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LOGLINES

THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS — ON TIME, EVERY TIME

January / February 2017

Twister Assist

DLA Information Operations, Distribution Teams

Help Tornado-struck Colleagues Return to Work

Providing in Parallel

DLA Distribution Supports

Operation Pacific Reach in South Korea

Chow Trucks

Army Food Service Goes Mobile

with DLA Troop Support

LOGLINES

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

DLA’S RAPID DEPLOYMENT TEAM CAPABILITIES

 READY 

 ‘ROUND 

 THE CLOCK

 Volunteer Teams Help

 DLA Support Operations

 Around the World

The Right Solution — On Time, Every Time July / August 2017
DLA DIRECTOR 

Army Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams

DLA VICE DIRECTOR

Ted Case

CHIEF OF STAFF

Renee L. Roman

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 Vice Director

I

am honored to pen this message during our transition of DLA 

directors. It gives me a chance to promote our teams in the field 

doing critical work in support of our warfighters and other important 

customers. Our employees accomplish their missions with singular 

resolve, and we’ve captured a few of their stories here.

Before we continue, I’m excited to announce the arrival of DLA’s 19th 

director, Army Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams. He c0mes to us from the 

Army Combined Arms Support Command at Fort Lee, Virginia, where 

he’s been serving as commanding general since August 2015. He brings 

a wealth of logistics knowledge and experience, including a tour as 

commander of DLA Land and Maritime. You’ll read his messages here 

in the future.

Now back to this issue of Loglines. In recent years, DLA has made 

it a priority to be able to support America’s response to contingencies 

around the world. This has led the agency to create teams that can deploy 

anywhere in support of military or whole-of-government operations.

DLA’s rapid deployment teams first achieved real-world success 

performing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief work in Haiti 

in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in 2016. You may not have 

known that the team members are volunteers, all with full-time duties 

elsewhere in DLA. This issue features an article telling the full story of 

this remarkable program, including its history, the individual capabilities 

of team members and their most recent activities. 

The DLA Information Operations Contingency Information 

Technology Team is another great story with a similar theme. In the 

wake of a destructive tornado that ripped through Marine Corps 

Logistics Base Albany Jan. 22, 2017, the CIT Team, joined by teams 

from DLA Distribution, deployed quickly to restore DLA Distribution’s 

systems connectivity — and thus support to the warfighter — until 

repairs could be made. 

The DLA Distribution Expeditionary Team, DLA’s deployable 

distribution center, was among several agency assets sent to support 

Operation Pacific Reach, a combined logistics exercise held in South 

Korea every other year. This important exercise ensures United States 

Forces Korea and 8th Army units are logistically ready to support the 

defense of the Republic of Korea, should the need arise. 

In addition, you’ll read about DLA Troop Support’s pilot food truck 

program, DLA Energy’s fuel-tank cleanup efforts, DLA Aviation’s Forging 

and Casting Assistance Team industry visits and more.

I am proud to present this issue of Loglines, which once again shows the 

vast scope of this agency and the dedication of its talented employees. 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.
Ready ‘Round the Clock........................02

Natural disasters, outbreaks of disease and large human 

migrations are all supported by DLA through teams of volunteers 

who stand ready to deploy around the world.

Twister Assist ..........................................08

After a severe tornado, information technology teams helped 

to get Defense Logistics Agency Distribution colleagues up and 

running in less than two weeks.

Providing in Parallel .............................. 12

Two DLA Distribution centers helped move real-world materiel in 

support of an exercise in South Korea.

Anvils and Aircraft.................................. 14

DLA Aviation employees learned firsthand how two companies 

make aircraft parts for DLA through casting and forging.

Clean Break.............................................. 21

DLA Energy is helping save money while protecting a sensitive 

habitat in California. 

Chow Trucks ..........................................28

 A high operations tempo needn’t mean ‘bland on the run’ for 

soldiers, with the help of DLA and a few food trucks. 

02

14

08

28

Features

Departments

A Conversation with ... ......................... 18

Cathy Contreras

DLA NewsWire ........................................26

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

James Secrist

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

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

People around the world know 

the Defense Logistics Agency 

as a logistics provider and 

combat support agency, but its roles 

in disaster relief and humanitarian 

assistance have expanded 

exponentially in the past decade. The 

need for teams that can readily deploy 

to meet those requirements is greater 

than ever.

Program History

In early 2014, when the Ebola 

crisis struck West Africa, DLA quickly 

responded by sending in civilians as 

well as military members to assist. The 

problem was that the volunteers lacked 

official authority for their presence until 

well into the mission. 

That event was an early indication 

that DLA needed rapid-deployment 

DLA’S RAPID DEPLOYMENT TEAMS ARE

capability, said Don Bruce, deputy chief of 

the Joint Logistics Operations Center, part 

of DLA Logistics Operations. 

“The rapid deployment initiative was 

focused on having the proper authority 

and the capability to respond rapidly,” 

he said. “That’s what really drove the 

initiative that is now a program.” 

In October 2015, the Logistics 

Operations directorate established initial 

operating capability, Bruce said. 

“It was a much smaller version, but it 

was at least a capability that bridged us 

through until Jan. 1, 2016, when we had 

the first teams onboard,” he said. 

Current DLA support teams in Kuwait 

and Afghanistan rotate every six months 

on a known, recurring mission. For these 

standing DSTs, the JLOC usually has 

several months to recruit and train an 

individual before they deploy, Bruce said.

“Our mission support team is responsible for recruiting, training, equipping 

and deploying DLA personnel for our DLA 

support teams, which has literally been 

going on for decades,” Bruce said. “The 

rapid deployment teams are much different from our standard DST, though.”

Bruce explained that in an emergency, finding the right people who are 

ready to go at a moment’s notice is just 

one challenge. 

“We couldn’t always get our team 

into the theater of operations because 

in a crisis, there’s competition for the 

available airlift to move people in,” he 

said. “You need permission from the 

combatant commander.”

That permission is ultimately 

granted by the secretary of defense. 

Combatant commands submit a request 

for forces to the Joint Staff, and the 

REadY ‘Round the 

Story by Dianne Ryder
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WARFIGHTER FIRST

Make Promises and Keep Them

July / August 2017

requirement is eventually tasked to 

DLA. But that process takes time. In 

2015, former DLA Director Air Force Lt. 

Gen. Andy Busch charged the JLOC with 

establishing a rapid deployment program 

to dramatically reduce the time to get 

DLA personnel on the ground when and 

where they were needed.

Bruce said his team did analysis on 

available options to make the director’s 

vision a reality.

Strategic Partnering

“We developed what was initially 

the rapid deployment initiative concept, 

because in a contingency or crisis scenario 

if you had to create a DLA support team 

and deploy it, it was very challenging,” 

Bruce said. “That’s what caused us in 

the RDT concept to partner with U.S. 

Transportation Command — there’s a 

 CLock

Airmen from the 123rd Contingency Response Group 

head toward aircraft at the Louisville International Airport, 

Louisville, Kentucky.

— Photo by Navy Capt. Paul HaslamNavy Capt. Paul Haslam

Black Team members (L-R) Brandon Martin, Faisl Liban, Craig Hill and Capt. Paul Haslam during Turbo Distribution 

Exercise 16-2.
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Black Team member Craig Hill enjoys a Meal, Ready-to-Eat 

during Turbo Distribution 16-2.

Black Team members Brandon Martin, Faisl Liban and Capt. 

Paul Haslam during Turbo Distribution Exercise 16-2, Sierra 

Army Depot, California.

led by Navy Capt. Timothy Phillips, DLA 

Joint Contingency Acquisition Support 

Office Mission Support Team director; 

and an alternate team, which augments 

the other two teams.

Team Architecture

Each team consists of 13 members. 

In addition to the commander at the 

standing Joint Staff execution order for the 

Global Response Force, which is a menu of 

capabilities a combatant commander can 

look at and pick from.”

Any of the forces in the GRF have to 

maintain a certain set of standards, such as 

training, equipment and medical readiness. But if an agency’s capability is on that 

menu, they’re “pre-approved,” Bruce said.

USTRANSCOM has its Joint Task 

Force Port Opening as a portion of the 

GRF, and DLA senior leaders recognized 

a way for DLA to be included in the GRF.

“We realized that if we could partner 

with USTRANSCOM, they could help us 

out in that process with many of the 

associated readiness requirements,” 

Bruce said.

Following discussions with senior 

leaders, DLA built on the relationship and 

established a Memorandum of Agreement between DLA and USTRANSCOM.

“We derive our authorities through 

that relationship with USTRANSCOM, 

and we use it to get airlift in order to send 

our forces,” Bruce said.

Setting the Standard

Since all the other forces in the 

GRF are military, DLA had to adapt 

USTRANSCOM’s process to civilians in 

setting up the RDT program.

“There weren’t rules in place for 

how you place a government civilian on 

that type of requirement to meet those 

expectations,” Bruce said. 

Bruce said they had to work closely 

with DLA Human Resources. 

“We had to build readiness standards, 

determine a process for screening the 

individuals to make sure they were 

medically fit, and train them on all the 

things they need to be able to do in a 

deployed environment,” Bruce said. “We 

now partner with USTRANSCOM and 

exercise with them at least twice a year 

in a Turbo Distribution exercise, which is 

what they use to validate that their force 

is ready to support the mission.”

