created by 

information 

technology experts 

in DLA Information 

Operations with input 

from DLA Logistics Operations officials, 

the Dashboard consolidates serviceowned data with information from DLA 

programs like the Enterprise Business 

System, which the agency uses to 

conduct daily operations. 

Sense of Ownership

Having a common platform where 

employees and customers can easily 

view readiness gaps lends a sense 

of ownership to DLA’s mission that 

may have been previously clouded, 

Williams said. 

Story by Beth Reece

“The Dashboard gives employees 

a way of viewing daily the readiness 

status of weapons systems they’re 

responsible for supporting and provides 

direct feedback on whether what 

they’re doing is making a difference to 

our customers,” Williams added. 

The Dashboard gives users a 

snapshot of platforms and weapons 

systems each service designates as 

vital contributors to mission success. 

The Army, for example, tracks three 

air and 10 ground systems. Each 

platform or system is coded as green, 

amber or red depending on whether it’s 

operational or out of service for reasons 

ranging from maintenance to parts. 

“Even if the Army reports green 

— 90-percent fully mission capable 

— for Chinook helicopters, DLA 

would report red — 10-percent nonmissions-capable supply — if all 

helicopters were down for DLA parts, 

since we’re driving a high percentage 

of the fleet down,” said Sean Ahrens, 

chief of DLA Logistics Operations’ 

Metrics Integration Branch.

From there, users can peel back 

the layers to determine how DLA 

performance like materiel availability, 

backorder statuses and order 

volume affect the services’ ability 

to keep equipment repaired and 

ready. Users can also drill 

down to individual 

helicopters 

listed by 

tail number to view 

documentation on what’s 

delaying the repair.
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July / August 2018 17

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

“You can view open documents by 

tail or bumper number to determine 

the parts drivers; owning DLA supply 

chains; and the priority, age and quantity of the service requisitions,” Ahrens 

said. “If it’s out of stock, you can look 

deeper in supporting tools like the Enterprise Data Warehouse and Integrated Data Sheets to see item details and 

contract information. You can even read 

buyers’ notes for background details 

and estimated get-well dates.”

Transparency and Trust

The relationship between DLA and 

its military customers 

should strengthen as a 

result of the Dashboard, 

said DLA Logistics Operations Director Air Force 

Maj. Gen. Mark Johnson.

“The Dashboard 

provides transparency 

that we haven’t had 

before, and transparency 

builds trust,” he 

said. “That trust then tightens our 

relationship so we become teammates, 

as opposed to ‘that organization that’s 

not giving me what I what I want.’”

Ahrens added that DLA is working 

to include industrial support and stockage metrics that show the agency’s 

indirect support to service readiness at 

depot and retail operations. The goal is 

to paint the broadest picture possible 

of DLA’s support equities related to improving service readiness rates, he said.

Officials are working to identify gaps 

in the data presented and expand the 

Dashboard to include information from 

major subordinate commands such as 

DLA Energy and DLA Troop Support, as 

well as data on strategic contracts. 

Potential Departmentwide

Solution

Although it was designed to help 

DLA improve warfighter support, the 

Dashboard could potentially become 

the foundation of a Department of 

Defense-level tool, said Williams, a 35-

year Army logistician.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen an 

automated tool of this scope and 

magnitude that provides the level of 

transparency and visibility that this 

does. We’ve filled a void by fusing the 

information from all of the services in 

one place with ours, and that’s pretty 

powerful,” the DLA director said.

All DLA employees can view the 

Service Readiness Dashboard, and 

the agency has made it available to 

DoD partners ranging from combatant 

commanders and part providers such as 

the Army Materiel Command and Naval 

Supply Systems Command to the Office 

of the Assistant Secretary of Defense 

for Logistics and Materiel Readiness. 

Officials at organizations like U.S. 

Transportation Command and the Defense Information Systems Agency have 

also been given access to DLA’s Dashboard. The Defense Health Agency has 

requested a demonstration of the tool, 

and program managers of the new F-35 

fighter jet are exploring the possibility 

of replicating it to provide visibility and 

transparency of F-35 support, said Eric 

Fegley, customer experience director for 

DLA Information Operations.

Dashboards, he said, are regarded 

by commercial industry as a powerful 

way of connecting customers’ needs 

with company output. 

“Tools like this keep DLA current 

and relevant. They put actionable 

information at our fingertips so we 

THE DIGITAL DASHBOARD PROVIDES A COMMON 

FRAMEWORK FOR DLA AND MILITARY OFFICIALS 

STRIVING FOR LETHALITY AND INCREASES DLA’S

ABILITY TO QUICKLY EVALUATE AND ADDRESS

SUPPLY SHORTFALLS.

can make improvements proactively 

rather than after they’re brought to 

our attention by customers.”

Data Science 

Automation was a key factor in 

the Dashboard’s creation. Employees 

previously spent days manipulating 

data and entering it into PowerPoint 

slides, but the Dashboard’s display of 

the most updated information at any 

time has put an end to routine and 

often outdated executive summaries.

While compiling service and DLA 

data into a single source shows DLA’s 

expertise at data 

management, the 

next step is data 

science, Williams 

said. Harnessing new 

technology such as 

artificial intelligence 

and machine learning, 

he and Johnson 

agreed, could lend 

greater practicality to 

the Dashboard, especially in demand 

planning and forecasting of the 6 

million items DLA manages.

“If we leverage that kind of 

technology to better understand the 

patterns of things getting ordered 

and the frequency of orders, we 

can then inform our forecasts and 

become a more effective and efficient 

organization,” Johnson said. “Machine 

learning would allow us to manage a 

much broader population of items in a 

way that we could adjust forecast levels 

on a daily, weekly or even hourly basis 

— if it makes sense to do so.”

Williams said the agency is already 

seeing increased collaboration as 

a result of the Dashboard, and he 

expects to also see readiness metrics 

begin to improve this summer. 

“The end product is improved 

support to the warfighter,” he said. 

“That’s the business we’re in, and it’s 

what we’re determined to achieve.” LL
page

18 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

DLA Installation Operations Police Officer Kevin Buhler checks an identification card at the gate of Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia, using the Defense Biometric Identification System. 

Facility Agility

Story by Leon Moore, DLA Aviation Public Affairs

T wenty years ago, who could’ve 

imagined self-driving cars, video 

chatting with family and friends 

or having the world in the palm of our 

hand on a small device? 

For Installation Management and 

Installation Operations employees 

across the Defense Logistics Agency, 

staying ahead of the technology curve 

is vital to supporting the warfighter, 

stewarding tax dollars and providing a 

secure work environment.

Securing Access

Remember when all you had to do to 

access a U.S. military facility was display a 

vehicle decal or a valid driver’s license?

Times have changed. Since the 

terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the 

Department of Defense has implemented 

tighter security measures. 

One such measure is the Defense 

Biometric Identification System, a 

networked database police officers at 

all DLA installations use to verify the 

authorization of personnel seeking 

to enter military installations. DBIDS 

uses fingerprints, iris scans and facial 

images to verify identity and can 

scan both the common access card 

and the enhanced RealID driver’s 

licenses now used by most states. 

