LOGLINES

SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2015 DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

A PIECE OF THE ACTION 

IN THENUCLEAR

ENTERPRISE

Cover 1A SepOct 2015.indd 1 8/17/15 
Lt. Gen. Andy Busch, USAF

Director, Defense Logistics Agency

This commitment started with DLA 

Logistics Operations standing up the 

Nuclear Enterprise Support Ȯce in 

-anuary to synchroni]e support ĕorts

NESO is actively engaging with the 

Air )orce, Navy and 8S Strategic 

Command to improve the support we 

provide them

As an active partner, we will work 

with the services on their product 

support strategies for their weapon 

systems This team ĕort to sustain 

their equipment becomes more relevant 

when you consider the age of our 

nuclear Àeet

This issue also focuses on the 

history of DLA’s nuclear enterprise 

support and our ¿eld activities’ current 

support to the nuclear program <ou 

will also learn more about the ¿ve 

As we continue to execute our strategic 

plan, we should consider how we 

might provide better outcomes 

through teamwork .eeping in mind 

that our team isn’t just the group of DLA 

employees we work with each day; it 

must include our customers ,n this issue 

of Loglines, we’ll highlight how we’re 

refocusing DLA’s support of our nation’s 

nuclear enterprise

When , arrived in December, ,

started talking to senior leaders about 

how , thought our nuclear enterprise 

customers needed our help , conveyed 

my customer experiences as the 

commander of the Ogden Air Logistics 

Center in 8tah While there, , saw 

opportunities for improvement between 

DLA and the support , received as a 

customer

DLA’s ĕorts supporting the nuclear 

enterprise consisted of providing 

parts for land-based heavy bombers, 

intercontinental ballistic missiles and 

submarine-launched ballistic missiles

As a baseline, , knew , could request 

DLA-managed parts for a ballistic 

missile or bomber %ut , also knew DLA 

could do more than just deliver parts

Now, as the DLA director, , am 

committing us to do more to support 

our war¿ghters in the nuclear enterprise 

as part of the national security strategy

former employees who were inducted 

into the 2014 DLA Hall of Fame on July 

14 This special honor is reserved for 

former DLA team members who made 

signi¿cant contributions with a lasting 

impact on our agency

This issue also features a 

conversation with Michael Cannon, 

who is the DLA Disposition Services 

director He shares some updates 

on what his organization is doing in 

regards to reutilizing and disposing of 

our customers’ materiel properly

We could not accomplish any of this 

without all of the employees across the 

enterprise This is my third time at DLA, 

and , am truly excited by the work we 

do We have a talented workforce, and ,

look forward to what we will accomplish 

together as a team in the future

DLA Director

Air Force Lt *en Andy %usch

DLA Vice Director

Ted Case 

&KieI oI 6tD̆

Renee L Roman

Director 3XEOic ĂDirV

Joseph M <oswa

DeSXt\ Director 3XEOic ĂDirV

3atrick H Mackin

LoJOiQeV is the authorized publication for 

the Defense Logistics Agency’s workforce of 

federal civilians, active-duty military and Joint 

Reserve Force augmentees at agency activities 

worldwide and industry customers of DLA

Contents of this publication are not necessarily 

the ȯcial views of, or endorsed by, the 8S

government, the Department of Defense or the 

Defense Logistics Agency

LOGLINES

Official Flagship Publication

of the Defense Logistics Agency

LOGLINES STAFF

Managing Editor: Phil Prater

Editor: Jacob %oyer

:riterV: %eth Reece

Sara Moore

Amanda Neumann

La\oXtDeVign: Paul Henry Crank

Headquar ters, Defense Logistics Agency, Office of Public Affairs 

8725 John J. Kingman Road, Suite 2545, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221

Phone: 703-767-6200 E-mail: loglines@dla.mil

LogOineV 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:

DIRECTOR

from the

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A Conversation with ... 16

DLA Disposition Services Director Mike Cannon

DLA NewsWire 20

History Highlights 24

The Nuclear Triad

I am DLA Back Cover

DEPARTMENTS

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

DLA ON www.dla.mil www.facebook.com/dla.mil www.twitter.com/dlamil www.youtube.com/dodlogiVticVagency

THE WEB

A PIECE OF THE ACTION IN THE 

NUCLEAR ENTERPRISE

Revitalizing Support to the Nuclear Enterprise 2

Having a nuclear arsenal at the ready is a key part of 

America’s national security strategy, and maintaining 

the health of those weapons systems is a growing 

concern for the Defense Logistics Agency

Critical Partnerships 4

DLA Aviation and DLA Land and Maritime are 

strengthening their partnerships with customers involved 

in the nuclear mission

Synchronizing Support 9

The Nuclear Enterprise Support Ȯce was created to allow 

DLA to synchronize its ĕorts for the nuclear enterprise

A Place of Honor 12

Five former DLA employees were inducted into the agency’s 

Hall of Fame in July

New Horizons 18

DLA Energy supported NASA’s New Horizons 

spacecraft with propellant hydrazine as it studied Pluto 

and its moons this summer

Delivering the Right Solution 22

DLA Director Air Force Lt *en Andy %usch releases 

detailed implementation guidance for the agency’s 

strategic plan

CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2015

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aving a nuclear arsenal at the 

ready is a key part of America’s 

national security strategy, and 

maintaining the health of those 

weapons systems is a growing 

concern for the Defense Logistics Agency.

DLA Director Air Force Lt. Gen. Andy 

Busch arrived at the agency last December 

intent on improving support to the 

nuclear enterprise, which consists of three 

components: land-based heavy bombers, 

intercontinental ballistic missiles and 

submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

Busch’s commitment to supporting the 

aging nuclear Àeet began at +ill Air Force 

Base, Utah, where he commanded the 

Ogden Air Logistics Center and observed 

gaps in support for the intercontinental 

ballistic missile.

“DLA was helpful, but only on 

individual things. There was never an 

ȯce that a customer could turn to 

and say, ‘I’m having problems with the 

ICBM that reaches across distribution, 

disposition, aviation and maybe there’s a 

contracting piece in this, as well,’” he said.

In January, Busch stood up the 

1uclear (nterprise 6upport Ȯce under 

DLA Logistics Operations to synchronize 

the nuclear support ĕorts of the DLA 

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+eadTuarters stă and the agency’s 

regional commands and ¿eld activities 

such as DLA Land and Maritime and DLA 

Aviation. +is goal is to make DLA a part 

of the overall product support strategy 

as the military services modernize their 

nuclear assets.

While the services already count 

on the agency for DLA-managed parts 

on a ballistic missile or bomber, for 

example, the agency can play a much 

more comprehensive role in sustainment, 

Busch said. 

“They’ve always known how to order 

parts from us, but what they haven’t 

known is how to incorporate us in a 

product support strategy for taking a 

weapon system that’s already 40 years 

old and carrying it another 20 to 25 

years,” he continued. 

Busch described DLA’s existing 

support to the subs and nuclear reactors 

managed by the Navy as “pretty solid” 

due to decades of formal agreements that 

address the service’s needs. Although 

formal agreements are in place with the 

Air Force, they are not comprehensive 

enough, he said, and DLA must partner 

with Air Force Materiel Command, 

Air Force Global Strike Command and 

Story by Beth Reece

REVITALIZING

SUPPORT

“They’ve always known 

how to order parts 

from us, but what they 

haven’t known is how 

to incorporate us in a 

product support strategy 

for taking a weapon 

system that’s already 40 

years old and carrying it 

another 20 to 25 years.”