The RDTs are now in their second 

iteration of deployments among 

the three teams: the Black Team, 

led by Navy Capt. Paul Haslam, DLA 

Acquisition chief of staff; the Gold Team, 

Navy Capt. Paul Haslam Navy Capt. Paul Haslam
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WARFIGHTER FIRST

Make Promises and Keep Them

July / August 2017

The Gold Team, led by Capt. Timothy Phillips (far right), 

gathers during initial team training at DLA headquarters, 

Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

HASLAM SAID HE CAN PROVIDE TRAINING TO 

HONE AN INDIVIDUAL’S EXPERTISE, BUT SOME 

THINGS CAN’T BE TAUGHT.

colonel/Navy captain level, there is a 

deputy commander (generally, a GS15 civilian or military equivalent) and 

an operations officer (a GS-13/14 or 

equivalent). The latter positions can be 

civilians or military members, but they 

must have a broad knowledge of DLA.

The other members of the team 

are subject matter experts/liaisons 

appointed by their organizations 

according to the relevant supply chain or 

logistics service:

• Class I: Subsistence, 

provided by DLA Troop Support

• Class III: Energy, 

provided by DLA Energy

• Class IV: Construction and Barriers, 

provided by DLA Troop Support

• One DLA Distribution liaison

• One DLA Disposition Services liaison

• Two customer account specialists, 

provided by various DLA 

organizations

• Two information technology 

application support representatives, 

provided by DLA Information 

Operations

• One DLA General Counsel 

representative

This Is a Call

Team members can either be 

nominated by their commanders or 

directors, or they can apply via the 

USAJOBS website when the JLOC 

announces the positions. 

Bruce cautions DLA leaders to 

nominate only qualified people for the 

three teams.

“Anybody who joins the program 

will sign an agreement similar to the 

emergency essential agreement. They 

state that they understand they’ll be in 

the program for one year and that they’re 

subject to deployment,” he said. “The DLA 

director has placed a high priority on this 

program. It’s not your full-time job, but 

your RDT commitment takes precedence 

when there’s a need.”

Haslam emphasized the importance 

of having a broad understanding of DLA 

and its structure, functions and mission.

“If you’re going to be an operations 

officer or a deputy, you really have to 

have the full span of understanding of 

what DLA does as a whole,” he said.

Team commanders put out the call 

for team members during mid-summer. 

They also ask if current members want to 

extend. Prospective new volunteers are 

vetted first by the leaders of their parent 

field activity or staff directorate and then 

screened by the JLOC.

Haslam said he can provide training 

to hone an individual’s expertise, but 

some things can’t be taught. 

“What’s really difficult is if they don’t 

have the right disposition or attitude 

for the job,” he said. “But generally, we 

haven’t seen that. I’ve never really said no 

to anybody we’ve sat down with.” 

If accepted, team members will go 

through a standard screening process, 

including medical tests. If they are 

deemed medically fit to serve, they’ll 

be issued a duffel bag, sleeping bag, 

sleeping pad, Kevlar vest and Kevlar 

helmet.

“We’ve had a couple of people 

who haven’t made it through those 

processes,” Haslam said. “We found 

out medical things after the fact, so 

sometimes people fall out. But that’s 

why we have an alternate team.” 

“Generally, the operations officer is 

a GS-14, but one of my guys had knee 

surgery, so I moved my operations officer 

up to be the deputy and I brought in a 

GS-13 from the alternate team, and he’s 

my operations officer right now.”

Commitment

“There aren’t many civilians within 

the Department of Defense who can 

say they are part of DoD’s GRF,” Bruce 

said. “As a matter of fact, the only 

civilians within DoD who can say that 

are the members of the DLA RDTs.”

Supervisors of volunteers should 

also recognize the level of commitment, 

because they’ll need to assign others 

Navy Capt. Timothy Phillips
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Camp setup during Turbo Distribution Exercise 16-2.

to pick up the duties of that individual in 

their absence.

“One of the director’s decisions was 

that we would ensure each RDT has 

at least two deployments each year,” 

Bruce said. “In a crisis situation, the team 

members give us a capability that is 

readily available.”

Whether or not DLA is part of the 

GRF, the national command authority has 

identified operational plans for different 

threats and combatant commands must 

be prepared to support them. And DLA 

is tasked to support those combatant 

commands, Bruce said.

Haslam notes that after the medical 

tests and training, the first step in 

codifying the team is through the Turbo 

Distribution exercise. A DLA assessment 

team of four volunteers is assembled. 

The DAT flies into the exercise area first.

“That DAT consists of a commander, 

one contingency contracting person, an 

information technology person and then 

the fourth member, who I pick based on 

what’s going on in the world,” Haslam 

said. “Once we assess the situation, 

we’ll look at our different classes of supply and make the call on who we need 

to pull forward.”

Haslam explained why an information 

technology specialist is just as important 

to have on this early advance team as 

the other three members.

“You’re dead in the water if you 

can’t communicate,” he said. “The IT guy 

brings the communications package 

that can be set up and can actually be 

run off a car battery [if necessary].” 

Within 24 hours, the rest of the 

team arrives, and they set up camp, 

Haslam said. 

“You’re sleeping in a tent with the sleep 

system, eating Meals, Ready-to-Eat, using 

a porta-potty, and there are really no 

showers,” he said. “It’s always based on 

a simulated scenario. We do that for a 

week, and what that does is help us work 

through getting to know people.” 

There are incentives associated 

with being a team member, including 

overtime, awards and the opportunity 

“THOSE 13 MEMBERS OF THE TEAM REALLY DO 

REPRESENT THE BREADTH OF DLA’S MISSION.”

 — DON BRUCE

Navy Capt. Paul Haslam
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WARFIGHTER FIRST

Make Promises and Keep Them

July / August 2017

Black Team members (L-R) Taylor Frazier, Craig Hill and 

Robert Seekamp retire in their tent during Turbo Distribution 

Exercise 16-2.

to continue with the team after the first 

year. Bruce also stressed non-monetary 

rewards, such as unique expertise and 

experience the team members can list on 

their resumés. 

“Those 13 members of the team 

really do represent the breadth of DLA’s 

mission,” he said. “You have subject 

matter experts on that team who 

can cover all the supply chains, all the 

logistics services, communications 

capability and command and control 

capability provided through the staff.” 

Volunteers should know that being a 

team member involves certain restrictions 

while their team is on alert, which occurs 

in blocks of one to two months, for a total 

of six months during the year. 

“For example, they can’t go on a 

cruise,” Bruce said. “They can go on leave, 

but have to stay within three hours of 

their home, so if an emergency comes 

up, they can be recalled.”

If a team member has a family or 

medical emergency, a substitute can be 

called in from the alternate team.

“Alternates provide us flexibility and 

can be used as individual replacements or 

as an entire team,” Bruce said.

‘Superstars’

“On the Black Team, we’ve had the 

longest [standing] group of people —

most of them have been with me for 

two years,” Haslam said. “After you’ve 

been with people for two years, you get 

to know their quirks, you know what 

motivates them.”

He said this helps build a particularly 

cohesive team. While each member has 

their strengths and weaknesses, as a 

team they are superstars.

“When we went to Korea [for exercise 

Key Resolve], we were there for two 

weeks, and we really knocked it out of the 

park,” Haslam said. “It was amazing what 

that team did — the amount of requests 

for information that we answered, the 

processes, how we understood stuff, how 

we worked together — and that is really 

what the success of the whole team is.”

Haslam said he likes to see people 

come back for another year.

“We’re not asking for rocket science, 

but once you understand the movements 

and everything else — then by the time 

you get in there, you can really make a 

difference because you understand what 

it is we’re asking for,” he said.

Phillips has not had a long history with 

the Gold Team, but his confidence level in 

his team members’ abilities is high. 

“I was really impressed by the quality 

of the people,” Phillips said. “I’m more 

confident in them than I am in myself. 

If I ever need anything, I certainly have 

backup on my team.”

The team was scheduled for their 

first Turbo Distribution exercise in early 

fall of 2016, but it was canceled because 

of Hurricane Matthew. 

“Four of us had the opportunity to 

participate in the Integrated Advance 

exercise at Joint Base Guantanamo Bay, so 

we got a little flavor for working, bringing 

together a lot of different entities and 

bringing DLA’s resources to the table,” 

Phillips said. 

Phillips first saw the capabilities of his 

team during initial training.

“Training gets progressively better as 

the organization matures,” he said. “They 

gave us a problem set ... a scenario, and 

then we had to say what we would do.”

Each member of the team briefed 

the DLA Logistics Operations executive 

director for operations on how they 

would handle the scenario based on their 

expertise and supply chain knowledge. 

“That was really a great capstone 

event for our team and will probably be 

repeated in the future because it worked 

out so well,” Phillips said. “Nobody is an 

island, and everybody worked together 

really well to rise to the occasion.” 

Bruce emphasized the team 

members’ dedication to duty. 

“As civilians, they’re willing to 

commit to being on a 24-hour notice, 

deploying for any crisis, any contingency, no matter what it is — they’ll 

volunteer up front and say, ‘Yes, I’ll go,’” 

he said. “When the nation needs them 

most, they may actually get the opportunity to be among the first people 

to answer the call.” LL

Navy Capt. Paul Haslam
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Twister Assist

Story by Toby Brevitz, DLA Information Operations

Photos Courtesy Paul Chamnan and Sean Mace, DLA Information Operations

I

n just 12 minutes, a 150-mph 

twister ripped across 71 miles 

of South Georgia — a path that 

included Marine Corps Logistics Base 

Albany, home to 170 employees of 

Defense Logistics Agency Distribution.

