DID YOU KNOW?

DLA’S UNIQUE MISSIONS

LOGLINES

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY JULY – AUGUST 2014
from the

DIRECTOR

Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek, USN

Director, Defense Logistics Agency

– from big missions to small – is part of 

what makes this agency great.

This issue of Loglines takes a look at 

some of those unique missions that folks 

might not think of. While some of these 

missions may seem small, they are every 

bit as important as the big things we do to 

support our war¿ghters. (ven the tiniest 

component can have a signi¿cant impact 

on the ultimate mission. As Benjamin 

Franklin reminds us in “Poor Richard’s 

Almanac” with the saying, “For want of a 

nail, the shoe was lost,” every mission is 

important, no matter how small.

Did you know that DLA (nergy 

manages the rocket fuel that government 

and commercial entities use to get into 

space? Or that DLA Aviation has a cadre of 

skilled mechanics refurbishing industrial 

plant equipment, adding years of valuable 

service life to some pretty signi¿cant 

pieces of capital equipment? When the 

president needs his State of the Union 

address printed, DLA Document Services 

is there up to the minute he takes the 

Y

ou’ve heard me talk before about the 

depth and breadth of our agency’s 

missions. When people think about 

DLA, they tend to think about what we 

do across nine supply chains, managing 

6 million items, providing fuel, food, 

uniforms, repair parts and more to some 

of the most challenging locations across 

the planet. DLA is a logistics powerhouse 

– truly a global agency with global 

responsibilities.

What folks might not think about 

when they think about DLA are the 

many other missions that our team is 

tackling each and every day. From the 

DLA chaplain’s management of military 

ecclesiastical items to DLA Troop 

Support providing fruits and vegetables 

to the Department of Agriculture’s 

National School Lunch Program. Our 

ability to delight the customer across 

the broad spectrum of logistics support 

podium. And I’ll bet more than a few of 

you will be surprised by just how many 

Defense Department organizations get 

their human resources support from DLA 

Human Resources Services.

We do big things, even when 

we’re talking about small segments of 

our business, because delighting our 

customers is what we do. Thanks to all of 

you for all the great work you’re doing out 

there. No matter if your mission is big or 

small, keep up the great work. 

Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency Office of Public Affairs 8725 John J. Kingman Road Suite 2545 Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221 703-767-6200 E-mail: loglines@dla.mil

DLA Director

Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek

DLA Vice Director

Ted Case 

&KLHIRI6WD̆

Renee L. Roman

'LUHFWRU3XEOLF$̆DLUV

Joseph M. Yoswa

'HSXW\'LUHFWRU3XEOLF$̆DLUV

Patrick H. Mackin

/RJOLQHV 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 U.S. government, the Department of 

Defense or the Defense Logistics Agency. 

LOGLINES

Official Flagship Publication of the Defense Logistics Agency

Managing (ditor Kathleen T. Rhem

(ditor Jacob Boyer

LayoutDesign Paul Henry Crank

Writers Beth Reece

 Sara Moore

 Amanda Neumann

Navy Petty Ȯcer st Class Daniel *aras

/RJOLQHV 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

LOGLINES STAFF
CONTENTS

Loglines O July - August 2014 1

A Conversation with ... 24 

Navy Rear Adm. Ron MacLaren

LogPoints 26

I am DLA Back Cover

DEPARTMENTS

July - August 2014

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

www.facebook.com/

dla.mil

www.twitter.com/

dlamil www.dla.mil

www.youtube.com/

dodlogisticsagency

DLA on the Web

From High Tech to McHale’s Navy 2

The Miscellaneous Equipment division of

DLA Troop Support manages an array of supplies.

Branching Out 6

DLA Human Resources Services manages personnel 

needs for several military and federal organizations.

Maps on Demand 8

New print-on-demand sites ensure war¿ghters have 

up-to-date maps and cut down on excess printing. 

Managing Strategic Materials 10

DLA Strategic Materials goes beyond managing the 

National Defense Stockpile. 

Restore and Modernize 12

A DLA Aviation program helps make old tools new 

while improving them for the future. 

Schoolhouse Subsistence 14

Many children on school lunch programs get fresh 

fruits and vegetables from DLA Troop Support. 

Space Fuels: The Next Frontier 16

DLA Energy Aerospace fuels helps take federal and 

commercial spacecraft to space and beyond. 

The President’s Printer 21

When the White House needs something printed, a 

DLA Document Services facility makes it happen.

Healthy Base Initiative 27

A healthy living program that started as a pilot at

DLA Headquarters expands throughout the agency’s 

¿eld activities.

Logistics Excellence 32

Accomplishments from DLA’s response to Hurricane 

Sandy to its work overcoming logistics hurdles in 

Pakistan lead to the Joint Meritorious Unit Award. 

DLA’S UNIQUE MISSIONS

DID YOU KNOW?
2 www.dla.mil

Sailors bundle cargo nets aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier 

USS John C. Stennis. DLA Troop Support’s Miscellaneous 

Equipment division provides cargo nets like these to the Navy 

to transport supplies. 

— Photo by Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin Crossley
Loglines O July - August 2014 3

From High Tech to 

‘McHale’s Navy’ 

Story by Michael Tuttle

iscellaneous: adj.;

including many things of 

dĭerent kinds.

When a war¿ghter 

requirement doesn’t ¿t

nicely into a particular supply program, 

the Miscellaneous Equipment division 

at Defense Logistics Agency Troop 

Support ¿nds a way to support it.

“There’s such a diverse population 

of items managed in the division rope, 

plastic for aircraft windows, « gas 

can nozzles, high pressure nozzles for 

aircraft, shooting targets, road-clearing 

equipment, sound-absorption materials 

for nuclear subs, « ȯce supplies, 

¿eld furniture,” said Susan Paul, 

Miscellaneous Equipment division chief. 

Her list goes on, and that diverse 

product line results in her team having 

a big impact on its customers.

“Almost every service member is 

one of our customers,” said Mary Jane 

Angelopoulos, an integrated supply 

team chief in the division. “Our items 

reach everyone.”

That’s not just because nearly 

everyone in the military has used 

green parachute cord, which the 

division also supplies. While DLA 

Troop Support Construction and 

Equipment is arguably the ¿eld 

activity’s most diverse supply chain, 

the Miscellaneous Equipment division 

stands out.

Michael Tuttle is a journalist for DLA Troop Support. 

M

i l i t
4 www.dla.mil

The list goes on ...

7KHGLYLVLRQPDQDJHVWKHROGVRQDU

SDSHUWKDWVRPH1DY\VXEPDULQHVVWLOO

XVHZKLFKPXVWEHVWURQJHQRXJKWR

ZLWKVWDQGWKHUHDGLQJVEXUQWLQWRLW

$QJHORSRXORVVDLG,WDOVRSURYLGHV

KDQGFUDQNWHOHSKRQHVDQGWKH

FRPSRQHQWVIRURWKHUROGHUEXWVWLOO

H̆HFWLYHFRPPXQLFDWLRQVV\VWHPV

,WFDQEHDFKDOOHQJHWRDFTXLUH

WKRVHLWHPVDVWKH\EHFRPHPRUH

REVFXUH$QJHORSRXORVVDLG

3,WFDQEHDQDGYHQWXUH¿QGLQJ

YHQGRUVZKRDUHVWLOOZLOOLQJWRPDNH

WKRVHNLQGVRISURGXFWV ́VKHVDLG

37KH\¶UHXVXDOO\SHRSOHZKRKDYHEHHQ

DURXQGWKHEXVLQHVVWR\HDUV

±VWLOONHHSLQJDIHZSHRSOHHPSOR\HG±

DQGKDYHXQLTXHORFDWLRQV ́

$VIRUPRUHUHFHQWWHFKQRORJ\WKH

0LVFHOODQHRXV(TXLSPHQWGLYLVLRQ

SURYLGHVVRPHRIWKH1DY\¶VQHZHVW

VKLSVZLWKVSHFLDOW\FRPSXWHUNH\ERDUGV

SURJUDPPHGIRUYDULRXVRSHUDWLRQV

LQFOXGLQJ¿ULQJDPLVVLOHZLWKWKHVWURNH

RIDNH\

,QVWHDGRIUHFRUGLQJGDWDRQVRQDU

SDSHUWKHVHVKLSVDOVRXVH'/$SURYLGHG

VRIWZDUHSURJUDPVIRUFROOHFWLQJGDWDDQG

FRQWUROOLQJHQJLQHIXQFWLRQV

3(YHU\WLPH\RXJHWDQHZ

UHTXLUHPHQW\RXQHYHUNQRZZKDW

\RX¶UHJRLQJWRJHW ́$QJHORSRXORVVDLG

36RPHLWHPVDUHKLJKWHFKRWKHUVDUH

μ0F+DOH¶V1DY\¶ ́VKHVDLGUHIHUULQJ

WRWKHVVLWFRPVHWLQWKH3DFL¿F

GXULQJ:RUOG:DU,,

7KHOLIHVDYLQJH̆RUWVRIPLOLWDU\

ZRUNLQJGRJVVHUYLQJLQ$IJKDQLVWDQ

DQG,UDTHVSHFLDOO\LQWKHKXQWIRU

LPSURYLVHGH[SORVLYHGHYLFHVDUHZHOO

GRFXPHQWHG0DQ\RIWKRVHGRJVZRUH

ERRWVPDQDJHGE\WKH0LVFHOODQHRXV

(TXLSPHQWGLYLVLRQWRSURWHFWWKHLU

SDZVZKLOHWUHNNLQJWRXJKWHUUDLQLQ

ERWKFRXQWULHV

'RJFKDLQVOHDVKHVFROODUV

KDUQHVVHVDQGJURRPLQJLWHPVDUH

DPRQJWKHDQLPDOVXSSRUWLWHPV

SURYLGHGWKURXJKWKHRUJDQL]DWLRQ,W

HYHQRXW¿WWHGDGRJWUDLQLQJSDUNZLWK

HTXLSPHQWLQ$QJHORSRXORVVDLG

7RKHOSPHHWWKHLUREOLJDWLRQWR

NHHSWKH$PHULFDQSHRSOHDQGWKH

$UP\LQIRUPHG$UP\SXEOLFD̆DLUV

6ROGLHUVXVHWKHODWHVWGLJLWDOLPDJLQJ

HTXLSPHQWWRJDWKHUDQGVKDUH

LQIRUPDWLRQIURPDOORYHUWKHZRUOG

'/$¶V0LVFHOODQHRXV(TXLSPHQWWHDP

ZRUNVZLWKWKH$UP\3XEOLF$̆DLUV

As for more recent technology, 

the Miscellaneous Equipment 

division provides some of 

the Navy’s newest ships with 

specialty computer keyboards 

programmed for various 

operations, including firing a 

missile with the stroke of a key.

Sailors aboard the guided-missile cruiser 

USS Monterey conduct a replenishment at 

sea with the Military Sealift Command fleet 

replenishment oiler USNS Tippecanoe. DLA 

Troop Support’s Miscellaneous Equipment 

division provides hoists, slings and cargo 

nets to the Navy to transport supplies. 

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin Crossley
Loglines O July - August 2014 5

Army Sgt. Patrick Wolfe, a broadcast 

journalist with the 129th Mobile Public 

Affairs Detachment, captures aerial imagery 

during a reconnaissance mission in Khowst 

province, Afghanistan. DLA Troop Support’s 

Miscellaneous Equipment division manages 

video camera kits used by Army public 

affairs Soldiers. 

Army Maj. Kamil Sztalkoper

While DLA Troop Construction and Equipment is arguably the field activity’s most 

diverse supply chain, the Miscellaneous Equipment division stands out.