It automatically updates a person’s 

information from federal databases, 

according to the Defense Manpower 

Center, which manages the system.

“The program alerts registration 

personnel and installation security 

personnel to barred individuals across 

jurisdictional boundaries and eliminates 

duplication of data,” said Jose Gonzalez, 

a physical security specialist at DLA 

Headquarters Installation Management 

Security and Emergency Services at Fort 

Belvoir, Virginia.

Gonzalez said DLA launched DBIDS at 

the headquarters in the spring of 2014. In 

addition to the McNamara Headquarters 

Complex, it’s now used at four DLAhosted installations at Richmond, 

Virginia; Columbus, Ohio; Susquehanna, 

DLA SITES USE TECHNOLOGY TO FINE-TUNE SECURITY,

EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND FACILITIES ANALYSIS

Jackie Roberts
page

July / August 2018 19

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

Pennsylvania; and San Joaquin, California. 

Gonzalez said access control at other DLA 

locations is handled by the responsible 

military service host.

He noted DBIDS has many benefits:

• Greater difficulty for forging an identity 

or using someone else’s ID card to 

gain access. 

• Visual and audible crosscheck for 

security personnel, who verify identity 

through color photos and standard 

personal information. 

• Scalability, allowing access to be 

limited to duty hours only or specific 

dates and times for visitors. 

• Information archiving for future visits.

• Options of a barcoded, paper pass for 

short-term visits and plastic ID card 

for long-term visits. 

• Increased security via electronic 

authentication of credentials and 

shared alert information across the 

Department of Defense.

Gonzalez said since DLA implemented 

DBIDS, DLA police officers have 

performed more than 16 million scans 

and have taken action on more than 18 

thousand alerts for terminated, expired 

and lost or stolen IDs.

Urgent Word

The 2009 mass shooting at Fort 

Hood, Texas, and similar incidents since 

have changed the way DLA notifies 

employees of emergencies and even 

weather closures. The agency realized 

it needed a system that could warn 

employees faster and across multiple 

devices, said Juan Torres, an emergency 

management program manager at DLA 

Headquarters Installation Management 

Security and Emergency Services. So DLA 

implemented AtHoc as its mass warning 

and notification system in 2013. It uses a 

client-based application for desktop popup alerts, but the application itself can 

deliver text or voice alerts to any device a 

user chooses. 

Torres said AtHoc also allows different 

organizations to use it to share alerts and 

provide to their own users a capability 

that is optimal at facilities that are DLA 

stand-alone or a tenant to the military. 

It also can create and manage users, 

administrators and operators. Administrators can set up alerts to target specific 

groups or wider audiences, with safeguards to minimize errors. 

He said AtHoc can integrate with 

other alerting systems such as Giant 

Voice or Paging Systems, and is in use 

at DLA Headquarters and the four 

DLA-hosted installations, as well as 

DLA facilities in Battle Creek, Michigan; 

Dayton, Ohio; and Philadelphia. 

Wait Loss

At some sites’ visitor centers, DLA 

Installation Operations is using a new 

system to cut down on wait times 

and increase customer 

satisfaction. According to 

Gonzalez, “This system is 

currently being used at three 

of the four DLA installations 

with plans to implement, 

at a future date, at the 

remaining installation and 

DLA Headquarters.”

Eugene Marchand, a 

security specialist at DLA 

Installation Operations in 

Richmond, said the Visitor 

Management System is 

modeled after the queuing 

system used by Departments of Motor 

Vehicles all across the country. 

“When customers arrive, they’re 

given a number based on the purpose of 

their visit. The customer is then placed in 

the queue and is automatically called to a 

station when a staff member is available,” 

he said.

VMS allows three categories of 

services: Defense Enrollment Eligibility 

Reporting System, the Defense Biometric 

Identification System and Honeywell 

cards. A customer who needs more than 

one type of service can go directly to the 

front of the queue for the second type of 

service, he said.

Marchand noted while VMS has only 

been in use about a year, it’s already 

paid dividends. The Visitor Center at 

the Richmond site has served nearly 

THE VISITOR CENTER AT THE RICHMOND SITE HAS SERVED 

NEARLY 23,000 CUSTOMERS, REDUCED THE AVERAGE 

WAIT TIME TO LESS THAN 14 MINUTES AND INCREASED 

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.

Bryan Broughton, a door mechanic, 

prepares to install an electronic board 

on one of the more than 750 rolldown doors as Phillip Fitz, a heating, 

ventilating and air conditioning controls 

mechanic, looks on. The division 

is implementing a plan that allows 

employees in the field to access 

information and input critical data 

using computer tablets for greater 

efficiency and timeliness. 

Cathy Hopkins
page

20 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

23,000 customers, reduced the average 

wait time to less than 14 minutes and 

increased customer satisfaction.

Fire Smart

Later this year, DLA Installation 

Management Fire and Emergency 

Services enterprisewide will implement 

Emergency Reporting, an automated, 

web-enabled system that collects 

and reports information on fire and 

emergency service operations; incidentresponse documentation; reporting for 

all emergency incidents; and records for 

emergency medical patients. 

Roland Todd, a program manager 

for DLA Headquarters Installation 

Management Security and Emergency 

Services, said this new system will help 

standardize records management and 

reporting for reports on emergency 

patient care and fire records management for the enterprise, ensuring 

compliance with Department of 

Defense and DLA policies, and national 

consensus standards. 

Emergency Reporting helps collect 

and organize large volumes of required 

critical data on personnel, risk response 

and prevention, demographics, 

apparatus and equipment inventory, 

fire prevention and inspections, 

maintenance, fire hydrants, scheduling 

and training, Todd said. This will help 

leaders spot trends in dispatching 

emergency apparatus, establish 

command in emergency incidents and 

more efficiently run daily operations.

The system will only go into service 

at the four DLA-hosted installations with 

fire departments, Todd added.DLA Headquarters is served by Fort Belvoir Fire and 

Emergency Services and follows Army 

reporting and recording requirements. 

Emergency Urgency

Enhanced 911 is a system used 

by emergency communication center 

dispatchers at five DLA-hosted 

installations. This system, in operation 

since 2013, delivers emergency 

wired, wireless and/or Voice-overInternet Protocol to emergency 

communication centers. 

Matt Ameden, a senior fire protection 

specialist for DLA Headquarters 

Installation Management Security and 

Emergency Services, said the system 

automatically provides call and caller 

information to dispatchers to quickly and 

accurately dispatch personnel. 

“The system accesses embedded 

information from both wired and wireless 

calls to identify the caller location, phone 

number and geo-coordinates instantly 

when [the location is] provided by the call 

carrier,” he said. 

Working off that information is 

the Computer Aided Dispatch System. 

It collects all data on an incident in 

one location for the dispatcher, Todd 

noted. He said CAD has been installed 

at Headquarters, Richmond and San 

Joaquin. Susquehanna and Columbus are 

scheduled to come online later this year. 