The Jan. 22 tornado, rated 3 on 

the five-point severity scale, was on 

the ground less than an hour but tore 

through five Georgia counties. It uprooted 

or snapped almost all the trees in its 

path. It was one of the largest tornados 

in any winter month and left one of the 

longest tracks on record. 

Information Operations Contingency 

Information Technology Team. 

The CIT Team formed in 2007 to 

provide immediate support to DLA 

Distribution after Hurricane Katrina. 

Since then, it has deployed across the 

United States and the world in support of 

disaster relief and contingency operations, 

supporting the entire DLA enterprise. 

Immediately after the tornado, the 

foremost concern of DLA Distribution 

leadership was the safety and well-being 

of all 170 DDAG employees and their 

families. All employees and families were 

The storm did significant damage to 

MCB Albany and shut the facility down for 

four days — including DLA Distribution 

Albany, Georgia, the Marine Corps’ primary 

source of wholesale and retail storage and 

distribution processes of secondary repair 

parts and expendables.

When DLA employees were safely 

able to return to work, they discovered 

the damage to the facility and area 

utilities prevented them from using 

their normal information technology 

equipment, needed for important 

operations. The call went out to the DLA 
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PEOPLE AND CULTURE

Valued Team Members; Resilient and Ready 

July / August 2017

DLA Information Operations Mobile Command Vehicle on 

location at DLA Distribution Albany, Georgia.

An EF3 tornado ravaged areas of Albany, Georgia, uprooting 

trees and destroying buildings along its 70-mile path. 

DLA Information Operations provided assistance to DLA 

Distribution employees in getting back up and operating.

accounted for, with no serious injuries. And 

although many employees’ homes had 

major damage, only one was a total loss.

A DLA Advanced Echelon Team 

arrived a few days later from New 

Cumberland, Pennsylvania, to assess the 

damage to buildings, stock, equipment 

and systems. This team was joined by 

the DLA Distribution Expeditionary team 

with truckloads of equipment, including 

the mobile command trailer, a heavyduty commercial truck, a yard truck, 

forklifts, generators, a rough terrain 

vehicle and front-end loaders. 

Three days after the Albany twister, 

Information Operations CIT Branch Chief 

Harold Morrow met with DLA Distribution 

senior staff in New Cumberland to 

develop a support plan. 

“Initially, the staff only requested 

the [Information Operations] CIT 
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Storm damage to office area at DLA Distribution Albany, Georgia.

Storm damage to a warehouse on base at DLA Distribution, 

Albany, Georgia.

Standard System. DSS manages all of 

DLA’s warehouse operations, including 

receiving, storage, consolidation, packing, shipping, inventory, inspection and 

workload management. 

As important as those initial 

capabilities were, the team needed 

to create additional connectivity to 

bridge the gap until full repairs to the 

infrastructure on the base could be 

made. A few days later, DLA Information 

Operations dispatched Richard 

Shumway and Charles Hatter from New 

Cumberland to Albany, to assess the 

network infrastructure damage and help 

restore connectivity.

They assessed the damage and 

worked with Robert Davis, Local Area 

Network Management North East 

Region team lead, and technicians 

Dustin Kramer and Bob Young to restore 

services to the buildings, which had lost 

Mobile Command Vehicle,” Morrow 

said. “When I learned the scope of the 

damage, I recommended we expand the 

requirements, and include the Mobile 

Emergency Response Center and 

Deployable Operations Center.” 

That same day, the CIT Team 

deployed its MERC, operated by Jay 

Wolk and Sean Mace, from New 

Cumberland. Upon reaching Warner 

Robins the next day, the MERC linked 

up with the MCV and DOC, operated 

by Tony Johnson and Paul Chamnan. 

The MERC, MCV and DOC established 

operations in Albany, providing 

command and control capabilities 

to DLA leadership there, along with 

capabilities to the DLA Distribution 

Expeditionary Operations Center.

The team used the operations center 

to establish a tactical network and communications, including the Distribution 

connectivity due to damaged fiber cable. 

“We’re not typically a part of a 

disaster or emergency response team,” 

Kramer said. “However, given the 

circumstances, we knew we could get 

the site back on the network ... so they 

could keep working.”

Shumway described the scene as 

he drove into the Albany area and onto 

the base.

“Driving into the Depot, I was 

amazed at what I encountered,” he said. 

“Traffic was backed up, traffic lights 

not working, power lines and poles 

down, along with many trees that were 

destroyed. Homes and businesses along 

the route were in shambles. 

“Once on base, there was so much 

debris it was hard to navigate,” Shumway 

continued. “Vehicles were flipped over, 

windshields broken, power poles bent 

over and destroyed, trees uprooted and 

tin structures were torn apart. The brick 

warehouses appeared to survive but 

many of the roll up doors were damaged 

and destroyed.”

The team quickly developed a plan 

to create the backbone of a wireless 

mesh network from building 1221 to the 

outlying buildings, whose fiber-optic cable 

was damaged. They decided to mount 

nine wireless access points on masts 

above the buildings’ rooflines. The team 

would integrate this backbone mesh into 
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PEOPLE AND CULTURE

Valued Team Members; Resilient and Ready 

July / August 2017

(Below) DLA Information Operations Contingency Information 

Technology Team members Tony Johnson, Paul Chamnan, 

and John Wolk set up a satellite antenna outside Building 

1331 to provide network and Distribution Standard System 

services in response to the EF3 tornado that touched down 

at DLA Distribution Albany, Georgia.

(Right ) Contingency Information Technology Team members 

Sean Mace (seated) and John Wolk perform operational 

checks on Information Operations Deployable Operations 

Center equipment. 

“VEHICLES WERE FLIPPED OVER, WINDSHIELDS 

BROKEN, POWER POLES BENT OVER AND 

DESTROYED, TREES UPROOTED AND TIN 

STRUCTURES WERE TORN APART.”

 — RICHARD SHUMWAY 

each building’s existing internal network 

to connect the rest of the equipment and 

restore full function to each building.

The team spent long hours each day 

climbing on roofs and between rafters, 

pulling cable and configuring equipment. 

They had to deal with no lights, no 

heat, and debris scattered across the 

base. But within a week, they restored 

connectivity to all buildings, and the site 

was back in operation.

One of the important systems the 

CIT Team focused on was the Distribution 

Standard System, an automated 

information system that manages all 

functional processes used in DLA’s 

warehouses. These processes include 

receiving, storage, consolidation, packing, 

shipping, inventory, inspection and 

workload management.

A main problem was a lack of power 

to any buildings within DLA Distribution 

at the site. DLA Troop Support came to the 

rescue, providing generators to help DDAG 

address the most pressing concern.

The CIT Team continued to provide 

local site support and expeditionary communications for about two weeks until 

the wireless mesh was fully operational.

Overall, the cost of repairing all the 

damage to MCB Albany was $38-$40 

million, not including equipment and the 

fiber-optic network.

DDAG started receiving trucks on 

Feb. 4 and returned to full operation. 

All DDAG employees reported to 

work Monday, Jan. 30 — only eight days 

after the tornado. And by Feb. 4, DDAG 

returned to meeting 100 percent of the 

requirements from its largest customer 

on base, Marine Corps Logistics 

Command, thanks in great part to the 

efforts and expertise of the deployed 

Information Operations team. LL

Dawn Bonsell of DLA Distribution Public Affairs 

contributed to this article. 
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12 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Providing 

in Parallel

Story by Brianne M. Bender

DLA Distribution Public Affairs

Photos by Marine Corps Maj. James Schulz 

T he Korean Peninsula: Since Korean 

War hostilities ended in the 1950s, 

the U.S. military has been present 

and ready to protect allies in the 

region. More recently, rising tensions 

in the area have made it all the more 

important that U.S. forces deployed 

there be trained and equipped to deal 

with any potential event.

To make sure the Defense Logistics 

Agency is ready to support those 

forces, DLA Distribution earlier this year 

participated in Operation Pacific Reach, 

a combined distribution exercise held in 

South Korea every other year.

This year’s exercise at Dogu Beach in 

Pohang, April 10-21, supported training 

on critical facets of the Korean Theater 

of Operations’ operational plan. Pacific 

Reach is one of three exercises, along 

with Key Resolve 2017 and Pacific 

Pathways 2017, held in the area in the 

same period to ensure the United States 

Forces Korea and 8th Army units are 

logistically ready to support the defense 

of the Republic of Korea. 

DLA Distribution Expeditionary 

participated, in addition to DLA 

Distribution Korea. DLA Distribution 

Expeditionary supports global distribution 

requirements that can’t be met by DLA’s 

fixed network of distribution centers. For 

theater deployments, DLA Distribution 

Expeditionary’s goals are based on the 

combatant commanders’ requirements. 

OPERATION PACIFIC REACH

For Pacific Reach 2017, DLA 

Distribution Expeditionary established 

a consolidation and shipping point at an 

austere location. The exercise focused on 

logistical operations from the air, sea and 

shore to transport mission equipment 

across the Korean Peninsula using utility 

and mechanized landing craft, logistics 

support vessels and causeway ferries. 

About 1,200 Republic of Korea Forces 

and 2,500 U.S. personnel participated in 

this year’s exercise, but the expeditionary 

theater contingency support plan 

supported not only the exercise 

participants, but also all 26,000 U.S. 

personnel stationed on the Peninsula as 

they were moving real-world cargo. 

