Philadelphia:

Outfitting the Union

Providing Civil War Uniforms

Page 34

Phil

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LOGLINES

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2014

DLA AROUND

THE WORLD

USNORTHCOM

USSOUTHCOM

USCENTCOM

USEUCOM

USAFRICOM

USPACOM
Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek, USN

Director, Defense Logistics Agency

providing material readiness over 90 

percent and cutting contract award times 

in half. 

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support will continue to be our best 

measurement of progress, and that’s what 

this issue of Loglines is all about: how DLA 

supports the combatant commands. We 

put some of our best and brightest DLA’ers 

on the ground with each command. We 

did that so we can listen to their needs, 

respond quickly and get it right.

A great example of how we support 

combatant commanders came during 

relief operations with U.S. Northern 

Command after Hurricane Sandy 

devastated the Northeast. That mission 

taught us just how quickly we can move. 

From fuel contracts to water to food, DLA 

made it happen. And we’ve taken what 

we learned from that experience and are 

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United Assistance. 

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the ways we are improving fuel support 

is by establishing new partners. Recently, 

we began working with U.S. Northern 

Command to add the Department of 

Energy to our list of energy customers. 

And today, we store Department of 

L

ooking back over the past three years, 

I marvel at the colossal things DLA 

has accomplished. As I write this, 

we’re supporting another major mission, 

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and West Africa. DLA is at the forefront 

of building the logistics infrastructure 

supporting Africa Command and the 

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Agency for International Development, to 

help the governments of Guinea, Liberia 

and Sierra Leone contain the outbreak 

of the Ebola virus in West Africa. Just as 

we’ve done in the past with our support in 

Haiti, the Japanese tsunami and Hurricane 

Sandy, DLA is out front making big things 

happen. I couldn’t be prouder.

As a global force with people 

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ready to respond to the logistics needs 

of today and tomorrow. We’re meeting 

these challenges head on; all the while 

we’re setting performance records, like 

Energy fuel in the northeast in case of 

another superstorm like Sandy.

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Germany, provides vital support in 

Europe, Africa and Central Asia. 

We are also pushing a big initiative 

to procure local items in Africa and 

Afghanistan. Local procurement not only 

makes shipping easier, but it supports our 

national interests by supporting our host 

nation’s economies, something I know 

our customers appreciate.

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commands serve to remind us why DLA 

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I’m very proud to wrap up my military 

career here at DLA, where a great group of 

professionals is dedicated to our mission. 

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the planet. Whether you are buying, 

managing or supporting, you all have a 

part to play in this massive enterprise. 

And I’m honored to have had the privilege 

of serving with you. So keep doing what 

you’re doing. Keep hitting them out of 

the park. And thank you for all you do for 

DLA and the country every day. 

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 

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Renee L. Roman

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Joseph M. Yoswa

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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 

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Defense or the Defense Logistics Agency. 

LOGLINES

Official Flagship Publication of the Defense Logistics Agency

Managing Editor: Jacob Boyer

Layout/Design: Paul Henry Crank

Writers: Beth Reece

 Sara Moore

 Amanda Neumann

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/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

DIRECTOR

from the
Loglines O November - December 2014 1

A Conversation with ... 29 

Brad Bunn

I am DLA Back Cover

DEPARTMENTS

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

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

THE WEB

USNORTHCOM: Fast, Flexible, Functional 2

DLA partners with U.S. Northern Command and 

federal agencies to ensure complexity doesn’t slow 

down the response when disasters strike the U.S. 

USSOUTHCOM: First-Class Service 6

The Prime Vendor Exercise Support program 

gets quality, fresh food to Navy and Coast Guard 

personnel south of the Equator.

USCENTCOM: Expeditionary Logistics 9

DLA continues supporting troops deployed to 

Afghanistan while preparing for their departure and 

the State Department’s future there. 

USPACOM: Push to the Pacific 12

Several initiatives are expanding and improving DLA’s 

support to military operations across the largest 

geographical combatant command. 

USEUCOM: Old World, New Business 18

As the U.S. military’s presence in Europe evolves, DLA 

Europe & Africa continues supplying troops there and 

elsewhere. 

USAFRICOM: Building Bridges 22

DLA support to the newest geographic combatant 

command helps establish relationship for military and 

civilian agencies in Africa. 

Partnering for Success 26

DLA’s Joint Exercise and Readiness Team works with 

military and civilian agencies to prepare everyone 

involved for teh next crisis. 

Culture Check 32

Results of the 2014 DLA Culture Survey will help guide 

agency leaders’ decisions as they lead the workforce 

forward.

Philadelphia: Outfitting the Union 34

The rich history of Defense Supply Center Philadelphia 

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as it expanded during the Civil War.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

AROUND THE WORLD CONTENTS

November - December 2014
2 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD

fter an Army career that included 

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USNORTHCOM:

Fuel trucks wait for police escort at Joint 

Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. 

DLA coordinated with state and local officials 

to deliver fuel to areas affected by Hurricane 

Sandy to support the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency. 

Army Maj. John Adams
Loglines 

O November - December 2014

3

national attention on operations within 

the U.S., he said.

“We have no time when things 

happen in this area of operations,” Laurie 

said. “We have no time to sit back and 

wait for nice comfortable requirements. 

We have no time to wait and conduct 

any kind of deliberate planning. Not only 

are we driven to support our citizens, 

we are so heavily impacted by the media 

and by the reality that every event is in 

somebody’s constituency that we have to 

be ready to take risks and to be aggressive 

in how we respond.”

A fast, aggressive response is exactly 

what DLA provided after Hurricane Sandy 

struck the East Coast in October 2012. After 

the hurricane made landfall, DLA moved 

to 24/7 operations and deployed more 

than 50 employees to places like FEMA 

headquarters; Joint Base McGuire-DixLakehurst, New Jersey; and the New York 

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for providing 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 9 million gallons of 

fuel, and for contracting for the removal of 

75 million pounds of trash and debris. 

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Hurricane Sandy provided vital lessons for 

DLA’s way forward on disaster response 

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them being the importance of DLA’s 

contracting expertise and partnership with 

the private sector, Laurie said.

Service members with the Chemical, Biological, 

Radiological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosive 

Enhanced Response Force Package of the 

Oregon National Guard and Hawaii National 

Guard transport a simulated victim caught in a 

debris pile during Ardent Sentry 2014 near Joint 

Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. As part of 

its support to USNORTHCOM, DLA participates 

in Ardent Sentry and other exercises. 

Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Hughel
4 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD

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Army Staff Sgt. Jose Pantoja carries an 

evacuee up a hoist onto a helicopter during 

rescue operations in Boulder, Colorado. 

DLA supports numerous disaster relief and 

rescue operations each year throughout the 

USNORTHCOM area of operations. 

Army Sgt. Jonathan C. Thibault
Loglines O November - December 2014 5

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“We need to look at DLA as part of the whole of government 

solution, and there’s an appreciation that we’re a big part of it.”

— Ralph Laurie

Local residents impacted by Hurricane Sandy 

pick up meals, ready to eat from National 

Guard troops at a disaster recovery center 

in Rockaway, New York. DLA provided 

direct support in the aftermath of the storm, 

providing millions of meals and other supplies. 

Jocelyn Augustino
6 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD
Loglines O November - December 2014 7

housands of miles from home, 

men and women of the Navy 

and Coast Guard operating 

in U.S. Southern Command’s 

area of responsibility use a vast 

array of supplies and equipment to 

help them accomplish their missions. 

Of the 10 classes of supply organized 

by the military, Class I, or food, is 

arguably one of the most important for 

keeping spirits high. 

“Food is such a critical morale 

booster,” said Joe Cauvin, a DLA Troop 

Support account manager in Panama. 

“Wherever our troops are going, whenever 

they can have a good meal, it reminds 

them of home.”