Adding the system at these sites will 

“ensure reliable and predictable emergency call routing and location validation, 

regardless of the media type or device 

being used to place a call,” Todd said.

Patient Stats, Stat 

A new type of software allows 

DLA first responders to access medical 

protocols from a computer or handheld 

device. Responsoft gives responders 

access to the treatment methodologies 

used in nonemergency patient care.

Before Responsoft, installation 

fire and emergency personnel had to 

search through a bulky binder filled 

with paper copies of the treatment 

protocols just to clarify procedures, 

said Ronald Born, fire chief at DLA 

Installation Operations at Columbus.

Responsoft allows direct access to 

the protocol from anywhere, so that the 

first responder no longer has to retrieve 

the protocol books during an emergency 

if they have a question, Born said. The 

Phillip Fitz, a heating, ventilating and air conditioning controls 

mechanic, inputs data using a computer tablet instead 

of writing it in a notebook. The Installation Management 

Division is implementing a plan that issues employees in 

the field computer tablets to access information and input 

critical data for greater efficiency and timeliness. 

Cathy Hopkins
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July / August 2018 21

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DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

digital platform also can help users 

calculate drug dosages. 

“This time-saving measure is one 

of the most valuable components the 

software has to offer,” Born said. “When 

an update to the protocol is completed, 

the application sends a message to all 

the end users that an update is required. 

This ensures all personnel have instant 

access to the latest information.” 

He noted Responsoft eliminates the 

need to print large numbers of treatment 

protocols, reducing the installation’s 

environmental impact on the community 

of Whitehall, Ohio, with whom the 

department has a mutual aid agreement. 

Using the software, the department has 

reduced the paper it uses by about 3,000 

pages or more, Born said.

Beyond Blueprints 

DLA installation staff — engineers, 

real property planners, master planners, 

energy managers, maintainers and 

environmental managers — maintain 

records and diagrams of complex data 

systems and workflows. But they 

haven’t always been able to share this 

information effectively. 

Reid Burns, an engineering technician for DLA Installation Operations 

at Richmond’s Installation Management Division, said this is where the 

Geographical Information System 

comes in. 

“It offers complete situational 

awareness and authoritative information 

access to each of the installation 

management branches,” he said. “It’s an 

invaluable tool.”

Burns said DLA Distribution, the 

agency’s largest major subordinate 

command, took the lead in developing 

and implementing a GIS program for its 

two host sites and 22 tenant locations 

worldwide in 2012. Three years later, two 

other MSCs joined: DLA Aviation and DLA 

Land and Maritime. 

To ensure data would be widely 

accessible, DLA Distribution developed 

a comprehensive GIS website with 

data on key infrastructure and facilities, 

with a user-friendly interface. Subject 

matter experts also use the portal to 

check data quality and identify future 

data requirements. 

Shelby Hawkins, a high-voltage 

electrician within DLA Installation 

Operations at Richmond’s Installation 

Management Division, said he trusts 

these utility layouts more than the old 

sketched-up hardcopies. The reliability 

and real-time data accessibility is an 

invaluable, tangible asset that saves 

countless man-hours.

Burns said these utility layouts are 

a result of a survey of subsurface utility 

systems. The survey located across 

the facility the water, gas, underground 

electric, storm and sanitary sewer, 

geothermal and communication lines. 

It also included the surface features for 

these utilities, such as fire hydrants, 

valves, vaults and manholes. 

Besides physically locating and 

tracing utilities and recording GPS 

positions, the goal was to provide 

as complete a record as possible of 

underground infrastructure — to build 

a current and usable utility GIS database 

with attributes such as pipe size, asset 

numbers and even photos of vaults and 

surface structures with underground 

utility connections. 

“The end result of this survey has 

enabled maintenance mechanics with 

real-time utility data and layouts in the 

field with a simple touch to their tablet,” 

Burns said. “The implementation of 

web-enabled tablets with the ability to 

access the GIS portal has consolidated 

thousands of record drawings into a 

small, mobile footprint.” 

Other modules within the GIS portal 

for Defense Supply Center Richmond 

include facilities, master plan, simplified utilities, utilities, environmental and 

“THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WEB-ENABLED TABLETS 

WITH THE ABILITY TO ACCESS THE GIS PORTAL HAS 

CONSOLIDATED THOUSANDS OF RECORD DRAWINGS INTO 

A SMALL, MOBILE FOOTPRINT.”

 — REID BURNS

A member of DLA Installation Operations at Columbus’ Fire 

and Emergency Services uses a handheld tablet to log in 

to Responsoft, an electronic medical protocol software. It 

allows the department to access procedures outlining correct 

patient care protocols without having to search through 

hundreds of paper copies.

Courtesy Photo

Courtesy Photo

The Visitor Management System on Defense Supply 

Center Richmond, Virginia, is cutting down on wait times 

and increasing customer satisfaction for services at the 

Visitors Center. It’s modeled after the queuing system 

currently being used by the Department of Motor Vehicles 

all across the country. 
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Installation Operations at Richmond, 

out inspecting roll-down doors in 

warehouses and bays. 

A daunting task, according to 

Broughton, considering there are 

roughly 763 of these doors. 

“Fifty percent of the time, I’m 

doing inspections on fire-protection 

doors. And the other 50 percent of 

the time, I’m doing inspections on 

non-fire-protection doors,” he said. 

These inspections and risk 

assessments used to mean a lot of 

paperwork. That was until Broughton 

and others in his division were issued 

compact computer tablets. 

“Before, I would go around with 

a notebook and write down all the 

information: serial number, door size, 

if it’s powered, what company made 

the door and its fire rating,” he said.

Then he would have to make it back 

to his desk and enter all that information 

into a database on his desktop computer. 

Now he can capture data, download 

technical manuals and research topics 

such as code infractions while he’s still in 

the field.

“Instead of having a binder full of 

paperwork, I have a database at the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

Data within these modules are grouped 

by the type of utility, facility or environmental program. This allows users, 

especially those in charge of a particular 

program, to access the information 

needed with a few clicks of the mouse. 

Over the past few years, DSCR 

has been making improvements to 

the geospatial databases in Richmond 

and at other tenant locations. Data 

reconciliation with other enterprise 

systems, like the real-property 

database, is becoming a priority. 

Developers are also trying to include 

data from other databases, such as the 

Army Corps of Engineers’ BUILDER, 

ROOFER and PAVER programs. Website 

improvements underway include 

solutions for space management and 

analytics, web-based and interactive 

master plans, as well as certain types of 

emergency-response applications.

Burns said DLA has invested roughly 

$7 million in its program for geospatial 

information management. 

Help in Hand

On any given day, you’ll find Bryan 

Broughton, door mechanic at DLA 

click of a button,” he said.

Glenn Cooper, chief of the 

Installation Maintenance Branch, 

says the division has been using the 

tablets for more than a year. 

“We’re trying to use the tablet 

to get rid of all the paper, to make 

it a more efficient operation with 

information being more accessible,” 

he said. 