The exercise confirmed the logistical 

requirements of the infrastructure on the 

Korean Peninsula and the ability of U.S. 

logistical entitles to meet them. The role 

of DLA Distribution Expeditionary was to 

deploy expeditionary capability to support 

the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment 

Command and DLA Distribution Korea 

throughout the exercise. DLA Distribution 

Expeditionary enhanced the USFK 

Theater Distribution Plan by establishing 

an ExTCSP, which provided real-time 

support to all units stationed in Korea. 

Although it was an exercise for 8th Army 

units, the DLA Distribution Expeditionary 

A DLA Distribution Expeditionary deployable warehouse, 

complete with Distribution Standard System, is ready to 

support Operation Pacific Reach 2017.
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13

WARFIGHTER FIRST

Make Promises and Keep Them

July / August 2017

and DLA Distribution Korea team 

executed the daily full-time mission of 

DLA Distribution Korea. 

Although many aspects of the 

exercise used hypothetical cargo, 

the materiel that flowed through the 

ExTCSP was not. It was regular cargo 

that normally would have moved within 

South Korea, to Camp Carroll from Osan 

Air Force Base or Busan Seaport, but was 

instead routed to Pohang and processed 

by the ExTCSP team. The materiel 

contained critical repair parts, along with 

sustainment cargo ordered by units 

across the peninsula. 

“If the ExTCSP had not been 

successful, DLA Distribution Korea would 

have failed its customers,” said DLA 

Distribution Korea Deputy Commander 

David Harris. “We took a big risk using 

real-world cargo for this exercise but 

had the utmost faith that the DLA 

Distribution Expeditionary team and the 

DLA Distribution Korea transportation 

team could make this work.”

During normal operations, Air Lines 

of Communication cargo arrives in Korea 

at Osan Air Force Base in the northern 

part of the country. Ocean cargo arrives 

at Busan harbor in the south. This cargo 

is routed to DLA Distribution Korea at 

Camp Carroll for processing and onward 

movement to customers.

For the exercise, DLA Distribution 

Expeditionary and transportation 

personnel from DLA Distribution 

Korea worked closely with the 837th 

Transportation Battalion at Busan, the 

731st Air Mobility Squadron at Osan, 

and the Army 25th Transportation 

Battalion at Camp Carroll, and had the 

materiel routed from Osan and Busan to 

the ExTCSP at Pohang. Additionally, all 

the dedicated trucks that support USFK 

customers were staged at Pohang rather 

than Camp Carroll, and their schedules 

were adjusted so they could still meet 

delivery requirements at the forward 

supply support activities across the 

Korean Peninsula. 

The commander of DLA Distribution 

was pleased with what the organization achieved. 

“Over the course of the exercise, the 

DLA Distribution Expeditionary team and 

DLA Distribution Korea team moved more 

than 137,000 pounds of materiel through 

the expeditionary theater consolidation 

and shipping point in Pohang,” said Army 

Brig. Gen. John S. Laskodi. 

The two teams delivered this materiel 

to 50 different 8th Army and USFK 

customers across South Korea, he noted.

Likewise, the commander of DLA 

Distribution Korea also had praise for 

what the two groups achieved. 

“The collective team did a 

phenomenal job ensuring all material 

was accurately processed and shipped to 

the respective customers on time, while 

keeping our metrics ‘green,’” said Army Lt. 

Col. Gary Whittacre. “The exercise further 

helped validate our current concept of 

support while providing a few lessons 

learned, to include living in an Army 

Logistics Support Area.”

“It was a tremendous demonstration 

of DLA Distribution’s expeditionary 

capabilities, and it took a total team effort 

to make this a success.” Laskodi said. LL

Supplies in a completed DLA Distribution Expeditionary 

deployable warehouse ready to support Operation Pacific 

Reach 2017.

The DLA Distribution Expeditionary Team on site in Pohang, 

South Korea, for Operation Pacific Reach 2017. 
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Anvils and Aircr

DLA AVIATION EMPLOYEES TRAIN IN THE CASTING AND FORGING OF AIRCRAFT PARTS

A Buck Company employee stirring molten metal 

to pull out impurities. 

— Photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Lashaundra Myers

Story by Bonnie Koenig and Cathy Hopkins 

DLA Aviation Public Affairs
page

15

PROCESS EXCELLENCE

Always Improving; Finding Smarter Ways to Do Things

July / August 2017

raft

A foundry worker demonstrates forging a metal part during a two-day seminar for DLA Aviation Forging and Casting team 

members at the U.S. Drop Forge Co. in Woolwich Township, New Jersey. 

Bonnie Koenig

I

f Defense Logistics Agency employees 

think it’s challenging to supply 

ordinary aircraft parts, just add a cast 

or forged part to the mix. 

A group of DLA Aviation employees 

recently learned firsthand how two 

companies use these ancient methods 

to create aircraft parts the agency’s 

customers need.

Casting is the process of pouring 

liquid metal into a mold, to take on 

the desired shape after it cools and 

becomes solid. Today, 3D printing of 

patterns and molds has revolutionized 

the casting process, where final 

machining and even dimensional 

inspections are based on 3D images.

Forging is the pressing or hammering 

a metal piece into a shape. Often, the 

piece is first heated till glowing and, 

once shaped, plunged in cold water to 

add strength and hardness, a process 

called quenching. Forgings, due the 

combination of strength, toughness, and 

durability, are used in critical applications 

such as landing gear, wing spars, bomb 

lugs, etc.

The DLA Aviation Forging and 

Casting Assistance Team looks for ways 

to save time and money on contracts 

by improving processes and solving 

procurement problems. The AFCAT 

educates employees on casting and 

forging processes by taking them to 

visit two commercial casting and forging 

companies that make parts for DLA.

The biannual seminars teach 

employees about the forging and casting 

processes and the tooling required to 

make those parts. Employees also learn 

how those processes and tooling affect 

acquisition costs and administrative and 

production lead times. Since beginning 

these seminars, the team has trained 

over 400 DLA Aviation employees. 

DLA Aviation’s Jeannie Kirby and Kyle 

Hedrick manage the events, along with 

contracted engineers Walker George 

(forging) and Keith Sturgill (casting).

This past April 18-19, the team 

took 22 DLA Aviation employees to visit 

Lenape Forged Products in West Chester, 

Pennsylvania, and to the Buck Company 

foundry in Quarryville, Pennsylvania. 

Employees learned the manufacturing 

and metalworking processes, and saw 

those metalworking processes firsthand. 

Frank DiPofi, former AFCAT program 

manager, has worked for DLA Aviation 

since 2000 and has a background in 

environmental, industrial and petroleum 

engineering. He said AFCAT was formed 

in the early 2000s to mitigate the effects 

of dwindling suppliers because the oncerobust domestic supply chains had disappeared, fragmented or moved overseas.

“It was also difficult to locate tooling, 

fix obsolete technical data and reduce 

lead times,” DiPofi said. “Decades-old 

technical data and production methods 

were geared toward the high-volume 

production of the past and not the 
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

low-volume sustainment orders needed 

to maintain America’s aging aircraft 

systems today.” 

The AFCAT initiative is a cost-shared 

collaboration between industry partners, 

the federal government and academia. It 

focuses on acquisition supply chains, new 

technologies and technology transfer, 

DiPofi said. 

“DLA Aviation’s AFCAT is a key aspect 

of the initiative focused on DLA’s ability to 

rapidly procure high-quality supply items 

that contain cast or forge components,” 

he explained. 

Fifteen years later, the agency’s 

ongoing forging and casting initiative 

is yielding benefits through shared 

knowledge between industry, the military 

services and DLA Aviation. 

Forging is an art and can be done 

through a hot or cold process, DiPofi noted. 

“Forging imparts certain changes 

in the metal itself — changes that are 

critical in producing certain safety parts, 

like landing gear,” he said.

During the visit to the Lenape Forged 

Products, attendees received an overview 

of the open-die forging processes and 

machining capabilities, toured the facility 

and saw the powerful forging processes 

in action as the red-hot components were 

roughly pounded into shape. 

During a previous site visit to 

Danko Arlington foundry in Baltimore, 

DLA Aviation employees saw how 

the company modernized through its 

partnership with the AFCAT initiative, 

converting their processes to use additive 

manufacturing and digital models to 

produce casting molds and patterns. 

For the Buck foundry visit, the group 

toured the casting facility and metallurgical lab and saw the entire process, 

from pattern making and sand molding to casting, heat-treating, machining 

and final inspections, which verify each 

part’s dimensions by measuring between 

coordinates. Each participant created 

cope-and-drag sand molds and poured a 

small tin casting via the Buck Company’s 

foundry-in-a-box teaching system.

The aviation supply chain is always 

looking for procurement cost savings 

by promoting effective competition. In 

2016, AFCAT found the most recent 

award for an aircraft armrest (normally 

a casting) used on the C-135 Stratolifter 

and KC-135 Stratotanker was sent to a 

shop that machined the item from barstock, a process typically more expensive 

than casting, because the shop could not 

find casting tooling. 

DLA ASC employees then contacted 

a manufacturer who makes casting 

tooling through additive manufacturing, 

known as fused deposition 3D printing. 

In response to the next solicitation, the 

manufacturer bid $1,205 each for a 

quantity of seven, which was $185 lower 

than the next higher bid, resulting in an 

award and a total savings of $1,295.

John Danko, owner of Danko Arlington, displays a casting 

pattern developed with additive manufacturing processes to 

DLA Aviation employees. 