&HQWHUWRSURYLGHVWLOODQGYLGHR

FDPHUDNLWVZLWKUXJJHGFRPSXWHUV

PDGHWRZLWKVWDQGKDUVKFRQGLWLRQV

6HUYLFHPHPEHUVSUHSDULQJ

IRUDFRPEDWGHSOR\PHQWRIWHQ

SUDFWLFHEDWWOHGULOOVWKURXJKYLUWXDO

WUDLQLQJ$QJHORSRXORVVDLG7KURXJK

0LVFHOODQHRXV(TXLSPHQWPDQDJHGYLGHR

VLPXODWRUVWKH\FDQSDWURODQ$IJKDQ

WRZQZLWKEXLOGLQJVURDGVDQGRWKHU

VWUXFWXUHVPDSSHGRXWZKLOHHQFRXQWHULQJ

VLPXODWHG,('VDQGDPEXVKDWWDFNV

6XFKDGLYHUVHSRSXODWLRQRILWHPV

PDNHVWKHMREGL̇FXOWIRUSURGXFW

VSHFLDOLVWVLQWKHGLYLVLRQ3DXOVDLG

3URGXFWVVSHFLDOLVWVUHYLHZDQGXSGDWH

WHFKQLFDOGDWDTXDOLW\DVVXUDQFHDQG

WHVWLQJRQWKHLUUHVSHFWLYHLWHPV

37KH\KDYHWREHÀH[LEOH ́3DXO

VDLG37KH\UHDOO\KDYHWREHDEOHWR

OHDUQTXLFNO\DERXWGL̆HUHQWSURGXFWV

DQGWKH\KDYHWRNQRZDERXWWKHZKROH

SURGXFWOLQH ́

'HDQ0DQQLQJKDVEHHQDSURGXFW

VSHFLDOLVWDW'/$7URRS6XSSRUWIRU

\HDUVDQGZRUNVSULPDULO\ZLWKFDUJR

QHWVDQGVOLQJVIRUWKH0LVFHOODQHRXV

(TXLSPHQWGLYLVLRQ

+HVDLGKHFDQJHWDJRRG

XQGHUVWDQGLQJRIDQLWHPWKURXJK

UHVHDUFKLQJLWVVSHFL¿FDWLRQVDQG

VWXG\LQJGUDZLQJVEXWDODFNRI

KDQGVRQH[SHULHQFHZLWKLWHPVFDQEH

DFKDOOHQJH

37KHUHDUHDOZD\VGHWDLOVDERXWWKH

WHVWLQJDQGLQVSHFWLRQRUKRZWKHLWHP

RSHUDWHVLQLWVHQYLURQPHQWWKDWMXVW

FDQ¶WEHDFFRXQWHGIRUZKHQUHDGLQJ

WHFKQLFDOGDWD ́0DQQLQJVDLG

7KDWZDVWKHFDVHZKHQWKHGLYLVLRQ

ZDVSURFXULQJRUGQDQFHFDUJRQHWV

IRUWKH1DY\WRFDUU\PXQLWLRQVWRDQG

IURPGRFNHGVKLSV7KHFDUJRQHWVDUH

HVVHQWLDOO\VHDWEHOWVVWLWFKHGLQWRD

JULG0DQQLQJVDLG

0DQQLQJVSRNHWRFRQWUDFWRUV

WROHDUQGHWDLOVDERXWWKHFDUJR

QHWV¶PDQXIDFWXULQJLQFOXGLQJ

WKHQHHGWRPDQXDOO\WXUQWKHQHWV

LQWKHVWLWFKLQJPDFKLQHDQGKRZ

WKHVWUHQJWKRIWKHVWLWFKHVFDQEH

ZHDNHQHGGXULQJWKHSURFHVV

+HVDLGWKLVKHOSHGKLPXQGHUVWDQG

ZK\DQHWSDVVHGRUIDLOHGGXULQJ

WHVWLQJHQDEOLQJKLPWRGHWHUPLQHWKH

EHVWSURGXFW

37KHFKDOOHQJHLVWRPDNHVXUHZH

JHWWKHFXVWRPHUWKHULJKWSURGXFWV ́

$QJHORSRXORVVDLG3:KHWKHULW¶V

WKHODWHVWDQGJUHDWHVWWHFKQRORJ\

RULWHPVWKDWKDYHEHHQXVHGIRU

GHFDGHV«ZH¶UHJRLQJWRILQGD

VROXWLRQIRUWKHFXVWRPHU ́
he Defense Logistics Agency has 

long been considered a leader 

in the ¿eld of logistics bXt to a 

groXS of Defense DeSartPent 

agencies it has also for seYeral 

years been a bastion of excellence in 

hXPan resoXrces

7his reSXtation has coPe aboXt

becaXse of a groXS of DLA +XPan 

5esoXrces Sersonnel sSecialists Zho

sXSSort these agencies froP their ȯce

in &olXPbXs 2hio

7he DeSartPent of Defense 

&XstoPers organi]ation of DLA +XPan 

5esoXrces 6erYices Zas created in 

resSonse to the  %ase 5ealignPent 

and &losXre &oPPission said 

6helly Leit]el deSXty director of the 

organi]ation %5A&  consolidated 

ciYilian Sersonnel deSartPents Zithin 

the Pilitary serYices and the defense 

agencies and transferred Pany +5

fXnctions froP other defense agencies 

to DLA

0ade XS of less than 

ePSloyees the DoD &XstoPers 

organi]ation serYes aboXt half of the 

deSartPent¶s 3)oXrth (state ́ agencies

those that are not directly aligned Zith a 

Pilitary serYice Leit]el said

6XSSorted agencies inclXde

 2̇ce of the 6ecretary of Defense

 Defense AdYanced 5esearch 

3roMects Agency

 Defense +XPan 5esoXrces ActiYity

 Defense 0edia ActiYity

 Defense 6ecXrity 6erYice

 DeSartPent of Defense 

(dXcation ActiYity

 Defense &oPPissary Agency

 0issile Defense Agency

 Defense 7hreat 5edXction Agency

 Defense 6ecXrity Assistance 

 DeYeloSPent &enter

 :ashington +eadTXarters 6erYices

Alaska National Guard Soldiers operate the ground-based midcourse defense portion of the Ballistic Missile Defense System at Fort Greely, 

Alaska. The Missile Defense Agency is one of the Defense Department agencies supported by DLA Human Resources Services. 

Army Sgt. Jack W. Carlson III

Story by Sara Moore Story by Sara Moore

Branching Out

6 www.dla.mil

h

l

i

g

a T

b
hXPan resoXrces actiYity at the 

beginning and end of school years

7he DoD &XstoPers organi]ation 

in DLA is able to shift resoXrces

accordingly to sXSSort the increased 

need Zhereas if DoD(A Zas still 

resSonsible for its oZn hXPan 

resoXrces transactions its sSecialists

ZoXld haYe to ZorN oYertiPe and 

sacri¿ce other dXties dXring that tiPe

she said

6erYicing so Pany dĭerent 

organi]ations can soPetiPes be 

challenging said -ill Dixon &roPer the 

organi]ation¶s director 6tandardi]ing

sXSSort to ¿t Zithin DLA¶s negotiated 

serYice leYel agreePent reTXires soPe

ZorN becaXse each organi]ation has 

its oZn XniTXe Solicies and Sractices

and DLA Zants to SroYide each Zith

the Post coPSrehensiYe sXSSort

Sossible +oZeYer ZorNing closely Zith

cXstoPers and cXstoPi]ing sXSSort to 

“Having an entire staff 

of human resources 

specialists at their disposal 

means the agencies get 

quality support during the 

times they need it most.” 

— Shelly Leitzel

,n total the organi]ation serYes 

aboXt  ciYilian ePSloyees

7he organi]ation oSerates PXch liNe

a bXsiness Zith its oSerating fXnds 

coPing froP being reiPbXrsed by 

cXstoPers for serYices rendered

3:e Srocess all Sersonnel actions

to inclXde ePSloyee bene¿ts actions

for all the cXstoPers that Ze serYice ́

Leit]el said 3:e are also Sositioned

to SroYide other hXPan resoXrces

serYices deSending on Zhat the 

cXstoPer has reTXested Xs to SroYide

to theP )or exaPSle soPe of oXr

cXstoPers haYe reTXested Ze SroYide

Sosition classi¿cation serYices or 

ePSloyee relations ́

DLA Srocesses hXPan resoXrces

transactions froP a distance Leit]el 

said bXt that has neYer ăected the 

TXality of its sXSSort ,n fact haYing

an entire stă of hXPan resoXrces

sSecialists at their disSosal Peans the 

agencies get TXality sXSSort dXring the 

tiPes they need it Post she said

3:e haYe foXnd oYer the coXrse

of tiPe that oXr cXstoPers haYe SeaNs

and Yalleys in their Pissions ́ she said

3LXcNily they haYe those SeaNs and 

Yalleys at dĭerent tiPes so Ze are 

able to leYerage resoXrces across the 

organi]ation to helS Zhen they hit ́

Leit]el noted the exaPSle of the 

DeSartPent of Defense (dXcation 

ActiYity Zhich sees increases in 

¿t their needs NeeS the hXPan resoXrces

serYices rXnning sPoothly she said

7he DoD &XstoPers organi]ation 

has been XS and rXnning since 

and noZ the sXSSort coPes across 

Sretty seaPlessly Leit]el said %Xt in the 

beginning the ȯce had to be bXilt froP

the groXnd XS and talent deYeloSed froP

Zithin :hen the ȯce Zas established 

after %5A&  iPSlePentation

DLA Zas able to get soPe exSerienced 

ePSloyees froP sXrroXnding federal 

agencies %Xt for the Post Sart it 

caSitali]ed on entryleYel ePSloyees and 

interns Zho Zere trained and Pentored 

to becoPe the seasoned stă they are 

today As neZ agencies transitioned to 

DLA sXSSort there Zas a short transition 

Seriod Zhile neZ SartnershiSs Zere 

deYeloSed bXt after a feZ Ponths things 

began oSerating ėciently she said

7he DoD &XstoPers organi]ation 

reached fXll oSerating caSacity in 

¿scal  &roPer said 6ince then

it has been reaSing bene¿ts for its 

cXstoPers 6ince reaching fXll oSerating 

caSacity the organi]ation has redXced

hXPan resoXrces serYicing costs to its 

cXstoPers by Pore than  Pillion

she said

Marines grab groceries during a barracks 

cooking competition at Marine Corps Air 

Station Miramar, California. The Defense 

Commissary Agency, which runs all DoD 

commissaries, is supported by DLA Human 

Resources Services. 

Marine Cpl. Jamean R. Berry

Loglines O July - August 2014 7
hen it comes to battle¿eld 

maps, changes from one 

version to another can mean 

the dĭerence between 

mission success and failure 

and, quite literally, life and death. 

For years, the Defense Logistics 

Agency has provided mapping 

products, technically called geospatial 

intelligence, to war¿ghters, always 

working to provide the latest versions 

available. Unfortunately, through 

mass printing contracts, providing the 

latest versions meant excess inventory 

building up in warehouses. Now the 

agency is cutting down that excess 

inventory and its related costs, using 

an on-demand capability to provide 

the most up-to-date mapping products 

quickly to customers around the world. 

DLA Document Services is 

operating new print-on-demand sites, 

ful¿lling orders that come through 

the DLA Aviation Mapping Customer 

Operations division. DLA Aviation 

Mapping Customer Operations is 

responsible for the management of 

hard-copy geospatial intelligence for 

the National *eospatial-Intelligence

Agency, a mission it acquired in .

“This is a new, exciting service that 

DLA is providing to another Defense 

Department component that previously, 

we had not done very much business 

with at all,” said Mark Rockwell, 

director of the DLA Document Services 

ȯce group in Norfolk, Virginia. 

Rockwell began working on the printon-demand initiative for N*A products 

in December , when the two agencies 

were looking at ways to reduce costs and 

improve ėciency for the production and 

distribution of mapping products. DLA 

had previously had success with printon-demand services for other customers, 

Rockwell said, and the savings had been 

signi¿cant. 

“N*A was spending way more 

money than they wanted to on this 

process, and they came to us, because 

we were already doing their distribution 

of maps, and we were able to satisfy 

this requirement to start printing on 

demand,” he said. 

The ¿rst print-on-demand site 

was established at DLA Aviation 

in Richmond, Virginia, as a fully 

classi¿ed-capable facility, and it became 

functional Jan. , Rockwell said. That 

was a new ȯce, but the rest of the 

print-on-demand sites – in Norfolk; 

Pensacola, Florida; San Diego; Pearl 

Harbor, Hawaii; Yokosuka, Japan; and 

Left to right: John Meekins, Bonita Jones, Mark Rockwell, Joyce “Paige” Bailey, and Brian Sklute display a map printed at the DLA Document 

Services Norfolk print-on-demand site. Rockwell leads DLA Document Services Norfolk and helped establish DLA’s print-on-demand 

capability for geospatial intelligence products, which has dramatically reduced inventory levels and costs while providing improved support 

to warfighters.