The job of keeping the Navy and 

Coast Guard in USSOUTHCOM supplied with fresh, quality food is a feat 

managed by DLA’s Class I Prime Vendor 

Exercise Support program.

Functioning as a central collection point 

Story by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Garas

FIRST-CLASS

SERVICE

USSOUTHCOM:

for supply that allows customers to buy 

well-regulated products, a prime vendor is 

a contracted wholesaler that meets quality 

standards set by the U.S. government. 

“It’s kind of a giant one-stop shop 

where a customer can come in and 

get their Class I needs and have it 

delivered to their doorstep, wherever 

that may be,” said Carlos Garcia, a 

logistics systems analyst with DLA 

Troop Support. “We contract with our 

subsistence prime vendor, Supreme, 

which sources its products from a U.S. 

Department of Agriculture-approved 

source in the U.S. and ships them to 

its facility in Panama, which has been 

approved by Public Health Command. 

All of the fresh fruits and vegetables are 

procured locally from a PHC-approved 

source. This ensures the customers 

get the lowest price possible and best 

quality available.”

In 2010, the Navy requested support 

from DLA for the replenishment of ships 

operating in South and Central America 

due to limited resupply points.

With sites in Panama, Honduras 

and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Navy 

and Coast Guard perform a variety 

of missions, ranging from antidrug 

Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Gary Miller 

and Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Franklin, 

both food service specialists, prepare chicken 

enchiladas. Providing troops with fresh food 

is a central role of DLA’s Class I Prime Vendor 

Exercise Support program and helps boost 

the morale of troops by meeting essential 

dietary needs.

— Photo by Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Ranel

T
8 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD

operations to humanitarian assistance 

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The establishment of a Class I 

platform for these regions allows DLA to 

keep U.S. personnel supplied thousands 

of miles from home.

“There was always a need for the 

Navy and the Coast Guard to resupply 

somewhere in that area of operations,” 

Cauvin said. “They can 

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point into a complete 

resupply site.” 

Cauvin says DLA 

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the process using the 

Subsistence Total Order 

and Receipt Electronic 

System, otherwise known 

as STORES. 

The online application 

is DLA’s database for 

ordering and receiving 

transactions. After logging 

in, customers have 

complete transparency 

of products and prices that directly link 

them with vendors. 

“You log on to a computer, follow a 

simple process and you get it delivered 

to your doorstep, when you want it,” 

Cauvin said. “It’s kind of like a onestop database that controls customer 

transactions from ordering to receiving.”

Cauvin says that with only a six- or 

seven-day lead time, a ship’s logisticians 

can order its supplies before it pulls into 

port and have those supplies waiting.

“What they had been forced to do 

previously was just go locally,” Garcia 

said. “That left a big opportunity for price 

gouging or not having the standard of 

food they were expected to have.”

Under the old system, Cauvin said, 

Coast Guard invoices were sometimes 

priced several hundred percent higher. 

Now, strawberries cost $30 a case under 

the prime vendor, when before they might 

have cost $200 from local vendors.

“It was pretty dramatic savings all 

across the board,” he said.

Product pricing is done using a 

monthly process that compares the cost of 

local items to vendor prices and ensures 

customers always receive the best value.

“The customers are very impressed 

with the quality of the product and its 

pricing compared to what they used to 

receive before the Panama contract was 

put into place,” said Jerome Sanders, a 

contract specialist for DLA Troop Support. 

“Working for DLA, we are always trying to 

obtain the best price for the customer as 

well as for the government.”

Garcia says that guaranteed quality 

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I support. Before, ensuring rations 

met standards was hit or miss. Under 

the program, all vendors meet strict 

requirements to warrant quality. 

“All of the prime vendors’ products 

are sourced from the states,” he said. “It’s 

all USDA-approved products.”

Garcia says that Supreme’s items 

are sourced and consolidated in 

California before being delivered via 

aircraft or ship. Getting subsistence 

support closer to an area of operations 

also reduces the number of stops 

needed to restock provisions.

“There are about 5,000 troops 

deployed down there that require 

sustainment,” said Rogelio Diaz, a DLA 

/RJLVWLFV2SHUDWLRQVOLDLVRQṘFHUIRU

USSOUTHCOM. “Having resupply points 

for food closer to them reduces the number 

of times they need to stop and 

means they can maintain a 

higher operating tempo.”

Class I support in 

USSOUTHCOM’s AOR 

also includes surge clauses 

written into contracts so 

vendors are prepared to 

accommodate larger orders 

during emergencies.

“I think DLA is unique 

in that we’re very engaged 

in trying to forecast before a 

disaster might hit,” Cauvin 

said. “If we see a hurricane 

coming through the area, we 

ramp up before it hits.”

According to Cauvin, DLA provides 

its services around the clock, which is 

compatible with the Navy’s 24-hour 

operating cycle. 

“I actually have gone into the 

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Sunday to place orders for customers, 

because it has to get in by a deadline,” 

he said. “That’s the kind of thing we 

all do at DLA.”

Cauvin says that entering orders after 

hours to ensure service members have 

the provisions they need isn’t unusual, 

and that he believes that many account 

managers would do the same.

3:HKDYHDJUHDWVXSSRUWVWD̆

of employees who are willing to do 

anything to support any relief that goes 

on, and vendors that are also willing 

to do what they have to do.” he said. 

“Everyone is always at the ready and a 

button push away from getting airlifted 

down there to perform where we have to 

at a moment’s notice.” 

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Teddy Chambers 

and Senior Chief Petty Officer Carl Demus 

inspect fruits and vegetables in the hangar 

bay of the USS Bataan during replenishment. 

Under DLA’s prime vendor support program, 

ships are able to receive fresh foods that meet 

strict quality control standards.

 Navy Chief Petty Officer Tony Sisti
Loglines O November - December 2014 9

ith major U.S. ground 

operations in Iraq concluded 

and U.S. forces in Afghanistan 

decreasing, the U.S. military 

footprint in the U.S. Central 

Command area of responsibility may be 

reduced, but the Defense Logistics Agency 

hasn’t slowed its support to U.S. and 

allied forces in the region. 

DLA has changed its support as the 

missions in the region have evolved, but it 

still supports vital missions and will have 

a presence in the area for the foreseeable 

future, said Army Col. Derrin E. Williams, 

commander of DLA Central. 

“The U.S. Central Command is 

a volatile and ever-changing area of 

operations,” Williams said. “DLA 

continues to work to ensure the right 

capabilities are postured throughout the 

AOR to support whatever contingencies 

arise and to ensure DLA is fully capable 

of supporting anticipated changes in the 

USCENTCOM operating environment in 

2015 and beyond.”

One of the most prominent missions 

DLA has supported in the USCENTCOM 

region in the past few years has been the 

retrograde of U.S. equipment as forces 

withdrew from Iraq and drew down in 

Afghanistan. Working with the military 

services, DLA successfully transported or 

W

C d

EXPEDITIONARY 

LOGISTICS

USCENTCOM:

Airmen load all-terrain Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles into 

a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. DLA has 

been heavily involved in the retrograde mission after U.S. and international 

forces began the process of drawing down assets in Afghanistan.

— Photo by Air Force Maj. Brandon Lingle

Story by Sara Moore
10 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD

process, DLA has remained closely tied 

to military service planners to ensure 

the right equipment gets transferred to 

WKHULJKWORFDWLRQVDQGGLVSRVDOH̆RUWV

are coordinated, he added. DLA also 

has agreements with several coalition 

partners, including Australia, Canada, 

Poland, Germany and Spain, to help with 

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Thanks to this coordination and 

forward-based support, DLA Disposition 

Services has demilitarized and disposed 

of record levels of equipment, including 

more than 345 Mine Resistant Ambush 

Protected vehicles and 1 billion pounds 

of scrap removed from Afghanistan, 

Williams said. DLA still has thousands 

of vehicles and tremendous amounts of 

material to sort, inspect and identify for 

disposal or retrograde, he said, so the 

agency continues to focus on its forwarddeployed support personnel, who can 

TXLFNO\DQGH̆HFWLYHO\JHWWKHMREGRQH

“DLA has invested heavily in its 

expeditionary workforce,” Williams said. 