DLA Aviation

DiPofi explained how additive 

manufacturing helps support both DoD’s 

mandate to get the most for the taxpayer 

dollar and DLA’s Time-to-Award initiative. 

To some degree, additive manufacturing has been around for decades. But it 

wasn’t until about five years ago that DLA 

Aviation started working with manufacturers to produce castings. 

One such foundry had no previous 

contracts with DLA Aviation but was 

intrigued when AFCAT encouraged it 

to compete on DLA contracts. During 

meetings with this foundry, AFCAT and 

DLA discussed the problem of providing 

The DLA Aviation Forging and Casting Assistance Team 

instructs employees on the processes involved in forging 

and casting aviation parts, the tooling required and how the 

processes affect costs and administrative and production 

lead times. 

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Lashaundra Myers
page

17

PROCESS EXCELLENCE

Always Improving; Finding Smarter Ways to Do Things

July / August 2017

link was approved with a total savings on 

the first buy of $950,506.

Meredith Manwaring, a DLA Aviation 

Supplier Operations Commodities 

Directorate purchasing agent, 

participated in the recent seminar and 

tours. She said that although she has 

small orders of specialized castings quickly 

and inexpensively. To overcome the 

tooling challenges, the foundry decided to 

invest in additive manufacturing systems 

to quickly make the tooling needed to 

satisfy DLA’s needs more efficiently. This 

investment has enabled this company to 

participate in more than 300 competitive 

DLA solicitations in the past five years. 

Many of the first parts provided to DLA 

Aviation via the additive manufacturing 

tooling process were for the Air Force’s 

T-38 trainer aircraft. This has helped DLA 

save or avoid spending more than $10 

million of taxpayer funds.

The team has had many successes 

since its conception. Recently, AFCAT 

reviewed a government disapproval of a 

cast housing for the F-16 Fighting Falcon 

based on First Article Test results. This 

casting failed because the surface finish 

did not meet the criteria. 

DLA determined this was caused 

by post-casting processes and worked 

with the foundry to change its process to 

correct the problem, which allowed the 

same part to be tested again. This time it 

passed, and the part was approved.

By working with the company, AFCAT 

helped four contracts for 133 parts avoid 

cancelation, saving the government 

about $165,000, according to Army 

Materiel Command.

Another success in early 2016 

involved, “partnering with a forge shop 

to become a prime contractor on a DLA 

materiel contract. This initiative will assist 

in speeding up contract delivery time and 

save $4 million over the next five years,” 

DiPofi said.

The ACS team also includes the DLA 

Aviation B-52 weapon system program 

manager and Supplier Operations Commodities Directorate’s acquisition specialists.

In December 2015, the AFCAT helped 

with a B-52 part procurement when 

the landing gear drag link could not be 

organically manufactured. The demand 

was for 72 each per year, and there was no 

stock on hand. The contract was awarded 

to a forge company, and the finished drag 

DLA Aviation’s Air Force Master Sgt. Gabriela Camarillo, 

left, watches casting at the Buck Company foundry, 

Quarryville, Pennsylvania. 

Walker George

awarded purchase requests with tooling 

contract line-item numbers, she never 

really understood what that looked like 

and what exactly went into the tooling 

for the item. She said she now has a 

better understanding on the cost, time 

and processes it takes to make it. 

“I think it gives you a new perspective, 

and everyone can benefit from the 

seminar trip,” Manwaring said. LL
For the non-Department of Defense or non-acquisition 

DLA employee, what is your role as DLA Aviation’s 

acquisition executive and head of contracting activity? 

I see my role as having three components: 

acquisition workforce development, acquisition 

compliance and tactical and strategic 

procurement execution. I’m involved with all 

aspects of the acquisition process, from helping 

develop and approve acquisition strategies, to 

working supplier incentives/disincentives to link 

to customer desired outcomes, to approving 

tactical or strategic contract awards based on the 

dollar value and criticality of the contract. 

A Conversation with ...

Cathy 

Contreras

In addition, one of my primary responsibilities 

is to ensure we have a well-trained workforce 

and are providing them the tools they need to 

execute our missions.

How do you ensure a well-trained workforce? 

I’m focused on both entry-level and journeymanlevel training. While we have a robust DLA 

Pathways to Career Excellence Program 

[also known as PaCE] for training entry-level 

contracting professionals, I believe there are 

always opportunities for improvement. I’ve 

tasked a cross-organizational team to look at the 

PaCE program from end-to-end and come up 

with recommendations to refresh the material 

and delivery mechanisms. As part of that 

process, we’re working collaboratively across 

DLA’s field activities to leverage best practices in 

workforce development. 

We’re also working on ways to develop more 

tailored training to meet the specific needs of our 

journeyman workforce. Once on the floor, our 

buyers may have different needs, depending on 

the type of buys they routinely make. For example, 

acquisition specialists working in an area buying 

bearings may need to be more familiar with the 

process to obtain a domestic non-availability 

Defense Logistics Agency Aviation’s 

acquisition executive talks about her new 

role and items critical to acquisition success

Cathy Contreras (center), DLA Aviation’s acquisition executive and head of contracting agency, discusses policies with Matthew Beebe (second from left), DLA Acquisitions director, former 

DLA Aviation Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Allan Day (far left) and Miguel Zayas, (right ) supervisory procurement analyst, DLA Acquisitions, during an agency management review at 

Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia. 

Jackie Roberts

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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY
determination than a buyer working in chemicals 

and petroleum. My goal is to make training time as 

meaningful as possible. We’re evaluating a number 

of different delivery mechanisms — from using 

an embedded subject matter expert network to 

creating on-demand desktop videos. 

How do you make sure you are meeting the compliance 

end of the balancing act? 

I’m frequently asked the question, “What is 

more important — speed or quality?” The 

answer is, they are equally important. Let 

me expound a bit on what I mean by that. As 

leaders, we need to make sure our folks are 

doing things the right way and as efficiently as 

possible. We should not skip required steps in 

order to do things more quickly. Nevertheless, 

if there are steps in the process that are not 

value-added or necessary, we need to identify 

those and “lean out” the process. It’s my job to 

help the workforce meet both goals by giving 

them the tools and systems they need, and by 

being their advocate in getting the improvements they need to provide quality products. 

We regularly conduct in-house reviews on our 

processes, asking ourselves: Was the contract 

properly written? Did we follow Department of 

Defense regulations, DLA policy and guidance? 

As the agency went down an audit-readiness 

road over the past couple of years, we focused 

on our internal processes quite a bit. In addition 

to reviewing ourselves, DLA Aviation was the 

first agency activity to participate in an Agency 

Management Review conducted by DLA 

headquarters in February, and we did great! The 

review was a way of “checking the checker.” I 

never look at these reviews as a way of criticizing 

actions taken. Reviews help us understand the 

landscape we operate in, ways we can improve 

our processes and are part of our DLA Aviation 

Process Excellence culture. 

What is the difference between tactical and strategic 

acquisition execution?

I would categorize our tactical workload as our 

day-in and day-out procurement processing 

necessary to meet our customer needs. At 

DLA Aviation, we process approximately 

7,500 manual actions a month across our 

consumable and depot-level reparable 

procurement sites. We handle over 16,000 

post-award actions a month. In addition to our 

manual execution, we process over 20,000 

delivery orders on long-term contracts and 

2,000 automated purchase orders. We run a 

huge acquisition machine. 

Increasing our long-term strategic contract 

coverage is critical to continuing to improve 

acquisition lead-time. However, that strategic 

engagement is not possible if the tactical 

workload is not moving. The remaining tactical 

workload becomes more difficult to execute 

as we move more of the work with recurring 

demand to strategic vehicles. I say that to point 

out that in order to provide effective support to 

the warfighter, we need to execute both bodies 

of work successfully. 

Over the last several years, we have continued 

to drive down our overall administrative lead 

time. We streamlined processes in both strategic 

and tactical execution and those efforts have 

really moved the needle. We also focused on 

building agile, long-term, performance-based 

logistics contracting strategies, which we called 

our Captains of Industry Supplier Capability 

Contracts. Our strategies increased customer 

support, at a greatly reduced cost to the 

department, and created an ability to quickly 

respond to emergent customer requirements 

and deliver results. 

Whether the buys are tactical or strategic, part of 

my job is to help foster positive working relationships with our [military] service requirement 

communities to make sure we execute acquisition strategies that meet their needs. 

What are some actions senior leadership can take to 

ensure future acquisition success?

I think in any field, acquisition or otherwise, senior 

leaders can help ensure success by investing in 

their people. We at DLA Aviation have a diverse 

workforce — culturally and generationally. As 

we work to develop our employees, we need 

to realize one size doesn’t fit all, and tailor our 

approach. We also need to encourage critical 

thinking. It’s important to understand policies and 

regulations, and if necessary, question the “why” 

behind the actions we take. 

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LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

July / August 2017
We need to foster external and internal 

relationships with our retail and wholesale 

customers, with our suppliers and with our 

co-workers. It is critical for our employees to 

see and understand the role they fulfill daily 

and the results of their efforts. We try to do this 

by bringing warfighters and aircraft to Defense 

Supply Center Richmond, Virginia, and having 

employees go on field trips to customer locations 

or visit our industrial support activities to see 

firsthand the weapon systems they support 

and meet the mechanics who maintain them. 

Our workforce’s close connection to our military 

services, through being retirees themselves or 

other family members serving, is also without a 

doubt the basis of our success. 