Story by Sara Moore

Photos courtesy DLA Document Services

Story by Sara Moore

Maps on Demand

8 www.dla.mil

h

m

v

th

m W

d it lit
Yersions are released ,n the Sast

obtaining neZ Yersions of a chart or 

PaS often tooN seYeral Ponths PaNing

theP obsolete alPost XSon deliYery

1oZ the aYerage deliYery tiPe for an 

ondePand PaS is nine days and that 

nXPber is high becaXse PanXal data 

entry is reTXired in the early stages of 

the initiatiYe he said 2nce the PanXal

steSs in the inYentory PanagePent 

systePs are eliPinated the tiPeline Zill

go doZn froP days to hoXrs he said

*etting XSdated PaSs to cXstoPers 

Zithin days or hoXrs Zill not only saYe

tiPe and Poney bXt also coXld saYe

liYes on the battle¿eld a reality that 

5ocNZell saZ illXstrated as he helSed 

laXnch the SrintondePand caSability

at DLA AYiation 7o coPSare PaS

TXality he asNed his ePSloyees to SXll

a PaS froP the existing inYentory that 

shoZed the saPe area as a PaS they 

had MXst Srinted Laying the tZo PaSs

side by side on a conference table he 

TXestioned Zhy they did not folloZ his 

instrXctions and giYe hiP a PaS of the 

saPe area becaXse the PaSs looNed 

so dĭerent 7hen he reali]ed that the 

Yersion froP the inYentory did shoZ

the saPe area bXt Zas Srinted in 

and Zas Pissing PaMor geograShical

elePents liNe a Pile Zide reserYoir

3&an yoX iPagine if yoX¶re in a 

Humvee in Afghanistan, going across 

5amstein, *ermany ± have been set up 

in existing DLA Document 6ervices sites

Because the initiative is neZ, it is hard 

to measure statistics yet, he said, but he 

expects to print about 3 million paper 

maps and digital products this year

Beyond statistics shoZing the 

number of maps printed so far, the 

numbers shoZing the reduction in 

inventory are much more noteZorthy,

said .evin Bettis, chief of the DLA 

Aviation 0apping &ustomer 2perations 

division 7he division manages ,

dĭerent line items, and one year ago, 

had an inventory of  million items

As of -une, that inventory has been 

reduced to 3 million items and should 

shrinN to about  million Zithin the 

next tZo years, he said

37hat¶s a signi¿cant reduction, ́

Bettis said 37here¶s a cost to maintain 

inventory, there¶s a cost to dispose of 

it, and Ze¶re getting rid of all those 

costs :e¶re actually trying to pinpoint 

usage to the point Zhere Ze¶re giving 

the customers exactly Zhat they need, 

nothing more and nothing less ́

7he Ney to this signi¿cant reduction 

lies in the use of digital ¿les and large

format printers to print orders as 

they come in, instead of using a large 

contractor that uses printing presses

Because of the costs of running a printing 

press, private printers Zould reTuire 

minimum orders of , copies, Bettis 

said 6o Zhether 1*A needed 

maps or ,, it Zould often do a full 

run, leaving large numbers of excess 

maps (xcess inventory Zent into a 

Zarehouse, Zhere it accumulated dust 

and maintenance costs

3:ith printondemand, if .evin 

needs one map, Ze can print him one 

map and charge him  ,f he needs 

 maps, Ze print  and charge him 

, ́ 5ocNZell said 36o there¶s a huge 

savings, and nothing needs to go onto 

the shelf as inventory ́

7he very nature of maps lends them 

to a printondemand process rather 

than bulN ordering, Bettis said, because 

they are updated constantly and neZ

the desert Zith an old map and, all 

of a sudden, you hit a mileZide

reservoir" ́ he said 3:hat are you 

going to do then" ́

6ome products Zill never lend 

themselves to the printondemand

process, Bettis acNnoZledged, liNe booN

si]ed Àight information publications 

or maps that are ordered in the tens 

of thousands Also, DLA Document 

6ervices has a 3safety net ́ contract to 

meet urgent reTuests for large numbers 

of maps in a short time, liNe in the case 

of a hurricane HoZever, the maMority

of maps the agency provides ¿t into this 

streamlined process, and the agency can 

meet customer needs TuicNer and at less 

cost, Zhile also bringing in neZ revenue 

to the agency

6o far the initiative has led to a 

percent reduction in Zarehouse receipts 

compared to a similar period in 3,

Bettis said

3,n these times, Zhere revenue is 

getting tight and budgets are being 

sTuee]ed, this is a good neZs story of 

neZ revenue streams that are being 

generated for DLA, ́ Bettis said

37hat¶s very important, but , thinN the 

most important thing Ze¶re doing is 

giving the Zar¿ghter the absolute best 

intelligence available at that time ,t

saves him time, and it also may save 

lives, and that¶s the important part ́

Brian Sklute and Bonita Jones, the primary CD/DVD duplication experts in the DLA Document 

Services Norfolk print-on-demand office, operate MicroTech high-speed DVD duplicators. As 

part of the agency’s print-on-demand initiative, DLA Document Services can produce both 

unclassified and classified digital products.

Loglines O July - August 2014 9
he Defense Logistics Agency 

activity created to maintain and 

manage strategic and critical 

materials for use during a 

national emergency is taking a 

more active role in ensuring the United 

States can deal with global competition 

for raw materials.

DLA Strategic Materials ensures 

the Defense Department has access 

to resources like titanium and lithium 

necessary to build military equipment. 

But as supplies of these items become 

increasingly scarce and demand grows, 

the activity’s almost 70 employees 

are placing more emphasis on globalmarket research, knowing exactly 

which materials are of interest to 

defense and essential civilian industries, 

and providing recommendations to 

lawmakers on how to mitigate risks.

“Not only do we manage the 

National Defense Stockpile and 

conduct all the inspections and 

testing that go along with it, we’re 

providing information to policymakers 

in Congress so they can make good, 

well-informed decisions,” said Ronnie 

Favors, administrator of the activity, 

which is part of DLA Acquisition.

Formerly known as the Defense 

National Stockpile Center, DLA 

Strategic Materials was created in 1939 

to help the nation avoid dependence on 

foreign sources of supply. By the early 

1990s, the activity stored more than 80 

commodities at 77 locations around the 

country. In 1992, Congress declared 

most of the materials excess and 

required the majority of them to be sold. 

Today, DLA Strategic Materials 

manages 25 commodities valued at 

$1.3 billion. These commodities range 

from base metals such as zinc, cobalt 

and chromium to precious metals such 

as platinum and iridium. While some 

of the commodities are still considered 

excess and awaiting sale, a few remain 

in demand for military equipment. 

Beryllium is used to create structural 

components for aircraft, for example, 

and germanium is used in ¿ber optics.

DLA Strategic Materials has come 

a long way from being what Favors 

called a “buy and hold” organization. 

Since 200, ȯcials have worked to 

create a new business model that gives 

the activity more Àexibility to meet the 

Defense Department’s material needs. 

“As the world has changed and 

countries like China and India have 

become more industrialized, the need 

for raw materials has grown,” Favors 

said. “Our mission is still the same – to 

have materials ready in the event of a 

national emergency – but now we look 

to being more responsive.”

Favors recently created a new 

Strategic Planning Directorate made up 

of scientists, engineers and economists 

whose job is to study the industrial base 

and ¿nd supply chain vulnerabilities. 

The stă creates a biennial requirements 

report for Congress that outlines the 

current status of various strategic 

and critical materials and includes 

recommendations on whether the 

United States should invest in building 

inventories of additional materials to 

mitigate risks to defense applications. 

As a result of the directorate’s work, 

Congress authorized the activity to add 

six new materials to the National Defense 

Stockpile in the next four to ¿ve years. 

One of them is high-purity yttrium oxide. 

“We use yttrium aluminum garnets 

DLA Strategic Materials recently upgraded a 

portion of beryllium in the National Defense 

Stockpile from pellet form to powder 

to support improved metal-processing 

technologies.

Courtesy Photo

Story by Beth Reece

Managing

Strategic 

Materials

10 www.dla.mil

h

m

m

T

t
Vendor Managed

collect numerous materials at the alloy 

level from a single source, it’s good,” 

Pineault said.

DLA Strategic Materials’ primary 

focus was once on foreign reliance, but 

today it is more involved in determining 

whether investment in domestic sources 

is feasible and ¿nding substitutes for 

critical materials. In February 2012, 

the activity began providing incentives 

to industry and academia for research 

and development initiatives geared 

toward increasing domestic mining and 

re¿ning capabilities of critical materials 

such as yttrium and titanium, as well 

as solutions toward conserving and 

substituting other materials. Among 

those accepted was a Pennsylvania State 

University process for mapping the 

location of mineral deposits within the 

United States.

The agency is also working with 

UCORE Rare Metals Inc. to investigate 

the possibility of mining yttrium from 

Alaska’s deposit-rich Bokan Mountain. 

Extracting yttrium from ores is an 

expensive, complicated process that 

usually generates lots of hazardous 

to create lasers that are used for target 

sighting. While we have a robust 

supply chain that can manufacture 

these crystals, the preferred source 

of quali¿ed material is ŏshore. In 

the event of a national emergency, we 

would like to have a supply of that raw 

material here in the United States,” said 

David Pineault, an economist with the 

Strategic Planning Directorate.

A growing need for metals critical 

to military space programs has led to 

other changes in how DLA Strategic 

Materials manages materials. A decline 

in the quality of germanium being used 

to create space-certi¿ed germanium 

wafers that are used to sustain satellites 

resulted in increased equipment failure 

rates, so the activity converted a portion 

of its germanium stockpile to metal 

wafer form. 

The organization is also partnering 

with DLA Disposition Services and the 

Air Force to assume a pilot program in 

which Air Force ȯcials recover and 

stockpile strategic materials from scrap 

materials being disposed of by military 

and civilian federal agencies.

“The material will be collected 

at the alloy level, which means it can 

potentially solve several supply issues 

at once. These alloys are nickel-based 

and cobalt-based, but they also have 

niobium and rhenium. Anytime you can 

waste, Favors said. He added that 

U.S. companies continue to search for 

low-cost methods of extraction that 

minimize hazardous waste by-products.

While ȯcials believe working 

with industry and academia can 

lead to better solutions on managing 

raw materials for military use, DLA 

Strategic Materials continues to work 

closely with the military services to 

determine new requirements. 

“Just today, we got a query from 

the Missile Defense Agency asking us 

for an approved supplier of niobium 

in the United States. ... There’s 

always someone asking us for general 

information, what’s going on in a 

particular market or who the suppliers 

are,” Pineault said.

Favors said he believes his stă

continues to gain credibility from 

customers, industry and lawmakers. 

“We’ve done a lot to modernize, and 

we’re engaged in the business we want 

to be in: buying and selling material, 

providing information to policy makers, 

and ŏering solutions that can make a 

dĭerence,” he said. 

DLA STRATEGIC MATERIAL LOCATIONS

Scotia, NY

Hammond, IN

Warren, OH

Fort Belvoir, VA

Hawthorne, NV

St. George, UT

Wenden, AZ

Point Pleasant, WV

Quepaw, OK

Staffed Unstaffed

DLA Strategic Materials has transitioned from storing more than 80 commodities at 77 

locations in the 1990s to managing 25 commodities in nine locations.

Loglines O July - August 2014 11
hey don’t make them like 

they used to,” is a phrase 

that rings especially true in 

the industrial tool industry. 

Large, complex machines can 

cost from tens of thousands to millions 

of dollars and are di̇cult to replace.

Tucked away in Mechanicsburg, 

Pennsylvania, is one of Defense Logistics 

Agency Aviation’s best-kept secrets: a 

division that breathes new life into older 

machinery. Known as the Industrial 

Plant Equipment Services Division, it 

serves as the backbone of industrial 

equipment repair for the military.

“Our mission is to rebuild and 

supply the uniformed services with 

the machinery they need to build 

replacement parts for the war¿ghter,” 

Rodney Zullinger, plant manager, said. 

“We also have the capability of building 

just about any part you need built.”

The division’s 240,000-squarefoot manufacturing facility is the only 

Department of Defense repair 

and rebuild facility in the nation 

and can repair machinery of all 

sizes, completely in house.

The facility is part of DLA 

Aviation, but it supports all 

of DLA and other DoD and 

government agencies, as well. 

“We do the rebuilding, while 

DLA Aviation in Richmond, 

Virginia, does the procurement,” 

Zullinger said. “It’s a good 

marriage between us, where we 

act as a one-stop shop.”

Zullinger said the Industrial 

Plant Equipment Services 

Division routinely performs 

turn-key operations, meaning 

employees can remove equipment from 

any location, completely refurbish it, 

modernize it, calibrate it and reinstall it.

Refurbishing equipment not only 

saves costs, but time as well. Brandnew equipment can spend weeks 

undergoing modi¿cation to meet 

government standards, according to an 

information pamphlet on the division. 

In addition, tools manufactured 

between the 1940s and 1970s were 

constructed of durable materials. 

“Sometimes you just can’t replace 

that 50-year-old machine,” Zullinger 

said. “The structures are usually 

stronger than anything built today.”

The division refurbishes equipment 

to “like-new” condition while meeting 

customer standards, according to the 

pamphlet. The team can also modernize 

equipment with the latest technology 

at 40-80 percent of the cost of a 

replacement, according to the pamphlet. 

Ray Hicks, a general foreman, said 

that the Industrial Plant Equipment 

Services Division performs a thorough 

remanufacture, retro¿t and repair 

process to ensure the highest level of 

quality possible. 