“The knowledge, skills and energy of these 

personnel, both military and civilian, 

reservists and active duty, need to be 

instilled and retained to be successful in 

future operating environments.”

While retrograde operations in 

Afghanistan are a major focus for DLA, 

the agency has continued to support 

personnel in the USCENTCOM region 

with vital items like food, fuel and 

medical supplies, Williams said. DLA’s 

support to the region has been honed 

over 13 years and focuses heavily on 

forward support. Early in the Iraq 

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need for support on the ground and 

began sending support teams to be 

located with customers in the war zone, 

and those support teams continue to 

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activities maintain specialists throughout 

the world and in various places in 

the USCENTCOM region to provide 

quick, tailored support to customers. 

For example, DLA Troop Support 

Europe & Africa has four contracting 

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customers in Afghanistan, which gives 

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area that is far from DLA Troop Support 

headquarters in Philadelphia, said Angel 

Colon, deputy commander for DLA Troop 

Support Europe & Africa. 

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representatives are located throughout 

Afghanistan.

 “So any questions or issues that may 

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contact, and then they have reach back to 

us here in Europe and then we reach back 

to Philadelphia as needed,” he said.

In fact, much of DLA’s business in 

Afghanistan originates at DLA Europe 

& Africa, which is headquartered in 

Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles 

wait in a staging area for onward movement 

at an undisclosed base in Southwest Asia. As 

the U.S. draws down its forces in Afghanistan, 

the redeployment or disposition of thousands 

of vehicles is an important mission for DLA.

Marine Cpl. Aaron M. Faust places chicken 

on a grill in Marjah, Afghanistan. Even as 

DLA is heavily involved with the Afghanistan 

retrograde mission, the agency still meets the 

day-to-day mission requirements of the service 

members operating there.

Marine Sgt. Michael P. Snody

disposed of millions of dollars’ worth of 

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military combat forces left Iraq at the end 

of 2011. Even as that process was ongoing, 

DLA began planning the retrograde 

of equipment from Afghanistan in 

anticipation of the drawdown of U.S. 

forces there, Williams said, adding that 

the agency’s experience in Iraq taught 

agency employees some valuable lessons.

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that Afghanistan is not Iraq,” Williams 

said. “The operational climate is 

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PLVVLRQVZHUHGL̆HUHQW7KHUHZDVQR

‘safety valve’ at a nearby intermediate 

staging base in Kuwait, for example. 

DLA has better learned how to be 

anticipatory and predictive, two 

fundamental tenets of logistics.”

Part of the way DLA has become 

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¿HOGLQJPRUHPRELOHVXSSRUWWHDPV

called hub-based disposal operations 

teams, to travel to customers’ locations 

and quickly remove their equipment, 

Williams said. Throughout the retrograde 

For more information on DLA Central, visit our website at:

www.dla.mil/central/Pages/default.aspx
Loglines O November - December 2014 11

Air Force Senior Master Sgt. George Thompson

Germany. The command’s employees 

have deployed to places like Uzbekistan to 

establish contracts for local procurement 

of food for dining facilities in Afghanistan. 

DLA Disposition Services employees in 

Europe also help sell copper scrap that’s 

collected in Afghanistan and shipped to 

Europe for disposal so it can’t be used 

against US forces. They also dispose of 

hazardous waste that doesn’t have proper 

environmental solutions in theater. And 

even though the subsistence prime vendor 

contract is managed by DLA Troop Support 

ṘFLDOVLQ3KLODGHOSKLDWKHLUFRXQWHUSDUWV

in Europe help with daily needs and issues.

“Because DLA Europe & Africa is 

forward deployed, whenever there’s an 

issue with support or the customer isn’t 

KDSS\ZH¶UHXVXDOO\WKH¿UVWRQHVWRKHDU

about it, and we assist the contracting 

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Lt. Col. Patrick Taylor, commander of 

DLA Troop Support Europe & Africa.

While DLA’s mission in Afghanistan 

is very active, the agency is looking ahead 

and anticipating support requirements for 

the State Department after decisions are 

made about post-2014 U.S. force levels 

in Afghanistan, Williams said. When 

U.S. forces left Iraq at the end of 2011, 

DLA continued to provide food, fuel and 

disposal services for the State Department 

until May 2014, when the department 

awarded its own support contract. Williams 

said DLA can anticipate the same kind of 

requirements in Afghanistan and will be 

prepared to support the State Department. 

DLA has learned valuable lessons 

about support in the USCENTCOM 

region throughout operations in Iraq and 

Afghanistan, Williams said, and it has 

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Even as operations in Afghanistan wind 

down, the USCENTCOM region remains 

volatile and unpredictable, and DLA 

remains ready to support whatever military 

customers in the area need, he said. 

“DLA will continue to have a strong 

forward presence in U.S. Central 

Command and will continue to assess 

capabilities to ensure DLA is strategically 

positioned to support day-to-day 

operations, along with any potential 

future contingency and humanitarian 

H̆RUWV ́KHVDLG

Editor’s Note: 

Beth Reece and Mikia Muhammad contributed to this article.

Marine Sgt. Andrea M. Robb, an equipment 

clerk, fills out paperwork after receiving 

computer equipment from a unit with 

Regional Command Southwest as part of 

retrograde operations at Camp Leatherneck 

in Helmand province, Afghanistan. The 

retrograde and disposal of equipment as U.S. 

forces draw down in Afghanistan remains one 

of DLA’s main missions in the U.S. Central 

Command region.

Marine Sgt. Jessica Ostroska
12 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD

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Loglines O November - December 2014 13

Shipments destined for military customers from 

air and sea ports arrive at the Defense Logistics 

Agency Distribution Theater Consolidation 

and Shipping Point at Camp Carroll, Korea. 

The centralized warehouse loads the items 

onto dedicated DLA trucks for delivery, saving 

customers both time and money. 

— Photo by Nicole Dumm
14 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD

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Residents survey damage from the March 27, 1964 earthquake in 

Anchorage, Alaska. Due to the high volume of seismic activity in the area, 

DLA Pacific employees in Alaska participate in annual tabletop exercises 

to learn how to respond to catastrophic disasters like earthquakes. 

U.S. Geological Survey

Marine 2nd Lt. Martin Harris

U.S. Marines depart Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin, ending 

Marine Rotational Force Darwin’s six-month deployment in the territory. 

DLA Troop Support Pacific established a local blanket purchase 

agreement for fresh fruits and vegetables to support Marines there. 
Loglines O November - December 2014 15

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Air Force Tech. Sgt. Zachary Wilson

Army Sgt. Brooks Fletcher

(From left) Construction executive Chris Matheis, DLA Energy Pacific 

Commander Navy Capt. Chris Bower, 36th Wing Commander Air Force 

Brig. Gen. Steven Garland, Naval Facilities Engineering Command 

Marianas Operations Officer Navy Cmdr. Kevin Juntenen and DLA 

Installation Support Engineer Nympha Garces break ground on the 

Guam pipeline project. The $62 million military construction project is 

scheduled for completion in mid-2016. 

Soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry 

Division, and the Indonesian armed forces’ 411th Raider Infantry 

Battalion receive a brief during Operation Garuda Shield 2014. To adapt 

to new locations like Indonesia, DLA sent a warfighter support representative to assist with the joint training event, sponsored by the U.S. 