As leaders, we need to bring the right people 

into discussions through joint integrated process 

teams. We need to emphasize cross-process 

collaboration because acquisition is truly a team 

sport. For example, when determining how a buy 

should be executed, the acquisition specialist will 

have unique insight into industry capabilities and 

capacities, the product specialist will understand 

potential challenges in the technical requirements, and the planning community will best understand customer demand patterns and DLA’s 

supply posture to support. It takes all of these 

elements working together to be most effective. 

DLA Aviation employees are committed to 

serving the needs of our warfighters and 

other customers, but as former DLA Aviation 

Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Allan Day 

recently said at our 2017 senior leadership 

conference, “Are we letting good enough be the 

enemy of getting better?” We always need to 

look for ways to improve. 

DLA Aviation has embarked on a process 

improvement journey we are calling DLA Aviation 

Process Excellence, or Apex. For improvements 

to take place, leadership and employees both 

need to continue looking for and be open to new 

ways of doing things. Leadership needs to support 

innovation, understanding there is some risk 

and failure is sometimes an opportunity to learn. 

We are the ones who can empower our people 

to make decisions and make it clear that they 

have our support in the decisions they make. For 

example, as we embark upon innovative strategic 

acquisition approaches to deliver improved 

customer support, we are pushing the capabilities 

of our existing systems and processes. Even when 

we make every effort to engage all functional 

areas up front, there are times when we miss 

a secondary or tertiary effect of a process or 

system change. When that happens, we circle the 

wagons, get the right folks in the room and figure 

out how to resolve the problem. We don’t try to 

Monday morning quarterback or figure out who 

shot John. At this point, it is most critical to learn 

from the experience and move ahead. If we want 

our workforce to take risk, we have to be willing to 

accept that we will make mistakes. 

With the changes in leadership at the highest DoD 

levels, what changes do you see for DoD acquisition?

I think there will be a continued focus on 

efficiency in the acquisition process. Our years 

of implementing the Better Buying Power 

initiative may come under a different name 

with changes in the administration, but the 

focus on finding efficiencies will remain. I 

think we will also see increased focus on cost. 

The challenge will be to continually improve 

effectiveness across the department while 

driving cost down. We need to create vehicles 

that leverage the best of both government and 

industry capabilities. Another big part of my 

position is industry engagement. We need to 

understand the capabilities that our industry 

partners bring to the table and leverage those 

capabilities to deliver sustainment solutions 

that are both more effective and more 

affordable. In my opinion, we need to think 

holistically and outside of our typical agency 

swim lanes to ensure we leverage the power 

of the department. I think there will be an 

increased focus on driving costs down through 

negotiation, offering incentives, and linking 

supplier profitability to performance even more 

than before. I think our Captains of Industry 

Supplier Capability Contracts will continue to 

grow because of the agility in these contracts 

to create tailored solutions and their ability to 

provide end-to-end sustainment support. LL

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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY
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FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP

Affordable Solutions and Continued Accountability

July / August 2017

Workers remove a 14-inch double-block and bleed valve as part of DLA’s closure of Defense Fuel Support Point San Pedro. 

CLEAN

BREAK

Defense Logistics Agency Energy is one step 

closer to shutting down 27 World War II-era 

underground storage tanks at Defense Fuel 

Support Point San Pedro, in California.

DFSP San Pedro, owned by the Navy, is closing 

after 37 years, to reduce government-owned and 

-operated infrastructure, and with it, costs for the 

Department of Defense.

“We’re doing the right thing, since commercial 

partners store bulk fuel and there’s no need to 

maintain a government-owned facility,” said John 

Cummings, chief of energy engineering for DLA 

Installation Support for Energy. 

“Also, a previous DLA director [Navy Vice Adm. 

Mark Harnitchek] made a commitment to the 

Story by Elizabeth Stoeckmann

DLA Energy Public Affairs

Carl Lind
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DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Infographic by Elizabeth Stoeckmann

Navy for a smooth transition, and the 

following director [Air Force Lt. Gen. 

Andy Busch] agreed.”

More than 70 years ago, the War 

Department established DFSP San Pedro 

after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 

because of its proximity to the Port of Los 

Angeles and to oil refineries. The facility 

consists of storage tanks, pipelines, 

pump houses, loading racks and other 

infrastructure. Its mission was to receive, 

store and distribute fuel in support of the 

Navy, Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and 

Air National Guard. It operated under the 

authority of the Navy until 1980, when 

operations transferred to DLA Installation 

Support for Energy.

Officials decided DoD could save 

operating and maintenance costs by 

closing the facility. Initial closing began 

in February 2016 for 20 concrete 

500,000-barrel underground storage 

tanks built in 1941 and 1942; six steel 

500,000-barrel USTs built in the 1950s; 

and one steel 250,000-barrel UST also 

built in the 1950s. Workers will fill the 

tanks with a cellular concrete material 

and return them to the Navy. The project 

also includes the closure of valve pits, 

pump houses and pipelines.

“We have a very aggressive schedule 

as a cost avoidance in keeping the 

site open any longer than we have to,” 

Cummings said.

The contract was awarded ahead 

of schedule, within four months of the 

request for proposal. Contractors started 

preparing to close tanks and pipelines in 

November 2016, and in January 2017 began the closure process, Cummings said. 

It takes about 10 days to pump a 

tank with “foamcrete,” a concrete with 

a foaming agent in place of traditional 

aggregates, making the material lighter 

and stronger than traditional concrete, 

he explained. As of March, the design 

project was about a quarter of the way 

done, and after the tanks are filled, the 

pipelines can be filled.

Todd Williams is the on-site project 

manager at DFSP San Pedro. 

“We’ve had an unusually rainy 

season here in southern California, 

and we’ve faced challenges of landslides and shutdowns due to the rainy 

ANOTHER ISSUE 

IS PROTECTING 

AN ENDANGERED 

SPECIES, THE PALOS 

VERDES BLUE 

BUTTERFLY
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FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP

Affordable Solutions and Continued Accountability

July / August 2017

Heavy equipment is necessary to remove a 14-inch JP-5 

cross-connect valve at Defense Fuel Support Point San Pedro.

season,” Williams said.

The schedule has slipped due to 

weather and water supply issues, and 

although the project is for a three-year 

term, the contractor is working toward 

an aggressive six-month completion 

schedule, he said.

Williams said there are a number 

of engineering challenges. Making the 

regulators happy with the tank closure 

is a top concern. This includes the State 

Water Resource Board and the Certified 

Unified Program Agencies, which fall 

under the administration of the Los 

Angeles Fire Department. These entities 

regulate the underground storage tanks 

to preserve, enhance and restore the 

quality of California’s water resources and 

drinking water for the protection of the 

environment and public health.

Other difficulties include water supply 

due to the aged infrastructure. Mixing the 

foamcrete requires a lot of water, which 

DLA must be able to supply. Shift work 

also presents its own set of challenges 

because the terminal operations contract 

workers are on a 24/7 operational 

rotation, he said.

Cummings added that another issue 

is protecting an endangered species, 

the Palos Verdes blue butterfly, and one 

classified as threatened, a small bird 

known as the California gnatcatcher.

“It’s really important not to affect 

their natural habitat and breeding 

season, so we can’t just run across with 

bulldozers; we have to be very sensitive,” 

he said. “Everything is coordinated with 

environmental groups at Seal Beach 

and our DLA Energy environmental 

remediation team, so contractors know 

where they can and cannot go.”

DLA conducted an assessment of the 

potential environmental impacts of the 

temporary closure in 2015. It determined 

that the temporary closure of DFSP San 

Pedro and use of other fuel facilities 

would not have a significant impact on 

the environment.

From Williams’ perspective, the 

closure helps meet the Environmental 

Carl Lind
page

24 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

Protection Agency’s 2025 goal that all 

USTs be double-lined; those at DFSP San 

Pedro are not. 

“This project reduces the liability for 

DLA Energy and DoD as a whole,” he said. 

He explained that by providing fuel 

support through contactors, DLA can still 

support customers without the expense 

and environmental risk posed by the San 

Pedro site. 

Strategic engagement is key, 

Cummings said. 

“We’ve been able to establish partnering relationships between Installation 

Support for Energy and Navy Weapons 

Station Seal Beach, Naval Facility Southwest, Navy Region Southwest and Naval 

Facilities Engineering Command so we 

can make this project successful,” he said.

Although DLA Disposition Services is 

normally not involved in the disposition of 

real estate or storage tanks, it continues 

to be a key player in the cleanup of the 

DFSP San Pedro.

“We have prepared a memorandum 

of understanding between DFSP San 

Pedro and DLA Disposition Services 

Camp Pendleton for the receipt in place 

of property that is deemed as scrap,” 

said Barry Thompson, a DLA Disposition 

Services property disposal specialist. 

“On our initial visit, we inspected the 

property and verified which items will be 

considered scrap and which items will be 

considered usable.” 

The usable property is delivered 

to DLA Disposition Services for the 

possibility of reutilization, transfer 

or donation, through a program that 

DLA FUEL SITE SUPPORTS HANDS-ON RESCUE TRAINING

Defense Fuel Support Point San Pedro served as more than a key Defense Logistics Agency Energy 

fuel facility when it recently hosted first responders 

practicing rescues of victims in confined spaces.

This past April, the Los Angeles Fire Department’s 

Urban Search and Rescue team (Task Force 85), the 

DFSP San Pedro site manager and the contractor 

performed rescue entry drills into a valve pit and a 

fuel tank. The event gave 38 emergency personnel 

the chance to learn and practice rescue techniques in 

confined spaces.