TO THE NUCLEAR ENTERPRISE

— Air Force Lt. Gen. Andy Busch

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— Photo by Air Force Airman Brian Kimball

DLA Land and Maritime is working with service 

logisticians to expand support for landbased heavy bombers, many of which need 

modernization and haven’t been exercised in a 

nuclear capacity for years.

As DLA Aviation energizes its supply chain to 

support all the components that make up the 

ballistic missile as a weapons system, it will 

begin providing a new range of parts.

agency has assigned a liaison to U.S. 

Strategic Command, which oversees 

the military’s nuclear capability. 

USSTRATCOM ȯcials have also begun 

participating in DLA’s weekly planning 

sessions and are already asking Tuestions 

about how the agency can meet speci¿c 

needs of the nuclear enterprise. At the 

reTuest of the Air Force, DLA Disposition 

Services has halted disposal on speci¿c 

nuclear related systems. 

“We are in meetings now where DLA 

has never chosen to participate, and we 

probably were never invited because they 

didn’t know to invite us,” Busch said. 

“And we’re involved in discussions we’ve 

never had before.” 

Although supporting the nuclear 

enterprise was one of the ¿rst priorities 

Busch stressed after becoming DLA 

director, he said he wants the workforce 

to know that while it is a priority – and he 

wants results yesterday – it’s one priority 

amongst many others. 

“This is a strategic priority for the 

agency. DLA does something for every 

combatant commander, and I think 

there are elements of the USSTRATCOM 

portfolio that are underserved by DLA,” 

he said. 

Air Force Space Command to increase 

support for bombers, ballistic missiles 

and nuclear command and control 

communications systems. 

“On the bomber side, a lot of what we 

have to do is work with a weapon system 

that hasn’t been exercised in a nuclear 

role and ¿gure out where the demand 

signals have dropped ŏ, and we need 

to pick up and start buying items that 

would help support the system in that 

role,” he said.

The Air Force is working to identify all 

the components that make up the ballistic 

missile as a weapon system, including 

the missile itself, launch facility, control 

facility, communications, eTuipment and 

utility support, and so on. Some elements 

are above ground; others are below.

“That’s a pretty signi¿cant task for 

both the Air Force and for us. We have 

to ¿gure out how to energize our supply 

chains to supply parts that we were never 

asked to provide before,” Busch continued. 

To show DLA’s commitment, the 

Air Force Airman 1st Class Kristoffer Kaubisch

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s the Defense Logistics Agency looks to improve its support to the nuclear 

enterprise, two of DLA’s ¿eld activities, Aviation and Land and Maritime, are 

strengthening their support to the military’s nuclear mission with an eye on 

being complete partners with the services.

DLA Aviation has long supported Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic 

missile, as well as B-2 and B-52 bombers and portions of the nuclear command and 

control communications system with repair parts, and is now building on its existing 

support to the Air Force’s nuclear mission, integrating with the service to present a more 

complete support picture, said Steve .inskie, DLA Aviation operations ȯcer and chief 

of stă. That support has been delivered much like the support the agency provides to 

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Story by Sara Moore

CRITICAL

PARTNERSHIPS

Air Force Senior Airman John Myer pushes a tow bar under the tire of a B-52H 

Stratofortress at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

— Photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Vernon Young Jr.

4 www.dla.mil

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Airmen of the 2nd Maintenance Squadron wash a B-52H Stratofortress during 

maintenance at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. A key part of the U.S. 

nuclear arsenal, B-52 bombers are supported by DLA Aviation. 

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Air Force Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder

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countless other weapons systems, he said, 

but as the Air Force changes the way it 

handles its ICBM assets, DLA is modifying 

its support to partner with the service. 

The Air Force is conducting a “line 

of demarcation,” which is an ĕort to 

determine which portions of the ICBM 

program, including the missiles, silos, 

launch facilities and other support pieces, 

fall under the weapons system category 

and need DLA support, .inskie said. 

“The Air Force hasn’t been managing 

the ICBM like other weapons systems for 

decades now,” he said. “So this is a recent 

phenomenon with the Air Force looking at 

this as a weapons system approach. This 

is new not Must for us, embedding with the 

ICBMs like the other weapons systems, 

but it’s also new for the Air Force.”

To help the Air Force with this ĕort, 

DLA Aviation hired a dedicated weapons 

system program manager for the ICBM 

and a weapons system support manager 

for the Rivet Minuteman Mile Integrated 

Life (xtension program, which is a depot 

maintenance activity. Aviation leaders 

also work hand-in-hand with the ICBM 

program ȯce and its lead customers 

in numerous forums, including weekly 

teleconferences and the actual procurement 

planning process, .inskie said.

“We try to leverage our ability to 

provide stellar parts support with them 

so that we can get a better picture,” he 

said. “We’ve embedded ourselves into the 

processes that the Air Force uses for support from the planning and procurement 

side of the house, and we’re advising on 

ways that DLA can leverage our buying 

capability to provide better support.”

DLA does not have any speci¿c 

formal support agreements with the Air 

Force for nuclear support, said Lt. Col. 

Greg Ogorek, DLA Aviation customer 

relationship management operations 

ȯcer. The Nuclear (nterprise Support 

Ȯce and the Air Force National Account 

Manager team at DLA +eadTuarters are 

working on those formal agreements, he 

said, while DLA Aviation works with the 

Air Force to determine what that support 

will look like.

DLA Aviation’s support to the B-2 

and B-52 bombers has always been a 

partnership with the Air Force, .inskie 

said. Those two aircraft were treated as 

The Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine 

USS Rhode Island returns to Naval Submarine 

Base Kings Bay, Georgia, after three months at 

sea. Under a performance-based agreement 

with the Navy, DLA has long supported repair 

parts and maintenance for the Ohio-class 

submarines. 

“This is new not just 

for us, embedding with 

the ICBMs like the other 

weapons systems, but 

it’s also new for the Air 

Force.”

— Steve Kinskie

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weapons systems, but under the new 

ĕort to increase support to the nuclear 

enterprise, reTuests for those systems 

will have a higher priority. Aviation is 

also working with N(SO on identifying 

opportunities for investment strategies to 

increase support to the bombers, he said.

As DLA Aviation moves toward a 

more comprehensive support structure 

for the Air Force’s nuclear assets, Ogorek 

said he sees a potential challenge in the 

availability of some parts and materials, 

because the weapons systems, like the 

B-52, are older. Aviation is working with 

industrial partners and the service’s 

engineering activities to mitigate those 

challenges, he said. 

The Air Force will probably complete 

the line of demarcation this fall, .inskie 

said, and right now DLA’s support is a 

bit ahead of the service, which helps the 

Air Force in its ĕorts. +e said he has 

gotten positive feedback from the service 

on DLA support, and when the service 

determines its exact support needs, the 

ĕort will gain speed.

“As they peel back the onion on that, 

they realize there’s more things that may or 

may not be included, so the more they look 

at it, the more complex the issue becomes,” 

he said. “The key is that we’re engaged each 

step of the way and we’re standing by ready 

to support, and we’re postured to go ahead 

and support, regardless of what decisions 

the Air Force makes.”

At DLA Land and Maritime, support 

to Ohio-class submarines has been an 

ongoing process rooted in a partnership 

with the Navy. 

The Navy has 4 Ohio-class ballistic 

missile submarines, which can each carry 

up to 24 submarine-launched ballistic 

missiles with multiple, independentlytargeted warheads. Ohio-class submarines 

can operate for 5 or more years between 

maMor overhauls, but on average, the 

submarines spend  days at sea followed 

by 5 days in port for maintenance.

DLA supports the Ohio-class 

submarines at a strategic and transactional 

level, said Air Force Col. Brad Tannehill, 

DLA Land and Maritime chief of stă. 