“We bring the machines in, perform 

an estimate, and tear them down,” 

Hicks said. “After that, we write up a 

defective parts list, and then we start the 

rebuild process from scratch.”

Brad Rice, the chief of production 

control, said refurbishment is just one 

part of what makes the division such an 

Story and Photos by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Garas

Restore and 

Modernize

Ben Hay, a DLA quality assurance 

specialist at the Industrial Plant 

Equipment Services Division, 

scrapes a precision parallel 

in preparation for grinding. 

Refurbishing equipment reduces 

cost, and extends the equipment’s 

life cycle. 

12 www.dla.mil

h

t

t

t

L

t f t

“T
sales to our allies,” Hicks said. “We 

have had customers in Jordan, 

Egypt, Tunisia, and more recently in 

Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia.”

Wherever the U.S. armed forces go, 

Industrial Plant Equipment Services 

Division team members are behind 

them, ready to provide any needed 

support. The organization has sent 

workers around the world to support 

the U.S. military at forward-deployed 

locations such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia 

and Afghanistan, Zullinger said.

“If there are U.S. troops there, 

chances are, we’ve been there too.” he 

said. “What we do is in direct support 

for that war¿ghter.”

Refurbished machines that do not 

have an immediate request are stored 

on site, ensuring a ready supply for 

future customers. 

“If someone needs one, they 

can get it from us,” Hicks said. “It’s 

cheaper than buying a new product, 

and generally, we can get it out to the 

customer faster.”

Services like these help build longterm relationships with customers.

important asset. The other is the ability 

to perform repairs for customers. 

Rice used the Navy as an example, 

pointing out that naval vessels have 

machine shops on board in order to give 

them greater independence while at sea. 

DLA employees will perform repairs to 

their equipment to help them stay up 

and running in port.

“We’re not rebuilding their 

equipment, but we’re getting them up 

and running,” Rice said.

The ability to cater to the largest 

and most complicated machines in 

the industry also allows the Industrial 

Plant Equipment Services Division 

the ability to custom manufacture 

parts, like the 50,000 brackets they 

made for the Army to hold electronics 

inside of vehicles, various cables for 

that equipment, and the gear needed 

to test them.

Hicks added that IPESD team 

members’ expertise and capabilities 

make their mission international, 

supporting not only the U.S., but its 

allies as well.

“We also perform foreign military 

Zullinger recalled his ¿rst work 

trip to Red River Army Depot in Texas, 

where after being mistaken for a 

contractor who couldn’t get a dĭerent 

machine ¿xed, he was summoned to the 

depot commander’s ȯce.

“I got chewed out like you wouldn’t 

believe,” he said with a chuckle. “He 

was furious that the machine couldn’t 

be ¿xed and thought that I was yet 

another contractor sent out to try and 

¿x it.” 

Zullinger said he ¿xed the machine 

he came to repair and also demonstrated 

the extra measure that IPESD employees 

are known for.

“I repaired not only the machine 

I was originally sent to ¿x, but 

the contractor’s machine as well,” 

Zullinger said. “I tell you what, after 

that, we made a friend for life out of 

that commander.” 

Employees work at the Industrial Plant 

Equipment Services Division to refurbish a 

piece of industrial equipment for a customer. 

IPESD’s refurbishment process includes a 

complete rebuild, quality inspection of each 

component and installation of state-of-theart electronics.

Loglines O July - August 2014 13
ore and more American 

students are getting fresh 

fruit and vegetables from 

Defense Logistics Agency 

Troop Support through a 

Department of Agriculture program 

that provides low-cost or free lunches to 

schoolchildren nationwide.

Typically known for its role in 

providing food support to the nation’s 

military around the world, DLA Troop 

Support’s subsistence supply chain 

is able to use its buying power and 

contract management experience 

to assist other federal agencies 

like the USDA, said Patricia Scott, 

acting garrison feeding customer 

operations chief for DLA Troop 

Support Subsistence. The Department 

of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable 

program allows schools participating 

in USDA’s National School Lunch 

Program to purchase those products 

through DLA.

“In many ways, this mirrors what 

we’re doing for the military, because 

we’re delivering produce to their dining 

facilities,” she said. “We have the 

mechanisms and processes in place to 

provide that service to whoever calls us 

on the phone.” 

Pennsylvania recently joined 46 other 

states and a number of U.S. territories 

that participate in the program. Scott 

said that state ȯcials wanted to expand 

the program slowly, initially allotting 

$74,000 of USDA funds for just the 

Story by Bill Addison

Schoolhouse 

Subsistence

Bill Addison is a journalist for DLA Troop Support Public 

Affairs.

14 www.dla.mil

o

s

f

D

T

D

M

t t
consistency DLA contracts provide.

“The background of the program 

is to have good quality produce on a 

timely basis,” she said. “These longterm contracts have proven they provide 

the support the customer is looking for.”

DLA does more for schools than 

just purchase produce, Samoni said. 

The program is a total customer 

support package, including price 

surveys, quality assurance audits and 

contract management.

“I think it’s the level of service 

provided by our vendors, the quality of 

the product, and the dedication they 

show to the customer,” she said.

She said many schools previously 

received produce from centrally located 

warehouses, which could only provide 

products with long shelf lives, like 

onions and potatoes. DLA’s vendors can 

provide a wide variety of items, many of 

them locally grown.

“More and more customers are 

looking for locally grown produce,” 

Samoni said. “We encourage our 

vendors to buy as much local produce as 

possible, and we track that.”

Scott said that on average, locally 

grown produce accounts for about 20 

percent of total produce shipments 

per month. 

northeast region of the state. 

More than 50 schools from 11 

Pennsylvania school districts began 

participating in the DoD Fresh Fruit and 

Vegetable program in mid-March, Scott 

said. Two months into the program, 

117 schools in 11 more districts were 

identi¿ed to participate in the program, 

and Pennsylvania expanded its initial 

allotment to $131,600.

Pennsylvania’s rapid expansion 

reÀects the program’s popularity on the 

national level, Scott said. The program 

has increased in allotments from $97 

million to $137 million from 2011 to 

2014. The states involved have already 

indicated an increase to $149 million for 

the 2015 school year. 

More than 8,000 schools 

participating in the USDA program buy 

from DLA. That growth is largely due 

to word of mouth, said Janine Samoni, 

DLA Troop Support Subsistence market 

fresh division chief.

“The schools are talking to each 

other about the level of service 

we provide,” she said. “They’re 

recommending us to the other schools.”

Inside the continental U.S., DLA 

sells more produce to schools than to 

the military, Scott said. She attributes 

the program’s growth to the value and 

Another reason for the program’s 

success is the customer service the 

DLA Troop Support Subsistence team 

provides, said Jane McAvoy, acting 

chief for the supply chain’s northeast 

produce region. Supporting schools in 

and around Philadelphia, where DLA 

Troop Support is headquartered, adds 

to that relationship.

“I think what’s working well, speci¿-

cally with the Pennsylvania schools, is 

that we’re neighbors,” she said. 

McAvoy said the majority of 

customer issues she’s dealt with have 

been typical for new customers: ordering 

system access, forgotten passwords, or 

trouble ¿nding speci¿c items. She said 

the solution is often as simple as placing 

the ¿rst order for a customer.

“They want that order next week, so 

I’ll make sure they get it in one way or 

another,” she said.

McAvoy said she believes some new 

school customers are intimidated by the 

idea of calling a DoD agency for their 

produce, but that concern is often eased 

once a customer is able to speak with a 

support specialist.

“This is a national program with 

a personal touch,” she said. “It’s just 

Jane. I’m your neighbor, and I’m here 

to help.” 

47 states and several 

U.S. territories participate 

in the DoD Fresh Fruit 

and Vegetable program.

A Few Facts about the Department of Defense

FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROGRAM

The program 

increased allotments 

from $97M to $137M 

from 2011 to 2014.

More than 8,000 schools 

in the DoD Fresh Fruit 

and Vegetable program 

buy from DLA.

DLA sells more 

produce to schools 

than it does to the 

military services.

47 states and several

Loglines O July - August 2014 15
16 www.dla.mil

SPACE FUELS

lthough the Defense Logistics Agency spends billions of dollars on 

fuel to support the military’s land, sea and air missions, many don’t 

know the agency also procures fuel that takes technology literally 

out of this world.

The DLA Energy Aerospace Energy ȯce provides Defense 

Department and other federal government customers, as well as commercial 

and academic space-related customers, with logistics support for aerospace 

fuels, chemicals, gases, cryogenic liquids and propellants. This includes 

fuels and chemicals that customers need to not only propel objects to space, 

but also to help objects maneuver in orbit, said Doug Smith, chief of the 

Aerospace Energy Supplier Operations division in DLA Energy.

“We provide fuel products for any mission that the National 

Story by Amanda Neumann

THE NEXT FRONTIER

DLA Energy transportation specialists Linda Minazzi and Charolet Jones visit a filling 

station for a supplier of JP10, a high-density propellant. The DLA Energy Aerospace 

Energy office provides logistics support for 29 types of aerospace products, each 

with a specific purpose, for its customers. — Photo by Andy Avila

lt

fu

k

ou

D

A

t
Loglines O July - August 2014 17

This self-portrait of NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity combines 

dozens of exposures taken by the rover’s Mars Hand Lens 

Imager after drilling into a rock target. The rover was launched 

in November 2011 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket 

with fuel procured from the DLA Energy Aerospace Energy 

office.

— NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems Photo
18 www.dla.mil

Reconnaissance Ȯce, the Air Force, 

NASA and others launch,” he said. 

“Although [DLA] doesn’t produce [the 

fuels], we buy them from suppliers 

who manufacture the product. We 

then provide government contracts 

that position the fuel at the time that 

it’s needed. Our customer division 

provides the logistics, and in some 

cases even the transportation, to get it 

to customers on time.”

DLA Energy assumed the aerospace 

fuels program from the Air Force in 2001. 

Since then, the U.S.’s need for technology 

has created an enormous demand for 

satellite launches, said Ken Grams, 

chief of the Aerospace Energy Customer 

Operations division in DLA Energy.

“Right now, commercial space 

launch is huge, especially for satellites 

that are going up with new technology 

like GPS, telecommunications, 

television and weather,” he said. “It’s up 

to us to handle the logistics of getting 

the propellants and pressurizing agents 

to the launch site so our customers can 

concentrate on other issues for ensuring 

a successful launch.”

Out of the more than 480 customer 

organizations the ȯce supports, its 

largest customer, the Air Force, has 

two commercial rockets that launch 

U.S. military satellites, United Launch 

Alliance’s Delta IV and Atlas V rockets, 

said Charlene Smoot, a customer account 

specialist in the DLA Energy Aerospace 

Energy business unit in San Antonio.

“They’re both rockets used primarily 

for military and government satellite 

launches and also to launch NASA’s 

interspace vehicles, things that go to the 

moon or Mars,” she said. “We support 

both of them, and in addition, we are 

also authorized to support commercial 

rockets, which makes us rather unusual.”

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is 

moved to the launch pad in preparation for 

a launch rehearsal at Cape Canaveral Air 

Force Station, Florida. During the rehearsal, 

the rocket was fully loaded with propellants 

including liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen and 

RP-1 fuel procured through the DLA Energy 

Aerospace Energy office.

NASA/Kim Shiflett
Loglines O July - August 2014 19

DLA Energy supports procurement of 

29 types of aerospace products, including 

compressed gases, propellants and nonpropellant cryogens, and each product 

has a speci¿c purpose, Smoot said.

“You learn a lot about the periodic 

table working here,” she said. “Certain 

products, like propellants, are used 

a lot in satellites to 

help them stay in 

orbit. Rockets also 

use propellants, but 

in dĭerent stages, so 

they burn multiple 

fuels. Other products, 

like xenon, are best 

used for interspace 

propulsion when 

there’s no gravity. 

Then you have the 

ground-support 

pressurants we 

provide. Those are gasses that are used 

at the launch pad to push the fuels and 

oxidizers into the rockets, to clean and 

purge lines, and to cool.”

One group of propellants, called 

hypergolic propellants, is commonly 

used for rocket boosters, engines and 

space vehicles due to these substances’ 

ability to spontaneously ignite upon 

contact, Smoot said.

“When two of these fuels are 

sprayed next to each other, they mix 

and create a Àame, which then creates 

thrust,” she said. “So you can have a ¿re

without an ignition source.”

Cryogenic liquid propellants 

must be stored at extremely low 

temperatures to stay in liquid form. In 

some rocket engines, liquid oxygen and 

liquid hydrogen are combined for use 

in main boosts and liftŏ for rockets, 

Smoot said. 

“When you go into space, you need to 

take oxygen with you in order for some 

fuels to burn,” she said. “Liquid oxygen 

is often used because it creates a faster, 

hotter burn, which then creates a better 

thrust to get a rocket ŏ the Earth.”