Army Pacific Command and hosted by the Indonesian armed forces. 
16 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD

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The USS Peleliu is moored in White Beach, Okinawa, during a scheduled 

port visit. As the Navy moves further into the USPACOM area of 

responsibility, DLA is increasing the amount of consumable items it 

forward stocks in places like Japan.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Hammond

For more information on DLA Pacific,

visit our website at:

www.dla.mil/pacific/Pages/default.aspx
Loglines O November - December 2014 17

REPUBLIC OF KOREA 

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Marine Cpl. Brandon Suhr

Nicole Dumm

A new initiative is helping DLA manage the Army’s pre-positioned 

contingency stock in South Korea and Japan. Estimated to save the 

Army $300-$500 million in costs over a three-year period, DLA eventually 

plans to expand the strategy globally to all of the military services. 

Marine Lt. Col. Stephanie King, a liaison officer for DLA, observes fresh 

fruits and pastries scheduled for distribution to Marines at Philippine’s 

Tacloban Airfield, the Philippines, during Operation Damayan. The food 

was part of the humanitarian and disaster relief materials provided 

by DLA Troop Support Pacific after the island nation was struck by 

Typhoon Haiyan. 
18 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD

velino Gramata thinks of himself 

as a jack-of-all-trades who 

does the impossible so service 

members in Europe can meet 

their missions. When an item one 

of those troops needs is on backorder or 

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way to expedite it. 

“I love working with my customers. 

I even love the challenges, because the 

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ships are sailing because of parts the 

Defense Logistics Agency has provided,” 

said Gramata, a DLA Europe & Africa 

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stationed in Naples, Italy.

DLA Europe & Africa is headquartered 

at Kaiserslautern, Germany, but has 

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and logistics planners located at U.S. 

European Command headquarters 

and with each service component to 

provide tailored assistance. While 

customers view them as experts on all the 

commodities and services DLA provides, 

representatives from DLA Energy and 

DLA Troop Support are also available in 

Story by Beth Reece

v

a

d

m A

th

USEUCOM:

A crew chief from the 52nd Aircraft Maintenance 

Squadron marshals an F-16 Fighting Falcon out 

of a hardened aircraft shelter during a Joint Task 

Force Odyssey Dawn mission, for which DLA 

Europe provided fuel and repair parts.

— Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Wilson

OLD WORLD, 

NEW BUSINESS
Loglines O November - December 2014 19
20 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD

Kaiserslautern to help with commodityVSHFL¿FVXSSRUWZKHQQHFHVVDU\

Much attention has been given to 

U.S. forces’ work in Iraq and Afghanistan 

in the past decade, but Gramata said 

troops in Europe have also been busy with 

everything from conducting airstrikes in 

support of Operation Odyssey Dawn in 

Libya to training NATO forces in Eastern 

Europe. No matter what U.S. forces are 

doing or where, DLA Europe & Africa 

contributes to their overall mission 

success, logistics planner Jim White said.

“Especially with the new 

expeditionary missions our forces are 

taking on, DLA can bring real value by 

helping customers plan for a full range 

of logistics support, from meals and 

water to sandbags,” he said. “What we’ve 

found is that after 13 years in Iraq and 

Afghanistan, customers have kind of 

forgotten how to prepare for all that.”

And while it may seem as if Europe has 

lost its central role in American security 

policy, White said that’s simply not true. In 

September, USEUCOM Commander Air 

Force Gen. Philip Breedlove told reporters 

that Pentagon leaders were reviewing the 

decision to further reduce troop levels in 

Europe based on recent developments 

involving Russia.

“Also, support to the other combatant 

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Marine Corps forces going in and out of 

Afghanistan transit through Romania 

and Germany. Ships that sail out to the 

U.S. Central Command area of operations 

come through the Mediterranean Sea 

and Suez Canal to get out there, likewise 

with aircraft going to Afghanistan or 

CENTCOM,” he said. 

The logistics pipeline to customers 

in Europe is considered mature by 

A forklift offloads supplies from a C-130J Super 

Hercules assigned to 37th Airlift Squadron 

at Erzurum Airport, Turkey. DLA Distribution 

Europe, in Germersheim, Germany, provided 

633 blankets and 2,400 cots for Turkish 

residents affected by an Oct. 23 earthquake. 

Air Force Staff Sgt. Benjamin Wilson
Loglines O November - December 2014 21

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options for goods and sources of supply. 

Recent changes in Europe’s security 

environment, however, have required DLA 

employees to change some of the ways the 

agency provides support. For example, 

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DLA to adjust what it stocks in Sigonella, 

Italy, to support two Navy destroyers that 

moved from Rota, Spain, and two more 

expected to arrive in 2015.

“These are permanently forwardstationed destroyers with a focus solely on 

ballistic missile defense in support of our 

NATO partners and other allies. To help 

the Navy, we’ve forward stocked about 

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support those ships,” White said.

The agency is also providing diesel fuel 

and building materials for the construction 

of the land-based Aegis ballistic missile 

defense system site in Romania, which is 

part of a U.S. plan to protect Europe from 

a ballistic missile attack. When that site 

is complete, DLA will provide material to 

help with the buildup of a second site in 

Poland, White added.

Other support is also changing to better 

meet customers’ needs and save money. 

DLA Troop Support recently converted 11 

purchase agreements for fresh fruits and 

vegetables to long-term contracts.

“This gives us better pricing and 

improves competition. We’ve already 

saved several hundred thousand dollars, 

and customers are telling us the quality 

and on-time delivery have improved,” said 

Army Lt. Col. Patrick Taylor, commander 

of DLA Troop Support Europe & Africa. 

 The opening of Logistics Distribution 

Center Europe in Germersheim, 

Germany, in late 2012 has also changed 

the way DLA’s material handlers pick 

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it for shipment to various locations 

throughout Europe. The center reduced 

DLA Distribution Europe’s footprint from 

22 building to just nine and includes 

several features that improve operations. 

For example, the walk-and-pick area, 

where high-demand parts are located for 

quick and easy access, now allows more 

than one stock selector to pick material 

from a row. The result: faster turnaround 

time for customers’ orders. 

The 250,000-square-foot facility is 

open 24/7, so the agency can process 

requisitions as they arrive. But sometimes 

the need for supplies is so urgent that 

DLA Distribution employees scramble 

more than normal to respond. In May, 

USEUCOM asked for 25,000 cases of 

meals, ready to eat, to support Ukrainian 

armed forces. It was “extreme logistics at 

its very best,” said Angel Colon, deputy 

commander for DLA Troop Support 

Europe & Africa. 

DLA Disposition Services also has a 

large presence in Europe, with 14 sites 

in six countries – Germany, Italy, Spain, 

Turkey, Portugal and the United Kingdom 

– where customers can turn in or receive 

excess property. The activity’s goal is 

to reissue serviceable items to other 

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Disposition Services’ website. Disposal 

experts also make it easy for customers 

to turn in large amounts of equipment 

by traveling to the units’ locations to help 

them prepare parts for turn-in.

Every DLA activity has a role in 

supporting USEUCOM, White said, and 

even if DLA employees specialize in 

just one commodity or service, they can 

typically answer questions that pertain to 

other DLA-managed items.

“We’re a pretty well-integrated team 

here, and we correspond with each other 

daily to help relay and meet customers’ 

requests. It’s also not unusual for one of 

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to tell customers about the broad range of 

support DLA can provide,” he said.

“We prefer to be the choice for everyone with logistical needs,” Taylor added. 

“It might make me sound like a salesman, 

but if a customer needs something, they 

should think DLA, because we can get 

them what they want.” 

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Charles Poplin 

(left) and Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Young 

construct pillars as part of a pier project in 

Romania. DLA has provided diesel fuel and 

building materials for the construction of the 

land-based Aegis ballistic missile defense 

system site there.