Strategic support is handled through the 

readiness ȯce, where a weapon system 

support manager provides dedicated 

support to the Ohio-class submarines 

and works directly with various Navy 

commands. The support manager attends 

meetings in support of the Ohio-class like 

the Strategic Submarine Supply Support 

Review and Trident Support Group 

meetings and provides performance 

metrics to various activities detailing 

supply support, he said.

At the transactional level, the Ohioclass is supported by a submarine team 

of customer account specialists who focus 

on expediting backorders from Ohioclass submarines and support activities, 

Tannehill said. In total, DLA manages 

almost 0,000 items for the Ohio-class 

submarines in multiple classes of supply 

Missile maintenance technicians from 

the 576th Flight Test Squadron work on a 

Minuteman III component at Vandenberg 

Air Force Base, California. As DLA works to 

improve its support to the nuclear enterprise, 

DLA Aviation is working with the Air Force to 

become a partner in the complete planning 

process for nuclear assets.

“We’re standing by ready 

to support, and we’re 

postured to go ahead 

and support, regardless 

of what decisions the Air 

Force makes.”

— Steve Kinskie

Air Force Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder

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8 www.dla.mil

managed by several agency ¿eld activities, 

he noted.

DLA has had a performance-based 

agreement with the Navy since 20

that speci¿es performance metrics and 

goals that Navy and DLA leaders use as 

indicators of success in support of naval 

logistics, Tannehill said. Three weapon 

systems within the nuclear enterprise 

reTuire material availability to be 

reported monthly, he said. The Strategic 

Weapon System has a material availability 

goal of 5 percent, and the Naval Reactors 

3rogram has a goal of 5 percent. DLA 

Land and Maritime has exceeded the 

Naval Reactors 3rogram goal for 2 

consecutive months, averaging  percent 

material availability, and consistently 

exceeded the Strategic Weapon System 

and Ohio-class SSBN goals with annual 

average availabilities of 5. percent and 

. percent, respectively.

DLA Land and Maritime faces 

challenges supporting the submarines, 

because many of the systems are older, 

and the industrial base for repair parts 

is shrinking, Tannehill said. Because the 

submarines aren’t as numerous as other 

weapons systems, and DLA often goes 

years without needing to buy parts, the 

agency can’t buy in the bulk Tuantities 

like it does with other systems, he 

noted. +owever, DLA’s close working 

relationship with the Navy ensures parts 

are available when needed, and moving 

forward, Land and Maritime leaders plan 

to expand that relationship to improve 

support to the service, he said.

“Our weapon system support 

managers are heavily engaged with the 

program manager and Àeet to identify 

reTuirements much earlier in the life 

cycle,” he said. “It’s this relationship that 

garners much praise for DLA Land and 

Maritime’s outstanding support to the 

nuclear enterprise.” 

A 576th Flight Test Squadron Missile 

Handling Team installs a cable raceway on an 

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile at Vandenberg 

Air Force Base, California. DLA Aviation is 

working with the Air Force to improve its 

support of ICBM weapons systems.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class James Kimber

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Air Force Staff Sgt. Chris Misenheimer, a nuclear 

weapons technician with the 2nd Munitions 

Squadron, performs routine maintenance on 

a rotary launcher at Barksdale Air Force Base 

in Louisiana. DLA’s past support focused on 

the Defense Department’s nuclear enterprise 

shooters. The agency has recently expanded its 

support to the enterprise’s transport and support 

system functions as well. — Lance Cheung

Story by Amanda Neumann

SYNCHRONIZING

SUPPORT

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stablished in January, the DLA 

Nuclear Enterprise Support Ȯce 

was stood up by Defense Logistics 

Agency Director Air Force Lt. Gen. 

Andy Busch to position the agency 

to be fully responsive to the needs of the Air 

Force and Navy nuclear communities. 

The sole mission of the ȯce is to 

synchronize DLA’s enterprisewide support 

to the nuclear enterprise and engage 

strategically with DLA customers, said Air 

Force Col. Steve Petters, NESO’s military 

deputy director. 

“When people think nuclear enterprise, 

they tend to focus on the weapon, which 

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iis not in DLA’s portfolio” he said. 

“What is in our portfolio is just about 

everything required to take that weapon 

and make it a credible nuclear deterrent: 

the bomber or missile or submarine, 

the communication system to support 

the President’s responsibilities to 

execute command and control, even the 

personal gear necessary for our aicrew, 

submariners and missile launch crews to 

perform their jobs successfully.” 

While past support focused primarily 

on supporting the shooters using nuclear 

command and control communications 

systems, a collection of cyber systems 

designed to communicate and execute 

nuclear events, DLA has recently 

expanded its support to the systems’ 

transport and sensor functions as well.

“We have in the past focused on 

the shooters,” Petters said. “But those 

war¿ghters must have systems in place 

to communicate with them where 

they should go and when they should 

launch. There’s also a transportation 

piece, communication gear associated 

with the nuclear command and control 

communications aspect, and the sensors, 

radars and satallelites used in the 

detection of possible nuclear threats 

against our nation. Once General Busch 

said, ‘Hey, what about the rest?’ we 

realized that we’ve got this other huge 

piece to support.”

To date, 22 of the more than 140 

sensors and transport systems associated 

with the nuclear enterprise have DLA 

weapon system designator codes assigned 

to them, allowing the agency to identify 

national stock numbers for supply parts. 

Along with the 18 systems for shooters, 

like the Air Force’s B-2 bombers and 

the Navy’s Ohio-class submarines, these 

WSDCs account for more than 500,000 

NSNs, almost a 10th of the entire agency’s 

total managed items, Petters said. 

With only a small handful of the total 

weapon systems assigned codes, the ȯce 

is conducting research and analysis with 

a task force to identify more NSNs and 

determine if DLA will be used as a source 

of supply.

A munitions display demonstrates the full 

capabilities of the B-52 Stratofortress, an 

Air Force bomber. DLA’s Nuclear Enterprise 

Support Office was established in January to 

position the agency to be fully responsive to 

the needs of the Air Force and Navy nuclear 

communities.

 “NESO has an internal and external 

focus. Externally, we have ŏered 

ourselves up as an entry point to any 

customer with any nuclear enterprise 

issue that DLA touches. If a customer 

is having an issue with DLA’s supply or 

demand chain and can’t get the issue 

resolved, they can call us, and we will then 

go out, ¿nd the right person to handle the 

issue and make sure that it’s resolved,” he 

said. “We can go into DLA Aviation and 

talk directly to that group of people that 

are working Air Force nuclear enterprise 

issues, and it’s the same at DLA Land and 

Maritime with the Navy.”

Internally, the ȯce is in charge of 

maintaining situational awareness of the 

health, performance and sustainment 

of nuclear enterprise weapon systems 

and identifying gaps and shortfalls in 

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customer support, Petters said. Although 

the ȯce is nestled within DLA Logistics 

Operations, it has direct access to the 

agency’s ¿eld activities.

NESO is also working closely with the 

military services on nuclear enterprise 

weapon system support improvement 

initiatives. One of the ¿rst things the 

ȯce did was assign a permanent DLA 

liaison ȯcer to U.S. Strategic Command 

in Omaha, Nebraska, and position a 

customer support representative at 

Air Force Global Strike Command 

headquarters in Shreveport, Louisiana.

As the lead “touch point” for the 

agency, part of NESO’s challenge will be 

working with customers that are still trying 

to understand their requirements for forecasting supply and demand, Petters said.

“The best asset DLA has is an 

educated and informed customer,” he 

said. “Our goal is to meet requirements. 