Since all aerospace energy products 

are considered hazardous materials, 

safety is always a top 

priority. Due to this, 

most inventory isn’t 

held at DLA Energy 

facilities until right 

before a launch, said 

Andy Avila, chief 

of the Customer 

Relationship Branch 

in DLA Energy 

Aerospace Energy.

“We don’t hold 

inventory just to 

hold inventory,” 

he said. “Once DLA contracting gives 

us a copy of the signed contract, we 

know who the customer is, what the 

requirements are going to be, and where 

the delivery and pickup points are going 

to be. And we coordinate around that. 

For us, getting ahead of the customer’s 

requirements is always a challenge.”

Once the requirements are in place 

and a launch is near, Avila’s team 

coordinates secure transportation to a 

customer’s drop-ŏ site using a team 

of DLA hazardous material transportation specialists.

“We make all the arrangements to 

have the product and the containers 

that hold it moved,” he said. “Whether 

it’s in a tanker, a van load, a Àatbed or 

via specialized equipment, we make 

sure everything, including the Army’s 

Military Surface Deployment and 

Distribution Command regulations, 

are followed, and we leave nothing to 

guesswork. It’s all very precise and 

pre-planned. It has to be. We have 

something moving around every day all 

over the world.”

The team also keeps track of the 

containers that DLA owns.

“For products like helium, we 

also own the containers,” he said. 

“So even when they’re öoaded,

they’re DLA property. We have in 

excess of 10 dĭerent types of containers that we manage and account 

for, and we have a Àeet of [DLAowned] tube trailers, cylinders, etc., 

which deliver compressed gases, 

fuels and the bulk [propellants].”

Space launches are a risky proposition, so before any aerospace energy 

product leaves a DLA Energy facility, 

it’s thoroughly tested to ensure quality 

control and assurance, Smoot said.

“When you’re doing a big launch, 

you don’t want to introduce risk, so 

another thing we do is manage the 

quality of the fuels that we deliver,” 

she said. “Every container loaded with 

fuel is tested. And often times, our 

DLA Energy team members Andy Avila, 

Gene Ramirez and Janie Gallegos inspect 

DLA-owned containers at a hydrazine 

production facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana. 

In addition to procuring aerospace products 

for customers, the DLA Energy Aerospace 

Energy office is also responsible for tracking 

containers the agency owns.

“It’s up to us to handle 

the logistics of getting the 

propellants and pressurizing 

agents to the launch site so 

our customers can concentrate 

on other issues for ensuring a 

successful launch.”

— Ken Grams Photo courtesy of Andy Avila
20 www.dla.mil

customers, especially our commercial 

customers, will test it again before 

they load it. And at all of our 16 

[defense fuel support points], it’s tested 

regularly, because you absolutely have 

to get it right the ¿rst time. Making 

sure that the product is on spec, not 

contaminated, and it’s the right grade 

and the right amount is a huge thing 

for us and our customers.”

In addition to providing small quantities of aerospace energy products for 

customer’s research and development use, 

the DLA Energy Aerospace Energy ȯce 

also tries to work with customers during 

the development of aerospace products 

and technology, Avila said.

“We try to get involved as early as 

possible in the research and development 

process,” he said. “When they’re 

developing the engine, it’s at the same 

time that they’re developing the fuel for 

that engine. Once they have a project, 

we work with the customer to make sure 

that we get the exact blend of whatever 

product they’re going to need. We go out, 

put it on contract and get a producer to 

speci¿cally produce that blend. Once that 

blend is tested as a viable option for the 

space launch industry, we can develop it 

into a bulk-type requirement, so by the 

time [a customer] needs it, we have it.”

With both DLA and its customers 

looking at cheaper ways to get into 

space, partnering during the research 

and development phase is essential, 

Smoot said.

“It’s a very delicate dance to develop 

something new that’s better and then 

¿nd someone that will actually use it,” 

she said. “Since we don’t develop the 

fuel, we often work with the DoD and 

NASA researchers in the ¿eld. Lately, 

we’ve been working with the Air Force 

Research Laboratory and NASA for a 

new grade of [rocket fuel]. Now we have 

a new grade of that, and we’re looking 

at some potential newer grades that 

will give even better boost and better 

performance. So we really have to stay 

on top of who’s launching what.”

With $64.5 million in total sales for 

¿scal 2013, the ȯce is looking to cut 

costs by adjusting acquisition strategies 

and working to align its processes more 

closely with industry, Avila said.

“We’re always cognizant of 

taxpayer dollars, because there’s a 

budget crunch overall,” he said. “So we 

try to be as ėcient and ĕective as we 

can be and at the same time still meet 

customer requirements.” 

Commercially run space exploration 

capsules are on the horizon with 

companies like Space; and the Orbital 

Sciences Corporation. When they 

become reality, DLA Energy Aerospace 

Energy will work closely with industry to 

support those missions too, Avila said. 

“A lot that we do relies on the space 

industry,” he said. “What direction are 

they going in? What else needs to go up 

in space? In the future, we may go from 

liquids to gels; we may go from gels to 

solids. Which one is going to get [people] 

to Mars? I don’t know. But whatever it 

is, we’re going to be along right next to 

industry to get them there.” 

Soldiers input coordinates into a Defense 

Advanced GPS Receiver during a landnavigation course. With the rising demand 

for new satellite technology for GPS, 

telecommunications, television and weather, 

commercial space launch companies have 

started procuring their aerospace products 

from the DLA Energy Aerospace Energy office.

Army Staff Sgt. Coltin Heller
Loglines O July - August 2014 21

The President’s 

Printer

loud humming noise emits 

from a single room below the 

White House complex. Inside, 

two men run back and forth 

between industrial-sized printers. The golden-yellow card stock paper 

exiting the machine bears an intricate 

blue trim with a large, presidential seal. 

The ¿rst line of the document reads, 

“By order of the President of the United 

States of America.”

“That’s how it is down here,” 

David Canada, a printing technician at 

for the White House production facility 

and Canada’s boss, also examines the 

document.

“It’s all about attention to detail,” 

he said. “We’re the last ¿lter before it 

goes out.”

Canada and Rager are DLA 

Document Service employees who are 

part of a unique organization known as 

the “President’s Printer.”

“DLA Document Services’ mission 

is to provide printing and document 

services to Department of Defense 

Story and Photos by 

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Garas

lo

fr

W

tw

b A

Th

Defense Logistics Agency Document 

Services’ White House production 

facility, said. “Sometimes it’s hours of 

quiet, punctuated by a rush of activity.”

As the paper piles up, Canada grabs 

one and inspects it closely for any sign 

of imperfection. The 36-year veteran 

knows how a presidential proclamation 

should look. 

“We’re in a place where there’s no 

margin for error,” Canada said. “We 

don’t accept mistakes down here.”

Louis Rager, the central manager 

David Canada, of the DLA Document Services White House production facility, inspects a proclamation from President Barack Obama. The 

facility’s staff strives to maintain high standards of quality while representing the president and the White House.
22 www.dla.mil

David Canada (left) and Louis Rager, with 

the DLA Document Services White House 

production facility, use a printer to produce 

documents at their lab. The printers produce 

everything from presidential proclamations 

to the official State of the Union address.

“We’re the only presence of DLA 

... in the White House,” Dixon said. 

“It gives us a special honor that we’re 

representing DLA at those levels.”

The White House production facility 

prints everything from presidential travel 

itineraries, State of the Union addresses 

and budget reports to formal invitations 

and programs for ceremonies.

“We do our very best to ensure that 

the work is as perfect as we can possibly 

make it,” Rager said. “If someone sends 

us something to print and something 

isn’t right, we let them know this is not 

up to the standards of the White House.”

Copies of these documents may 

be given to the most senior ȯcials,

including heads of state, so the work 

must be error-free. Because of this, the 

production facility works closely with 

White House ȯcials to produce the 

best products possible.

Grace McClary, the production 

manager with DLA Document Services Ȯce Group, Washington, said these 

customers,” said Glen Dixon, director 

of the DLA Document Services 

Washington ȯce group. “But the 

White House production facility in 

Washington, D.C., has the unique job 

of providing services speci¿cally to the 

president of the United States.”

DLA Document Services has long 

provided high-quality documents for 

the Defense Department at more than 

180 locations throughout the world, 

but in 1979, President Jimmy Carter 

signed a proclamation establishing 

a dedicated printing facility for the 

White House.

“Prior to us becoming the President’s 

Printer, we were actually managed by 

Navy Publishing and Printing Services,” 

Dixon said. “The job required long-term 

service and a high level of skill. Rather 

than use temporary military personnel, 

they assigned it to us.”

The specialized mission puts the 

White House production facility in a 

unique position. 

Blue ink pellets are housed inside the hopper 

of a wide-format printer at the DLA Document 

Services White House production facility. 

The printer allows the facility’s staff to print 

a variety of products to support the White 

House and its mission.
Loglines O July - August 2014 23

meetings are essential to ensure that 

mistakes are ¿xed beforehand.

“We meet regularly to ¿nd out what 

the White House needs,” McClary said. 

“We communicate closely with them so 

we’re all on the same page.”

Rager said the close communication 

adds an extra layer of quality control.

“Once, when an employee was setting 

up the printing for another press, he 

found the wrong year on the plate,” he 

said. “This could have been a massive 

headache, but he brought it to the 

attention of the graphics department and 

it was corrected within a half an hour.”

The job also entails tasks other than 

printing, Canada said.

“We’re more than just printers, you 

know,” he said. “We’re consultants, 

customer service representatives, quality 

control; we’re whatever we need to be to 

ensure the job gets done properly.”

Rager said serving the president 

means being available day or night.

“It doesn’t matter what hour that 

phone rings, I’m still expected to come 

in,” he said. “We never close.”

Rager carries a special White House 

cell phone and is considered essential 

personnel, a unique position within 

DLA Document Services.

When a snowstorm shut down the 

capital for a week, Rager was put up in a 

hotel by the White House to ensure that 

a speci¿c report was still printed.

“The government may shut down,” 

he said, “but the White House doesn’t.”

The employees of the President’s 

Printer are no strangers to long hours, 

especially when they produce their most 

visible document: the president’s annual 

Louis Rager (left) and David Canada, of 

the DLA Document Services White House 

production facility, pose at their lab. The 

facility’s employees produce everything from 

presidential proclamations to the official 

State of the Union address. 

State of the Union address. 

“When we print the State of the 

Union Address, it’s an all-night thing for 

us,” McClary said.

“We have it printed ŏ and then 

delivered to Congress just prior to 

the president’s address,” Rager said. 

“Sometimes they’re still writing the 

speech up until the last minute.”

Canada pointed out that despite 

the extra ĕort, seeing the president 

giving the same speech he printed just 

hours before is especially rewarding.

“Sometimes, if you’re lucky, 

you get home in time to catch the 

end of it on TV,” he said. “It’s really 

impressive knowing you helped make 

something that’s going to be heard 

around the world.”

While the demands of the job are 

great, Dixon said, the rewards are greater.

“It was a pretty proud moment 

when I was able to tell my family that 

I’m the director for the print shops in 

the Washington, D.C., area, including 

the executive ȯce,” Dixon said. “That 

isn’t something that anyone can claim.”

Rager also agreed working at the 

White House printing facility was a 

unique position.

“I’ve not only met the president, 

but I can also say that I’m one of his 

ȯcial printers,” he said. “I still can’t 

believe they actually let me work here. 

I never thought I would end up doing 

something like this.”

Back in their ȯce, Canada and 

Rager ¿nish packing documents for a 

ceremony and load them onto a dolly 

for transport. 

“You work here for so long, and the 

job becomes second nature,” Canada 

said. “It’s still just as exciting after all 

these years.” 

“We’re the only presence of DLA ... in the White House. 

It gives us a special honor that we’re representing DLA at 

those levels.”

— Glenn Dixon
A Conversation with . . .

24 www.dla.mil

As the director of the DLA Joint 

Reserve Force, you’re responsible 

for about 750 military personnel 

spread across the agency. Why 

does the agency need military 

reservists?

The key thing to remember is 

that DLA is a large organization and 

our reservists are present throughout 

the DLA enterprise. The reserve 

component is designed to be a ready 

operational force in the event of 

natural disaster or times of crises. DLA 

reservists have performed roughly 

Navy Rear Adm.

Ron MacLaren

Navy Rear Adm. Ron MacLaren, director of the DLA Joint Reserve Force and the Joint Contingency 

Acquisistion Support Office.

The director of the DLA Joint Reserve Force discusses the roles reservists play in the agency 

and the value they add to its operations.

1,500 operational tours in support of 

the global war on terrorism. Reservecomponent members also performed 

work in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. 