Phillip Fitz is a heating, ventilation 

and air conditioning mechanic in 

the division. He works with the 

installation fire department to test 

fire suppression systems, fire alarms 

and smoke detectors. This makes 

sure the HVAC systems are in sync 

with fire-detection systems. He 

echoed Cooper and Broughton. 

“Now with the tablet, I’m able 

to cut out all the paperwork and the 

chance I could make a mistake. I can 

type in the information on the spot, 

neatly and correctly,” he said.

Whether it’s saving time, saving 

money, saving waste or saving lives, 

DLA Installation Management and 

Installation Operations are using 

technology to benefit the workforce, 

and ultimately, the warfighter. LL
First, let’s learn a little about you. What prompted you 

to join the Navy Reserve? And how did you come to the 

Defense Logistics Agency?

I fell in love with logistics when I was in college, but 

it wasn’t called logistics then; it was “transportation 

and distribution management.” And that sparked my 

interest. “What organization has a global reach?” At 

that point, I thought of the Navy.

So I became a GS-3 co-op student employee at 

Patuxent River [Maryland] Naval Air Station and then 

went on [as a civilian logistician] through an intern 

program. A few years later, I joined the Navy Reserve 

through the Direct Commissioning Program, after I 

got married to a Navy Supply Corps officer.

Within my family, I’ve had many examples of military 

service. My father was a World War II C-47 pilot in 

A Conversation with ...

Navy Rear Adm. Deborah Haven

the Army Air Corps who dropped paratroopers over 

France on D-Day. He became an Air Force Reservist 

after the war. And my brother was an Army helicopter 

pilot in Vietnam. So I grew up around the military and 

had a lot of patriotic role models. So joining the Navy 

was a combination of patriotism and the natural 

direction for my interests.

After a civilian job working in international logistics for 

the Defense Contract Management Agency, I moved 

to DLA, while moving along with my Navy Reserve 

career. That has included holding six commandingofficer positions and mobilizing three times. 

I did everything backwards. [Laughs] My path was 

not a straight one; it had a lot of sideways moves. But 

that’s often what happens with people in the reserve 

force — and that’s OK. I just enjoy the logistics 

business. So being director of the DLA Joint Reserve 

Force was an opportunity to continue to serve in the 

global logistics business. 

What habits or interests have helped develop you as 

a leader?

I read about leadership all the time, whether it’s the 

Wall Street Journal or podcasts from the Harvard 

The director of DLA’s Joint 

Reserve Force talks about service, 

leadership and the unique benefits 

Reservists offer

Navy Rear Adm. Deborah Haven, director of the DLA Joint Reserve Force, observes the process of picking bin materiel from Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Elsa Cervantes.

Annette Silva

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LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

July / August 2018
Business Review and all sorts 

of leadership books. I am 

currently reading “Humility is 

the New Smart.”

But most of all, doing what 

I love is fun. I really enjoy it. 

But I also realize that it’s a 

serious business. 

I’ve been lucky enough to 

combine logistics with being 

in a senior-leader role in an 

organization that I believe in, 

serving the nation and the 

military. It’s complex and global 

— a great experience.

How would you describe the DLA Joint Reserve Force for 

someone who’s not familiar?

The DLA Joint Reserve Force is the largest reserve 

organization among the civilian defense agencies. We 

have 662 billets; about half are filled by Navy people, 

about 30 percent are Army, and 20 percent Air Force, 

with a small but mighty group of Marine billets. Most 

come for at least two years; some people stay five, 

six years or longer. We have units in each of the major 

subordinate commands, but DLA Distribution and 

DLA Disposition Services have the most billets. 

And they’re all volunteers, with a breadth and depth 

of capabilities — as well as enthusiasm for serving 

the warfighter and the nation.

What kinds of work do DLA’s reservists contribute to?

Since 9/11, we’ve had about 1,800 reservists 

mobilized in the [U.S. Central Command area of 

responsibility]. At any given time, we have 50 folks 

on mobilization orders, which are usually for six 

months; some deployments are longer. And then we 

have about 50 people working in some other sites 

throughout DLA — whether it’s what you call Title 10, 

their regular two weeks, or 18 weeks, doing [regular] 

mission work. Or it’s through Defense Working Capital 

Fund — like those working on this [spring 2018] realproperty inventory project. 

We also have people working in the Joint Logistics 

Operations Center full time, often overnight, since 

the JLOC has to be manned 24 hours. Our reservists 

work in the warehouse. 

They actually [help 

demilitarize equipment] 

on the weekends. And we 

have a lieutenant colonel in 

additive manufacturing doing 

presentations for DLA.

Those MSCs have realized, “If 

we make a small investment 

in training these reservists, 

we get a big return.” 

And we’ve been given 

some special projects, like 

condition Code L: materiel 

that’s in the warehouse that someone needs to 

sort through to figure out what the problem is. 

Maybe there’s some kind of contractual problem; 

maybe the packaging wasn’t marked right. It takes 

a lot of [attention]. It’s similar to when you return 

something to Amazon; you have to put it back in the 

package and fill out the form. 

So we’re helping to do these projects that are 

important, in that they can reduce backorders and 

improve readiness. But it’s not the usual work that 

[full-time] people have time to do. 

I also think of the three back-to-back hurricanes last 

year; the Joint Reserve Force had 23 people on the 

ground. First they went to Texas, and some immediately went to North Carolina and Florida to support 

relief there. Some were even sent to Puerto Rico. So 

we definitely demonstrated our flexibility there. 

One result of a lesson learned was to set up a 

“safety level” of support assigned to the MSCs. 

And we’ll also be collecting a list of “surge” folks, 

individuals who could surge to be ready if we have 

another sudden requirement.

What unique skills and experiences do reservists bring 

to the agency’s mission, versus those of civilians or 

active-duty military members?

Well, first of all, they’re volunteers. Whether it is the 

rapid deployment team supporting the Sabre Strike 

exercise in Poland, or service members working in 

the warehouse for the real property [inventory] team, 

they are all volunteers.

Navy Rear Adm. Deborah Haven addresses DLA’s reservists in a recent 

training event.

Air Force Master Sgt. Scott Mathews

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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY
I think reservists bring an incredible capability. As 

a reservist, you have a civilian job. You also have a 

reserve job. Some have families. And most of these 

people are very active in their communities, as a 

soccer coach, Girl Scout troop leader or whatever. So 

they’re citizens dedicated to making America better.

But they have figured out how to better manage 

time to get things done — and I think that’s what’s 

spectacular about reservists. When reservists are 

brought aboard to assist in another part of DLA, 

they’re able to focus on one thing, versus full-time 

employees who may be on a lot of different teams and 

have to multitask. And then there’s just the energy the 

reservists have.

Most DLA reservists come with active-duty 

knowledge and training but have been out there 

in private industry. And they bring that lens and 

experience to our mission. 

Even with that civilian-world experience, it isn’t 

normally evident that they are reservists. I think 

most of the time, someone will say “I 

didn’t even know that person was a 

reservist. They showed up and they did 

some great work.”

If a DLA organization wants to get the 

help of one or more reservists for some 

period, what’s their course of action?