“Gaining access to real confined spaces to train in is 

difficult,” said LAFD Station 85 Capt. Tim Werle.

To access such areas, the LAFD uses a custom 

technical rescue vehicle. The self-sufficient vehicle can 

power their equipment and lighting; provide air and 

hydraulic supply for the variety of lifting, cutting and 

breaking tools and equipment; and carry items, such as 

fiber-optic devices for state-of-the-art searching.

“The ability to have a controlled environment for 

training helps us to work on theories we have about 

better rescue operations,” Werle said. “The tanks at the 

fuel depot presented us challenges we were able to 

work through.”

Three shifts from LAFD Fire Station 85 participated in 

one-day training scenarios involving victims stuck in the 

bottom of a valve pit or in a fuel tank. In each scenario, 

rescue personnel must enter the tight space, then locate 

and extract the victim, whose status is unknown.

The lessons the rescue teams learned set the 

foundation for future missions, including tethering 

versus non-tethering entries, as well as search patterns 

and rapid extraction of rescue personnel, Werle said. 

“These techniques allow the entry teams to perform 

their duties with greater efficiency, knowing the layout 

of the structures involved,” he said.

Given the closure of DFSP San Pedro, however, “this 

will most likely be the first and last time for this type 

of rescue training,” said Todd Williams, DLA Installation 

Support for Energy facility manager and on-site project 

manager at DFSP San Pedro.

— Elizabeth Stoeckmann

Los Angeles firefighters prepare to train in rescuing victims from combined spaces at 

Defense Fuel Support Point San Pedro.

Courtesy Photo
page

25

FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP

Affordable Solutions and Continued Accountability

July / August 2017

offers usable assets to other DoD, 

federal and state agencies. DLA Energy 

provides turn-in documents that 

indicate items are scrap while they 

remain at the DLA Energy location to 

avoid transportation costs.

There is no cost to either entity 

of DLA for the removal of the scrap, 

Thompson said. In fact, DLA receives a 

percentage of what the scrap is sold for.

DLA Installation Support for Energy 

provides the overall management of the 

$15 million closure effort. Completion will 

result with environmental compliance 

and successful transfer to the Navy, 

Cummings added.

Turn Up the Heat

Following the closure, DLA 

Installation Support for Energy project 

managers will oversee the testing of 

two aggressive technologies to clean 

the soil and groundwater around two 

tanks at DFSP San Pedro: electrical 

resistance heating and steam injection.

ERH is an aggressive remediation 

technology developed for the 

Department of Energy in the early 

1990s. It delivers an underground 

current to an array of metal rods. The 

heat converts groundwater into steam 

so contaminants can be removed more 

easily. This technology will be used 

near Tank 3, where the fine-grained soil 

and clay will prevent the current from 

traveling outside the area.

This technique can simultaneously 

treat the petroleum in saturated and 

unsaturated soil, as well as groundwater. ERH is often used to clean sites 

where other technologies have had limited success, and to remediate quickly 

and completely.

The second technology uses steam 

injection coupled with a multiphase 

extraction of soil vapor and groundwater. By introducing heat below ground 

around the contamination plume, 

the fuel contamination is displaced 

and broken up, making the extraction 

easier. Steam injection is a very effective 

removal technique well suited for large 

sites, like Tank 20, with petroleum releases in sandy soils and 

moderate permeability, 

because the heat is well 

controlled by the lateral 

distribution of steam in 

the treatment area.

Selecting the most appropriate heating technology is influenced by the 

specific site’s subsurface 

permeability, as well as the 

properties and distribution 

of the contaminants.

This testing at DFSP 

San Pedro will determine 

how to best implement 

proven technologies 

at other tanks in the 

fuel facility to meet the 

aggressive schedule at 

DFSP San Pedro. 

“There are two 

reasons we’re doing this: 

to promote the cleanup 

of the site and to facilitate 

return of the property back 

to the U.S. Navy,” said Carol Heeney, DLA 

Installation Support for Energy project 

manager.

Both technologies are cost-effective 

and efficient, and the test will provide 

the site-specific data necessary to 

implement them, Heeney explained.

Cleaner, Faster, Cheaper

Laura Fleming, environmental 

division chief for DLA Installation Support 

for Energy, explained that the new 

technologies will take less than two 

years to remediate the World War II-era 

site, with an overall cost savings of up 

to $20 million, compared with standard 

commercial technologies that would 

take up to 40 years. 

“It’s not intrusive, and there should be 

minimal or no disturbance to the habitat. 

But we will need to evaluate this before 

we initiate the pilot test,” Fleming said. 

“Basically, probes are put in the ground 

and they are either injected with steam 

or electricity that ‘cooks’ the soil. The 

fuel vapors are collected using a vacuum 

technology to avoid emissions into the air.” 

“DLA is completing a large and 

very complicated remediation at a 

heavily regulated site,” Heeney said. 

“All the while, great care is taken to 

prevent and minimize impacts to the 

sensitive ecological habitat at DFSP 

San Pedro.” 

She noted that DLA chose to test 

two tanks in areas with differing 

geology and physical composition. 

“The testing will tell us how to 

apply these two technologies for 

other tanks in the area,” she said. 

Once the contract award is complete, the pilot testing is expected to 

take less than 10 months, including 

equipment installation and the 

remedial operation.

“We’re excited to get the pilot test 

started so we can meet leadership’s 

goals and reduce liability to the 

government,” Heeney said. 

Following successful testing, DLA 

Installation Support for Energy plans 

to roll out similar cleanup technologies 

at other tanks in fiscal 2018 and 2019, 

based on funding availability. LL
DLA NewsWire

AGENCY HELPS PUT FORMER 

MILITARY VEHICLES ON THE 

ROAD AGAIN

Three sport-utility vehicles that once supported 

American forces will e returning to the road overseas as 

part of a Foreign Military Sales case with Moldova. 

According to a recent field report, the three 2008 

Ford Escapes provided are valued at more than $30,000.

Property Disposal Specialist Gilbert Delagente at the DLA 

Disposition Services site at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, described 

the transaction as his most challenging shipment since 

joining DLA Disposition Services as an RTD specialist. 

D-DAY VETERAN REFLECTS DURING 

MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE

Jason Kaneshiro

“The vehicles were on a FMS freeze since December 

2014,” Delagente said. “When I finally received the approval 

to process the shipment, there were numerous issues.”

Delagente explained that Moldova’s lack of a port of 

debarkation was a challenging issue, but he was able to 

overcome it with help from local transportation personnel 

at DLA’s Distribution Depot and the Fleet Logistics Center. 

The experts from DLA and the Navy were able to find an 

alternate port in Romania. 

Vehicles received by the Moldovan National Army 

from the U.S. government through technical assistance 

programs are used to strengthen operational and 

peacekeeping capabilities and used to replace old 

remaining transport units, according to the Ministry of 

Defense. The ministry also noted that Foreign Military 

Sales personnel and contact persons were always helpful 

in resolving any administrative and logistic issues linked 

with the departure and receiving of vehicles, technical 

assets and spare parts.

— Tim Hoyle

DLA Disposition Services

More online: go.usa.gov/xNEje

A World War II combat veteran offered a narrative of his military 

service in Europe to Naval Support Activity Philadelphia employees as 

part of a Memorial Day observance May 18. 

Les Cruise, a 91-year-old Horsham, Pennsylvania, native, parachuted 

into Normandy, France, during the D-Day invasion June 6, 1944, with the 

82nd Airborne Division. 

The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support workforce, along with 

other Naval Support Activity-Philadelphia tenant employees, listened 

as Cruise recounted how he enlisted in the Army in the winter of 1942 

and then volunteered to be a paratrooper. He was sent overseas and 

assigned to his unit as a replacement in 1944 for the invasion of Europe. 

“This is a friend of mine. We jumped into Normandy,” Cruise said, 

projecting an old photo of his friend on the screen. “On the 7th of June, 

we were receiving an artillery barrage on one side of the road and some 

guys got killed and we were ordered go and take up their position. 

Unfortunately, as we hit the other side of the road, we heard more 

artillery coming down.”

— Jason Kaneshiro

DLA Troop Support

More online: go.usa.gov/xNNZE

page

26 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY
Many people have asked me why I volunteered 

to go to Kuwait. Even more have asked me if I 

was scared. 

If I am very honest, the answer is yes. But if I 

admitted that, even to myself, I would not have gone. 

So I smiled and said no, of course not. What is 

there to be scared of? The worst thing that could 

happen to me is I get a paper cut. I was going to be 

in a very safe environment. And after all, the Kuwaiti 

people like Americans. 

When I started with the Defense Logistics 

Agency, I wanted to learn everything I could about 

my job and how to do things as efficiently as 

possible. I soon found a division of duties and a lack 

of “cradle-to-grave” opportunities meant I would 

not be learning everything I had hoped to. 

I was coming to the end of my intern program and 

learned about DLA Support Teams. These very unique 

teams of volunteers represent DLA by deploying 

overseas for six months to provide support to the 

nation’s military personnel downrange.

I got started by interviewing in 2013 with the 

DLA Aviation Customer Operations Directorate 

team supporting the DSTs and was forewarned, 

deployment was not easy or pretty. One of the 

team members told me, “You carry your own 

weight and then some. Life is sometimes rough 

and where we have a decent place to live for six 

months you are often called on to do jobs outside 

your comfort zone.”