We can’t do that if our customer 

is struggling to tell us what their 

requirements are. Sometimes we 

haven’t received the demand data, so 

we don’t convey to our industrial base 

to keep up. So we are encouraging our 

customers to operate in the nuclear 

world as you would anywhere else. If you 

need the part, order the part. Although 

we in NESO are aware others in DLA 

are working hard to support these 

requests, we feel it’s our responsibility 

to work with this team to ensure that the 

customer is delighted.” 

“We are encouraging our 

customers to operate in 

the nuclear world as you 

would anywhere else. If 

you need the part, order 

the part.”

The Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS 

Florida returns to port at Naval Submarine 

Base Kings Bay, Georgia, after a year of routine 

operations. To date, 40 systems associated 

with the nuclear enterprise have DLA weapon 

system designator codes assigned to them, 

accounting for more than 500,000 national 

stock numbers.

Air Force Capt. Cory Kuehn, of the 625th 

Strategic Operations Squadron, reads a 

technical order booklet in front of the Airborne 

Launch Control System procedures trainer at 

Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. DLA’s newly 

established Nuclear Enterprise Support Office 

is working closely with the military services on 

nuclear enterprise weapon system support 

improvement initiatives.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class James Kimber

Charles Haymond

— Air Force Col. Steve Petters

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T

Story by Beth Reece

Photos by Teodora Mocanu

Story by Beth Reece

A PLACE OF

HONOR

he Defense Logistics Agency Hall of Fame was created in 1998 to recognize the contributions of 

military and civilian employees who’ve served in a myriad of positions throughout the agency. 

These ¿ve former employees helped build the agency’s reputation as a world-class logistics 

provider and were inducted into the Hall of Fame in July. They individually and collectively 

enhanced the nation’s military readiness, said DLA Director Air Force Lt. Gen. Andy Busch 

during the induction ceremony.

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Stephen Byus

Byus is a former DLA Land and Maritime employee and Navy reservist 

who was killed while deployed to Afghanistan in 2014. He left for Kabul in 

July, certain he could help the Afghan military improve its maintenance and 

supply systems. On Sept. 16, he was heading downtown to brief the Afghan 

minister of defense for logistics when he became the ¿rst DLA employee killed 

in the decade-long war. 

It was Byus’ ¿rst time ŏ the U.S. compound, a decision made by then 

Navy Capt. James Liberko, the leader of six DLA employees who’d deployed 

for the Department of Defense-led mission. The team had been struggling to 

make Afghan army leaders understand the new supply system they wanted to 

put in place.

“Steve came up with a brie¿ng that I thought was truly brilliant. He 

compared the supply system to a gas gauge and how it tells you how much gas 

you have, how many miles you’ve driven and when you’ll need to ¿ll up again. 

We were positive the Afghans could relate to it,” Liberko said.

He was proud of Byus’ work and ŏered him the chance to brief dignitaries 

at the Afghan Ministry of Defense, a task Liberko always did himself. But as 

they headed downtown during morning rush hour in a two-vehicle convoy, a red Toyota Corolla started following them. At a 

crowded intersection, the driver pulled between them and detonated 250 pounds of explosives. Byus died instantly, one day 

after his 12th wedding anniversary. He was  years old and a father of two: -year-old Alexandria and 6-year-old Jacob. 

Byus joined DLA Land and Maritime as an intern in 2008 and had worked his way up to GS-12 by the time he 

deployed to Afghanistan. He had also served with DLA Disposition Services expeditionary disposal remediation team, 

part of the DLA Joint Reserve Force since 2002, ¿rst as an enlisted sailor, then as a Navy ȯcer. 

– Beth Reece

Richard Connelly

Connelly began his DLA career as an intern and quickly rose in rank to hold 

such titles as DLA comptroller; administrator of the Defense National Stockpile 

Center, now DLA Strategic Materials; and director of DLA Support Services, 

now DLA Installation Support, and the Defense Energy Support Center, now 

DLA Energy.

Connelly is known for moving the agency from an appropriated funding 

model to the more business-oriented Defense Working Capital Fund. The ĕort 

required a lot of change management and served as an important lesson for 

Connelly in the dynamics of organizational change, he said.

“The surprising part was how it became such an emotional issue; people do 

not like change,” he said.

The Vietnam veteran was involved in many changes for DLA over the years, 

including the 20-year expansion that saw the agency assume responsibility for 

military depots and consumable items, absorbing all contract administration 

functions for the services, and, toward the end of his career, the Business 

System Modernization initiative. 

Connelly was approaching retirement age when the director position of the 

Defense Energy Support Center became open. Having always wanted to lead that organization, Connelly said he decided 

to “throw his hat in the ring.” When he was appointed as director in 2004, he stepped into managing the end-to-end 

supply chain responsible for purchasing and managing all petroleum resources used by the U.S. military. 

– Sara Moore

Loglines SepOct 2015.indb 13 8/17/15 
14 www.dla.mil

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Robert Dail

Dail was named DLA director during a critical time. The U.S. military was 

involved in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Defense Department leaders 

wanted the agency to use its recently completed Enterprise Business System to 

better deployed support war¿ghters. 

“There was a lot of ĕort by the organization to look at its internal processes 

– how it operated and conducted business – and how it might need to change 

those processes,” Dail said. “My charter [from DLA leaders] was to get out 

and use this capability to start providing DLA capabilities to the war¿ghting 

commands. We had to get some people forward and see if we could link our 

supply to the war¿ghters’ demand.”

Dail points to the implementation of 2005 Base Realignment and Closure 

recommendations as the agency’s other biggest challenge and accomplishment 

during his tenure as director. Legislative directive transferred supply, storage 

and distribution functions from the military services to DLA.

“The change mandated that DLA change its culture. We were no longer 

managing wholesale, national-level inventory. We were managing retail inventory that had to be treated that way. It had 

to be responsive and ¿lled at the rate expected,” he said. “DLA learned a lot in the process. It helped change DLA’s mission 

from the national level all the way down to where demand occurred. That was exactly where DLA needed to be.” 

– Jacob Boyer

Loglines SepOct 2015.indb 14 8/17/15 
Loglines O September - October 2015 15

Mae Devincentis

DeVincentis became the agency’s ¿rst civilian vice director in August 

2010. She began her -year DLA career as a GS-2 clerk at what was 

then called the Defense Personnel Support Center Clothing Factory and 

went on to have a hand in major innovations including the Prime Vendor 

Program and Enterprise Business System.

The Philadelphia native entered the world of information technology 

in the 1980s, when she joined the team responsible for creating the 

Defense Integrated Subsistence Management System. Used by the entire 

Defense Department, DISMS allowed business transactions that once 

took days and even months to occur in minutes. 

Later, as a buyer working for the medical directorate in the 

1990s, DeVincentis led the contracting ĕort to establish DLA’s ¿rst 

pharmaceutical prime vendor, which she called one of the major 

highlights of her work in Philadelphia. 

“We began to realize that stock wasn’t moving out of the depots, that 

we were losing business. Lo and behold, we eventually learned that the 

Veterans Administration had come up with this innovative approach to 

buying commercial items called prime vendor, and they had marketed it to all of our customers,” she said. 

She and coworkers found copies of the VA’s solicitation and ¿gured out their business model. Within a couple 

months, DLA’s ¿rst solicitation for its own enhanced version of a pharmaceutical prime vendor hit the streets. 

From there she went on to help build DLA’s Enterprise Business system, which many regard as DoD’s most 

successful enterprise resource planning system. She later became DLA’s chief information ȯcer and director of DLA 

Information Operations, and served as for six months as director of DLA Logistics Operations before becoming the 

DLA vice director. 