The important thing is that they give us 

some notice. If there’s an event, and a 

leader thinks they want reservists, let 

us know, as opposed to waiting. It does 

take a little lead time to get someone. 

And we can walk them through the 

process. We have a simple form that’s 

basically a statement of work. What do 

you want the person or persons to do? 

If there’s a particular skill needed, we also have the 

ability to go outside DLA and ask for volunteers. We 

actually have about 90 reservists who drill with us 

regularly who aren’t officially part of the JRF. We call 

them “double stuffed” people. Lots of people like to drill 

with DLA because it gets them away from the office 

and into the warehouse, allowing them to get handson experience. And some of the people who mobilize 

are individual augmentees from other sources.

How has the mission of the JRF evolved in the past 

few years?

In the last year, our focus has changed; we’re 

not only focused on understanding the support 

we provide at that MSC, but we’re now moving 

to understand the global logistics requirements 

within the regions. And in the DLA Strategic 

Plan, the JRF has been called out to leverage 

its expeditionary capabilities. Lt. Gen. [Darrell] 

Williams has urged us to move to the next level to 

be ready. The tone that’s set by the senior leaders 

toward the JRF is very positive and that helps us 

with our integration.

One way we’re becoming more expeditionary 

is by engaging in exercises. This year we’re 

participating in 19 exercises and we have about 

150 reservists participating. For the Saber 

Strike exercise in June in Europe, we’re sending 

our Reserve DLA Support Team, and we’ll 

also have reservists on the DLA Distribution 

Expeditionary teams.

And we’ve created regionally aligned 

units. These teams will be learning, 

for example, “What do I have to do 

if I deploy to Korea? What are the 

logistics nodes? What are the ports 

of embarkation and debarkation?” 

We’re asking all the teams to start 

thinking globally and become 

more regionally aligned. We’ve 

moved some billets to the regional 

commands and we’re engaged with 

them and their requirements.

So reservists now have to not only 

understand the technical but also the 

regional. This is going to make it very 

attractive for people to come to the 

Joint Reserve Force. The soldier, sailor, 

airman or Marine is going to return to their 

service with a better understanding of logistics 

around the globe.

Any closing thoughts?

I think the DLA Joint Reserve Force is respected 

across the agency because of the high caliber of 

personnel. And I’m very proud of that. They’re 

dedicated Americans. LL

“WHEN RESERVISTS ARE 

BROUGHT ABOARD TO 

ASSIST IN ANOTHER 

PART OF DLA, THEY’RE 

ABLE TO FOCUS ON ONE 

THING, VERSUS FULLTIME EMPLOYEES WHO 

MAY BE ON A LOT OF 

DIFFERENT TEAMS AND 

HAVE TO MULTITASK.”

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LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

July / August 2018
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

RIGGING

VICTORY

Story by Dianne Ryder

Photos Courtesy DLA Distribution

DLA PARACHUTE RIGGERS DO MORE 

THAN JUST PACK CHUTES

Although the first combat use of 

the parachute was at the end of 

World War I, U.S. military use of 

the device began in World War II, when 

the Army frequently used parachutes to 

insert troops and equipment into enemy 

territory in Europe. Ever since, the U.S. 

military has used parachutes as one 

option to deliver warfighters and materiel.

Popular culture is peppered with 

mentions of parachute packers, but 

military personnel at Defense Logistics 

Agency Distribution do much more than 

that — they also test, maintain and ship 

parachutes and other materials daily.

“It’s not just parachutes; it’s sewing 

canvas bags or the deployment bags 

that the parachutes come in, or replacing lines,” said Army Staff Sgt. Matthew 

Rosenkranz, the noncommissioned officer in charge of DLA Distribution’s Aerial 

Delivery Textile Support Active section 

in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. “The 

primary mission here at our building is to 

inspect and classify all the Federal Supply 

Class 1670 materiel,” he said, referring to 

the supply class that covers parachutes 

and all related equipment.

The Aerial Delivery Textile Support 

has four areas: operations, pack, 

maintenance and receiving. With 

shipments of canopy fabric arriving twice 

daily, materials are continually flowing 

in and out of the distribution center to 

be processed, inventoried and packed. 

DLA Distribution stores thousands of 

parachutes in a climate-controlled area to 

prevent mold on the nylon material.

“We’re responsible for repairing textile 

and canvas material, webbed equipment 

and clothing, as well as inspecting, 

repairing and packing parachutes 

and other aerial delivery equipment,” 

Rosenkranz said. “We classify it, count 

it and then put the material into the 

Distribution Standard System.” 

Then DSS records the data so 

the customers in the field can see it 

when they’re looking to place orders, 

he explained. 

As parachute riggers, Rosenkranz said 

he and his team must be in exceptional 

physical condition. 

“The job requires heavy lifting,” he 

said. “You also have to be qualified as a 

parachutist. Right out of basic training, we 

go to Fort Benning [Georgia] for airborne 

school to qualify as parachutists and 

then we’re formally trained at the Aerial 

Delivery and Field Services Department.”

The latter is one of five major training 

departments at the U.S. Army Quartermaster School at Fort Lee, Virginia. 

Army Staff Sgt. Brandon Guevara, 

NCO in charge of receiving at DLA 

Distribution, has only been part of the 

team since January. He said his primary 

challenge has been learning about all the 

FSC 1670 items DLA stores.

“In a regular unit, you’re just used 

to parachutes,” he said. “Here, you’re 

getting to look at a bigger picture and 

see exactly what we do — the logistical 

part of our job.”

Guevara said as soon as he arrives at 

work, he examines the inventory received 

into the shop.

Army Staff Sgts. Brandon Guevara and Matthew Rosenkranz 

maintain their jump status as they exit a CH-47 Chinook 

cargo helicopter from 12,500 feet. 
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July / August 2018 27

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

“I inspect, I count and make sure we 

have the proper amount that’s on the 

paperwork,” he said. “I check the condition 

of it and make sure it’s 100 percent ready 

to go, and then I induct it into our system. 

Then we store it until it’s ordered.”

But it’s not all about inventorying, classifying and packing equipment. 

Rosenkranz and his team members must 

continue jumping throughout their careers 

as riggers so as to keep current on training 

and knowledge of the parachutes they’re 

packing for customers. 

“By jumping, we are able to maintain all that currency and that skill,” 

Guevara said.

“To become certified parachute packers, we have to pack our own parachute 

and then jump with it; that’s our test to 

become packers,” Rosenkranz said. 

Other FSC 1670 items include 

equipment for aerial pickup, delivery and 

recovery; cargo tie-down equipment; 

different types of fabric; platforms for 

heavy drops and bundles with container 

delivery systems. 

“Our particular field of expertise allows 

us to manage the materiel that comes 

into the distribution center,” Rosenkranz 

said. “The efficiency [with which] we 

inspect, count and classify and induct into 

the system allows the warfighter more 

quickly order that materiel.” 

Any customer who needs 

parachutes or related materiel is a 

customer of this DLA Distribution unit 

Rosenkranz explained. 