I thought I was a good candidate for the 

deployment. My husband and I shared seven 

children (six have served in the military, and 

the seventh married a Navy nuclear propulsion 

technician). My husband is retired Army, my brother 

was a Marine, my father was a tail gunner in World 

War II. I have been around a lot of military personnel. 

I thought I could not only get a better idea of what 

they have lived through, but would also become a 

better employee for DLA by understanding the real 

needs of the men and women downrange, and what 

they face on a daily basis.

— Amelia Stanko

DLA Aviation

More online: go.usa.gov/xN9FF

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: 

WHY DST IS IMPORTANT,

WHY I WOULD DO IT AGAIN

GIMCHEON STAFF HELPS RETIRE 

AGING WARRIOR FROM THE SKIES

new to these types of 

challenges ... without 

incorporating overtime or 

extra shifts.” 

He noted that Air Force 

Master Sgt. Kenneth Pugh, 

Gimcheon’s Property 

Management Branch chief, 

served as a project lead for 

the divestment, working 

with Ronald Beach, 

chief of the Logistics 

Management Division for 

the Armed Scout Helicopter 

Project Office.

Contractors performed 

the required demilitarization 

of the helicopters with 

an excavator. Harrington 

said the disposal support 

representatives were 

“extremely meticulous” 

during their inspections of 

each Kiowa given the type 

of weapon system and the 

gravity of the effort.

Not all of the vehicles 

involved in the Army’s 

divestiture of excess items 

travel on wheels or tracks; 

some use rotors to fly 

through the air.

Recently, Defense 

Logistics Agency employees 

from the DLA Disposition 

Services site at Gimcheon, 

Korea, helped the Army’s 

17th Cavalry get rid of 27 

of its OH-58 Kiowa Warrior 

aircraft. The Kiowa Warrior 

is a single-engine, singlerotor armed reconnaissance 

vehicle generally used to 

support troops fighting on 

the ground.

Area Manager Terry 

Harrington said the 

workload was a challenge 

with the increased turnins from the Yongsan 

Relocation and Land 

Partnership Plans, but 

noted the team there 

“contains seasoned 

professionals that aren’t 

DLA, Gimcheon, Korea

— Tim Hoyle

DLA Disposition Services

 More online: go.usa.gov/xN9Fu

page

27

LOGLINES

DLA’S OFFICIAL FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION

July / August 2017
page

28 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AMERICA’S COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT AGENCY

This Asian-style meal is one of the dishes available from the 

Outpost food truck on Fort Stewart, Georgia. Other options 

include a bacon burger, wrap, sub or a hearty scratch salad 

with your choice of meat.

The Outpost Food Truck awaits soldiers to test out the food menus at the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence Field Feeding Training Area, Fort Lee, Virginia.

Chow Trucks

Story by Alex Siemiatkowski

DLA Troop Support

Whether they’re in the field, on 

their way to the motor pool or 

leaving the gym, soldiers at two 

Army posts are lining up to grab a bite to 

eat at food trucks parked nearby. 

Defense Logistics Agency Troop 

Support is partnering with the Army to 

help bring its food service into the 21st 

century with a pilot food truck program.

The first meal-service vehicle began 

testing operations in February at Fort 

Lee, Virginia, and two more began at Fort 

Stewart, Georgia, in March.

“DLA supports our efforts by 

contracting our prime vendors and 

ensuring that the vendors provide quality 

subsistence that meets our soldiers’ 

satisfaction,” said Stephen Primeau, food 

service system analyst with the Joint 

Culinary Center of Excellence at Fort Lee.

ARMY FOOD SERVICE GOES MOBILE WITH DLA TROOP SUPPORT

The goal of the food truck program 

is to provide soldiers with a quick and 

healthy food option in training and field 

environments, and in other locations 

where it may be difficult to access a 

dining facility.

“The food truck phenomenon is 

exploding in the civilian foodservice 

industry, and the Army wants to take 

advantage of this opportunity to be able 

to provide it to our soldiers,” Primeau said.

While vendor food trucks are allowed 

on Army installations through the Army 

and Air Force Exchange Service or the 

Chris Hart

Army Spec. Jamie Beale
page

July / August 2017 29

PROCESS EXCELLENCE

Always Improving; Finding Smarter Ways to Do Things

Soldiers from the Marne Reception Center put in their lunch 

orders at the Outpost food truck and wait to be served. The 

food truck is a convenient way for soldiers to get chow 

on the go.

Army Spec. Jamie Beale

Morale, Welfare and Recreation activities, 

the Army-operated food trucks are part of 

the service’s food program, Primeau said.

A non-commissioned officer and two 

chefs operate the food trucks, dubbed 

“The Outpost” following a naming 

contest, and currently serve breakfast 

and lunch. 

Sgt. Vantayshia Jones, a culinary 

NCO with the 135th Quartermaster 

Company, 87th Combat Sustainment 

Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division 

Sustainment Brigade, is the team lead for 

one of the food trucks at Fort Stewart. She 

said the workspace in the truck is tight.

“We’re always bumping into one 

another,” she said. However, “I believe 

every culinary specialist and NCO 

should experience being on a truck and 

moving fast food on wheels versus out 

of a building.”

The food trucks have made it easier 

for soldiers who may live or work far 

away from the dining facilities to grab a 

bite to eat, Jones said.

“The Army has definitely expanded 

[their] food service capabilities by 

creating the Army food truck,” Jones 

said. “It’s an amazing opportunity, and all 

soldiers who are able to give it a try, I say 

they should.”

Breakfast has been more popular, 

especially the made-to-order English 

muffins and the breakfast bowl with tater 

tots, said Cornelius Williams, Fort Stewart 

food program manager. They also serve 

bagels and croissant sandwiches, as well 

as wraps for breakfast.

“Along with that, they can get fresh 

fruit, cereal and juice, so they have a nice 

nutritional menu,” Williams said.

For lunch, soldiers can select an 

Outpost burger, panini, wrap or sub, Asian 

specialty bowl or a salad. Lunch also 

comes with a side dish and drink. The 

Outpost burger is served with a special 

sauce, four different types of cheese, 

mushrooms and onions on a sesame bun.

“We put our special spin on the 

Outpost burger,” Williams said. “I think 

you just can’t be American without 

having a great burger.”

Primeau and Jose Millan, JCCoE senior 

food service system analyst, are the 

food-truck project officers at Fort Lee. 

They began researching the best ways 

to modernize the Army food program 

in 2011. Five years later, the JCCoE 

purchased the three food trucks. 

“We tested menus and determined 

adjustments to the layout of the truck,” 

Millan said. 

Those lessons they learned were 

shared with foodservice personnel at 

Fort Stewart, the second test site. 

David Edmonson, a customer service 

specialist with DLA Troop Support’s 

Subsistence supply chain, was at Fort 

Stewart April 3, when the food trucks 

there opened.

“I thought it was a good idea, and I 

was curious to see what it would look 

like,” Edmonson said. “I saw about 20 to 

25 people in line while I was there, which 

is fairly decent for something that is 

brand new.”

The transition to supporting the food 

trucks was smooth, Edmonson said. The 

Subsistence supply chain provided $2.5 

million worth of food to six DFACs at Fort 

Stewart last year. The items are delivered 

to one dining hall, where they’re prepared 

and then loaded on the trucks.

The food trucks are being tested at 

different locations at Fort Stewart, such 

as barracks, the motor pool and fitness 

areas, to determine where they work 

best, said Williams. The trucks are also 

open 30 minutes longer than the dining 

facilities, in case a soldier doesn’t get to 

the dining hall in time.

“A lot of times, these installations 

were built so long ago that the dining 

facilities are not centrally located in the 

soldier’s footprint,” Williams said. “We get 

out to the soldiers where they work and 

also where they work out at the gym. 

We also met with the Better Opportunity 

for Single Soldiers program to get their 

feedback on where they think the trucks 

should be located.”

During their first week, the food 

trucks served more than 400 meals, 

Williams said. By the end of April, more 

than 2,300 meals had been served.

The JCCoE will evaluate the pilot 

program after six months to determine 

the next step. Multiple installations have 

shown interest to host their own food 

trucks, Primeau said.

“I think we have a nice variety 

of menus, and we are still collecting 

feedback,” Williams said. “After the test 

we will have the defined menus that 

soldiers prefer. We couldn’t do this 

program without DLA Troop Support.” LL
page

cover4 WWW.DLA.MIL

LOGLINES

THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS — ON TIME, EVERY TIME

My name is:

James Secrist

I am:

A DLA Land and Maritime small business specialist. 

Describe your job in a sentence: 

I serve as a liaison between small businesses and contracting officers. We help 

bring contracting officers together with small businesses so that DLA can maintain 

a robust industrial base. 

How long have you worked at DLA?

A very long time. When I started with DLA, we did have computers, but just 

one, and it filled a room. 

What is your favorite thing about working for DLA? 

The jobs I’ve had at DLA have given me the chance to do different things every 

day. I like having the flexibility to learn new things and 

solve new problems. 

What are your best memories of working here?

I remember the day a co-worker returned to work 

after recovering from a devastating stroke. He was so 

happy to walk in, and we all so happy to have him back. 

It was a forever-reminder of how lucky many of us are to 

come to work in good health each day. 

How do you make a difference?

Just little things that all of us do. Help a caller. Say 

“hello” on the elevator. Those things add up. 

James Secrist

I AM DLA