In addition, the typical reservist in DLA 

ŏers somewhere around 38 days a 

year of support to the ¿eld activities’ 

missions, known as contributory 

support. As an example, at the DLA 

Disposition Services ȯce at Fort 

Meade, Maryland, our reservists work 

side by side with civilians to help 

demilitarize equipment. Reservists 

also frequently pull watch in the 

Joint Logistics Operations Center at 

DLA Headquarters. By maintaining a 

trained and ready reserve force, DLA 

is able to call on its citizen warriors to 

both augment and perform primary 

missions in support of war¿ghters 

anywhere in the world.

What do reservists bring to their 

time in uniform that their activeduty counterparts may not?

In contrast to their active-duty 

counterparts, reserve service members 

live and breathe their technical skills 

without completing additional duties. 

Our reserve troops collectively have 

a wide variety of skills that they have 

developed and continuously utilize and 

hone within their civilian employment. 

Their civilian-employment-enhanced 

skills have proven indispensable 

during their time in uniform. It is not 

unusual to see enlisted reservists with 

bachelor’s or graduate degrees. Their 

experience and education generally 

allow our enlisted reservists to bring 

greater capability to the agency.

What are some of the crucial roles 

that DLA wouldn’t be able to do 

without reservists?

Our reservists can serve in any 

role that their active counterparts 

do. From fuels, to DLA Troop 

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Garas
DLA Public Affairs

Loglines O July - August 2014 25

Support, DLA Distribution, 

planning, DLA Disposition Services, 

DLA Headquarters and the Joint 

Contingency Acquisition Support 

Ȯce, our Joint Reserve Force 

fully supports the DLA enterprise. 

Presently, one of the most crucial 

and reserve-centric missions is 

expeditionary disposal remediation, a 

DLA-led function of the drawdown in 

Afghanistan and previously Iraq. Over 

the past year alone, approximately 

150 reservists have received and 

disposed of more than 750 million 

pounds of material. Although we now 

have contractors doing much of the 

actual hands-on labor, our reservists 

provided the ¿rst, quickest proportion 

of the mission and continue to manage, 

oversee and hands-on perform the 

massive drawdown in the U.S. Central 

Command area of responsibility.

How many days a year does the 

average DLA reservist spend on 

active duty?

The amount of days an average 

DLA reservist spends on active duty 

varies depending on the service and 

also the personal circumstances of the 

individual reservist. Reservists can 

spend two weeks or more on active 

duty based on these parameters. 

Reservists play an integral role at 

DLA. The men and women of the 

Joint Reserve Force have performed 

nearly 1,500 tours of duty since 

9/11. DLA reservists are responsible 

for providing 7,700 days of annual 

training each year to the enterprise. 

DLA currently has 130 reservists 

mobilized performing six months to a 

year of contributory support.

What are some of the challenges 

that members of the DLA Joint 

Reserve Force face?

The main challenge to reservists, 

no matter what service they represent, 

is balancing their military and civilian 

life. Also, the DLA Joint Reserve Force 

supports the DLA mission worldwide, 

which can bring geographic challenges 

to any reserve career. Reservists 

can feel distant from the active-duty 

community, and in the case of a joint 

enterprise such as DLA, they may also 

feel a bit of isolation from their service, 

as well. Many times reservists will live 

and work in an area geographically 

distant from their home military units. 

There is also a huge time 

commitment and dedication required 

to be a reservist. During a mobilization, 

the challenges even extend to the 

reservists’ family members, who not 

only have to deal with the absence of 

their service member, but must deal 

with things that are accepted by most 

active-duty families as “normal”: 

navigating the military medical system, 

understanding bene¿ts, and just 

separation from a support network. 

Families also may have to deal with a 

sudden change in income that comes 

with the mobilization of a reservist. 

When they return home, reservists 

may also feel disconnected from postdeployment support, especially if they 

live in an area far from their home unit.

As a reservist yourself, how have 

your experiences in and out of 

uniform enhanced each other?

Throughout my career, there has 

been a symbiotic relationship between 

what I did as a civilian and what I was 

doing as a reservist. For example, in 

the early days of my career, private 

industry was way ahead of the military 

with mobile information technology 

capabilities. My civilian job provided 

me with a laptop and training. I 

brought that skill set to my military 

side and in a way helped to accelerate 

my military ȯce in obtaining the latest 

technology to make us more ĕective 

and ėcient. As I got more senior 

in my civilian career, as a hospital 

CEO, having the ability to perform 

strategic planning and understanding 

organizational structure are skills 

that translate over as we look to what 

the reserve structure should be when 

operations in Afghanistan are over and 

how best to support the DLA enterprise. 

As the military continues to draw 

down in Afghanistan, what does 

the future look like for the DLA 

Joint Reserve Force? Will missions 

change?

We do expect our missions to change 

going forward. Currently in Afghanistan, 

our reserve presence is starting to 

decline as bases are closed and more 

contractors have been brought in to 

complete that mission. That said, we 

now have large amounts of material here 

in the continental U.S. that we expect 

will require signi¿cant JRF involvement 

as we plan for its proper disposal. We 

also have received requests to provide 

additional support to DLA Distribution 

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the DLA 

Maritime organization in Pearl Harbor, 

as well as plans for certifying and 

verifying the demilitarization of vehicles 

at Red River, Texas. Additional changes 

for the JRF include budget constraints. 

Earlier this year, our Air Force reservists 

were noti¿ed their authorized number 

of annual drills would be cut in half. The 

Navy reservists received a 20 percent cut 

in all their billets, and we’re still waiting 

on Army Reserve cuts. We will face some 

challenges, but will continue to ¿nd ways 

to support the DLA mission.

Is there anything else you’d like to 

share?

The Joint Reserve Force is an 

extraordinary capability for DLA. The 

Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps 

reserves have been providing and will 

continue to provide outstanding support 

to the DLA enterprise and war¿ghters. 

I am proud to have the honor of leading 

this organization, and I look forward to 

working with our active-duty and civilian 

leadership on increasing and enhancing 

support to all that we do within DLA. 

Thank you for the opportunity to be able 

to share this gem within DLA. 
LogPoints DLA Public Affairs

26 www.dla.mil

BY THE NUMBERS

QUOTABLES

480:

Number of customer organizations 

supported by the DLA Energy Aerospace 

,ULYN`VɉJL

14: 

Sites selected for the Defense Department’s 

Healthy Base Initiative, including DLA 

/LHKX\HY[LYZH[-VY[)LS]VPY=PYNPUPH

47,000: 

Civilian employees supported by the 

Department of Defense Customers branch 

VM+3(/\THU9LZV\YJLZ:LY]PJLZ

11,000:

Law enforcement agencies registered to 

receive excess military property through 

DLA Disposition Services’ Law Enforcement 

:\WWVY[6ɉJL

“All the things you’re doing to control costs and save money for the taxpayer and the 

war¿ghter are deeply appreciated. ... I’m very proud to be associated with you and 

what you do.”

— Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall, speaking to DLA 

employees after presenting DLA the Joint Meritorious Unit Award May 20.

“We’re breaking records with regard to availability. [In repair 

parts], we’re up above 90 percent for the ¿rst time in the 

[enterprise resource platform] era. Back orders have never been 

less than they are right now, so we’re doing great. And we’re doing 

that with about a third less inventory. That’s the big gee-whiz there. 

We’re not only breaking records in terms of support; we’re doing it 

a lot more ėciently.”

— Defense Logistics Agency Director Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek, 

speaking May 29 at his quarterly Director’s Call. 

“We all recognize the tremendous progress that has been made 

over the last 13 years. And that progress due clearly very much as 

a direct result of the men and women of the United States armed 

forces, and how you have helped the Afghan people build their 

institutions, strengthen those institutions, and put them on a path 

to be able to defend themselves, govern themselves.” 

— Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, 

June 1, discussing the drawdown of U.S. forces in the country 

over the next two years.

“America’s sons and daughters are out there still today on the 

frontiers of our common defense. They’re in Afghanistan and on 

mountains and plains around the world, they’re across the shining 

seas ... and they’re in the spacious skies.”

— Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, May 26 at a 

Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

“By the end of that longest day, this beach had been fought, lost, refought, and won 2 a piece of 

Europe once again liberated and free. Hitler’s Wall was breached, letting loose Patton’s Army to pour 

into France. Within a week, the world’s bloodiest beach had become the world’s busiest port.” 

— President Barack Obama June 6 at the 70th Anniversary of D-Day on Omaha Beach, Normandy, France.
Loglines Loglines O July - August 2014 July - August 2014 27

Healthy Base

Initiative

Story by Amanda Neumann

he Defense Department’s Healthy Base Initiative, 

which marked its one-year anniversary May 15, 

has made its mark across the Defense Logistics 

Agency by helping employees maintain a healthy 

and active lifestyle.

HBI is part of DoD’s “Operation Live Well” campaign 

and President Barack Obama’s National Prevention 

Strategy. The program aims to ¿ght rising statistics on 

obesity and tobacco use among military service members 

and civilian employees. 

DLA Headquarters on Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was one 

of 14 sites selected for the HBI pilot program, said Bethany 

Sweatman, a management analyst in the DLA Installation 

Support Business Ȯce at Fort Belvoir and one of the HBI 

team coordinators. DLA Installation Support and DLA 

Logistics Operations worked together to implement several 

initiatives to help employees make healthy choices, including 

a stair-climbing competition, weekly farmers market and a 

bikeshare program.

“We were primarily looking at active living and healthy 

eating as our two big emphases,” she said. “A lot of that was 

about providing the right environment to encourage people 

to engage in those health behaviors by making it convenient 

for them. By increasing their access to fresh fruits and 

vegetables and making it available right in front of them, 

people are more likely to go out and take advantage of it.”

In December 2012, DLA Director Navy Vice Adm. 

Mark Harnitchek authorized up to three hours per week for 

employees to engage in ¿tness and wellness activities, an 

action that coincided perfectly with the launch of the HBI 

pilot just a few months later, Sweatman said.

“While not an HBI-introduced initiative, the ¿tness policy 

¿t really well and supported everything that we were doing,” 

Weekly farmers markets, like the one at DLA Aviation in Richmond, 

Virginia, help agency employees like Joseph Newsome, quality 

assurance specialist, buy fresh fruits and vegetables during their 

lunch breaks. 

Jackie Girard

h

w

h

A

T

HBI
28 www.dla.mil

Additional fitness equipment and 

exercise classes have been added 

across the agency to accommodate 

the growing demand from Defense 

Logistics Agency employees 

participating in the Healthy Base 

Initiative.