“It’s not just people who use 

parachutes for jumping; it encompasses 

units that require materiel for air drop, 

sling load or textile components,” he said.

A sling load doesn’t require a 

parachute at all, Rosenkranz explained. 

“It’s just ropes and chains that connect to 

a helicopter that can pick things up from 

one area and take it to another.” 

There are two primary kinds of 

parachutes: cargo and personnel. Cargo 

parachutes come in various sizes and 

are used to deliver supplies into areas 

where ground travel is impractical. There 

are also disposable parachutes that 

don’t require recovery and 

are often used to deliver 

food and supplies, as in 

humanitarian missions.

Personnel parachutes 

can either be deployed 

manually for high-altitude 

jumping or can use a static 

line to open as soon as the 

jumper exits an aircraft. 

Some personnel parachute 

systems are steerable and 

used for low-altitude drops. 

Nonmaneuverable canopies 

are used for higher altitudes 

that require a targeted drop. 

Items come in as 

brand-new, wholesale 

new, procurement or 

as returns from the 

field, Rosenkranz said. 

Personnel parachutes returned by a 

unit are classified with a disposal code 

indicating whether the item is to be 

destroyed or repaired.

Since lives are literally on the line, 

the team will only repair parachutes 

DLA has tracked through their lifecycle, 

Rosenkranz said. Otherwise, “[if] it’s been 

out of our control, we can’t guarantee 

how long it’s been used, what it’s been 

through. So we can’t say that it’s good for 

another unit to buy and put it on another 

jumper’s back.” 

Rosenkranz and his team are liaisons 

between item managers of the materiel 

and the field. 

“If there are issues in the field where 

people are having problems getting 

things, we may be able to affect that 

change at our level as far as reaching 

out and figuring out why a unit is 

having trouble ordering a certain item,” 

Rosenkranz said. “That’s a big thing that 

we do around here — not only process 

the materiel, but also [use] our network 

of experts and respond quickly to 

customer concerns.”

“If we don’t do our job, then the units 

don’t get their materiel — and all the 

other units will be ineffective to meet 

their mission,” Guevara said. “It’s crucial 

for us succeed at our mission here so 

that other units at the tactical level can 

succeed in their missions.” LL

Army Staff Sgt. Brittany Sheehan during her military freefall 

jump, one of her rigger proficiency jumps.

Army Sgt. First Class Franz Tovar, 

jumpmaster, conducts a pre-inspection 

of Army Staff Sgt.  Brittany Sheehan 

before her military freefall jump.
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Story by Dianne Ryder

DLA DISTRIBUTION’S UNIT MATERIEL FIELDING POINT

T he Defense Logistics Agency’s 

strategic plan emphasizes global 

posture and strong partnerships 

— tenets that members of DLA 

Distribution’s Unit Materiel Fielding Point 

team applied to achieve the ultimate 

mission: putting the warfighter first — 

when the demand was great but time 

was not.

In early 2018, U.S. Army Security 

Assistance Command submitted a 

foreign military sales case to the UMFP 

valued at more than $6 million. The 

UMFP team faced the monumental 

task of shipping nearly 300,000 uniform 

items to the Iraqi security forces in a short 

amount of time.

Items included more than 43,000 

sets of desert camouflage uniform tops 

and trousers, as well as combat boots, 

knit caps, undergarments and gloves. 

Clothing and textile vendors expedited a 

ground shipment to New Cumberland, 

Pennsylvania, for consolidation and 

onward movement for air shipment from 

Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. 

Jay Lightner, a supervisory 

distribution facilities specialist and 

supervisor of the UMFP team, said the 

team, which acts as a freight forwarder 

for Afghanistan and Iraq, had supported 

the Iraqi security forces for several years 

but never before received such a highvolume requirement. 

“It came down from USASAC about 

this large uniform buy,” he said. “They 

were able to provide us with the stock 

numbers and document numbers 

associated with this order. They let us 

Uniform Operat

Members of the Iraqi army and police look at ballistic helmets 

in a container during the divestment of organizational clothing 

and individual equipment to the Iraqi army and police at the 

Besmaya Range Complex, Iraq.

—— Photo by Army Master Sgt. Horace Murray
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July / August 2018 29

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

ion

know that this was going to be high 

visibility, high priority, and that everything 

needed to be sent on air pallets through 

Dover [Air Force Base].” 

The uniforms were provided from 

existing stock and transported to New 

Cumberland for consolidation.

“Anything our foreign partners order 

through the supply system, whether it’s 

from the 26 depots or straight from the 

vendors, has to come through here; we 

act as their consolidation point,” Lightner 

said. “We had a very short lead time on 

this one for the Iraqi soldiers. As fast as it 

came in my door, it needed to go back out 

my door to them.”

Lightner said it took five days to 

receive the items from the vendor. Once 

his team consolidated, netted and processed the shipment, the operation was 

turned over to Bryan Flynn, chief of the 

transportation division. 

“This was a coordinated effort 

with Bryan’s folks in transportation to 

move the trucks from here to the aerial 

port because there were set flights [to 

transport] this stuff.”

Shipments to Iraq must first enter 

Kuwait, which requires a slightly different 

configuration of air pallets because of 

the aircraft the foreign 

partners use.

“There were about 

280 air pallets with 

specialty markings for 

them,” Lightner said. He 

explained that the Iraqi 

forces needed to be able 

to easily identify the 

shipment. “We sent them 

a copy of the placard to let 

them know to be on the lookout for it.”

From the vendor’s hands to the 

customer’s, the operation took just two 

weeks, Lightner said. 

“With the missions they have in 

country, it’s imperative [they get these 

items],” he said. “Ninety percent of 

their stuff goes via air so it gets there 

more quickly.” 

Once the mission was completed, 

USASAC’s case manager visited DLA 

Distribution and said the customer was 

“ecstatic” because the uniforms were 

delivered so quickly. 

“We were ahead of their expectations,” Lightner said.

“A lot of the benefit with using us 

versus private industry is the tracking and 

traceability [aspect],” he said. “We can put 

everything into their systems, especially 

with the in-transit visibility with the radio 

frequency tags.”

Both Lightner and Flynn recognize 

how important their role is in saving the 

customer time and money. 

“Very few people know that we 

actually perform this operation for 

these customers,” Lightner said. “Last 

year, I think we shipped about 5,300 air 

pallets to our foreign customers and 

450 containers.”

“Consolidation saves transportation 

costs,” Flynn said. “Instead of a whole 

bunch of individual shipments moving 

to these countries, these guys are 

consolidating and putting them into a 

container or an air pallet.”

“We get to see the results of our work 

because we’re touching the freight; we’re 

consolidating the freight, we’re loading 

the containers and air pallets and seeing 

it depart,” Flynn said. 

Lightner said he believes his team 

will continue to see the volume of 

requirements increase as U.S. military 

forces hand over more responsibility to 

foreign allied forces. 