Navy Utilities Constructionman Sydney Thorne

For more information on DLA Europe & Africa, visit our 

website at: www.dla.mil/Pages/europe_africa.aspx
22 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD

DLA provides food, fuel and repair parts for a 

variety of joint training exercises between U.S. 

and African militaries, such as this combined 

maritime law enforcement operation under the 

African Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership 

program.

on Liles went right to the source 

when U.S. Africa Command 

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“outside the box” solution to 

feeding special operations teams deployed 

to isolated areas in Niger. 

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buy locally to support between 15 and 

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Story by Beth Reece

o

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f

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with USAFRICOM’s headquarters in 

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of items ranging from bottled water to 

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BUILDING BRIDGES

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USAFRICOM:

Navy Seaman Justin R. DiNiro
Loglines O November - December 2014 23

DLA partners with local business to support 

advise-and-assist missions such as SpecialPurpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Africa 

13, which strengthens U.S. Marine Corps 

Forces Africa and U.S. Africa Command’s 

ability to assist partner nations through 

theater-security cooperation and military-tomilitary engagements.

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Liles said.

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geographic combatant commands. While 

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customs regulations at the border of each of 

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dealing with during the beginning of the 

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while ramping up support in Iraq and 

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Support Europe & Africa. 

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Niamey about three times a month.

“But there are fresh fruits and 

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Transporting food and water from 

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waiting a long time to get what they 

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Operations’ Joint Contingency Acquisition 

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an expeditionary contracting business 

model that meets USAFRICOM’s needs.

“We’re trying to build our 

relationships with customers and also 

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into consideration. By employing local 

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businessmen to employ military-age men 

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could become the standard for supporting 

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if we get local procurement and we put 

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between the United States and African 

nations.

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on U.S. standards.

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Courtesy Photo

Army Staff Sgt. Justin P. Morelli

A Soldier consumes a meal, ready to eat 

provided by DLA in darkness while training at 

Central Accord 2014 in Koutaba, Cameroon. 
24 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD

how we need it so they can make it to our 

standard. They’re willing to do almost 

anything for work,” Liles said. 

During a meeting at DLA 

Headquarters in August, Air Force Brig. 

Gen. James Johnson, USAFRICOM’s 

director of logistics, said he believes DLA 

will help U.S. forces overcome logistical 

challenges in Africa.

“There are some unique challenges in 

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innovation, and some concepts that 

haven’t been tried in other places. And 

that’s why we’re really excited about DLA’s 

partnership, because we believe that the 

leadership at DLA has that perspective 

and is willing to innovate and try new 

WKLQJVWKDWZLOOEHQH¿WXVDOO ́KHVDLG

DLA Disposition Services Europe & 

Africa has also worked to match excess 

material with 18 African countries this 

year through the Foreign Military Sales 

program. The program allows eligible 

foreign governments to purchase U.S. 

government vehicles, equipment and 

other goods and services for their 

militaries. Tools, clothing and medical 

equipment are among the most requested 

property, said Petra Vaeth, a property 

disposal specialist.

“We give them online access to our 

inventory, and they check it on a daily 

EDVLV:KHQWKH\¿QGVRPHWKLQJWKH\

have a need for, they give us a requisition 

or send us an email or call to see if they 

can get a picture just to make sure it’s 

exactly what they need,” she said.

To minimize shipping costs, Vaeth 

maintains all requested material until it’s 

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she insists on being present when the 

container is loaded.

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about what’s in the container, and the 

paperwork needs to be accurate, because 

every country has its own customs 

regulations, and we don’t want it to get 

held up,” she added. 

Fuel is another commodity in high 

demand by U.S. forces in Africa. In 

September, DLA Energy awarded contracts 

in seven African countries to provide 

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the continent, where service members are 

involved in as many as 15 yearly exercises, 

as well as “advise and assist” missions that 

help African militaries maintain security in 

their own regions. 

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Felicito Rustique

Navy personnel prepare to launch an MQ-8B 

Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle during 

flight operations aboard the USS Simpson. DLA 

helps U.S. forces overcome logistics challenges 

during events such as security cooperation and 

maritime security operations in the U.S. Naval 

Forces Africa area of responsibility. 

For more information on DLA Europe & Africa, visit our 

website at: www.dla.mil/Pages/europe_africa.aspx
Loglines O November - December 2014 25

DLA Energy also helps customers 

with emergency buys. Last winter, 

86$)5,&20QHHGHGJDOORQV

of drummed jet fuel to support special 

operations teams in Uganda. The 

customer needed it in three days, and 

DLA Energy awarded the contract within 

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“Fortunately, we had established great 

communications and relationships with 

our vendors in this area and were able 

to source availability of the jet fuel and 

the drums extremely quickly,” said Lee 

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Energy Europe & Africa.

Much of DLA Europe & Africa’s 

success in supporting USAFRICOM stems 

from having personnel from various DLA 

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Miguel Martinez, a DLA planner who also 

works in Stuttgart with Liles.

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we’re integrated in their plans and 

operations teams. Plus, we’re able to 

capture requirements in advance and 

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level know something is coming their 

way,” he said. 

The Foreign Military Sales program enables 

African military forces to receive excess materials 

such as tools, clothing and medical supplies

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Felicito Rustique
26 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD

orrowing the military mantra 

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o

3

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PARTNERING 

FOR SUCCESS

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Marines from the 8th Engineering Support 

Battalion clear debris for New York residents 

impacted by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. FEMA 

relies on DLA to help supply numerous items, 

such as food, fuel and bottled water during 

relief efforts. The agency also provides 

blankets, cots and generators, as well as 

services including debris removal and property 

disposal.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Ryan J. Courtade
Loglines O November - December 2014 27

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“That was way beyond what 

we had typically done. Before, 

we had just focused on fuel to 

first providers and generators, 

but in the case of Sandy, we 

even provided fuel to the 

general public.”

Firefighters extinguish a hot spot to prevent a 

forest fire from reigniting at Camp Bullis, Texas. 

DLA trains with agencies like the National 

Interagency Fire Center to provide the best 

possible support during wildfire season.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder
28 www.dla.mil

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY: AROUND THE WORLD

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Air Force Tech. Sgt. Ben Hritz, of the 171st Air 

Refueling Wing, fills a van with gasoline in the 

aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. DLA showed its 

capability to support relief efforts when it was 

authorized to purchase up to 26 million gallons 

of fuel to aid first responders and civilians.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Ryan J. Courtade

Air Force Airman 1st Class Nicholas Carzis

A C-130E Hercules from the California Air 

National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing drops water 

over the treetops in South Carolina during 

annual Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System 

training and certification. Year-round training 

helps DLA support agencies responding to 

national emergencies. 
A Conversation with . . .

Loglines O November - December 2014 29

DLA’s 2014 Culture Survey 

results have been released. At his 

September Director’s Call, DLA 

Director Navy Vice Adm. Mark 

Harnitchek characterized the 

results as a slight decline and 

pledged to see what caused that 

drop. What do you see as the areas 

where DLA has room for growth 

and improvement? 

DLA’s overall culture score dropped 

two percentile points from our last 

survey in 2012. Statistically, this means 

we stayed about the same, and given 

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Department of Defense and the federal 

Brad Bunn

DLA Human Resources Director Brad Bunn.

DLA’s human resources director discusses the 2014 Culture Survey and upcoming initiatives.

government has faced during the past 

two years, it’s actually a testament 

to the resilience of our workforce. 

However, we certainly have room for 

improvement, and our J1 survey team 

has begun analyzing the agencywide 

results to identify trouble spots. 

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where we have declined and possible 

drivers of those declines.