– Beth Reece

Ivan Hall

Hall’s leadership as deputy director of land supplier operations at DLA Land 

and Maritime increased the readiness and survivability of war¿ghters in Iraq 

and Afghanistan. He is best known for implementing DLA’s ¿rst three long-term 

contracts: General Dynamics Land Systems, United Defense Limited Partnership 

and the O’Gara Hess contracts. 

“No one was doing long-term contracts at the time; it was kind of brand new, 

so it was challenging,” he said. “Once we got them on contract, then we didn’t have 

to go out and contract for each item. Every [national stock number] had a lead time 

of record, and the lead time on all those items went from almost 180 days down to 

30 days, so we saved hundreds and hundreds of days of administrative lead time on 

each one,” he said.

The awarding of the Fleet Automotive Support Initiative regional contract, which 

Hall considers one of his biggest accomplishments, soon followed. The unique ¿ve-year 

prime vendor support contract called for repairs and spare parts for dĭerent kinds of 

weapons systems, reducing lead times and creating signi¿cant cost savings.

“It impacted so many customers,” he said. “It was a big-volume contract, and it impacted the whole logistics process.”

Hall is also credited with sending the ¿rst DLA Land and Maritime product specialists to key Army industrial sites in 2008. 

– Amanda Neumann

Loglines SepOct 2015.indb 15 8/17/15 
16 www.dla.mil

A Conversation with . . .

As a customer of the agency for 

many years, what was then-Col. 

Mike Cannon’s impression of 

WKHDJHQF\ZKHQ\RXZHUH¿UVW

assigned here?

Very positive. Most of 

my interaction with DLA was 

for aircraft parts support, 

which was good because 

they funded much of my Air 

Force fuels infrastructure, 

and Disposition Services, 

which supported me through 

disposal and reutilization. 

DLA assignments for Air 

Force ȯcers are uncommon 

though, so I was a bit 

apprehensive.

You’ve served DLA in a variety of 

roles both in and out of uniform 

IRUQHDUO\¿YH\HDUV:K\GLG\RX

decide to continue with the agency 

after you retired from the Air Force?

My time in DLA – with 

DLA Information Operations, 

DLA Logistics Operations, 

DLA Support Team Kuwait 

and Disposition Services – 

gave me a great appreciation 

for what this organization 

does for the war¿ghter. It’s 

big logistics. My time in 

Battle Creek as the interim 

Mike Cannon

The Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services director talks about his time in and out of uniform at DLA.

Disposition Services director 

was the deciding factor, 

however. I fell in love with 

the people and the mission. 

We provide a unique and very 

challenging service, and the 

people who do it, do it in a 

world-class manner.

How did your time as the DLA 

Support Team commander in 

Kuwait prepare you for your role 

with DLA Disposition Services?

If you ever want to 

experience “We are DLA,” 

just spend time in a DST. 

All ¿eld activities and the 

headquarters are present. 

When a customer has a DLA 

question, they make just one 

call to the DST, and we get 

them the answer. In addition 

to appreciating the entire 

DLA enterprise, I got to work 

closely with Disposition 

Services on site closures in 

Iraq, standing up a location 

in Qatar, transferring 

equipment to Afghanistan 

and site improvements in 

Kuwait. That was my ¿rst 

taste of Disposition Services’ 

people and mission.

DLA Disposition Services Director Mike Cannon (right) discusses a town hall meeting with Kathy 

Hausknecht, a strategic planning specialist, before talking to the Disposition Services workforce.

Loglines SepOct 2015.indb 16 8/20/15 
DLA Public Affairs

Loglines O September - October 2015 17

:KDWLVEHLQJGRQHWRHQVXUH

the lessons learned from the 

drawdowns in both Iraq and 

Afghanistan are incorporated into 

future operations?

We’re doing much better in the 

current drawdown because of what 

we learned in Iraq and the early 

hub-based disposal operations in 

Afghanistan. We’ve incorporated 

those lessons learned into our 

improved Expeditionary Site Set in 

manning, training and equipment. 

We’re using the closure of Camp 

Leatherneck, Afghanistan, as an 

example of how to properly close a 

site. The coordination and planning 

by the Marines and Disposition 

Services personnel on site and at 

higher headquarters made that a 

model operation.

How have the changes Disposition 

Services made to rolling stock 

auctions improved operations?

Our new contract vehicle for 

selling of rolling stock has been 

a game changer. The contract 

is set up as pro¿t sharing. So 

instead of us getting a set, small 

percentage of the original cost 

of a vehicle, we get over 75 

percent of what the contractor 

sells it for. That, coupled with 

the contractor’s performance 

and expertise in online vehicle 

and equipment sales, has 

increased our return fourfold 

over the terms of the previous 

contract. This has allowed us 

to reduce our service-level bill 

– what we charge the military 

services for disposal annually 

– by 35 million from ¿scal 

2015 to ¿scal 2016. In a real 

dollars example, we reduced the 

Army’s bill from 93 million to 

66 million.

Given the national conversation 

surrounding the Law Enforcement 

6XSSRUW2̇FHZKDWDUHWKHEHQH¿WV

of DLA supplying equipment to law 

enforcement agencies?

It is a Congressionally 

authorized program. Ninetyfour percent of the items we 

issue are not “military” assets, 

per se. They are things the 

services turn in, like furniture, 

tools, cargo trailers, ladders, 

boots, computers, binoculars, 

etc. A small percentage are 

weapons, aircraft and tactical 

vehicles, which we loan to 

law enforcement agencies 

and get back for reutilization 

or disposal when they are no 

longer needed. Each item we 

give or loan to law enforcement 

is one less item that needs to be 

purchased with state and local 

taxpayers’ money. 

:KDWDUH\RXUSULRULWLHVIRU

Disposition Services going forward?

First and foremost is 

continued and improved 

war¿ghter support while taking 

care of the people. Other priorities 

include being ĕective and 

ėcient as an organization while 

sustaining our ability to have 

auditable processes, and then 

always looking for ways to do 

things better. 

:KDW¶V\RXUOHDGHUVKLS

philosophy? Have you had to 

adapt it as you’ve transitioned 

from being the uniformed interim 

director in Battle Creek to its 

civilian director?

My leadership philosophy 

hasn’t changed. It has three 

key tenets, brieÀy: 

Mission: Follow safety 

standards and procedures. I am 

the Disposition Services safety 

ȯcer. The picture of your site’s 

safety ȯcer is in the mirror. 

Look for ways to improve and 

listen for good ideas.

People: Treat people fairly 

and ¿rmly with dignity 

and respect. When taking 

corrective actions, focus on the 

circumstances, behavior and 

individual performance. Equal 

employment opportunity is not 

just a program or a good idea. 

EEO laws will not be violated. 

Hold people, including yourself, 

accountable. Honest mistakes 

are just that. Find the root 

cause and prevent recurrence.

Personal: Take care of yourself 

professionally, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Employees in Battle Creek know 

\RX¶UHDQDYLGUXQQHU:KDW

running accomplishment do you 

take the most pride in?

I’m over 50, and my knees 

feel just ¿ne On a serious note, 

me being able to ¿nd time to 

run has inspired a few other 

people to be active. That means 

a lot to me. And there was this 

one time a few years back when 

I ran three marathons in three 

consecutive weekends, all under 

4 hours and within 2 minutes of 

the same time.

Is there anything else you’d like 

to say?

DLA and DLA senior leaders 

have been very good to me. I hope I 

can return the favor by being a good 

leader for Disposition Services. 

Loglines SepOct 2015.indb 17 8/17/15 
18 www.dla.mil

Story by Christopher Goulait, DLA Energy

Images Courtesy NASA

NEW HORIZONS

D

efense Logistics Agency Energy’s 

support extended to the edge of 

the solar system as NASA’s New 

Horizons spacecraft reached 

Pluto this summer.