“We’ve had an uptick in workload 

due to the fact that we have to outfit 

the coalition forces with all the gear 

they need,” he said. “USASAC, along with 

the business development team, are 

constantly going to these FMS customers 

and shopping what we do in order bring in 

more freight-forward business.”

“FMS in general is seen as of 

secondary importance to our mission,” 

Flynn said. “But in the grand scheme 

of things, strategic partnerships are of 

critical importance to readiness and 

overall security for the U.S. The UMFP 

mission is just one big part of how we 

support foreign allies.” LL

Members of the Iraqi Police look at one ballistic vest from a 

container during the divestment of organizational clothing 

and individual equipment to the Iraqi army and police at the 

Besmaya Range Complex, Iraq. The Coalition is enabling 

partnered forces to defeat ISIS by providing air, artillery and 

logistical support on the battlefield.

A completed pallet with color-coded placard identifies 

the shipment as uniforms for the Iraqi security forces.

 Army Master Sgt. Horace Murray

 Denise Paver, DLA Distribution
DLA NewsWire

OPERATION COOKIE DROP

when you hand them a box of Girl Scout Cookies. At MWR, 

military outreach is one of our highest priorities, and this 

event provides the opportunity to connect with and support 

military members, many outside the fence line of DSCC, 

some as far away as Dayton and Canton. We are thrilled at 

how much this event has grown over the past two years 

and we hope to continue to expand and distribute more 

cookies next year.” 

— Dana Thornbury

DLA Land and Maritime Public Affairs 

More online: go.usa.gov/xQmwj

Paul Crank

The Defense Supply Center Columbus Morale, 

Welfare and Recreation’s 2018 Operation Cookie Drop 

distributed nearly 800 cases of cookies donated by 

the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland to more than 3,100 

service members from 19 units (platoon, company, 

battalion and brigade level) in Central Ohio. 

The event was held at MWR’s Outdoor Rental Center 

May 11 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

“Operation Cookie Drop is one of my favorite events 

because it’s a full day of smiles,” said MWR Marketing 

Manager Jennifer Russell. “People can’t help but smile 

EX-USACE 

CHIEF SHARES 

MULTICULTURAL 

EXPERIENCES, 

CHALLENGES

Defense Logistics Agency 

Energy Chief of Staff Army Col. 

Doug Henry hosted the Asian 

American and Pacific Islander 

Heritage Month observance 

May 17, joined by McNamara 

Headquarters Complex tenant 

organization leaders, including DLA 

Chief of Staff Kristin French. But 

the real star was guest speaker, 

retired Army Lt. Gen. Thomas 

Bostick, who related stories with 

humor, candor and charisma.

Bostick serves as chief 

operating officer at Intrexon, a 

biotechnology company. Most of 

Bostick’s anecdotes were from his 

long military career, including as 

the commanding general of the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and 

as the Army deputy chief of staff 

for personnel and readiness.

The retired general said his dual 

heritage as an African American 

and as an Asian American means 

page

30 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY
Teodora Mocanu

Participants in the Industrial 

Hardware Success and Partnership 

in Reaching Excellence mentoring 

program assembled 150 lunch bags 

for the homeless May 17. 

The community outreach and 

team building event featured 

Defense Logistics Agency Troop 

Support employees making 

sandwiches and assembling 

lunch bags, known as “blessing 

InSPIRE’d MENTOR PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS 

PROVIDE ‘BLESSINGS’ FOR HOMELESS

he’s often mistaken for other races 

and has sometimes struggled with 

how to identify himself.

“My dad came in the Army 

before [President Harry] Truman’s 

desegregation, so he was in an 

all-black unit,” Bostick said. “He 

married a Japanese woman right 

after World War II, so it was like a 

double whammy!” 

“I’m very proud of both sides of 

my heritage,” he said. “I recognize 

both cultures.”

Bostick said he was privileged 

to meet some members of the 

Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat 

Team, a large contingent of 

Japanese American soldiers who 

fought during World War II and 

became the most decorated unit 

in U.S. military history.

“Many of them were Nisei ... the 

second generation of Japanese 

Americans,” Bostick said. He explained there was a lot of suspicion 

directed toward the 14,000 

Nisei, who had to endure many 

investigations “to make sure they 

were really on our side.”

“They earned seven 

presidential unit citations — to 

have one is huge — [and] 21 

Medals of Honor, [totaling] 9,846 

awards in one unit,” Bostick said. 

“Think about that.”

— Dianne Ryder, DLA Public Affairs 

More online: go.usa.gov/xQmwW

bags,” with uplifting messages. The 

bags were delivered to a non-profit 

organization serving the homeless in 

southern New Jersey. 

“My goal was to make it unique 

from other mentoring programs, 

which is where the team building 

and community service projects 

come into play,” Joanne Anello, 

Industrial Hardware traditional 

acquisition division chief and InSPIRE 

co-lead, said. “This project is just 

a small way we can give back and 

hopefully brighten someone’s day.”

When Anello teamed with Chuck 

Zerambo, IH purchasing agent 

and InSPIRE co-lead, to create the 

program, Anello wanted to make it 

unique and provide an opportunity 

for participants to connect with each 

other and the community. 

One IH employee, who authored 

more than half of the uplifting 

messages, was glad to be part of 

the event.

“It’s a really fun and interesting 

way to come together,” said Alexa 

Janco, an IH contract specialist and 

InSPIRE participant. “It was a team 

building event, but I also got to 

network with other mentors and 

mentees and help the community.”

— John Dwyer III

DLA Troop Support Public Affairs 

More online: go.usa.gov/xQ7Gq

FED LOG LOOKS TO 

REDUCE DVD RELIANCE 

IN FAVOR OF ELECTRONIC 

DISTRIBUTION/DOWNLOAD

To minimize the impact of not 

receiving a Fed Log DVD, customers 

will have the capability to download 

the FED LOG product from FedMall.

Once downloaded, FED LOG data 

can be kept current using FED LOG 

Delta’s features.

If you have questions or require 

assistance on the FED LOG product, 

reach out to our FED LOG team: 

FEDLOG@dla.mil

page

31

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

July / August 2018
page

32 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

THE NATION’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

CHARTING A PATH FOR THE

HEALTH OF THE AGENCY DISCIPLINES

T he Defense Logistics Agency has a new recipe for 

achieving organizational health and the well-being 

of its employees. With regular Health of the Agency 

assessments and stronger collaboration among offices 

such as DLA Human Resources and Equal Employment 

Opportunity, leaders are now monitoring agencywide 

trends that signal the need for improvement.

The effort brings together experts and 

statistics from a variety of disciplines 

including human resources, 

diversity, safety, sexual assault 

prevention and response, equal 

employment opportunity, and the 

DLA Enterprise Hotline, which takes 

in reports of suspected fraud, waste, 

abuse and mismanagement. 

“The more data we have about 

our people, whether it be demographic 

information or behavior-based 

information through things like culture 

surveys, the better we’re able to weave 

together an accurate story of the current state 

of the organization’s health,” said 

DLA Human Resources Director 

Brad Bunn. 

“That can help us chart a path in 

terms of the programs we offer, how we build policy that 

affects people and how we do change management.” 