Agencywide, our steepest declines 

from 2012 to 2014 were in the areas of 

strategic direction and intent, vision, 

and creating change. Two of these 

– strategic direction and intent and 

vision – fall within the mission culture 

trait, which is extremely important 

to DLA’s future success. The mission 

trait is all about employees having 

a shared understanding of both our 

agency’s long-term direction and the 

plan for getting there. I’ll admit I was 

somewhat perplexed by the drop in 

scores in this area, since the director has 

been extremely clear and consistent in 

communicating his “Big Ideas,” which 

are his blueprint for DLA’s success, both 

in the near and long term. So our task 

is to drill down and see whether some 

DLA employees do not feel aligned 

with the Big Ideas in their day-to-day 

work, if so, why not, and what can we 

do to strengthen that alignment and 

clarity of purpose. Some preliminary 

Courtesy Photo
30 www.dla.mil

A Conversation with . . .

analysis shows that those organizations 

that had high culture scores also had 

the most positive responses to our 

survey questions on awareness and 

understanding of the Big Ideas. This is 

just one example. We will be probing 

DLA’s survey results across all of the 

culture traits to determine areas for 

improvement.

Much of the culture work will be at 

the organizational level, so employees 

will be hearing from their immediate 

chains of command as they build action 

plans to improve culture and climate. I 

encourage employees to take advantage 

of opportunities to participate and be 

part of the solution.

How do you think external events 

like 2013’s furloughs and subsequent 

government shutdown impacted 

DLA’s performance in the survey? 

While some may perceive the 

Culture/Climate Survey as a measure 

of how happy our workforce is, it’s 

really not about that. However, 

external factors and events can 

certainly play a part in how people 

answer the survey questions. Last 

year was a tough year for federal 

employees; the furlough itself caused 

hardship, uncertainty and potentially a 

loss of trust in the federal government 

as a stable employer, and I think that 

certainly showed up in how many of 

our employees answered the survey 

questions. That uncertainty and 

ambiguity, in my opinion, probably 

correlates to some of our drops in 

scores. But again, the fact that we 

stayed relatively stable from the last 

survey administration shows that we 

as an agency weathered the storm and 

continued to meet the mission and 

delight our customers. But at the same 

time, it means we as leaders must 

take up the challenge to ensure our 

people stay engaged and have a clear 

understanding of and are aligned with 

our goals. 

One area in the climate portion of 

the survey that showed a marked 

increase was telework readiness. 

How has DLA’s embrace of telework translated in areas like 

overall employee satisfaction and 

retention?

Telework has been a focus area 

for us over the past few years, and 

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far as employee participation. We 

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in this year’s climate survey to look 

at the impact of telework on our 

mission readiness, rather than just 

the mechanics of telework. In 2012, 

61 percent of teleworking employees 

felt that they were prepared to use 

telework to maintain productivity 

in the event of an emergency. By 

2014, 83 percent felt they were 

prepared. That’s an amazing 22 

percent increase in our readiness 

over just two years. We’re also 

seeing indications that teleworkers 

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their work, often due to a healthier 

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percent of teleworkers felt that 

they were at least as productive 

while teleworking, and 59 percent 

said that the ability to telework is a 

factor in continued employment at 

DLA. These results are heartening 

and tell us that telework is working 

as both a mission enabler and an 

HPSOR\HHVDWLV¿HU

One big result of the 2012 Culture 

Survey was the emphasis on 

the DLA Fitness and Wellness 

Program, which provides time for 

employees to focus on those two 

things during the work week. The 

2014 survey showed overwhelming 

support. Are there any changes 

coming to the program?

The survey results certainly told 

us that the Fitness and Wellness 

Program has been a big hit. While 

we don’t plan on any changes to the 

program in the immediate future, we’ll 

be periodically evaluating the program 

to see where improvements may be 

needed. The premise of the program is 

that it’s a win-win for the agency and 

the employee. The ability to work out 

during the duty day allows employees 

to better juggle competing demands of 

work and home life, and studies have 

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more focused and productive, uses less 

sick leave, and has more energy. Based 

on the survey results, it looks like it’s 

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percent of respondents participating in 

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program as a factor in remaining 

employed at DLA. Eighty-eight percent 

of the respondents felt they have 

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percent said they used less sick leave. 

And perhaps more importantly, 95 

percent of supervisors said that their 

participating employees’ performance 

has either stayed the same or improved 

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we’ll continue to monitor the program, 

but we think we have it about right.

Employees continue to ask about 

Voluntary Early Retirement 

Authority and Voluntary Separation 

Incentive Program. Will DLA 

leaders be using those tools to help 

shape the agency’s workforce in the 

near term? To what extent? 

DLA organizations use Voluntary 

Early Retirement Authority and 

Voluntary Separation Incentives 

periodically and where necessary. The 

use of VERA/VSIP is a business-based 

decision that organizations may use 

to strategically shape the workforce 

whenever the need arises. The vast 

majority of DLA is funded through 

the Defense Working Capital Fund, 

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:H¶UHLQSUHWW\JRRGVKDSH¿QDQFLDOO\
DLA Public Affairs

Loglines O November - December 2014 31

and have a successful track record of 

avoiding large shifts in the size of our 

workforce. There are no current plans 

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activities use this authority throughout 

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LQVSHFL¿FDUHDVIRUGRZQVL]LQJDQG

restructuring. In the past year, our 

largest consumer of VERA/VSIP 

has been DLA Distribution, mostly 

driven by declining workload. It can 

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personnel actions that would otherwise 

be necessary. If a VERA/VSIP is going 

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location, a Human Resources Bulletin 

will be published to notify employees in 

particular occupations or segments of an 

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1RZWKDWWKH2̇FHRI3HUVRQQHO

Management has issued its regulations for phased retirements, 

how long do you expect it will be 

until this option is available to DLA 

employees? How large a portion of 

the workforce do you expect this to 

impact?

First, a little background about 

phased retirement. This is a new 

authority that allows employees, 

with agency approval, to partially 

retire, meaning they stay on as 

a part-time employee, working 

50 percent of their schedule and 

earning 50 percent of their salary, 

and receiving a partial annuity 

from the federal retirement system. 

Phased retirees must spend at least 

20 percent of their time engaged 

in mentoring activities. The idea is 

that it allows the employee to ease 

his or her transition into retirement 

while allowing the agency to retain 

that institutional knowledge a little 

longer and pass that knowledge on 

through mentoring. We don’t have 

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DLA yet; we’re awaiting policy and 

guidance from the Department 

of Defense, as well as updates to 

personnel and payroll systems to 

accommodate the new authority. 

The best estimate for departmental 

implementation is around the end 

of February 2015. 

Regarding how large a portion 

of the workforce might use phased 

retirement, it’s hard to tell. To be 

eligible for phased retirement, an 

employee has to be eligible for 

full retirement. Right now, about 

16 percent of our workforce is 

eligible for optional retirement. 

An employee interested in phased 

retirement, which is voluntary, 

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viability of going to a part-time 

schedule and receiving a partial 

annuity. This is an important 

SHUVRQDO¿QDQFLDOGHFLVLRQDQG

shouldn’t be taken lightly. On the 

agency side, managers will have to 

assess whether a phased retirement 

arrangement makes sense from a 

mission, operational and workforce 

development perspective. We’ll be 

working through those issues from 

a policy perspective.

What kind of impact do you think 

phased retirements will have on 

preparing DLA’s next generation 

of leaders? 

Phased retirement gives us one 

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conduct smart succession planning, 

adding to our formal training 

leadership development programs, 

on-the-job training, and formal and 

informal mentoring as a means of 

passing along valuable technical 

information and work-life experiences 

to the next generation of DLA’s leaders. 

Is there anything else you’d like 

to discuss?

Let me say a few words about 

the important role our labor unions 

play in the agency. Many may not 

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employees across the enterprise 

who are bargaining unit employees, 

meaning they are represented by a 

labor union. With that representation 

are certain rights under the law for 

both employees and the unions that 

represent them. As we move forward 

on new initiatives and big changes, 

DLA has an obligation to engage our 

unions as decisions are made. Not 

only do we have a legal obligation 

to engage our unions as we move 

forward, but it just makes sense.