Propellants used along the spacecraft’s 

journey, as well as the fuel and other 

products used in the Atlas V rocket that 

launched New Horizons, were all procured, 

stored and transported by DLA Energy.

“We not only helped to launch the 

satellite via the Atlas V rocket and the 

products we had on the rocket itself, 

but we also provided the New Horizons 

spacecraft with mono-propellant 

hydrazine for its thrusters,” said DLA 

Energy Aerospace Energy Supplier 

Division Chief Doug Smith. “The New 

Horizons spacecraft has been traveling 

for more than nine years now, positioning 

itself on product we provided them.”

Hydrazine is used in New Horizons’ 

thrusters for trajectory adjustments and 

attitude control.

DLA Energy is the integrated material 

manager for space and space-related 

products and services for the Department 

of Defense, federal agencies, government 

contractors and academia. As such, it is 

responsible for the procurement, storage 

and transportation of those products.

Successful delivery of hydrazine 

requires negotiating a long-term supply 

contract and all associated contract 

administration, Smith explained. Delivery 

orders are put in place to ensure product 

deliveries, and inventory managers oversee 

the inventory of ¿ve grades and two blends 

of the product. Transporters move the 

e

s

t

H

P D

P

hydrazine and customer account specialists 

work with customers to make sure their 

short- and long-term needs are met.

DLA Energy Aerospace Energy, 

located in San Antonio, Texas, also has 

quality assurance and chemist stă

members to help with quality or technical 

issues for the products it manages. Quality 

assurance representatives in the DLA 

Energy regions ensure the fuels’ quality 

meets military speci¿cations as well.

“A lot of work goes into ensuring this 

supply chain runs smoothly,” Smith said. 

“At times like this, you see the payŏ

of the work of individuals throughout 

Aerospace Energy.”

DLA Energy’s initial work with the 

project took place leading up to the 2006 

launch of New Horizons.

“It is amazing to see some of the 

pictures coming back from the New 

Horizons that was launched so long ago,” 

Smith said. “Missions such as these show 

the importance of space exploration and 

In the clean room at the Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, technicians 

prepare the New Horizons spacecraft for a media event. DLA Energy supports the New Horizons 

mission by procuring propellant hydrazine.

Loglines SepOct 2015.indb 18 8/20/15 
Loglines O September - October 2015 19

our logistical support to that 

mission. We support satellite 

launches regularly, but it really comes 

home to you when you see something 

that was done in this ȯce back in 2006 

coming to fruition now.”

“Being a part of such a great 

accomplishment for this nation is both 

humbling and exciting,” said DLA Energy 

Aerospace Energy Customer Division Chief 

Ken Grams. “I am extremely proud of the 

contributions by the Aerospace Energy 

team in this and in all of our endeavors.”

Being a part of this mission as 

the supplier for the propellants is 

something that can be looked back on 

as a special moment, Smith said. The 

team isn’t just negotiating contracts, 

placing orders, managing inventory or 

creating transportation movements; 

it’s impacting historic exploration and 

scienti¿c discovery.

“DLA Energy Aerospace Energy will 

continue to get our customers the products 

they need, at the right price, so they can go 

out and provide amazing results like NASA 

is currently doing with the New Horizons 

mission,” Smith said. “It’s exciting to see 

what was done back in 2006 under thendirector Sharon Murphy having such a 

major impact today, and I look forward to 

seeing what we can do in the future.”

The New Horizons mission 

conducted a ¿ve-month reconnaissance 

Àyby study of Pluto and its moons and 

is currently on an extended mission to 

head farther into the Kuiper Belt. 

The New Horizons spacecraft captured this image of Pluto during its flyby of the dwarf 

planet in July. 

For more information on the 

New Horizons project, visit 

the website at:

http://go.usa.gov/3snx4.

Loglines SepOct 2015.indb 19 8/20/15 
20 www.dla.mil

Monthly fuel requirements 

doubled in June and tripled in 

-XO\EHFDXVHRIWKHÀUHVIQ

comparison, DLA supplied about 

45,000 gallons of fuel from May 

to July 2014, but had supplied 

more than 173,000 gallons by 

HQGRI-XQHWKLV\HDU

Quality assurance 

representatives like DLA 

Energy’s Ron Bock worked with 

UHÀQHULHVDQGPLOLWDU\RIÀFLDOVWR

ensure there was enough fuel to 

FRQGXFWWKHPLVVLRQ

“A supply planner has to 

juggle demand with what’s 

DYDLODEOH«IW·VDÀQHEDODQFLQJ

DFWμ%RFNVDLG ́IKDYHDQ

immense respect for supply 

SODQQHUVIIWKHUHLVQRWHQRXJK

of something at the right place 

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there is too much, they are 

EODPHG<HWLILW·VDOODWWKHULJKW

SODFHDQGWLPHQRRQHQRWLFHVμ

– Irene Smith

http://go.usa.gov/3Hg2F

MEDICAL DIRECTORATE 

COMBATS PRESCRIPTION 

DRUG ABUSE WITH 

MEDSAFE RECEPTACLES

Prevention of prescription drug 

abuse is getting a boost from DLA 

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The activity used the 

pharmaceutical prime vendor 

program to partner with 

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AmerisourceBergen to place 

prescription drug disposal boxes 

at military treatment facility 

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“[The receptacles] allow 

patients a safe way to clean out 

expired and unused medications 

from their medicine cabinets,” 

VDLG$LU)RUFH0DM5LFKDUG

Cabellero, a pharmacist with 

DLA Troop Support’s customer 

SKDUPDF\RSHUDWLRQVFHQWHU ́NRW

only will patients not be tempted 

to improperly take a product they 

no longer need; it will also prevent 

others, like grandchildren, from 

WDNLQJWKHPRQPLVWDNHμ

 The General Leonard Wood 

Army Community Hospital at 

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, 

served as the pilot center for the 

program and has removed more 

than 400 pounds of unused, 

unwanted or expired medications 

since it began using the 

UHFHSWDFOHVLQODWH0DUFK

– Janeen Hayes

http://go.usa.gov/3H4gB 

JET FUEL DEMAND SOARS 

FOR ALASKA FIRES

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Alaska increased demands for 

cold-weather jet fuel supplied 

by Defense Logistics Agency 

EQHUJ\3DFLÀFLQ$ODVNDWR

VXSSRUWÀUHÀJKWLQJRSHUDWLRQV

Record high temperatures 

in much of the state, combined 

with a three-day lightning 

storm, sparked more than 300 

ÀUHVLQ-XQH$QGE\WKHHQG

of July, more than 5 million 

acres were burned, said Randy 

Bañez, director of DLA Energy 

RSHUDWLRQVLQ$ODVND

“The low snowfall this last 

winter, the warm weather, low 

humidity and [6,000 to 10,000 

lightning strikes per day] has 

combined to make this year 

SRWHQWLDOO\RQHRIWKHZRUVWÀUH

$ODVND:LOGÀUHV seasons,” he added

&RORUDGR0HGVDIH5HFHSWDFOHV

Air Force Airman 1st Class Luke W. Nowakowski

Philip Spor

Loglines SepOct 2015.indb 20 8/17/15 
Loglines O September - October 2015 21

Compiled by Beth Reece

NORTH CAROLINA 

STUDENTS GET 

TECHNOLOGY UPGRADE

SWXGHQWVRINHZLLIH&KULVWLDQ

$FDGHP\LQ)D\HWWHYLOOHNRUWK

Carolina, received a technology 

upgrade thanks to 50 Dell 

laptop computers that DLA 

Disposition Services helped 

the Army’s 1st Sustainment 

Command donate through 

the Computers for Learning 

3URJUDPLQ-XO\

The program is the result 

of an executive order signed in 

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The order streamlines the 

transfer of excess and surplus 

federal computer equipment to 

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The 1st TSC worked began 

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Forces Command in January to 