Representatives from each area will gather quarterly to 

discuss trends in human capital programs with DLA Director 

Army Lt. Gen. Darrell Williams. The intent is to bring together 

staff elements that don’t typically have recurring interactions 

in a forum where leaders can evaluate strengths and weaknesses, then discuss potential remedies for problem areas.

Rather than focusing on specific complaints and individuals, 

the initiative highlights overall, enterprisewide trends.

“There are a lot of different organizations in DLA working 

efforts to support people and culture, but they aren’t always 

synchronized at the enterprise level,” said DLA Chief of Staff 

Kristin French. “This initiative allows them to collectively 

review all the different areas that affect the 

organization’s morale, health and welfare 

and take a deeper dive into how they can 

work together to resolve issues that 

affect the organization as a whole.”

 Building a team of 

representatives from numerous 

disciplines is key because most 

issues involve input from multiple 

parts of the agency, Bunn added. 

“Let’s say we have an 

Equal Employment Opportunity 

complaint that deals with a 

non-selection; someone didn’t 

get promoted and they file an EEO 

complaint,” he said. “Legal and EEO 

professionals are inevitably 

going to get involved along with 

our HR professionals and the 

chain of command.”

EEO also works with officials from the Office of the 

Inspector General and alternative dispute resolution experts 

to determine the true cause of complaints, said EEO Director 

Janice Samuel.

“Sometimes we have to dig a little deeper to know what 

the issue is actually about,” she said. “If it’s about an employee 

feeling like their boss is bullying them, for example,that’s 

workplace harassment, not EEO. What we’re doing through 

Health of

the Agency

Story by Beth Reece

DLA 

Enterprise 

Hotline

Safety

Human

Resources

Equal

Employment

Opportunity Diversity

Sexual 

Assault 

Prevention

& Response
page

July / August 2018 33

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

the Health of the Agency is partnering more frequently with 

potential players, which helps us ensure employees are going 

to the right venue where their issue can be resolved.” 

Samuel said greater collaboration has helped her 

understand how her team is intertwined with other parts of 

the organization. 

“We really do need each other. We need each other to get 

things done and make improvements that impact the entire 

agency,” she said.

 The initiative, which launched in October, has already 

led to proactive steps in areas like the new performance 

evaluation system known as the Department of Defense 

Performance Management and Appraisal Program. Although 

the number of grievances formally raised by DLA employees 

is relatively low in all categories, Health of the Agency 

representatives recognized the potential for increased 

complaints as a result of DPMAP.

“Just by virtue of having this group together we’ve been 

able to alert the director that as DPMAP ratings get finalized, 

communicated and executed, we’re probably going to see a little 

more angst in the workforce,” Bunn said. “The system we moved 

from didn’t generate complaints because pretty much everyone 

got the same rating, but under DPMAP we expect there to be 

more disputes.”

DLA Human Resources therefore began a movement to educate employees on such features as the “My Performance” tool 

and provided tips on writing effective employee-input statements. 

A hike in hotline complaints regarding employeesupervisor relationships also spurred additions to leadershipdevelopment training. 

“We realized that some of our hotline complaints 

related to equal employment opportunity, which usually 

has to do with shortfalls in leadership skills and leadership 

approaches. That’s already caused us to take another look at 

our leadership competencies and beef up on soft skills in our 

leadership training and development programs,” Bunn said. 

And since mishaps and injuries historically rise during 

spring and summer when employees spend more time 

outdoors participating in activities like boating and 

cycling, Health of the Agency representatives proposed a 

campaign promoting summer safety.

“Campaigns like these are hard to measure, but they’re 

helpful,” he said. “If they cause just one employee to put 

on a life jacket when they’re on a boat or put on a helmet 

before getting on a motorcycle, then, to me, it’s worth it.”

DLA’s perpetual push toward improving the health and 

welfare of the agency should motivate employees, said 

French, who has observed well-being trends at numerous 

military organizations while serving as an Army officer and 

commanding general.

“Our employees should be comforted by the fact that 

DLA spends a great amount of time focusing on people and 

culture,” she said. “A lot of effort goes into making sure people 

are taken care of with everything from health fairs and child 

care centers at our major subordinate commands to the 

fitness centers that we all have access to. There’s a lot of 

goodness in what DLA does for its people and culture.”

Budget changes and the demand for reform and 

auditability continue to challenge DoD and DLA employees, 

however, and an enduring focus on well-being is essential 

to ensuring employees have a positive environment and the 

tools to thrive, French added.

“I think as we build our Health of the Agency reviews, 

we’ll get smarter on the challenges we’re all under and 

make sure our staff is honed in on areas that could cause us 

issues in the future,” she said. “It’s all about supporting the 

warfighter, and we need to make sure our workforce can 

focus on that in spite of all the dynamic changes going on 

around us.”

People and culture are foundational elements of the DLA’s 

strategic plan, which describes employees as the “secret 

ingredient to DLA’s success.” Bunn said his interactions with 

other leaders, labor unions and employees indicate that employees have a positive attitude about the work of the agency. 

That doesn’t mean there aren’t flaws though, and broadcasting the latest Culture Survey results throughout the agency is 

proof that DLA leaders want transparency. 

“We care enough that we don’t focus only on the 

positives,” he said. “We’re willing to do something about the 

negatives, and that generally is what keeps people loyal to an 

organization, knowing that management is about more than 

just output, quantities and performance.” LL

“IT’S ALL ABOUT SUPPORTING THE WARFIGHTER,

AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE OUR WORKFORCE CAN 

FOCUS ON THAT IN SPITE OF ALL THE DYNAMIC CHANGES 

GOING ON AROUND US.”

— DLA CHIEF OF STAFF KRISTIN FRENCH
page

cover4 WWW.DLA.MIL

LOGLINES

THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS — ON TIME, EVERY TIME

My name is:

Linda Norman

I am: 

A general supply specialist on the Distribution Research Team at DLA 

Distribution Headquarters. 

 Describe your job in a sentence: 

My job is assisting customers with how the Distribution and Supply 

System works and how to use its processes to their advantage. 

How long have you worked for DLA? 

I began as a keypuncher at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, 

documenting the incoming Southeast Asian refugees in 1975. After that, 

I worked in the Finance Office, processing paychecks. I came to DLA 

Distribution Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, in April 1976. 

 What is your favorite thing about working for DLA? 

My favorite thing is to assist a deployed customer with expediting their 

cargo, explaining how the process works and how it supports them. 

What are your best memories of working here? 

One is helping the victims of hurricanes such as 

Katrina, Rita, Andrew and Sandy, and the victims 

of other traumatic events in desperate need of the 

basics, such as food and shelter. My other best 

memories are of helping DLA customer support 

representatives around the world. 

How do you make a difference? 

By supporting the greatest armed forces in the 

world, many of whom are my brothers and sisters 

in arms, as I retired after 29 years in the military. My 

small part is to get the parts, material and equipment 

they need to complete their mission and to get back 

home, safe and sound to their families.  

Linda Norman

I AM DLA