The union representatives 

know our business and are in a 

position to help us think through 

our proposed initiatives and avoid 

the pitfalls that managers may not 

see. Overall, we have a pretty good 

relationship with our unions; we 

disagree at times, but that’s part 

of the process. In my experience, 

collaborating with our unions 

while we’re formulating ideas 

DERXWFKDQJHVWKDWZLOOD̆HFWRXU

employees usually results in better 

implementation and buy-in. It’s 

really all about communication, 

mutual respect and a shared goal 

of doing what’s right for DLA and 

its workforce. 

We have a lot going on in DLA – 

big information technology projects, 

audit readiness, organizational 

changes and budget pressures, just 

to name a few – and it’s important 

that we partner with the unions who 

represent our employees to help 

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implementation of these changes. 

One last thought: October 2014 

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the human resources director, and I 

could not be more proud to be part 

of DLA. This is truly the best agency 

I’ve had the pleasure of serving, and 

that’s because of the people who lead 

it and this world-class workforce that 

is second to none. 
32 www.dla.mil

Story by Sara Moore

CULTURE CHECK

efense Logistics Agency employees took advantage 

of the opportunity to help improve the agency’s 

performance by participating in the 2014 DLA Culture 

Survey, and their feedback reveals a slight decline in 

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leaders and connected to the agency’s main initiatives.

The survey was conducted in May and measured 

organizational culture and employee opinions on topics like 

job satisfaction, accountability, diversity and telework. Almost 

16,000 employees, or 61 percent of the workforce, participated 

in this year’s survey, said Laurie Hall, the DLA Culture Survey 

program manager. This represents a decline from the 71 percent 

participation rate in the 2012 Culture Survey, she said, but still 

constitutes a healthy response. 

“The more employees that choose to take the survey, the more 

complete the culture picture becomes,” Hall said. “Each member 

of the DLA workforce has an equally important perspective.”

As part of the culture survey, DLA’s results are measured 

against the Denison Culture Model database, which includes 

more than 1,000 organizations across a variety of industries and 

countries, including 40 Fortune 500 companies. The 2014 results 

place DLA higher than 46 percent of these organizations, Hall said. 

DLA’s overall culture score dropped two percentile points 

in 2014, Hall said, with the steepest declines in the areas of 

strategic direction and intent, vision and creating change. 

In the areas of strategic direction and intent and vision, 

employees indicated a decreasing understanding of the 

DJHQF\¶VGLUHFWLRQDQGYLVLRQDQGGL̇FXOW\EDODQFLQJ

short-term projects with long-term vision. In the area of 

creating change, employees indicated that attempts to 

innovate and change were often met with resistance. 

DLA leaders are evaluating the detailed results, 

including written comments, to identify the root 

causes of the declines and ways to improve, Hall said.

“It’s important to not just look at the overall 

score, but to drill down and see exactly what’s 

driving the needle up or down within and across 

activities,” she said.

DLA Director Navy Vice Adm. Mark 

Harnitchek, speaking at the September Director’s 

Call, said the budget uncertainty, furloughs and 

government shutdown that happened in 2013 

and 2014 contributed to the drop in scores. 

l

D

d
Loglines O November - December 2014 33

DLA leaders are committed to evaluating all the results and 

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“The bottom line is we’re diving through all this data, all the 

comments, and at the next all-hands, we’ll talk 

about what it is we’re going to be doing about it 

in terms of improving those scores,” the 

admiral said. 

DLA’s scores improved in three 

areas: empowerment, team orientation 

and core values, Hall said. DLA also saw 

positive improvements on the climate 

portion of the survey, she said, with 

notable improvements on questions 

about performance management, trust 

in supervisors, and use of telework to 

maintain productivity in the event of 

an emergency. Almost 85 percent of 

employees surveyed said they are held 

accountable for achieving results, up from 

81 percent in 2012. In addition, 54 percent 

said awards in their units depend on how well 

they do their jobs, up from 50 percent in 2012. 

In this survey, 67 percent of those surveyed 

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supervisor, up from 64 percent in 2012, and a big 

improvement was seen in the area of telework 

readiness, with almost 83 percent saying they 

are prepared to use telework to maintain 

productivity in the event of an emergency, 

up from 61 percent in 2012. A majority 

of respondents also rated DLA’s Audit 

Readiness initiative highly and indicated 

a desire to be part of the director’s 

“Big Ideas” initiative, along with an 

understanding of how they contribute to 

the goals behind that initiative, she said. 

One program that was not rated in 2012 

because it had not been implemented was 

the DLA Fitness and Wellness Program. On 

this year’s survey, 94.8 percent of employees 

surveyed said they feel an improved sense 

of wellbeing or overall wellness as a result of 

participating in the program. At the 

Director’s Call, Harnitchek noted that 

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as a result of write-in suggestions on 

the 2012 survey and that it has been a major success story.

The 2014 Culture Survey also included a healthy response 

from employees in the write-in comments section, with about 

18,000 comments submitted, Hall said. Many focused on 

recommendations for improvement, she said, with the most 

prevalent themes being communication, human resources and 

personnel management, leadership, and employee treatment. 

DLA has used the Denison Culture Model since 2003. The 

model measures four traits of culture and 

leadership: mission, adaptability, 

involvement and consistency. Each 

trait has three indices to measure 

behavior for that trait. In 2003, the 

agency’s overall score was 34 percent, 

meaning DLA scored higher than 34 

percent of organizations surveyed via 

Denison. That score rose steadily until 

2010, when it reached 52 percent. In 

the 2012 survey, the overall score was 

48 percent; this year’s score dropped 

slightly to 46 percent. 

Culture survey results are 

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activity and work unit and are 

released incrementally. Each unit has 

a designated culture “champion” that 

helps leaders evaluate the results, identify 

root causes of issues and develop action plans. 

DLA Human Resources hosted an action 

planning workshop in August for culture 

champions to give them guidance on their 

roles in developing action plans and helping 

to improve agency culture, Hall said. In 

addition, DLA Human Resources posted 

the overall results for DLA and its 

major activities on an internal website 

for all employees to view, she said. 

“The DLA Culture Survey is 

important, because it provides the 

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its perspectives on both DLA culture 

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said. “And that’s just the beginning. 

The survey results then become a 

springboard for DLA employees and 

leaders to have thoughtful, data-driven 

discussions that lead to culture improvement 

actions. As positive culture 

correlates to high performance, 

improving our culture is ultimately 

about making DLA stronger in 

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This is the seventh time the DLA Culture Survey has been 

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Following the pattern of administering a survey every 18-24 months, 

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ell

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a de

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The 2014 Culture Survey results, pictured on the bottom, 

show a slight overall decline from the 2012 Culture Survey, 

but an engaged workforce confident in its leaders.

2012 RESULTS

2014 RESULTS
34 www.dla.mil

Story by Sara Moore Story by Sara Moore

Outfit

oday, Philadelphia is home to 

Defense Logistics Agency Troop 

Support, known for its excellence 

in providing uniforms, food, 

medical supplies and other vital 

equipment to U.S. service members, 

but the city’s support of uniforms for 

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centuries, with an explosion in support 

during the Civil War. 

Throughout the Civil War, the 

city of Philadelphia produced tens of 

thousands of uniforms for Union forces, 

using military facilities and an elaborate 

system of subcontracting that included 

both established companies and private 

citizens who worked as seamstresses to 

meet the high demand for uniform items. 