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“This helps the Army, 

because donations provide an 

environmentally friendly way of 

discarding hardware and keeps 

excess computers out of area 

ODQGÀOOVμVDLG-RVH$JXHUR

who manages the Department 

RI'HIHQVHSURJUDP ́7KLVDOVR

encourages strong relationships 

between the Army and the local 

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The computers were 

scanned multiple times to ensure 

they met DLA Disposition 

Services requirements before 

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Schools and educational 

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with the CFL program do not 

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recipients are responsible for 

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– Army Sgt. Josephine Pride

http://go.usa.gov/3HgBY

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT 

IDEAS WANTED

Defense Logistics Agency 

employees can submit ideas 

and suggestions for process 

improvements by clicking on 

the new “Process Excellence 

Pipeline” button coming soon 

RQ'L$7RGD\

Since employees know 

their jobs best, it makes sense 

for them to see opportunities 

where DLA can become more 

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suggest ways the agency can 

improve its processes, said 

Angela Evans, chief of the 

enterprise process integration 

division in DLA Strategic Plans 

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IGHDVZLOOEHHYDOXDWHG

E\RIÀFLDOVIURPWKH'L$

Strategic Plans and Policy 

OIÀFHZKRZLOOPRQLWRUWKH

site and forward ideas to the 

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3URFHVV&RXQFLOIRUUHYLHZ

 – Amanda Neumann

http://go.usa.gov/3HgU5

DLA WINS 5 DOD VALUE 

ENGINEERING AWARDS

One Defense Logistics Agency 

employee and four teams have 

been awarded Department of 

Defense Value Engineering 

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More than $313 million was 

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DLA’s Value Management 

Program, which includes the 

agency’s value engineering efforts 

and is aimed at reducing the cost 

of materials while retaining or 

improving quality, reliability and 

IXQFWLRQ

Award winners were chosen 

from each DoD component in 

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individual, team, organization 

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awards recognized applications 

or approaches that expanded 

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'L$·VZLQQHUVDUH

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V-22 Alternate 

 Sourcing Project, 

 DLA Aviation

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 -DVRQIVHUQKDJHQ

 DLA Land and Maritime

27HDP 

TF-34 Feedback Cable 

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 Project Team, 

 DLA Aviation

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DLA Aviation

26SHFLDO 

Value Management Team, 

 DLA Land and Maritime

http://go.usa.gov/3Hg9A

DLA EXPLORES BENEFITS 

OF 3D PRINTING 

The Defense Logistics Agency is evaluating whether 3D 

printing, a process commercial manufacturers use to produce 

everything from prosthetics to airplane parts, could lower the 

cost and reduce lead times for hard-to-source, obsolete and 

EDFNRUGHUHGSDUWV

'/$'LVSRVLWLRQ6HUYLFHVGRQDWHVODSWRSFRPSXWHUV

3URFHVV([FHOOHQFH3LSHOLQH

Stephanie Tatum

David McNally

Loglines SepOct 2015.indb 21 8/20/15 
22 www.dla.mil

efense Logistics Agency Director 

Air Force Lt. Gen. Andy 

Busch released the agency’s 

Strategic Plan in May, putting 

collaboration, innovation and 

smart investments among the workforce’s 

top priorities.

“It provides our roadmap to ensure 

that we, the DLA team, continuously 

evolve and improve together to meet 

our mission requirements with a single 

resolve. It is our plan for meeting 

the future with the commitment and 

capabilities that we need to provide the 

responsive, agile and innovative support 

that our customers and stakeholders need 

and deserve,” he wrote in a call to action 

at the end of the 16-page document. 

Detailed implementation guidance 

was published in July. It outlines 

initiatives for the rest of ¿scal 2015 and 

2016 that will help employees reach 

goals in the Strategic Guidance, which 

encompasses ¿ve areas: War¿ghter 

First, People and Culture, Strategic 

e

A

B

S

c D

t i

Engagement, Financial Stewardship and 

Process Excellence. 

“We’re just beyond six months into our 

journey together and I want to share my 

thoughts on where we are at and provide 

some speci¿c guidance relative to our 

strategic way-ahead,” the director wrote in 

opening remarks of the 29-page document.

War¿ghter support is DLA’s 

most important role, and while the 

agency provides signi¿cant support 

to combatant commanders, parts of 

U.S. Strategic Command have been 

underserved, Busch said. 

“The services are no less important. I 

will, and I expect you as well, to develop 

close relationships with your military 

service counterparts. Their operational 

readiness concerns and weapon system 

product support strategies require our 

support,” he continued. 

There are 21 initiatives under 

War¿ghter First. They range from 

improving mission readiness through 

national account managers, demand 

planners and other DLA 

employees who collaborate 

with customers daily to 

helping military defense 

acquisition program ȯcials 

determine the most ėcient 

life cycle logistics solutions.

Greater focus will also 

be put on supporting the 

Navy’s nuclear enterprise as 

the agency increases material 

availability for key platforms. 

Story by Beth Reece

DELIVERING THE 

RIGHT SOLUTION

And research and development ĕorts will 

expand to include additive manufacturing 

– also known as 3D printing – as well as 

placement of automation technologies and 

robotics in distribution warehouses.

Under People and Culture, which 

includes 20 initiatives, Busch said all 

leaders are responsible for helping 

employees become resilient. He expects 

the workforce to be trained to lead in 

an era of performance-based logistics, 

which gives commercial industry the 

responsibility for material readiness. 

“We are no longer a parts store; 

we need to broaden our impact and 

become central to the military services’ 

product-support strategy. As a result, we 

will continue the direction on Life Cycle 

Logistics Certi¿cation,” he wrote.

Work in this goal area includes 

reviewing functional competencies for 

mission critical occupations relative to 

emerging and future missions and the 

creation of a DLA acquisition career 

WARFIGHTER FIRST

PEOPLE AND CULTURE

Loglines SepOct 2015.indb 22 8/17/15 
Loglines O September - October 2015 23

development organization. Other 

initiatives include promoting diversity 

and inclusion, improving workplace safety 

and security, and ensuring employees 

have a clear understanding of the agency 

mission and how they contribute to it.

Though Strategic Engagement is a 

broad goal title, Busch said he is most 

interested in innovation with industry and 

how DLA can integrate innovation into its 

business practices. 

“Our business model has migrated 

from a very transactional model to one 

that values long-term relationships with 

industry. [Better Buying Power] is asking 

us to think about the next evolution, one 

that creates greater synergy with our 

service partners and incentivizes industry 

to improve their products and, in turn, 

share the rewards,” he wrote.

Among the 12 initiatives for this goal 

are steps to reduce acquisition cycle time, 

the expansion of supply sources for legacy 

systems and the development of a formal 

DLA performance-based logistics strategy. 

A Business Systems Center of Excellence 

will also be created to improve the defense 

business systems tradecraft, promote 

business systems acquisition excellence 

and highlight BBP 3.0 concepts.

Financial Stewardship includes 23 

initiatives that support three areas: audit 

readiness, the agency’s $13 billion savings 

goal and cost-recovery rate reductions.

“First, we all need to be focused on 

sustainment of audit readiness, because it 

will not be easy. Resources will always be 

limited, but I am more concerned that we 

will let our guard down after we get a clean 

audit opinion – we must remain vigilant. 

My intent should be very clear: attain and 

sustain audit readiness,” Busch wrote.