Dana Thornbury

Dana Thornbury

she said. “It brought more people into our 

¿WQHVVFHQWHUVRZHH[SDQGHGWKHQXPEHU

RIRSWLRQVWKDWSHRSOHFRXOGKDYHWREH

DFWLYHRUUHFUHDWLRQDO,W¶VQRWMXVWDERXW

KDYLQJDGHGLFDWHGZRUNRXWWLPHLW¶VDERXW

KDYLQJDQRYHUDOODFWLYHOLIHVW\OH ́

2WKHUFKDQJHVZHUHVRRQ

LPSOHPHQWHGLQWKH0F1DPDUD

+HDGTXDUWHUV&RPSOH[FDIHWHULD

6ZHDWPDQVDLG6RGH[RWKH

FRQWUDFWRUWKDWPDQDJHVWKH

FDIHWHULDODXQFKHGLWV0LQGIXO

1XWULWLRQDO0HQXSURJUDP

3>,W¶V@DVHWRIQXWULWLRQDO

JXLGHOLQHVDQGDVSDUWRIWKDWZH

EURXJKWDIRRGH[SHUWIURP&RUQHOO

8QLYHUVLW\LQWRORRNDWWKHRYHUDOO

OD\RXWRIRXUFDIHWHULD ́VKHVDLG

31RZVRPHRIWKH¿UVWWKLQJVWKDW

\RXVHHZKHQ\RXFRPHLQDUH

KHDOWKLHUIRRGRSWLRQVOLNHVXVKL

$QGRXUμ*RIRU*UHHQ¶LQLWLDWLYHDIRRG

ODEHOLQJV\VWHPKDVPDGHLWHDV\IRU

SHRSOHWRTXLFNO\LGHQWLI\ZKDWLWHPVDUH

WKHKHDOWK\RSWLRQVLQWKHFDIHWHULD ́

Although the HBI pilot program 

ZDVFHQWHUHGRQ'/$+HDGTXDUWHUVWKH

SRSXODULW\RIWKHLWVSURJUDPVTXLFNO\

VSUHDGWKURXJKRXW'/$¶V¿HOGDFWLYLWLHV

6ZHDWPDQVDLG6KHVDLGWKHHDUO\

VXFFHVVDW'/$+HDGTXDUWHUVSURPSWHG

'/$'LUHFWRU1DY\9LFH$GP0DUN

+DUQLWFKHNWRDVNWKHDJHQF\¶V¿HOG

DFWLYLWLHVWRORRNIRUZD\VWKH\FRXOG

PLUURUWKDWVXFFHVV

3+DYLQJWKH>¿HOGDFWLYLWLHV@

LQFRUSRUDWHWKH+%,SURJUDPVZDVQ¶W

VRPHWKLQJWKDWZHRULJLQDOO\SODQQHGIRU ́

VKHVDLG3%XWDVZHJRWLQWRLWZHNLQGRI

JRWDKDORH̆HFWWKDWVSUHDGRXWWRWKHRWKHU

VLWHVDVDUHVXOWDQGPRVWRIWKHPVWDUWHG

HFKRLQJWKHWKLQJVWKDWZHZHUHGRLQJ7KH

LPSRUWDQFHRIKDYLQJOHDGHUVKLSLQVXSSRUW

RI+%,ZDVUHDOO\RQHRIWKHNH\IDFWRUV

LQZK\'/$ZDVLQFOXGHGDVRQHRIWKH

SLORWVLWHVWREHJLQZLWK2YHUDOO,¶YHVHHQ

DORWRIFXOWXUDOFKDQJHVWKDWLQGLFDWHWKDW

SHRSOHDUHVWDUWLQJWRWKLQNPRUHKHDOWK

FRQVFLRXVO\VRLW¶VQLFHWRVHHKRZLW¶VEHHQ

HPEUDFHGLQWKH¿HOG ́

'/$¶V¿HOGDFWLYLWLHVXVHG'/$

+HDGTXDUWHUV¶SDUWLFLSDWLRQLQ+%,

WRPDNHKHDOWK\OLYLQJHDVLHUIRUWKHLU

HPSOR\HHVLQDYDULHW\RIZD\V

The annual Commanders Cup 10K run/walk is a 

favorite among employees at DLA Distribution 

Susquehanna in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania.
Loglines O July - August 2014 29

DLA Disposition Services

Battle Creek, Michigan

$W'/$'LVSRVLWLRQ6HUYLFHV¶%DWWOH

&UHHN0LFKLJDQKHDGTXDUWHUV+%,KDV

KHOSHGIRVWHUDFORVHSDUWQHUVKLSZLWK

WKHDUHD¶VGRZQWRZQFRPPXQLW\VDLG

%UDQGRQ'RKHUW\FKLHIRI0RUDOH:HOIDUH

DQG5HFUHDWLRQLQ'/$,QVWDOODWLRQ

6XSSRUWLQ%DWWOH&UHHN,WHYHQHDUQHG

the installation a top nomination in the 

3%HVWRI:HOOQHVV ́FRPSHWLWLRQIRUWKH

FRXQW\KHVDLG

3$WRXUIDFLOLW\ZHHQFRXUDJH

HYHU\RQHWRSDUWLFLSDWHLQRXUZHHNO\

IDUPHUVZDONWRRXUGRZQWRZQDUHD ́

KHVDLG37KHUHWKH\KDYHDIDUPHUV

PDUNHWDQGVPDOOHYHQWVZKHUHRXWVLGH

YHQGRUVVHOOWKLQJV7KHZDONLVDOPRVWD

PLOHRQHZD\DQGZHFRQVLVWHQWO\KDYH

DUHDOO\JRRGWXUQRXW,QFRQMXQFWLRQ

ZHDOVRGRDORWRIμ/XQFKDQG/HDUQ¶

>VHPLQDUV@RQIRRGHGXFDWLRQDQG

FRRNLQJ:HOHDUQHGWKDW>HGXFDWLRQ@

KDGEHHQDEDUULHUIRUVRPHSHRSOH

VRZHWU\WRJLYHWKHPDIXOOVSHFWUXP

HGXFDWLRQ1RWRQO\DUHWKH\DEOHWR

XWLOL]HWKHIDUPHUVPDUNHWEXWWKHQWKH\

DOVRKDYHWKHRSSRUWXQLW\WRNQRZKRZ

WRSUHSDUHKHDOWK\IRRGV ́

,QWKHSDVW\HDUWKH%DWWOH&UHHN

IDFLOLW\¶V¿WQHVVFHQWHUVDZDSHUFHQW

LQFUHDVHLQHQUROOPHQWDQGQRZDOPRVW

KDOIRIWKHLQVWDOODWLRQ¶VSHUVRQQHOXVH

WKHFHQWHU¶VUHFUHDWLRQDODFWLYLWLHVHDFK

PRQWK'RKHUW\VDLG

3%HVLGHVWKHSURJUDPVWKDWZHGR

WKURXJKRXWWKHHQWLUH\HDUOLNHRXUμ&RXFK

WR.¶SURJUDPZHDOVRR̆HUDORWRI

RXWGRRUDFWLYLWLHVOLNHVQRZVKRHLQJDQG

FURVVFRXQWU\VNLLQJ ́KHVDLG3$QGZH¶UH

ORRNLQJDWGL̆HUHQWZD\VRIH[HUFLVLQJWRR

:HKDYHDQLQGRRUWHDPWULDWKORQDVZHOO

DVDJHRFDFKLQJW\SHHYHQWSODQQHGIRU

RYHUWKHVXPPHU:H¶UHDOVRZRUNLQJZLWK

DOORIRXUQHZKLUHVWRJLYHWKHPSHUVRQDO

LQVWUXFWLRQRQWKH¿WQHVVDQGKHDOWK

RSSRUWXQLWLHVZHR̆HU)RUXVRXUSULPDU\

IRFXVLVMXVWJHWWLQJSHRSOHHQJDJHG ́

DLA Distribution

Susquehanna and New Cumberland, 

Pennsylvania

,QWKH\HDUVLQFH'/$'LVWULEXWLRQ¶V

(DVWHUQ'LVWULEXWLRQ&HQWHULQ1HZ

&XPEHUODQG3HQQV\OYDQLDVWDUWHG

PRGHOOLQJ+%,IRULWVHPSOR\HHVWKH

LQVWDOODWLRQ¶V¿WQHVVHQUROOPHQWKDV

GRXEOHGVDLG'DQD7KRUQEXU\0:5

PDUNHWLQJPDQDJHU

3:HZHQWIURP>HPSOR\HHV@

HQUROOHGPRQWKO\LQWR

DSSUR[LPDWHO\LQ ́VKHVDLG

3%HFDXVHRIWKDWZH¶YHDGGHGWKUHH

PRUH¿WQHVVSURJUDPVIRUWKLVVXPPHU

LQDGGLWLRQWRRXUDQQXDO&RPPDQGHU¶V

&XSZKLFKLVDYHU\LQWHQVHVXPPHUORQJ

FRPSHWLWLRQ$OVRRXU¿WQHVVFHQWHUKDV

VWDUWHGFUHDWLQJYLGHRVWRSODFHRQRXU

ZHEVLWHVRWHOHZRUNHUVFDQHVWDEOLVKWKHLU

RZQZRUNRXWSURJUDPV ́

2WKHU+%,UHODWHGSURMHFWVLQFOXGH

DPRQWKO\KHDOWKQHZVOHWWHUDQGD

SDUWQHUVKLSZLWKWKHLQVWDOODWLRQ¶V*LUOV

DQG%R\V&OXERI$PHULFDWRLQFRUSRUDWH

KHDOWK\LQLWLDWLYHVLQWRLWVFKLOGDQG\RXWK

VXPPHUFDPSDFWLYLWLHV7KRUQEXU\VDLG

3,¶PH[FLWHG ́VKHVDLG3,WKLQNWKDW

ZH¶YHRQO\VFUDWFKHGWKHVXUIDFHRIZKHUH

WKLVLVJRLQJWRJR,WKLQNLW¶VQRWRQO\

JRLQJWRLPSURYHWKHKHDOWKDQGZHOOQHVV

RIWKHZRUNIRUFHEXWLW¶VJRLQJWRKHOS

ZLWKSURGXFWLYLW\DVZHOODVPRUDOH ́

As the post restaurant manager in 

'/$,QVWDOODWLRQ6XSSRUW'DYH)HOWFK

RYHUVHHVWKHFHQWHU¶VFDIHWHULDDQG

YHQGLQJRSHUDWLRQV1HZPHQXVZLWK

FRORUFRGHGODEHOVZHUHDPRQJFKDQJHV

WKDWZHQWLQWRH̆HFWWKHUHLQHDUO\0DUFK

he said.

3%HVLGHVUHGRLQJDQGUHYLVLQJRXU

PHQXZHDOVRDQQRWDWHGWKHKHDOWK\

RSWLRQVRQRXUPHQX ́KHVDLG3,Q

DGGLWLRQZHVWDUWHGR̆HULQJPRUHKHDOWK\

LWHPVOLNHEDNHGVZHHWSRWDWRHVEDNHG

SRWDWRHVDQGEDNHGFKLFNHQLQVWHDGRI

IULHGFKLFNHQ$QGZHJDYHHPSOR\HHV

PRUHRSWLRQVWRFKRRVHIURP(PSOR\HHV

FDQQRZKDYHVDQGZLFKHVZLWKHJJZKLWHV

In the year since DLA Distribution’s Eastern Distribution Center in New 

Cumberland, Pennsylvania, started modelling HBI for its employees, the 

installation’s fitness enrollment has doubled.

DLA Director Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek 

and Grace Calayag, an instructor at the 

McNamara Headquarters Complex Fitness 

Center, ride bikes available to employees 

through the HQC’s bikeshare program, part of 

the Healthy Base Initiative. 

Teodora Mocanu
30 www.dla.mil

and turkey sausage, and they can also 

have a Àatbread made from 100 percent 

whole grain wheat.”

Wayne DeWolf, recreation specialist 

and bowling center manager in DLA 

Installation Support in New Cumberland, 

spearheaded the launching of the 

distribution center’s farmers market, 

which runs every Wednesday until the 

end of October.

“Last fall, we went down to [DLA 

Headquarters] to look at their market’s 

operation, and we got a lot of good ideas 

and information for our market, which is 

our ¿rst,” he said. “Since we’re right on 

the outskirts of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 

we have a lot of farmlands and farms, 

so we’re basically aiming for the organic 

farmer, someone who produces 70 

percent of their product themselves on 

their premises. Although due to the harsh 

winter and less-than-expected interest 

from vendors, Susquehanna is exploring 

alternative options to ŏer this service to 

the employees.”

DeWayne has worked for MWR for 2

years and said he feels the new emphasis 

on healthy living complements the healthy 

movement that’s always been at the core 

of MWR.

“I’ve seen many changes over time, 

but the HBI is a good idea,” he said. “The 

healthier movement has always been 

there within MWR; the HBI just helps 

reinvent it.”

DLA Aviation

Richmond, Virginia

DLA Aviation added a weekly farmers 

market and a bikeshare program. Julie 

Proctor, farmers market marketing 

manager and Family and MWR marketing 

assistant at DLA Installation Support at 

Richmond, said the programs have been 

well received by employees.

“We’ve been promoting healthy 

initiatives for a long time here at 

Richmond, but with the HBI, we’ve been 

able to build upon our events,” she said. 

“Our farmers market is one that the 

employees look forward to. Last year, 

we had vendors who would cut samples 

right there on the spot if people didn’t 

know what the item tasted like. Another 

had seafood right ŏ the docks. To know 

that our employees can shop for healthy 

items on their lunch hour and not take 

away from their family time is a big 

plus. I tell my farmers market vendors 

when I recruit them that this is to build a 

healthy, happier workforce; this is not for 

the post to make money.” 

 In Richmond, the HBI program 

helped expand some of the MWR 

programs the installation already ŏered,

said Michael Criswell, community 

recreation ȯcer and chairman of the 

Richmond HBI committee.

“We’ve increased some of our ¿tness 

classes due to the 25 percent spike in 

attendance we had at the ¿tness center,” he 

said. “Now that our pool is open again, we 

started ŏering water aerobics two times 

a week, and we started a free lunchtime 

swim for military members. In addition, 

we implemented a ‘Pedometer Step to 

Health’ program and created a master map 

listing all of the trails on the installation for 

walking, running and biking.”

Several upgrades have also been 

made in the cafeteria, including expanded 

hours, which helped close the gap between 

breakfast and lunch, Criswell said. 

“Before, we only had eight or nine 

items included in our salad bar; now 

there’s anywhere from 24 to 32,” he said. 

“Besides ŏering salad ¿ve days a week, we 

also ŏer fresh fruit, like strawberries and 

cantaloupes, daily at both breakfast and 

lunch. Our veggie pizza, new on the menu, 

is very popular, and we’re working on a 

build-your-own step-by-step ingredient 

guide for dĭerent types of salads.”