Before the Civil War, Philadelphia was 

known as a hub of industry and commerce, 

said Chrissie Reilly, DLA historian, so it 

was a natural choice to center the military’s 

uniform manufacturing system. The main 

facility in the city for the manufacture, 

storage and distribution of clothing and 

textiles for the military was Schuylkill 

Arsenal, which was originally built as a 

U.S. Navy powder magazine on Gray’s 

Ferry Road in the southwest corner of 

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/HZLVDQG&ODUN([SHGLWLRQWRWKH3DFL¿F

Northwest at a cost of $2,000.

The arsenal became an ordnance 

depot in 1814 and supported the War of 

1812 by supplying guns and ammunition, 

as well as clothing and textile materials. oDSinm Ti

Naval engineer Henry Beauchamp Nones 

poses for a full length portrait in uniform in this 

undated photograph. 

PHILADELPHIA:
Loglines O November - December 2014 35

tting the Union

The site became a military textile depot 

after 1818. After the Civil War, the name 

changed to Philadelphia Depot of the 

Quartermaster’s Department, U.S. Army, 

in 1873. It was renamed Philadelphia 

Quartermaster Depot in 1921 and later 

evolved into Defense Supply Center 

Philadelphia.

In addition to the arsenal, as of 1860, 

Philadelphia had 6,314 factories, ranging 

from small cottage industry workshops 

to huge facilities employing hundreds of 

people, including 525 in textiles and 1,523 

in garments and apparel. This strong 

industrial infrastructure allowed the 

military to rely on private companies to 

help provide uniforms and textiles to the 

Union army, which became a necessity 

after President Lincoln called for more 

volunteers and the number of troops 

swelled by 200,000, Reilly said. 

“The idea that you could have one 

depot manufacturing, sewing and 

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Union army was not possible during 

the Civil War. When the war started, 

they had enough uniforms and enough 

material to make future uniforms for the 

regular Army. But when Lincoln called 

for additional men to volunteer for the 

Union, the response was so huge that 

the depot system of 1860 would have left 

enlistees without clothing.”

To meet the increased demand for 

uniforms, the Army’s quartermaster 

general began an elaborate system of 

subcontracting. In Philadelphia, about 

10,000 seamstresses and tailors were 

The Schuylkill Arsenal was the central 

distribution point for both dress and marching 

uniforms. Much like the way DLA utilizes the 

expertise of private industry to fabricate the 

uniforms of contemporary warfighters, the U.S. 

Army Quartermaster General in Philadelphia 

relied on a transparent and fair system of 

contracting to purchase the uniforms required 

to outfit the Army.
36 www.dla.mil

hired to make uniforms and clothing 

for Union troops, and new depots were 

established in New York in 1861 and 

Cincinnati in 1862 to directly procure 

additional clothing. Raw materials and 

fabric were ordered from abroad, local 

suppliers and throughout each state to 

meet the requirements.

Brig. Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, 

the Union’s quartermaster general, 

developed an open system of bidding 

with a high degree of transparency, 

advertising contracts and awarding them 

to the lowest bidders. The people doing 

this subcontracting, Reilly explained, 

could range from large companies with 

established factories to private citizens 

working on sewing machines in their 

own homes. 

“The invention of the sewing machine 

made the further levels of subcontracting 

possible, because if you had a sewing 

machine and could turn bolts of cloth into 

a uniform, you could be hired by one of 

these larger companies,” she said. 

Many Philadelphia women 

volunteered to sew for the Union, and 

A map shows the various military installations 

and depots in the city of Philadelphia during 

the Civil War.

Illustrations like plate 172 of the “Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies” depicted uniforms worn by Union 

and Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. DLA provides uniforms for the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

United States Department of War
Loglines O November - December 2014 37

they were entitled to pay under U.S. 

Army regulations, Reilly said. These 

women were employed at the Schuylkill 

Arsenal, out of their homes, and at 

other sites throughout the city, like the 

Girard House Hotel, which became a 

military clothing depot during the war 

and could produce about 1,000 pieces 

a day, from underwear to sack coats 

and greatcoats to trousers. While a 

lot of these seamstresses relied on the 

income to support their families, there 

were also some high society women 

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One of the largest private suppliers of 

military textiles throughout the Civil War 

was William H. Hortsmann and Sons, 

a Philadelphia company established in 

1815. Hortsmann and Sons was one of the 

largest military furnishers of pre-Civil War 

military textiles, and the war increased 

its business, including subcontracting out 

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military units, Reilly said. They even went 

so far as to use Union army regulations 

to create catalogs with full-color plates 

that illustrated what the various uniforms 

would look like, she said. 

“They had been a huge company 

before the Civil War, and then they got 

massive during it,” Reilly said. “The 

opportunity for growth in their business 

was almost limitless.”

Using Meigs’ subcontracting system in 

Philadelphia, the Quartermaster General 

purchased more than 948,000 uniform 

coats, 591,000 jackets and 2.2 million 

yards of woolen cloth to be turned into 

coats during the war.

Philadelphia’s existing manufacturing 

infrastructure and the Union’s successful 

subcontracting system gave the North a 

distinct logistical advantage during the 

war, Reilly said. The Confederate army did 

not have the same infrastructure in the 

South, she said, and lacked manufacturing capabilities, leaving them notoriously 

undersupplied. The cotton industry was 

based primarily in the South, she said, 

which opened the door for the woolen 

industry in the Northeast to thrive during 

the Civil War. This industry was in decline 

before the war, she said, but was able to 

quickly expand as new mills opened and 

old mills expanded. In the South, the 

Confederate army often had to sell cotton 

WRIXQGZDUH̆RUWVPDNLQJLWGL̇FXOWWR

clothe soldiers.

“The manufacturing in the South was 

not geared toward the same things that the 

North was,” she said. “A lot of times, the 

Confederacy had to make a choice between 

selling bales of cotton and bolts of cloth to 

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but if they did that, then they wouldn’t have 

enough cotton or cloth to make uniforms.”

In Philadelphia, a thriving industry 

and strong infrastructure gave the 

Union access to the clothing and 

textiles the troops needed. The city’s 

contributions to the Civil War started 

a legacy of support to U.S. service 

members, which continues today at 

DLA Troop Support. 

Many Philadelphia women volunteered to sew for the Union and 

were entitled to pay under U.S. Army regulations. They were 

employed at the Schuylkill Arsenal, out of their homes and at 

other sites throughout the city.
I AM

My name is: 

Alan Fujii

I am: 

A packing and preservation supervisor with DLA Distribution Pearl Harbor, 

Hawaii.

Describe your job in a sentence: 

My team and I work to pack and certify the shipment or storage of unusual 

size, commodity and equipment that requires specialized handling. We provide 

cushioning, yokes, collars, preservation packaging, reimbursable packing 

and crating of material for local and Defense Department customers. We also 

provide all phases of transportation and traffic management matters. 

How long have you worked for DLA? 

I started my DLA career in 1998 in warehouse operations, performing picks, 

packs and hazardous material handling. I felt the need to sharpen my skills, 

so I took on a motor vehicle operator leader position that helped me better 

understand routing, movement, delivery, tracking material, table loads and 

satisfying our customers with the right product on time, every time. 

What is your favorite thing about working for DLA? 

The commitment that the commander and deputy 

commander have to identify skilled professionals in what they do 

to satisfy our customers, and the recognition programs we have 

to compensate our workforce with time off awards, medals or 

monetary incentives. DLA Distribution Pearl Harbor is a fun and 

exciting place to be employed. 

What are your best memories of working here? 

Working with a diverse group of people, Rim of the Pacific 

exercises and seeing smiling faces. 

,ŽǁĚŽLJŽƵŵĂŬĞĂĚŝīĞƌĞŶĐĞ͍

Having a direct impact on our internal and external 

customers, supporting a positive and focused organization 

through a commitment to mentoring employees and transferring 

knowledge, and discovering the importance of what we do.

Alan Fujii