The agency will continue to conduct 

cost summits that focus on existing pricing, 

billing structures, cost comparisons and 

areas in which industry can help DLA 

reduce costs. In addition, the agency will 

implement an information technology 

framework that takes advantage of 

commercial cloud opportunities in a 

secure infrastructure. 

Under Process Excellence, Busch 

expects leaders to make full use 

of training resources and tools for 

continuous process improvement. 

Leveraging the Supply Integration 

Council for harmonization and 

coordination of process initiatives, 

as well as the Alignment Group for 

assessment and Executive Board for 

approval is one of the 12 initiatives in 

this goal area. A change management 

plan will also be created. 

Field activities and directorates 

will be expected to incorporate these 

initiatives into their annual operating 

plans, Busch said. DLA Strategic Plans 

and Policy will monitor progress and 

develop a schedule for all initiatives to 

be presented at the appropriate level 

governance forum. 

FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP

PROCESS EXCELLENCE

STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENT

“It provides our roadmap to ensure that we, the DLA team, continuously evolve and 

improve together to meet our mission requirements with a single resolve. 

— Air Force Lt. Gen. Andy Busch

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24 www.dla.mil

 THE

NUCLEAR TRIAD 

he United States’ strategic nuclear 

arsenal has been based on the 

“nuclear triad” system since the 

1960s. The triad refers to the three 

categories of nuclear delivery 

vehicles: land-based intercontinental 

ballistic missiles, submarine-launched 

ballistic missiles and strategic aerial 

bombers. A major purpose of the nuclear 

triad is to reduce the possibility that 

an enemy could destroy all the nation’s 

nuclear forces in a ¿rst-strike attack 

by retaining a second-strike capability, 

a viable threat that increases nuclear 

deterrence. This would in ĕect make a 

successful ¿rst strike impossible. 

The Defense Logistics Agency is 

fully committed to strengthening and 

h

a

“

1

c T

hi l

optimizing its support to the multiple 

supply chains and functions of the 

nuclear triad, also known as the nuclear 

enterprise. Moreover, the agency “must 

be vigilant in our end-to-end process 

planning, precise in execution and 

committed to partnering with the military 

services and U.S. Strategic Command 

to ensure we maintain and improve our 

performance while leveraging technology 

and processes to advance ėciencies,” 

according to the agency’s strategic plan.

DLA Director Air Force Lt. Gen. 

Andy Busch said April 14 that while 

the sustainment for this mission was 

established 50 years ago, “there is a need 

for a single, synchronized approach to 

help the services with this mission set.” 

Cold War Era

The United States developed and 

used the ¿rst nuclear weapons at 

the end of World War II in 1945 and 

maintained nuclear superiority until the 

Soviet Union acquired its own nuclear 

weapons in 1948. An arms race took 

place in the 1950s, with the U.S. and 

the Soviet Union each attempting to 

counter the other by developing vastly 

more powerful thermonuclear weapons. 

The U.S. tested its ¿rst hydrogen bomb 

in 1952, and the Soviets tested a similar 

weapon the following year. Fear that 

the other nation wanted a nuclear 

superiority to initiate a conÀict, coupled 

with ideological dĭerences, spurred on 

the race.

HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS

Story by Harold Raugh

DLA Chief Historian

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Loglines O September - October 2015 25

Initiatives have been proposed to enhance the 

operation, maintenance and modernization of 

nuclear weapons and delivery systems.

DLA HISTORY PROGRAM

This U.S.-Soviet nuclear arms 

race resulted in a situation of mutual 

deterrence in the 1960s. The size and 

capabilities of the superpowers’ nuclear 

arsenals, if employed, had the potential 

to produce mutually assured destruction, 

which forced restraint on both sides.

This nuclear stalemate also served 

as the genesis for the U.S. nuclear 

triad. In addition to permitting each 

of the U.S. military services to play a 

role in nuclear deterrence, the three 

dĭerent nuclear basing and delivery 

modes had complementary strengths 

and weaknesses. “As noted by Amy W. 

Woolf in a 2015 Congressional Research 

Service study on U.S. nuclear forces, 

“ICBMs eventually had the accuracy 

and prompt responsiveness needed to 

attack hardened targets such as Soviet 

command posts and ICBM silos, [and] 

SLBMs had the survivability needed 

to complicate Soviet ĕorts to launch 

a disarming ¿rst strike and to retaliate 

if such an attack were attempted.” The 

third component of the nuclear triad, 

strategic bombers, “could be dispersed 

quickly and launched to enhance their 

survivability, and they could be recalled 

to their bases if a crisis did not escalate 

into conÀict.”

The number of nuclear delivery 

vehicles – ICBMs, SLBMs and nuclearcapable bombers – in the U.S. force 

structure, according to unclassi¿ed 

estimates compiled by Woolf, grew 

steadily through the mid-1960s, peaking 

at 2,268 in 1967. Between 1,875 and 2,200 

ICBMs, SLBMs and heavy bombers were 

generally maintained through 1990. The 

number of warheads remained steady 

before peaking at 13,600 in 1987. 

Post-Cold War Era

After the fall of the Berlin Wall 

in 1989 and end of the Cold War, the 

U.S. and Soviet Union signed the ¿rst 

Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 

1991. In response to this treaty, which 

limited the U.S. to 6,000 warheads, the 

U.S. began reducing and modernizing 

its nuclear arsenal. 

As a result of the Nuclear Posture 

Review, which took place amid advancing 

technology, nuclear treaty requirements 

and an evolving adversary, a new nuclear 

triad concept was adopted in 2002. While 

retaining its focus on the original nuclear 

triad, the new policy, according to political 

scientists Joan Johnson-Freese and Thomas 

M. Nichols, moved “U.S. nuclear forces to a 

so-called ‘capabilities-based’ posture to deal 

with multiple aggressors across a spectrum of contingencies.” It included special 

operations forces, unmanned vehicles and 

cyber-competence, enhancing capability, 

Àexibility and responsiveness. 

The Cold War Nuclear Triad has evolved to 

a more “capabilities-based” posture to deal 

with multiple aggressors across a spectrum 

of contingencies.

Sustaining the Nuclear Enterprise 

and Nuclear Triad

Recent decisive actions, according to 

Woolf, have been taken to reinvigorate 

and further strengthen the Air Force’s 

portion of the nuclear enterprise. At the 

same time, amid budgetary constraints, 

aging delivery systems and questions 

about reducing warheads and missiles, 

initiatives have been proposed to 

enhance the operation, maintenance and 

modernization of nuclear weapons and 

delivery systems.

Logistical support and parts 

availability, including ordering, 

product support and depot 

maintenance, drive operations that 

are critical to sustaining the nuclear 

enterprise. Through the recentlyestablished Nuclear Enterprise 

Support Ȯce, DLA will provide the 

synchronization, precise planning and 

responsive logistical support needed to 

ĕectively maintain America’s nuclear 

deterrent force, the nuclear triad. 

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I AM

My name is:

Juan Aldape Jr.

I am:

A staff support analyst in the DLA Director’s Office at Fort 

Belvoir, Virginia.

Describe your job in a sentence.

I provide support to the DLA director, vice director, chief 

of staff, political advisor and senior enlisted leader at DLA 

Headquarters.

How long have you worked for DLA?

Seventeen years, both as an Army staff sergeant and as 

a civilian.

What is your favorite thing about working for DLA?

Knowing what DLA’s mission is in relation to the warfighter: 

“Let’s get him enough and on time.”

What are your best memories of 

working here?

Watching how DLA steps up 

during major worldwide or U.S. 

natural disasters while receiving 

very little public or media fanfare.

How do you make a diīerence?

I take care of smaller issues 

so that the Director’s Office can 

concentrate on the bigger ones! 

Juan Aldape Jr.

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