In addition, the installation’s child 

development center and the summer camp 

have expanded their gardening activities 

with raised garden beds, composting areas 

and greenhouses. Physical activities have 

also been expanded.

DLA Troop Support

Philadelphia

As the HBI team lead at DLA Troop 

Support in Philadelphia, Air Force Master 

Sgt. Tara Thompson is responsible for 

distributing HBI information to not only the 

organization’s personnel in Philadelphia, but 

those stationed overseas as well.

“With the military, we have to stay in 

shape, so last year, I volunteered to be the 

lead for this,” she said. “I want to make 

More than 1,000 attendees participated in health 

and wellness activities, including a basketball 

tournament, during the 2013 Fitness Day at DLA 

Land and Maritime in Columbus, Ohio.

Charles Morris
Loglines O July - August 2014 31

Competitions allow Defense Logistics Agency 

employees to compete individually or as teams 

during Healthy Base Initiative-run events.

sure we get some things implemented and 

in place, because this is a huge initiative for 

the [military] services. We’re making good 

moves to get healthy, get ¿t, and make sure 

we cut down or eliminate smoking.” 

The facility’s ¿tness center was 

already open every day of the week, and 

employees can learn everything from 

cycling to yoga to kickboxing. Thompson 

started by initiating some internal changes 

at the facility.

“In our ¿tness center, we focused 

on very simple stŭ, namely putting 

information where people can see it,” she 

said. “Not only did the ¿tness center move 

their vending machine closer to the door, 

but they replaced it with a dĭerent vending 

machine, which now has more room for 

drinks and health bars. Now that it’s up 

front, members can grab something healthy 

on the way in and out. Plus, I set up a stand 

at the front of the gym with books all about 

¿tness, nutrition and health.”

Thompson has also created a website 

with healthy lifestyle information speci¿-

cally for DLA Troop Support personnel.

“Our website gets updated constantly,” 

she said. “All of the information that I 

send to stă via email, like our health 

tips, is also placed on the website. Plus it 

has pamphlets, nutritional information, 

¿tness forms, and even videos that we try 

to tie into the big three: tobacco cessation, 

getting healthy and eating right. So far, our 

feedback has been good, and people enjoy 

having the information at their ¿ngertips.”

DLA Land and Maritime

Columbus, Ohio

William Wasil, the community 

relations ȯcer at DLA Land and 

Maritime in Columbus, Ohio, stays busy 

overseeing the facility’s 59,000-squarefoot ¿tness center and the installation’s 

outdoor recreation activities.

“We have an indoor running track, 

a separate indoor volleyball court and 

our pool, where we ŏer water aerobics 

and water Zumba,” he said. “It’s a great 

bene¿t to the employees to have a ¿tness 

center that has so much to ŏer, not only 

facilitywise, but programwise.”

HBI has been a welcome addition 

for employees whose work is mostly 

sedentary, Wasil said.

“Most employees take the elevator to 

their Àoor, not the stairs, and they take 

the shuttle to and from the parking lot,” 

he said. “So the HBI has been a good 

avenue for us to not only promote the 

physical side, but the psychological and 

mental side of wellness too.”

To accommodate the installation’s 2

percent increase in ¿tness and wellness 

participants in the past year, Wasil added 

several classes and seminars to the 

schedule.

“Now that the HBI concept is out 

there, employees are more aware of the 

importance of being more active,” he said. 

“And they say if you do something for 

28 days, you develop a habit. So that has 

been our challenge, to get people started 

in a routine. Because once you get a 

person started, it gets addictive.”

With longer operating hours at the 

¿tness center, a bikeshare program, and 

seminars on topics like smoking cessation 

and stress management, the ways to 

encourage people to be more active run 

the gamut, Wasil said.

“We’ve been bringing in nutritionists 

and health specialists to speak to our 

customers about healthy lifestyles and 

healthy eating,” he said. “We’ve put out 

maps to show how far you can walk on 

your lunch break. We’ve added truck 

tires for people to Àip, ropes for upper 

body workouts, and rowing classes for 

cardiovascular health. And we’re working 

with our cafeteria to develop menu cards 

so folks can understand what the sodium 

or caloric value is for the foods that 

they’re eating.”

With two sports and wellness parks in 

the ¿nal design stages, opportunities for 

employees to work out will be plentiful in 

the near future, Wasil said.

“Having these types of facilities where 

you can come and exercise will be a great 

asset to the community,” he said. “It will 

really enhance the programs that we have 

and the availability of facilities.”

Other HBI initiatives in Columbus 

include online workouts for teleworkers, 

a “HealthyU” link on the Defense Supply 

Center Columbus Family and MWR 

website, and an email and text messaging 

program for employees to receive ¿tness 

center alerts and reminders.

With the HBI pilot ¿nished at DLA 

Headquarters, the “spirit of HBI is not 

going away,” Sweatman said, noting that 

the HBI team transitioned to a new title, 

the Headquarters Complex Health and 

Fitness Council, in June. Lead by DLA 

Installation Support, the council will work 

on the continuation of HBI projects. 

Dana Thornbury

For more information about the

DoD Healthy Base Initiative, visit the website: 

http://www.militaryonesource.mil/hbi
32 www.dla.mil

Logistics

Excellence 

ilitary and civilian Defense 

Logistics Agency employees 

can wear a new ribbon or lapel 

pin after the agency received 

the Joint Meritorious Unit 

Award in recognition of its Hurricane 

Sandy relief ĕorts while continuously 

supporting global logistics operations. 

The award recognizes DLA’s “superior 

mission capabilities during Hurricane 

Sandy relief ĕorts” and simultaneous 

global contingency operations, despite the 

closure of transit lines through Pakistan, 

from Nov. 1, 2011, to Dec. 3, 2012.

Under Secretary of Defense for 

Acquisition, Technology and 

Logistics Frank Kendall presented 

the award during a ceremony at the 

McNamara Headquarters Complex 

May 20. 

“Congratulations on the award. 

It’s well-deserved and wellearned,” Kendall said. 

He praised employees for 

supporting war¿ghters around 

the world and providing lifesaving 

assistance to victims of Hurricane 

Sandy in October 2012. 

This is the second time DLA 

has received the award since 2011. 

DLA Director Navy Vice 

Adm. Mark Harnitchek said the award 

highlighted the agency’s ability to come 

together to do what others might call 

impossible.

“This award recognizes your astounding logistical support during Hurricane 

Sandy, when millions of fellow Americans 

were without food and supplies, and again, 

during the closure of the Pakistan border 

that stopped logistics from reaching 

troops in Afghanistan,” he said. “Both of 

these behemoth logistical ĕorts required 

lots of people to function as a team to do 

what most would consider impossible.”

Personnel assigned to the agency for 

at least 30 days during the award period 

are eligible to receive and wear the award, 

Brad Bunn, DLA Human Resources 

director, wrote in an email to DLA senior 

leaders May 6. The award consists of 

service ribbons for military members, 

lapel pins for civilian employees and a 

unit streamer for the DLA Àag. Ribbons 

and lapel pins will be issued to current 

employees, according to the memo.

“One of the Director’s guiding 

principles is as follows: ‘We are living 

in historic times ... doing things we’ve 

never done before ... make some history 

yourself,’” Bunn wrote. “This JMUA 

exempli¿es that principle, and while the 

27,000 members of the DLA workforce 

continue to make history today, [with 

this award] we’ll be able to celebrate 

and reÀect on their extraordinary 

accomplishments and contributions. 

Congratulations to you and your teams.”

The award citation, signed by Defense 

Secretary Chuck Hagel and dated April 

29, highlights DLA’s 24/7 operations 

and relief ĕorts after Hurricane Sandy 

made landfall in New Jersey Oct. 

29, 2012. More than 50 DLA 

employees mobilized in support 

of relief ĕorts to places like the 

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency headquarters; Joint Base 

McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New 

Jersey; and the New York City 

mayor’s ȯce. 

In addition, the agency 

provided more than 6.3 million 

meals, 72,000 liters of bottled 

water, 173,000 blankets, 

4,000 cots, 19,000 maps, 200 

hypothermia prevention kits, six 

portable X-ray machines and the 

removal of 75 million pounds of trash and 

debris. DLA was also a key provider of 

fuel, dispatching a network of wholesale, 

retail, civilian and military tankers to 

provide more than 9 million gallons of 

Story by DLA Public Affairs

2

e

o

F

A

M

J

m

p

m

w

4

h

p

i

L

c

p

t M

A d i
Loglines O July - August 2014 33

fuel to those ăected by the hurricane. 

DLA also provided generators to support 

critical infrastructure and water pumps to 

alleviate Àooding.

“The total overwhelming support 

made a signi¿cant impact on the lives of 

so many of our fellow citizens who were 

ăected and displaced by Hurricane 

Sandy,” the citation reads.

Harnitchek called the award a 

clear reÀection of the ĕorts he has 

seen ¿rsthand, and he praised the DLA 

employees whose ĕorts led to the honor.

“During the aftermath of Hurricane 

Sandy, I saw you in action for myself in 

New York and New Jersey,” he said. “I 

was extremely proud and impressed by 

DLA personnel who made it look easy 

to get 6 million meals, water, blankets, 

medical equipment, fuel, generators and 

other supplies to an area completely 

devastated and in desperate need. In 

addition, our troops in combat were 

dependent on the expeditious manner 

and expertise you showed when the 

border closed in Pakistan. Your work 

was bar none. Our troops got what they 

needed through your ingenuity, and you 

never missed a beat.”

While supporting Hurricane Sandy 

relief ĕorts, DLA continued its logistics 

support to contingency operations around 

the world, the citation states. During 

the award period, the agency provided 

more than $51 million in food and more 

than $103 million in fuel to deployed 

military units while processing more than 

780,000 pounds of scrap material for 

removal by contract vendors. 

The citation also makes note of DLA’s 

“exceptional support” to U.S. forces in 

Afghanistan despite the closure of the 

Pakistan ground line in November 2011. 

The closing of this key supply route 

required DLA personnel to work closely 

with vendors and military partners to 

increase subsistence and fuel Àow on the 

Northern Distribution Network, including 

Àying subsistence items from Riga, Latvia. 

The Àights not only allowed DLA to keep 

fuel and subsistence readily available, 

but they also provided the opportunity 

to transport retrograde material out of 

Afghanistan via return Àights to Riga. 

Another ĕort that helped mitigate 

the ĕects of the ground line’s closure was 

the expansion of ĕorts to source supplies 

from Central Asian states. DLA purchased 

more than $1 billion of critical goods and 

services from Central Asian states in 2012, 

helping to boost local economies while 

ensuring ready access to supplies. 

“DLA continues to meet the challenges of persistent conÀict and global 

humanitarian ĕorts,” the citation 

reads. “World-class logistics support 

professionals, dynamic processes and 

advanced technologies enable DLA 

to anticipate and meet full spectrum 

requirements. Without question, the 

overriding reason for the agency’s 

continued success is the skill, dedication and commitment of the men and 

women who break down organizational 

barriers and work together to develop 

innovative solutions.” 

Authorized by the secretary of 

defense on June 10, 1981, the JMUA is 

awarded to joint activities for meritorious 

achievement or service for actions in 

combat, a declared national emergency 

or extraordinary circumstances that 

involve national interest, according to 

DoD Manual 1348.33, Manual of Military 

Decorations and Awards. 

HurricanF Sandy Relief Efforts
I AM

My Name is: 

Bethany Sweatman

I am:

I am a management analyst for DLA Installation Support at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Describe your job in a sentence.

I serve as the training and travel coordinator for DLA Installation Support 

employees at Fort Belvoir and manage the Healthy Base Initiative programs at 

the McNamara Headquarters Complex.

How long have you worked for DLA?

I have worked at DLA for two and a half years in my current position. Prior to 

that, I spent two years working in the McNamara HQC Fitness Center.

What are your favorite things about working for DLA?

Having the opportunity to work for an agency that truly values the health and 

wellbeing of its employees. It’s great that DLA leaders understand that a healthy 

and happy workforce benefits both the individual and the agency.

What is your best memory of working for DLA?

The opening day of the farmers market at DLA Headquarters, May 29, 2013. 

I never expected quite so many people to show up for the start of the market. 

Seeing the long lines of people excited to have fresh produce available to them 

at their worksite was really an exciting moment. 

,ŽǁĚŽLJŽƵŵĂŬĞĂĚŝīĞƌĞŶĐĞƚŽǁĂƌĮŐŚƚĞƌƐ͍

Through the Healthy Base Initiative, I have 

had the opportunity to directly and positively 

impact the well-being of DLA employees in some 

very tangible ways. If I can work toward keeping 

the folks here healthy and happy, then they can 

perform their jobs to the fullest capacity, which is 

really what DLA Installation Support is all about.

Bethany Sweatman